Chapter 163: The Last Nemesis Before Summer Vacation (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: The Last Nemesis Before Summer Vacation (5)
Yeah, I’m all for a good shonen manga development.
I like it when rivals test each other’s skills to see how much they’ve grown. It’s a classic trope. But why do these lunatics have to do it in the middle of a group exam?
Are they that confident they can break out even if they get surrounded?
Before the regression, or even in the original story, they rarely acted so recklessly. I suppose I should consider this a side effect of me preventing the events that were supposed to happen.
Then again, their actual skills have improved significantly, so it’s hard to call it a pure side effect.
“Hmm.”
Initially, I planned to form a team around those two to clear the exam, but now I think a different approach might be better.
Come to think of it, it’s only natural for them to be full of themselves. They’re only freshmen, yet they already have no equals among their peers except for each other. They’ve already adapted to the field and fought villains quite well.
To put it nicely, it’s confidence; to put it bluntly, it’s arrogance. Either way, it’s a sentiment they’ve earned the right to hold. At the very least, they probably have an underlying assumption that they are the best in this exam.
But that won’t do.
I thought they’d handle themselves well enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about them. It seems it’s time to teach them that they need to be wary not just of the strong, but of the weak as well.
I need to show them how terrifying a group can be in a battle, as opposed to a duel.
“Don’t take it personally if it hurts a little; it’s all for your growth. Right, boys?”
Now, shall I give our first and second-ranked freshmen a proper wake-up call?
* * *
After several exchanges of blows, Lilac was forced to wear a bitter smile.
He wasn’t being pushed back, but he couldn’t close the distance either. Honestly, he felt embarrassed by his confidence from moments ago, thinking he could overwhelm his opponent now that he had grown so much.
Even accounting for the compatibility difference between a sword and a spear, Cheon Yu-hak was still—no, he had become even more incredible than the day they first clashed.
Just as Lilac had grown, Yu-hak must have grown as well.
He was strong.
Lilac had a more vast total amount of energy, but unlike before, there was absolutely no waste in Cheon Yu-hak’s attacks. In the past, he used to fight by wielding mana somewhat flamboyantly, but now, excluding that first full-power strike, he was fighting while minimizing mana consumption as much as possible.
Since the mana reinforcement only occurred at the moment he used footwork or delivered a direct strike, one might expect him to be weaker. On the contrary, the irregular timing made his attacks even harder to dodge, and his precision thrusts had become much sharper.
Yet, if Lilac focused too much on catching that timing, Yu-hak would do the exact opposite—releasing Lightning Qi and showcasing aggressive movements that were incredibly difficult to deal with.
“Whew. Seriously, when did you get this strong?”
“That’s my line. You’re parrying my trump card quite well, considering.”
Cheon Yu-hak was smiling. Lilac figured he was probably smiling, too.
“…I really thought I could settle the score this time.”
“Me too. Shall we call it a day?”
If this were a duel-related exam, they would have continued until the end without hesitation. However, since the goal of this exam was survival and gathering points, they couldn’t afford to ignore the presence of others.
Though, to be honest, Lilac didn’t think any of their classmates besides Yu-hak or Han-hee would be much of a threat.
“Oh, there’s So-hyun, too.”
In terms of growth rate alone, So-hyun should be the one to watch out for the most, yet for some reason, Lilac hadn’t felt a strong sense of danger from him lately.
“What about him?”
“People to be wary of. Excluding Han-hee, So-hyun is the most dangerous individual.”
“Hmm, I wish that were the case.”
Lilac had spoken seeking agreement, but Cheon Yu-hak’s reaction was unexpectedly lukewarm.
“Hey, So-hyun’s gotten a lot stronger, too. Even if we fought him, it wouldn’t be easy to—”
“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s the opposite. I mean I’d prefer it if he just attacked us normally.”
“Huh?”
Cheon Yu-hak recalled the past.
Lilac probably thought that way because he only knew Kang So-hyun as an ally. However, Yu-hak had clashed with him twice during their childhood, so he knew exactly how dangerous he could be as an enemy.
Once when So-hyun fought to stop him, and once when Yu-hak fought to snap him out of it. A total of two times.
In the second fight, Yu-hak had technically won, but the memory of almost being toyed with by someone who couldn’t even use his talent properly was still unpleasant.
“If that guy comes at us with unconventional methods, it’ll be dangerous even if the two of us take him on together.”
At this moment, Yu-hak was likely the only one on this island who truly recognized the danger that boy posed.
Rustle.
“…Did you hear that?”
“Hmm, it seems there are some who lack fear. To think they believe they can defeat us just because we’ve spent a bit of energy.”
The two boys sensed the presence surrounding them almost simultaneously and sharpened their mana sensing.
“Over there!”
“Surround them, everyone!”
Lilac nodded and gave a signal to Cheon Yu-hak.
Honestly, this was well within their expectations. Aiming for the moment strong enemies are weakened after a clash is a basic principle of military strategy, and a natural move assuming a real-combat scenario.
If the two of them were in a relationship where they could never cooperate, striking at this stage would have been the perfect answer.
However, those attackers should have known one thing. Even those who were just fighting each other can temporarily cooperate when they face a common enemy.
Not to mention when they are friends.
“I know you’re hiding in the bushes. Come out, and I’ll let you go.”
Cheon Yu-hak spoke, but no answer came.
“I’ll take your silence as a refusal.”
Since they were significantly outnumbered, the situation wasn’t exactly favorable for the duo.
A merciless thrust, not even waiting for a reply, tore through the bushes.
“…No one’s there?”
Startled, Lilac hurriedly defended with the light of the Holy Sword, but what rained down wasn’t an attack.
Thanks to the Holy Sword’s light, the effect wasn’t severe, but the strange sensation of his body becoming sluggish and his head spinning was undoubtedly the symptom of being hit by a debuff-type talent.
“…A debuff?”
Cheon Yu-hak let out a shout and shrouded his body in mana as if such a thing meant nothing, but the ensuing barrage of arrows forced both of them onto the defensive.
It wasn’t just one person.
A talent that hides presence and distorts mana sensing, a debuff-type talent, and on top of that, an archer. There might even be more.
Lilac didn’t know how they had formed a party in such a short time, but while each individual wasn’t particularly threatening, the synergy of the combination was excellent.
“I’ll leave the defense to you. I’ll break through.”
It was a rational choice. Lilac excelled at defense, while Yu-hak was superior at a simple, single-point breakthrough. However, an inexplicable sense of unease washed over Lilac.
His instincts seemed to scream, questioning if that choice was truly correct.
But they couldn’t hesitate. Seeing the precision of the arrows increasing, it was clear the enemy had already pinpointed their location.
Lilac nodded and stepped forward.
“Here I go…!”
Charging with the light of the Holy Sword as a shield, the incoming arrows were deflected by the light that possessed physical force. The distance between them and the archer closed rapidly.
Even with the debuff, they were now firmly within Cheon Yu-hak’s striking range.
The moment Yu-hak took his stance and unleashed a thrust, a shield appeared out of nowhere, protecting the archer and deflecting the strike.
Ah, I see. This was the source of the unease.
Because of the sudden change in situation, Lilac had neglected the most basic precaution: the assumption that there could be even more enemies.
No, it wasn’t over yet. If they could just widen the distance again and regroup, there was still a chance—
“Trap them. Ruyi.”
That naive thought was shattered instantly by a familiar voice and the iron cage that suddenly imprisoned them both.
“…See? I told you it’d be better if he just attacked us head-on.”
“…Yeah. I never imagined it would be like this.”
Among those who revealed themselves in front of the cage was their friend, smiling playfully as usual.
“Guys, who told you to reveal your location so blatantly during a survival exam? Since you were so wide open, I had no choice but to do this, right?”
Kang So-hyun.
Lilac didn’t know how he had gathered allies so quickly, but he was clearly the mastermind behind the ambush.
* * *
Hmm, not bad for a makeshift team.
Persuasion wasn’t that difficult. When I told them I’d help them catch Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak, they all looked at me like I was crazy at first, but they followed along obediently.
Of course, for the more rebellious ones, I borrowed the power of the succubi to perform some very minor cognitive induction. I didn’t hit them or anything, so wouldn’t this count as persuasion?
And since I actually helped them catch the targets, it wasn’t exactly a scam.
Everyone was laughing and talking nonsense about how the top students were nothing special, but honestly, they wouldn’t have stood a chance on their own.
It was a combination of me predicting and telling them how those two would react, the fact that those two were slightly exhausted from fighting each other, and finally, the means to completely neutralize them: Ruyi.
If even one of those elements had been missing, there would have been no way for this group to win.
Of course, I’m not going to rain on their parade just yet. First, I need to make sure those two learn to be wary of the “weak” from now on.
“It hasn’t been long—just half a day, right?”
I greeted them with a deliberately annoying tone, but seeing as they didn’t look resentful or grumpy, it seemed they had realized their own mistakes.
Good, good. This is why I like dealing with talented guys. If I had to point out every little thing, it would just hurt their feelings.
“We let our guard down… I’d like to say that, but that lapse in judgment is also a reflection of our skill and a failure on our part. Well done.”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect you to form a team this quickly.”
“Oh? You’re accepting this pretty fast for having lost to people ‘weaker’ than you.”
“I was outplayed so thoroughly there’s no room for denial. How could I deny it? I have no intention of making excuses for my lack of ability.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call them ‘weak,’ but I was definitely caught off guard. I’ll consider it a lesson learned.”
You guys… if you know that much, why couldn’t you just do better from the start?
“Still, it’s not like we’ve lost yet.”
Hmm? What kind of nonsense is this after such a good start?
“To take our bracelets, you’ll eventually have to deactivate the artifact. Go ahead and shower us with debuffs or arrows; as long as we have one last chance, we don’t intend to go down quietly.”
Oh, I see. No wonder they were acting so compliant; they were thinking that.
Well, I suppose if you’re captured during an exam, that’s a logical thought process.
But that’s not how this works. I suppose I have to admit I’ve only tried to show you guys my bright side.
Let’s start by making you realize that being captured by an enemy is a much more serious situation than you think.
It pains my heart, but to wake them up to reality, let’s start the act.
“Why should we?”
“…What?”
“Huh? I mean, to get points, you guys need our bracelets…”
“So, why do we have to deactivate the cage now?”
“…So-hyun?”
“…You wouldn’t, right?”
It seemed they had sensed something ominous in the air. Their expressions were filled with the question: What is this guy planning to do?
“The exam lasts for three days, right? If the first and second ranks are out of the picture, it’s easier for us to rack up points. Plus, food is limited, so you’ll get hungrier and hungrier. We can just wait for your condition to deteriorate slowly. Why should we give you a chance right now?”
That’s it, guys. Glare at me with those eyes full of disbelief. I know it’s hard to believe I’d do such a thing, but for the sake of your growth, I can play the villain…
“…Whew. It was certainly unexpected, but it’s rational.”
“…Yeah, this really surprised me. Impressive.”
Wait, what? Why are these bastards looking at me with eyes that say, ‘That guy might actually do it’?
I mean, honestly, this is the more humane option. There’s also the method of one-sidedly tormenting those inside the cage before letting them out.
But haven’t I maintained a better image than that?
…Or have I? I suppose I did show some pretty violent sides of myself in front of them while fighting villains.
“Well, seeing as you’re telling us this so openly, I assume there’s still room for negotiation?”
Well, yeah.
That attitude from just now leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but it’s not important, so I’ll let it slide.
“Right. Well, it’s not exactly a grand negotiation. It’s just…”
“Oh, wow. This is another surprise.”
Oops. Already?
I thought she’d show up eventually out of curiosity, but she arrived faster than expected.
“Whoa, did you catch them, So-hyun?”
“Han-hee…”
It was the moment my cross-dressing roommate made her entrance.
“Count me in, too.”
The sight of her smiling brightly while sheathing a pure white blade—one I hadn’t even seen her draw—was as charming as it was terrifying.
And a beat later, the two guys who had been standing guard lost their balance and collapsed.
Knocking out two people the moment you arrive is a bit much, don’t you think?