Third Liberation (3)

“The school festival scheduled to be held this October has been cancelled.”

“Ah, Jesus!”

“Teacher, please!”

“We endured this dog-like training because we were looking forward to that!”

Tuesday, the end of the class. Siara Bertrand’s sudden announcement left the students in despair. Shinyoung, who held the most magnificent festival among all superhuman training schools, had officially canceled this year’s festival.

“…Instead, you will be entering a battle training period. In the future, there will also be more gate practice.”

“Gate practice?”

“We’ll be entering real gates, instead of using virtual gates in the gym?” There would always be a risk if the gate were real. Naturally, it required a lot of preparation to allow students to enter a gate compared to superhumans or mercenaries to ensure their safety.

“Is that saying that the lower-level gates will be left to the students, since there are too many for the mercenaries?” New gates had been forming at an alarming rate since the Paris incident. It was as if the monsters had begun an all-out war to reduce the realm of humanity to ashes. All armed groups, including the Superhuman Association, we’re responding with full force. In particular, Vanguard (now the number three guild worldwide after the incident with Oh Joo-young) was running around particularly vigorously under Dane Brook’s leadership to regain their authority.

“Oh, come to think of it…”

“These days, the gates have increased so much that the market is oversaturated with monster parts, according to my dad.”

“The association and the guilds are pressuring schools to take care of the lower-grade gates so they can reduce the damage…”

“Everyone, the school doesn’t like students who are quick to notice but useless in a fight.” However, it wasn’t really bad news for the students who were sick of the rotation between virtual gate practice, physical fitness and skill training, and the competition between students.

“Then, would we ever go in without a teacher?”

“It is difficult for only teachers to accommodate each group of students, so like before, we will be receiving support from the guilds. They will supply supervisors for the class.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just have them clear the gates?”

“Not in the long term… you will be dealing with several gates.” Thus declared the world’s best superhuman training institution.

“The details will be delivered tomorrow. For the time being, concentrate on your writing and practical classes. Three days a week, you will be conducting gate practice, and for the other two, you will continue as you are.”

“Will we receive compensation?”

“The basic rewards for the gate will be distributed according to your contribution.” Siara Bertrand had a twinkle in her eyes as she answered.

“You will be treated like official superhumans.”

“Oooh!” It may have been a sudden measure based on an emergency, but it was undeniable that gate practice would lead to rapid growth. Added to that was the opportunity to earn money like a proper superhuman, making this opportunity to participate in gate practice a welcome sight.

“It’s an opportunity to make your name known to the world. There’s no doubt that the third years are envious of you for this. With that in mind, take advantage of this chance to learn everything you can.”

“It would be nice if we could skip the practical and writing classes and only devote ourselves to the gates…”

“That won’t be possible. We are sending you out to the gates despite your lack of preparation. The teachers are planning on putting their all into the two days of classes you will have.”

“That’s great news…” The students’ enthusiasm was shot down.

***

Kang Shin-hyuk headed to his club room after listening to Siara Bertrand’s shocking declaration. He had already been attacking gates with the status of Shin Eun-hyuk and had long since stopped feeling the burden of classes, so he wasn’t particularly moved by the announcement. Rather, today was the day he planned to complete the pair of gloves.

“Senior… what are you doing?” Opening the door to the club room, Lee Na-hee stood in the center of the room, muttering strange words with her eyes half open and her arms outstretched. Nearby, Lee Manwoo was reading a newspaper while ignoring her, making the entire scene feel surreal.

“Practicing with my trait.”

“You’re getting bored working every day?”

“Combat, not production.” Lee Na-hee responded seriously. Indeed, it wasn’t just the first years who would be challenging the gates. She must’ve heard the same announcement earlier.

“So, what the hell is this practice?”

“I’m practicing to instantly manifest my trait. I think it would be better to reinforce artifacts rather than myself directly. For that, what matters is the time it takes for my trait to manifest.” Admittedly, for production, the time it would take didn’t really matter. But in a combat situation, even a delay of a tenth of a second could result in your death. She seemed to be fully engaged in training to get rid of that delay.

“So, is it going well?”

“It was going well, but then everything was ruined because of you.”

“Why me?”

“I can’t concentrate since you suddenly showed up.” Lee Na-hee’s temper flared slightly as she sat down. Only then did Lee Manwoo fold up his newspaper and look over at Kang Shin-hyuk.

“If you’re going to make something with Na-hee, will you let me know why you were doing it secretly?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Hmm, I know roughly…” Kang Shin-hyuk felt his heart sink.

“Hey, I’m the one who saw you the first time you picked up a hammer. My eyes aren’t so bad that I can’t recognize your craftsmanship… honestly, even the name Shin Eun-hyuk is a bit too easy.” Yes, he had been caught.

“I’ve no intention of blabbering about it, so rest assured. There are so many things I want to ask though… haah…”

“Haha.” Considering that he was ranked fifth internationally under that name, Lee Manwoo’s reaction was pretty tame. Kang Shin-hyuk could only laugh in amazement at Lee Manwoo, who cleared his throat awkwardly before he continued.

“Also… thank you for protecting Na-hee in Paris. It would’ve been dangerous if it weren’t for you.”

“She was holding on just fine without me.”

“This as well…” Lee Manwoo took out the business cards given to Na-hee and spread them out on the table.

“I’ve properly applied my stamp to them. It’ll be easy to talk about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you want to, you’re ready to trade your armaments with them.”

“Seriously?” Six of the business cards were for guilds in the world’s top ten, yet Lee Manwoo was saying that they could make a deal with such people. Kang Shin-hyuk was taken aback.

“I used my name. It seems like it is still worth something.”

“No hesitation…”

“The important thing is that you won’t have to go through the hassle of selling your work. It’s an annoying process, so I’m just helping you skip that part.” Kang Shin-hyuk was familiar with struggling hard to prove himself as qualified for Shinyoung, so he could understand what Lee Manwoo meant. He nodded silently.

“If you had abandoned metallurgy to devote yourself to combat, I wouldn’t have bothered. But I made up my mind after seeing all of this. Just make whatever you like, I will choose the right connection for you.” Then the work could be sold at the proper value. Lee Manwoo recovered the business cards and stowed them away. It sounded so natural at first, but in fact, things in this world weren’t so easy. His reputation carried a heavy weight to it, whereas Kang Shin-hyuk was still considered a rookie. Adults were more likely to disparage his work and belittle him to lower the price. Lee Manwoo had set himself as a shield, however, to protect them from such an eventuality. Using his name to lead Kang Shin-hyuk to his own fame and authority in a short amount of time had been what Lee Manwoo was planning from the start.

‘Not bad… rather, I owe him one.’ Kang Shin-hyuk began to recall the conversation he had with Halo as he listened to his teacher. What had he said? That the armaments created by Shin-hyuk changed the world. They gave birth to many monsters, but at the same time destroyed many more. That was why he had to make them. He sympathized with Anvil, who was determined to devote himself to metallurgy as a way to protect humanity and change the world. However, if the armaments he created were sold only to the Hero Universe, it would be difficult to change the Earth.

‘It’s the world I live in. If I’m going to protect anything, I need to start with Earth first.’ It was so natural that it felt odd he had taken so long to reach that conclusion. Perhaps it was because the Hero Universe was the only way for him to understand the truth, so he had become obsessed with it. But from the start, his products could be sold in another place. From now on, he would trade the weapons he created on Earth as well as in the Hero Universe.

“Teacher, thank you for your care.”

“What do you think?”

“It must have been a lot of trouble, so thank you.”

“Alright, make sure to work hard.”

“I will. Then, I will leave the selling to you.”

“Leave it to me.” Lee Manwoo stood up.

“The gloves you’re making are for you, right? Are you going to start with the next one?”

“Yes? Oh, no.” Kang Shin-hyuk shook his head.

“I made mine, so next is Na-hee’s.”

Only

“Huh?!” Lee Na-hee, who had been listening from the side, suddenly jerked her head up.

“This is the first I’m hearing about it!”

“You have the ability to reinforce artifacts, but you didn’t think about creating a new one?”

“Uh, that… well…” Lee Na-hee blushed and hesitated, then finally bowed her head.

“Hahah.”

“Grandpa, shut up.”

“Then, I’m counting on you.” Lee Manwoo left, leaving the two in the workshop. They got to work as if nothing had happened, except for a slight smile on Lee Na-hee’s lips.

An hour later, the new thread gloves had been completed.