The Counterattack's Time
The instructor's voice cut through the air like a whip. "Park Sinhu, the test subject. Return to your seat under the control of the assistant instructor."
Kang Seojun had almost been pulled in by the hypnotic grip of Park Sinhu when the instructor stepped in to stop him.
"......"
Park Sinhu only then realized he had been the one reaching out toward Kang Seojun.
He had completed the test in a much healthier state than the other subjects, yet he still felt half-dazed himself.
If the instructor had not intervened, Park Sinhu might have demanded to know exactly how Kang Seojun had been dragged from the glass enclosure.
'Losing to a guy like that…'
Even as he walked back to his seat, Park Sinhu refused to take his eyes off Kang Seojun.
He would remember that face.
The artifact's strength had now pushed into the mid-A rank territory.
"Ugh…!"
At this point, even Kang Seojun with his 30 Willpower should have shown signs of strain.
The sensation was like someone twisting every organ inside him.
His breathing felt strangled, as if his throat had been tied shut by a rope.
The stench of rotting corpse water filled his nose.
The noise inside his ears sounded like a drill boring straight through his eardrums.
The vision now hovering before his eyes was no longer a memory of his previous life but a cruel preview of his current miserable future.
He would end up on the street, slowly dying while carrying nothing but debuff traits after failing to obtain the Fruit of the Astral Rank and awakening his Stigma.
"Huff…!"
Yet Kang Seojun endured it all with nothing more than a single groan.
'This kind of vision actually works as motivation. If I don't want to end up like that, I have to endure even more.'
It was surprising even to him that he, who had been a reincarnated gamer, was pushing through this pain so smoothly when his past self would have given up long ago.
His body, however, was beginning to reach its limit separately from his mind.
His fists trembled on their own. His lips and forehead twitched.
His entire body shook intermittently, the kind of spasms that made one wonder if cardiac arrest was imminent.
Still, his resolute expression kept the willpower alive, and the instructor could not stop the test.
"Assistant instructor. When I give the signal, raise your hand to the lever so I can stop the artifact immediately."
The instructor spoke to the assistant instructor with a stiff expression.
Then he looked at Kang Seojun with genuine anticipation.
'This raw material is unexpected.'
Even if all other stats were F-rank, as long as Willpower remained, the others could be grown to any level with effort.
The artifact's strength had now reached the late-A rank territory. Everyone held their breath.
The only sounds were Kang Seojun's groans and the students swallowing their air and spit.
And the faint creaking of the artifact cooler as mana output climbed and it began to overload.
'It's becoming more and more ruthless.'
Late-A rank was true hell.
Physical pain alone was beyond description, and the vision in front of him was nothing less than a nightmarish abyss.
Every trauma twisted together, attacking his mental weakness relentlessly and making him want to give up right then and there.
His 30 Willpower was barely enough to resist.
[Willpower is being tested. Mental breakdown may occur.]
Even the System issued a dry warning.
"Khh…!"
But what Kang Seojun spat out was not a groan of pain but a refreshing smile.
[Flickering Luck's Inspiration has taken root in the mind. 'Persistence' is being exerted.]
The fact that he had endured pain that his past self would have collapsed under in just three seconds merely by changing one number on the System screen gave Kang Seojun an overwhelming sense of hope.
From now on, not only Willpower but other stats could exceed 30 and, with effort, reach 40 or even 50.
When he had decided to pile all debuff traits onto his character, his goal had already been set.
All Stats SSS rank.
Kang Seojun was a veteran of this world and knew he could achieve that goal.
He wondered how free and fantastical his life would become once the time came.
That expectation was the reason he could not stop smiling.
"I-Instructor…! This test subject… he's smiling?"
"What?"
The instructor, who had been checking the overheating cooler, rushed forward to examine Kang Seojun.
His whole body trembled like he was having a seizure, yet his mouth formed a clear, confident smile.
"Maybe it's not just raw material… it might be more than that…."
The instructor could not hide his shock.
"How…?"
Jin Serin muttered the same words without realizing it.
Was this really the area where one could simply endure without giving up?
She had not even reached mid-B rank herself.
She had thought that if she endured just a little longer, her body would burst.
Yet this man seemed able to withstand the late-A rank territory as easily as dreaming a good dream.
At that moment, as the crowd erupted in admiration for Kang Seojun's willpower,
-CRACK!
-BOOM!
The artifact, pushed to its mana output limit, shattered in half and bright mana light flooded the entire area.
"Ugh!"
"What the—!"
The students covered their eyes in confusion,
"Kuh…!"
"Ugh…!"
Park Sinhu and Jin Serin watched the entire scene to the end,
"Assistant instructor! Lower the lever!"
"Yes!"
The instructor and assistant instructor quickly regained control of the situation.
-SHUUUUSH.
The light that had engulfed the area slowly receded, and the horrific pain and visions that had bound his body began to fade rapidly.
'It's over.'
Kang Seojun opened the glass enclosure door as if stepping out of a bathroom stall and walked out.
"Whoa, awesome."
After a brief silence, the entire hall exploded into noise.
"The artifact broke first."
"Whoa. This is A+ rank. Highest score?"
"F- rank stats with only A+ Willpower? That doesn't even make sense. Wow."
"There must be some special trait that concentrates all stats on Willpower, right?"
"What. That trash trait."
"But seriously, that's the only way to explain the balance."
Park Sinhu and Jin Serin also glared quietly at Kang Seojun.
'How…'
'How in the world…'
Even elite trainers could only bring Willpower up to C or B rank with systematic training, yet this guy had raised it to A+ with that body.
"Impressive."
The instructor walked up beside Kang Seojun and said.
"Willpower is A+ rank. Qualification is confirmed. Congratulations."
When Kang Seojun showed no particular reaction, the instructor added.
"A perfect score in Willpower is a record recognized even in the world. You can be proud. With that kind of willpower, you can probably do anything even if the environment isn't ideal. I'll be watching you closely from now on, Kang Seojun."
The instructor patted Kang Seojun's shoulder.
"Thank you."
Kang Seojun answered dryly and returned to his seat.
In truth, he had no time to pay attention to the surrounding reactions.
[Quest 'Passing the Academy Admission Test' completed!]
[Quest success reward! Physical stats have increased by +1!]
[The Constellations are admiring your performance.]
[The Constellations are proud of you.]
[Constellation 'The Sympathetic Hermit' is sponsoring dimensional currency to you.]
[Constellation 'The Scale-Bearing Guardian' is sponsoring dimensional currency to you.]
Real important responses were streaming in front of his eyes in real time.
The most eye-catching of them was:
[Constellation 'The Wise Old Snake' is sponsoring the skill 'Time for Counterattack' to you.]
Skill 'Time for Counterattack'.
───────Skill───────
▶ Name
Time for Counterattack
◆ Grade
[Epic]
◆ Description
- Upon activation, it evades all melee attacks of Epic grade or lower for 10 minutes and counters with 1.2 times the attacker's power using the enemy's attack power. It can be used only once per day, and the cooldown resets at midnight.
──────────────────
'My luck is good.'
It was a skill he needed right away.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
All processes of the admission test had ended.
The test subjects scattered in every direction.
"Hey."
Someone called out to Kang Seojun, who was walking past the instructor.
When he turned his head, Kang Seojun saw a face he knew all too well.
A slender, villainous extra with a vile appearance.
Park Sinhu's lackey.
"There's someone who wants to talk for a moment. Come along quietly."
The thug gave Kang Seojun's shoulder a firm squeeze, as if he thought the guy might try to run.
"......"
Kang Seojun followed them without a word.
'As expected, an event is happening.'
This was a situation he had already predicted.
The Park Sinhu event that occurs when a student stands out academically at the academy.
In previous cycles, no such strange ability had appeared during the admission test, so this event had never triggered so early.
But this time, by focusing on a single stat, he had drawn attention, advancing the event's timing.
The location was a deserted alley.
Even though the sun had not yet set, little light reached here.
Several cigarette lighters flickered in the darkness, their smoke swirling.
"I brought him."
The thug shoved Kang Seojun deeper into the alley.
"Ugh…."
He almost tripped and fell comically.
"Hoo…."
Unlike the thugs sitting on either side of him, the man seated on the highest step was Park Sinhu, who exhaled cigarette smoke and snapped his fingers at Kang Seojun.
"......"
"What? Get closer."
When Kang Seojun stood stock-still, the thug behind him shoved him again.
After a few staggering steps, he was close enough for Park Sinhu's cigarette smoke to brush his face.
Even though Park Sinhu was sitting on the exterior pipe, the height difference with Kang Seojun was not that great.
Park Sinhu's height exceeded 190 cm, and Kang Seojun's hunched posture from his twisted limbs contributed to the lower angle.
"How did you do it?"
Park Sinhu exhaled cigarette smoke and demanded coldly.
"What?"
"The last test, of course. Annoying little brat."
When Kang Seojun feigned ignorance, the thug behind him tried to take over.
"Shut up."
Park Sinhu silenced the thug.
The thug who had been pressing his face close to Kang Seojun retreated toward the wall like a trained dog.
Looking down at Kang Seojun as if it were nothing, Park Sinhu said.
"How did you do it."
The tone was completely unchanged.
"What?"
Kang Seojun answered in the same tone.
"This brat…."
Just as the thug was about to step forward,
-THUD!
Park Sinhu rose abruptly and kicked out at Kang Seojun.
'As expected.'
It was the reaction Kang Seojun had anticipated.
When the opponent has a demand, his preferred method is not negotiation but theft.
That is why this event has only three possible routes.
One: Get beaten up severely by Park Sinhu's gang and receive a penalty.
Another: Kneel before the gang and become their lackey.
The last: Fight the gang and end up as an enemy.
There is no route where everything ends happily from the beginning.
So Kang Seojun hesitated no longer.
[Skill 'Time for Counterattack' activated.]
As soon as Park Sinhu moved, the skill was triggered.
'It worked.'
The sensation of activating the skill was unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time.
From the moment he received the skill from the Constellation, he had instinctively known how to use it.
"What…?"
The fierce kick Park Sinhu had launched was blocked by nothing but a trash bag,
-THUD!
And Kang Seojun's backspin blow struck Park Sinhu's chin with a satisfying crack.