This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 300

Dogun’s Perspective

What on earth is a special license anyway?

What could it possibly be that among the reporters who heard Chae-rim’s last words, some reacted in shock while others seemed to be saying, “So what the heck is that?”

Should I look into it?

First and foremost, you need to know about the history of this world.

Back in the day, decades ago, when the term “Another” didn’t even exist, humanity faced a massive invasion from the Anothers.

And… it might be a common story, but in the face of the invasion through the Rift, humanity was helplessly pushed back.

One of the reasons was that conventional weapons just didn’t work against Anothers, but even more so, the real game-changer was the influence of the Rift, which was something completely ludicrous from humanity’s perspective back then.

No matter how hard they tried to set up a defense line, what good would it do if a Rift opened up behind it?

Moreover, Anothers didn’t make any distinctions between civilians and soldiers.

From the perspective of Anothers, it didn’t matter whether someone was a soldier or a civilian; they would eat whatever was in front of them. But for soldiers, who had the mission to protect civilians, seeing Anothers mingling among the people would naturally lead to hesitations in deploying firepower.

Because of reasons like that, humanity was getting overwhelmed without being able to fight back, and it was then that groups who utilized their talents emerged, like a sort of vigilante group.

Thanks to their efforts, humanity naturally learned that a small number of individuals with superior talents were much more effective against Anothers than the existing military, and… that realization resulted in what could be called the precursor to the Association: the American Rapid Response Corps.

What more is there to say?

It was during that time that the title “Another” was officially established.

In any case, at the Rapid Response Corps that was formed?

They did not hesitate to recruit anyone, young or old, who possessed talents capable of opposing Anothers.

Consequently, some joined to get revenge on Anothers, some simply wanted to protect people, and others aimed for the sweet rewards enticingly offered after the conflict with Anothers concluded…

Thanks to those who actively engaged with Anothers across the front and back lines, that model which had first appeared in America quickly spread worldwide.

Finally, when the situation later dubbed the First Great Air Raid came to a close, those who survived and were still part of the Rapid Response Corps felt the necessity for an official organization that could repel future occurrences similar to the First Great Air Raid…

Their movements aligned with several events that had occurred at the time, and thus, the Hero Association we know today was born.

And when the Association was established, its founders set forth several fundamental rules, one of which concerned the qualification exam.

The reason was simple.

Back when it was the Rapid Response Corps, inviting anyone with usable talents indiscriminately led to considerable side effects.

The minimum safety measure to prevent such situations was the qualification exam, and that’s when age limits were established for these exams.

From the Association’s standpoint, they had no choice but to do so.

During the First Great Air Raid, because the situation was so urgent, they accepted anyone with talent regardless of age, but after establishing the formal organization of the Hero Association, the burden they would have to bear for doing so was enormous.

Thus, an age limit became one of the minimum requirements to apply for the qualification exam, but… the founders, who had navigated through all sorts of chaos firsthand, didn’t forget to leave a small loophole just in case.

That loophole was the “special license” system, referenced in articles being continuously updated even at this moment.

When a situation arose similar to the First Great Air Raid, and there weren’t enough personnel to stand against Anothers, this system was a means to bypass the age restrictions they themselves had set.

The first time it came to light was during the Second Great Air Raid instigated by Anothers.

Of course, regardless of its utility, the burden of sending out still-young children into battle lingered, and as a result, the system effectively became obsolete.

Yet, it was something that had slipped from Chae-rim’s mouth.

So as Yoonseo captured one of the Tricky Faces, the reporters, who had been regarding the scoop as a juicy piece, naturally went into a frenzy.

And on top of that, the fire was further fueled by Chae-rim’s words towards the buzzing reporters.

“Even if Miss Yoonseo passes the special license exam and earns her hero qualifications, the Association won’t deploy her on real missions. At least for the time being.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s simple. The fact that the Association has brought up the practically defunct system of special licenses to recruit Miss Yoonseo is not for immediate active duty usage, but rather a decision looking towards the future.”

“That means…”

“Yes, indeed. If Miss Yoonseo joins the Association, she will spend some time learning from the active heroes. Of course, I can’t unilaterally pile burdens on already busy heroes, so I’ll likely be the one doing most of the teaching…”

That was the conversation Chae-rim had with the reporters just before the conference ended, and it’s precisely because of that exchange that the internet was in a completely different uproar compared to before the press conference.

“Well…”

Thinking about it, the situation totally makes sense.

After all, I had learned from Chae-rim that Tricky Face was a villain duo that the entire Japanese Hero Association had struggled to catch, while simultaneously being incredibly active, practically treated as a walking disaster in Japan.

Yet, one of these was unexpectedly captured by Yoonseo, who wasn’t even a qualified hero—just a candidate!

Honestly, that fact alone was enough for the internet to go haywire with speculation, but the sheer potential of Yoonseo coming close to being recruited by the Association using a practically defunct system gave people even more deal to buzz about!

And to top it off, the strongest hero in Korea, regarded globally as a top-tier hero, “Lightning Lady,” was about to personally mentor her?

For those hearing the news for the first time, it’s no wonder that it threw them into a frenzy.

Was it like that?

To get a feel for the atmosphere, I logged into a community, and sure enough, prior to the articles being posted, the place had been filled with notions about the appearance of a second Frozen.

But now the vibe had completely flipped 180 degrees.

Just moments ago there were naysayers speaking critically, and now?

[Honestly, I was worried about Lightning Lady retiring soon…]

I don’t have to worry anymore, lol.

[Let’s look into Yoonseo’s simulated duel results concerning the ‘special license.’]

Wait, how did she win everything except for that one loss? Whoa!

That one loss? She faced off against this year’s top scorer from the Seoul regional qualification exam.

By the way, the top scorer was a high school student at that time.

Holy crap, I checked and it’s real, lol!

[Yoonseo may not grow much taller, but she seems to be at least as strong as Lightning Lady.]

Oh really, stop it!

How is this overhyping?

For real though, lol.

[5 years’ world hero power ranking.jpg]

1st place – ‘The Korea’, Korea.

Are you kidding me? A hero from Korea being the strongest in the world?!

This is insane; how can a hero’s activity name be just ‘The Korea’? lol.

[A random high schooler couldn’t catch the Tricky Face, and that’s why it was such a mess?]

Wow, the Japanese Hero Association is really messed up!

Looks like all the superheroes in Japan are just fluff, lol!

For real, this calls for a reassessment of the power rankings.

It seemed like the comments were filled with people mocking the incompetency of the Japanese Hero Association along with a flood of overly excited folks drowning in national pride.