"Alright, thank you for your hard work."

Group 1 filed out of the room. Not a single one of them left with a smile. As soon as the door closed, I turned to Seojin.

"Wow, Seojin. Where did you dig up all that information?"

"It was nothing remarkable. Ea assisted me in cross-referencing the past affiliations, exam records, personal references, and criminal histories of the primary candidates."

Bora, who had been watching nervously, spoke up. "…Um, Seojin. I'm not saying you were wrong, but… weren't you a little harsh?"

Even for a stress interview, Seojin's methods had been severe. He had casually prodded at applicants' deepest wounds just to observe their reactions.

Seojin pushed up his glasses, his expression impassive. "Let me be clear. I trust no one other than the Tower Master and the people in this room."

At his blunt response, it was Bora who cleared her throat awkwardly.

"We are selecting new members for the Magic Tower family," Seojin continued. "In such matters, one can never be too cautious. I will ensure any potential liabilities are thoroughly weeded out to prevent future trouble."

"This is why you're so reliable, Seojin."

He had an excellent background and outstanding abilities, but his dedication was second to none. He willingly played the villain for the good of us all. Having someone like him watching my back was a stroke of incredible fortune.

"Next, Group 2, please enter!"

This time, three women and two men came in, their faces taut with tension as they took their seats.

"I'm Cha Doyeon." She was a sharp-looking woman in a tailored suit. "I always take full responsibility for my work… I strive to positively address my shortcomings…" Her answers were textbook perfect. Her Shield and Mana Arrow were decent, with a good balance between accuracy and speed.

"I'm Ilwoo Jo." A man in his thirties spoke next. "When do we learn 2nd-Circle magic?" He immediately began grilling us about advanced magic, particularly fire spells. When asked for a demonstration, however, he launched into a long-winded excuse about how he specialized in fire techniques despite only having mastered First Circle. A classic case of an overinflated ego. Rejected.

"I'm Heeyeon Yoo." Her background was clean, but she repeatedly failed to form a magic circle. Through Deva's Eye, I could see her Circle wasn't a circle at all but a lumpy, misshapen wheel. She had clearly rushed through the fundamentals. Rejected.

"Hey! Who the hell are you to judge me?!"

And there it was. The interview's biggest nuisance. A veteran rank-4 hunter was shouting at us.

"I told you I made the Circle! Look!"

"I'm sorry, sir," I replied with a quiet smile. "But you are disqualified for not meeting the standards."

"Damn it, you're really pissing me off! Hey, Yusin! We're both official hunters! You can't do this! What was your graduating class? Why does he get to pass and I don't—!"

They always had to make things difficult.

"Sir. Forgive me, but what is your guild affiliation?"

"What? Why does that matter—!"

"Ah, the Citizen Guild. Perfect."

In my mind, Ea sent me his guild's name and their Guild Master's number. I immediately picked up my phone and dialed.

"What?! What are you gonna do, call them!" the Hunter bellowed, still failing to read the room.

The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Yes, Guild Master Yoon. This is Kim Yusin. Yes, have you been well? Ah, the heat resistance potions? The order will go through next week without any issues. Yes."

The rank-4 hunter's face froze. I held his gaze as I spoke into the phone.

"By the way, you might need to get your hunters under control."

The response was incredibly fast. In less than ten minutes, members of the Citizen Guild scrambled into the room and dragged the belligerent hunter away. Guild Master Yoon then showed up to apologize in person, causing another delay.

And with that, the war-like morning interview session finally ended.

"Woooow…"

For lunch, we had boxed meals. Bora was sprawled in her chair, immediately cracking open the canned plum drink that came with her dessert and chugging it down.

"Haaa, I had no idea it would be this exhausting. It's beyond anything I imagined."

"Tell me about it."

"If you hadn't sent half of them home, we would've been dead."

"Go, Bora! Go, Yusin! You can do it!" Eunsol cheered, smiling brightly as if she was having the time of her life. I opened her lunch box for her and patted her head. She was pulling her weight as an interviewer. Her theoretical knowledge of magic, honed from building golems, was at an expert level. Applicants who had relaxed at the sight of a little girl asking questions were often caught completely off guard and left stammering. One man, who had turned beet red and sneered, 'What does a kid like this know!,' was utterly defeated by Seojin's words until nothing was left of his soul.

"Haaa, why are there so many rude, awful people?" Bora complained. "They came here asking for a job, so why are they so disrespectful?"

"It's likely because this is a unique interview targeting players," Seojin said, also downing his plum drink. "It's not like hiring for a company or a guild. We're selecting members who will be personally under the Tower Master. Some of the established players came in with a chip on their shoulder, and when they're rejected, that dissatisfaction boils over into anger."

"It's ridiculous."

"I can handle those pathetic nuisances just fine," I said, trying a spoonful of the seaweed soup. It was too hot, so I pushed it aside. "The problem is the sheer number of desperate people here. They're so psychologically fragile that they get nervous, make mistakes, and then break down emotionally. It's hard to watch."

That was the reality for the non-combatants. I understood their desperation better than anyone. I'd lost count of how many had burst into tears. Every time someone made a mistake, their expression turned as vacant as if their world had ended. And every time I saw that look, I had to fight the urge to glance at the window, terrified they might just leap out. The image of bodies falling flashed through my mind again and again…

"Whoa!"

Bora suddenly thrust her face right in front of mine. I flinched back, startled, knocking over the hot soup I'd set aside.

"Yusin!"

"…Huh? What?"

Bora, who had been staring at me with a serious expression, suddenly broke into a wide grin. "If you fall apart first, then this whole thing is meaningless, isn't it?"

This project was also meant to be a form of therapy for me. After what happened with Yoonjeong, I had been crippled by a sense of powerlessness and guilt so profound it affected my ability to cast magic. I had spread magic across the world specifically to save non-combatants like her. She was right. If I let myself get consumed by guilt again, it would all be for nothing.

I let out a long, heavy sigh, releasing the tension. "Thanks."

"Hehe. Now the administrator has to provide mental care for the Tower Master, too! You owe me overtime."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but why did you have to stick your face in mine?"

"Huh? Oh, that was to dazzle you with my stunning beauty, of course," she said, spouting nonsense as she swept back her long hair like a model. This is why girls who know they're pretty are such a handful.

"Admit it, your heart skipped a beat, right?"

"I could see your pores."

"Yu-Yusin!"

A burst of laughter filled the room. Even the Alchemia staff couldn't hold it in. Bora, her face bright red, frantically dug out a hand mirror.

"The afternoon session is going to be even tougher," I said, a genuine smile finally reaching my face. "Let's all hang in there."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Even more applicants arrived in the afternoon. Bora and the Alchemia staff were busy guiding them to the basement auditorium.

'My head is throbbing.'

I slipped outside to get some fresh air. Behind the building, old air-conditioning units hummed, spewing hot air amid a messy scatter of empty cans and cigarette butts. But I wasn't alone. A man about my age was staring at his smartphone, tracing patterns in the air. He was practicing a magic circle.

Just then, he looked up, and our eyes met.

I knew him. Choi Eunoh. He had entered the Academy's non-combat track with me and Yoonjeong. I'd heard he was expelled for poor grades before his third year. He was here for the mage interview. He looked far more shocked to see me than I was to see him.

His eyes darted around nervously as he tried to figure out how to react. Seeing his panic, I decided to break the ice.

"Whoa, man! How long has it been?"

My friendly greeting seemed to put him at ease, and his tense expression softened.

"…Ah, hey! Y-Y-Yusin! Haha."

He let out an awkward laugh. I walked over and slung an arm around his neck. "It's really been a while! Why didn't you ever get in touch?"

"…Ah. I figured you were busy."

He was visibly tense.

"You're here for the interview, right? Still trying to make it as a hunter?"

"Yeah," he mumbled.

We quickly exchanged brief updates. After his expulsion, he'd been working part-time jobs while studying for the civil service exam. When I released magic to the public, he started practicing diligently and found he had an aptitude for it.

"…I never thought you'd become such a big deal," he said, his eyes shifting away. "A rank-3 hunter who is respected all over the world. Honestly, I'm in a position where I shouldn't even dare to look you in the eye… It's incredible."

"Hey, don't say that. Not that much has changed."

In a short time, however, the chasm between us had grown immense. We were classmates, but when we started at the Academy, Eunoh was miles ahead of me. He had a natural talent for weapon skills, making him the top student among the non-combatants. Even the combat-track students sought his advice. He even had a skilled and beautiful girlfriend from the combat track. All the non-combatants, myself included, had looked up to him with envy.

I once worked up the courage to ask him to teach me, but he had dismissed me with a single word.

'…You?'

I can still vividly recall the condescending look on his face. Then his combat-track friends had called him over, and he'd run off, tossing a vague promise to teach me later over his shoulder. My request was forgotten. Back then, he lived in a different world.

But the wall facing non-combatants was unforgiving, even for him. In our first year, the gap wasn't as obvious, but as time went on, he stagnated while his girlfriend and friends grew exponentially stronger. Soon, no one asked for his advice anymore. His girlfriend cheated on him with a third-year combat-track senior. When Eunoh confronted them, she had simply said, 'Then let's break up. Sorry.'

She wasn't even emotional about it. The new boyfriend barely reacted, just gave him a look that said, 'What are you going to do about it?' They lived in different worlds. The incident sent Eunoh into a long spiral, and his grades plummeted. Meanwhile, Yoonjeong and I fought tooth and nail to break through our own walls. Eunoh lost his top spot and was eventually expelled.

'He wasn't always like this.'

He was once so full of confidence that I had admired him. Now, he could barely meet my gaze. He was smiling and responding, but his limbs were trembling. We truly lived in different worlds now.

"What's Park Hanyeong up to?" I asked, remembering another friend who had been expelled with him.

"He was working as a scavenger, I think. I convinced him to start learning magic with me recently."

I nodded slowly.

"Th-the thing with Yoonjeong… I'm sorry. Your girlfriend…"

"We never dated," I cut in sharply.

As we continued to talk, the tension slowly eased. To be honest, I didn't have fond memories of him. The humiliation of his dismissal still stung. But it seemed pathetic to use my current position to lord over him for something so trivial. If anything, he was trying to get back on his feet. A part of me wanted to cheer him on.

"Eunoh."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Did you meet the interview requirements? First Circle and two spells."

His pupils began to tremble. "Uh, um. I-I can do the Shield… but the Mana Arrow is still…"

I sighed softly and explained the situation—that I was sending home anyone who didn't meet the requirements, and that failing in the interview itself would bar him from future opportunities. As I spoke, the color drained from his face.

"I'm telling you this for your own good. You should go home today."

Even as a friend, I couldn't bend the rules. If he didn't meet the standard, he was out. Eunoh hung his head.

"But," I said, pulling out my business card and pressing it into his hand. "This isn't my work number; it's my direct line. If you have any questions about magic, feel free to ask anytime."

"…Y-Yusin."

His shoulders trembled with emotion. "Th-thank you. Really."

"What are friends for?"

"…Honestly, I almost didn't come this morning. I was worried about what would happen if you recognized me. What if I just embarrassed myself? What if you still held a grudge and decided to get revenge? …Hah. I feel so pathetic and ashamed of myself."

He took out his wallet and carefully tucked my card inside. "Thank you so much. Really. Truly. I'll never forget this kindness as long as I live."

Just then, the back door burst open and Bora ran out. "There you are! You just disappeared; I was worried! All the applicants are in the auditorium!"

"Okay. I'll be right there."

I followed her toward the door, then glanced back at Eunoh. "Hang in there."

He just kept repeating, "Thank you."

* * *

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