Chapter 721
Chapter 721
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 721
Chapter Title: Savior of the Academy
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"Insane! One second?! Isn't that record-breaking? No, before that, there's no way a single bolt of lightning could kill a troll outright. There must be some cheating going on..."
"No. There's no cheating. It just wasn't an ordinary bolt of lightning. What bothers me more is the stress index."
"The stress index... 0?! He killed a troll without feeling a thing?!"
"Exactly. As naturally as breathing, like stepping on an ant absentmindedly while walking. That's how he killed the troll."
Hong Ji-wook's face filled with shock.
The stress index measured mental stimulation. Under normal conditions, it stayed below 10, rising gradually with tension from any factor. A stress index of 0 meant virtually no mental stimulation at all.
For reference, the passing cutoff for the stress index was 80. An average below 80 meant pass; above it meant failure.
"...Even thinking about it again, it doesn't make sense. Is this even possible? For a human to have a stress index of 0... Unless they're the worst kind of psychopath, it's impossible."
"He didn't seem like one, but Sung Yu-jin must be the worst psychopath then."
"I'm not joking. Dean, are you seriously saying someone like Sung Yu-jin should be admitted to Hero Academy? No, maybe the stress monitor malfunctioned."
"Sung Yu-jin isn't a villain who's committed crimes. He's an examinee trying to enter the academy. One of Maruhan Hero Academy's goals is to prevent talented Awakeners from turning to crime. There are psychopaths among active Heroes too, so it's not an issue."
She reviewed the footage a few times. The Sung Yu-jin she saw didn't have the power to drop a troll in one second with lightning. Yet he succeeded. It was slightly shocking to realize she'd misjudged him.
"And it's too early to label Sung Yu-jin a psychopath. There are several possibilities. For example, he might have a trait related to the mind, or as you said, the monitor could have glitched. So, a retest would be best."
"...Will Sung Yu-jin even agree to a retest? With that overwhelming record of one second..."
"We'll let him choose the record. He'll accept the chance to post an even better one."
"It's already the all-time best... Anyway, I'll talk to Sung Yu-jin."
Sung Yu-jin accepted the proposal. It felt like he agreed without even thinking about it. The monitor was running during their conversation too. His stress index remained at 0.
"Watching the examinees brings back old memories. I took the academy entrance exam ten years ago too. Two minutes twenty-one seconds. I still remember my record. What was yours, Dean?"
"One minute fifty-five."
"...Pardon?"
Hong Ji-wook tore his eyes from the screen and looked at Kang Ji-young. He never imagined an S-rank Hero like her would have a record close to two minutes. Kang Ji-young continued calmly, unfazed by his puzzled gaze.
"I wasn't strong from the start."
"...Well, no one is strong from the beginning."
"I thought that too, until I saw otherwise."
"...Sung Ha-ri, right?"
"Yes. Sung Ha-ri's record was five seconds. In a way, Sung Yu-jin just surpassed his mother."
"Whoa? Sung Yu-jin's stress index just spiked to 320."
Kang Ji-young glanced at the screen.
Only one thing had happened on screen. The site supervisor had moved to clear the troll's body. Sung Yu-jin's gaze was fixed precisely on the female supervisor.
"...Could it be he feels stress toward humans?"
The stress index dropped back to 0.
"The supervisor's a woman. Maybe it's women in general that are the issue. Prepare a female troll."
"Is that okay? It's an unwritten rule that entrance exam trolls are male."
"First time hearing that unwritten rule. Don't we have any captured female trolls?"
"...No, ma'am. I'll prepare one."
Hong Ji-wook acquiesced immediately. He couldn't keep arguing when the top authority wanted it.
The test began.
The moment Sung Yu-jin saw the female troll, his stress level shot to 500. But it started plummeting just 0.1 seconds later.
Lightning struck.
The female troll collapsed, and the battle ended.
"What's the average stress index?"
"...220."
"220? Ah, the battle time was too short."
"Yes. By regulations, that would be a fail, but..."
"Failing him is absurd."
"Can we ignore the stress index?"
"It spiked momentarily but returned to 0. He probably has some mental skill or trait. He passes."
"Got it."
Kang Ji-young stared at Sung Yu-jin on the monitor, lost in thought. She still couldn't make a precise judgment about him.
???
The association side requested a retest from me. Since the first record wouldn't be erased, I agreed. They said it was an issue with the stress monitor.
'Probably because my stress index was too low.'
I could guess why. It was likely due to the [Absolute Mind] trait from my Playful Life app.
"Examinee Sung Yu-jin. We'll clear the body now, so please wait a moment."
At that point, a supervisor who'd been watching from a distance approached. She was a woman in a neat black suit.
"Neatly killed. Easy to clean up."
She grabbed the troll's corpse with one hand and walked it to the corner of the testing area.
My gaze locked on her, scanning her face and figure.
'Nice body, like an active Hero. C-cup breasts, big hips. Sexy legs... Hmm. Face is meh.'
My interest vanished.
-The test will begin. 3. 2. 1.
A troll appeared before me. Not a male, but a female. Dog-head face, but killer body. B-cup breasts, toned exposed arm muscles. Some weird leather outfit covered her chest and crotch, though.
'Moment.'
The world slowed. I observed the female troll more leisurely. Great body. But that dog head ruined it. The second I saw the pit bull-terrier-like mug, my interest evaporated.
'Thunderbolt!'
Mana drained out in a chunk. Lightning crashed down on the troll's head. She died without a proper reaction.
The supervisor announced 2.135 seconds. I was slightly startled seeing the female troll at first, so it was slower than my initial record.
-Examinee Sung Yu-jin. Good work. Please return to the waiting room and standby.
I headed back to the waiting room.
I had to wait an hour. Unlike the written exam, they didn't announce scores or rankings. Instead, failed examinees quietly left.
-The team battle test will now begin. All examinees, please gather in Lecture Room 3. We'll start with a briefing before the test.
"Hello. I'm Hong Ji-wook. You saw me during the written exam? I won't be as strict this time. In fact, your admission is already a done deal. The purpose of this test isn't to fail you—it's to gauge your abilities. Maruhan Academy ranks even its freshmen, after all."
"......"
The examinees listened quietly to Hong Ji-wook.
"We'll form teams based on your scores. You'll raid a dungeon. Success or failure in clearing it doesn't matter much. We're evaluating how you tackle the dungeon. Teams have been assigned by us based on scores. We'll announce them after the briefing. Now, about the dungeon you'll be raiding."
I half-listened to the briefing with mild disinterest. A low-grade dungeon tailored to examinee levels. An artificial dungeon under perfect association control. No risk of serious injury or death.
"Briefing over. Now, announcing teams starting from Group 1. Group 1: Ryu Hana, Sung Yu-jin, Bae Hyun-seong, Oh Yu-mi. Group 2: Noh Ji-han, Kim Man-oh, Lee Jae-seong, Park Gu-son. Group 3..."
Groups were set.
'As expected, grouped with Ryu Hana.'
Teams were assigned by similar skill levels. Meaning Group 1 was the top four examinees here.
'It's a test that evaluates process over results.'
According to canon, this test emphasized teamwork.
'With negligible skill gaps, similar abilities lead to clashing opinions.'
In the Hero industry, skill equaled power. Similar folks together meant colliding views, not consensus.
"Hey. You're Sung Yu-jin, right?"
I was pondering my approach when a man approached. Muscular bulk, wide flounder-like face.
"Who're you?"
"Bae Hyun-seong, your teammate this time. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you."
Someone else approached. A brown-haired woman this time. A clump of hair at the back bottom—low bun style, I think.
"You guys Group 1? I'm Oh Yu-mi. Mage. Heads up: I'm rear support only. No frontline for me, even if I die."
She was pretty attractive. But that mole under her left lip bugged me.
'Mole can be removed, no biggie. Gotta bang her someday.'
I shifted my gaze. Ryu Hana was approaching from afar. Her dignified, graceful stride drew everyone's eyes.
Ryu Hana spoke bluntly upon reaching us.
"My goal is to kill the boss monster fast and score high. For that, I need your smooth cooperation."
Oh Yu-mi nodded.
"Ryu Hana, right? I'm Oh Yu-mi. I want high scores too. But this test isn't just about clearing the dungeon quick. The supervisor said it earlier."
Bae Hyun-seong glanced at Ryu Hana before speaking.
"I'm Bae Hyun-seong. Oh Yu-mi's right. This dungeon's about showing great teamwork to the supervisors. Not rushing the clear. Even if it takes longer, everyone contributes and clears safely. I think safe clearing is key."
Ryu Hana nodded. She didn't dismiss Oh Yu-mi or Bae Hyun-seong.
"And you?"
Ryu Hana looked straight at me.
"What do you think?"
"...Process over results makes sense for evaluation. But ignoring results entirely doesn't. Good results probably earn bonus points. So we should move efficiently to clear."
Ryu Hana nodded again.
Oh Yu-mi asked me.
"You're Sung Yu-jin, right? What's your position and specialty?"
Position.
Hero positions for dungeon raids fell into five categories.
Defender, Attacker, Supporter, Scout, Operator.
"Hmm. Scout? Specialty's spirit arts."
"Ryu Hana. You?"
"Swordsman. Attacker position."
"Bae Hyun-seong's obviously Defender. Looks like our lineup's set."
We settled on a standard approach without special tactics after discussion.
???
-Group 1, begin. You have one hour for the dungeon raid.
I saw on the way here: three dungeons total. Three groups testing simultaneously.
-Enter the dungeon.
We stepped into the rippling space. Order: Bae Hyun-seong, Ryu Hana, me, Oh Yu-mi. Not random entry. Order was pre-decided, of course.
The surroundings changed the moment we entered. A ruined city under a clear blue sky.
Cracked asphalt roads overgrown with weeds, rusted and wrecked cars. Tall buildings with shattered windows or half-collapsed.
Ryu Hana surveyed the area and sighed. Bigger than briefing intel; judged boss hunt in an hour impossible.
"Sung Yu-jin. You said Scout position? Scout ahead."
I stared at Ryu Hana.
"Original plan was boss first, right? Stick to it?"
"Switch to Plan 3. Dungeon's too vast in reality. Can't waste time hunting boss."
Plan 3.
Prioritize monster subjugation, search for boss gradually.
'Canon says the boss here is... Heh. Time to see Ryu Hana's pride break.'
I activated Spirit Eye. My pupils turned golden. Feeling info flow through my eyes, I summoned Moca.
"Kkuk!"
Moca climbed onto my left shoulder.
Bae Hyun-seong and Oh Yu-mi didn't notice Moca in spirit form. They sensed something odd and tilted their heads. Ryu Hana, however, stared right at Moca.