I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

Before we knew it, the calendar had flipped to May, and a lot had transpired since the year began.

April, in particular, witnessed a significant event known as the ‘Duoexini Situation’. Following this, members of Zenros were partially abducted by an unidentified group called the ‘Sephiroth Knights’.

Many people either died or disappeared.

It was difficult for people to talk about the deaths, but when the entity known as Dark Charisma emerged, kidnapping individuals from a convoy under the protection of two S-class heroes, silence was no longer an option.

Where had our hundred billion won hero vanished to?

One hundred billion won a month.

It’s a symbolic figure.

It’s symbolic in many ways, starting with the number 1.

Moreover, this hundred billion, totaling 1.2 trillion annually, wasn’t just any sum of money. It flowed into the national treasury as ‘taxes’, meaning whoever was accountable for this amount must certainly justified their role.

Has anyone seen Gwang Ik Gong since last Christmas?

The man hailed as Korea’s S-class hero and the strongest globally hasn’t made a public appearance.

He’s also been absent from official government events, with only Snow White being seen regularly. For some reason, Gwang Ik Gong has kept to himself and became reclusive.

However, he made sure to show up when it was absolutely necessary.

In 2024, when an S+ class demon emerged from the direction of North Korea and other S-class heroes were being overwhelmed, he suddenly appeared and elegantly dispatched the demon with a single stroke.

Even before that, in 2022, he effortlessly defeated three S-class heroes from another country using just a golden sword.

Consequently, the internet was abuzz with comments criticizing Gwang Ik Gong for his absence, while others argued that such behavior was uncharacteristic of him.

“Seol-hee, do you keep in touch with Gwang Ik Gong?”

“No, not really.”

“I thought so. He doesn’t use a smartphone, doesn’t wear a Taeguk Watch—an analog human born in the millennium era. He still uses a feature phone, so he doesn’t text much either.”

The chairman and Baek Seol-hee entered the association’s internal elevator together.

“I wasn’t sure if I could get in touch either. It was the same before, and it’s the same now.”

Beep, beep, beep.

“I always feel sorry for you, Seol-hee. Because Gwang Ik Gong doesn’t come out, you’ve had to continue being active externally.”

“It’s okay. Well, it would be nice if the number one hero would appear at national events more often.”

“That’s quite a pointed remark.”

After entering something like a password, the elevator buttons changed color, and the elevator began to descend.

“He just didn’t want to go out until last year. You could criticize Gwang Ik Gong for that.”

“Is it different this year?”

“Yes. There’s a secret that only the president, I, and Gwang Ik Gong’s aide know about that the other S-classes don’t.”

Thud.

The elevator goes down deeper than the basement of the association building.

The chairman took off his sunglasses, wiped them with his sleeve, and hardened his expression as if preparing for something.

“People don’t know. Nobody knows. I’m telling you this, Seol-hee, because we don’t know how the situation will unfold from here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You might have to step up as Korea’s number one S-class hero publicly.”

Thud.

The elevator stopped.

As soon as the chairman moved forward, lights started to come on in the long corridor.

Flash.

A long passage in the basement appeared.

Baek Seol-hee wasn’t scared just because they had descended into the basement, but the chairman swallowed his saliva and tensed up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Whew. Really, coming down here feels like hell every time.”

“There’s not… a grave here, is there?”

“Who knows.”

The chairman chuckled and moved forward.

“It might already be the grave of the dead.”

“Chairman, stop beating around the bush and just tell me. Don’t act your age.”

“…….”

The chairman suddenly froze as he walked forward.

“Damn. Even though you’re older, don’t talk like the young people these days, okay? Back in my day, if you saw a game or something, the village elders would leisurely tell you about the village legends.”

“Skip.”

“Damn, back then, there wasn’t even a skip button for conversations.”

“Then please tell me quickly. At double speed.”

“Back then, without fast forward, you had to wait for the voice playback to finish!”

The chairman pointed to the end of the corridor, visibly irritated.

“Yeah, you want it in that trendy style of the young people nowadays? A simple three-line summary?”

“Good that we understand each other.”

“Tch… When you have a kid, I’ll tell them all about how their mom used to nag their uncle like this.”

“More like a grandfather by then, Chairman.”

“Really, you… Sigh. You think you won’t age.”

“Because I’m an ability user, I’ll maintain this appearance even as I age.”

“Tsck.”

The door, resembling a bunker, was filled with locks, and the chairman extended his Taeguk watch towards it.

“Yeah, aging would be a relief. Just as long as I don’t get younger.”

“…….”

“Let me summarize Gwang Ik Gong’s current situation in three sentences.”

Creeeak.

A heavy door, several centimeters thick, opened.

“Gwang Ik Gong was seriously injured fighting a demon last December.”

“…You don’t say.”

“And as a result.”

As the door opened, a normal house appeared inside the bunker.

“This happened.”

“…….”

Inside the bunker.

“…Uh, hello. I’m Gwang Ik Gong’s son.”

“Gwang Ik Gong is 23 years old, what are you talking about? Hey, Kim Jin-ho. That’s you, right?”

“……Uh, yeah.”

A small boy, with blond hair and golden eyes, resembling a kindergarten student, was holding a wine glass, wearing pajamas.

“Why did you suddenly bring this sister here? Big brother.”

“Sob… You’re the only one who calls me brother.”

“Stop filming this melodrama and tell me what’s happening now?”

As Baek Seol-hee’s voice grew cold, the boy - Kim Jin-ho - coughed and pointed at himself.

“It’s nothing big, just died and came back to life.”

“……?”

“This isn’t a human body anymore.”

Kim Jin-ho inserted his hand into his other arm.

“Yikes…?!”

“I’m not a ghost. Something like a ghost, but for now, I’m maintaining my form with magic power.”

“What, what’s going on…?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I died and came back to life.”

Kim Jin-ho spoke nonchalantly as he sipped his wine.

“Now, I’m a land spirit of the Korean peninsula. That’s what happened.”

“Is this also an ability? Whose ability is it?”

“Well, that’s…”

“The Chief of Yi Maengmangnyang.”

The chairman pointed at the blurred, ghost-like Kim Jin-ho with a complicated expression.

“The Chief brought this guy back to life.”

December 20, 2024.

Gwang Ik Gong Kim Jin-ho died.

“The Goblin begged the Chief to save him, and that’s how he came back to life.”

“…The Goblin, why?”

“That’s…”

Came back to life.

“Don’t know.”

“Gwang Ik Gong Kim Jin-ho is dead. He’s gone. But he continues to live as a land spirit.”

“Excuse me. No matter what abilities exist, resurrection seems a bit much, doesn’t it?”

As soon as the current state of Gwang Ik Gong was explained, Yumir immediately became serious.

“Teacher, your jokes aren’t funny. It’s impossible for the world’s strongest hero to have died. Right now.”

“The ‘impossible’ you’re talking about…”

“It can’t exist in this world! I know!! I’m aware, but still, there are limits!!”

Yumir started to get angry.

“So, turning a demon back into a human makes sense?”

“That’s not what I mean! Death is the end! Once you’re dead!”

“Right. Death is the end. Normally, you can’t come back to life.”

Resurrection with a magic card from the grave was something out of a card game; if it were to happen in reality, the world would be in shock.

“We can make it possible.”

“…….”

“However, not just anyone can be resurrected. Even if resurrected, they remain as spirits, not fully brought back to life. It’s akin to the work of an exorcist, bringing back the soul.”

“My goodness. What kind of organization is the Secret Society?”

“All-powerful, yet still lacking the physical time to suppress all of humanity’s ugly desires worldwide.”

Given enough time, the Secret Society would eventually unify the world under one rule.

It’s just a matter of whether that time will be in one year, five years, or more.

And it’s physically uncertain whether this could be achieved before the year changed or before someone, mentally broken, decided to crash a meteorite into Earth.

“But why did Gwang Ik Gong die? There must have been a reason.”

“He was murdered while fighting an S-class demon on the opposite side of the Earth, in a place unknown to anyone.”

“Why?”

“Due to a lack of magical power.”

“When did this happen… Why didn’t I know? It seems like I haven’t even seen any hints of this.”

“Of course, it was a quiet war that went unnoticed by anyone.”

On the other side of the world.

A quiet, bloody battle took place in an unknown location, where no fewer than 17 S-class individuals gathered to kill and be killed.

“7 S+ class demons. 10 S-class ability users. Regardless of being heroes or villains, they all rushed in with the determination to kill all the demons.”

“……I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It was handled quietly and progressed without anyone knowing. If it had been made public, the world would still be in chaos. Well, it’s been resolved and is in the past now, so it’s not that important.”

“What were you doing at that time?”

“I fought alongside them. I cracked open the heads of two S+ class demons.”

“…….”

“What are you looking at? Oh, right. I almost died. But I’m alive. That’s what matters.”

It happened last year.

It’s important, but what mattered now was its current impact.

“Anyway, Kim Jin-ho died back then. Now, he exists as a land spirit and can only emerge ‘when his life is truly at stake.’ Using magic power means using willpower, which in turn means using one’s own existence.”

“Mana is life force?”

“Yes. Once the mana is depleted, you truly die. The soul disintegrates.”

“……My goodness.”

Yumir’s expression hardened.

“So, he doesn’t appear, and the Secret Society operates like this in Korea because…”

“Gwang Ik Gong was saved. Though only as a soul.”

“…….”

“The Secret Society, you see, has infiltrated more places around the world than you might think. Somewhere, an S-class hero could actually be a member of the Secret Society. Not in Korea, though.”

“So, there are members in other countries.”

“Exactly.”

Typical Yumir.

It felt rewarding to hint at something and have her immediately catch on.

“Kim Jin-ho is the only one who came back from the dead.”

“But, why save him? There’s no reason for you to save a man. Maybe a woman, but…”

“You think if I were a woman, I would’ve definitely saved him?”

“Yes.”

That’s a prejudice, a slander.

I wasn’t some kind of nymph.

“Why are you asking if I saved a dark-skinned man?”

“Yes.”

“I heard his last wish by his side. …Yumir. You absolutely, under no circumstances, can talk about this anywhere. It’s more serious than Do Ji-hwan being a Goblin, more serious than Gwang Ik Gong dying and becoming a spirit. Got it?”

“……What is it?”

Yumir perked up her ears, and I whispered the secret into her ear.

Whisper, whisper.

“……!!”

“Since he was young, he fought villains as a hero, lived like a dog for the country, and in the end, he fought one-on-one with an S+ class demon for the Earth and humanity, ending in mutual destruction. After hearing his last wish, I felt like this.”

The reason I asked the Chief to save Gwang Ik Gong.

“Just.”

It was.

“He was a really good and just guy. Even though he died.”

Simply, out of pity.

“He seemed so pitiful and tragic.”

A hero who dedicated his life to the country and the world died like that.

“Yes.”

“It was out of sympathy.”

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