The Performances of the Evaluation Day
The buzzing chatter of the students watching the match between teams 15 and 16 filled the air with nonstop noise.
Surprisingly, the scenes had been quite entertaining.
Especially the first arrow attack had been impressive.
Using it continuously was impossible, but the combined attack that merged multiple supernatural abilities had been more than enough to capture the kids' interest.
Orbit adjustment, phantom clone, and speed control.
That trio of abilities mixed together had proven far more threatening than anyone expected.
By twisting the arrow's trajectory with orbit adjustment, splitting it into multiple phantom arrows with the clone, and throwing off the hit timing with speed control, the attack had left even the most skilled opponents helpless to respond.
Yet Yu Seolhyeon had simply swung her spear in one smooth motion, ignoring the phantom arrows entirely and deflecting the real one with perfect accuracy.
As expected from someone with the bloodline of the Spear Ghost Yu Gapryeong.
The students stared at her with eyes full of awe.
She'd been ranked seventh at admission, slightly below Lee Siwoo and Kang Daehan, but her performance today had forced them to rethink that entirely.
“As expected of Seolhyeon! That was amazing!”
“This match was all Seolhyeon—she took care of everything!”
“Whoa, how did you even block that?!”
Yu Seolhyeon's group of students were all praising her nonstop.
They huddled together, chatting excitedly.
To the eyes of everyone watching, the clear star of the show today had been Yu Seolhyeon herself.
“Hey, Daehan.”
From a distance, watching the same scene unfold, Kang Daehan casually glanced over at Lee Siwoo.
Siwoo gave a slight nod, his face remaining calm as he looked up at the red-haired boy.
Smiling broadly, Daehan asked his question.
“You would've been able to block the first arrow, right?”
“Maybe.”
Siwoo paused for a moment in thought, then answered with a trace of doubt.
“If I knew exactly how the opponent was going to attack... but without any prior information, it would've been tough.”
Of course, he had confidence in blocking it with half the odds, but even mentioning probability sounded ridiculous to begin with.
“I see.”
Daehan clicked his tongue and muttered.
“Well, I wouldn't be sure either.”
Unlike his usual arrogant demeanor, Daehan spoke honestly about his own feelings.
Then, as if seeing her for the first time, he turned his gaze toward Yu Seolhyeon.
“Seolhyeon, huh. I didn't pay her much mind before, but I'd like to face her once someday.”
“......”
Her spear arts directly taught by the Spear Ghost......
Up until now, he hadn't been interested, but she was making it genuinely intriguing.
Daehan clenched his fist tightly, a spark of fighting spirit rising in him as a fellow spear user.
“......Hm.”
On the other side.
Hong Daye, who had been muttering about the clash between teams 15 and 16, tilted her head in puzzlement.
An interest gleamed in her dark eyes as she watched Yu Seolhyeon's match.
There were too many questionable aspects about Yu Seolhyeon's performance in multiple ways.
Based on the reflex movements Yu Seolhyeon had shown during the past month, it shouldn't have been something that could be blocked.
Even if she were a current hero, it would've been difficult to respond to.
Moreover, while the students hadn't noticed, Yu Seolhyeon herself had looked a bit dazed when she deflected the arrow.
‘It couldn't have been simple luck.’
After all, she'd been defending the exact impact point even before the arrow arrived.
She definitely hadn't been frantically blocking it by chance.
She'd seemed as if she'd been given a tip on how to counter it, yet she hadn't completely trusted it—halting between belief and doubt.
‘There's also something suspicious about the fight with Han Dong-won.’
Yu Seolhyeon, ranked seventh, versus Han Dong-won, ranked ninety-first.
Their match should've been an easy win for Seolhyeon, but it shouldn't have ended in just one to two minutes.
Considering their training, physical abilities, interpersonal records, and data from middle school, it should've taken at least five to ten minutes.
Yet when the match ended, Seolhyeon had won far too simply.
She'd dominated Han Dong-won throughout the entire fight.
Every time he prepared a counterattack or tried to use a powerful technique, she'd sensed it instantly and countered perfectly.
It was as if she already knew his every move.
It wasn't just physical response.
She had likely studied Han Dong-won's techniques, habits, and mannerisms in advance.
‘Speaking of which, the match between Seo Nari and Oh Seong-un was pretty interesting too.’
Seo Nari with her body reinforcement ability, versus Oh Seong-un with his phantom clone ability.
Oh Seong-un's clones had been incredibly refined, enough to confuse his opponent, but Seo Nari had immediately found his true form among them and knocked him out.
How had she distinguished the clones from the real body so precisely?
According to Hong Daye, Seo Nari wouldn't have had the ability to see through Oh Seong-un's clones at a glance.
‘Finally, Lee Jinhyuk's match......’
Honestly, Lee Jinhyuk hadn't done much in this match.
Compared to Yu Seolhyeon and Seo Nari, his performance had been minimal.
Using two shields to block a future arrow barrage had been the entirety of it.
But why had he brought two shields from the very beginning?
It felt as if he'd prepared specifically for the future arrow barrage.
‘Before the test began, the team 16 students had said something.’
“Everyone, let's stick to the plan, stick to the plan.”
“Hehe. I'm looking forward to it? Your strategy.”
“If it doesn't work, real Jinhyuk, you're dead in my hands.”
A plan......
Could it be that Jinhyuk had figured out the entire strategy?
That would change things.
Collecting the opponent's team information ahead of time and devising a strategy like that would earn high marks.
But I'd heard he was first in theory—could he really plan something this precise?
Even if the opponent had been analyzed and information gathered, the flow had been too smooth.
As if everything had been known in advance.
***
[Room 1-1]
“......Surprisingly good.”
Yu Seolhyeon lay sprawled on the bed in her dimly lit room and once again reflected on the performance evaluation she'd undergone over the past few weeks.
Quarterfinals, semifinals, finals......
Surprisingly, with Lee Jinhyuk's plan, she'd reached the finals without any trouble.
Especially in the semifinals, the opposing team had been no pushover, but Jinhyuk's strategy had fit perfectly and allowed her to win far more easily than expected.
To be honest, she hadn't expected much from Jinhyuk, yet......
His ability to devise strategies and execute them was beyond imagination.
Whenever she saw him analyze the habits, habits, weaknesses, and counters of the opposing team members and create the exact response methods, she couldn't help but feel amazed.
Particularly, she couldn't even imagine how he'd known the opponent's hidden ultimate technique in advance and tipped her off before the match.
If she had to say it half-jokingly, did he possess some kind of future sight ability?
‘Future prediction ability......’
Prediction ability.
A power that anyone would crave in this world.
It wasn't something that didn't exist in this world.
There had been the Oracle prophet after all.
‘That can't be.’
Yu Seolhyeon let out a light laugh.
‘In the first place, Lee Jinhyuk doesn't have any supernatural ability.’
Non-ability user.
Up until now, Jinhyuk hadn't awakened any supernatural abilities.
‘Unless he deliberately hid them.’
Eventually, Yu Seolhyeon shook her head to shake off the absurd thought.
She didn't want to waste any more time on unrealistic imagination.
She'd better focus on productive thoughts instead.
‘Well...... Regardless of whether Lee Jinhyuk has future prediction ability or not, as a tactician his abilities are certainly worthy of recognition.’
Yu Seolhyeon had observed many heroes for a long time, but Jinhyuk's tactical prowess was on par with any active hero.
Thanks to one tactical theory user, she'd reached the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals for free—case closed.
She'd once underestimated him, but as a tactical advisor, he was quite capable.
‘Hmm. How interesting.’
Lee Jinhyuk.
His combat ability was average, but his tactical and strategic skills were excellent.
Whether he was talented enough to be scouted by the Gaonnuri Clan was debatable, but it would be fine to keep an eye on him.
Heroes rarely operate alone.
They form teams to skillfully handle various situations.
They need diverse talents to fill in each other's weaknesses.
That includes heroes specialized in support like Jinhyuk.
‘......Of course, heroes like Lee Siwoo are the top priority for scouting.’
Yu Seolhyeon smiled faintly and turned off the room light.
Tomorrow was the final.
The last day of the performance evaluation.
She was curious how far Lee Jinhyuk's strategy would hold up against Lee Siwoo's team.
Honestly, with the current strength of her team, she couldn't beat Siwoo's team.
The only way to turn the tide was with a brilliant strategy.
If tomorrow's match went according to Jinhyuk's plan......
‘I wonder what will happen.’
Yu Seolhyeon was very curious about tomorrow's match result.
***
“......I'd told Yu Seolhyeon and Seo Nari a plausible strategy, but if we actually fight, we'd get completely wiped out in ten minutes, wouldn't we?”
I muttered to myself, then let out a light laugh.
How do you beat a male protagonist with talent and a female protagonist?
“Well, we don't even need to win.”
After all, that would happen tomorrow.
A special event would occur in the finals.
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