Battle Survival (1)
The so-called golden generation was this year.
After all, countless prodigies from around the world had flooded into the Union like ants.
SL Group’s Kirin Lee Siwoo.
Baek Yurin, granddaughter of the top-ten 1st-ranked Baek Ilnam.
Kang Daehan, scion of legendary hero Kang Cheolwoon.
Yu Seolhyeon, granddaughter of Spear Ghost Yu Gapryeong.
Yuliya Troyanova, disciple of the great mage.
And so on…
With so many geniuses swarming the campus, interest in this midterms couldn’t help but be hotter than ever.
Especially when the nation’s top corporate CEOs, major clan owners, and children of legendary heroes were all gathered in one place to be graded.
The competition was predictably fierce.
For the students, this midterms was a chance to prove their own worth and ability to the people of Korea.
Standing out in the middle school scene was one thing, but standing out in the Union was another entirely.
If they could hold their heads high amid the geniuses, anyone would have to acknowledge it.
People who had watched the midterms for the past few weeks were dying to know who would make the biggest splash.
Quite a few were already shouting out names like Lee Siwoo, Kang Daehan, Baek Yurin, Yu Seolhyeon, Gu Han-cheol, and Kim Jun, all of them exchanging heated debates.
All of them were hero wannabes who had been hyped since their middle-school days.
Some people were betting on who would rank higher, while others were casually throwing sports lottery-style wagers.
But who would’ve guessed that someone completely unexpected would steal the spotlight?
Lee Jinhyuk.
Writer: novel***
Title: Lee Jinhyuk, what the hell is this? His total score is ridiculously high?
└ He supposedly came in almost last in admission?
└ Really?
└ My friend went to the Union, she knows.
└ Your friend went to the Union? Bullshit lol. Then I’m a Seoul National University graduate, fucker lol.
└ Oh yeah. He’s one of the kids who captured the Black Hand in the Academy, right? I heard he even got a commendation.
Writer: munp***
Title: Breaking news – hostage rescue test, Lee Jinhyuk team sets new high lol
└ ??? Really?
└ Higher than Siwoo’s team?
└ That guy’s a non-ability user, right?
└ Non-ability users getting talent parasites! lol
Writer: joa***
Title: Is Lee Jinhyuk’s team just a support role?
└ Once individual tests start after the team round, he’s gonna get destroyed?
└ Today’s test isn’t battle survival? Then Lee Jinhyuk is completely fucked lol
└ Yeah. Battle survival is all about individual ability.
└ Who knows. Maybe he’ll set another record? lol
└ Reverse parasitic gain, go go go!
The internet community was buzzing with Lee Jinhyuk’s story.
After all, no one had expected an underclassman who was basically a failure to score that high right from the first midterms.
It was almost unheard of for someone like him—ordinary at best—to stand out so dramatically among the long-rumored geniuses.
Lee Jinhyuk was nothing more than a defective product with zero combat ability and no awakened supernatural power.
His scores were decent in theory, but that was about it.
He had even entered the Union at nearly the bottom, which officially meant he lacked the aptitude to be a hero.
Yet here he was.
He had racked up ridiculously high scores in dungeon raids, hostage rescues, and hero-versus-villain trials.
In dungeon raids he had set an astonishing record in the shortest time, in hostage rescue he had calmly outmaneuvered the opposing team with meticulous strategy, and in the hero-versus-villain exam he had relentlessly exploited every weakness to rack up win after win.
It wasn’t that he had won single-handedly, but he had actively used team tactics and pulled off masterful strategies that had people talking.
Normally it was raw power of a strong ability user that decided the winner, but Lee Jinhyuk had filled in the gaps with tactics and strategy, making even the former geniuses look ridiculous.
He was basically a smart ordinary person, and for some it made him the hottest topic in the academy.
To the hero wannabes who had quietly dismissed non-ability users like him, his actions were like air.
“Oh~ Lee Jinhyuk has been pretty famous lately, huh?”
But fame wasn’t always a good thing.
“He seems smart, too.”
Because not only the regular students and heroes, but even the villains were taking notice.
Even the worst villains who were constantly hunting Union students.
“What do you think, Seolhyeon?”
Yu Dahui, with her snow-white bleached hair swept back, sat lazily on the sofa scrolling through the hero community site.
Yu Dahui was the leader of the villain organization Rebellion and was currently with Seong Yura.
Her talent and power were on another level, easily enough to make her a match for the elite.
If she had walked the hero path, Lee Siwoo, Kang Daehan, and Yu Seolhyeon wouldn’t even have been able to give her a nod.
She had already surpassed most regular instructors in strength.
“What? You want to put Lee Jinhyuk on your dinner list too?”
“Hmm… maybe.”
Yu Dahui shrugged at Seong Yura’s question.
She was doing well in the team round, but Lee Jinhyuk was a non-ability user.
Such people had clear limits as heroes.
Without a team they were useless.
That was why Yu Dahui wasn’t particularly interested.
“Not really? He’s a non-ability user so I don’t care much.”
“Oh, really?”
It was better to target other hero wannabes.
The ones who had the power and talent to be crushed.
Lee Siwoo, Kang Daehan, Ju Jiyeon, Gu Han-cheol… plenty of them.
“By the way, Seolhyeon, are you ready? Today’s the day we’re supposed to cause a big commotion at the Academy.”
“What about you?”
“Me? I’m fully prepared.”
Yu Dahui laughed lightly.
“Many of the misfits who have issues with society have decided to join as mercenaries.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Unlike the Rebellion members, they’re just third-rate villains, but there are quite a few of them, so they should be able to act as bait or hunting dogs.”
“Bait to slow down the security agents and hunting dogs to notify you once they’ve found the targets.”
“Even though they’re just trash who can’t adapt to society and just complain, they’re actually useful in situations like this.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. This kind of third-rate life has no future.”
After all, it was an irredeemable, hopeless existence.
“There are plenty of complaints in my heart and I want to vent my frustration right now, but alone I’d still be scared. That’s why I gave them this chance.”
“You don’t expect them to participate in a plan like this, do you? I really don’t get it.”
“Hah. Those third-rate lives just want to watch the world burn. While other people laugh happily hahaha.”
Yu Dahui suddenly lifted her head.
“Of course, since words don’t reach them, I borrowed a little help from a self-proclaimed hero maniac.”
“Oh, the guy who’s always smiling? I’ve seen him a few times too.”
Seong Yura suddenly recalled a certain man’s face.
The man in the villain organization Rebellion who was strangely kind to heroes.
Of course it wasn’t normal kindness; it was twisted interest and affection, but there was sincerity in it.
Well… the fates of the heroes who had caught his eye hadn’t been great.
“That man’s supernatural ability… was it brainwashing?”
“Not exactly brainwashing, but something similar.”
It wasn’t brainwashing, but an ability that stimulated human emotions.
It triggered negative emotions like inferiority, desire, anger, and frustration, making it very easy to manipulate people.
Especially third-rate thugs who wandered the back alleys because they had complaints against heroes and society.
“Anyway, it seems you’re ready. Good for you, Yu Dahui.”
“I wish the others had participated too, but it looks like they’re not really interested.”
Yu Dahui clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“I was planning to stay inactive until the finals or the training camp, but since you said you were moving early, I figured I might as well join you too. You really don’t like that nun girl, do you?”
“Not that I dislike her. Besides, this time it’s not just about tormenting her; we’re going to probe her.”
“Ah, I see.”
She grinned, red eyes swirling with amusement.
“Good. Let’s work hard for our respective goals, you and me.”
“Yeah, Yu Dahui. Our goals are different, after all.”
Yu Dahui’s goal was to trample on the Academy students and stir up chaos through the media.
Seong Yura’s was to attack Roxanne and those around her to find out any possible backing.
The two were simply cooperating for each other’s objectives.
“Today’s test is battle survival, right? Hah. It’ll really be a survival.”
As third-rate amateurs, it would be a great experience for hero wannabes to fight alongside so many villains.
Of course, the kids who got caught by Yu Dahui would have the worst experience, but…
—
Battle Survival.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
“Hey, hey! Lee Jinhyuk! Don’t you dare stand there?!”
The test outside the Academy evaluated every aspect of the students’ survival skills, combat ability, adaptability, interpersonal combat, monster combat, and tactical ability.
In the vast mountain wilderness, they had five days to survive.
The forest was a world of survival of the fittest.
Numerous traps, items, and artificial monsters were placed, and those who scored the most points by competing against each other would receive the highest scores.
Points were mainly earned in two ways.
First, by defeating artificial monsters.
Second, by robbing other students.
Each student was equipped with a smartwatch that allowed them to steal points or trade with others.
The watch also had basic map functions and an emergency button, so if you wanted to quit, you could just press one button.
Then security agents would come pick you up and take you safely out of the test at the cost of disqualification.
Of course, the emergency button required fingerprint recognition, so you had to press it yourself.
Well, you could knock someone out or threaten them until they did it for you.
“Ha… ha… ha… damn, you’ve been keeping us busy, Lee Jinhyuk.”
“You guys are really persistent… to chase all the way here.”
I took a moment to catch my breath and looked at the kids chasing me.
Kim Yuseong and two extras were panting, glaring at me with murderous eyes. Whoa, the look in their eyes was terrifying.
“You kids, from the very first day you should’ve teamed up, right?”
Teaming.
It meant working together.
Like those three.
“If you’re pissed off, do it yourself.”
“Huh? Then I’ll join too?”
“No.”
“Aww, that’s too harsh. We’re in the same class, man. We knew each other from middle school, didn’t we? Let’s take it easy on the first day, how about it?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
Kim Yuseong gave a dense smile.
It was the kind of smile a villain would give after catching his prey.
Up until now I had been active in the tests, but it was all thanks to using my teammates at the right moments.
After all, my personal combat ability was at the very bottom.
Kim Yuseong had to know that.
To him I was just a mouse in the trap.
“Sigh. Yuseong-ah, how about we talk it out instead of fighting?”
“The only thing I can do with you is punch you.”
“See? We can’t even communicate. That’s why your theory scores are trash.”
“What, the hell?”
Kim Yuseong exploded.
He seemed to realize he was the idiot.
In the game, he wasn’t the one who liked me.
Originally he had been the guy secretly bullying me to steal Siwoo’s beanbag.
Now it was just neutral.
Unlike the original story, I was getting along fine with Siwoo, and I had already broken up with Soyeon and fit in well with Yu Seolhyeon, so there was no need to mess with me.
‘Kim Yuseong’s freshman ranking was upper-middle, but his close-combat ability was set to compete with the top ranks.’
I didn’t know how strong the other two were, but they weren’t opponents I could take anyway.
After all, my combat ability was truly terrible.
If we fought fairly one-on-one, none of the guys here could beat me.
“Then be prepared, Lee Jinhyuk.”
But it didn’t matter.
Why?
As I mentioned earlier, the forest was filled with countless traps and items.
“Don’t get too resentful.”
Of course, I couldn’t know exactly where the traps and items were.
In the game the forest interior had been shrunk, so many things had been different from reality.
There were no pre-obtained materials like during the Yeongdeung Mountain Dungeon, and the location wasn’t as limited as a dungeon.
Finding the exact positions of traps and items in this vast forest was quite difficult.
But it didn’t matter.
Because traps were simple—I could just set them myself.
Through the subspace ring I had secretly brought in all kinds of traps and items.
So even simple traps were easy to install.
Well.
For example, mines?
“Then…?”
The moment the guy who looked like an extra stepped forward, a click followed by a loud boom as the ground exploded.
It was the explosive trap I had set.
Oh, I got him.
“Ugh, ah, aah?!”
“What the hell?!”
“Trap! That bastard lured him on purpose to the place with the trap?!”
Because the Academy had announced that traps, items, and monsters were present, the students must have thought the trap was one the Academy had installed.
Out of caution I had set traps that were similar to the Academy’s, but not exactly the same.
After all, it was impossible to compare every single detail.
Oh, there was a small chance security agents might catch me, but the forest was really huge.
It was impossible to monitor every inch.
Originally they would need a lot of time before security agents could even reach the place even if I pressed the emergency button.
And… well, I had chosen a spot where there were no security agents to set the traps.
“Hey, hey! Snap out of it—first that guy…!”
Whoosh!
I immediately fired a practice arrow.
The target was the guy who had stepped on the trap.
p>Normally I could have blocked or dodged it easily.
But because of the trap I hadn’t been paying attention, so the arrow slammed into him and he tumbled to the ground.
Whoops, if I roll to that side…
“Kugh! Y-you bastard… ugh, aaaaah?!”
BOOM~!
Poorly, he rolled toward the mine.
With a satisfying whoosh, the boy slammed his head against a tree with a thud!
Although he was a hero wannabe, he wasn’t badly injured, but he had been hit in the back of the head and had probably fainted.
Oh, nice.
One down.
“G, Gang Ji-hun!”
Oh, his name is Gang Ji-hun?
I didn’t know that.
I couldn’t memorize every minor student’s name from the game.
“Damn, how many traps are there here?!”
Yeah, plenty.
This was a full minefield.
I had installed quite a lot.
Of course, traps weren’t just mines.
Just in case there were people like you who wanted to gang up, I had prepared a lot of interesting traps, you know?