Not on Purpose
Just like yesterday's exam, I threw the same question at Lee Hyunwoo. What would he do if he couldn't swing his sword as a weapons specialist? Would he get knocked around like other weapons users and collapse?
Even if he hadn't noticed yesterday, Lee Hyunwoo would have caught on by now. That I was deliberately targeting his sword over and over.
He wasn't just some guy who worked hard. His combat instincts were exceptional. He could instantly read the flow of battle and his opponent's intentions. A guy who got the full protagonist buffs, yet he also had both talent and effort. That Lee Hyunwoo now had time to read my intentions, make his judgment, and decide…
Whoosh—!
'Is this guy insane?'
But I never imagined he'd respond like this. When I kept interfering with his sword swings, he turned it around and threw the sword at me. It wasn't some tiny dagger like the one Jeong Yuhyeon used. It was a proper weapon capable of casually severing arms and legs with a single swing. Anyone would be shocked if something like that came flying at them with that kind of speed.
"Ugh!"
Just as I barely dodged the sword, I saw Lee Hyunwoo charging straight at me. I thought he'd go for a body blow like last time, or aim for some kind of strike. That is, until he suddenly ducked low and drove in from below.
'Takedown? He was a grappler?'
Lee Hyunwoo's dual attributes were Weapon and Martial Arts. And in the martial arts scenes, most of it had been striking. So I'd naturally assumed he'd focus on infighting or outfighting.
"Kuaaah!!"
Lee Hyunwoo grabbed my legs and started driving me down with force. If I went down, it would definitely end up in a mount position. For a moment, my mind went completely blank.
What should I do? Can I get out of this? I can't lose like this.
'No, no. Don't panic. Just think of one thing.'
Once my thoughts shifted to how to break out of this situation, my head finally cleared.
"Hup!"
Before Lee Hyunwoo could complete the takedown, I threw my body forward. It was obvious he hadn't practiced this much. Otherwise, there was no way I could've escaped like this. It was an unexpected, unorthodox attack, but it wasn't lethally threatening.
"Ah… I almost had it."
Lee Hyunwoo bit his lip, looking genuinely disappointed. That must have been his trump card for this exam. When I targeted the weakness of weapons specialists, he used it against me. The guy hadn't just thrown the sword as an attack. By throwing away the weapon a weapons specialist needed most, he'd thrown me off balance and created an opening. Right now there was still a gap because Lee Hyunwoo's level wasn't high enough yet. But later, he would've pulled it off without giving me any time to react.
"Is that all you've got?"
"Of course not. There's more. Be careful, Examiner."
I just smiled at Lee Hyunwoo's words. It was obvious this was a bluff. Otherwise, he wouldn't be rolling his eyes around instead of trying to pick up his sword. I stepped over and planted my foot on the sword to show there was no chance.
"Ah."
Lee Hyunwoo realized I'd seen through him. Now, what decision would he make? Would he surrender obediently like the other students? Or…
"Damn it!!"
Yeah. That's Lee Hyunwoo. That's what makes him the protagonist. I'd already seen all his cards. There was nothing left. All I had to do was block. I lightly dodged the fist of the guy charging at me with gusto, then gave his chin a gentle uppercut. I had to be careful not to hurt him, so I kept it as light as possible—just enough to subdue.
Thud—
"Urgh."
Even so, the impact must have landed properly, because Lee Hyunwoo staggered and collapsed. It was already this close. The real protagonist really was something else.
"Lee Hyunwoo? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes. I'm fine. I just got a little dazed, so you don't need to worry."
I was reminded once again how dangerous an uppercut really was. Even though I'd swung so lightly, it had knocked out Lee Hyunwoo.
"Wow, seriously… Examiner. How did you escape that takedown just now?"
"Right when Lee Hyunwoo was about to bring me down, I threw my body forward. There was still an opening because he hasn't mastered it yet."
"Ah, of course. You can't learn something like that in just a day of practice. There's a limit to YouTube videos…"
Is this guy crazy? He tried to learn a takedown in one day? And even that one day of practice was just watching YouTube videos? But the most ridiculous part was that he almost actually succeeded. At this rate, even someone of equal skill—no, even a Silver-rank—would get caught with their eyes wide open. I was certain. If it weren't for my trait, that would've led straight into a mount.
'What a monster.'
The guy who was swinging a sword suddenly threw it, fought with strikes, then at the decisive moment turned into a grappler and broke the core. Other ability users would probably be horrified if they heard about this.
Clap clap clap—
"That was impressive. Both of you. Truly impressive."
At the sudden voice, Lee Hyunwoo looked around, confused. Instead of doing the same, I lightly waved my hand.
"Welcome, Kang Hana. Or should I call you Student Council President?"
"Call me whatever's convenient. It doesn't matter."
Kang Hana walked over and glanced at Lee Hyunwoo. Anyone could see she was sizing him up. From head to toe, thoroughly.
"…Junior. What's your name?"
"Huh? Ah, I'm Lee Hyunwoo."
"Lee Hyunwoo. Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Hana, third year."
When Kang Hana extended her hand, Lee Hyunwoo hesitated before shaking it.
'Come to think of it, in the original story, Kang Hana was the damage dealer in Lee Hyunwoo's party, wasn't she?'
She was a high-class mage among magic types. Especially with tremendous talent in the ice attribute, from what I'd heard.
"That exam just now was very impressive. I never expected a weapons specialist to use their sword as a trick like that."
Even from Kang Hana's perspective, that method of attack seemed quite novel. Everyone else struggled desperately not to lose their weapon, yet Lee Hyunwoo had used it against me to create an opening. It was absurd, but undeniably fresh.
"You're a promising junior. Keep working hard. The more people like you there are, the faster the monsters will decrease and the more villains will disappear."
Kang Hana wrapped up her conversation with Lee Hyunwoo appropriately. I could tell what she meant. She had something to discuss with me, so she wanted him to leave. Fortunately, Lee Hyunwoo wasn't completely oblivious.
"Then I'll be going now, Examiner. I'll challenge again tomorrow."
That was a relief for me. And a good thing for Lee Hyunwoo too. Part of me wanted to tell him he could try again right now. But the Academy had strict rules for exams. Only one exam per day. For the sake of both students and examiners. Breaking that rule would immediately bring warnings. And I'd get torn apart for it. Asking if regulations were a joke. Saying if anyone could just ignore rules, why even become a civil servant.
"You'd better stay on your toes, Examiner! Tomorrow won't be so easy!"
Lee Hyunwoo kept shouting even as he disappeared beyond the main building. He was still just a Bronze-rank effort maniac for now, but he'd grow tremendously soon. Even without my Sweet After Bitter trait, that was his destined path.
"Ahem."
Kang Hana, having drawn my attention back to her, gave a slight smile.
"You had quite the ordeal, Examiner. Dealing with a junior like that."
"You're telling me. I think I was more surprised than during yesterday's spar."
I casually brought up the former student council vice president, Jeong Yuhyeon. But Kang Hana showed no particular reaction to my words. In fact, the way she agreed that it was only natural suggested she didn't have good feelings toward Jeong Yuhyeon.
"Sorry for surprising you by showing up so suddenly. Actually, I arrived a while ago, but you were so focused on the exam that I couldn't interrupt."
After saying that, Kang Hana gave a light cough. It seemed she was about to get to the main reason she'd come.
"You know about it too, right? Vice President Jeong Yuhyeon. Just like I said yesterday, he got demoted to Bronze."
"I heard. I trusted the Student Council President, and as expected of the Student Council President."
"Thank you. Though that's not why I said it."
Kang Hana glanced at me before speaking again.
"Will you be alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"Jeong Yuhyeon. I heard the condition was that only Examiner Baek Seojin could examine him so he could escape Bronze."
"In that case, the Vice President could just ignore it and get examined by someone else, couldn't he?"
Kang Hana shook her head at my answer.
"It's the opposite. He'll try to get examined by you no matter what. And he'll definitely win, then thoroughly crush you, Examiner."
"You sound certain."
"Yes. We were in the same year and served on the student council together, but I know he's not a good person."
That was a relief. I'd been worried she might side with Jeong Yuhyeon. As expected, the people who joined the protagonist's party all had their reasons.
"How much do you know about Jeong Yuhyeon?"
"That he's the vice president. Weapons specialist. Currently Bronze. Third year. That's about it."
"That guy is also the third grandson of the Jinhan Group's honorary chairman."
Hmm. That was a slightly troublesome detail. His backing was quite strong. The Jinhan Group was still a mid-sized company that people respected.
"Thanks to that, his pride is so strong it's twisted his values. You could call it elitism."
For a moment, I wondered if Kang Hana also had the Third Eye. She was reading Jeong Yuhyeon far too accurately.
"That Jeong Yuhyeon lost to you, Examiner. To someone he'd ignored and looked down on. He'll try to repay that humiliation somehow. So he'll definitely try to get examined by you."
"That's fine. I set that condition expecting exactly that."
"…Are you confident?"
Kang Hana asked in a cautious voice. When I remained silent, she quickly added,
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not looking down on you, Examiner. I just…"
"I know you're worried. You don't need to be so flustered."
"Ah… Ahem. Anyway, even if Jeong Yuhyeon's personality is lacking, his skills are real. He was careless in the first match and probably took it lightly, but it'll be different from now on. He'll be ruthless."
Of course. No matter how ruthless he got, could he be as ruthless as the Elders? I just nodded a few times to show there was nothing to worry about.
"Examiner."
Kang Hana fell silent for a moment at my reaction, then gave me a strange look. Why was she acting like that all of a sudden?
"You're not actually some kind of special agent, are you?"
I'm just a low-ranking civil servant on dispatch, you know.