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Shiki P.o.v
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Chief Magician Jin Joohwa's explanation dragged on for a long time. How the exam will be carried out, how groups will be formed, the types of monsters that will be summoned…
I understood that he was a cautious person. Who would want to see their student walking to their death?
"Now, we will begin the exam. Group 1 members should stand up."
Finally, he spoke the words I was waiting for.
Group 1 was Hazuki, Kim Junho, Yoo Jungjin, and Spenner. Hazuki was the only one I knew.
"I'll do my best!"
Hazuki got up after receiving encouraging words from his friends.
The four group members followed a staff member to the examination grounds.
"Everyone else, please stand to the side."
The 97 remaining cadets of Veritas class stood against the wall while wondering why. Suddenly, Jin Joohwa clapped, and ten circular tables with ten chairs each rose up from the floor.
"Take a seat, everyone. You will be writing a report for this exam as well."
Immediately, cadets broke out into groans.
"Sit wherever you want."
What a bunch of kids. You really think it was this easy? Of course, there has to be something to do while waiting.
I took my seat in silence, ignoring the sounding complaints of others.
"…?"
When I was thoughtlessly waiting for Jin Joohwa's next word, a sweet fragrance tickled my nose. It was a unique and aromatic smell of roses. I glanced sideways.
It was Rachel. She was staring at her fingernails. It seemed one of her nails was too sharp as she took a nail clipper to one of her fingers. At that moment, her eyes met mine.
Rachel hastily put away the nail clipper in her pocket. She then gave me a slight nod.
I also gave a nod in response.
"Battle analysis will be part of this exam."
Jin Joohwa's explanation began once again.
"It's simple. You will carefully analyse cadets who are battling monsters and write a report."
In an instant, a monitor shot up from the tables. There was one for each seat, a total of a hundred.
The monitor's screen was split into four, and each screen showed a cadet from the group taking the exam.
"How they were able to defeat their monster, or why they lost; even if they won, in what areas they were lacking; if they lost, what methods they could have used to get a better result. This is what we are looking for in your reports."
Chak, chak.
Jin Joohwa clapped, and the other magicians began to hand out report papers.
"You have to write three reports in total, but only the best report will be reflected in your grade. Of course, that doesn't mean you can only write one report. If you do, you will be penalised."
I picked up the paper in front of me. Looking at the peer assessment paper, there are two boxes on top: my name and the person I'll be evaluating's name
[Check the 'anonymous' checkbox if you wish to remain anonymous.]
So they had the option of being anonymous.
"For the record, this report is only 5% of your grade. But the reports you write will be given to the cadets you evaluate."
At these words, cadets began to exchange meaningful looks.
"Giving your peers healthy advice and recommendations, and encouraging honest self-development, I think these are duties of a hero. So if you abuse the ability to be anonymous to be malicious, you will be penalised accordingly."
The chief magician's mouth curled up into a smile.
"It seems we are ready. Group 1's exam will now begin."
I stared at the monitor fixedly. Using Reinforcement on my eyes, I watch all four screens at once. After a while, I switched to Hazuki's screen as the other three didn't show anything outstanding.
'Not bad, she already deducted that she is at a disadvantage and dropped to a defensive tactic. Reflex speed is good, and her basics are solid.
Only problem is she doesn't have a clear solution to a spiritual foe, in this case a ghoul.'
15 minutes went by with no change.
The ghoul disappeared after being reverse-summoned.
"Draw, Hazuki and Yoo Jungjin. Victory, Spenner. Defeat Kim Junho. Next is group 2. Chae Nayun, Hojun, Jutryn, Carlos."
"I should write this down." I mummured.
Next up was Chae Nayun's group.
Chae Nayun walked up in an imposing manner. The weight of her bow seemed lighter than usual. Did something happen yesterday?
I took a look at Hajin. His brows told me everything. The idiot had said something stupid for sure. His mouth will be the death of him someday.
I looked at Chae Nayun through the monitor.
"A Thousand-Mile Horse?"
Chae Nayun's opponent was the grey unicorn with a white mane and tail. A very nimble and fast monster, the bane of all archers. Let's see how she overcomes this beast.
Not long afterwards, the battle began.
Chae Nayun drew her bow, and the Thousand-Mile Horse charged towards her.
Under my reinforced eyes, I saw every aspect of the battle. And there were a lot of things to point out.
[First of all, even if keeping a distance from the horse was unlikely, an archer... No, no one should roll out of the way. Doing so leaves a ton of gaps to exploit. Side-stepping is already enough; why waste a full second to recover?]
[Second, Chae Nayun only uses textbook stances. As a result, a lot of time was wasted on fixing her posture led to a lot of missed arrows.]
This is a bad habit, and habits can be seen and used against you. Also, clutching on textbook hinders her attack flexibility.
[Third, slowing down a faster opponent is always the top priority unless knocking them out on the spot is available. Yet there was no sign of targeting the legs from Chae Nayun.]
Unlike Hajin yesterday, Nayun didn't bother to criple the horse. This kept her at a disadvantage throughout the fight. If she had done so, this fight would have ended much earlier.
[Despite all this, Chae Nayun was able to win against the Thousand-Mile Horse because of her overwhelming magic power control, capacity, and adaptability. Her upsides balanced out her tremendous flaws.]
[Overall, it is best that Chae Nayun include a secondary option besides a bow and arrows. Preferably a close-range weapon to cover her limited variety of attacks and defences.]
The exam ended with her victory.
However, my report was filled with criticisms. Still, they weren't too harsh. If the person grading this report had sharp eyes, he would also agree.
"Victory, Chae Nayun. Defeat, Hojun, and Jutryn. Draw, Carlos."
"Next is group 3…"
The exam thus continued.
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Meanwhile, Oh Junhyuk was patrolling the west forest. The faint vibration he felt a while ago was bothering him.
Normally, he would have thought of it as a natural phenomenon and ignored it, but a police officer had been killed the day before. As a result, Oh Junhyuk was currently more sensitive to his surroundings.
Oong—
A vibration even clearer than the one he felt before rang out.
"Youngji, did you feel that?"
Seo Youngji's reply came within a second of the micro-transceiver he had.
—Yep, another vibration. I think it's coming from the ocean. Can you tell me exactly when you felt the vibration?
"How should I know?"
—Then just send me your smartwatch data.
"…"
Oh Junhyuk did as she said.
—I'm in the east forest. The vibration was 0.03 seconds faster on your side. The source of the vibration must be in the west sea.
"Can I use the smartwatch to calculate the same thing?"
— You should be able to. It's the Association's specially crafted smartwatch. It has a lot of useful functions. Anyway, I'm heading over there now. Wait for me.
"Got it."
Oh Junhyuk began to walk towards the west sea through a field of weeds. Since the vibration came from the west sea, he planned to observe it from a distance.
But at that moment…
He felt a condensing and scattering of magic power.
Oh Junhyuk quickly turned in that direction.
A shadowy figure was walking out of the dense forest.
"…"
Oh Junhyuk stared at the figure while holding his breath.
Tap, tap. With heavy steps, a man walked out… a man that he had seen before. Because of the unique aura he gave off, Oh Junhyuk remembered him.
A large build and a sinister face. It was the man who was glaring at him in the arena.
Oh Junhyuk's eyes met the man's. The man returned a big smile.
Looking at the man, Oh Junhyuk spoke in a businesslike manner.
"This area is off-limits to outsiders."
"Is it?"
A fierce light shone from the man's eyes.
"Then why are you here?"
His voice was fittingly husky and full. However, Oh Junhyuk retorted without being fazed in the slightest.
"Because I'm not an outsider."
"Mm, what a surprise."
The giant man gave a dry reply as he rubbed his chin. Oh Junhyuk forced himself to smile.
"If you understand, please go back."
"I refuse."
With a grin, the giant man suddenly began to crack his joints. He was clearly asking for a fight. Oh Junhyuk, let out a deep sigh.
"The one who murdered that police officer. That was you, wasn't it?"
"Huh? I don't know. Rather than that, don't just stand there."
At that moment, a chilling wind blew from the sea. Oh Junhyuk's smartwatch loudly rang at the same time.
"Move if you don't want to be beaten up."
The moment the giant man's voice fell low…
Chwaa—
From the depths of the sea, a giant creature shot up with a burst of water. Oh Junhyuk quickly turned around.
The creature looked like a generic snake, but its overwhelming size and vicious mouth showed that it was in a league of its own.
Serpent Dragon.
A mythical monster had appeared on the west sea.
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'Oho? Someone is releasing a lot of mana. And it's coming from that direction.'
I turned to the towering mana signature in the forest. It was quite far away from me but I can sensed it clearly. That guy wasn't bad at all.
"Wow~ I wonder if I got some sort of insight. Who knew I could win against a Thousand-Mile Horse so easily?"
While I was focusing on the imminent pressure. Nayun was bragging her heart out.
"Really, what happened, Nayun?"
Yoo Yeonha also chimed in from next to her. Although Yoo Yeonha usually lowered her head in front of Chae Nayun, her genuinely surprised expression told me that it wasn't just flattery this time.
It was understandable. Yoo Yeonha didn't know anything about bows, so Chae Nayun's battle might have seemed unproblematic. At first glance, it was indeed an amazing fight. But just like the saying, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
"I learned from failure, something like that, hahaha."
Chae Nayun made a hearty laugh. She must be feeling great, seeing as how she even brought up her loss from yesterday. Meanwhile, Kim Suho was smiling sweetly as he watched Chae Nayun.
I imagined Chae Nayun reading my report. Would she lash out immediately? Should I submit it anonymously?
"Group 10. Rachel, Kim Hajin, Skid, Lee Wei.
Shiki, you're coming as well."
At that moment, Jin Joohwa announced the 10th group. I glanced at Rachel, who was sitting next to me. She seemed to have me on her mind as well, as her eyes met mine. She got up from her seat.
I tapped Hajin on the shoulder, snapping him out of daze before following Rachel.
"Come this way."
Rachel, Hajin and I followed a staff member with the rest of group Ten's members.
We arrived in a waiting room, and the staff opened a giant door on its right side.
"Go in. Shiki, you stay here. When the first one finishes, it's your turn."
"Good luck." I said.
Hajin and Rachel nodded and went inside.
I was provided with a tablet by the magician standing with me. I had to write a report even here. The magician then left to operate the exam.
Tapping on the tablet, I changed it into a dual screen to watch as my students took their exam.
Both Hajin and Rachel had improved drastically. With Hajin being less passive and more dexterous with his movement while Rachel learned not to rely too much on her agility and started to use her strength more.
Though they still have some points to improve, I wrote a pretty solid report on their performances.
As soon as I got ready to step through the doors...
KWANG--!
A huge explosion erupted and the lights in the room went off.
I was now in total darkness.
--A problem has occurred. All monsters will be reverse summoned. Cadets are to leave the examination ground immedi…Tzzzk.
The speaker cut off with a static noise.
Hmm, now that I think about it, that mana signature was gone for a while.
"Haa… I knew something would happen eventually."
Looking at my tablet, two of the screens lost their signal while the other two showed an empty room. A closer look revealed two cadet imbedded in the wall.
'Poor kids, wrong place at the wrong time.'
I pushed open the doors leading to the exam room and made my way there.
'Rachel and Hajin is still stuck in there. I must make haste.'
The Acceleration magecraft covered my whole body, turning me into a living bullet. I flew across the long corridor.
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In a dark room filled with chilling air and breathless killing intent, a lone man's murmuring rose up coldly.
"I knew this day would come one day."
What should have been a familiar language approached Rachel unfamiliarly. She glared at the man who appeared from the darkness. Although the man was wearing a cape and covering his face, Rachel felt like she knew who he was.
Rachel calmly recited his name.
"…Sir Lancaster."
The previous captain of the Royal Guard and Rachel's previous master, Alex Lancaster.
The man who disappeared a few years ago after his family was murdered in the infamous London Incident had appeared once again with breathtaking killing intent.
"I'm honoured you remember me."
A thin smile emerged on his face. Rachel felt a great malice from his sinister smile. From it, she could easily see the path he had walked.
"…You sold your soul."
Lancaster shook his head. He denied Rachel's claim.
"I lived my life for my country, but my country killed my everything. I didn't sell my soul. Only, my master took in my wandering soul after I was abandoned by my country."
For a moment, a deep sadness emerged on Rachel's face. What Lancaster was saying was a painful memory for her as well.
"…Is that why you came to me?"
"Princess, does it look like I came here?"
Rachel furrowed her brows. Then, she stabbed with her rapier, which simply passed through his body.
"I am somewhere, but not here."
"…"
Rachel turned around. The door to the room was tightly shut. For whatever reason, no help seemed to be coming.
Lancaster spoke with a smile.
"There's quite a chaos outside right now. Of course, if this place were England, the Princess's safety would have been the top priority. Tens, hundreds, and thousands of people's lives wouldn't compare to Princess'…"
Lancaster paused momentarily. His smiling face was twisted viciously.
"The entire country would not hesitate to throw away their lives to save Princess. After all, Princess is England's only hope."
After saying what he wanted to say, Lancaster's mouth drew into a satisfied smile.
"But that isn't the case here. In this place, you are only one of many cadets."
Rachel stared at him with sadness. The resentment and anger in his voice made Rachel feel guilty. However, Lancaster clenched his teeth at her response.
"So you still won't remove your hypocritical mask of pretense…"
Anger and regret filled his drawn out words. Rachel took a small courageous step towards him.
"Sir Lancaster…"
"I would like to talk a bit longer, but there is no time."
However, Lancaster rejected her before bowing respectfully.
"Fair well Princess, please be well."
With that, he turned into a black fog and disappeared.
"Wait…!"
Suddenly, an assassin jumped out of the fog, swinging a sword. Though it was abrupt, Rachel managed to swing her rapier and defend against the attack. At the same time, the attack sliced off a chunk of her sword qi. She was astonished at the weight behind the magic power.
But the assassin's magic power wasn't the only astonishing thing.
The assassin's movements were nimble and sharp. Left flank and shoulder. His keen attacks dug through Rachel's weak points. Two swords clashed against each other, and a sharp metallic sound resounded. Hot sparks were ignited, and fresh blood burst into the air.
Against the assassin's aggressive maneuvers, Rachel could only stay on the defensive. But as the fight continued, more scratches appeared on her body. Once the pain grew more intense, Rachel had to admit that she couldn't defeat the assassin with standard tactics.
KWANG--!
However, this nail-biting situation was interrupted by a terrifying vibration and a fierce explosion. The wall had been blown up.
"Geez, so much dust. Ptui."
A man walked out from behind a cloud of acrid smoke.
It was a familiar face to Rachel.
Kim Hajin. It was him.
"…!"
The assassin immediately ran towards him.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kim Hajin simply fired his gun.
"Kuak!"
A shot from his gun turn the assassin into a cold body with a large hole in it abdomen. It was a terrifying display of power.
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"It seems like I wasn't needed."
Hajin and Rachel looked at the door as I approached.
"Teach."
"Teacher."
"I was worried since you two didn't come back so I came.
But it looks to me that you two are fine."
"Yeah, we're fine for now." Hajin said.
"I'm sorry for making you worry." Rachel also spoke up.
"It's fine, the importance is that you two are okay. Let's go, we shouldn't linger for long."
"Yes... Ouch!"
Rachel tried to walk, but a graze on her knee made it a little difficult. She also had a few cuts on her body.
"You're injured, sit down." I said.
Hajin took off the belt bag around his waist. To give a brief explanation about this belt bag, it was an all-purpose emergency kit created with the combination of all my fears and apprehensions.
Antidotes, potions, painkillers, tranquillisers, bandages, gauzes… all sorts of medicine and medicinal supplies were in this bag. Of course, recovery potions, namely the 'external wound recovery potion', were also included in it.
"Here, it's an external wound recovery potion."
When he gave her a glass bottle containing a red liquid, Rachel's eyes widened in surprise.
"Before I put it on, I'll wipe off your blood first."
Hajin felt his lips going dry. He wet his lips with saliva before asking, "May I?"
"…."
Rachel nodded. She had given me permission.
First, Hajin took out a gauze from his belt bag and wiped the blood flowing down from her wounded left arm.
As he took out more gauze, Hajin kept the used ones stacked on top of each other without throwing them away. Once her arm was mostly clean of blood, Hajin wet a gauze with the potion before applying it to her skin.
Immediately, Rachel clenched her teeth. Potions had a stinging sensation when applied over the skin, kind of like antiseptics.
When the treatment was done, Rachel crouched down on the ground. It was easy to see that she was struggling to endure the pain.
I crouched down and touched Rachel's bandaged knee with my hand.
[
O kindred Alf, grant thy healing grace. Ingrain.
]
The spell went off, sprouting roots of light wrapping around Rachel's knee. A warm sensation hit her nerves, relieving the pain.
"This should help with your healing. You should avoid training for a day or two."
Rachel staggered up slowly and bowed to Hajin then me.
"Thank you, Mr Hajin. Teacher, you as well, thank you"
"You're welcome. Now let's go."
"Ah…"
Suddenly, electricity came back on and the darkness shrouding the room disappeared. Naturally, our conversation was put on hold.
We walked to the corridor.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, I heard the sound of someone walking towards us. Rachel put up her guard. Seeing her, I simply smiled.
"Thankfully, we restored the electricity…"
It was Kim Soohyuk's voice. He was walking down the hallway while communicating with someone on a transceiver.
"You guys, what are you doing here? No, why did you come back here?"
"Come back?"
"Didn't you guys…"
Kim Soohyuk paused in the middle of his sentence as though he'd remembered something. From his reaction, I also had an idea as to what happened. Djinns who could create illusions with form surely existed.
"The other two are still inside."
"Ah, shoot! You three, wait here. No, run to the infirmary!"
With that, Kim Soohyuk ran down the hallway to the examination rooms.
Judging from his words, Kim Soohyuk must have seen 'us' coming out earlier. No wonder no one came to rescue.
The man earlier must have had accomplices. Breaking the wall of the exam site and tricking the instructor at the same time.
I should call Lancer next time I spot his signature. She would have a field day with them if they still work together then.
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The Cube Monster Incident became a hot topic across the world.
Djinns being involved in the incident was kept under wraps, but because a Serpent Dragon and several other monsters critically injured two cadets, Cube received a huge global backlash.
As a result, the rest of the combat exams were put on hold.
The result of the duels would be kept, while another monster war would take place later.
Finally, the group rescue mission, which was planned for Friday, was cancelled entirely considering the circumstances.
In addition, classes were also cancelled until Thursday, two weeks later.
In other words, there were no classes for the next ten days.
With the sudden holiday, cadets seemed to be planning on returning home or going on vacation with the compensation Cube gave out.
Cube's official community forum was filled with posts asking for good places to visit in Japan or America, while some people left snarky remarks on how they could go on vacation when cadets were injured from the incident.
In any case, none of these problems had any relevance to me.
At this moment, I was sitting in my dorm room, along with Hajin to feed a little unborn seed.
"…Oh, did it just eat?" Hajin said.
"SHE Hajin. And yes, she did."
Evandel's Seed. The seed of a witch he obtained from Gari Mountain's hidden stage was now sucking on Rachel's blood. The bloodied gauze had returned to its white colour.
Once three months passed, a kind witch would be born, another member to this small family (Lancer included).
At that moment, a sudden pain overcame Hajin
The source of the pain was his upper arm. He quickly pulled up his sleeve. Another streak of stigma was being drawn on his arm.
"Interesting, so it engraves itself onto your arm as it expands the total mana capacity."
This thing is really fascinating, being able to substitute the mana crest spell. Though I don't think the pain is worth the reward.
Deep in my thoughts, I forgot about the suffering man on the ground.
Hajin's thoughts cut off, and he clenched his teeth, unable to scream. In front of this tremendous pain, his consciousness slowly faded.
"Oh shit! Hang on, Hajin"
I rushed to him and started chanting.
[
Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani
'Heal thou, holy water, and ward off cold death'
]
The Nordic spell flared green, enveloping Hajin's arm. His face showed signs of relief as his consciousness faded. The pain is over for now.
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At the same time, Chae Nayun is currently at her home, reading the reports that were sent to her home
Evaluating cadet—Kim Suho]
"…"
His name shook her heart slightly, but Chae Nayun tried to act unconcerned and furrowed her brows chicly. She quietly read the contents of the report.
[It was a victory of self-conviction.
Recently, Chae Nayun seemed to have doubts about herself. Losing to a rival and being criticized by someone wore down her confidence.
But as expected, Chae Nayun was a born archer who was overflowing with talent.
Against the Thousand-Mile Horse, Chae Nayun showed a battle brimming with confidence. There was no hesitation or doubts in her movements, and her attacks were also on point.
I believe Chae Nayun has already reached a certain realm as an archer. She told me that someone said her talent was lacking, but what Chae Nayun lacked wasn't talent, but trust in her own abilities.
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If she continues to trust in herself as she did today, if she believes in her talent and strides forward, I have the utmost belief that she will become the greatest Hero.]
"…Huua."
With a thin breath, Chae Nayun softly caressed Kim Suho's report. She was moved by his heartfelt encouragement. A smile emerged on her face, and her worries and trembling heart settled down.
With her eyes closed, she reaffirmed her belief.
'A bow suits me. No matter what anyone says, a bow suits me best.'
Chae Nayun carefully placed his report on her bed.
Now, there were two reports remaining. One was anonymous, while the other was from Shin Jonghak.
She decided to finish what she started.
First, the anonymous report.
"Hm."
She picked up the report without much thought.
"…"
But not long afterwards, she clenched her hands, which were holding onto the report. Beyond the crumpled report, Chae Nayun's distorted face emerged.
"Iiik, iii, iiik…"
Unlike the others, the anonymous report was filled with criticisms. Its malicious words seemed to strike at her bones directly, and Chae Nayun trembled in anger.
"…Who is the fucker?"
The report was written in a respectful tone, but it was clear what it was trying to say.
'You have no sense, talent, or brain. You won thanks to your magic power.'
It was anonymous, but Chae Nayun felt like she knew who the writer was.
"Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin…!"
Although there was another report criticised her, she was already fuming with rage as Nayun picked up her smartwatch without noticing it.
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