Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Name? Kim Sanghyeok. Specialty? Personality Excretion.
"It begins!"
Friday morning, Etsol Academy Indoor Training Ground.
To monitor the final situation of the 3rd round in real-time as the fierce exchange match neared its end, more filming equipment was mobilized than on the first day.
Master Hunter Seridwen, who could be considered the director of this exchange match, and the Student Council President, who came out early in the morning to watch the final round on the grounds that she could handle emergencies, were both present to observe.
A war roleplay (RP) of a completely different scale had begun.
Casualties emerged right from the start, keeping the academy's emergency medical team busy.
"Stretcher over here!"
"Don't cause a bottleneck. Move them quickly!"
Patients with minor injuries who could be immediately treated with healing magic went to the temporary clinic managed by Student Council executive Evangeline. Academy students requiring further observation were sent straight to the academy ward.
In an environment closest to actual combat—where those who went missing without even being able to use a return item were practically treated as dead—students with high potential began to stand out.
Stella, who showed the sheer boldness of blowing away the castle gates right from the start, definitely made her mark.
"Who is that kid?"
"Her magic power looks incredibly high."
Besides Stella, the first-year Sarika Milpi, who had elevated her "Storm Swordsmanship" to an even more practical level, also received higher evaluations.
"It would be great if she could manipulate the wind freely."
"Wasn't there a student with that kind of talent in the 3rd year, too?"
"This year's first-years are truly amazing."
The murmur of the scouters grew louder. It was a clear signal that the real deal had appeared.
Quintia.
Daughter of the Sword Saint Yustia. A female swordsman, even called a candidate for the next Master Hunter, who stole everyone's heart with her slender, beautiful face and astonishing sword skills.
She was caught alone on the monitoring screen.
"That's already beyond the skill of a first-year, isn't it?"
"She's far surpassed even S-rank pro hunters."
"She's really doing it all by herself."
The Imperial Army could not avoid being weakened because they had lost the crown to the Rebel Army due to Kim Sanghyeok's active role in the 2nd round. The monitoring team could clearly see that the number of troops was vastly different. There were even frequent scenes where a single rebel subdued two or three imperial soldiers.
The balance of power had completely collapsed.
Many analysts thought that even if left alone, the citadel would be breached within 3 hours. Forget 3 hours; the momentum of the academy students on the rebel side was so fierce that the south gate was breached just 10 minutes after the exchange match started.
At this point, the Imperial Army already looked like they had lost. They had no way to stop the troops flooding into the citadel, and more rebel soldiers were swarming in from the north.
However, Quintia was maintaining the collapsed balance of power all by herself. Figuratively speaking, she was lifting an incredibly heavy log—one that should have required a team to carry—all by herself, without anyone's help.
"Haat!!"
She was someone strong enough to single-handedly change the flow of the game with her skills. It was evaluated that there were at most three such powerhouses in the first year:
Hilaria, with the "Climbing" talent.
Cybele, the "Necromancer."
Quintia, the Sword Saint's daughter.
Even among these three top-tier prospects, Quintia was on an entirely different level. Her estimated market value was already over 100 million coins. The swordsmanship that cut down hundreds of rebels in an instant was no longer human skill. It was a skill worthy of the gods' favor.
A slash that tears apart space itself... At this point, it was meaningless to even discuss the baseline performance of the skill.
"Six Flashes, Eight Thunders!"
One swing becomes a thunderbolt; two swings become a flash of light. Quintia guarded the north gate like an iron wall, stopping the fiercely advancing rebels entirely on her own.
Meanwhile, Cybele, who was guarding the east gate, was doing the exact same thing. Looking purely at castle defense capabilities, her side actually looked even stronger. It was an ability superior even to a swordsman cutting down hundreds of enemies.
"Since Hilaria isn't here, it seems like it will end quickly, but..."
Cybele took off her glasses.
"I'm actually more anxious because I can't see her."
Cybele's true power, rather than calling up and commanding the dead, excelled in harboring spirits within her body. Anyone who witnessed it even once would instantly understand why she was evaluated as having a higher talent value than even the Sword Saint.
Every rebel who entered Cybele's field of vision froze like stone on the spot. Her blue eyes blinked with a mysterious olive light, emitting a special magic wavelength that utterly dominated the battlefield.
"Heup... Ha... Keut...!"
Having consumed her concentration, Cybele closed her eyes tightly to rest. Even if she put her glasses back on, her eyesight would not return for a while. However, the situation had already tilted overwhelmingly in her favor.
Because using those special eyes invariably left her defenseless, Hilaria originally played the role of protecting her. On this battlefield, they had the advantage of a siege defense, so she could use it to her heart's content. But it was a power she couldn't easily bring out when fully surrounded by enemies.
"Quintia is overwhelming, as expected."
"The more you look at Cybele's power, the more fascinating it is."
"Is Hilaria not here yet?"
There was only one reason the scouters were eagerly waiting for her: those castle walls, tens of meters high, couldn't stop her.
"She's here!"
As the sight of Hilaria scaling the castle wall was shown on the screen, everyone cheered. She possessed the star quality to make people go crazy just with her mere appearance. The sight of her advancing coolly while deflecting fire magic with her heavy greatsword elicited pure admiration.
Dihirit Ade, who had become her opponent, was busy running for his life.
"I told you, let's have a refreshing fight between generals! Why do you keep running away?!" "Don't follow me!!" "You were following the ground-ground senior too. Huh? Come play with me!" "Hiek! I said don't come near me!"
Dihirit gave up on fighting Hilaria early on and vanished into the citadel's secret passage. From this point forward, the situation became strange.
"We're showing Kim Sanghyeok!"
"He's already moved to the center of the citadel?"
"What? It hasn't even been an hour since the 3rd round started!"
Like an office worker desperate to clock out on time, while everyone else was fighting hard and grinding points, only Kim Sanghyeok's squad was heading straight for the center of the citadel—the Queen's Room—with bizarre breakthrough speed.
Seridwen's red eyes glinted like jewels.
"Interesting. How did he figure out the back route?"
It was the difference in exploration skills. Kim Sanghyeok's ability to grasp the map was superior to anyone else in the exchange match, and his leadership in utilizing that information was excellent. To the scouters, Hena was merely a C-rank mage who lacked proactiveness and had relatively low abilities—but her evaluation shifted entirely when she was next to Kim Sanghyeok.
"A mage with void magic?"
"Not bad at all."
"It's a rare supportive tendency these days."
Kim Sanghyeok easily crossed the walls using Hena's abilities. While the scouters watched closely, unsure of what other variables he might introduce...
Had about an hour and twenty minutes passed? Kim Sanghyeok easily subdued the queen and secured victory with his own power.
"Is it really over?"
"The more I look at it, the more his martial arts look like the White Devil's."
Isabella blinked. She didn't say anything, but she kept her eyes fixed on Kim Sanghyeok. She had already confirmed during the 2nd round that his fighting movements closely resembled hers.
There was no way she wouldn't be proud. She felt the kind of pride one feels watching a disciple's rapid progress—entirely separate from the trouble he caused by indiscriminately using Personality Excretion, of course.
'Kim Sanghyeok...'
However.
"Quintia is coming! Isn't she moving too fast?"
"It means she won't let him have an easy win."
To compare it to a chessboard, Kim Sanghyeok was like a unpredictable knight attempting a checkmate while dodging the enemy's superior pieces. But a strange tension filled the air the moment Quintia intruded.
The atmosphere was split down the middle: one side believed it was all over now that Quintia had arrived, and the other side hoped Kim Sanghyeok might actually pull something off.
'...She's fast.'
The Student Council President inwardly admired Quintia's movements. She had recognized that Quintia's skill in rescuing a hostage held by the opponent was extraordinary. The sheer speed required to exploit an enemy's gaps, combined with the technique to naturally break their center of gravity, had to be executed perfectly to pull them away unnoticed.
'Quintia, like her mother, definitely has what it takes to be a hero.'
She was far too overwhelming an opponent for Kim Sanghyeok, who had only just awakened to martial arts.
"...No."
Seridwen was so anxious that her voice slipped out.
"If they engage, he loses."
Quintia wasn't an opponent who would allow even a slightly clumsy attack, especially in a face-to-face confrontation like this. In fact, the initial exchange resulted in a crushing defeat, and sighs of regret echoed around the monitoring room.
"Ah."
"He did really well for a D-rank."
"Is this it? As expected, the gap in level is too wide."
Just when everyone was predicting Quintia's absolute victory, a bizarre atmosphere settled over the match. Although the audio didn't pick up what Kim Sanghyeok was saying... he did not look like someone who had given up the fight.
'What is he trying to do?'
The Student Council President didn't think Kim Sanghyeok—who had even holstered his gun—had anything left to turn the situation around.
Right then, Quintia exhibited incredibly strange behavior. As if terrified, she began swinging her sword wildly at her empty surroundings. It looked as though some invisible offensive and defensive exchange was taking place.
'...Is it that Authority?'
Isabella tilted her head in confusion because it was completely invisible to her.
"Isabella. Can't you see it?" Seridwen asked.
"Yes. What do you mean, Teacher?"
"That guy... what exactly is he...? Just what kind of divine favor is he receiving?" Seridwen muttered blankly.
There is another dangerous Authority. That was what it sounded like to Isabella. She knew about his abilities, but the Authority that had merely made them bump bodies in the car and accidentally kiss... she had no idea it was an ability terrifying enough to make Quintia panic.
"Isabella. Get ready to intervene." "Teacher?" "...The exchange match. We might have to stop it."
It was an incredibly unexpected remark. Isabella still couldn't grasp why Seridwen, who usually remained indifferent even when there were casualties, felt such an intense sense of crisis.
Was there something even more terrifying than Personality Excretion? If so, what in the world was about to happen?
'Kim Sanghyeok... You...'
At that exact moment, Kim Sanghyeok held up a feather and smiled slightly. Instantly, the breathless gasps of female students watching the broadcast echoed everywhere.
Seridwen's eyes widened. "Wh-what..."
The taut tension suddenly broke.
"Pick up the audio!"
The filming team focused entirely on the shape of Kim Sanghyeok's mouth.
"As expected, a 100 million coin schoolgirl is strong. Ah, I can't win!"
Did he... just admit defeat?
It was a strange sight: the winner was standing there with trembling legs, while the loser was smiling refreshingly.
"Using the feather was your way of going easy on me, right?"
Seeing Kim Sanghyeok coolly stepping out of the gravitational wave while actively bleeding, the Student Council President was already shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Evangeline! Get the medical team ready!" "Yes? Ah, right away!!"
Soon, Kim Sanghyeok, who had exited the gravitational wave alongside Hena, was carried out on a stretcher. He looked as though he had lost consciousness due to sudden blood loss. Isabella hurried over to check his condition, moving alongside the medical team.
"How is Kim Sanghyeok's condition? Does he need a blood transfusion?" "He's fine, President. His internal organs aren't hurt at all." "Is that so?"
Carefully observing Kim Sanghyeok's face, Isabella finally felt relieved.
'Just what kind of honorable choice did he make to be smiling like that?'
In the end, he was cleaned up by Quintia in the 3rd round, becoming the latest victim of the famous "Anything below Quintia is trash" meme. But just looking at his expression, anyone could tell that he had given it his absolute best and engaged in the exchange match without a single regret.
"I really thought it would end in an hour."
"Really. He's an amazing D-rank."
"Everyone is going to be paying attention to the Jelly Man from now on."
Kim Sanghyeok's market valuation was officially set at 590,000 coins.
And in the remarks section, it was written quite simply: [Personality Excretion]