Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: End-of-Month Evaluation (2)
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Yuri let out a hollow laugh.
His gaze showed no sign of leaving Johan's score.
'That damn crazy old geezer...'
It was now clear that Johan's eccentricity wasn't something that came with age.
'That old man has always been like that since he was a kid.'
He couldn't help but think that as he looked at Johan's achievements.
1st place / 2nd Cohort / Johan Redner / Cumulative 1st place 60 times / 999,999,999
One point short of a full 10 billion.
Seeing that, Yuri was convinced.
'That perverted old man... he definitely had more points.'
But he must have deliberately set it like that to make nine 9's.
Yuri would bet his entire fortune on it.
'Still, 9 billion... no, 10 billion.'
It was an utterly absurd number.
The 2nd place right after Johan had around 300 million points.
Of course, 300 million was a lot, but it was worlds apart from Johan's.
'This is overwhelming.'
Yuri tried to imagine what 10 billion points even meant.
But he couldn't easily picture how one could accumulate that many points.
Sure, if he monopolized everything like he did in the Animal Forest this time, he might eventually reach 10 billion...
'But that's after spending points, right? And he still hit 10 billion?'
Could someone accumulate 10 billion points even while spending them at places like special shops?
It was such a lofty score that those thoughts crossed his mind.
'The Yoram that old man attended is probably different in many ways from the current one.'
It had been a full 48 years.
Things that existed in Johan's era might be gone now.
And things that didn't exist back then might have been added.
That surely meant the difficulty of earning points had changed somewhat compared to 48 years ago.
Yet despite that, the fact that Johan had held the top spot for decades since graduating was proof that this record was anything but ordinary.
Realizing that, Yuri felt a strange surge of irritation.
'This... it's pissing me off in a weird way.'
It felt oddly unacceptable that the old geezer was proudly sitting at the top of the Hall of Fame.
'What if I graduate from Yoram like this...'
Then he'd be that old man's junior.
But what if he wasn't number one?
He could vividly imagine how Johan would act if they met outside later.
[Pfft? What place did you get? Tsk, if you wanna talk to this number one, start crawling over on your knees from there, you lowly scum.]
It was obvious.
That old geezer would tease him about it until he keeled over dead.
It would be a catastrophe amid disasters.
Sparks flew in Yuri's eyes at the thought.
'Absolutely... I'd rather die with a knife in my mouth than let that happen!'
There was only one way.
'I have to dethrone that old geezer.'
Pull the old geezer down and take the number one spot himself.
Then, after graduating, he'd tease the old man right back.
'Definitely!'
And just like that, Yuri gained one small but absolutely essential new major goal.
Gazing at the Hall of Fame's number one spot, Yuri clenched his fist tight.
'First, I need to match those 60 cumulative first places.'
Everyone in the top ten of the Hall of Fame had exactly 60 cumulative first places.
In other words, they had never once lost the top spot from entry to graduation.
So for Yuri to dethrone Johan, he had to start claiming first place from this end-of-month evaluation onward.
With that, Yuri's deliberations began anew.
'Hmm... so how many points should I bet?'
How many points would Arin and Poppi register?
How many did he need to register to guarantee first place with the bare minimum?
Standing there lost in thought for a full hour, Yuri finally...
"Alright."
Made up his mind and headed to register his points.
His eyes were filled with conviction.
* * *
That night.
After registering his end-of-month evaluation points, Yuri returned.
He trained, ate, went about his usual routine, and entered his quarters to rest.
That's when he happened to glance at his reflection in a water bowl he'd left out.
His hair had grown to what could be called a bob.
Even his bangs hung messily, nearly covering his eyes.
All that was visible was the tip of his nose and his jawline.
Normally, he would have brushed it off without a second thought.
But suddenly, a certain idea struck him.
'I've been running around looking like this, huh.'
He'd been so busy lately that he hadn't even trimmed his hair.
No, until now, he simply hadn't felt the need.
But today felt different somehow.
'Tomorrow, my name will spread through the 50th Cohort.'
Yuri was certain he'd take first place.
If so, the entire 50th Cohort would know him.
'Sure, I don't need to impress them.'
What mattered to Yuri was the "first impression" they'd remember.
Time would pass.
Those who learned his name would scatter to all corners of the world.
Through them, the name "Yuri Holland" would spread far and wide.
So tomorrow might just be the first moment the name "Yuri Holland" became known to the world.
'I can't show up looking like this for that.'
Having steeled his resolve, Yuri picked up his sword.
The blade slowly approached his face.
Slice, slice—
With each movement of the pristine white sword, black strands of hair fluttered to the floor.
* * *
January 31st, morning.
The end-of-month evaluation wasn't just for the 50th Cohort—it was a monthly event no one in Yoram could escape.
For some, it was a death sentence.
Of course, that only applied to those languishing in the lower ranks.
It didn't apply to top-rankers like Teresa.
'Today's the end-of-month evaluation, huh.'
Her face remained utterly serene as that thought crossed her mind upon waking.
Some might think it was the composure of the 49th Cohort's top graduate.
But in truth, Teresa didn't care much about being the top graduate.
Her sole focus was on improving her own abilities.
She'd worked hard for that and luckily ended up in first place.
For her, the morning training session mattered far more than the evaluation a few hours away.
So she grabbed her spear right after waking and headed straight to the training grounds.
To enjoy the luxury of swinging it in an empty field with no one around.
But...
Whoosh— whoosh—.
Today, someone had arrived before her.
A black-haired boy swinging a sword with his back to the entrance.
'You're out early today.'
There was only one person in this rift who used the training grounds before her.
Teresa gave a light greeting.
"You're out ear—"
No, she tried to.
If only she hadn't seen the face of the person who turned toward her.
"...!?"
Shocked, Teresa instantly raised her spear and pointed it at him.
"Who are you! How did you get in here!"
At her threat, the boy replied in exasperation.
"What'd you eat wrong? What's with the nonsense this early in the morning, Tessha sunbae-nim?"
A sharp, roguish tone.
It was a voice all too familiar to Teresa's ears.
She tilted her head.
"You...?"
"Not awake yet? Go wash your face. Or how about a light spar to wake you up?"
"Ah...?"
"Oh, great! I'm feeling generous today! Special discount—half price!"
He wasn't answering her question of who he was.
But his words were more than enough for Teresa to realize his identity.
A small murmur escaped her lips as she stared blankly at his face.
"Yuri... Holland?"
In utter disbelief.
Her voice completely dazed.
Clang—
The spear slipped from Teresa's hand and rolled limply across the floor.
* * *
11:50 a.m.
Murmur, murmur—
Ahead of the end-of-month evaluation, 50th Cohort members gathered at the central bulletin board by the north gate.
They clustered in groups of twos and threes, chattering about this month's evaluation.
"Hey, how many points did you register?"
"Isn't that something you don't talk about?"
"That was until yesterday. Today it's fine. It'll be announced soon anyway, right?"
"True. So how many did you put?"
"Not many for me. I'm tight on points just to buy food right now..."
"Honestly, same here."
"So how many?"
"Well..."
Some bragging about how many points they registered, others asking how many you did.
They gossiped this way and that.
And then.
"If you're in the lower ranks, how low is it exactly?"
"Probably bottom 10% or so? Has anyone heard what the penalties are?"
"Pay a fine maybe?"
"Or the punishment room? My family would lock us in the punishment room if we caused trouble."
"You too? Did your parents make you stand facing the wall in there?"
"Yours too? Parents are all the same, huh."
"Wonder who'll take first place."
"Obviously that Bobby... whatever kid."
"Yeah, with those points, they can't not get first."
Freely speculating on who first place would be or what the penalties were.
Most of the 50th Cohort faced their first end-of-month evaluation without a hint of tension.
That was the difference between veterans and newbies.
The rookies treated the evaluation like just another test score announcement.
It was their long-ingrained habit.
That's how it was in their families.
If scores were low, just do better next time—that was their thinking.
Completely oblivious to the storm about to hit.
Time passed like that.
11:55 a.m.
Minutes away from the scores being posted.
Arin, riding on Poppi's shoulders, scanned the surroundings.
Poppi, piggybacking Arin, asked.
"Hungry?"
"See him? No, not yet. Think he ran away?"
They'd been searching for one person since earlier.
But their target showed no sign of appearing.
And there were less than five minutes until scores went up.
Naturally, they thought, 'Did that Yuri guy run off?'
And right then.
"Who you looking for?"
A small voice came from right beside them.
Poppi glanced down casually at the person who'd appeared next to him.
He took one quick look—then turned his head back up.
It was the reaction you'd give a stranger talking to you.
Meanwhile, Arin—now at 2 meters 30 cm high—focused on spotting Yuri and answered halfheartedly.
"Some bad guy who might've cheated and run off."
"Hungry."
Arin still scanning around, Poppi nodding.
Then the voice came back.
"Hope that cheater isn't me, right?"
Only then did Arin realize the voice right beside her was extremely familiar.
"Huh?"
Her gaze dropped down.
"Eek?!"
At the same time, Arin's eyes widened like saucers.