Time Attack Triumph

I nodded in satisfaction at the record displayed as 1 minute 32 seconds for first place. 'It was worth practicing Air Walk.' Of course, I could have taken first place even without this method. I could have blown up the entire forest with bombs. Or bulldozed through monsters and trees with Atlas Armor and Aegis like a tank. Or used telekinesis to control firearms and clear everything in front of me, just like I did at the forward base. There were plenty of ways I could have done it. But the reason I chose to use Air Walk was simple. It was clean and efficient. The fastest way to reach the goal without damaging the arena. No matter how I thought about it, telekinesis combined with Air Walk was the only option. 'Still, it's a bit of a shame.' If I had just cleared the whole forest, I could have arrived much faster than this record. But if I had done that, I'd end up getting force-fed the antidote by Kang Cheol-su again, just like last time. 'Ugh…' Even thinking about it made my tongue curl up. I shuddered at the awful taste that automatically came to mind and used telekinesis to pull the flag that had been flung far away. Once I grabbed the flag, a bright light flashed and the scenery around me changed. I had returned to the arena.

— Waaaaaaaah—! Cheers erupted from the crowd. I looked around. Everyone was cheering and clapping for me. I gave a slight bow to express my thanks. Then, as I raised my head, I glanced toward the special seats. The Great Saintess, Gloria, was watching me with an intrigued expression while clapping slowly. And the Sword Saint, Lee Joong-baek, was… glaring at me with an angry face. '…Ah, I've been marked.' But I had already been prepared for this. Ever since Lee Seo-yeon showed interest in me. Since I started using guns. And since our favorability rose. I had expected that Lee Joong-baek, who cherished his daughter dearly, would be furious with me. Still…, no matter how prepared I was, it was impossible not to feel scared. After all, what was directed at me now was the anger of a Transcendent. Even without killing intent, just having that furious gaze aimed at me made my body tingle like prey before a predator. But I didn't show it. Suppressing the trembling that threatened to overtake the tingling, I expressed my gratitude to the cheering crowd. Once I had thanked the spectators enough, a guide who had been waiting outside the arena approached.

Following the guide's directions, I entered the waiting room labeled '1~20.' The moment I confirmed the door was closed, I pulled an Elixir Juice from my inventory. I plopped down on the frontmost chair among the twenty and chugged the juice after opening the lid. After emptying it in an instant, I tossed the empty bottle into my still-open inventory and let out a deep sigh. "Ha… Lee Joong-baek, that old man really…." How could a Transcendent direct his anger at a student? "Well, honestly, it's only because it's me that I could endure it." If it had been anyone else, they would have collapsed on the spot, trembling without even trying to hold on. "…Or is it because it's me?" I asked myself with a hint of doubt. After recalling all the achievements I had accomplished so far, I nodded. Yeah, that could be it. But at the same time, another thought occurred to me. 'Maybe he just shot his anger at me regardless of whether I'm weak or strong?' Somehow, that felt more plausible. "Sigh." A sigh escaped me. Thinking about how the Sword Saint would torment me from now on, I couldn't help it. "Ah, I'm tired." My Infinite Stamina was clearly active, so why did I feel exhausted? I shook my head and took out a Golden Apple. Crunching into it, I looked at the TV broadcasting my classmates' matches. Coincidentally, the ones being shown were the main characters. Lee Seo-yeon, Arthur, Asuka, Noah. All of them were running through the forest just like I had. They were eliminating charging monsters while searching for the goal point. "If I didn't have Clairvoyance, I'd probably still be running like that too." I had always thought buying Clairvoyance was a great decision, but today I felt it even more strongly. "I wonder who will arrive first." After taking another big bite of the apple, I watched the main characters racing through the forest. Lee Seo-yeon. True to her reputation as a sword-and-gun prodigy, she took down nearby monsters with her sword and distant ones with her gun. With extremely agile movements, she weaved between the trees while scanning for the goal with sharp eyes. Arthur. She also cut down charging monsters with her sword like Lee Seo-yeon. But everything else was different. Despite being able to move nimbly—

— Boom, boom boom!

— she charged forward while destroying trees, clad in mana armor. Asuka. Unlike the other two, she avoided the monsters. She leaped between the trees like a flying squirrel while searching for the goal, deflecting incoming projectiles with her ironwood sword that shimmered with sword aura. From the looks of it, she still couldn't wield a real sword yet. But that was fine. During the break, I would meet with Gloria and ask her to treat Asuka's Cursed Dragon Blood. "I have to keep my promise." It was the promise I made to Asuka at the training ground. Now it was time to fulfill it. I chewed the remaining part of the apple and looked at the screen showing Noah. "…He's burning everything down." Noah was running with holy flames ignited across his entire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body instead of just his fists. Monsters and trees that touched his flames turned to ash and disappeared in an instant. It was like watching a walking— no, a running sun. Just as I made that assessment, the broadcast switched from the main characters to the other students. Park Ka-ram flying through the air while surveying the forest. Lim Da-hee charging like a bulldozer with lightning wrapped around her body, smashing monsters and trees. Park Sung-woo properly swinging his sword instead of just drawing it, thanks to my good teaching. While I was watching the other classmates' situations, my smartwatch chimed. — Ding.

I could tell that Arthur and Lee Seo-yeon had reached the goal. And that the rankings had been decided by a mere two-second difference. "Hmm… Should I comfort her?" Lee Seo-yeon had ended up in third place during the entrance exam due to a similarly small margin. And now she had been pushed to third again because of just two seconds. Of course, this match didn't completely determine the final rankings, but still, third place again. Even someone as cool-headed as her might feel a bit disheartened. While thinking that and trying to come up with a way to comfort her, the waiting room door burst open. "Lee Yoo-jin!" "Lee Yoo-jin." Arthur and Lee Seo-yeon entered through the open door. 'Hmm? She doesn't look particularly disappointed.' Contrary to what I had expected, Lee Seo-yeon's expression was the same as usual. Expressionless, yet her gaze toward me was warm. Seeing that look, I thought 'That's good' and erased all the comfort methods from my mind. Smiling at the two of them, I greeted them. "Good work on the match, both of you." I took two Elixir Juices out of my inventory and naturally handed them to the two people sitting on either side of me. "Thanks, Lee Yoo-jin. I'll enjoy it." "Thanks, I'll drink it well." They must have been thirsty, because they started drinking the juices right away. "As expected of Lee Yoo-jin, the juice you gave us is delicious." "That was good." After finishing the juices in an instant, Arthur and Lee Seo-yeon put the empty bottles into their respective subspace items. Then, as if it were natural, they grabbed my hands. Feeling the warm and soft sensation from both hands, I let out a short sigh. Their fingers quickly intertwined with mine. '…I wasn't planning to pull away anyway.' They had been doing this frequently since the internship, so I had gotten used to it. And at some point, I had developed feelings for the three of them—including Asuka—so I couldn't bring myself to reject their open skinship. The door burst open again. "Hey! You're leaving me out again!" "Haha, the atmosphere is nice today as well." Asuka and Noah entered. The moment Asuka saw Arthur and Lee Seo-yeon's affectionate display, she puffed up her cheeks and ran over. She tried to hug me from behind, but upon hearing footsteps approaching from the hallway outside, she made a sulky face and sat next to Lee Seo-yeon. Unlike Lee Seo-yeon and Arthur, she still seemed embarrassed to be openly affectionate. Noah sat next to Arthur with his usual light laugh. As the footsteps drew closer, Arthur, who had been in female form, transformed back into his male appearance. Since the main characters had already seen his true form, he showed it to them, but he still maintained his crossdressed appearance in front of the other classmates. …But Arthur. "If you've changed back to male form, shouldn't you let go of my hand?" "Ah, right." But before Arthur could release our intertwined hands, the other classmates entered the waiting room. Seeing Arthur in his crossdressed form holding hands with Lee Seo-yeon and me, they all went, ""Eh?"" looking extremely flustered. Watching their reactions, I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes.

"We will now begin the second match." When the vice-principal teacher said this and snapped her fingers, HP bracelets appeared in front of all the students in the arena. The moment I saw the bracelets, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠realized what this match was. But since it might be different from the game, I didn't jump to conclusions. 'Still, I should prepare just in case.' I opened my inventory. I got ready to pull out my weapons at any moment. "Everyone, put on the bracelets." — Click.

The HP bar appeared on the surface of the bracelet the moment I put it on. At the same time, my smartwatch chimed. Everyone, including me, checked the match format.

I confirmed that this match was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠indeed a battle royale. "As you have all confirmed, this match is a battle royale." The vice-principal teacher floated into the air. Once she had risen to a certain height, she took out a starting gun from her subspace item. "Everyone, do your best in the match." — Bang! The sound of the starting gun rang out before she even finished speaking. At the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time— "Ah, shit." Everyone's eyes turned toward me.