I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

May 14th.

The day of the final showdown had arrived.

The internet was abuzz with debates about whether the Goblin would show up or not. However, for the students, their own attendance was more significant than the uncertain appearance of the Goblin.

“This time, I’ll definitely upgrade my rank!”

Each ability user was assigned a rank.

These ranks were evaluated by the branches of the Hero Association in various countries, and this rank determined an ability user’s value.

It could be likened to a soccer player’s salary, a ‘spec’ in itself, assessed when one steps out of Sejong Academy and into the field.

To raise this, objective achievements were needed, but how many such opportunities could there be on Sejong Island?

None.

This year, however, due to the strange entity known as Duoexini, villains and demons have been appearing more frequently, although this was usually quite rare.

One might wonder if Duoexini had been quietly active before, but such complex issues were not for students to worry about.

What’s important to the students was one thing:

To raise their rank, build their reputation.

And to prove they are stronger than anyone else.

As such, today’s event was not to be missed.

Of course.

For Yumir, who had absolutely no interest in raising her ability rank, or had interest but no immediate thoughts on it, it wasn’t very important.

What she was interested in was how vast this athletic field called the “Grand Sports Festival” could be.

The space, seemingly larger than a Major League baseball stadium, had dozens of square platforms raised, which looked unmistakably like ‘training grounds’ where each team member would battle.

The Grand Sports Festival was indeed serious.

Yumir climbed onto the training ground assigned to her team—Grade E, Team 2, and she gasped as sparkling white walls emerged between the training grounds.

[Ah, please refrain from touching the ice walls carelessly. They are magical barriers that separate each preliminary arena, but we hope you won’t touch them needlessly to avoid getting hurt.]

As the saying goes, forbidden fruit was sweet, but no one dared to touch the safety walls created by an S-class.

Just fascinating.

Yumir found it fascinating to witness this massive combat competition, dubbed an athletic festival, firsthand.

Thus, she was unaware.

Why people were so enthusiastic about ‘riders’.

And how that enthusiasm manifested itself.

“Wow.”

Yumir scanned all the Grade E students assigned to her team.

In this battle royale format, 10 students formed a team, but only two would survive the preliminary round.

Unless it involved killing or intentionally causing fatalities, bringing one’s favorite weapon or wearing a costume was a matter of personal freedom.

But what was this?

The overwhelming ratio of ‘riders’.

Among the 10 team members, including Yumir, the only one wearing the standard academy uniform was Yumir herself.

That was, 9 members had shown up in their own rider outfits.

Some were dressed in the academy uniform with just a motorcycle helmet, while others, similar to Dodjirider, were decked out in rider gear from head to toe.

Even more, about three were wearing rider suits with ‘Haegneul’ printed on them, making Yumir wonder if she too should become such a rider.

“Ha, haha….”

Even looking at other teams, the situation was the same.

Not just the teams with Grade E students, but there, Grade C and B students were also waiting for the Grand Sports Festival preliminaries to start, dressed somewhat like riders.

“How could there be so many riders in one place?”

“It’s a trend.”

A girl dressed in a more armored, tactical outfit, somewhat different from the other riders, approached Yumir.

“We call them riders for convenience, but the official term is ‘powered suits’. ‘Rider’ might be familiar to the people of this country, but we’re more accustomed to the latter.”

“…Master Chief?”

“Yes.”

With her orange visor sparkling, the girl raised her gauntlet.

“Is that real iron?”

“Yes, it’s fine. No one in Grade E will die from being hit by a steel gauntlet.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Since we’re both from America, let me give you a piece of advice.”

The female student lifted her visor.

“Concede the moment the bell rings. This place will soon become a battlefield.”

Though the voice belonged to the female student, the face revealed behind the visor was that of a valiant warrior.

“One who does not fight in the battlefield has no need to step into the ring. Knowing your place and stepping down can also be a wise choice.”

“…Really? Hmm, what to do.”

If she dropped out now, she could just go down to the spectator seats and watch.

She might get teased for being a first-round dropout, but that’s not a big deal.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good. That’s the spirit. Just like a woman who hangs out with ordinary Koreans.”

“…Huh? What did you say?”

“I’ve heard about you, Yumir. You barely attend classes and visit the librarian’s house every evening, right? Hmm, aiming for maternity leave? It’s unfortunate. If only you had targeted another ability user instead of an ordinary Korean man.”

“…….”

“If it were me, I would have clung to a man with a higher ability rank. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say this to a weak Canadian mosquito who doesn’t even fight in the battlefield?”

“Are you saying I’m a woman who’s leeching off the blood of a man I have something going on with?”

“Lucky for you, you catch on quick.”

[Starting the countdown. 10, 9, 8….]

The bell rings loudly.

Several people clung to a giant iron bell, reaching several meters in height, and rang it.

“Hmm. What to do. I was just going to back out modestly.”

“What? Haha, that’s amusing. You are-”

“Maybe Grade D would be okay.”

[3]

“Transform.”

“What?”

[2]

“Rider.”

“You, you can’t be…!”

[1]

“Kick.”

Deeeeng.

As the bell rang, a ‘blue’ magical power sparkled at the tip of Yumir’s foot.

“Patriotic Side Cutter!”

Kwaaaang!!

Simultaneously with Yumir’s attack.

“Rider Punch!”

“Rider Splash!!”

“Damn, is everyone a rider now?! Guys, I’m not a rider, I’m a Ranger!”

“Final Mask Rideeeee!!”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Everywhere, Rider Kicks began to fly.

“There are too many riders.”

“You think so too?”

“This really seems like a problem.”

Watching the Grand Sports Festival preliminaries unfold on TV with Brewer, I felt somewhat embarrassed.

“A battle royale among riders.”

“Riders? Call them ability users. Not all ability users are riders.”

“But look at Yumir. She’s wearing a non-rider costume, but the technique she uses is that of a rider.”

Yumir slightly revealed her abilities with the Patriotic Side Cutter.

Whether she wanted to elevate her position from simply being Grade E, she continued her attacks, making her power shine in the same blue color as her eyes, indicating she might be around Grade D.

[Rider Punch!]

Why add ‘rider’ in front of a simple punch?

[Rider Kick!]

“Damn, Rider Kick is supposed to be a finishing move. You’re not supposed to throw it out in rapid succession like that.”

“Are you giving advice? Saying that’s not how you use a Rider Kick? Then why don’t you go down there and show them how it’s done?”

“It’s not the right time yet.”

It’s still just the preliminaries.

“We have a long way to go. Until Hayabusa shows up.”

Through Yumir, the student council, and according to the academy’s plan, there’s a special event prepared after the A-grade finals are over.

“The person who wins the A-grade finals gets a chance to fight with Hayabusa.”

“What? Is that even possible? Hayabusa has no reason to fight in the first place.”

“Iseon convinced Hayabusa.”

“How?”

“In a way that no Korean can resist.”

I checked on Hayabusa again, a girl in a sailor uniform sitting demurely in the VIP seats.

“If Hayabusa fights against an A-grade, she’ll obviously win, right? But what if the Goblin doesn’t show up? Then…”

“It ends with Japan winning?”

“If the Goblin is Korean, it’s a situation that can’t be tolerated. Hayabusa agreed. If the Goblin doesn’t show up, it’s all about crushing the pride of the Korean A-grade to prove the dignity of an S-grade.”

“Yeah, if the Goblin doesn’t show up, it’s going to hurt Korean pride.”

“Exactly. Things are starting to wrap up quickly.”

The preliminaries progressed faster than expected.

Since everyone was fighting with all their might, there were no drawn-out battles of waiting or measuring each other up, and everyone fiercely unleashed their finishing moves in melee battles.

Some resorted to despicable tactics like attacking others who were already fighting, but those individuals, if outmatched, would often be ganged up on by others and retired from the match.

And since everyone was wearing powered suits, it really felt like a Rider battle had erupted.

“Yumir?”

“Looks like she’s planning to beat everyone and move up. She was pondering whether to win or not, but in the end, she chose to win.”

Yumir’s preliminary round was quickly settled.

All others were pushed out of the ring, and Yumir stood alone on the training ground, her blue magical power twinkling.

[E-grade, Team 2, ‘Yumir’ advances. Preparing for D-grade evaluation.]

As I saw the news of Yumir’s advancement pop up as subtitles, I took off my Taeguk Watch.

“It seems Hayabusa is waiting, so maybe I should head over in advance.”

“Why bother? Just go out when it’s time.”

“You can’t just teleport for an entrance, right?”

“Of course.”

Swoosh.

A white-haired woman, Doul, came in from the balcony.

“Let’s go, Doul. From the start to the climax… [Union].”

“Okay. Then… what will we use?”

“We have to show that not only riders ride bikes in this world.”

Goblin.

‘Doul’ form.

[Rise.]

The speed was akin to that of starlight.