Flash!
A bright light obscured my vision, and the surroundings changed.
Looking around, I found myself in the waiting room.
[You have achieved the ‘Overwhelming First Place’ achievement.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[You have achieved the ‘Exam Record Breaker’ achievement.]
[Reward: 4,000 points acquired.]
“…Team 2. That was overwhelming. You escaped in just 23 minutes and 24 seconds?”
Instructor Jang Ancheol stood in front of me and Yu Ara, looking utterly bewildered.
“This is the fastest record in the history of the Mage Academy. The previous record was 37 minutes and 52 seconds. You cut it down by a full 14 minutes. Congratulations.”
At his words, Yoo Ara’s expression showed surprise.
“That much of a difference?”
“Yes. Even I find it hard to believe.”
“……”
“……Alright then, return to your seats and wait.”
Yoo Ara and I sat on the empty waiting room chairs. Since we had finished the test so quickly, we would probably be sitting there for quite a while.
Wondering how to pass the time, I decided to strike up a conversation with Yoo Ara.
“You finally beat Lee Seo-jun for the first time. How does it feel?”
Yoo Ara gave me an annoyed look.
“…Do you think I’d be happy about this?”
“Why not? You won overwhelmingly.”
“Honestly, you basically solved everything by yourself in this test. Winning like this doesn’t mean anything. This is invalid.”
As expected, her pride was strong. If she hadn’t accomplished it with her own hands, she refused to acknowledge it. That, of course, was part of her charm.
“Suit yourself.”
With that, I pulled out my smart student notebook.
To be honest, I didn’t really care what she thought.
Since I had plenty of time, I might as well browse the internet.
Yoo Ara rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought as she sat in the waiting room.
No matter how much she considered it, there were too many suspicious things about Kim Sunwoo.
Of course, thanks to him, their test results were outstanding. But just because the results were good didn’t mean she could ignore the lingering doubts she had about him.
“Hmmm.”
She glanced at Kim Sunwoo. He was reading news articles on the internet.
With her 2.5 vision, she could clearly see that he was looking into international affairs.
For an 18-year-old student, that seemed like a rather dull interest. But people had their own tastes, so she let it slide.
Then, she suddenly recalled something from the opening ceremony earlier that year.
—There’s been a lot of trouble lately regarding career paths, hasn’t there?
She distinctly remembered Kim Sunwoo saying that.
It had been such a random statement that she still recalled it clearly even now, after all this time.
At the time, she had thought he was just trying to get her attention and had coincidentally guessed right.
But now that she thought about it again, it didn’t seem like a lucky guess at all.
‘Career… trouble…’
In fact, just as Kim Sunwoo had said, she had been having trouble regarding her future path.
Specifically, a conflict with her older sister, Yoo Ah-yeon.
Yoo Ara, who harboured deep resentment towards Jaun, wanted to join the Special Operations Team or Dawn’s Blade after graduation.
However, her sister, Yoo Ah-yeon, was strongly opposed to it.
Of course, it made sense—unlike ordinary monsters, dealing with terrorist organizations and dark mages was far more dangerous.
Yoo Ah-yeon had already lost family members once due to Jaun’s terrorism.
She couldn’t bear to lose her only remaining sibling, Yoo Ara, as well.
“Hmm…”
But how did Kim Sunwoo know about that?
He had claimed it was just a gut feeling, but there were too many strange things happening around him for everything to be chalked up to instinct.
Moreover, the fact that she was Yoo Ah-yeon’s younger sister was still largely unknown to the world.
Unless someone deliberately investigated, there was no way Kim Sunwoo could have predicted the conflict between her and her sister.
Could it be that he had been researching her?
It wasn’t entirely impossible.
And if her guess was right—if he really was a victim of Jaun—then he might have gathered information on the Yoo family and its surviving members while investigating Jaun.
‘Kim Sunwoo… just what is he?’
Once all the tests were finished, the results were announced.
━━
[Final Rankings]
1st place – Team 2: Yoo Ara, Kim Sunwoo (23 minutes 24 seconds)
2nd place – Team 1: Lee Seo-jun, Jung Taehun (45 minutes 21 seconds)
3rd place – Team 3: Park Inhwan, Shin Gihun (50 minutes 10 seconds)
…
…
━━
An overwhelming outcome, to say the least.
The other students stared at Yoo Ara and me in astonishment.
When Instructor Jang Ancheol mentioned that it was the fastest record in history, the reaction grew even bigger.
“Wow! That’s crazy.”
“Is Yoo Ara going to be first place this time?”
“Kim Sunwoo is pretty good too. I saw him doing well in other tests as well.”
[Five key individuals are impressed by you.]
[Reward: 1,000 points acquired.]
“Alright! That’s the end of today’s test. Tomorrow is the most important test, the Monster Hunter exam, so make sure to get plenty of rest. Dismissed!”
At Jang Ancheol’s announcement, the students scattered.
I figured I should head back soon too, since I was starting to feel a bit tired.
“Hey, Kim Sunwoo!”
Just then, I heard a voice calling me from behind.
Turning around, I saw Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon walking toward me.
“They say you set a new record. Congrats.”
“You actually solved it all yourself, didn’t you?”
Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon looked at me with surprised expressions.
“Yoo Ara and I did it together.”
At my response, Lee Seo-jun stared at me suspiciously.
“How did you solve it so fast?”
At that, Shin Young-joon chuckled.
“Dude, he’s a little on edge because it’s the first time he’s lost first place.”
“…I am not.”
His voice dropping slightly confirmed that Shin Young-joon was right.
I’d never seen Lee Seo-jun get this worked up over his ranking before.
This was a new experience.
“Hey, you still got second place. Don’t be so greedy.”
Shin Young-joon playfully teased him.
Forcing a smile, Lee Seo-jun turned his gaze to me.
“But seriously, this is shocking. When I saw that you and Yoo Ara were in the same team, I had a bad feeling, but I never thought I’d lose by such a huge margin.”
For Lee Seo-jun to say that himself, it must have really been a shock to him.
To console him, I said,
“You can just do well on the next test. The most important one is tomorrow’s exam, anyway.”
“…That’s true.”
“Do you have a plan for tomorrow?”
“No. I’ve been getting offers from here and there to form alliances and work together, but I’m still thinking about it.”
Since the Monster Hunter exam takes place on a remote island in a survival-like format, alliances are implicitly allowed. However, one must also bear the risks that come with forming an alliance, so the decision must be made carefully.
“From who?”
“Hmm… Seo-yoon, senior Park Minye, and a few other students.”
“Hmm…”
This was also the same as the original story.
“What about you? What are you planning to do?”
“I don’t know. Oh, right. Sunwoo, are you interested in forming a team with me?”
Lee Seo-jun looked at me and asked. The first-place candidate himself was making an offer. It was incredibly tempting. However…
“…No.”
I’ve already given up on getting a high score in this Monster Hunter exam. My only goal is Jang Ye’s death.
“Is that so?”
Lee Seo-jun nodded as he looked at me. Shin Young-joon, on the other hand, gave me a surprised look.
“What? You really turned it down? Why? Why? Why?”
“I already have my own plan set up.”
“And that plan is more important than teaming up with Lee Seo-jun?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… I see? Well, I’m sure you’ll do well. You were overwhelming today too.”
Muttering that, Shin Young-joon smirked.
“I’m looking forward to it. Seo-jun, you better be careful not to lose first place again.”
Shin Young-joon playfully nudged Lee Seo-jun’s side.
Lee Seo-jun forced an awkward smile.
“Whatever your plan is, it’s kinda scary.”
[The character ‘Lee Seo-jun’ feels competitive toward you.]
[You have earned 1,000 points as a reward.]
I returned to the dormitory earlier than expected, at around 9 PM.
Normally, I would have spent more time at the training ground, but since the Monster Hunter exam tomorrow would be exhausting, I cut things short to conserve energy.
“Hmm.”
I opened my smart student notebook.
I turned on the internet and checked the news articles.
[Korea Mage Academy, 2nd-year Rank 2 ‘Yoo Ara’ Sets a New Record in the Stage Escape Exam]
The article mostly focused on Yoo Ara. There were a few mentions of me, but the coverage was minimal.
“Tsk.”
I’m used to this happening, so I don’t really mind, but it’s still frustrating that I can’t earn any points from it.
I ended up leaving a comment on the article for no reason.
ksw123: “Yoo Ara didn’t do it alone. A student named Kim Sunwoo was also part of the team.”
Posted.
Since it felt like a waste to post in just one place, I left comments on other articles too.
ksw123: “The student who was in the same group as Yoo Ara is named Kim Sunwoo, and he’s ranked first in theory. He must’ve played a big role too. lol”
ksw123: “Kim Sunwoo was also the student who ended up in the hidden stage with Lee Seo-jun. Seems like he’s appearing more often these days. lol”
After leaving a few comments, I suddenly felt empty inside.
“…Why do I feel so pathetic?”
Just then, my smart student notebook sent me a notification.
csy555: “This guy has been leaving the same comment everywhere. Are you the person himself? lol”
“…What? How did they know?”
Feeling guilty for no reason, I put down my smart student notebook.
Then, I sprawled out on the bed.
“What’s even the point of this?”
“Hey guys, I’m back!”
Somewhere in South Korea, inside a hidden Jaun hideout.
A young man, appearing to be in his mid-20s, entered while waving his hand.
“Good work.”
Jin, who was sitting on the sofa, raised his hand in greeting.
“Ugh, I followed Lee Seo-jun around for two whole weeks, and I’m exhausted.”
“Well, at least you get to rest tomorrow. Aren’t they doing some kind of survival exam?”
“Yeah, some test where they hunt monsters on a remote island. I can’t follow them there, so I’ll finally get a break.”
The young man’s name was Baek Eunseong.
One of the few Koreans among the Jaun members, he had been monitoring Lee Seo-jun for two weeks. Now that the exam was starting, he had returned to the hideout.
“Anything unusual?”
“Uh… Hmm. Not really?”
“Really? What about in combat?”
“Nothing particularly worth reporting.”
“I see.”
Jin nodded.
At that moment, the door opened, and Bert walked out, yawning.
“What’s up? Baek Eunseong, you back?”
“Hey, Bert.”
“Why are you here? Oh, right, tomorrow’s your day off.”
“Yeah. By the way, who’s taking over Lee Seo-jun next week?”
“Scar.”
“Got it.”
Baek Eunseong nodded and lay down on the sofa.
Just as he was about to pick up his smartphone to play a game, something crossed his mind, and he spoke up.
“Oh, right. That reminds me—there’s an error in the report you gave me, Jin.”
“An error?”
“In the report, it says that a guy named Kim Sunwoo is ranked 72nd.”
Baek Eunseong pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.
“Oh, yeah. Kim Sunwoo. That kid who’s been hanging around Lee Seo-jun a lot lately. Why?”
“This says he’s 72nd place, but I think that’s a mistake.”
Jin frowned.
“What are you talking about? He’s definitely 72nd.”
“Really? Because based on his skills, that doesn’t seem right.”
“What do you mean? How strong is he?”
Jin asked, looking curious.
Baek Eunseong paused for a moment, thinking about how to describe it.
“Hmm… Ah!”
Then, he recalled a past incident.
“He pierced through the back of a giant black stone lizard in a single strike.”
“The back of a black stone lizard?”
The black stone lizard’s back was famously tough, requiring at least an A-rank spell to penetrate. The fact that its hide sold for at least 50 million won was proof of how durable it was.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Hmm…”
Jin fell into deep thought.
If Baek Eunseong was right, then Kim Sunwoo’s magic was at least A-rank in strength.
Just then, Bert, who had taken an interest, approached Baek Eunseong.
“Tell me more. Was that magic by any chance non-elemental?”
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