The Great Escape and the Record-Shattering Exam
The student affairs office was in absolute chaos because of the escape.
It wasn't like there had never been attempts to run away from school before. With all those hot-blooded students cooped up, you were bound to get a few escapees every year. Escapes were usually punished with light to moderate discipline depending on how long you lasted. But most got caught before they could go far, so actual penalties were rare.
But nothing like this had ever happened—or even been heard of.
The guards were shivering in terror.
"Catch that bastard!!"
"That little shit's a monkey! He even climbed a tree! How the hell do we catch him?!"
"Huff, huff. You eternal low-stamina losers!"
"You ain't lacking either!!"
"Did he learn assassination techniques or something!?"
Even Reinhardt's guards were all 3-Rank mages or higher. There was no way a student who'd just learned basic 1-Rank attack magic could shake them off... or so they thought.
Until they met that lunatic.
Those guys won't catch me even after a hundred years.
What did I learn in hunter training? Terrain utilization, evasion tactics, night combat, divide and conquer. In a real fight, I'm stronger!
Another ability of [Dragon Eye]: night vision and dynamic vision superior to a normal person's. That gives me the edge.
And this is a forest. With [Natural Affinity], I ask the animals I meet to harass the guards. That'll delay the chase again.
I spotted the guards' blockade line and fired an attack spell with output dialed up just enough to draw their eyes. Then I leaped onto a tree.
"Wha—what!?"
I broke right through the guards' second line.
"Bind!"
They tried to snare me, but...
No dice. Using my innate ability, I manipulated the natural mana around me.
"That guy's no rookie anymore! Encrypt the incantations!! We're getting jammed!"
"In code, Bind!"
"Too late!"
Thanks to Karnaroff, I'd already gotten the hang of breaking incantations. And with [Magic Circle Mathematician], once I'd seen the activation process, twisting it just once made finding the mana's core a breeze!
They're no Karnaroff!
After punching through them all, I found that cave. And the spot where mana was pooling. I threw myself in!
"Kiyoooooot!!"
"Grrr..."
"Heeey! Been a while since I was here too."
I stroked Gomi as I spoke. I'd found this place right after crawling out of the tree hollow and walking a bit. When I wasn't drunk off my ass, the guy kept himself pretty clean.
"Gomgom."
"Just take me to the mountainside."
"Gom."
"What? Bone-in meat when I come back?"
"Gom."
Gomi never attacked people. I'd taught him that if he did, he'd end up hunted and dead. Instead, he hunted fish or occasionally hit me up for meat.
"You know how expensive that shit is these days?"
This guy's tastes had gotten too fancy—no frozen stuff for him.
"Grrrng."
"Taxi fares are pricier? Shit, how does a bear even know about taxis?"
They say even a dog at school for three years recites poetry. Or maybe my traits were boosting his intelligence too? Who knows.
When I first met Gomi, he was starving, but he still didn't attack me.
I rode on Gomi's back up to the mountainside.
"Thanks as always."
"Gomgom."
"Yeah, you big beast."
The guy's got exact accounts. I let it slide 'cause he's cute.
I roughly calculated the time.
"Escapes over three days are major discipline..."
Two days should do it!
"What classes were today anyway?"
...Whatever.
"...So, you want to take the climbing exam?"
"Yep!"
"...You know what number attempt this is, right?"
"No, I know! You think I don't? You met me before—you gotta know. You know who I am anyway!"
The receptionist, Woo Soo-hyun, looked troubled as he stared at the person in front of him. Anyone at the Chuncheon Hunter Exam Hall would know her. She didn't even look fully grown, but every passerby turned to gawk.
Top graduate of Chuncheon Hunter Training Class 13, and a 10-time tower climbing exam failure. Anyone even tangentially connected to hunters in Chuncheon had heard the name.
"Ah, hurry up! I'm in a rush!"
That was the identity of this stunning girl. But deep down, she was a total nutjob.
Woo Soo-hyun sighed and said, "You're not gonna bring a sword again, smash everything, then insist it was your ability, right?"
She'd once hauled in a greatsword bigger than herself and obliterated all the targets in under 10 seconds. That alone would've been impressive skill... but then she camped out in the building for a week, striking until they passed her. Legendary stuff.
Of course, he didn't think she lacked the ability to climb the tower. At least not on Easy mode.
The system's just weird.
It was a rule to block mana-less wannabes chasing tower bonus traits for a life reversal. But it screwed over skilled folks without abilities.
She sighed. "Fine, whatever."
Her outfit was a bit different too. Hoodie and baggy pants were the same, but she'd stuffed a long stick into her waistband. And her clothes were dusted with dirt and fur.
"Here."
"Got it."
Test fee: 1 million won. As he took the credit card payment, he grabbed her signing wrist.
"What's up?"
"This isn't yours."
"I'm not an adult yet? I don't have my own card. It's Mom's."
"You're an adult. I saw you blow soju bottles last time."
She was spouting obvious bullshit. Yumia sighed and said, "It's Sera's. Mine's mine. Hers is mine. I won it off her in a drinking bet."
"...You mean Hunter Sera? Where've you been anyway? They were looking everywhere for you."
Sera was an A-Rank hunter rarer than a conglomerate heir. And Yumia's drinking buddy.
The only reason she could swipe Sera's card without backlash was...
"If she finds out and shows up, it'll be a hassle, so swipe quick."
"I ain't handling the fallout."
"I'll deal with that."
"What ability this time? If it's made-up again, just leave."
Normally, you couldn't see others' status windows. So they had to verify the ability.
"Magic. Basic magic."
"...The magic type? You?"
"Problem?"
"...Whatever, let's see."
No mana detection meant fail anyway.
"Setup takes time, so wait."
"Gotcha... Hmm... No capsule coffee here? I'm heading in~."
Yumia slipped naturally into the second-floor office. Before Woo Soo-hyun could stop her.
Screams erupted from upstairs.
"Hey!! Why are you in here?!"
"Whoa, they've got every kind of capsule. Boss, mind if I grab some?"
"Get out!"
"Aw, don't be cold. Bring your kids sometime? Tons of boars in the mountains. Raid 'em and run—you'd have a hell of a cleanup."
"...Urgh! Hey! Woo Soo-hyun! Why's this kid barging in?! Control her!!"
"S-sorry!"
"Hey!! Those are from Japan—I was saving them!! The wife bitches if I gain weight, so I hid 'em here..."
The boss wailed as his pricey snacks got swiped.
"These are good. Shoulda stocked more."
"Hurry and prep the test—kick her out!! What'd she eat the last three days, bread crumbs?!"
"Oh, how'd you know? Good instincts."
"Ready! All set!"
Woo Soo-hyun watched Yumia warming up in the exam room.
Marionettes. Mana-powered, mana-repairing automatons. Destroy all three in 180 seconds to pass. Tower monsters usually formed formations depending on difficulty, so three puppets: one for ranged attacks, one fast melee, one tank with shield.
They moved together. Destroy via headshot for instant kill or total body destruction. Partial damage? They functioned fine without repairs.
But landing headshots was insanely hard.
Those things guard their heads well...
With athlete-surpassing reactions and speed, hitting the head was like picking stars. Melee head destruction was near impossible.
Even D-Rank Woo Soo-hyun took three tries to squeak under three minutes.
And barely survived the tower...
But Yumia wasn't tense at all. Just stretching casually.
Prepare.
The moment that sounded, mana gathered on Yumia's staff.
Before the lined-up marionettes could move.
Start.
Yumia's left pupil slit vertically.
"Casting Bullet."
Bam-bam-boom.
Fanfare blared. Woo Soo-hyun's jaw dropped.
Mana bullets piercing only the heads, clean. He was a hunter too. He could tell at a glance it was pure skill.
Then the waiting room door flew open.
In walked Korea's A-Rank hunter, Sera. Woo Soo-hyun's mind went blanker.
"Hey! What crazy shit are you pulling now...???"
Sera's jaw dropped too.
Only Yumia calmly stretched and said, "Told ya I'd pass."
Strictly speaking, the marionettes weren't in a straight line. Heads varied in shape and size by position, poses too. To pierce them all at once, you'd have to adjust trajectories perfectly...
What the hell is this girl?
Even an S-Rank might struggle.
"Whoa, tried it and it worked. Kinda off though. If the heads were smaller, I'd have missed."
She was spouting that nonsense. Three consecutive headshots. He felt awe turning to fear.
Two holes were on the edges, sure. But... hitting them at all was freakish.
"Th-this..."
"Oh, Sera's here?"
"What the... hell? You actually figured it out?"
"What else? Let's grab food... I'm starving."
Yumia hugged Sera, who stroked her hair and eyed Woo Soo-hyun. Goosebumps crawled up his back.
Why are they that close!?
This was beyond friends. Sisters, at least.
...Am I screwed?
Sera was known as mild for a high-ranker. He'd glimpsed her around because of Yumia. But A-Rank was god-tier for a lowly association branch drone like him.
"I figured you'd pull it off eventually... Issue her hunter license quick."
"Y-yes! Right away!"
Woo Soo-hyun bolted to the office.
"Huh? Doesn't applying take a week!? You guys always bitch about lazy hunters."
"Wh-what? Of course we're busy..."
"Office looked chill... Mmph! Mmmph!"
Woo Soo-hyun clamped Yumia's mouth. He glanced at Sera—no displeasure. But her every word shook him.
Yumia grinned at him mischievously.
That troublemaker...!
His gut boiled, but what could he do?
"Jealous? Make an A-Rank frien—Gah!"
"Hey! I said don't! Sorry, she's immature..."
"Ow! Why hit me! Age-wise, you're way young—Gek."
Sera grabbed Yumia's nape. She shut up instantly.
With her hunter license, Yumia got dragged off by Sera.
"Bye! See ya!"
Grinning and waving—that was pure Yumia.
Are you a cat or something...?
Woo Soo-hyun let out a disbelieving chuckle.