The Second Test

Tap tap tap— The sound of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fingers striking a keyboard echoed continuously from a bench on the Elphon Academy training grounds. Tap tap tap— It was Jin Hyewon.

"The stone Nam Doyun touched really has no issues, right?" she asked Heis beside her.

"Yes. That's correct. I checked, and there were no errors whatsoever."

"Then it's confirmed he took down the orc by himself?"

"Yes. Absolutely. I've verified everything."

"Good. My prediction was right. As expected, that guy was hiding his strength."

Jin Hyewon grinned and continued.

"Of course. Back during the match with Kate, it was strange how his physical abilities improved so quickly in such a short time."

She was writing her unfiltered evaluations of the cadets from this exam.

"Phew. This should be good enough to submit to the higher-ups."

As she spoke, Jin Hyewon closed her laptop.

"By the way, Senior, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why are Nam Doyun's stats marked with question marks?"

"Because I never saw him fight. It's impossible to assign specific stats without that."

"Can't we revive the stone's memory and watch him fight the orc again?"

"That's impossible. The stone is set to disappear the moment a student clears it."

"Hmm... But you showed his fight before, didn't you?"

"When?"

"During the match with Kate. You clearly saw his movements and the skills he used."

Jin Hyewon chuckled. She searched through documents on her laptop and showed one to Heis.

"This is the report I wrote after the Kate incident."

"Yes?"

"If this was really all he had, could he have taken down all ten orcs in the demon realm today?"

"...No. That's completely impossible."

"Exactly. He was hiding his strength even during the Kate fight. So everything written in this report about him needs to be discarded."

"Ah. I see."

"He's a really interesting guy. I wonder why he had to hide his power so thoroughly."

Jin Hyewon grinned.

"But, Senior?"

"Yeah? What?"

"Even so, this report is going to the higher-ups. You can't submit it with question marks for the stats, right?"

"Of course not. That's why I have a plan."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to prepare an exam that will force him to use all the strength he's been hiding."

"What kind of exam are you preparing?"

"You'll see. I'm starting to get really curious about just how much power he's been concealing."

***

"All the students who passed the first exam have gathered, I see?"

Jin Hyewon smiled from the podium. I was currently seated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Class 1-B. Only those who had passed the first exam remained in the classroom. There were only three of them: Radeon, myself, and one student whose name I didn't know.

"The second exam is simple. Shall we head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the training grounds first?"

"....?"

What? As far as I knew, the second exam was supposed to be held in the classroom. There, Jin Hyewon would test how much we knew about monsters. Then I'd recite the weaknesses of the monsters I had memorized, and that would be an easy pass. But it seemed that wasn't the case now.

A sense of unease began to creep up on me.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the training grounds.

"Alright. I'll now explain the contents of the second exam."

Jin Hyewon stood at the exact center of the training grounds and spoke.

"The second exam is simple."

"...."

"I will stand right here. If any of you students touch me while I'm standing still, you'll receive a passing score."

She smiled as she said this.

"Ah, of course, I'll remain standing in this spot, but I'll actively interfere with any attempts to touch me."

"To what extent?"

"I'll regard you all as enemies and attack accordingly."

"...."

No matter how outstanding the Elphon Academy cadets were, they were still just students. Compared to active hunters, they were far from sufficient. Active hunters were all monsters, one and all. And among those hunters, the ones gathered in the number one ranked guild, Crystal Guild, were the monsters among monsters. She was a promising talent even within that Crystal Guild. If she attacked in earnest, none of us would stand a chance.

"Ah, of course, even though I'll regard you as enemies, I won't use attacks that could seriously injure the students, so don't worry."

She smiled brightly as she spoke. It was not reassuring in the slightest.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

The moment she finished speaking, Jin Hyewon widened her eyes. In an instant, I felt a powerful flow of mana envelop me.

At that moment—

Flash—

The scenery before my eyes suddenly changed. I felt as though I was tightly bound somewhere. I looked down. My hands and feet were tied to a chair with ropes.

Shing—

I turned my head toward the sound. Sharp daggers were flying straight toward me, still bound to the chair.

Only now did I realize the identity of the powerful mana flow that had wrapped around me. She had cast an illusion on me.

It was quite a good method for an exam. No matter how much pain the students suffered in the inner world, they wouldn't be injured in reality. It was an excellent approach. And it was also quite a difficult illusion to break.

But that story didn't apply to me right now.

Clang—

The daggers that flew toward me shattered the instant they touched my skin.

Hum—

I returned to the real world in an instant. Looking to the side, I saw one student crawling on the ground with a pained expression. He seemed to be feeling the sensation of being stabbed by daggers in full. Radeon had his eyes closed, remaining calm. He had managed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to avoid the dagger attacks somehow, but he hadn't been able to break out.

I looked up at Jin Hyewon.

"Oh. You just broke out of it like that?"

She smiled brightly.

"As expected, my prediction was correct. You really were hiding your strength. To think you'd just break out of an illusion spell I prepared so carefully."

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.

"Want to show me more?"

I walked steadily toward her. The distance between us gradually closed.

5 meters. 3 meters. 1 meter.

The moment I tried to approach beyond one meter—

Ting—

I was repelled by some kind of strong wall. I touched the wall. It was a barrier she had created with mana.

"Now how are you going to break through this? I'm quite looking forward to it."

She grinned. I reached out toward the mana barrier.

Boom—

And the magic I had copied from Urbashi began flying toward it.

Ting—

As expected, my skill still couldn't break through her defensive magic. She nodded as if she had anticipated this.

"So this is still too much? I can roughly gauge how much strength you've been hiding."

At that moment—

Crackle—

A very small crack appeared at the edge of the barrier.

"Oh."

She stared at me with wide eyes.

"Now it's really starting to get fun, isn't it?"

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

"What's your next attack? How exactly are you going to break this barrier? Show me. Show me your hidden strength."

"..."

"This isn't all you have. Show me more. It's really starting to get fun now."

It seemed like she was expecting something big from me. But I turned my back without hesitation. After all, the skill I copied from Urbashi was my only offensive skill. Since that didn't work, I had no other means left.

"...Huh? Huh? Where are you going?"

Her voice began to tremble, as if flustered. I started moving farther away from her.

"..Where are you going? You're not going to show me more? Hey! Where do you think you're going? Aren't you coming back here?"

Her hidden personality was gradually revealing itself. But I lightly ignored it and began walking back into the classroom.