Special Evaluation (4)
Special Evaluation (4)
Im Gyeong-su watched.
WHOOOM—!!
He watched a human get launched into the wall, moving so fast he left no afterimage.
And then he understood.
You must never stand behind the beast.
"Ughhh... wh-what the...?"
Kang Seok-ho staggered out of the wall after Baek Ha-na's back kick had sent him crashing clear across the room. Observing this, Im Gyeong-su had a single thought.
'I should just pretend to be unconscious...'
No sooner had the thought formed than both of them moved toward Kang Seok-ho simultaneously.
"J-Ju-hee—"
"Die."
FWOOOSH—!!
A chilling voice, one that could snuff out even a blazing flame, flew at Kang Seok-ho alongside a searing fireball.
"Ju-hee...?!"
Faced with a massive fireball hurtling his way, Kang Seok-ho frantically manifested his Steel ability and rolled across the floor. Watching, Im Gyeong-su had to think again.
'Just get hit and pass out...'
His reasoning was simple.
"Garbage."
"B-Baek Ha-na...!!"
Before Kang Seok-ho could even get up from his roll, Baek Ha-na had already mounted him. It was the same pounding stance she'd frequently used against him in the sparring arena.
WHAM, WHAM, SMASH—!!
Each time Baek Ha-na's fist moved, Kang Seok-ho's head whipped savagely from side to side.
To be fair, seeing Kang Seok-ho get beaten up like this was practically a daily occurrence, so it barely registered. But the way Na Ju-hee glared down at him while he took the pounding—her eyes were so cold they sent a chill down his spine.
'I think it's about time to stop this...'
With his ability deactivated, Kang Seok-ho's face was already so swollen he was unrecognizable. Worried the man might actually die at this rate, Im Gyeong-su turned his head to ask Lee Na-young—the only one who could stop Baek Ha-na—for help.
"Hey...?"
Lee Na-young, who had been right behind him just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. No, even if his attention had been elsewhere, how could he have missed the movement of someone standing directly behind him?
'Wait, that's not the point here?!'
Lee Na-young was the target they absolutely had to protect until this exam ended. If something happened to Lee Na-young, the exam was over.
Fully grasping the severity of the situation, Im Gyeong-su whipped his head around in a panic.
"Umm—"
Screeeeech.
"...?"
A sound completely unrelated to the dull thuds of Kang Seok-ho getting pummeled—like furniture being dragged across the floor—reached his ears. Im Gyeong-su fell silent and shifted his gaze toward it.
-Is that blood?
-I don't think it's human blood...
The two aspiring alchemists were up on the empty dining table, leaning over a wine bottle and whispering to each other.
-Aaaah.
A few steps away from them, another classmate was sprawled out on the floor, catching her breath.
'...I give up.'
Im Gyeong-su decided to just sit quietly on the floor and wait for someone to find him.
**
RUMBLE—!!
One of the banquet hall's walls descended, revealing a hidden passage.
This was the fruit of the aspiring alchemists' labors, who had been circling and rummaging around starting from the dinner table. Thanks to them, Im Gyeong-su, who had been resting in a daze, was finally able to get back on his feet.
'...He's breathing.'
The first thing Im Gyeong-su did was check the airway of Kang Seok-ho, who lay there like a corpse. Fortunately, a faint breath was still escaping through the small, puffy gap in his swollen face.
"Im Gyeong-su."
"Huh?"
"Stop spacing out and get over here."
"Uh, yeah. Coming."
At Baek Ha-na's call, Im Gyeong-su quickly dusted off his pants and jogged over to the secret passage.
"First, this book. Everything written in the front is all there is; the rest of the pages are blank."
"For real."
Im Gyeong-su accepted the book from Baek Ha-na and confirmed for himself that the remaining pages were blank.
"And if what's written there is true, there's no need for us to stick together in one group like this."
"...Hmm."
He sensed there was more to say, but Im Gyeong-su felt like he was getting a taste of what a company employee must feel when they're handed a 'recommendation to resign.'
"But even if they're giving a reward opportunity to every student who reaches the innermost area as stated here, I don't see a reason to split up."
"I agree. We should pull in as many teams as possible and just push through with sheer numbers, even if the professors are waiting for us."
At the two girls' opinions, Im Gyeong-su breathed an inward sigh of relief.
"Not a bad idea, but looking at this map, I think we might need to limit the number of people."
Park Myeong-ho, another aspiring alchemist like Lee Na-young—essentially the equivalent of her on Kang Seok-ho's team—voiced his opinion.
"Twelve people at most. So, around three teams would be the optimal limit. Any more than that, and it'll be hard to deal with traps or unexpected situations."
As Park Myeong-ho had said, the passage wasn't very wide. Grouping more people than necessary risked them tripping over each other and being wiped out in an instant.
"A-and, separate from the special reward, we also need to earn individual points..."
Lee Na-young, who at some point had acquired a new bag—Ha-na mark two—clutched it at her side, fidgeting with her fingers as she added her own thoughts to Park Myeong-ho's.
"That's true. With too many people, distributing the credit becomes a headache. And besides..."
Na Ju-hee briefly glared at her fiancé, still sprawled out in the distance, grinding her teeth.
"We might end up with idiots like him pulling stunts."
After his defeat in the duel against Nam Seo-hee yesterday, the Top Seat had all but been decided in her favor. Despite that, her fiancé had tried to score points by stirring up unnecessary conflict, an act so pathetic her anger refused to subside.
Especially that shameless act of grabbing a body part that—even if formed by an ability—was still a female area and an erogenous zone for some Transformation-type ability users. It made her grind her teeth.
"It seems to be decided. Na-young."
"Yeah..."
Lee Na-young unfolded the parchment.
"Im Gyeong-su."
"Yep..."
Glancing one last time at the abandoned Kang Seok-ho, Im Gyeong-su raised his shield and took up the forward position.
"If this passage goes straight without any turns, it could drastically shorten the route."
Using the exit as a reference point, if they could cut straight through the secret passage as Lee Na-young suggested, they could bypass a whopping four rooms and head straight to the next choice.
"Please, let there be nothing this time either..."
"Our firepower increased by one more person, so what are you worried about? Just get walking."
"...Sheesh."
Using the fireball Na Ju-hee kept floating ahead as a beacon, Im Gyeong-su entered, the rest of the group following behind.
Clatter, clatter—
"Skeletons."
"...Whew."
Im Gyeong-su let out a sigh of relief at the appearance of a low-grade monster, one that vied for the title of most pathetic among all monsters.
The idea of walking bones was a bit creepy, but without muscles or skin, they were incredibly slow, practically just shambling targets.
"Ah, w-wait a second..."
"Wh-what? Is there a trap or something?"
At Lee Na-young's cry, Im Gyeong-su, who had been about to smash in the skull of the approaching skeleton, stopped in his tracks.
"No, not that... C-could you bring me their heads?"
"...Their heads?"
He'd acted so timidly, yet he had such a ghoulish hobby?
"What are you thinking? Don't you see the mold growing on those heads? It's a pretty rare ingredient."
"...I didn't say anything."
After Park Myeong-ho explained in Lee Na-young's stead, Im Gyeong-su scratched his cheek awkwardly and swung his shield at the torsos of the skeletons that were right in his face.
"Be careful not to let them fall on the ground."
"Tch."
Im Gyeong-su collected five skulls and handed them over to the two alchemists.
"Ha-na...?"
"Take your time."
With Baek Ha-na's permission, Lee Na-young and Park Myeong-ho sat down and began scraping the white, fluffy fuzz growing on the skulls with small chisels, carefully dividing it into glass vials.
"Are those skulls seriously the end of it?"
"Hey. Didn't I tell you to watch your mouth?"
"...Yep."
They reached a dead end, and Na Ju-hee lit the candles in the candelabra on the wall.
GRRRRRRIND—!!
Once they met the condition of the simple mechanism, the dead-end wall rumbled down sure enough, opening the path.
"After just two more rooms, it's the innermost area."
At Lee Na-young's words, everyone except Baek Ha-na's eyes sparkled.
"Even if the professors are waiting in those two rooms, it looks like we'll reach the innermost area without any trouble."
"Thank you for the carry...!!"
Im Gyeong-su was genuinely excited by the huge possibility that, thanks to this completely unexpected connection, he might actually benefit from this.
"Be quiet and keep moving. There might be other teams who found a hidden passage like us."
"Yep."
Im Gyeong-su quickly readied his shield and started walking forward again.
"But it really does feel like we've come deeper inside."
While the gloomy atmosphere had definitely intensified, the biggest change was the disappearance of the windows.
"Ahem, so... should I open it?"
Im Gyeong-su pushed the massive door with all his might, using his shield.
"Oh? It glides right open."
Unlike the doors before, which had made bizarre sounds, this one moved as smoothly as if it were well-oiled. And the scene visible through the widening gap shocked him.
"What the hell...?"
The space inside the door was covered in cracks and scorched marks everywhere.
"...Let's go to the next room."
"Huh? Oh, uh, right."
Im Gyeong-su quickly headed for the open door on the opposite side, and the group followed. Baek Ha-na, the last to leave, took a brief moment to register the traces of a fierce battle before following the others.
"Should I?"
"Open it."
Having practically run to the last door, Im Gyeong-su once again used his shield to push it.
The space beyond was markedly different from anything they'd seen so far: it was a guest room with a distinctly modern feel.
"Ha-na...?"
Nam Seo-hee, who had been seated on the sofa at the center of the room, rose to her feet.
"As I thought, it was you, Seo-hee."
Baek Ha-na passed Im Gyeong-su and approached Nam Seo-hee.
"Let's save the details for when we're out. What kind of room is this?"
"Hmm? Oh, this is a rest area."
"A rest area?"
"Wait a moment."
Nam Seo-hee picked up a sheet of paper from the table in front of the sofa and handed it to Baek Ha-na, explaining.
"It says, 'Good work getting this far. You may proceed directly to the innermost area, or feel free to explore the exam grounds a bit more. This place will disappear once the exam is over, so take a look around while you can.'"
"...I see."
After carefully reading the paper, Baek Ha-na handed it back to Nam Seo-hee and beckoned for Lee Na-young.
"Na-young. Show me the map."
"Okay...!!"
Lee Na-young dashed over and handed the map she was holding to Baek Ha-na.
This was the final room, and the path leading to the innermost area was just beyond the back door. Every branching pathway converged here, at this very rest area.
Confirming that all conditions were met, Baek Ha-na scooped Lee Na-young up into her arms.
"H-Ha-na?"
"Stay here and be good."
"Huh? Oh, okay...?"
Lee Na-young wasn't sure what was going on, but she just nodded and, as Baek Ha-na instructed, placed her hands on her knees and stayed still.
"Seo-hee."
"Yeah."
"Where are your other teammates?"
"They couldn't keep up the pace, so I left them behind. Well, I think they said they wanted to look for hidden ingredients, so I guess it worked out."
"...I see."
"Why?"
"Never mind. Stay next to Na-young."
"Okay. Got it."
Nam Seo-hee didn't press further and, following Baek Ha-na's request, sat down next to Lee Na-young. After placing the two friends together, Baek Ha-na walked over to Na Ju-hee, who was watching them from a short distance away.
"Are you going to rest here?"
"For now."
"Alright. Then I think I'll look around a bit too—"
WHAM—!!
"...Ugh."
Na Ju-hee clutched her stomach and crumpled straight down.
Baek Ha-na caught the collapsing Na Ju-hee, laid her gently on the floor, and straightened up. Im Gyeong-su, who had witnessed the entire sequence, cried out in utter confusion.
"Wh-what? What the hell? All of a sudden...?"
"I'll make it as painless as possible."
"...Huh?"
Im Gyeong-su stared blankly at Baek Ha-na approaching him, blinking his eyes. His mind had gone numb from the sheer shock and suddenness of it all.
"No... h, hold... Huh...?"
Im Gyeong-su's lips were quivering like a broken machine before he managed to force his thoughts into words.
"Y-you were the one who said we could all get the reward together?!"
"That's right."
Baek Ha-na stopped right in front of Im Gyeong-su, who had been backed against the wall and could retreat no further, and spoke in a low voice.
"That's exactly why I'm doing this."
Independent of the Top Seat, the academy itself would grant a wish. In other words, reaching the innermost area gave everyone—not just the Top Seat—an equal opportunity to receive the same benefits.
And those benefits would undoubtedly include the option to request private tutoring from a specific professor.
"I won't let anyone interfere with my summer...!"
"Summer? What the hell does that—"
Baek Ha-na's fist promptly turned Im Gyeong-su's chin away.