The Academy’s Time Stop Player

TL/Editor: looloo

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Here

There was a chilling sensation felt by every superhuman currently gathered here.

The Irregular, representing Korea, had just displayed a strange ability.

The active heroes present couldn’t react at all to the movements of such an Irregular.

In other words, if the Irregular were to set his mind to it, he could kill everyone in the auditorium in just a few seconds.

Such a statement about the difficulty of confronting this superhuman caused astonishment among all the other superhumans gathered at the venue.

Moreover, didn't the Irregular speak with certainty?

If such a being were to appear again, he advised prioritizing civilian evacuation over subjugation.

There was no concrete evidence to support his claim, but the assurance in the irregular’s statement, specifically about the existence of a few more such beings, brought a moment of chaos to the meeting.

"Is there really no way?"

Meanwhile, Joa Elliot, who was in the conference room, quietly called Hajoon, who had just left the meeting.

Her voice was filled with anxiety.

In response to her worried tone, Hajoon sighed deeply before answering.

"Yes, to be honest, even if the top 10 ranked individuals were to all attack together, it doesn’t seem likely they would win."

It might have been a bit of a rude statement, but Hajoon had no choice but to speak the truth.

After all, the being really did possess that level of power.

If a single creature held the same amount of magical power as a Boundary class in the Abyssal Dungeon, that said it all.

The grade of a dungeon is measured by the magical power generated by the number of demonic creatures within it. If a single creature possessed the same amount of magic, how could humanity possibly stop such a being?

Well, even if the hero associations of various countries, including the ISU, somehow cooperated and managed to catch one, it would surely come at a great cost.

And Hajoon knew that there were still three more of these monsters out there.

"So, you’re certain that more of these monsters exist, according to the Irregular?"

"I had a conversation with the creature. It did mention there were more."

Hajoon didn’t actually remember having such a conversation, but regardless, he skirted around the truth.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, probably as she fell into deep thought.

After a brief silence, Hajoon spoke up again.

"So, about that. Have you ever foreseen a future related to this?"

-Regrettably, I haven't been able to foresee it. I couldn’t even predict the sea attack incident in Korea.

He had thought that her foresight might offer some clue, but it seemed she too hadn’t anticipated this situation.

Hajoon fell back into thought.

Honestly, despite issuing such a dire warning, he wondered how many countries would actually believe his words and take action.

The existence of a demonic creature with the power to easily destroy a nation was threatening indeed, but considering the by-products that could be obtained from such a creature's corpse, there wouldn't be many countries willing to let go of such an opportunity.

Well, they would probably think of some way to subjugate it anyway.

"What does the U.S. think?"

-We've decided to follow your advice. We can't just ignore what you, the Irregular, have said. Even Andre, the current world's number one hero, agrees.

Fortunately, it seems the U.S. has decided to follow Hajoon's opinion.

After all, the U.S. is the country with the most activity after Korea, and Hajoon has a reasonably close relationship with the chairman of the American Hero Association.

Of course, aside from that, the U.S. is probably the country that understands Hajoon's power most accurately after Korea.

It is the country that best understands the weight of the statement about the difficulty of dealing with that Irregular.

-The chairman of the American Hero Association, Andre, has expressed a desire to discuss this matter in detail with you. Do you have time?

"Now?"

-Yes, he wants to talk right after the meeting ends.

After thinking for a moment, Hajoon agreed and ended the call.

There were a few things he wanted to ask Andre anyway.

"Thank you for making time, Irregular."

In the reception room of the headquarters of the American Hero Association.

Hajoon was having a conversation with Andre Heut, the chairman there.

After a brief exchange of simple greetings, Andre started to present some documents to Hajoon.

Hajoon glanced at the documents for a moment before asking.

"What's this?"

"Just a few years ago, this was the concentration of Abyssal magic measured by our Hero Association. In fact, there's been a concerning point regarding this recent incident."

Andre explained, with a serious expression, pointing to the documents.

"As you can see on the map of the Abyss in the documents, there are three massive dots in the worst sections. One is a Break dungeon that the Irregular helped us tackle at our request in the past, and the other two dots represent the magical power readings of some creatures observed in the Abyss five years ago.

Each had a magical power level equivalent to a Boundary-class dungeon. Since it's impossible for a Boundary dungeon itself to move, we were able to determine that these readings came from individual creatures."

Hajoon quietly reviewed the documents, understanding what Andre wanted to say.

"It's highly likely that there are creatures in the American Abyss with the same power as the sea creature you mentioned."

Hajoon nodded in agreement.

Indeed, the American Abyss was much larger in size compared to those of other countries.

"And there's one more thing I want to ask. Before the sea creature incident, did you, Student Hajoon, possibly subjugate a creature with equivalent power in our Abyss...?"

Andre was probably referring to the Fairy King he had encountered during the Liam incident.

Indeed, Hajoon had defeated that creature at that time, so he nodded in agreement.

Relief washed over Andre's face at Hajoon's response.

"Ah... I heard about the situation from Liam, but it seems it was true. Thank you. It appears we were unknowingly helped greatly."

"Does that mean there's still one more left?"

"The remaining one is a bit ambiguous. One of the creatures that appeared in the worst section of the Abyss did slowly move towards the center, but the other one disappeared from its spot in an instant."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes, it vanished from the spot where it was observed. It's probably not the creature you, Student Hajoon, had subjugated. The concentration of its magical power was different. The creature you dealt with probably moved towards the central region of the Abyss."

That left only one possibility.

It had either used some ability to disappear from the spot or concealed its released magical power.

But both Hajoon and Andre were leaning towards the former.

"It could have control abilities to hide its magic power, like the sea creature you subdued, but I think the term 'disappeared' is more appropriate. The massive amount of magic didn’t slowly fade away; it just vanished instantly. However, we can't rule out the possibility that it might still be somewhere in the Abyss."

With that, Andre looked at Hajoon seriously.

Hajoon had a rough idea of what Chairman Andre was about to propose.

"Given this situation, the American Hero Association would like to request the cooperation of the Irregular."

They had pinpointed the concentration of the real creature's magic power, but they hadn’t fully grasped the monster's strength.

However, following the sea creature incident, the American Hero Association had some idea of the creature's formidable power.

The risk involved probably meant sacrificing hundreds of top-tier heroes just for a chance at subjugation.

Frankly, they weren’t even sure if they could subdue this creature.

Instead, there was a risk that an attempt at subjugation could lead to failure and only result in casualties.

"Would you be willing to assist us in subduing this creature?"

Therefore, the chairman turned to Hajoon, the only viable option in front of him, with a request.

They were ready to offer any reward.

They were prepared to pay an astronomical sum if it meant preventing the damage he anticipated. Such was the seriousness of the situation.

And at these words, Hajoon began to ponder.

Andre watched him, tense, as he contemplated.

After about a minute, Hajoon looked at him and spoke softly.

"Yes, well, alright."

"Thank you."

Truthfully, Hajoon had already decided his answer.

He had only pondered because he had something else to consider regarding the situation.

"Of course, my priority is Korea. If such a creature appears in Korea, I might be delayed in coming to help."

"Yes, I'll take that into consideration."

Andre nodded agreeably.

Hajoon's stance was both reasonable and obvious.

Of course, whether such a situation would actually happen was uncertain.

Nevertheless, Hajoon mentioned a thought he had just had.

"By the way, what’s happening with the one who surrendered?"

"…Do you mean Lain?"

Andre looked at Hajoon with a slightly puzzled expression.

He paused for a moment in thought, then slowly began to speak.

"If you're referring to Lain, she’s currently detained in a superhuman prison, behaving quietly. Do you have a reason for asking about her...?"

"I thought she might be of help."

"Help…, you say?"

He looked at Hajoon with a puzzled expression.

Hajoon continued, addressing Andre.

"Is it possible to visit her?"

Iron that suppresses magic.

In a room where the floor, ceiling, and all four walls were made of black iron, a girl was quietly sitting at a desk, reading a book.

The former leader of the villain group Villante, known for its S-rank threat level.

Lain.

She sat emotionlessly at her desk, simply enjoying her reading.

However, within that emotionless expression, there seemed to be a sense of regained tranquility.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly, Lain's gaze shifted to the only door in the room.

Shortly after, the door slowly opened, and a familiar-faced boy appeared.

Lain, who was staring blankly at the boy without any agitation, slowly rose from her seat.

She then sat down on the bed in the room, looking at the boy and spoke.

"What brings you here, Irregular?"

Her voice and expression were flat, devoid of any emotion.

Lain, who had lost all her emotions regarding him, looked at Hajoon with an uninterested face. Seeing this, Hajoon took a step forward, approaching her.

With just a calm expression, Hajoon spoke.

"If you've got nothing to do, help me out."