Chapter 33

Chapter 33: The Exam (1)

A deep trail in the mountains north of Seoul.

This was a place strictly off-limits to civilians.

Only licensed Awakened were permitted to enter.

—SCREECH!

The cry of a monkey rang out from somewhere.

I scanned my surroundings in a flash, but nothing was visible. Which meant—

"There you are!"

SHING—

I drew my sword in a wide upward arc, and the sensation of slicing through flesh met my hands.

The monkey, split in two, tumbled out of the air with a THUD. The stench of entrails and the splash of crimson blood came as a bonus.

I'd cut down more than ten of them, but I still hadn't gotten used to it.

Even though the monsters were weak, the mental toll was gradually wearing me down.

"Still, the fact that the monkeys are appearing more frequently means... just as I thought."

I crested the hill ahead and finally found what I'd been looking for.

A Gate radiating blue light came into view.

Every dungeon in these mountains connected to the same type of dungeon.

The very one I'd be using for my course exam—the Pale Monkey Forest.

I photographed it from multiple angles, then switched on the GPS to pinpoint the exact coordinates.

After that, I fed the Gate's mana signature into my arcane device. Text appeared on the screen mounted atop it.

▼ Analysis Results

—Grade: F

—Name: Pale Monkey Forest

—ID: 31220917

Save? (Yes/No)

"Yes."

DING!

Done.

I followed up by transmitting all the data I'd gathered to the Hero Association.

This was preparation to establish my priority claim on the Gate.

Dungeon priority was a system born from the repeated abuse of major guilds barging into dungeons other guilds were actively clearing and swiping the choicest spoils.

The original intent was sound, but now it had been twisted into a garbage policy that major guilds exploited to monopolize dungeons.

The Association tried limiting the number of dungeons each guild could claim at once, but the major guilds wormed through the loopholes by establishing shell guilds. Eventually, the Hero Association just gave up trying to enforce it.

At least these low-profit beginner dungeons didn't attract that kind of attention, so it didn't matter for now.

I managed to secure all the dungeons faster than I'd anticipated.

The exam preparations had wrapped up to my satisfaction.

***

The week marking one month since the start of the semester.

For the freshmen, it had been exactly one month since they'd enrolled at the Academy.

This was prime time for first-years to soak up the college experience—bouncing between department and club social events like drinking parties, mixer dates, and overnight trips.

Even at Florian, Korea's premier Academy, there was an understanding that freshmen bursting with dreams deserved some slack.

But there were always exceptions.

Every student enrolled in the Dungeon Research and Practicum course wore the same expression—a look of abject despair as they denied the reality before them.

"No... no, this can't be right... How can there be an exam just one month after enrollment?"

C-team's red-haired swordswoman, Nam Hyeju, rejected the nightmarish reality.

Gam Miseong nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah. Who the hell gives an exam this early?"

"If you ask me, that professor's got something wrong in the head."

"Agreed. No sane person would ever create a ridiculous class like this."

The two of them ripped into Cha Eunwoo with gusto.

Seo Dayun, unable to stay quiet any longer, mustered her courage and spoke up.

"Th-the Professor's only doing this for our sake, you know. Don't you think you're being a little harsh?"

Gam Miseong and Nam Hyeju turned to look at Seo Dayun at the same time.

Seo Dayun always hung back and went along with whatever everyone else said—so seeing her actually assert herself was a rare enough sight to catch them off guard.

Seo Dayun instinctively took a step backward.

These two weren't bad people, but they made her a little uncomfortable.

To put it bluntly, they looked intimidating.

Even so, she had to fight this battle for the Professor's honor.

Seo Dayun put every ounce of force she could into her eyes.

Gam Miseong and Nam Hyeju found that so adorable they burst out laughing.

"Wh-why are you laughing?"

"Hmm, I wonder why Dayun's playing defense for the Professor~?"

"Right? What's so great about him? His class is terrible. The pace is insane, and there are practicals on top of that. We've already got a mountain of handouts. At this rate, they won't even fit in our bags by the end of the semester."

Seo Dayun bristled and fired back.

"But his lectures are amazing! One of his classes is worth more than two of anyone else's combined!"

Gam Miseong and Nam Hyeju exchanged a covert glance.

This was more fun to tease out of her than they'd expected.

"So what? It's harder than three other classes combined."

"B-but you gain that much more from it, so it's worth it!"

"If that's what you want, just take more classes."

"Exactly. I'm taking fifteen credits and my friend's taking nineteen, but this one class alone keeps me way busier than her. How does that even make sense?"

"W-well, that may be true, but......"

As Seo Dayun floundered, the two of them snickered.

Nam Hyeju delivered the finishing blow.

"Dayun, the way you keep shielding the Professor... I get it now. You're totally smitten with his face, aren't you?"

"Wh-what?"

"I mean, he is the most gorgeous person I've ever seen in my life. If he were a senior instead of a professor, I'd have already thrown myself at him!"

"I-it's not like that......"

Gam Miseong scoffed at Nam Hyeju.

"'Thrown yourself at him,' my ass. You think someone like you would even catch his eye?"

"Excuse me? What's wrong with me?"

"What isn't? Go look in a mirror."

"Right back at you."

"Rainbow right back at you."

While the two of them bickered, Seo Dayun turned to An Seri for backup.

"Seri, come over here and say something!"

Seri would know all about the Professor's good qualities.

Maybe even more than me... No, not that. I know him better than anyone. But she knows him about as well as I do.

Yet An Seri's expression was flat and disinterested.

"Don't care. Let them trash-talk the Professor all they want."

Seo Dayun's hopes were spectacularly betrayed.

She flailed her arms in a panic, but An Seri didn't take back her words.

The past few days had been the worst for An Seri.

She'd been completely betrayed by the Professor she trusted.

Without An Seri knowing, the Professor had been helping Seo Dayun with private tutoring, which led to a run-in with some third-years, and that had escalated into a duel that shook the entire Academy......

None of that actually mattered, though.

When she'd first heard the news, she was genuinely happy.

Seo Dayun had beaten a third-year and earned the recognition of so many people. Watching her perpetually unconfident friend grow like that had felt as good as if it were happening to herself.

That feeling shattered starting Monday morning.

—I heard Seo Dayun from Combat Magic beat a third-year.

—Really? A strong ally is always welcome. Maybe we should invite her to our club.

A conversation she overheard in passing.

Just people complimenting her friend. And yet it was unbearably unpleasant.

'I was the only one who knew Dayun was talented.'

The feeling lingered.

Everywhere she went—Seo Dayun, Seo Dayun.

She hated hearing that name on other people's lips.

—I saw Seo Dayun at lunch.

—Yeah? Does she look tough?

—Nah. But she's super pretty. Not the flashy type, more like... innocent charm? A pure, elegant vibe? Something like that.

—I know someone in Combat Magic. Think I should ask them to bring her to a mixer?

—That'd be great. Does she have a num— EEEK!

The boys who'd been chattering about Seo Dayun looked like they'd seen a ghost and scattered.

An Seri had always been good at keeping her emotions in check. But in that moment, she couldn't hide what she truly felt.

'What utter trash......'

This was when An Seri realized something was wrong.

Bugs are bound to swarm around a flower in full bloom.

She had to protect Seo Dayun from the pests.

Naturally, she was the only one who could look after Dayun.

That's how it was supposed to be. That's how it had to be.

'S-sorry. I already have plans today......'

'Oh? Sure. Let's go next time, then.'

For the first time, Seo Dayun had turned her down.

She hated the thought of other bitches daring to wedge themselves between them.

'I don't like this.'

So she took her frustration out on the Professor. Or rather, she tried to, but he kept dodging her at every turn.

In the end, she had no choice but to swallow her anger alone.

Without her realizing it, Seo Dayun had seeped too deep inside An Seri.

She'd never had anyone like this before. When had it come to this?

She'd realized it far too late.

If she'd known it would end up like this, she would have held her closer.

While they chattered on, the vehicle carrying the students arrived at the destination.

They had reached the exam site.

"So this is where we're......"

"Wow, the mana here feels incredibly pure."

A mountain of moderate height.

Traces of development suggested it had once seen a fair number of hikers, but the proliferation of Gates had cut off the flow of visitors entirely.

Everyone gazed at it with tense expressions, the exam weighing on their minds.

Few could afford to look relaxed in a situation like this.

"Hmph, as if something like this could faze me."

Song Seokhwan of A-team snorted derisively.

However, his failure in the last practicum meant he no longer enjoyed the unconditional support of his teammates as he once had.

But Song Seokhwan didn't seem to care in the slightest.

Team leaders from the other groups also offered words of encouragement to rally morale.

"Let's all give it our best!"

"Don't be nervous. Just do what we've been doing."

"G-go team!"

Having finished his headcount to confirm no one was missing, Cha Eunwoo spoke.

"Everyone, eyes on me."

Perhaps because they were outdoors, he wore armor instead of his usual suit.

Silver armor etched with golden patterns, adorned with colorful ornaments that dangled from every edge. A longsword hung at his waist, and his cape was blue—a fine complement to the armor.

Cha Eunwoo was so accustomed to high-grade equipment that he mistakenly assumed all gear was this ornate. It wasn't.

If any other professor had shown up dressed like that, they'd have looked laughably overdressed. But on Cha Eunwoo, it looked straight out of a pictorial.

Unintentionally, he drew envy from the male students and treated the female students to an eyeful.

"Each team's exam dungeon has been marked. If you fail to locate your exam site, you're disqualified. The exam begins the moment you enter the Gate. The evaluation criteria and everything else are exactly as announced in advance. Any questions?"

"No, sir!"

"Good. Begin."

The moment Cha Eunwoo's declaration fell, the teams split off and began climbing the mountain.

An Seri forced herself to shake off her gloom and focus.

Today was a real engagement.

The practicum had been held inside a Barrier, so no one could get hurt—but here, one wrong move could mean someone getting seriously injured.

"Phew......"

The most basic quality of a Hero was emotional control.

If someone vying for the Geumok Guild succession lost control of her emotions and caused an accident in a dungeon, it would be a lifelong disgrace.

An Seri forced a change of mood and made a suggestion to her teammates.

"How about we loosen up a bit before heading in?"

"Sure. You're saying we should throw down, right?"

Nam Hyeju licked her lips and stepped forward first.

The battle maniac who'd challenged An Seri to a fight on the very first day they met.

She always craved a bloody clash with the strong.

For An Seri, hearing Nam Hyeju ask for a fight every chance she got was getting old.

She wouldn't have been in the mood to oblige on any other day, and today was especially not the day.

With this much emotion pent up—

If she took her frustrations out on a teammate, she might break something and leave them unable to take the exam.

An Seri smiled gently and said,

"A sparring match sounds nice, but... there's a more suitable opponent right over there."

—SCREEEEECH!

Almost before she finished speaking, a bestial cry rang out.

But it didn't belong to any beast.

No wild animal would show up near a monster's habitat.

The cry obviously belonged to a monster.

"Hmph, we'll settle this after the exam."

Its appearance resembled a monkey, but it wasn't one.

No monkey alive had a small horn on its forehead and two tails.

Nam Hyeju didn't even draw the sword at her waist before charging at the monster.

"HRAAAH—!"

—SHRIEK!

Fists flew at each other simultaneously.

Nam Hyeju's arm was just a bit longer.

WHAM—!

Blood sprayed from the monkey's face.

Nam Hyeju flashed a toothy grin and kept swinging.

"Ahah!"

WHAM! WHAM!

The monkey lashed out with its arm and raked Nam Hyeju.

Against any other opponent, it would've been a decent counterattack—but this was the wrong opponent.

Bleeding now, Nam Hyeju only went wilder.

"Come on, make it more fun!"

Gam Miseong watched her tangle with the monster like a wild animal.

The emotion on his face was half disgust, half envy.

"So she can use Eruption after all."

He'd been too busy fighting during the last practicum to notice, but right now Nam Hyeju's Eruption was unmistakably active.

Eruption grew stronger the more intense the user's emotions became.

Other classes felt it too, but close-quarters combatants who fought monsters flesh against flesh got especially fired up in battle.

That was why most skilled warriors possessed Eruption.

He'd already suspected that someone with Eruption would be prone to excitement, and seeing it confirmed made him envious.

It was a trait every renowned warrior had—but Gam Miseong didn't.

He wanted it too.

"Let's get going."

Nam Hyeju, drenched in blood, grinned eerily. An Seri produced a handkerchief.

"How about wiping the blood off first?"

"No way. I need the smell of blood to stay pumped."

"Suit yourself."

An Seri's team stepped into the dungeon fully prepared.