Grade Evaluation (2)

"Can't you hear me? Open your status window already."

The status window. In the old days I would've pulled it up without hesitation. Not now. It was too risky.

The skill Pantoma's Olfactory Sense let me detect whether a Witch's seed had germinated. The name alone screamed suspicious. If Han Yuri saw a Witch-exclusive skill, there was no telling what might happen. If the seed was still dormant it could sprout. If it had already taken root, it might bloom. I kept my voice steady.

"It's not much different from last time. If anything unusual pops up, I'll tell you then."

My answer clearly didn't sit well with her. Han Yuri's face twisted into a scowl.

"Why? You don't want to show me?"

"It's not that I don't want to. It really hasn't changed much, so there's no point in looking."

"Hasn't changed much? So something did change?"

Fuck… Her glare grew sharper by the second.

I should've just gone straight to my room earlier. Why did I follow her?

People really shouldn't do things they're not used to. Part of me wanted to tell her to screw off and refuse, but that would undo every ounce of effort I'd put in so far.

She's finally started listening to my orders. I can't reset everything back to zero.

I opened my status window and showed it to her.

Han Yuri's eyes scanned slowly from top to bottom. Just as her gaze reached the final skill—

"It's really nothing special."

She looked back at me.

"Aggro went up one rank, and excluding the Academy-exclusive ones you've got three skills. So you weren't lying after all."

"I told you. It's not that different from last time. Seriously, have you spent your whole life being deceived or something? Why don't you ever trust what people say?"

"Because you've been acting suspicious as hell. If you'd shown me right when I asked, this would've been over in a second."

"There you go blaming everyone else again."

Even while answering casually, I was analyzing the situation.

Maybe she can't see it?

Since the skill targeted Witches, it seemed the person in question couldn't view it.

Shit. That took ten years off my life.

It really felt like I'd lost a decade. My pain meter had even gone up by one percent.

As I let out a sigh of relief, Han Yuri muttered as if it were nothing.

"You don't mind if I check it from now on, right?"

"…Check what?"

"Your status window. We need to know each other's cards if we want better team synergy."

Tsk. This is the same girl who never even mentioned the word "team" before.

Since Witch-exclusive skills were invisible to her anyway, there was no reason to refuse.

"Sure, whatever."

"And no taking it back later?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

At my consent, the corner of Han Yuri's mouth lifted slightly. Her smile, bathed in moonlight, was stunningly beautiful.

The day of the grade evaluation arrived. The participants stood on the training field, staring at the platform.

Silvery hair like silk paired with an expressionless face that didn't match it at all. A towering 170 centimeters tall with a slender model-like figure. Class 1-A's advisor, Irena.

She was the ideal woman for every male student at the Academy and our homeroom professor.

"As you all know, this grade evaluation will be run on a points system."

Her voice was blunt and businesslike. If Han Yuri's tone was prickly and rough, Professor Irena's was rigid and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tightly controlled. She was also the one who had tormented me with boring explanations on the first day of my regression.

And now she was supervising this evaluation.

"You hunt monsters and earn points. It's extremely simple, but there are a few things you must keep in mind."

"Unlike the tasks in the Hall of Challenge, this evaluation can result in actual death, so please exercise extreme caution."

The casual way she spoke of death chilled the entire crowd. Noticing the shift in atmosphere, Irena cleared her throat a few times before continuing.

"Naturally, stronger monsters yield higher points. Also, one hour after the test begins, the Golden Goblin will start roaming the field, so keep that in mind."

The Golden Goblin. That was our team's target.

"Then I wish you all good luck."

She tore the paper in her hand. White light enveloped the participants. It felt similar to the quest transmission. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in a lush green forest and meadow.

"What? It's already started?"

"Looks like it. Hey! Let's move!"

Whether they were in the first or second group, it was everyone's first evaluation, so they were all stumbling around in confusion. But they were still Korean. Everyone quickly scattered into the forest or meadow.

In less than a minute, the starting area was left with only our Team 2.

"Ugh. Seonghyun, is this really okay?"

"It is. So stop worrying and go have fun. You said you wanted to watch the others fight anyway."

"I did say that, but… I didn't think you'd actually tell us to play for a whole hour."

The grade evaluation lasted five hours total. The Golden Goblin appeared after the first hour.

Honestly, just catching that one goblin pretty much guarantees first place.

The problem was that finding the Golden Goblin was harder than getting a perfect score on the college entrance exam. Fortunately, I already knew its location.

This is practically free real estate.

No matter how many times I thought about it, regression really was the best.

"Do what Seonghyun says. If it goes wrong, I'll just beat you for three days and nights straight."

"Hmm… Yeah! That sounds good!"

Choi Ahyeon clapped her hands and nodded. As expected, there wasn't a single trustworthy person in this world.

"See you in an hour."

"Okay."

"Sure~"

The two girls seemed excited about something as they linked arms and headed toward the forest. Looked like they'd be moving together.

"Let's see…"

I looked up at the sky. A leaderboard floated there like an electronic display.

Not even five minutes had passed and they already had 39 points… That girl really was something else. That's exactly why it was entertaining to watch.

I moved to a better spot so I could enjoy the show with imaginary popcorn.

Resting while others worked. Was there any sweeter break than that? Even in my second round, I was learning that truth all over again.

I'd settled on a grassy hill and was watching the kids below sweating their asses off. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most eye-catching party was, of course, Lee Seol's group.

"Jihun, can you handle the five in front?"

"Huff! Huff! Of course I can!"

He looked like he was about to collapse, yet he still raised his shield. Guess even a guy like him didn't want to look weak in front of girls.

Kim Jihun drew aggro with his shield from the front. Lee Seol froze all five wolves in one go.

"Awoooorgh!! Krrrk…"

An S-rank unique skill with S-rank potential against F-rank junior wolves. It was almost unfair to even compare them. The hunt ended in one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠second. A true balance breaker.

But even a team that looked perfect had problems.

One of the girls on what seemed to be Lee Seol's team clapped for her.

"As expected of Seol~. There wasn't even room for me to step in."

"S-sorry! I still can't control my strength properly yet…"

"No, it's fine. Our team wouldn't even function without you, Seol. Don't worry about me."

She was pretending to be okay, but I could clearly see the jealousy boiling inside her.

It's going to explode soon.

This indirectly showed why Han Yuri had tried to kick Choi Ahyeon out of the team.

The battles continued after that. Jihun would pull monsters, and Seol would one-shot them. Thanks to that, even though it was spring, the area was covered in snow and ice. The temperature dropped and cold winds blew, which only amplified the power of Eternal Snow. A perfect positive feedback loop.

"Talent really is cheating."

"Sorry I'm such a talentless piece of trash."

A dagger flew from behind me out of nowhere. I turned my head slightly to see Han Yuri standing there, irritation written all over her face.

"If you like Lee Seol so much, go join Team 1. I'll ask her for you."

"Really? Put in a good word for me. Tell her I can't live with the nagging from the Great Demon King of Lectures."

"You son of a—!"

"Hey, hey. Both of you, calm down. It's almost been an hour, so Seonghyun, get up. And Yuri, don't take it so seriously. He was just joking."

Choi Ahyeon was working hard again today. She grabbed the about-to-erupt Han Yuri and forced her to relax.

I brushed the grass off my clothes and stood up.

"Shall we head out now?"

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"I spotted a good spot earlier. Figured it'd be perfect for Yuri to deal damage."

"Hehe. You know, Seonghyun's actually a tsundere. Always acting prickly but taking care of us every time."

"I just don't want to get beaten for three days and nights. Anyway, let's go."

Whether thanks to Choi Ahyeon's mediation or something else, Han Yuri's anger had eased a little. We took her and headed toward the meadow.

Unlike the forest, the sky was wide open. Several teams were already hunting, so there was no space left near the entrance. We pushed deeper into the meadow. The fog gradually grew thicker, like some kind of barrier.

I walked straight into the mist without hesitation. Even though it must have looked unsettling, the two girls followed without complaint.

After walking for a while—

"Wait, isn't this a barrier?"

"It is."

A transparent wall blocked our path. Two wolf statues stood guard on either side, and between them floated a crystal orb.

"This smells like something serious is going on. Don't you think, Mr. Detective?"

"Yeah."

They both looked at me, practically demanding an answer.

"I found it while wandering earlier. If I were the teacher, I wouldn't put the Golden Goblin in an obvious place. Let's go in. Worst case, we lose nothing."

"Alright."

We approached the crystal orb. Words appeared on the ground.

In short, it was an effort measurer. It calculated the effort, physical pain, and mental suffering you'd accumulated throughout your life. If you reached a certain threshold, you passed.

"Can't we just smash it and go in?"

Han Yuri grumbled in annoyance. I quickly stopped her.

"Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else."

In the previous round, a team had tried to break it. The crystal had cracked, and even A-rank skills couldn't leave a scratch on it. It was a bizarre incident. I'd heard the aftermath was complete chaos.

All the monsters in the evaluation zone went berserk, the statues turned into hidden bosses and massacred the students. It was the worst possible outcome. There were multiple casualties, so after that the crystal gimmick was removed.

"So, who wants to go first?"

At my question, Han Yuri stepped forward confidently. As someone who prided herself on hard work, she had nothing to fear.

"I just need to touch it here, right?"

"Yeah."

Han Yuri placed her hand on the crystal. Blue liquid rose inside it, stopping at around forty percent. A wolf-shaped tattoo appeared on the back of her hand—the proof of passage.

I nodded at Choi Ahyeon.

"Ugh… This is nerve-wracking."

"It's fine. Just relax."

"Uuu…"

Choi Ahyeon kept hesitating. In the end I grabbed her hand and pressed it against the crystal. Her hand trembled violently.

"……"

"……"

No way.

Ninety percent. Both Han Yuri and I gasped. At minimum, it was double Han Yuri's score. It meant Choi Ahyeon had worked twice as hard as her throughout her life.

Han Yuri seemed so shocked she couldn't speak.

That was when it happened.

Rumble.

"What the—?!"

"They're moving!"

The two wolf statues that had been still suddenly lowered their heads toward Choi Ahyeon.