Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Girl I Trusted as My Childhood Friend's Friend Raped Me (7)
There were countless heroes in the world. Each of them wielded mana in their own preferred way.
While there might be differences in the finer points of control, it all boiled down to one of two categories in the end. Circulating it within the body or expelling it outward.
Han-seol sprayed her mana. She fired off a sword beam.
This was an incredible awakening.
Drawing out a sword beam wasn't all that hard. Even academy cadets could reach that level.
But firing it off was on another level entirely.
It was something even the top heroes in Korea—not to mention the world—couldn't do easily. Plenty of heroes retired without ever mastering it.
And yet, Han-seol, a mere academy cadet, had pulled it off.
"No way!"
The teachers monitoring the battle from the situation control room crowded around the screens. They buried their heads in the feed showing Han-seol.
It was unbelievable. Utterly incomprehensible.
They were heroes themselves. They'd all had field experience.
That's why Han-seol's awakening hit them so hard.
"We knew she was talented, but not this talented."
"She's insane. This is...!"
Geum Tae-yeon was impressive too. Having telekinesis as her gift was amazing enough, but her mastery of it was top-class.
Still, Han-seol was even more extraordinary.
Up until now, Han-seol had always seemed just a step behind. Both were rising supernovas drawing attention, but telekinesis had higher demand.
It was a power that could save more people faster and safer.
Han-seol's awakening more than made up for that. Rarity was its own unbeatable merit.
A talent ranking among the world's elite had just been born in Korea.
─What do I do?
The problem was that even Han-seol herself didn't know how she'd done it. She'd fired off the sword beam in the heat of excitement, but that was it.
Even if it was a fluke, it was still monumental.
─Guess I should just end it.
The sudden awakening had provoked Geum Tae-yeon. Now she was dead serious about knocking Han-seol out.
She'd ambushed them with that intent from the start, but she'd ditched any plans to toy with her prey.
"At this rate, Han-seol's out."
"Can't be helped. We should be satisfied she showed her potential."
The academy teachers all predicted Han-seol's elimination. And indeed, she kept getting pushed back.
Just that one sword beam had startled Geum Tae-yeon—that was it.
─Juyeon-woo! Run!
With elimination all but certain, Han-seol made her call. She decided to pull Juyeon-woo from the battlefield.
The desire to save people was the bare minimum mindset for a hero.
Geum Tae-yeon had no interest in Juyeon-woo or Park A-young. She just scattered telekinesis blasts casually.
If she'd attacked for real, they'd have been out ages ago.
She was going easy on them. At least, that's how it looked to the teachers.
"Playing the villain this time, huh."
"It was necessary. I get it."
"The exam's a mess because of her. How do we even score the kids who've already dropped out...?"
That was for the teachers to figure out. Not Geum Tae-yeon's problem.
She focused on painting the picture she wanted.
─Ugh!
With one final blow, Han-seol was eliminated. She couldn't block it, so it counted as a finishing attack.
Han-seol left the battlefield with a mix of relief and regret on her face.
Juyeon-woo and Park A-young had already bolted. That was some consolation, at least—Han-seol used it to make peace with her own elimination.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At first, running wasn't an option. They had to push forward no matter what.
'Can't go back.'
It felt like someone was blocking the way. So he'd leaped toward Geum Tae-yeon and swung his spear.
He desperately felt the need for ranged attacks.
And the sheer brokenness of telekinesis. Now he got why a slacker like Geum Tae-yeon hadn't bothered trying hard as a cadet.
If Geum Tae-yeon had trained like a normal cadet, Han-seol never would've gotten this much spotlight.
Han-seol's current standing was practically courtesy of Geum Tae-yeon. Han-seol had talent, sure—but Geum Tae-yeon was that much of a threat.
"Juyeon-woo, let's go."
Han-seol vs. Geum Tae-yeon. Juyeon-woo wandering in between. They could all get eliminated like this.
The one who snapped things back on track was Park A-young.
She grabbed Juyeon-woo's hand and pulled him from the battlefield. She'd rationally judged it was time to bail and acted on it.
Of course, Juyeon-woo couldn't agree with her. They shouldn't do that.
"We have to help Han-seol!"
He had his connection with Han-seol.
"Abandon Han-seol."
Because she was Han-seol's friend, Park A-young could cut her loose without hesitation. And Han-seol wanted that too.
Dragged along by Park A-young, they found another hideout. Caves were too obvious, so they dug a burrow under a nearby tree stump.
Infusing mana into his sword let him scoop dirt like a backhoe.
Three became two. Losing just one shifted the mood entirely.
The sense of security was gone, plain and simple.
'If we run into another team, we're done.'
It didn't take long.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Fleeing from Geum Tae-yeon had left traces. Come morning, cadets tracking them found the trail and closed in.
Seeing Juyeon-woo and Park A-young, they attacked.
"No Class President Mi?"
"Must've dropped out!"
A team down to two was prime prey. With Geum Tae-yeon wiping out first-years left and right, points were scarce—every one counted.
Juyeon-woo swung his spear. Blue lightning crackled fiercely.
The attacking cadets flinched in surprise.
"So that's lightning affinity."
"Whoa... Seeing it up close, it's no joke."
But they didn't back off. They were confident.
Two teams had merged. They outnumbered Juyeon-woo's group three-to-one. Victory seemed assured.
"Ngh...!"
"A-young, fall back!"
Park A-young was the weak link. She lagged behind Class President Mi and Juyeon-woo in skill.
Common knowledge at the academy. The cadets targeted her naturally.
Juyeon-woo had to protect Park A-young. Their roles had flipped.
A woman saving a man? Park A-young didn't have the chops for that.
Slash-!
Juyeon-woo thrust his spear. Sparks flew, singeing one cadet's clothes like fire. She was eliminated.
One down, but the fight was still lopsided.
"Run!"
If Park A-young bailed first, Juyeon-woo could escape too. Going solo wasn't an option.
That's when Geum Tae-yeon showed up.
She was patrolling the island, mopping up first-years. She joined the fray as if it were natural.
In the chaos, no one noticed—but Geum Tae-yeon's telekinesis wasn't touching Juyeon-woo. She was pulling her punches on purpose.
Thanks to that, Juyeon-woo and Park A-young got away. Geum Tae-yeon had effectively let them live.
They found another hideout. Broad daylight meant they needed to hunker down extra carefully.
Panting raggedly, they leaned on each other, catching their breath.
The back-to-back action had drained their stamina badly. They could've been eliminated ages ago and no one would've batted an eye.
Rustle-!
Should they dig another burrow? As Juyeon-woo scanned around, debating—a snake bit his ankle.
It slipped perfectly between his pants and shoe, sinking its fangs with expert precision.
"Argh...!"
Juyeon-woo groaned at the sharp sting.
The venom wasn't lethal. Just fever, chills, body aches. Under normal conditions, he'd shake it off quick.
But not now. Repeated fights had weakened him.
'This won't do.'
Watching Juyeon-woo sweat and groan in agony, Park A-young made up her mind. Time to quit the exam.
No point dragging it out like this.
"...No."
Juyeon-woo blocked her. Don't give up, he rasped through gritted teeth.
"Class President Mi's points..."
If they quit, Class President Mi's score would tank. Park A-young felt guilty.
If she weren't here, Class President Mi wouldn't have dropped so pointlessly. A better team would've changed everything for her.
Park A-young had seen Class President Mi's hard work up close. She couldn't quit lightly.
"Han-seol too..."
Han-seol had bought them time to escape. Alone, she never would've lost to Geum Tae-yeon.
But Juyeon-woo's condition was dire. Scoring points looked impossible.
"You're hurting. Burning up with fever, and you wanna keep going?"
"...Gotta try... as far as we can..."
Juyeon-woo had no intention of quitting.
"...Rest for now, at least."
The guy in pain was insisting on pushing through. Park A-young forcing a quit would be ridiculous.
'He says he'll do it.'
Park A-young lacked the guts to face everyone else's hate. She dumped it all on Juyeon-woo.