“I can’t tell you in detail.”
At my response, Han Se-yeon narrowed her eyes before nodding.
“……That makes sense. I can’t imagine you obtained this through normal means. Besides, this book is infamous for having been stolen in the past.”
It seemed Han Se-yeon knew a lot about this book. Well, given that she was a pharmacist, it was only natural for her to be interested.
She continued, “This book holds considerable value. Some of the medicinal techniques developed by Ilwol in the past still remain undiscovered to this day.”
As she spoke, she once again examined the contents of the book.
“Hm… From what I can see, there’s no way this is a forgery.”
“So, do you like the gift?”
At my question, Han Se-yeon hesitated for a moment, deep in thought.
“Rather than liking it, it’s a bit unsettling. It’s strange to suddenly have something in my hands that I’ve only ever heard about in rumors among pharmacists.”
With a serious expression, she placed the book down.
“You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to.”
I reached out to retrieve the book, but Han Se-yeon swiftly snatched it up and hugged it tightly to her chest.
“No, that’s one thing, and this is another.”
She smiled slyly, her eyes glinting with greed. For a moment, I had forgotten—her bloodline carried the insatiable hunger of the Hanseong family.
“……”
“I’ll take it and keep it well preserved… and make good use of it.”
I was momentarily caught off guard by her sudden change in attitude but ended up nodding.
Satisfied, Han Se-yeon looked at me and asked, “But seriously, what kind of work do you even do to get your hands on something like this?”
“I told you earlier, it’s a secret.”
“You sure have a lot of secrets…”
She pouted slightly, and I chuckled quietly.
“Oh, and today’s meeting as well—please keep it a secret. You understand what I mean, right?”
It was an unspoken reminder to be discreet, considering the origins of the item.
Han Se-yeon smiled knowingly.
“Of course. And if I develop a new drug based on the techniques in this book, I’ll make sure to label it as Hanseong Pharmaceuticals’ original formula. Not that anyone would be able to tell otherwise.”
I nodded in satisfaction. As expected, she was someone who understood things without needing them spelled out.
Jang Ye continued her investigation into the rumors surrounding the incident within the barrier. However, she refrained from directly questioning people as she had before.
Given her high profile within the school, any suspicious behaviour on her part could easily attract attention and spread as gossip.
“……I really want to just ask Lee Seo-jun outright.”
But according to what she had heard from the Ten Demon Council, Lee Seo-jun had already sensed something suspicious during his conversation with Seong jin regarding that day’s events.
If she were to question him directly, he would undoubtedly grow even more suspicious.
Now that she had decided to kill him, she had to avoid anything that might arouse his suspicions.
That was also why she hadn’t yet approached Shin Young-joon and Lee Hyun-joo, the two people closest to him, to ask about that day’s incident.
Of course, she didn’t intend to avoid them forever.
She had already decided to question them about the incident on the day of the Monster Field Survival Exam—the day she would kill Lee Seo-jun.
“But I’m feeling a little uneasy…”
Jang Ye suddenly thought of Kim Sunwoo.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in her investigation, she had impulsively asked him about that day’s events. As far as she knew, apart from Shin Young-joon and Lee Hyun-joo, Kim Sunwoo was the closest person to Lee Seo-jun.
She wondered if she had made a mistake in questioning him. But soon, she dismissed her worries.
From what she had observed, Kim Sunwoo didn’t seem like the type to run his mouth needlessly.
“……Hmm. But something about Kim Sunwoo feels off too.”
Jang Ye glanced at an online news article featuring a photo of Kim Jinwoo.
They looked alike.
Even with a beard and glasses obscuring his face, the resemblance was strange—especially the eyes, which were identical.
Honestly, even twins wouldn’t look this much alike.
“……Could this really be just a coincidence?”
But she had already reached a conclusion in the past. Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo were unrelated.
She had investigated Kim Sunwoo’s personal records and found no connection to Kim Jinwoo whatsoever.
Of course, there were a few odd details, but…
“Ugh.”
Her head ached from thinking too much, so she got up from her seat.
She opened a drawer and took out a glowing red stone—Bloodstone.
After spending several days absorbing its power, it had shrunk significantly in size. Now, it was only as big as a fingertip.
As Jang Ye infused it with mana, the Bloodstone emitted a crimson glow, and the energy contained within it flowed into her body.
Time passed, and the second midterm exams finally began.
As before, the midterms were scheduled to last for an entire week.
The schedule was as follows:
From Monday to Wednesday, students would take both theoretical and practical exams. Then, from Thursday to Friday, they would participate in a two-day, one-night Monster Field Survival test.
Naturally, the most significant portion of the final grade came from the Monster Field Survival test. Since it was a test conducted in the wild over an extended period, it was ideal for assessing students’ overall capabilities.
In any case, Monday through Wednesday morning passed successfully as I completed various exams.
Physical fitness tests, mana control evaluations, written exams—I had taken a wide range of tests, and thanks to my improved magical abilities over the past few weeks, I managed to rank among the top students in most of them.
“All right! We will now begin the two-person Stage Escape Exam.”
And so, on Wednesday at 2 PM…
Fifty students gathered in front of an artificial tower located beside the school’s back mountain.
Today’s test was a competitive Stage Escape Exam.
It was designed to imitate special stages encountered in towers or dungeons and required participants to find a way to escape.
The unique aspect of this test was that it wasn’t an individual assessment but a team-based one.
“The teams have been assigned randomly. But don’t worry—even if you’re paired with someone of vastly different ranking, there’s a point adjustment system in place. Your score will be based on how quickly you escape the stage and your final ranking.”
After explaining the test, the instructor looked around at the gathered students before speaking again.
“Now, I will announce the teams.”
I wondered who I’d be paired with. It would be nice if I got someone skilled.
“Team 1: Lee Seo-jun and Jung Taehun.”
Lee Seo-jun ended up with some ordinary extra.
“Team 2: Yoo Ara and Kim Sunwoo.”
Yoo Ara… and me?
A pure white space.
Inside the small, circular room, unidentified tools and models were scattered around.
This was the first stage of the Stage Escape Exam.
Yoo Ara and I looked around, assessing the situation.
“It’s kind of cramped. And the room being all white makes it feel simple.”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, I didn’t expect to be paired with you.”
Yoo Ara glanced at me and spoke.
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that. Actually, I think it’s a good situation.”
Hearing her response, I smiled slightly. I was also satisfied with being on the same team as Yoo Ara. Not just because of her skills, but because I valued her determination to aim for first place.
To show my confidence, I said,
“You’ve never beaten Lee Seo-jun in an exam before, have you?”
Maybe because I had touched a nerve, Yoo Ara immediately narrowed her eyes.
“What? What did you just say?”
“Look forward to it. Today, I’ll make sure you beat Lee Seo-jun for the first time.”
“You’re hilarious. Where does that confidence come from?”
Yoo Ara spoke bluntly.
“I’m actually pretty good at stage escapes.”
Hearing my response, Yoo Ara shot me a doubtful look before letting out a short chuckle.
“I’ll watch and see if you’re as good as you say.”
“Yeah, just don’t be too surprised.”
“Hmm. So, what should we do first?”
At Yoo Ara’s question, I glanced around.
“First, let’s find the exit.”
The Stage Escape Exam was similar to an escape room cafe. We had to locate the exit and gather clues to escape.
I started looking around for clues. The walls had various patterns and strange objects whose purposes were unclear.
Fragments of my past-life experiences started surfacing. If I remember correctly, the exit is…
“Isn’t it this?”
At that moment, Yoo Ara pointed at something. Her fingertip was directed at an incomplete magic circle.
“Oh, yeah. This is it. A magic circle.”
Memories from the past began to resurface clearly.
By completing this magic circle, we could escape the stage.
Of course, the abilities granted by the Outsider’s Privilege couldn’t be used to complete it. The blessing was only useful for interpretation or solving things, not for creating something.
“We need to find clues to complete this magic circle.”
“You talk like you’ve done this before.”
“You can tell just by looking at it.”
Yoo Ara eyed me suspiciously but then nodded.
“Hmm… Clues, huh.”
And so, Yoo Ara and I began searching for clues to escape the stage.
In truth, while the Outsider’s Privilege couldn’t complete the magic circle, it did allow me to see special objects clearly, making it easy to find clues.
“Found one.”
I picked up a blue-glowing orb from the floor.
Pressing on the glowing part of the orb and injecting magic power into it, a part of the magic circle was revealed.
“Oh.”
Yoo Ara looked at me with interest.
“Here, input this into the exit magic circle.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Ara studied the magic circle and began tracing it onto the exit using her magic. The shape matched perfectly, restoring a part of the magic circle.
A good start.
“Let’s quickly find the rest.”
I continued searching the surroundings thoroughly. Whenever I saw an object glowing under the Outsider’s Privilege, I immediately picked it up to check for clues.
“Found another one.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Yeah. See this hole in the wall? We just need to place the orb in there.”
Yoo Ara hesitated for a moment before placing the orb into the hole.
Flash!
“Huh? Whoa. It actually worked?”
Yoo Ara looked astonished as another part of the magic circle appeared on the wall.
“How did you know to put it there?”
“Doesn’t it obviously look suspicious? And I tend to be a bit paranoid.”
“I mean, yeah, but still…”
Yoo Ara muttered, looking slightly overwhelmed.
From her perspective, it was understandable.
At this point, I was basically moving like I already knew all the answers.
I simply shrugged and added the newly obtained magic circle fragment to the exit.
Wooooom…
Another section of the magic circle was restored.
As time passed, we managed to find all the clues.
“This is the last one.”
“Let’s finish it right away.”
I used the final clue to complete the missing section of the magic circle.
The complex magic circle was finally completed.
At that moment, a bright light burst forth, and the wall began to open.
“It’s done.”
Now, onto the next stage.
Moving at a ridiculous speed, we reached the final stage.
Like the first stage, it was a pure white room.
And just like before, we quickly found the necessary clues and completed the magic circle.
“…You definitely did something behind my back.”
While I was focusing on finding clues, Yoo Ara, who had been unable to hide her astonishment, narrowed her eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, it’s one thing to be fast, but you’re moving like you already know all the answers. Did you cheat or something?”
“At least say something that makes sense.”
I responded as if her accusation wasn’t even worth entertaining, but Yoo Ara didn’t let go of her suspicions.
“Hmm…”
“Besides, I’m ranked first in theory, remember? I have a curious mind, so I study all sorts of things.”
Honestly, it was a ridiculous excuse, but I made it up on the spot.
Fortunately, Yoo Ara nodded at my explanation.
But even then, she never completely withdrew her suspicious gaze from me.
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