The Academy's Savior

The day after the one-on-one sparring practical exam ended, the one-on-one combat trials against large monsters began.

A handful of students voiced their dissatisfaction with the public format of the exams and filed formal complaints with the academy. The academy answered in ten minutes.

Maruhan Academy wanted its students to learn even a little. Watching other students fight was itself a lesson, and so every practical exam would be held in the open.

The academy's response was absolute. Some students, fretting that their full capabilities would be exposed to others, protested again — and got nowhere. Take the matter public outside the academy? Impossible. The academy's justification and reasoning were airtight.

Still, this was an exam. When trials proceeded in sequence and each match was laid bare for every student to see, those who fought later held a clear advantage.

That was an undeniable fact the academy could not refute.

So the academy simply brazened it out. They ordered the one-on-one monster combat trials by ranking from the one-on-one sparring matches. In other words, as the first-place finisher in sparring, I would be the first to face a large monster.

Fine by me. The sooner the better.

I had no complaints about the arrangement. I welcomed it. No point in sitting around waiting. Unlike the written exams, finish a practical early and your academy schedule for the day was done.

It's nine in the morning. Wrap this up quick and I can take the rest of the day easy.

Footsteps approached. A blank-faced proctor walked out onto the arena floor.

"Seong Yujin. Maximum combat time is two minutes. Your large monster opponent will be randomly assigned. The randomness of the large monster selection is guaranteed by the Hero Association and government agencies. Any other questions?"

I glanced toward the arena control room. Officials from the Hero Association and government agencies were gathered there. Word of this exam would leak outside the academy one way or another.

"None."

"Good. The schedule is tight, so we start now."

The proctor blew his whistle.

The Aurora System engaged. Space rippled for a moment, and from that distortion a Twin-Headed Ogre took shape. A large monster more than twice the bulk of an ordinary ogre. The two heads mounted on its neck fixed their gaze on Seong Yujin.

"A Twin-Headed Ogre…!"

"Even an A-Class hero would struggle to face a Twin-Headed Ogre alone… Looks like Seong Yujin's luck just ran out."

"Yujin, fighting!"

"When it's my turn, please just give me a regular ogre."

The stands were loud.

Everyone expected me to fail. Of all the large monsters that could be summoned, the Twin-Headed Ogre was the strongest.

I ignored the spectators and activated Charna.

The ogre's steps toward me slowed. Inside that decelerated world, I thought it through.

Didn't really expect this one to show up.

How to handle it.

Go all out? Or just fight well enough to keep my evaluation from dropping and call it done? Even a Twin-Headed Ogre fought with the same brute stupidity as a regular ogre, so dragging the fight out to two minutes wouldn't be hard. Unlike the kids around me, I had plenty of experience fighting monsters.

I checked my stats and ran the numbers. A well-balanced set overall. The mana rating in particular was something even active A-Class heroes would envy.

Full power it is. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No sword, though.

Decision made, I summoned Mocha, the Thunder Owl.

A crash of thunder split the air as Mocha appeared, white wings unfurling wide. Blue current scattered around her like petals. Ever since she'd become a high-rank spirit, the theatrics had gotten a lot flashier.

"Kook, kook!"

And the power behind the flash was even stronger.

"Mocha. Spirit Possession. Take that pig's head off in one stroke."

"Kook!"

Mocha dove toward me at high speed, slammed into my chest, and possessed me.

Spirit Possession.

My skin turned white. Wings of pure current crackled threateningly from my back. I spread those thunder wings and launched into the sky. The wings beat and I flew. The Twin-Headed Ogre was left staring up at me like a dog that had lost its chicken.

Power's overflowing.

A high-rank spirit.

If a top-rank spirit was a natural disaster given form, a high-rank spirit held the power of a land god ruling over a territory. In fact, most spirits that actually served as land gods were high-rank or above.

Mocha had only recently ascended to high rank, so her power wasn't fully mature yet. Even so, with her strength flowing through me, I felt more than capable of tearing apart something like a Twin-Headed Ogre.

Current crackled and surged. The thunder wings poured out everything they had. That power gathered in my hand and took the shape of a spear.

I was recalling something from the past.

The lightning of the Lord of the Sky that I'd glimpsed briefly in God's Atlantis. I would recreate Astrape.

I can't copy that power exactly. But Astrape was my skill once, too.

Drawing on the sensation of using Astrape, I compressed thunder into the form of a spear. Using will-infused mana, I gave the lightning substance and locked it in place. Hundreds of strands of thunder were consumed in the process.

Efficiency is garbage.

Couldn't be helped. In the world of God's Atlantis, using a skill got you system correction and made everything smooth. Here, system assistance was almost nonexistent.

But mana capacity? That I've got.

I ignored efficiency entirely and focused on recreating Astrape. At least the form looked convincing.

…If I throw this, will it hit with the same force as that lightning I saw? And this is just thunder compressed into a spear shape. Zeus's lightning was something different.

My talent wasn't enough to recreate Zeus's Astrape. I'd known I had no talent for a long time, so the realization stirred nothing.

If I don't have the talent, I'll just borrow someone else's.

The Leisure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Life App made that absurdity possible.

Yuria's overwhelming talent opened wide. Every sense unlocked. Spiritual perception woke. I shuddered with pure exhilaration — because the moment my senses opened, I instinctively knew how to handle lightning.

Infuse the thunder with will. Fuse the strands into one. Refine the form. I finished the entire process in five seconds.

Without Time of the Genius, I don't think I could pull this off. Not right now, anyway.

My eyes met the Twin-Headed Ogre's. It swung both fists at me in wild arcs. Both heads roared with all their strength, jaws stretched wide in fury. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thunder in my hand was so loud that the ogre's bellows came through only as a blur.

"Don't rush me. I'm about to kill you."

I used Charna, took aim at the Twin-Headed Ogre, and hurled the spear of lightning.

Astrape flashed and fell toward the ground. It split between the Twin-Headed Ogre's heads, struck the earth, and detonated. A storm of lightning swept through the arena. The deafening crash of thunder arrived a beat later.

From the sky I looked down. The arena floor had been completely torn apart. The Twin-Headed Ogre was gone without a trace.

"Tsk."

Whatever anyone else saw, I had witnessed the Twin-Headed Ogre's final moment perfectly through the power of Spirit Eye. Astrape had not fully bisected the creature. It had carved through about seventy percent of the body before losing force and exploding.

One-shot the Twin-Headed Ogre, sure… but I'm not exactly satisfied.

I descended to the ground. Mocha slipped free of my body, soared high into the sky, and vanished somewhere.

My body swayed.

…Used too much mana. I'm getting lightheaded.

I locked my trembling legs in place. No way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was collapsing here and looking pathetic. If you show overwhelming power, you maintain an overwhelming posture and presence to match.

"Seong Yujin. Well done. Exit the arena. Your grade will… be posted tomorrow morning."

The proctor spoke while carefully hiding his astonishment. Following his instructions, I walked slowly out of the arena.

I could hear the academy students murmuring in awe.

"…Did you see that? The Twin-Headed Ogre went down in one hit."

"Whoa, lightning just swept the whole arena. That was a lightning storm. A lightning storm."

"Is that really academy-student level? He's way too strong. Even with a spirit fusion… he's on a completely different plane from us."

"He's the Son of Thunder. Born different from the rest of us."

"Shouldn't he just skip a year? The thought of attending the same academy as him… ugh. First place is a pipe dream."

"You wouldn't take first even without Seong Yujin. Who does a two-hundredth-rank scrub think he is?"

"Says the two-hundred-fiftieth. Want to spar after this?"

"You're on. If I hadn't slipped up last time, I'd have crushed you."

Everyone was stunned by my performance. Satisfied, I headed for the arena waiting room. I planned to stick around and watch Lee Si-eun's exam.

Next up after me was Ryu Hana. Her opponent was an ogre, and she put it down in one minute and twelve seconds. Spurred on by my performance, maybe, she pressed the ogre with aggressive, overcommitted movements. Lucky for her she finished it — if she hadn't, the point deductions would have tanked her grade.

Kim Cheonwoo and Choi Dayeon both took down their large monsters as well. Quite a few other students managed the same. The top-ranked admits operated on a different level from ordinary students.

Lee Si-eun is nineteenth. She scored well in the one-on-one sparring. Nail this exam and she'll lock into the top ten.

The randomly assigned large monster type would be critical.

If she draws something like an ogre… she might have to give up on the top ten.

When I saw the large monster that appeared before Lee Si-eun, I smirked. A Ghost Horse. For her, the best possible matchup.

The fight began. The Ghost Horse flew and cast magic. That was why, among academy students, many dreaded Ghost Horses even more than Twin-Headed Ogres. Frontline warriors in particular hated them with a passion.

But for Lee Si-eun, it's an easier opponent than a mage.

Lee Si-eun used Energy Drain to absorb the Ghost Horse's magic and energy. The spells vanished and the Ghost Horse flew into a rage. Enraged, it charged across the ground intending to crush her with raw physical force. The distance closed. That was the mistake.

A thunderous blast.

The Ghost Horse's body exploded.

Lee Si-eun's Energy Reflux. A Ghost Horse, its body composed of pure energy, was an even easier opponent for someone who could use Energy Reflux than an orc.

Fifteen seconds? Faster than me. Matchups really do matter.

The arena erupted in noise. The sharper academy students had roughly figured out Lee Si-eun's ability. That group naturally included the mages. The mages stared at Lee Si-eun with eyes full of fear.

And not long after, Lee Si-eun was given a new nickname: Mage Genocider.