Get Lost Before My Woman: Survival and Conquest
"Get lost in front of my woman. If you don't want to get beaten half to death."
Survival and Conquest. Just from the name, it sounded like we'd have to survive something while snatching stuff from others. There was no way they'd make the freshman ranking battle that complicated from the start. People were buzzing everywhere, guessing what the test might be. And soon enough, the instructor gave the answer.
"From now on, 50 randomly selected participants will enter individual capsules and begin the survival test. Each student will receive one token, and besides what you've personally crafted, you can only bring gear up to Rare grade. The longer you survive inside and the more tokens you steal from others, the higher your score."
Simple. It was exactly survival and conquest. Survive longer or steal others' tokens to rack up points.
"If you become combat-incapable or lose all your tokens, you're out. Eliminated players get half-point credit for the tokens they've collected up to that point. Once only two remain and 10 seconds pass, the test ends, and those two get double survival points."
This setup ensured that even if bad luck struck right after a fight, you'd still get half points. It also prevented the final two from just stalling to farm survival points without killing each other.
"If no one picks up a token after its owner is eliminated, it counts for the last person who took them down. Teamwork is allowed, so devise good strategies and survive as long as you can. We'll now select Group A for the test here."
"Here" implied other capsule rooms existed. Makes sense— the other 250 couldn't just twiddle their thumbs while 50 took the test. With alliances possible, strategies would vary wildly.
"Group A: Kim Si-woo. Jin Baekryong. Leona Bonaparte. Baek Seung-cheol..."
The names kept rolling out, but murmurs erupted the moment one hit.
"Whoa... Jin Baekryong in the first group."
Jin Baekryong? I'd heard that name somewhere before.
"The freak genius who hit A-rank at 14, they say?"
Similar age and realm to me in my second life, when I'd slaved away at the mage tower.
"Rumor has it he's on the verge of S-rank... Winner's already decided. Hope we don't draw Group A..."
Ah. The world's ten largest powers: the 10 Great Families. Like Elis earlier, this Jin Baekryong was an heir to one. Fitting for the scion of Korea's sole Great Family, the Jin family—he'd grown up with insane backing. Even accounting for that, eyeing S-rank at his age was indeed freakish.
"Cheonha Yeon. Uni Raher..."
Ha-yeon's name came up too.
"...Kim Yu-won."
And mine last. Six of us in our group, six groups total, and we end up with Ha-yeon. Bad luck.
"Yu-won. If we meet, I won't hold back."
She said teamwork's allowed, so why...?
"Got it. I'll give it my all too."
Truth was, I planned to slack off and get eliminated at some point. With my perfect written score, going too hard might land me in the top ranks.
If I run into Ha-yeon, I'll throw it.
"Group A, please enter the capsules."
One by one, people moved to capsules as names were called. I found the last empty one, opened the lid, climbed in, and closed it.
"Whoa... Cleaner than I thought."
First time using one of these—I'd worried it'd be cramped, but it was surprisingly spacious and comfy.
But how does this thing work...?
Then the instructor's voice echoed inside the capsule.
Put on the goggles in front of you and press the red button to the right.
A consideration for first-timers, probably. I donned the goggles, hit the button, and my consciousness faded.
*
"Whoa... Jin Baekryong. True heir to the Jin family—flying all over the place."
Beatrice Academy instructors watched the ranking battle live on screens.
"For sure. His opponent, Baek Seung-cheol, is a martial arts heir at peak B-rank, but he's no match. Only his tough body is keeping him in it."
A vast test arena. Fifty scattered freshmen. Jin Baekryong challenged everyone in sight, dropping them and snatching tokens.
"Over there... that Cheonha Yeon girl's standing out. Her power feels C-rank, but her technique is beyond student level. Wait... she fights better than me?"
Ha-yeon had trained hard for a week, but it wasn't enough to restore her full strength. Still C-rank. Yet she divided that power precisely, felling every student she met.
"Heard she's from the Murim otherworld. They start martial arts at three—if she's talented, she could outfight you."
The instructor beside him nodded.
"Figures... With that beauty and skill, she'd have been famous otherwise. Otherworlder explains it."
Then one pointed in surprise.
"Whoa... But who's that guy?"
"Huh? Who?"
"Look at him. Zero encounters since the test started. Combat log's completely empty."
The name Kim Yu-won hovered there.
"Eh? Possible? Even in a huge space with only 50 people..."
"It is, since it's happening. With Jin Baekryong and Cheonha Yeon massacring the one-token scrubs, he might top the ranks with just his own."
Eliminated with one token meant zero effective tokens, but survival points could carry him.
"Guy's got insane luck. Saved the world in a past life or something?"
He had. As instructors chatted, a figure appeared behind them: an elderly man with snow-white hair from age and a broad white beard like an old Italian philosopher.
"Test going well?"
The instructors shot up, bowing 90 degrees.
"Yes, sir. No issues."
"Haha... No need for such formality. Sit, both of you."
The reason for their deference: This was Jin Baek-ho of the 10 Great Families' Jin clan, former Hunter Association president, once Korea's top S-rank, a living legend—and Beatrice Academy's principal.
Even A- or S-rank instructors here were said to have joined out of admiration for his character and deeds.
"Then we'll sit."
Casual with underlings, kind, generous—no one disliked him.
"Looks like two standouts."
"Yes. Your nephew Jin Baekryong and the Murim otherworlder Cheonha Yeon are eliminating most and sweeping tokens."
He gazed fondly at his nephew. Then his eyes caught an anomaly.
"A student with no fights yet...?"
"Yes. Either super lucky or just stacking survival points without encounters. Ah... Down to three now."
Cheonha Yeon, Jin Baekryong, Kim Yu-won. Only three left.
"Top three without a single fight... Some luck."
"Whether it was luck for him... or the others... we'll see now."
"Pardon?"
As the principal spoke, Cheonha Yeon and Jin Baekryong met on screen. They talked—lip-reading at best from outside.
"First sight...? Like first snow, heading to you?"
The instructor guessed at Jin Baekryong's lips. Then Kim Yu-won arrived.
"Three-way standoff. Will the battle-worn duo gang up on him, or fight each other and leave the weakest?"
But the screen showed something else.
"Huh...? Why's Kim Yu-won charging Jin Baekryong?"
They were baffled by the inexplicable scene.
*
"Man, this island's huge."
I'd wandered forever without spotting a soul. Pushing through brush, I finally saw figures—Ha-yeon, looking weary, facing off against that 10 Great Families heir, Jin Baekryong.
The guy blushed at Ha-yeon and spoke.
"I fell for you at first sight. I'll give you all my tokens—no, anything you want. Date me."
Crack. Something snapped.
I had memories but no emotions. At first, she felt like a stranger from stories. Time together slowly brought feelings back. But was it love? Pity for the woman who'd torn through dimensions for me? I couldn't tell, so I kept some distance amid the confusion.
But this boiling in my chest now—what was it? Like a dam cracking. Emotions I'd dammed up were regaining color.
Yes. Deep in my heart, blazing...
rage.
The fury when righteous faction scum schemed against Ha-yeon, when the Murim Alliance Lord and Shaolin monk lunged for her life. That same intense anger surged back.
I became lightning, lunging at Jin Baekryong.
Mukroe Byeokryeok Singong — Thunder God Transformation
Distracted by his confession? Despite a solid counterattack, my surprise punch sent him bouncing across the ground.
I intoned at him.
"Get lost in front of my woman. If you don't want to get beaten half to death."
It'd been ages since I'd been properly pissed.