Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Unexpected Backup
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Ju A-rin gritted her teeth hard.
She was truly feeling the saying that people can't be fixed.
"Damn bastard..."
A chilling aura seeped into the surroundings, enough to make her skin sting, but it only slowed him down slightly.
The leader's movements remained sharp as ever.
As expected...
Blocking the darkness with an incomplete freeze was impossible.
If Hae-rin hadn't fought so hard, she would have taken a hit long ago.
"Can't even match my divine beast."
It pissed her off.
And the more pissed off she got, the harsher the words that spilled out.
She never should have trusted him from the start.
The problem was that she'd been momentarily swayed by his sudden appearance, sword in hand, charging in recklessly.
He'd volunteered for the dangerous tasks first, running around sweating buckets to handle the dirty work.
Unlike the rumors she knew, she'd thought he wasn't the absolute worst case, irredeemable.
But to think he'd stab her in the back like this.
"You..."
Ju A-rin started to shout again but bit her lip and swallowed it down.
What was the point? It was already in the past.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault.
She too had been greedy, knowing he was no easy opponent, yet still pushing for a quick capture time.
If she'd taken on the leader from the beginning, the time might have dragged, but there wouldn't have been this crisis.
Kwachijijik.
Another clash rang out, and Ju A-rin pulled back to catch her breath.
The remaining regular specimens surrounded them on all sides like a siege, while the leader flashed white eyes in anticipation of victory and smirked.
It was the gaze of a predator looking at prey.
"How dare you..."
Her lofty pride frosted over with humiliation, and her racing heart cooled rapidly.
Ju A-rin gritted her teeth and drew up her mana.
She knew it was reckless, but she prepared a new freeze.
Kkeomeok kkeomeok-
The leader began to move as well.
His already black body darkened further due to fluidization, charging like a shadow.
Ju A-rin responded without hesitation, thrusting out her hand.
...But then.
Cough-
Her chest suddenly clogged, and a fishy taste of blood filled her mouth.
"My mana..."
There wasn't enough left to manifest the freeze, causing the problem.
"A-rin! Danger!"
Lee Min-ha shouted upon sensing the crisis, but it was too late.
The distance to the monster had closed, and with only a tiny amount of mana left, even deploying it would be like blocking a speeding train with her bare body.
"You at least dodge."
Ju A-rin immediately released Hae-rin's summon and braced for the incoming impact.
Hwaruruk.
It was right then that the leader's rear flashed.
A fireball appeared out of nowhere, flying straight at them.
At the trajectory's starting point was him.
"...Park Ha-yul?"
The one she'd thought had run away was casting a spell to help her.
"No way?"
It was late, but in this not-quite-worst situation, a faint hope flickered in Ju A-rin's eyes.
But it was only for a moment.
Of course.
At best, a 1-star level.
What help could that pathetic little fireball provide...
Pung.
But right after the fireball struck the leader.
Kugugugugu.
Ju A-rin's already wide eyes bulged even further.
Grraaaaaah—
The impact point swelled and burst into flames instantly.
A scorching heat that was bewilderingly intense swirled around, along with a void as if all the surrounding air had vanished in an instant.
...
Soon, the intense heat engulfed everything, and the leader along with the regular specimens let out agonized screams.
"Urk."
Ju A-rin was no exception.
Even though it was just the aftermath, the unstoppable force drew a groan from her.
What is this?
She quickly recovered her mana to protect her body.
Tuduk tuduk.
But she couldn't block it completely.
The heat seeped in, stinging her skin.
The explosion's debris raked across her face.
The long-forgotten pain combined with the early symptoms of mana exhaustion made her mind hazy.
Still, she forcibly clung to her senses.
The leader's form, directly hit by the explosion, came into view.
Its upper body was half-melted, and only one of its once-gleaming white eyes remained.
This was the last chance to kill it, so Ju A-rin compressed her remaining scrap of mana and hurled it.
Straight at the monster...
"Leave it."
Then a familiar voice rang in her ear.
Park Ha-yul, who had somehow closed in right beside her, thrust his sword at the monster.
Puwook-
The leader, with its head pierced, collapsed without even a single scream.
...
Standing there dazed, Ju A-rin soon realized there were many things she needed to question.
"You..."
But perhaps because his usual vibe was different?
Looking at Park Ha-yul's coldly hardened face, she couldn't bring herself to continue.
-Team 4. Report exactly what just happened.
Lee Taek-jin's voice came late, but she just exhaled the sigh she'd been holding back.
* * *
The initial outpost capture battle, involving a total of 10 teams, came to an end.
The evaluation meeting was held in Professor Lee Taek-jin's research lab.
Since each team faced different demonic beasts and difficulties, it included external personnel for fairness.
"Let's look at Team 3's footage."
Kim Mi-young pointed to the magic screen on the wall and said.
Soon, the recorded video was projected.
A handsome man charging forward alone, Seol Yun-gi, appeared on screen.
Without a hint of hesitation, he rushed at the demonic beast guarding the outpost's core.
A massive specimen nearly 3 meters tall, the giant brute.
As an upper-tier Class 7 demonic beast, the evaluators had expected it wouldn't be easy.
But it was groundless worry.
With skill far surpassing his peers, plus buffs concentrated from his support teammates, the result was as imagined.
With leisurely movements, he subdued it cleanly in under 10 minutes, drawing admiration from the viewers.
"Hoo, so he's the talent Professor Seol cherishes. Quite impressive. Honestly, I'm surprised."
The first to speak was from the government-affiliated Great Demon Extermination Unit, the Yosal Squad.
She was the deputy commander of Squad 8, the 6th rank Awakener known as the Red Witch, So Yi-hyun.
"Nice strategy. They made good use of their team members' strengths. And his protagonist-level skill was worth watching."
Agreeing with her was another external evaluator from the Yosal Squad.
Deputy Commander of Squad 13, Lee Ha-jun.
A 6th rank Awakener with the moniker Cyan-Green, he was a man with soft eyes that inspired goodwill.
"Professor must be pleased to have such a disciple."
Lee Ha-jun glanced at Lee Taek-jin with a pleasant tease.
"It's not been long since he came under me, but I plan to guide him well."
It was a subdued response, but he didn't seem displeased.
As Lee Taek-jin's lip twitched, So Yi-hyun caught it, narrowing her eyes thinly and interjecting.
"Deputy Commander Lee Ha-jun. Starting recruitment already?"
"Hey, recruitment? What..."
"Play fair? Recruitment is for later. We're here for evaluation now."
"No, can't I even compliment? Don't be so uptight. You're interested in the prize too."
Lee Ha-jun waved her off as if telling her not to meddle, but So Yi-hyun wasn't one to back down.
"I don't show it like some people. Childishly."
"Childish? Is that something to say to your senior?"
"Senior? Then act like one."
"What?"
In the end, a small spark flew between the two.
As Lee Ha-jun said, the evaluation was just a nominal excuse.
Thirst for talent recruitment was a common interest across all Yosal Squads.
"Ahem, shall we proceed with the evaluation, Professor?"
Fortunately, Kim Mi-young, who was leading, interjected at the right moment.
"Have you said all you wanted?"
With Lee Taek-jin's uncomfortable question, the two awkwardly cleared their throats.
Kim Mi-young spoke again.
"As you know, the evaluation consists of three categories. Check the objective metrics for time taken and safety score, and please discuss and decide the difficulty score."
Lee Taek-jin, So Yi-hyun, Lee Ha-jun.
With all three possessing excellent insight, the meeting didn't drag on.
Team 3 with Seol Yun-gi received a difficulty score of 47 out of a max 50.
Time and safety scores were 49 and 48 respectively.
Total: 144 points.
The highest among the teams evaluated so far.
"Next, let's see the next team's footage."
The evaluation continued.
The two's eyes sparkled whenever famous Class A cadets appeared.
"Cadet Baek Sa-young is too selfless."
"Yeah. Taking care of teammates' safety made the time longer. You need to be bold when it calls for it."
"But no doubt about the skill. Could pass for a graduate."
Team 1 with Baek Sa-young scored 143 total, ranking 2nd.
Team 5 with Cheon Seo-yun, evaluated next, got 140 for 3rd.
"Next is Team 4."
And the last in the evaluation order arrived.
"Ah, Ju A-rin's team."
"From Guardian Lord Ju, right? Heard the rumors."
"Summoners are treasures in themselves."
The two from Yosal Squad focused on the screen with their usual intrigued gazes.
Most of their attention was on Ju A-rin.
The video played.
Thanks to a team member with guide traits, Team 4 advanced straight to the core without a single detour.
Kkeomeok kkeomeok-
Then they ran into it without time to prepare.
The flesh-eaters launched a surprise attack.
There was momentary chaos, but Ju A-rin's performance exceeded expectations.
Handling high-class divine beasts along with freezing had the two unable to hold back their admiration.
"But who's that guy?"
"The finisher?"
"Interesting. He's really just going for the last hit."
One other cadet awkwardly interjecting swung his sword diligently, but it didn't draw eyes.
It only blocked the screen annoyingly.
They thought it would end without issue like that.
If not for the sudden crisis.
"Huh?"
Kang Cheol-min and Lee Min-ha, marking the leader, couldn't hold out long and fell, so it seized the gap and charged at Ju A-rin.
"That's dangerous. She's been pushing too hard."
"Plenty of regular specimens too. She must be exhausted already. The difficulty gap is huge."
It was an unexpected development, but how would she resolve this crisis?
Just as their gazes refocused on Ju A-rin.
"Eh?"
The breakthrough came not from Ju A-rin, but another cadet.
It was the one who'd been swinging his sword wildly moments ago.
After vanishing off-screen like he'd fled, moments later, blue and red spell formations flashed from there.
It was at the edge of the screen, so not clear, but the surging mana made the air ripple faintly.
Lee Ha-jun, watching, shouted.
"That, what was that? He just used fire and water attribute spells at the same time, right?