The Academy’s Time Stop Player

"Damn it..."

A thought he had only been harboring internally unintentionally slipped from his lips.

He should have just ignored the knocking sound...

"Please leave."

Hajoon turned away.

Yet, despite Hajoon's refusal, the agent from the American Hero Association persisted.

"W-wait! Student Kim Hajoon! Can you please just hear me out? I assure you it's not about scouting!"

"Ugh..."

A weary sigh escaped Hajoon's lips.

Truthfully, he wanted to ignore her, but he found himself in a dilemma.

What if by ignoring her now, she would become even more persistent in seeking him out later?

And it wasn't just about the United States; other countries could be just as tenacious.

'Maybe it's better to hear her out and then decline?'

Wouldn't it be more justifiable to listen first and then refuse, rather than dismissing her outright?

Of course, persistent countries would still be relentless.

Still, he decided to give it a shot.

Hajoon turned back and opened the door.

Standing at the entrance was a woman with short blonde hair, her demeanor seemingly gentle.

"Ah! Thank you so much!"

"Come in. Let's hear what you have to say."

“Hello. I am Emma, affiliated with the American Heroes Association.”

“Yes.”

Hajoon responded briefly.

Having introduced herself, he expected her to get to the point.

Recognizing this, Emma swiftly took out some documents from her black leather bag and handed them over to Hajoon.

“Would you mind starting by reading the contract?”

Despite her gentle appearance, her actions were straightforward.

Presenting a contract without any prior explanation might mean that she was confident about its contents.

Hajoon read through the contract.

'Hmm... Indeed...'

After reading, he understood the source of her confidence.

The terms of the contract were undeniably attractive.

Hence, with a puzzled look, Hajoon asked, “Has this been approved by your superiors?”

“Yes.”

“But why would you offer such terms to me?”

The conditions put forth by the U.S. were not just about recruiting him into the association or offering him U.S. citizenship; in simple terms, they wanted him as a mercenary.

The association would give Hajoon tasks, and he would complete them.

It was no different from the student requests he was used to, just on a larger scale.

“If you don't like a request, you’re free to decline it.”

“And I'll still be guaranteed a million dollars annually?”

“Yes.”

A three-year contract. A yearly guarantee of a million dollars.

They could make up to three requests each year, but Hajoon had the option to refuse any of them.

Frankly, it was surprising that such a contract had been approved from above.

"Hmm..."

Despite the contract's compelling terms, Hajoon couldn't help but be cautious.

'Rejecting this would make me a fool, but...'

He wanted to understand America's intentions first.

Being direct by nature, Hajoon bluntly asked, “What's your higher-ups' intention behind this?”

Emma responded with a sly smile, “It’s simple. The American Heroes Association currently wants to maintain a close relationship with you, Mr. Hajoon. Consider this contract as a token of our goodwill. Think of it as building a bridge.”

At her words, a smirk crept onto Hajoon's face.

It seemed her initial naive and innocent facade was just an act.

Seeing that fox-like smile, he became certain.

'Still, the offer itself isn't bad...'

Including the contract's terms, the offer was quite favorable.

Hajoon signed the document and extended his hand, signaling the sealing of the agreement.

After finalizing the contract, Emma immediately left Hajoon's residence.

Walking along the street, she pulled out her smartphone and dialed a number.

Ring- Click

"How did the deal go?"

"It went smoothly."

"Hmm... I was expecting him to at least ask for 5 billion... Perhaps he led a more modest life than anticipated? Do you think that makes him an Irregular?"

"From the outside, it's hard to tell, but given the circumstances, isn't it likely?"

"We should investigate further. It would be a considerable loss if he isn't an Irregular."

"Yes, understood."

Emma responded solemnly, well-aware of the current events unfolding in Korea.

"We must secure the Irregular. The second major chaos isn't far off, and Korea is likely its starting point."

On that day at lunchtime,

Hajoon was seated in front of the TV, playing a console game.

For the record, he had already checked the contents of the letter envelope.

Inside the envelope, there was a photo and a letter. However, the issue was that he couldn't read the contents of the letter.

"It seems like some kind of code..."

The writing seemed closer to a cipher than just another language.

It wasn't written in Korean, but in English. Even when he tried translating it with his smartphone's translator, it was incomprehensible.

Well, he didn't necessarily need to decipher it himself. He planned to leave that task to the Hermes information guild.

At least that guild would probably figure out the translation.

"More importantly... No matter how I look at it, this is..."

Another thing that caught his attention:

Hajoon recalled the photo that came with the letter.

In the photo, a young girl with a radiant smile was captured.

"Judging by her looks, she seems to be Liber's younger sister..."

She had silver hair and crimson pupils. Undoubtedly, she looked like Liber's sister.

"Well, this should be enough."

From the photo alone, he could infer that the contents of the box were related to Liber. If he handed this over to the information guild, they might come up with something.

Hajoon refocused on his game.

It felt rather peculiar, playing a game within the world of another game. But after a long time, he was truly enjoying some leisure and freedom.

As time passed and it was around 2 AM, a time when everyone would typically be asleep,

Hajoon was still seated in front of the TV, focused in his game.

"Yawn~ Hmm~"

He had planned to play for just one more hour, but the game had to be this captivating.

Perhaps it was because the game was set in a distant future?

He found himself unable to put down this advanced game compared to modern ones.

It might even be more fun than Haruna Ruel's...

"Sigh... Let's just finish this and go to sleep."

The only thing left was to defeat the final boss of the third stage.

He must have died about 50 times?

Seriously, it should be reasonably challenging, but why was the mere third stage's boss this tough?

"Shhh! Ugh..."

Hajoon squinted and concentrated harder.

Having died about 50 times, he had somewhat familiarized himself with the boss's pattern.

Thud! Thud-thud!

Hajoon's fingers moved swiftly over the controls.

Now that he had decoded the boss's pattern, he was confident that with enough focus and no mistakes, he could defeat it.

After about 10 minutes had passed.

"At last!"

The boss was on the brink of defeat.

Hajoon, trying to contain his excitement, dodged the boss's patterns cautiously.

Just as he was about to land the final blow,

Crash! Squeak-

Suddenly, the sound of shattering accompanied by a squeak came from the front door that should have been locked.

Immediately after,

Whoosh!

A round metal ball flew in through the gap in the door, smashing the TV and game console to bits.

Crash! Bang! Shatter!!

“··········.”

For a moment, Hajoon just stood there, mouth agape, staring blankly at the unfolding situation.

And it all happened in an instant.

Whizz! Whizz!!! Whizz!!! Whizz!!!!

The rolling ball began to emit a strange wailing sound, gradually glowing with a green light.

And then.

Boom!!! Crash!!!!

What followed was an explosion.

Thud-thud. Every piece of furniture was slowly consumed by the flames.

In the quiet aftermath of the explosion, five masked intruders entered the house.

They began to meticulously search every nook and cranny of the residence.

As they diligently searched for clues, a voice rang out, "Hey."

The sound came from a boy standing near the front door. The intruders tensed all at once and slowly turned their heads to see the boy.

In the boy's hand was a golden hammer—Maharazu.

Recognizing it, they silently drew daggers from their garments and assumed a battle stance.

Hajoon, anger contorting his face, looked at them and shouted, "You damn bastards..."

BOOM! WHOOSH!

A massive force swept throughout the house, sending the intruders flying in all directions. Their bodies shattered upon impact.

Hajoon's expression twisted in irritation. He could guess who was behind such a heinous act.

Without hesitation, he activated Time Stop.

Stepping outside the apartment, he looked around, trying to find the face of the perpetrator. And there it was, at a construction site near the apartment building.

Approaching the man, Hajoon released the Time Stop. The man, looking at Hajoon, spoke casually, "Hmm, as I thought, you're still alive. It's been a while—"

"Shut up, you damn criminal," Hajoon interrupted, gripping his hammer tightly and stepping closer.

The A-rank villain, The Puppeteer. Hajoon realized from the shattered puppets that he was behind this chaos.

The Puppeteer simply shook his head and said, "I'd advise you to stay still. I've taken everyone in this apartment as hostages."

Upon hearing this, Hajoon activated Time Stop once more.

He swiftly moved throughout the entire apartment building, destroying all of the villain's puppets. When he returned to confront The Puppeteer, he released the Time Stop.

The Puppeteer looked surprised. "In such a short span... you managed to destroy all my puppets?"

"Are you done talking?" Hajoon asked coldly.

The Puppeteer sighed, "I came to talk. I never expected the bomb or the hostages to harm you. They were merely means to initiate a conversation. So, how about we chat?"

In response, Hajoon let his actions speak for him.

CRASH!

The Puppeteer's body was obliterated. Using Time Stop (SSS), Hajoon shattered the villain's legs, tore his torso apart, and ripped his arms from his body. All that remained was the villain's head.

When the Time Stop was released, The Puppeteer, witnessing his devastated state, could only let out a resigned sigh.