Rank-Up Test (3)
"The reason Group 2 can't take the test is entirely because of you."
"......"
I was at a loss for words. Not because I had no rebuttal, but because it was so absurd I couldn't even respond. If Choi Ahyeon had said no, I could have understood. But because of me? Why the hell?
My confusion must have shown on my face, because Irena looked me in the eye and continued.
"Han Yuri is exceptional. She could challenge for D-rank right now. As for Choi Ahyeon… to be honest, she has no talent. But she is diligent."
"If it's about diligence, then I—"
"Don't interrupt. Listen until the end."
Tsk.
"Choi Ahyeon, along with Lee Seol, has 100% attendance in both theory and practical classes. But what about you?"
"......I was training during that time."
"Free training? That's fine. But that's something you can do after you've built a proper foundation. Your entrance exam scores were dead last in the entire school. Don't you think you should start with theory and basic training?"
"......"
"I'm sure you know I sent you several texts. I told you, Lee Seonghyun, the only student with 0% class participation, that it would be good if you actively joined classes. And what did you do?"
I ignored them. They weren't even worth answering.
"During the grade evaluation, I saw you fighting the Flare Wolf. Your combat ability was so good it was hard to believe you were F-rank."
"Then...!"
"But that's as far as it goes. Aside from your fighting skills, you aren't ready for anything else."
"......"
"You forced Choi Ahyeon upward using an artifact instead of her own growth, and now you're trying to climb by ignoring theory classes and focusing solely on real combat. I've seen far too many people like you."
Was she recalling someone? Her voice grew hoarse.
"If you don't build a solid foundation and just try to climb higher, you'll fall just as quickly."
Having said that, Irena returned to her desk. It was clear she didn't want to talk anymore.
'Seriously, nothing I do ever works out.'
I barely suppressed the boiling irritation and forced myself to speak.
"I understand what you're saying, Professor. But I—no, our Group 2—will definitely take the test tomorrow."
"Is this because of the top student support?"
"Yes. If you won't allow it, I'll apply to another professor. There's no school rule that says the rank-up test must be administered by your assigned advisor."
I turned to leave.
She let out a small, mocking laugh.
"It won't work. I've already told the other professors not to accept test applications from Group 2."
Ha. This fucking bitch.
"You're really going all out, aren't you?"
"......"
Even at my crude words, her expression didn't change as she stared at me.
"Is there anywhere else where they go this far just because someone skipped a single class?"
"Right here, isn't there?"
She smiled provocatively, a sarcastic curl to her lips.
I really wanted to beat the shit out of her.
"And this isn't just because you skipped class. It's because you aren't qualified to rise to E-rank. So take your time, build your foundation properly, and come back later. I'll give you the test then."
Fuck. If I did that, it was obvious that Lee Seol's group or the others would snatch the top student support. What did she mean, "take your time"? She could at least have some fucking decency with her bullshit.
An unexpected obstacle. And a massive one at that. This would completely derail my plan to become stronger than those two Witches within a year.
My anger must have shown on my face, because she crossed her legs and smirked.
"If you're really that desperate, I'll give you a chance."
"A chance?"
"I'll let you take the test tomorrow. But your opponent will be me. If you can land even one valid hit on me within three minutes, I'll approve Group 2 for E-rank."
"......Why not just say you don't want to approve it? How am I supposed to beat a B-rank professor like you?"
"You never know what might happen, right? And I'm not telling you to win. Just land one successful attack."
She was grinning from ear to ear. This was the first time I'd seen that professor smile like that across all three regressions.
After regressing, I'd thought that if anyone interfered with me this time, it would only be those Witches. But what was this? A fox had appeared where the tiger was absent. And it was a fox I hadn't anticipated at all.
But what could I do? I was someone who'd been trapped in a tiger's den for years. The fox's cheap tricks were so ridiculous they didn't even make me angry—they just made me scoff.
"I'll take the test."
You picked the wrong person to mess with.
The next day, we were at the sparring arena.
It was their first test, and even though their opponent was a B-rank Hunter who'd once rampaged across foreign countries, both of them looked completely calm.
"I have to give credit where it's due. Keep up the ass-kissing."
"Seonghyun, fighting!"
Since they weren't taking the test, my face must have looked like I'd swallowed a bug. Han Yuri stopped joking around and let out a sigh.
"What the hell did you do to get on the professor's bad side? Professor Irena is strict, but she usually lets most things slide."
"I don't know. Honestly, I'm the one who wants to ask that."
In the previous round, that woman hadn't shown the slightest interest in me. I had no idea what wind had blown to make her interfere like this.
"Ugh. We lost the top student support all because we got stuck with the wrong team leader. This is such bullshit."
Han Yuri's provocation. The way she spoke as if my defeat was already a foregone conclusion made something inside me flare up.
"What are you going to do if I win?"
"If you win?"
She laughed as if it was ridiculous. Then the corners of her mouth slowly rose.
"I'll strip naked and twerk in the Hall of Challenge."
"Unbelievable."
That was how certain she was of my defeat.
"What about you?"
"Huh? Me? Me?"
Choi Ahyeon looked flustered when I pointed at her. Then, a little embarrassed, she scratched her cheek.
"Um… I'll pay for all the team dinners for a whole month!"
"Whoa..."
Coming from someone who was always broke, that was a huge offer…
I let out a deep sigh that felt like it came from the bottom of my soul and stepped up onto the sparring platform.
"Forget it. They say no matter how much you raise a bastard, it's all for nothing. Guess it's true."
"Stop whining and don't push yourself too hard. We can climb to E-rank later. It's fine."
"Yeah. Seonghyun, the most important thing is that you don't get hurt, okay?"
I don't know, you brats. I'm staking my life on this spar, and you two are so relaxed about it.
The moment I stepped onto the platform, Irena did the same. She was dressed in a white blouse, a miniskirt, and black heels—an outfit that looked more like she was going to a lecture than a fight.
"You're here. Shall we begin right away?"
"Yes."
Irena tapped something on her phone, and a transparent barrier formed around the sparring arena. It was a special artifact that prevented death during training.
'This bitch is really going to do it.'
She was subtly showing that she wouldn't hold back.
Year 1 Class A, Group 2. E-rank Rank-Up Test will now begin.
A sharp whistle blew, and I charged at Irena. My speed was almost on par with Choi Ahyeon's acceleration skill. Before the match, I'd used Equivalent Exchange to strengthen my body and gathered every buff from the Ophie expedition team before detonating them all at once. It was a bit underhanded, but since I couldn't use Thunder God properly anyway, I wasn't in a position to be picky.
'I'll end this in one strike!'
Dragging out a fight against a B-rank monster was just stupid. We were close enough that I could reach her with my arm. Certain that I'd hit, I swung my sword horizontally.
Clang!
"......!"
Thousand Branching Hands A
A whip made of mana—her trademark—blocked the path of my sword.
'What the hell is that activation speed?!'
It was faster than the blink of an eye. I grit my teeth, twisted my body to the side, and swung at her lower half. A follow-up strike. But—
Clang! Clang!
It was blocked far too easily.
"Your preparation was good. But you underestimated me too much."
A long hand made of mana reached toward me. I hurriedly jumped backward to dodge, but it followed like a guided missile. I activated Thunder God and swung my sword, but—
Clang!
It bounced off uselessly. The repelled arm tried to grab me again. If that thing caught me, it would rip me apart, bones and all. Knowing its strength, I poured everything into deflecting or redirecting it. I had no room to counterattack. All I could do was block and dodge.
How long had I been defending like that?
The attacks finally stopped.
"Only two minutes left already."
"......"
"Have you finally realized your limits? The world is much wider than you think. There are countless Hunters stronger than me, and thousands—tens of thousands—of monsters stronger than them."
"......"
"No matter how many times you tap the bridge to test it—safely, carefully, calmly—people still die. If I let you rise now, you'll surely end up dying on the cold floor of some dungeon soon enough."
Irena closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again. In them was an unyielding, iron will.
"I don't want to repeat the same mistake again."
I let out a short sigh and glanced behind me. Choi Ahyeon was fidgeting anxiously, and Han Yuri was biting her lip with a tense expression. They'd acted like they wouldn't cheer for me even once, but here they were. What a ridiculous situation.
I let out a small laugh and looked forward again. The number of hands had increased at some point. Roughly fifty of them, by my estimate.
"I agree with you, Professor. Building a solid foundation, preparing everything perfectly before advancing… that makes sense."
"Then..."
"But I don't have time. The goal I need to reach is incredibly far away, and the only way to shorten the time to get there is by doing it like this."
"...In the end, we're parallel lines."
Irena shook her head and reached her hand toward me. The fifty hands immediately rushed at me. The pressure was on a completely different level. With twice as many as before, I frantically swung my sword.
Crunch!
Skin was torn from my shoulder, and part of my side was ripped away.
"Fuck!"
There was no breathing room. Not even a second to catch my breath. Only fifty. Not a thousand—just fifty. And yet I was struggling against barely ten percent of that woman's power.
A wall. Yes, it was a wall. The same wall I'd felt to the point of nausea in the previous round. The sensation of kneeling before the transcendent power of those Witch bitches. The feeling I'd briefly forgotten after regressing came rushing back.
My will, worn down by peaceful days, slowly began to take shape again.
'If I back down here...'
There would be no next time. I'd have to return to that room. That space where not a single ray of light entered, where even white noise didn't exist.
Strength flowed into the hand gripping my sword.
'Get a grip.'
I had about eight uses of Equivalent Exchange left. That wasn't enough to do anything. If there was any possibility at all…
'It's Thunder God or nothing.'
Lightning flowed along my skin and settled into my sword. But this alone wouldn't mean anything. I pushed the skill even further.
'Ugh!'
As I increased the output, the headache grew worse. It felt like my brain was slowly being gnawed away. Normally, I would have stopped here. Raising the output any further seemed like my weak body wouldn't be able to endure it.
But there was no turning back now. Only forward. There were no other options.
Crackle!
The lightning flowed. It traveled across my skin and dug into my body. The lightning that had been swirling around me seeped inward, devouring my body. My reason warned me to stop. My emotions begged me to raise it higher.
I listened to my emotions.
My vision blurred. The world seemed to slow down. The brain processing all this information grew hotter. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, and every piece of information from the world was cut off.
The moment I cracked the insufficient vessel called Lee Seonghyun beyond human limits—
Thunder God has been activated.
I was already swinging my sword from behind Irena.