The Academy’s Time Stop Player

"It seems Riella has conveyed the message correctly."

Hajoon's eyes widened in surprise.

He was at a loss for words, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the principal.

"······Principal?"

"Yes, exactly. Though not the real me, but an imaginary body formed by magical power."

Hajoon gazed blankly at him for a moment, while the principal, still smiling, just looked back at Hajoon.

After watching Hajoon for a while, Choi Jungwon slowly opened his mouth.

"When you use this magical device, I suppose the real me won't be in this world."

"I'm still alive, though."

"Eh? Alive, you say?"

Choi Jungwon looked surprised for a moment.

Hajoon simply raised his hand to point at the window of a hospital room. Staring blankly through the window, Choi Jungwon suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! I see. Seems I am alive. It's been a long time since I've been in such an embarrassing situation."

"Well, it's hard to say you're alive in this condition."

With that, Hajoon's gaze turned towards Choi Jungwon lying in the hospital bed.

Choi Jungwon watched Hajoon's expression for a moment before speaking.

"It seems you saved me."

Hajoon didn't respond.

He just blankly stared at Choi Jungwon lying in the hospital room through the window.

His condition was too dire to be considered saved.

After watching him for a while, Hajoon turned to Choi Jungwon in front of him and asked.

"Could you wake up if you received magic power again?"

Choi Jungwon looked alternately at himself lying in the hospital bed and at Hajoon.

Then, understanding the situation, he spoke.

"It seems I've passed my magic power to you."

He shook his head in response to Hajoon's question.

"Even if I receive magic power again, I can't guarantee I could wake up. But, you know, Student Hajoon."

He approached and placed his hand on Hajoon's shoulder.

"Looking at myself, I seem peaceful and free of worries."

"······."

"There's no need for you to take it so seriously."

"Ha······."

Hajoon sighed deeply.

Honestly, considering the situation that he might not wake up, it was indeed a serious matter.

Hajoon spoke.

"The symbol of peace is gone."

"Indeed. Given my current state, many things are likely to change."

Just as Choi Jungwon said, after his disappearance in the game, many things had changed in Korea.

His current state was no different from the symbol of peace being gone.

Even if the reason for forming the alliance disappeared, the Villain Alliance hadn't.

There were still S-rank villains with threatening power remaining in the organization.

"Ha······."

Thinking about it, a tired sigh escaped from Hajoon's lips.

What should have happened in the students' third year had occurred much too early.

Hajoon also didn't have any guesses on how the episode would unfold now.

"Those who had been inactive might become active again."

The deterrent created by the existence known as the symbol of peace was gone.

It meant that the S-rank villains who had been quiet until now and were once stopped by the sage might start moving. Furthermore, not just the alliance but other villain organizations would also begin their activities, like releasing their pent-up frustrations, now that Choi Jungwon, the symbol of peace, was gone.

It was the start of Han Siyoung's last episode, 'The Great Chaos.'

"It's going to be exhausting."

"Hehe, Student Hajoon."

Choi Jungwon smiled at Hajoon's comment.

He smiled faintly and spoke.

"Can I leave it to you? Be the new symbol of peace."

"······."

Hajoon didn't respond.

He just frowned and looked at him.

Then he spoke bluntly.

"Isn't there someone better than me? Like Han Siyoung."

At least he was more suitable than Hajoon, who didn't want to be a hero and only thought about living comfortably after graduation.

Choi Jungwon neither agreed nor disagreed with that statement.

He just responded to Hajoon's words.

"Having two symbols of peace wouldn't be bad, right?"

"······."

Hajoon didn't respond.

He just blankly stared at Choi Jungwon.

Then Hajoon sighed.

After all, whether he was asked or not, Hajoon's decision was already made.

Hajoon said,

"Three years. I'll be active for three years."

Three years.

That was when the deadline of the red quest he received would end.

Once he graduated, the red quest would disappear.

And by that time, the children, who are the protagonists of this game, will also have gained enough power to surpass other heroes.

Or, Hajoon could intervene and help the children grow a bit faster.

"That will be enough."

Choi Jungwon nodded with a bright smile as blue particles started falling off his body and began to disappear.

"It seems my time has come."

"Are you leaving now?"

"I am, after all, just an imaginary body formed by magical power."

He gazed up at the sky blankly, hands clasped behind his back, until the moment he disappeared.

Choi Jungwon, with a somewhat sentimental look in his eyes, quietly murmured as he gazed at the sky.

"I'm curious about the future when I wake up."

He then turned to Hajoon and smiled affectionately.

"Student Hajoon."

"Yes?"

"What's your dream?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Hajoon began to ponder.

He had nothing to say when asked about his dream so suddenly...

After thinking, he just spoke about what he wanted right now.

"The eradication of villains."

It was an honest answer, thinking that it would be good if they just completely disappeared.

If someone else had said it, it might have seemed like a childish dream.

Hajoon himself thought so as he uttered these words.

Then, Choi Jungwon, looking surprised, widened his eyes and burst into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! If it's you, it really might be possible, haha!"

With his last laugh, his body transformed into blue particles and floated up into the sky.

Even after he disappeared, his laughter echoed in Hajoon's ears, followed by his calm voice fading away quietly.

"I trust and leave it to you, Student Hajoon."

With those words, a cool breeze blew on the rooftop, bringing silence.

Hajoon, with a tired expression, blankly stared at the sky and murmured as if sighing.

"Three years..."

The period he promised Choi Jungwon was three years.

During those three years, he planned to replace him, following the promise with Choi Jungwon and until the children grew up.

Then he decided it was time to issue a warning.

The villains were already wreaking havoc.

Hajoon took out his smartphone from his pocket and contacted Kim Jeongyong, the president of the association.

When Hajoon mentioned his request, Kim Jeongyong's astonished voice came through.

"Is that really true?"

"Yes, please do that."

"When should we start?"

"Today."

"Ah, understood. I'll prepare it right away."

After ending the call, Hajoon sat blankly on a bench, looking up at the sky, quietly sighing at the nuisance of the upcoming situations.

[Sage Choi Jungwon falls into a coma! What is Korea's future?!]

[S-rank villain 'The Corpse Collector' appears in Busan.]

[A-rank villain 'Karas' from Japan crosses into Korea!]

After the incident, the academy temporarily closed.

Returning home from the hospital for rest, Hajoon sat on the sofa with Elaine and Adrian, watching the news on TV.

"Ha······, it's so troublesome and hard."

That's when Adrian spoke.

Adrian, wiping his face with a dry wash, looked at Hajoon and said,

"Everywhere's a mess, a total mess. Those damn villains are causing trouble."

After the symbol of peace disappeared, the rate of villain terror attacks sharply increased.

Just from these results, the influence he had on Korea was evident.

Of course, so far, it seemed to be a situation that Korean heroes could handle, so the Puppeteer was just annoyed and didn't take it too seriously.

"Eh? Ah! Brother, you have a white hair."

"Eh?"

Elaine, who was looking at the back of Hajoon's head, said that.

Hearing her, Hajoon unconsciously frowned and fiddled with his hair.

Was it because of the recent stress?

To think that I would have gray hair.

"Pull it out."

"Just a moment."

With that, Elaine fiddled with Hajoon's hair for a moment.

Soon, a strand of hair was pulled out with a slight pain, and Elaine showed it to Hajoon.

"Here. ...Huh?"

"······?"

"It doesn't seem like a white hair?"

Elaine looked a bit puzzled after pulling out the hair, and Hajoon and Adrian felt the same. It was more of a shiny silver color than a gray hair.

"Even Irregulars have special gray hairs?"

Adrian joked in a playful tone.

As Hajoon was glaring at Adrian, his phone rang, signaling a call from Kim Jeongyong, the chairman of the association.

After answering the call and hearing what the chairman had to say, Hajoon hung up and immediately got ready. He wrapped a Perception Obstruction Bandage around his hand and took out Maharazu, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Eh? What's up?"

"Where are you going, brother?"

"I'll be back in a bit. Stay home."

With those words, he slowly rose from the sofa as a gate opened in front of him.

There, Chairman Kim Jeongyong, dressed in a suit, was waiting to greet Hajoon politely.

"Everything is ready. Let's go."

Nodding in agreement, Hajoon looked back at Elaine and Adrian, who were still sitting on the sofa with a bit of a bewildered expression, and said,

"I'll be back."

"Ah, alright. Take care."

With that, Hajoon stepped through the gate.

Elaine and Adrian looked at each other with puzzled faces and then spoke.

"What's going on, sis?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't heard of any major terror attacks that would require his involvement."

And shortly after.

The words "Emergency Press Conference" appeared on TV, and their eyes widened at the changed scene.

The chairman of the Korean Heroes Association, Kim Jeongyong, had suddenly called a press conference.

Numerous journalists had gathered at the venue, pondering what kind of response Chairman Kim would give to the current situation.

Thud-

The doors of the conference room opened.

There, Chairman Kim Jeongyong, dressed in a neat suit, stepped onto the stage with a solemn expression and grabbed the microphone. He then looked at the journalists and began to speak.

"We will now begin the press conference. However, I will not take any questions before we start."

Murmurs filled the room at his declaration.

But the murmurs were short-lived.

The conference room doors opened again, and all eyes turned towards them.

Shock appeared on everyone's faces.

The person who entered through the doors was someone they didn't expect to see at such an official event.

"It's the Irregular!"

"Is that really the Irregular?"

Shutter sounds filled the hall, and broadcast cameras turned towards the Irregular.

In a room filled with murmurs of the journalists, Hajoon silently walked towards the stage with Maharazu slung over his shoulder. As he reached the front of the stage, Chairman Kim Jeongyong respectfully made way for him, and Hajoon, standing at the front, took a moment to look around.

The murmuring that had filled the room until then disappeared astonishingly, leaving silence in its wake.

They, too, were curious about what the Irregular, who had suddenly appeared at the press conference, would say. In the quiet hall, Hajoon, holding the microphone, spoke in a bland tone.

"Yes, I am the Irregular."

The sudden declaration triggered a flurry of shutter sounds.

The simple announcement of his identity began to itch the tongues of the journalists.

They wanted to ask questions but were holding back due to the chairman's earlier statement before the start of the conference.

Of course, it was uncertain how long these professionally spirited individuals could hold back.

Hajoon continued,

"I am here to issue a warning."

"Who is the warning directed at?"

Unable to hold back, one of the journalists questioned Hajoon.

However, Hajoon didn't point out the breach.

After all, he had requested this conference to say these words.

Hajoon's statement continued,

"The warning is for the villains. I hope more villains are watching this broadcast than citizens. So, I will speak comfortably to them."

With that, Hajoon's voice deepened.

"Villain Alliance."

He spoke in a lowered tone, as if warning the villains who might be watching the broadcast, without any formalities.

"To the Altar, Villante, and the S-rank villains."

Just like Sage Choi Jungwon once was the symbol of peace.

"Don't think you can comfortably step foot in Korea."

Three years.

For those three years, Hajoon planned to be a symbol of peace.

Of course, a slightly more coercive kind of peace.

"I will kill you all."

Hajoon simply recited his fierce warning to them.