About two weeks after starting the training for the entrance exam.
"No matter when I see you, you're crazy."
Park Min-cheol clicked his tongue at me as I was eating lunch among piles of garbage after clearing nearly half the vast ruins.
"What a compliment."
"What compliment. Take this."
I received the envelope of money and tucked it into my bag.
"I gave you a good price. You know that, right?"
"You're giving me a discount without me even saying anything."
"Of course. That guy is so scared of running into you that he just sends the truck with me."
I was selling usable items from the ruins to Director Kim through Park Min-cheol and receiving payment.
"After taking out labor costs and gas money, he won't have much left, but when I told him it was a favor for you, he looked absolutely miserable."
Park Min-cheol snickered, saying these days even he was getting some respect.
"It's convenient for me. He doesn't even bother me when I come here on business."
Park Min-cheol, who had been mocking the farce of using an employee for buying junk that was worthless compared to demonic beast byproducts, casually asked.
"You need a lot of money, right?"
"Of course."
"Can you cover your food expenses by selling this stuff?"
"It's good enough that I can cover even just the food expenses. Besides, I got the reward money this time too."
"Oh, for catching that Ma-in? You got the reward?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet. Got a recommendation letter and reward money. As they say, those who are meant to succeed will succeed."
Park Min-cheol sighed as he was enjoying this as if it were his own achievement.
"But even if you get into the Academy, there's still an issue. You've been doing this stuff all along to pay for school. Have you saved enough for the entrance fee and first year's tuition?"
"One year is impossible, but one semester is doable."
"That's impressive that you've saved that much, but what about the second semester? Did you look into loans?"
"Don't need them. I'll get a full scholarship."
At my matter-of-fact response, Park Min-cheol let out a hollow laugh.
"I've been noticing lately, but were you always this confident?"
I shrugged my shoulders instead of answering.
"How about the items I asked for?"
"Oh, I brought them."
Park Min-cheol pulled out a gun and ammunition bundle from his backpack.
Of course, they weren't real bullets, but non-lethal rubber bullets used for purposes like riot control.
"Are you really going to do this?"
"I have to."
"This is the first time I've heard of training like this."
The training outline was simple.
Park Min-cheol shoots rubber bullets, and I dodge them.
"Hey, if you get hit by this wrong, you could die."
Park Min-cheol said as he attached the magazine.
"It's fine."
The slight sting from getting hit by rubber bullets is nothing compared to the screams of muscle fibers I tear apart every day.
"What do you mean fine, you crazy bastard!"
Park Min-cheol burst out angrily and took out a vest and helmet.
"I bought these with my own money, so shut up and at least wear these."
"Hmm."
Although cumbersome, this wasn't bad if I considered it part of the training.
'Seems like he's quite nervous even at a distance of just 10 meters.'
I'm going to reduce the distance once I get used to it anyway.
Of course, Park Min-cheol's concern wasn't excessive.
The velocity of these rubber bullets is 90 meters per second, which translates to over 300 kilometers per hour.
Considering that hitting a 150 km/h ball thrown by a pitcher from 18 meters away is the ability shown by professional baseball hitters.
It's no easy task to dodge rubber bullets flying from just 10 meters away, especially continuously.
'But that kind of speed is necessary for training.'
The dynamic vision enhanced by Eye Power is truly superhuman, but having good eyes means nothing if the body can't keep up.
To maximize the performance of Eye Power, I need to hone my reflexes to react the moment I see something and improve the coordination between my eyes and body.
'Since reflexes can also be endlessly improved through training.'
This is an essential power, especially for dealing with speed-type Ma-in.
'For now, it's enough to just adapt to what I have.'
"Ready to fire?"
Park Min-cheol, who had taken position and put on goggles, confirmed one last time.
"Don't announce it, just shoot whenever."
A moment of silence passed, and then.
Bang, bang!
Two shots came simultaneously.
One aimed at my chest, one at my legs.
'Quite considerate.'
I easily dodged them by quickly stepping to the left, reducing my exposed area.
Thwack!
Just from the sound of the rubber bullets embedding in the wall, I could tell their power was no joke.
"He's really dodging."
"You can keep shooting. I won't blame you even if I get hit."
"Okay."
Now seeming somewhat reassured, Park Min-cheol's shooting became bolder.
Ratatata!
3 shots, 4 shots, 6 shots.
The magazine emptied faster, and my movements grew larger, but not a single bullet touched my body.
"Wow, holy shit. You're not getting hit even with this?"
"Continue."
"Alright!"
How long did we continue like that?
"Hoo!"
Park Min-cheol, who had gotten excited, emptied the remaining bullets all at once.
'Crazy.'
I quickly dropped my body to the ground.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
The sound of bullets hitting the wall was quite savage.
"S-sorry! Are you okay?"
Park Min-cheol ran over, startled.
"Sorry. I got carried away without realizing it."
A bit of irritation welled up, but the high rationality of the original owner of this body quickly calmed it down.
"...Isn't spraying bullets a bit much?"
"Uh... really sorry. I thought you'd dodge them all."
"...Just pay for the laundry."
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
As the entrance exam approached, all of the Academy's instructors were busy with final preparations.
"Let's take a short break."
Kim Cheol-han, who had barely made room to place a cup among mountains of documents, drank cold coffee and fell into thought.
'Jeong Su-hyeon, huh.'
A 17-year-old boy who faced a C-rank Ma-in that even armed police couldn't stop and plucked out its eyeball.
A survivor of the Samcheok incident, and above all, recommended by Song Young-hwan, his old friend.
'It's rare for someone like him to say that a person knows how to fight.'
Both he and Song Young-hwan had personalities that inherently disliked inexperienced rookies.
'Since our days as squad members, it was always his job to grill nervous rookies.'
Because of that, the rookies who had satisfied their eyes had all become renowned powerhouses by now.
"Hmm."
But Kim Cheol-han was still skeptical.
'It's not that he's bad, but this cohort has so many monstrous talents.'
Led by an all-time promising talent who had a great hero as a father and himself had the qualities to become S-rank.
That "guy" who was the precious child of one of the few top conglomerate families and possessed the strongest freezing ability, and the swordsman who had the famous Sword God as his grandfather were also talents who could have been top of any year.
'That kid who handles wind was also pretty good.'
Of course, Kim Cheol-han held a sneer, thinking that they were still just green kids regardless.
"I don't easily place expectations on others."
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
Beep, beep, beep!
With the mechanical sound, machine clusters flew in from all directions and froze simultaneously with just a wave of her hand.
Crack!
Looking at the machines that had turned into ice chunks in the blink of an eye, Hwang Ji-su frowned as if displeased.
"Tch."
'The reaction was slow for 3 out of 10. And in 1 out of 7, the cold didn't permeate enough.'
Crack!
After completing her self-assessment, she crushed the machine clusters with her foot.
"Are you not satisfied?"
Her mother, watching from beyond the glass wall, asked.
"Ten already is a faster pace than expected."
"...It's because I didn't respond perfectly."
She answered with a slightly uncomfortable look, turning her back.
Hwang Ji-su's cold, noble, and white face reflected in the translucent glass wall didn't much resemble her mother's.
"This level isn't enough."
"Is it because of Jun-seong?"
"..."
Her silence was her own expression of irritation.
"Everyone says Jun-seong will be the top student, and you're the candidate for second place."
"Let them talk all they want. I don't care."
Looking at her daughter whose words and expression didn't match, Hwang Ji-su's mother smiled.
"I believe our daughter will naturally be the top student. But Jun-seong and Yu-jin are no pushovers, so..."
"Lee Yu-jin?"
Hwang Ji-su's straight eyebrows twitched.
"If I just beat Seo Jun-seong, I'll be the top. Lee Yu-jin? Those below? They're not even in my consideration."
"Hmm."
"Lee Yu-jin is no match for me anyway, except in close combat."
"They say a child named Hong In-hyeon is also being talked about a lot. A strong dark horse, apparently."
"I don't know. I've only heard talk."
Hwang Ji-su was about to return to her seat as if there was nothing more to say.
"Ah, and Ji-su. There's something going around among the parents these days."
"?"
"About that Ma-in incident in Manggok district recently. They say there's a boy who defeated a C-rank Ma-in alone?"
"..."
She had heard about that story too.
"They say that child is also taking the entrance exam. He could be an unexpected dark horse."
"If it were me, I would have just frozen him from a distance and been done with it. That level isn't enough to compete with me or Seo Jun-seong."
Despite her confidence that bordered on arrogance, her mother only gave an inscrutable smile.
"I see. Your father is also expecting a lot."
"..."
Hwang Ji-su quietly bit her lip.
"This is my fight."
"Indeed."
'How annoying.'
Seo Jun-seong, her mother who pushed using Seo Jun-seong as bait, and her father.
All of them were irritants to her nerves.
Crack!
She continued to cover the training ground with ice, freely releasing her power until her frustration was relieved.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
The day of the entrance exam.
"Come back safely."
I nodded at Park Min-cheol's words, who had come out to see me off in the freezing early dawn.
"Thanks."
"By the way, you're really a tough guy. To think you actually went through with that crazy stuff."
"But the effect is clear, isn't it?"
"That's true."
Park Min-cheol clicked his tongue as he looked me up and down.
"Damn, how is this a high schooler's body? If I met you on the street, I'd instantly lower my eyes and kneel."
With just one month of repeating superhuman training, my physique was already at a level that could place in an amateur physique competition.
'It's not all about muscles though.'
In any case, creating such a body without deliberately cutting body fat and exercising is something only I can do.
'This level is just right.'
A bodybuilder-like physique is far from the functionality I'm aiming for.
"Eat this on the way."
What Park Min-cheol offered was a glutinous rice cake.
"It's for good luck on the exam."
"I don't like rice cakes."
At that, he scrunched his face in disapproval.
"Then give it to me, you jerk."
"I'm kidding."
I chewed and swallowed it in one bite.
"It's delicious."
"If you pass, remember I contributed."
"Sure."
Park Min-cheol patted my shoulder.
"Do well."
"I will. See you."
I took a taxi to the assembly point.
From there, I would board a dedicated bus heading to the Academy.
'They're thorough.'
The Academy, located beyond the Taebaek Mountains in Gangwon Province, was about a two-hour drive from Seoul.
Particularly, to get there, one had to go through a dedicated road, and unauthorized vehicles couldn't even enter in the first place.
'It's treated almost like a national secret facility.'
It was a measure to protect the cadets from potential Ma-in attacks.
Therefore, the entrance exam also followed a structure where applicants were transported by dedicated buses from assembly points across the country.
Additionally, armed police and Execution Force members escorted the buses in case of any incidents.
'It's a bit showy.'
In the current timeline, there haven't yet been situations where Academy applicants are openly attacked.
In any case, judging by the treatment, it was indeed an exam held with an importance almost on par with the past college entrance exams.
"We've arrived."
After getting off the taxi, the assembly point was filled with several escort vehicles and applicants my age.
Most looked either determined or visibly tense, and occasionally there were kids hugging their parents or sitting with friends and chatting.
Either way.
I boarded the nearest limousine bus and sat in one of the few empty seats.
In the bus, which was about two-thirds full, there were also familiar faces.
'Seo Jun-seong isn't here.'
"Whoa. Is that who I think it is?"
"I think it is."
"Wow."
At that moment, a girl who attracted everyone's attention boarded the bus.
'Lee Yu-jin?'
I recognized her at a glance.
Straight, solid, and noble—a dignity and aura reminiscent of a sword.
Her height in the late 160cm range, long straight hair, solid build, and neat features.
That person is Lee Yu-jin, one of the top candidates among this Golden Generation cohort, a named character who will eventually rank among the strongest.
"Is that Lee Yu-jin?"
"She's pretty."
"Look at her body. It's incredibly trained."
"Of course. Her grandfather is the Sword God..."
Lee Yu-jin was the granddaughter of one of the few S-rank Hunters in the country, the Sword God Lee Un-hak.
'That old man is truly formidable.'
A man who, with just one sword, could dice up even demons crawling out of hell like radish cubes.
Having such a grandfather alone made Yu-jin destined to receive everyone's attention and expectations.
Finishing my thoughts, I turned my head toward the window.
Lee Yu-jin, who had been looking around with emotionless eyes, came and sat next to me.
"..."
"..."
Although a bit surprised.
We both crossed our arms and closed our eyes like people sitting next to inanimate objects.
"Who's that kid?"
"Never seen him before."
"He's quite good-looking."
"Is he into close combat? Those trapezius muscles are no joke..."
As I tried to ignore the voices and look out the window, I suddenly felt a gaze on the back of my head.
"Do you have something to say?"
Lee Yu-jin asked with a suspicious expression.
"You. Haven't you been on the news?"
"You know me?"
"I heard there's a student who got a recommendation letter from an Execution Force team leader and is taking the exam. The description I heard matches you."
"...You're very interested in others' news."
Though I didn't intend to reproach her, Lee Yu-jin bit her lip as if a bit embarrassed and said defensively.
"...The more knowledge about competitors, the better, right?"
"That's true."
"Yeah."
Lee Yu-jin blinked slightly and then, watching my reaction, said.
"Are you angry? I'll apologize if you felt bad."
"...There's no need for that."
She was more strait-laced than I expected.