I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

5 minutes ago.

“Huaah!”

A group of ability users emerged through a narrow hole, stretching and catching their breath as soon as they entered the joint space.

“We’ve arrived. Is this the right place?”

“The GPS location matches here.”

Although catching their breath inside the underground cave meant inhaling dust, they were relieved just to have reached their destination after digging a fairly long tunnel.

“Is this really the place? There’s nothing here. It’s supposed to be a gold vein, right?”

Rasputin surveyed the entire cavity.

The fairly wide cave looked more like a natural cavern than a human-made mine, with no signs of human intervention.

“That can’t be. How could such gold remain until modern times? It must have been taken during the Japanese occupation.”

“The ability to do so is what makes us special. Come this way.”

Cheonma shone a flashlight inward, infusing her fist with magic power.

“Hap!”

With a short shout, she thrust her fist forward, and soon, dark blue magic power shot out like a punch and flew forward.

Boom!

The fist-shaped magic projectile flew across the air, hitting the wall and exploding.

Soon, the wall shook violently, dust poured down, and the light from the flashlight began to glint gold through the crumbling wall.

“…Crazy. Is that really gold? Unbelievable.”

“You might not have known, but such things do happen. This time, I’m sharing the information generously, so take note.”

Cheonma approached the wall she had breached and lightly tapped the glittering gold lump beyond the camouflage wall.

“Have you heard the saying ‘money can be duplicated’?”

“Isn’t that what people say when money gets deposited into ability users’ accounts?”

“Right. Now imagine converting that money into gold. The answer is simple, isn’t it?”

“What, like alchemy?”

“Maybe.”

Thud, thud.

Cheonma continued tapping the wall next to her, causing more gold-colored minerals to glitter through the crumbling surface.

“Crazy, is all that pure gold? How is this possible?”

“Do you think it’s right to question ‘how’ in the era of modern abilities?”

“No, but still, this is not normal. If this is a gold mine, how could we extract it this way? It would be a waste.”

Rumble.

Soon, the entire wall crumbled down.

As the camouflage wall completely collapsed, the inner wall of the vast cavity glittered entirely with gold.

“……Even if we bring five large containers from the port, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Would five be enough? What if it’s deeply embedded underground?”

“Crazy. How is this possible?”

With only the flashlight and smartwatch lights in the underground cave, it was hard to be certain, but it looked like huge chunks of gold glittering like the giant golden Buddha statues found in temples.

“This is insane. What is this?”

“Looks like nothing has been confirmed yet on the Vladivostok side. But we have.”

“If you’re going to tell us, just say it straight. What is this? How does the whole ground glitter like pure gold?”

“It’s because it’s infused with magic power. It might be because it’s a resource buried in the great Korean land. There are various possibilities, but for now, we call it ‘resource assimilation.’”

“Resource assimilation?”

“The surrounding resources transform into very expensive and valuable resources.”

Cheonma, speaking as if unsure if this was correct, placed her hand on the gold.

“I don’t know. Whether it’s someone with the ability of alchemy randomly altering the resources in this land, or whether it’s the magic power spread by a meteorite that fell into the East Sea turning the world upside down.”

“Haha. At this rate, all kinds of gems might emerge from North Korean soil in the future.”

“Right. Who knows, later, oil might gush out from the sea off Taean. Well, let’s think about those phenomena later.”

Thud, thud.

Cheonma tapped the gold lump again.

The solid sound seemed to resonate deeply within the gathered group’s hearts.

“Let’s quickly cut this out and take it. Let the researchers figure out the principles later. Now, move-avoid!”

Just as Cheonma’s shout echoed, something flew from the darkness.

Thwack!

The sound of something sharp piercing flesh.

The sound, like an arrow shot from afar embedding into a body in a historical war movie, echoed throughout the cavity.

“Ugh!”

The ability users fell.

All the fallen ones had black arrow-like objects embedded in their knees, and those beside them pulled out the arrows.

“Black…steel…?”

“Who are you!”

[You don’t need to know.]

“…Just by seeing your ability, I can tell who you are.”

Swish, swish.

A man in a black suit walked out of the darkness.

Wearing a helmet slightly different from a motorcycle helmet, like a rider’s helmet sold at Haegneul, the man with black gloves slowly revealed himself from the darkness.

“Long time no see, Taejo.”

[…….]

“There’s no one else in Korea who can manipulate metal so well besides you, right?”

[It’s quite tiring to be recognized just by using an ability. Being famous has its drawbacks.]

Flash!

A burst of orange light exploded in the air.

The light shot up to the ceiling and stuck to the wall, soon bathing the entire cavity in an orange hue, illuminating the interior brightly.

[If you’ve defected, you should live quietly in your own country. Why come all the way to Korea to steal resources?]

“Oh my. Isn’t this North Korean land?”

[Are you uneducated? This land has been Korean territory for a very long time. The North illegally occupied it.]

“It’s better not to learn such things through brainwashing education.”

[Tsk. This conversation is going nowhere.]

“You didn’t come here to talk, did you?”

Cheonma interlaced her fingers and stretched them forward, while Rasputin stepped out beside her, extending both arms to his sides.

“Do you think you can handle us both?”

[What nonsense is that, from someone who isn’t even S-class.]

“…Still an arrogant brat.”

Buzz.

The blue crystals emanating from Rasputin’s hands began to take shape.

“Let’s see if you can still talk like that after being crushed by me. Huh? I’m looking forward to seeing the mighty Taejo cry.”

The ether-glowing crystal looked like a long club.

Its end had a sinister shape, difficult to describe in words.

[Sorry, but I’m more about making others cry than crying myself.]

Taejo tilted his head from side to side, then stretched his hand forward.

[I’ll let you make the first move.]

Pow!

No sooner had Cheonma and Rasputin disappeared from their spots than the battle of the S-classes began.

[Oppa. That guy seems to be imitating you.]

[Imitating me?]

[He’s like Goblin Mk.2. The way he talks and his lines are all similar to Dodjirider.]

[…Maybe.]

Just as he was feeling a sense of déjà vu, Taejo became Taejo Rider, provoking Cheonma and Rasputin.

[There are more enemies than expected. Shouldn’t we go support them?]

Yumir’s concerned voice echoed in his ear.

Facing so many ability users, including two S-classes, with just Taejo and two A-classes seemed like a daunting task.

[While the S-classes are engaged, the other A-classes are tied up with the other A-classes over there.]

[That’s right.]

[Then, in the meantime, won’t all those gold chunks… be taken away?]

Crack!!

The entire cavity turned into a battlefield.

Taejo faced Cheonma and Rasputin, while Giparang and Sangeo-Gung fought the A-classes from China and Russia.

And in the meantime, ability users, estimated to be around E-class, wielded magic-infused shovels, hacking at the gold vein.

Thud, thud.

The bright gold chunks fell away as easily as tofu.

Even though it’s gold, and no matter how soft the iron in the shovel was, it posed no problem for an ability user who infused ‘mana’ into the shovel and enhanced their body with mana.

If they didn’t clear this up quickly and chase them away, all that gold would be smuggled overseas.

[It’s okay. There’s one dangerous enemy, but we have enough power to handle it.]

[Is the dangerous one Cheonma?]

[Yes.]

A woman who was purely an S-class within Korea.

In other words, someone beyond Taejo’s S-class baseline.

[Rasputin was below Taejo. It was only after she went to Russia and got the name Rasputin that she was classified as S-class. In Korea, she would be considered A+ class.]

[But she could have gotten stronger since then. Rasputin is one of the top three in Russia. And if she’s teaming up with Cheonma….]

[It looks disadvantageous for Taejo.]

On the surface.

In a situation where battle was imminent, Yumir seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Taejo getting hurt or dying after showing his other side.

Like attracts like, and birds of a feather flock together.

No matter how Canadian she was, Yumir was now almost half Korean.

[Yumir. Being S-class is ultimately determined by the Hero Association, right?]

[Yes?]

[That judgment is based on overall combat ability, including the ability to save people as a hero. But there’s one aspect that’s not measured.]

Something that could not be openly discussed in the light.

[Lethality.]