Chapter 15
I looked back and forth between the two Baek Hamins and let out a hollow laugh. They looked so identical that even I, who could read the unique flow each individual possessed, couldn't tell who was real.
[Would you like to view information?]
I pinched the soft cheek of the fake Baek Hamin and nodded.
[Awakener: Baek? Ha? Min?]
Age: 7
Skill: Vegetation
Status Effect: Mirror, Mirror, Who's More Real? (S)
Duration: 11:42:02....]
A mirror? I slipped my hand into the fake Baek Hamin's side and examined various parts of his body. Was that strange feeling I had earlier because of this kid?
"Uncle?"
My admiration burst out at the sight of him tilting his head with the exact same expression as Baek Hamin.
Wow, truly indistinguishable.
I could understand why Yang Jihwan had talked about mimics back then. If someone deliberately brought a kid like this with proper intent, anyone would be fooled into opening the gates of Baekwoo Guild.
But wait, why are they trying so hard for a kids' test? Using such elaborate illusion techniques in an Academy test? At this level, it seemed like an artifact must have been used....
"Excuse me, Hunter Seong Dohyeon."
While I was admiring the fake Baek Hamin clinging to my neck just like the real one would, Jeon Jiyoon approached and signaled me to put the fake Baek Hamin down.
Ah, right.
No other hunter was allowed to intervene while a test was in progress. I had jumped in without thinking because something felt off, but the test wasn't over yet.
"Hunter Seong Dohyeon!"
Unlike me, who quickly put down the fake Baek Hamin at the teacher's shout, Baek Eunseong was holding the real Baek Hamin as if he were some sacred relic. Baek Hamin, snug in his embrace, was glaring at the fake Baek Hamin clinging to my leg.
Wait, how did Baek Eunseong know which one was real?
I could do it because of my ability, but.... Don't tell me Baek Eunseong is also a fake? The moment I examined him with suspicion, I noticed a unique pulse flowing from Baek Hamin's neck toward Baek Eunseong. Well, it's probably some sort of anti-loss device for kids?
"Hunter Baek Eunseong! Put down Hunter Baek Hamin right now!"
When the bespectacled teacher shouted strictly, another teacher stepped forward to intervene.
"No, Hunter Choi Jihyeon. It's already too late. Hunter Baek Eunseong, Hunter Baek Hamin is disqualified. You should have known that the moment a student taking the test makes contact with another person, that student is disqualified, regardless of the reason."
After finishing his words, he glanced at me. It was a look that seemed to beg for help. Why are they asking me for help when they should solve their own problems? I shrugged indifferently and pretended not to notice.
"Disqualified...."
Baek Eunseong, trailing off, reached out toward the fake Baek Hamin hovering at my feet. The Baek Hamin who had run over to him pitter-patter and the Baek Hamin who had been in his arms—Baek Eunseong scooped up both Baek Hamins securely and laughed with downcast eyes.
I could see the teachers swallowing dryly as they watched Baek Eunseong laughing quietly. That guy is only smiling with his mouth. His eyes weren't smiling at all. I covered my mouth, feeling nauseous from the visibly surging flow of Baek Eunseong's energy. The ground was shaking because Baek Eunseong couldn't contain his anger.
Good grief, the nephew turns his surroundings into a jungle when he's angry, and this uncle causes earthquakes. I steadied my dizzy head from the motion sickness and then shook my bracelet.
[Command of the Heavens]
As the clear chime of a bell echoed, the earthquake subsided. Unlike the other teachers who were half-collapsed on the ground, the strict teacher who had been insisting on the rules earlier didn't seem dizzy at all and stood straight as he shouted.
"If you intervene in an official test like this, we have no choice but to disqualify you!"
At the strict teacher's words, Baek Eunseong calmly looked down at the real Baek Hamin's knee with gleaming eyes. Blood was flowing from his knee, though it was unclear when he had been injured.
"You call this a test...?"
"Of course!"
I looked at the strict teacher and took a couple of steps back. That guy Baek Eunseong, his voice sounded normal, but his eyes had completely lost it.
Isn't this going to drag me in and get me seriously hurt too?
Just then, as the ground that had briefly quieted began to shake again, I raised my left hand and gently shook the bell once more.
[Command of the Heavens]
With the ringing sound, the continuous tremor seemed to subside a little. Baek Eunseong blinked and looked at me.
"Put him down. We need to test the kid."
At my words, he looked once at the two Baek Hamins clinging to each other, and once around the test room. The trembling of the ground had subsided, but Baek Eunseong still seemed uneasy and didn't put the child down.
That was the moment.
A teacher who had been hiding in the back the whole time suddenly jumped out and shouted with a flushed face.
"Don't tell me you're suspecting that we intentionally exposed Hunter Baek Hamin to danger, Hunter Baek Eunseong?"
"Hmm."
I crossed my arms and observed the teacher closely. Actually, there was no need to observe closely. Shaking pupils, rapid breathing, and a fluctuating flow. It was the reaction of someone lying, no matter who looked at it.
Good lord, what do you mean "don't tell me"? They totally did it. They're getting defensive because it hit a nerve.
I looked at the teacher confronting Baek Eunseong, then shifted my gaze to Baek Kyeongmin sitting in the guardian seats. The Academy had nothing to gain from injuring Baek Hamin, so after all, was this ordered by Baek Jiseong?
It was obvious without even looking that if Baek Hamin performed outstandingly in today's test, Baek Kyeongmin's position would shrink.
'That guy definitely took bribes....'
I stared at the training dummy crouching behind the teacher. It was that test dummy that had been bothering me for a while.
If the intensity of the flow from the dummy Do Yudam had faced was 1, what I felt from the dummy Baek Hamin had to face was close to 100. Baek Hamin himself was... about 45?
Baek Hamin was an impressive S-rank, but he was still a seven-year-old child. Even a seasoned hunter wouldn't easily overcome that level of disparity. Numerically speaking, it was like giving a boss monster quest to a newbie who had just created a character and jumped into the field.
If Baek Eunseong hadn't intervened... it wouldn't have ended with just a scraped knee. He would have definitely been hurt much worse.
Baek Eunseong must have also caught on to Baek Jiseong's scheme, as he wore a twisted smile while glaring at the teacher who was treating him like an overprotective parent—the one who seemed to have taken bribes from Baek Jiseong. Avoiding that gaze, the teacher continued speaking with a desperate intensity.
"Hunter Baek Eunseong, you went through a major incident recently, so... I understand, but this is a bit too much."
"Too much, you say."
"Of course it's too much. In a test that's supposed to proceed based on the test-taker's standards, two S-rank hunters suddenly barged in. Don't tell me you thought your own nephew couldn't even pass something like this, Hunter Baek Eunseong?"
"Haha."
I watched Baek Eunseong laughing with a menacing aura and the bribe-taking teacher, then clicked my tongue inwardly.
If you got caught doing something wrong, you should apologize and grovel. Who do you think you are to raise your voice?
I looked at Baek Hamin, who was sniffling with his injured knee left untreated, and cracked my neck from side to side. I only did some light stretching, but perhaps because it was an S-rank hunter's body, the popping sounds echoed rather threateningly throughout the test room.
I looked around at the gazes focused on me and shrugged.
"Baek Eunseong."
I blew my bangs out of my face and approached Baek Eunseong. The real Baek Hamin, on the verge of tears, reached out to me and wiggled his fingers. I took the real Baek Hamin from him and pulled Baek Eunseong back.
"That's enough."
At my words, the teachers brightened and looked at me.
It was publicly known that 'Seong Dohyeon' disliked Baek Eunseong, so the teachers naturally assumed I was taking their side and were delighted.
No, why do they only know one thing and not the other? During that damn kidnapping incident last time, I was the one who rescued and protected Baek Eunseong's nephew, Baek Hamin.
"Whatever. Is this the only Academy?"
It was the only one.
"Do you need to receive education from a place like this?"
If you wanted to live as a hunter, you absolutely had to.
As I boldly made unreasonable claims, the teachers looked at me with bewildered faces.
"No, Hunter Seong Dohyeon."
"Enough. Since I can't get through to you people, call the center director here."
I beckoned to Kang Yeongchan, who was sitting far away.
Kang Yeongchan, the center director who oversaw both the center and the Academy, burst into hearty laughter from far away, having watched the situation unfold from heaven knows when.
Despite Jeon Jiyoon's attempts to stop him, Kang Yeongchan stood up and reached me in just two steps.
"So, why did you call this old man?"
"I have one thing I'm curious about."
I held up the guide booklet that had been distributed at the Academy entrance.
"Disqualification if receiving help from another hunter during the test. Disqualified hunters cannot take the test for one year from the date of the exam. The test difficulty is determined according to the hunter's potential.... I understand all of that."
"Right."
"Why is there no guideline for what happens when a hunter gets injured during a test?"
At my question, Kang Yeongchan looked back at the teachers.
"Why isn't there one?"
"Pardon?"
I asked the strict teacher with a mocking tone.
"Don't tell me you were planning to brush it off with something like 'well, you can get hurt during tests'? When you explicitly wrote that difficulty is determined by potential? Isn't it your fault for failing to properly adjust the difficulty?"
"Normally, there's no chance of getting hurt during a test...."
"Normally they don't get hurt? Then what about Baek Hamin over there bleeding from his knee?"
"Well, that's...."
"How are you going to take responsibility? Can't you see Hunter Baek Eunseong is angry right now?"
I put my hands on my hips and strained every vein in my neck.
They were the ones who treated me like a troublemaker first. Then I should live up to their expectations.
...Strictly speaking, the one who was wronged wasn't me but Baek Eunseong. But so what?