There was a murmur among the professors.
"But," the dean raised a hand slightly to pause them, "not all of them have apprentices yet. That's why this is an opportunity for your students — for our students."
He took a breath, then said clearly, "Each class will be allowed to recommend their top-performing student. During the visit, there will be special observations and possibly even a demonstration event. The rankers will be watching. If impressed, they may choose to take one of your students as an apprentice."
The mood in the room changed immediately. Some professors looked excited, others nervous.
"This is more than just exposure," the dean said. "It is a rare chance for our students to be directly guided by the strongest awakeners in the world. It could shape their future — and your class reputation."
He paused meaningfully.
"This event will be broadcast worldwide. From local platforms to international media, the world will be watching. Top guilds, major associations, even foreign governments — they'll all be observing what kind of talents our school produces."
Now, the room was fully quiet. Every word hit heavier than the last.
"If this event goes well," the dean said, "our academy could rise even higher. Not just for prestige, but for support, sponsorship, and future partnerships...There's one more thing I need to share," the dean said, his voice steady and calm, but with a hint of excitement beneath.
"Since the merging of awakened and non-awakened students earlier this year, our academy has gone through major changes."
Then the global system screen appeared before them, displaying several menu options lined neatly.
"I received this update just two days ago," the dean began, his voice steady as his fingers moved through the air, selecting the option titled Academy Global Rankings. "After the full merging of awakened and non-awakened students across the country, the system has finally recalibrated and released the updated national and global academy rankings."
The screen shifted. A list of names began to appear, ranked from the top.Most of the professors leaned forward with curiosity.
"And here we are," the dean continued, highlighting one entry on the list. White Moon Academy – Rank 13 (Korea).
Some professors reacted with raised eyebrows and whispers. A few showed clear signs of pride, others a glint of ambition.
"Thirteenth?" one professor whispered to himself. "We were in the forties last year…"
"Yes," the dean confirmed. "Before the merge, we weren't even close to the top twenty."
The screen changed again, now displaying a schedule of upcoming events, one of which was blinking red.
The dean looked at each professor, but his gaze lingered a second longer on Seojun, who stood near the corner quietly.
"And Professor Jihoon," the dean said, shifting fully toward him now. "Earlier, we were discussing your previous conditions with the board. I want to apologize for calling everyone again today — I just received this update, and the timing couldn't be helped."
Seojun simply gave a short nod in return.
With that, the meeting drew to a close. The dean dismissed them with a final note, "Start preparing. The eyes of the world will soon be watching. Make sure your students are ready."
In a dark underground hall, lit only by floating blue lights, several people standing in a perfect circle around one man in the middle. The man sitting cross-legged in the center was meditating, his aura faint but pulsing. Everyone waited patiently,
Suddenly, the air flickered. A wave of cold wind passed through the hall. The man in the middle gasped, opening his eyes wide—then suddenly coughed up thick blood, staining the floor beneath him.
One of them, a young woman with a red hood, ran forward and helped the man stand up, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder. Another person handed over a mana regeneration potion without a word. The man drank it all in one breath.
His breathing slowed. His eyes stopped shaking. And then he stood straight like nothing happened.
"The building…" he said in a low voice, "has its own barrier. It rejected my clone. I couldn't get in… and the students are more stubborn than we thought."
"What kind of barrier?" someone asked with a frown.
The man looked at his empty potion bottle and tossed it to the side.
"It's not normal. I tried to bypass it—but every attempt caused a backlash. It affected my body directly through the clone. The illusion couldn't hold for long."
"A barrier with backlash?!" someone repeated, shocked.
He nodded slowly. "Mana regeneration potion wasn't enough. I nearly lost consciousness."
"In short… you failed," a tall man said coldly.
"…Yes," the man admitted, without shame but full of frustration.
A heavy silence fell on the room. Then the discussions began again.
"What are we going to do now?"
"This merging… it ruined everything. We failed in so many attempts because of it."
"But that's not the only reason," another man interrupted, crossing his arms. "They have a tracker. They used it before. That's how they stopped the berserking cases early. It wasn't just luck."
"Damn it," someone cursed, slamming a fist against the stone floor. "We need to find that White haired S-rank immediately."
"Now that we found out he's the one blocking our operations…" said another with a grim look, "…we should've eliminated him."
"But how?" the woman in the red hood asked sharply. "Did you see what happened during the wave? He wasn't alone. He had beasts… powerful ones. Ancient types. We don't even know how many obey him."
Everyone in the hall fell silent again.
"Enough!" barked one of the older men. He stood slowly, his long coat brushing the ground, and his glare swept across everyone in the room. "We are straying too far from first goal."
Everyone fell silent again.
He stepped forward, "Our priority is clear. We need to find a way to enter the White Moon Academy. Because of the Saintess—because of Sani and her barrier—we can't stay near the site for long. Our presence is repelled. We wasted too much energy trying to force our way through."
Another man, younger and cocky-looking, crossed his arms and scoffed. "Still can't believe it. All this trouble… and for what? You said the new professor is just a Beast Doctor. A support class. How did someone like that stop you?"
The moment those words came out, the man in the middle slowly turned his head, his eyes cold and narrow. He didn't like the tone. His aura quietly flared, a low hum filling the air as the lights flickered above them.