Practical Exam Prep (1)
Cha Eunju, a prospective Magic Department student at Cheonmu Hunter Academy.
Right now, she was utterly failing to hide the fluttering feeling blossoming in her chest, tangled up with a strange, unnamed tension.
The thought that a fateful meeting — the kind she'd only ever seen in manga and novels — might have just become real for her.
'Lee Seonho… that was his name, right?'
The department he was applying to was Combat Support. His awakened ability was a mental-type buff — and among those, rumor had it he could use one that instilled courage in other people. At that news, Cha Eunju's heart had leapt and pounded with excitement.
Because with her practical exam looming, the very buff she needed most was exactly that — one that would pour 'courage' into her.
'M-maybe our first meeting wasn't just a coincidence after all.'
He'd noticed her standing there in trouble and guided her to the exam room. Then, by pure chance, they'd ended up taking the same test. Twice now, absurd coincidences had lined up as if the heavens had decided from the start that she was meant to meet him — and for Cha Eunju, whose hobbies were manga and novels, it all felt like a destined encounter straight out of fiction.
'If Seonho's there, then maybe I can…'
Maybe she could actually use her magic properly without freezing up in a live combat situation. Support majors had no real combat ability, after all, so during the practical exam they were required to pair up with a student from another department. If Seonho would just pair up with her…
She'd imagined, deep in her heart, that if she could take the practical exam with him, she would surely pass — and so, even in the middle of the written test, she couldn't stop his face from surfacing in her mind again and again.
By now, the idea of anyone other than him being her partner was almost impossible to even contemplate.
'Seonho's kind, so if I ask him to take the practical exam with me next week, he'll probably say yes… right?'
The written test… well, Seonho would probably pass it too. That was just the feeling she had. The Combat Support exam sheet she'd glimpsed right before submitting her own answers had been filled in quite densely.
He'd helped her before she even asked when she was struggling in front of the bulletin board, and when she'd dropped her stationery he'd been the one to drop to the floor first and pick it all up. Someone that kind — maybe, just maybe…
…maybe his awakened ability could solve her chronic weakness, the one that always failed her in live combat.
“Whew, haaah, whew, haaah…”
Thoughts of don't mess this up set her heart racing all over again, and she let out another round of nervous sighs.
Because if she couldn't bring herself to ask Seonho properly, she might ace the written exam only to crash and burn the moment she hit the practical.
The practical exam next week. If you haven't already found a partner, would you take it with me? I'll definitely repay you somehow. Please, Seonho.
She wasn't sure she could actually get the words out, so she memorized the sentence again, and again, and again, drilling it into her head.
For Cha Eunju, who struggled to hold a conversation even with close friends — let alone strangers — it was a considerable act of resolve.
…And that was exactly how much this admission to Cheonmu Hunter Academy mattered to her.
'He's not going to just wander off alone once the exam is over, right…? I definitely sent the signal with my eyes…'
Blink blink. Blink-blink-blink. I'll go out first.
Blink-blink-blink-blink. I'll wait for you.
Yes. She'd definitely gotten the message across. If Seonho was connected to her by fate, he'd have understood without fail.
In manga, people have whole conversations with nothing but eye contact. So. Yes.
Thus, roughly thirty minutes passed with Cha Eunju lost in her baseless delusion, standing in front of Hyeseong Hall and waiting for Lee Seonho to come out.
Thud. Thud.
'H-he's coming out…!'
The moment she spotted him walking slowly out with unhurried steps, Cha Eunju moved to approach him first.
“H-how was your exam…?”
“Cha Eunju…?”
…Why is she popping up here out of nowhere?
Knowing Cha Eunju's personality, the moment she finished her own exam she should have headed straight home to watch anime, or dropped by some manga shop to buy a volume of something she liked before heading back.
So this situation — her, of all people, waiting around for my exam to end and then striking up a conversation — just didn't add up.
'Could the favorability I've been building up already be taking effect?'
We'd only interacted twice, but for Cha Eunju, those two moments might have left a fairly deep impression.
Or maybe the fact that Lee Seonho simply had a low threshold with Cha Eunju as a character was already at work. Either way, Seonho was someone she absolutely needed until she could overcome her own weakness — her ability was worth exploiting.
'Whatever the reason, there's nothing bad about Cha Eunju approaching me first like this.'
It meant we could grab a meal together as planned, get closer, and then bring up the practical exam next week. I didn't need to know the reason as long as the result was good.
“Wh-what's wrong…?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“D-did the exam not go well…? Your expression seems kind of off….”
“No, I think it went fine. I at least managed to write something down for all ten questions, one way or another.”
“Oh, oh good…. That's a relief….”
For a moment I wondered why my doing well on my exam should be a relief to her — but that question resolved itself almost immediately in her next words.
“U-um, hey, so….”
“Yeah?”
“Th-the, the practical exam next week! I-if! If you don't have anyone to take it with…!!”
“…Yeah.”
“C-could you take it with me…? I-I really, really need your awakened ability, th-the one you have….”
“My awakened ability?”
“P-please…. I-if you'll just take it with me, I'll definitely repay you somehow….”
Seeing her beg this desperately in a voice trembling like a leaf — she really must be worried about this practical exam.
For Cha Eunju, this was probably her version of mustering every ounce of courage she had. This was a girl who got flustered asking favors of people she was close to, and she was pleading this earnestly with someone she'd known for less than a few hours.
The word 'repay' that Cha Eunju had used had my lower half stirring for no good reason. If I took her up on it — became her teammate for the practical exam and then demanded repayment — just how far would she actually go?
…Sex would probably be a stretch, but letting me touch her chest? I'd be willing to bet she'd manage to allow that much.
'Cha Eunju letting me feel her up while insisting a promise is a promise… that's honestly kind of hot.'
It was true that the fantasy had flashed through my mind, but I had no actual intention of making that kind of request.
I could exploit Cha Eunju's timid personality to get my hands on her body quickly, sure — but pulling a move that amounted to sexual harassment would obviously tank her favorability toward me.
I wanted to claim her heart completely as mine, not just her body. So for now, it would stay fantasy.
Besides, the words she'd just offered me had given me several new ideas for raising Cha Eunju's favorability, and I had no reason whatsoever not to pursue those instead.
“Why are you getting so worked up over asking a friend for a favor? That much, I can grant you any day of the week.”
“F-friends…?”
“We'll be attending the academy together starting next year, so of course we're friends. Honestly, from what I've seen of you, Eunju, I'd say you've got a good shot at passing.”
“Oh, oh really…. S-so then you and me, Seonho, we're… we're friends?”
“That's right. And you don't need to repay me for anything, either. I didn't have a partner lined up for the practical exam anyway, and honestly, taking it with a friend sounds a lot more comfortable.”
“R-really?! Th-then you'll do it with me?!”
“If that's what you want, Eunju, pairing up isn't a problem at all… but before that.”
“…Huh?”
“How about we check out a training center in town first? I think it's better to run a mock battle together before you decide anything.”
“Ah, uh-huh…! C-come to think of it, you're right, Seonho…!”
Bringing up the word 'friend' first, to a girl like Cha Eunju who had almost none — plus one point.
Adding that I'd wanted to team up with her anyway, no repayment needed — plus one point.
Showing that I was taking her suggestion seriously — plus one point.
“Let's grab a quick meal before we head to the training center. There are plenty of places to eat up by the station.”
“Y-yes! S-since you granted my request, lunch is on me!”
“You really don't have to go that far… but sure, let's go.”
Watching her now, it seemed I'd already secured at least an above-average level of favorability with Cha Eunju — but there was nothing wrong with banking extra points whenever the opportunity arose.
Truly the behavior befitting the heroine widely acknowledged as the easiest to conquer — at least where Lee Seonho was concerned.
After deliberately catering to Cha Eunju's tastes with a quick meal at a Japanese ramen shop by the station, we headed straight for the Hunter Training Center near the academy.
It was still far too dangerous for Cha Eunju to use her magic in an open lot or a playground where people wandered about, and neither she nor I — not yet licensed hunters — had any way to enter a dungeon at this point.
“A mid-sized room for two. Two-hour rental, please.”
“Certainly — a mid-sized training room for two hours. Right this way, please.”
These facilities were sealed with all manner of safeguards to keep awakened abilities from leaking outside, and they could even generate virtual enemies for mock combat.
The rental fees were accordingly anything but cheap, but I didn't particularly care. The original Lee Seonho wasn't exactly the type to agonize over money.
“Whoa, th-that's… expensive. M-maybe I should've been the one to pay…?”
“Then you can cover it next time. I already paid today, so just let it go.”
“B-but….”
“Friends don't nitpick this stuff back and forth, do they? Got it?”
“O-okay…. We're friends, so. Yeah….”
That's what I said out loud, but I had no real intention of making her pay for the training center next time either. Cha Eunju, who constantly burned money on her subculture hobbies, was never in great shape wallet-wise.
My plan was to run the cycle like this: she'd treat me to a meal, and I'd cover the training fees. Bit by bit, that would plant a quiet sense of debt in her heart, weighted toward me.
…When a person believes they owe you something at the baseline, even favors they'd normally find burdensome become something they feel compelled to grant. It's just human psychology.
“Your session is two hours. After the two hours, extension fees are charged in thirty-minute increments, so please keep that in mind.”
“Understood, thank you.”
“Y-yes… okay….”
After listening to the staff's warnings, we stepped inside, and I immediately had Cha Eunju try casting her dark magic. With only two hours to work with, I couldn't afford to waste a single minute.
“Let's start simple — three goblins. Just cast the spell like you normally would.”
“I-I don't really use it normally, so I'm not sure how….”
“Then just cast whatever comes naturally. This is about figuring out where your skills stand and what kind of buff you actually need.”
“O-okay….”
With a voice utterly devoid of confidence, Cha Eunju walked to the center of the training room and readied herself to cast.
Once I confirmed she was in position, I summoned three goblins — the weakest specimens, no less — and watched the fight unfold for a while.
I needed to see for myself just how capable Cha Eunju was without Lee Seonho's assist.
'Kehhek!'
'Kerek, keruruk!'
'Kihiik!!'
“Hiiiieeeek…!!”
It was only three holographic goblins, and yet Cha Eunju panicked at the very sight of them, crouched down where she stood, and clutched her head.
Then, without even properly confirming where the goblins were, she started firing black spheres off her palms in a wild, indiscriminate spray.
“Sh-Shadow Ball! Shadow Ball…!! Sh-Shadowth…?! Gahk…!!”
She bit down on her own tongue in her rush and spiraled straight into panic.
One of her black spheres, aimed at absolutely nothing in particular, happened by pure luck to take down a single goblin — and with that, Cha Eunju's solo mock battle ended in a hollow, pathetic defeat.
“…Hikkuh, higuuh….”
…Yeah, her condition is worse than I expected.
It was a moment that reminded me, all over again, of exactly why Cha Eunju had been written in the original novel as a heroine with a full-blown dependence on Lee Seonho.