Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: It's Okay Because I'm a Genius Even Though I'm Terminal
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Boom.
The saltpeter bomb detonated.
Rumble.
A section of the ironclad wall crumbled in an instant, sending thick clouds of dust billowing everywhere.
Park Ha-yul charged ahead without a care.
Beep.
The moment he reached the target point, the digital timer on the display froze.
[Run time: 2 minutes 21 seconds 04]
It was an unexpected record.
The fifth-place finish, trailing Baek Sa-young, Cheon Seo-yun, Joo Ah-rin, and Lee Dae-ho.
“What the—? Didn’t they say that guy was ranked 700th?”
“Maybe it’s that sorcery thing. It’s pretty badass. That was a Rank 2 Fire Control Technique, right?”
“But couldn’t he just ignore the scarecrows and keep going?”
The waiting room erupted in chaos as they watched Park Ha-yul’s run.
The control room was the same.
“That bastard…”
Lee Taek-jin’s eyes bulged wide.
His pupils shook violently within widened whites.
This couldn’t be happening. No, it shouldn’t be happening—but here it was, in reality.
“…Instructor Kim Mi-young. Who are the remaining applicants?”
His gut boiled, but he pushed the questions aside for later.
Excluding Joo Ah-rin, who hadn’t applied as a special scholarship student, the guy’s record put him in fourth place.
Fourth place…
Even with the sure bet of Seol Yun-gi—who also hadn’t applied.
The Taehak regulations required selecting at least four special scholarship students.
Bang!
That damned sorcery punk was guaranteed a spot now.
* * *
Bzzz.
Bzzz.
The vibration urged him on.
Get up. Snap out of it.
He dragged his leaden body upright and groped for his phone.
“Ha, already 2 p.m.”
Rough math told him he’d slept straight through for two hours since the diagnostic evaluation ended.
It was a rare deep sleep without interruptions, but he bolted up and first checked the remaining time.
[Remaining time: 11 hours 14 minutes 32 seconds]
Nothing chased away lingering drowsiness like this.
If things followed the original story, the scholarship results should be out around now, so he checked his phone.
There was a new message, but disappointingly, not the selection notice.
-Introducing articles related to Class A. Please check the link below.
Was there something like this?
As the novel became reality, these little gaps were filling in with minor details.
He clicked the linked address while waiting for results.
The title read,
Class A Year 2 Average Record: Tops Diagnostic Evaluation!
In an academy story where all the main characters were in one class, it was a given.
But the author was Min Young-ji?
The girl with the distinctive bangs sitting next to him, muttering commentary throughout the evaluation.
She’d written it fast.
With time to kill, he scrolled down through the article.
The intro belonged to Cheon Seo-yun.
Brutal mana pummeling the scarecrows…
It was roughly along those lines, with her combat style matching the aggressive wording.
Then came Lee Dae-ho and Joo Ah-rin’s highlights.
Showing off the giant’s power.
Lee Dae-ho got just one line.
Joo Ah-rin, however…
As dazzling in skill as in appearance, the daughter of the water god Habaek, Yuhwa…
It went on. Quite a bit.
She seemed to have a personal fondness, piling on the flashy descriptors.
But she wasn’t even the main focus.
“This is totally a Baek Sa-young feature article.”
Exactly.
Half the piece was dedicated to Baek Sa-young, loaded with punchy phrases like ‘Taehak’s marquee star’ and ‘unchallenged number one.’
By contrast, second-place Seol Yun-gi got barely a mention—less than Joo Ah-rin, even.
He could already picture the thug followers throwing a fit.
“Not my problem, though.”
Still, up to here, it was decent enough reading.
Without losing credibility…
The problem came next.
Academy student Park Ha-yul reveals hidden prowess, emerges as diagnostic evaluation dark horse.
…What the hell.
The ominous start made him scroll down with unease.
Cleverly bypassing Section 1 scarecrows with ingenious sorcery.
Even with speed-boosting spells available to shave time, he didn’t bother—proceeding leisurely…
The clincher was his final sorcery display.
True to his sorcery clan bloodline, wielding wind then fire elements. Manifesting the Rank 2 spell Explosive Saltpeter Bomb in one shot…
The content was a mess of misconceptions over facts, furrowing his brow on instinct.
“This is insane.”
Sprinting to conserve mana became ‘leisurely,’ and a Rank 1 Saltpeter Bomb morphed into a Rank 2 Explosive one.
He got the power ignoring the rank, but if you’re clueless about sorcery, just don’t write about it.
Tsk.
Truth be told, even he hadn’t expected that final Saltpeter Bomb.
By plan, he should’ve used two for the Section 2 wall.
But was it nerves from Baek Sa-young going next?
A sorcery pattern at 86% completion—never once in practice—engraved itself.
A mere percentage difference, but the result was huge.
Even he hadn’t imagined that iron wall crumbling in one hit.
“At least I throttled the engraving speed to average… Phew.”
His head throbbed.
Of course, he’d never expected it to pass quietly.
The moment he prioritized the quest, living as an extra was off the table.
“But an article? Really?”
This was blatant advertising. Wildly exaggerated, at that.
“Should I demand a correction?”
Or post malicious comments calling it luck?
Pondering bizarre options, he clicked into the comments.
…
Then realized there was no point in bothering.
-asdf123: Park Ha-yul totally lucked out, right? Why’d he just skip the scarecrows?
-Archmage99: At this rate, I’d make top 5 too. Silence and Haste, done.
└Gwang-deok: How, lol? You know hiding fails on scarecrows?
-Gang Ironman: Invalid. He just ran away. What about the kids who missed scholarships because of this punk?
“Already a ton of comments. Whatever.”
The article’s star was obviously Baek Sa-young. Yet most comments targeted him.
They hated him breezing through Section 1.
[Achievement-56: Center of Controversy]
[10 hours added as reward.]
[Intriguing development grants 5 SP.]
[Remaining time: 20 hours 44 minutes 42 seconds]
[SP held: 15]
This was how it worked?
“Then thanks.”
[Achievement side effect: Your evaluation drops.]
“Ow, even better.”
Min Young-ji was his savior now.
Like donating time to someone living day-to-day.
Public opinion? Laugh it off.
With a lighter heart, he lay back on the bed.
* * *
Right on cue, the vibration rang.
Congratulations. You have been selected as a special scholarship student. Please visit the department office by 6 p.m. tomorrow. -Instructor Kim Mi-young
The hoped-for acceptance message.
“In that case…”
Unable to wait, he stared into empty space. Moments later, the anticipated messages poured in.
[Main Quest #1: Special Scholarship Selection—goal achieved]
[7 days added to remaining time as reward.]
[Remaining time: 7 days 20 hours 4 minutes]
[Time Shop activated as reward.]
[15 SP acquired as reward.]
[SP held: 30]
This was…
Like bundles of cash raining from the sky.
Remaining time topped a week, SP piled to 30.
And a new possibility: the Time Shop.
His temperament demanded checking immediately, so he voiced it.
“Time Shop?”
His forward vision rippled, a green hologram appearing.
[Time Shop (Lv1) opens.]
[Time Shop is a special perk for those with the Terminal trait.]
[Purchase various armaments and stats using time as currency.]
[Shop use lifts the 3-day time spend limit.]
[Contents vary by shop level.]
[Shop level rises automatically upon reaching set purchase counts.]
“As expected…”
He’d guessed, but seeing it sparked excitement.
Two big reasons.
First, armaments.
In this world, relics were armaments—making them incredibly rare and valuable.
Supply scarce, demand high: a ‘Rare’ armament fetched billions, ‘Special’ and up? Priceless.
Yet he’d opened the shop with a word.
Accessibility alone was a massive privilege, purchase or not.
“And stats.”
What were stats?
Bone-grinding training, endless repetition, rare epiphanies.
All that hardship converging for pricey gains.
Bypassing it all to buy like at a convenience store?
Perfect for Park Ha-yul’s lacking base stats.
“Let’s check.”
Unable to hold back, he tapped the stats category fast.
▷Strength, Vitality, Agility
- +0.1 = 2 days
▷Senses, Intelligence
- +0.1 = 2 days
▷Mana, Luck
- +0.1 = 3 days
[Price rises every 10 cumulative purchases.]
…But.
3 days for +0.1?
“Hang on.”
Taehak average around 6, his mana at 3.3—to average…
“Damn it.”
Of course. No free lunch.
Rough calc showed no solution.
Even 0.1 would eat over 40% of his time fortune.
Tsk.
Long-term, solid deal though.
Not sustainable, but 30 days got +1 mana.
Catching years of others’ grind in one go.
“Pass for now.”
Too steep currently, so he eyed sundries and armaments.
Sundries: resilience boosters, invisibility masks, etc. Item collection, non-armament.
Plenty useful someday, but not urgent.
Armaments…
Level 1 meant few options, max High grade.
Third tier: Low, Normal, High, Rare, Special, Heroic, Mythic.
Even those? Too pricey to consider.
“What a letdown.”
Nearly giving up with no gains, scrolling down.
“Oh ho.”
A decent armament caught his eye.
[Nameless Shaman’s Bracelet]
[Grade: Normal (Mid)]
[Description: Old bracelet once used by someone. Paulownia wood—poor durability.]
[Effect: Mana recovery +10%.]
[Price: 4 days]
Cheap for mana effect; 10% recovery boost no small thing.
Buy one, maybe another later…
“Wait.”
That’s when it hit him.
He was a special customer…
He had Manifestation, didn’t he?
Buy one, learn via appraisal, manifest again…
“One gets one?”
No.
Each manifest spawns anew.
One gets two, two gets three…
“Heh heh.”
Total steal—no brainer.
[Purchased Nameless Shaman’s Bracelet.]
[Achievement-06: First Time Shop Purchase Achieved!]
[Armament Selection Ticket granted as reward.]
What day was it?
Unexpected achievements popping off.
A ticket dropped from thin air; he snatched it quick.
[Armament Selection Ticket]
[Description: First-purchase perk. Choose one from recommended armaments. Tear to use.]
Riiip.
Strike while the iron’s hot—he tore it without hesitation.