“……What the hell is this?”
Park Inhwan glared at me and muttered.
“What do you think it is?”
At my response, Park Inhwan bit his lip.
He must’ve known that the event reward was a “1:1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.”
Even without a detailed explanation, he should have figured out what was happening.
Park Inhwan glared at me as if he were going to kill me, then slowly began drawing out his mana.
“Yeah, fine. Actually, this is perfect. After getting my ass handed to you so many times, I’ve studied your combat patterns.”
My combat patterns?
Whether it was just bravado or he had actually studied how I fought, I couldn’t tell—but it was interesting.
It didn’t feel all that threatening, though.
“You went and studied that?”
“……You cocky bastard!”
At his shout, fiery spikes formed behind his back.
Fwoosh—!
Blazing flame spikes.
As Park Inhwan extended his hand, the spikes shot toward me at high speed.
The attack was obvious, so I easily dodged it with a light step.
Whoosh!
“Tch!”
Missing his mark, Park Inhwan bit his lip again. I stared at him intently.
Back when we fought before, he did seem somewhat threatening. But maybe because of my recent experience battling strong opponents, his attacks now felt kind of cute.
I must’ve grown a lot through all that real combat experience.
My composed demeanor seemed to irritate him.
“You son of a—!”
Fwoooosh!
Park Inhwan conjured flame spikes again.
But this time, it wasn’t just one.
More than twenty spikes formed behind his back.
Simultaneous manifestation at that scale?
As one of the top talents at the Mage Academy, his manifestation ability was undeniably impressive.
Even I would struggle to do that. Enviable talent.
“Ha!”
With another motion, Park Inhwan sent the flame spikes flying at me once again.
I reinforced my body with mana and dashed forward.
Just as the spikes were about to hit me, I quickly deployed a mana shield.
Pang—!
The translucent white barrier that appeared before me blocked every flaming spike coming my way.
Shields consume a lot of mana and their forms are tricky, so I didn’t use them often. But with lots of recent practice, I’d gotten somewhat used to handling them.
Besides, with over twenty projectiles flying at me, blocking them was better than dodging.
Park Inhwan seemed startled, likely not expecting me to use a barrier-type spell.
I paused briefly and looked at him.
“……Don’t tell me, your ‘combat pattern study’ led you to think all I could do was dodge?”
Park Inhwan looked like I’d hit a nerve.
“Uh… wasn’t it?”
“…….”
I suppose it’s not too far-fetched since I rarely showed this kind of spell before.
Still, coming from the always-arrogant Park Inhwan, it was almost cute how much effort he’d put in.
Anyway.
I gathered mana again, quickly forming a magic orb and firing it.
Pang—!
The orb launched immediately after formation and shot toward Park Inhwan like a flash.
“Argh!”
It struck him square in the shoulder.
He must’ve activated body reinforcement at the last second because it didn’t leave a deep wound. Still, he groaned in pain, clutching his shoulder.
“Ugh! That was cheap!”
“There’s no such thing as ‘cheap’ in combat.”
I kept moving, forming another spell.
This time, I compressed the mana so it wouldn’t be easily blocked.
Vwooooom!
“Shit!”
Park Inhwan cursed, then pulled a piece of paper with a strange symbol from his clothes.
It looked familiar.
I didn’t have time to wonder. I launched the spell immediately to interrupt any suspicious move.
Just as I did, Park Inhwan infused the paper with mana.
Vwoooosh—!
In that instant—
A huge, two-headed dog burst from the paper and blocked my spell with its body.
Boom—!
Yelp!
The creature jumped wildly as if in pain, slamming into the ground with every leap.
It was so massive that the ground shook each time it landed.
“……What now?”
In a 1-on-1 duel, a summoned beast had suddenly appeared.
I looked at the paper in Park Inhwan’s hand.
It definitely came from there.
Could that be… a Beast Summoning Scroll?
Seems like it.
I had a similar one myself.
“…….”
Park Inhwan… that bastard…
He actually broke the rules.
Items with such special effects are, of course, banned during exams.
If they were allowed, rich students could just buy their way to better scores—so the ban was only fair.
Still, using something like that during a live-streamed exam?
He must really be pissed.
He was probably thinking, “Even if I die, I’m taking you with me.”
“Heh heh! Tear him apart!”
Park Inhwan pointed at me, eyes gleaming with madness.
Growl!
The beast, baring its sharp fangs, charged at me at full speed.
I quickly retreated, avoiding its jaws.
Judging by its movements and toughness, it was at least an A-rank monster.
If it’s A-rank, then I’d need to give it my all to win. And with Park Inhwan backing it up, the situation became even trickier.
I used my outsiders privilege to analyse its weakness.
“……There it is.”
The two long necks connecting the heads to the body.
I calmly released my compressed orb toward one of them.
Pang—!
A flash burst from my fingertips, the spell speeding toward its neck.
But the beast was agile. It dodged.
I charged at it again.
Close-range combat against an A-rank monster was extremely risky—but if I wanted to hit its weak spot, this was the best way.
Just as it lunged to bite me—
I used Instant Acceleration.
Time seemed to slow.
I saw a perfect opening, kicked off the ground, and leapt high.
Grabbing its fur, I climbed onto its back.
Bark! Bark!
The beast thrashed, trying to throw me off.
But once I was on top, the fight was essentially over.
Vwooooom—!
I conjured another spell.
“Haah!”
And fired it right at its neck.
Boom!
Howl!
[‘Summoned Beast Slain’ achievement unlocked.]
[You’ve earned 2,000 points as a reward.]
“……Whew.”
The beast’s body crumbled like dust. The scattered particles gathered and returned to the paper in Park Inhwan’s hand.
He stared up at me, dumbfounded.
“A-An A-rank monster… you beat it alone…?”
I slowly walked toward him.
Park Inhwan looked up at me, completely defeated.
“Tsk. Why’d you do that? You know this means at least a suspension—if not expulsion, right?”
“…….”
“Well, good luck trying not to get expelled.”
I conjured another magic orb and shot it right at his head.
Boom!
[Winner, Kim Sunwoo.]
[You have won in the 1:1 Colosseum!]
[As a reward, you are granted 100 personal points!]
“Whew……”
The early elimination of Park Inhwan, the first hurdle on the path to overall rank 5.
Successfully completed.
A strange twist occurred when Park Inhwan suddenly used a forbidden item, which might prevent him from appearing next year as a third-year student……
But that’s not something to worry about too much—he was going to become a villain anyway.
What matters now is that I’ve successfully taken my first step toward becoming one of the top five overall.
[You have won in the Colosseum, so you will now be returned to your original location.]
Flash!
Once again, a bright light flashed before my eyes, and the space around me shifted.
A gentle scent of grass.
Cool, clear air.
I was back at the mountain peak where I had been standing earlier.
“Whew……”
Alright, time to head back.
A fairly long time passed. The first night arrived.
The sun had set, and deep darkness had fallen. With no light sources at all in this untamed wilderness, the night felt darker than usual.
Crackle. Crackle……
Students who could wield fire used their magic to ignite firewood and push back the darkness.
The food supply team had caught pork somewhere out on the plains, which was now sizzling over the flames.
“Smells good.”
Lee Seo-jun, sitting across from me, quietly muttered as he watched the meat cook over the campfire.
Then he looked at me.
“Oh, right. Did you use that Colosseum ticket well?”
“Yeah. Thanks to that, I knocked out Park Inhwan.”
“Oh……”
Lee Seo-jun gave a small sound of admiration before speaking again.
“Guess you beat him more easily than expected. You look totally fine.”
“……It wasn’t that easy. He pulled some weird stunt at the end.”
“Weird stunt?”
“Something like that. You’ll find out after the exam’s over.”
At my words, Lee Seo-jun nodded. I turned my gaze to the meat roasting in front of me.
Maybe it had been butchered weirdly—its shape was all crooked.
Jang Soo-yeon, sitting next to me, didn’t seem to care. She picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.
Chew, chew.
“Mmm~ it’s good. You guys should eat too.”
“Okay……”
I grabbed a piece of meat.
Then took a big bite.
Chew, chew.
It wasn’t particularly delicious, but somehow it tasted better out here in the wild.
As I swallowed the meat, a question popped into my head, so I asked Lee Seo-jun.
“How did you do in the other events?”
Besides the time-attack event today, there had been several other events.
For reference, I didn’t participate in many. I was either fighting in the Colosseum or scouting the area around the base.
“I earned some personal points from the events.”
“Yeah?”
As I continued talking with Lee Seo-jun, Jang Soo-yeon chimed in from beside us.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow’s base capture battle?”
Base capture battle.
Tomorrow, a building called a ‘base’ would appear in the center of the area where Team C was stationed.
It was arguably the most important event of tomorrow.
“No matter what it takes, we have to capture it.”
Capturing the base itself isn’t difficult.
First of all, it takes place indoors rather than outdoors. Also, typically only two or three representatives from each team go in, which gives B-Team, specialized in 1:1 combat, a clear advantage.
But Jang Soo-yeon looked at me with concern in her eyes.
“You sure about this?”
“Yes.”
I knew very well what she was worried about.
The huge number of benefits granted to the team that captures the base.
To prevent that, the other teams would likely join forces to drive out the team that took the base.
Of course, defending a base against two teams is extremely difficult.
Especially for B-Team, which lacks area-of-effect mages.
“How are you going to defend it once you capture it?”
“I’ll handle that. Leave it to me.”
“……Can we really trust you with this?”
Jang Soo-yeon turned to Lee Seo-jun and asked.
Lee Seo-jun gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“If he says he’s confident, he’s got a reason. Just trust him.”
Day 2.
The official start of the team-based event: the ‘Base Capture Battle.’
All teams gathered at the central base to capture it and for a few events taking place around the area.
There was a brief moment of tension, but the students quickly settled into a standoff.
If someone made the first move recklessly, they could end up facing a 2:1 disadvantage.
Shin Young-joon from Team C looked over at Team B and found something odd.
“What the…? Lee Seo-jun didn’t go into the base?”
Typically, the team’s ace would enter the base.
Team A sent Kim Chang-hyun and Jeon Min-gi.
Team C sent Choi Seo-yoon and Yoo Ara.
And, naturally, B-Team’s ace was Lee Seo-jun.
But for some reason, Lee Seo-jun remained outside.
Even more puzzling, standing next to him was Jang Soo-yeon, considered the second-strongest member of the team.
Lee Seo-jun and Jang Soo-yeon.
Neither had entered the base. Shin Young-joon was baffled.
He called out to Lee Seo-jun.
“Hey. Lee Seo-jun!”
Hearing his name shouted from a distance, Lee Seo-jun turned to look at him, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Shin Young-joon approached, unconcerned about the others around him.
Lee Seo-jun prepared for combat, just in case it was a surprise attack.
“What?”
“No, I was just wondering who your team sent into the base.”
At his question, Lee Seo-jun didn’t answer right away.
Then, Jang Soo-yeon beside him nudged him.
“Just tell him. It’s not a big deal.”
Lee Seo-jun nodded.
“Kim Sunwoo.”
“Kim Sunwoo? Ah……”
Shin Young-joon nodded as if it all made sense.
Kim Sunwoo. When it came to this kind of ‘strategic play,’ no one could top him—he was basically a cheat character.
“But… you sent only Kim Sunwoo in?”
“Yeah. He insisted it was better that way.”
“……Seriously, just him?”
It was at that moment—
[The monster guarding the base has been summoned.]
[The team that deals the most damage to the monster will receive team points!]
Woooong!
A magic circle surrounding the base began to glow brightly. Soon, a massive serpent the size of a three-story building appeared.
Lee Seo-jun calmly watched the serpent, then imbued his sword with light magic.
Then, he said to Shin Young-joon—
“Kim Sunwoo said to just focus on racking up team points out here.”
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