Exam Period # 2
Exam Period # 2
"Hmm, not bad the more I look. You've got a decent eye for this."
"Right! I told you I've got natural talent! But where do I actually stand? If you're level ten, what am I?"
"What's this level crap? You're a one, you bastard."
—Thwack!
Yu-ri said it and smacked my back.
"Hey, why. What's one? Shouldn't I be a little higher?"
"Cut the shit. I'm just saying you show some promise. A guy who just started learning swordsmanship can't seriously be dominating right away, can he?"
Is that so?
"But I kicked Mun Min's ass in swordsmanship, you know."
"Bullshit. Didn't you pull some trick?"
"During the fight I did yell out a War Cry like this."
"That isn't winning with swordsmanship alone, you idiot!"
Doesn't matter, a win's a win. Fine, I'll admit my swordsmanship is worse than Mun Min's. That time I won by using psychological warfare and my special skill appropriately.
But isn't that sort of thing also a form of swordsmanship?
"Take it seriously, seriously!"
"I'm always serious."
"Ah, now that I think about it, that's true. The problem is you, Kim Geun-cheol, your mouth makes everything sound less serious... Anyway. You've got some potential. We'll run the class through sparring. I'll check your form every so often. Sparring is always the best way to build real skill."
"Thanks, Yu-ri! You're the greatest teacher!"
"T-teacher... well, I guess so."
At the word teacher, Yu-ri turned her head slightly and scratched her cheek as she answered. Now that I think about it, didn't she say her dream was to be an instructor at a dojo?
She's absolutely thrilled to be called an instructor.
"Hey, maybe later I could register at your family dojo?"
"Go for it."
"Friends-and-family discount?"
"Pfft. Yeah. Absolutely not."
Crap.
"No, but seriously, Yu-ri, learning this in detail from a master like you... is this really okay? Isn't your family gonna chew you out for leaking the techniques without permission?"
I asked.
"Why would they? Over teaching this?"
"Right?"
"And well... I'm planning to do hero work and instructing together once I graduate anyway."
Yu-ri answered like it was no big deal.
"It's good to build experience teaching people early."
"So you're using me to get some early experience?"
"Yeah. I'm using you to practice, Kim Geun-cheol. Practice teaching people."
So it kills two birds with one stone.
"But doing hero work and teaching at the same time after graduation? Won't that be tough?"
"Of course it'll be tough. But after I've built up my career doing hero work for a while, I plan to switch to teaching full-time. Then eventually I'll inherit the dojo."
So build real combat experience, then switch to full-time instructor.
Right.
That's what it means to carry on the family trade.
"What about you? Get back here."
"Yes!"
"This time I'll attack, so block."
"You're not really going to hit me, right?"
"I'll stop at the right moment, so relax. Coming!"
"Yep!"
—Whoosh!
Yu-ri charged at me and swung her sword. Of course, the movements were adjusted to my level. Because I focused actively on defense, I managed to block it to some degree.
So I'm learning from Yu-ri like this. On other days I train with Si-hoo and build stamina. And on weekends I go volunteer. Plus I have classes at school.
I've got a hell of a lot to do!
* * *
And so daily life flowed on like that.
Even though a dungeon gate appeared on the school field, nothing special really happened. If you excluded the compensation we got over that Doppelganger Slime incident, every day was ordinary.
And just as that was going on.
"As you all know, the first written exams will begin soon."
What?
Exams?
"Obviously, given that this is an educational institution, the written evaluations are extremely important. The theory classes are mandatory because you'll need to use everything later once you become heroes. As for the general subjects—Korean, Math, English, and Electives—I'm not sure how much you'll use them in real life, but since you are high school students, you should at least handle them."
Honestly, Korean, Math, English, and Electives are pretty useless.
But they are still important. To put it simply, even the guys on sports teams at regular high schools get totally screwed if they don't clear the exam cutoff, so they study to some degree. If you don't clear the cutoff, things like getting suspended from competitions can happen.
Meaning, just because you're on a sports team doesn't mean you can blow off studying completely, or you turn into a moron. What's the purpose of a school? To inject you with that academic ability, isn't it? The same goes for hero cadets.
"Low exam scores mean failure. Study hard if you don't want to repeat the year. Well, there are makeup exams, but it's a disgrace for a hero cadet who's supposed to become a guardian of the nation to even have to take one. So work hard. You must also prepare for the practical exams, of course."
This is seriously brutal.
On top of theory class study and general subject study, we have to grind like crazy for practical prep too.
The practical evaluates your ability to handle superhuman power, your physical body, techniques, and other factors comprehensively, apparently.
Like I said, being a hero is one hardcore job. Just because you become an Awakened doesn't mean you get to live easy.
Of course, there are jobs as hunters, but since hunters aren't exactly a privileged caste, they don't appeal much. If I'm gonna be Awakened anyway, I want to live well. I can't be satisfied with being a mere hunter.
Strictly speaking, Korea right now is a strict class society. An S-rank Awakened, the Sovereign Commander, rules as the absolute authority, and the heroes beneath him are the aristocracy. The rest of the civilians are ordinary people.
Since we heroes are the privileged caste, we have to live hard.
"Hmm, Kim Geun-cheol? The exams are coming soon. Feeling confident?"
"Hey, hey. Leona."
High school exams?
Do you know how old I really am? I'm taking exams I've already taken; no way I'm gonna fail. I mean, I'm actually pretty good at studying.
"Don't worry. I'm genuinely confident when it comes to studying."
"Oh-ho, really? But I dunno. When you say it all smug like that, Kim Geun-cheol, it makes me uneasy... it sounds like total bullshit."
"You really wanna go there?"
"Fine, anyway. A hero can't just be good at fighting. You have to be good at studying too."
"Agreed. Ah, well then, since it's exam time, maybe I should cut down training a bit and study some."
"That sounds good. Do your best."
With exams approaching, basically all the conversation was like this.
Most of my classmates were already talking about this stuff. And from what I heard, everyone seemed to have similar misgivings.
"This is unreasonable. General subjects like Korean, Math, English, and Electives are a waste of time."
"Oh, correct, yo! Theory class is fine, but Korean, Math, English, and Electives suck, yo!"
Ken and Brian said wonderfully correct things.
"Exactly. Completely useless Korean, Math, English, and Electives. How great would it be if we increased the theory portion instead of wasting time on this?"
"Oh, Big Cheol! Correct! Egg-salent!"
"But Brian, aren't you good at English?"
"No! Watashi bad at English, yo!"
Isn't this guy crazy?
"Come to think of it, Scream Man. I've been hearing your skills have improved quite a bit lately. How did that happen?"
"Just had talent, I guess. Something like that."
"I knew it!"
What do you mean you knew it?
Anyway, starting today, I should focus on studying a bit.
"Si-hoo!"
The moment school ended, I called Si-hoo.
"Let's study together today!"
"Heh heh heh, Geun-cheol. Are you actually worried about exams?"
"Of course I am. You always have to study during exam period."
"Alright, let's do it. It'd be troublesome if you failed. You have to do what's needed. But you seem like you'd be bad at studying."
"Seriously. Shut up. I'm goddamn great at studying. Let's go faster."
Okay then, let's get started.
On my prep to destroy these exams.
* * *
This is easy.
Way too easy.
—Scratch scratch.
I quickly scan the test papers and solve the problems. The theory test was incredibly simple. Because I'd studied hard all that time. Monsters, monsterkin, villains, power structures, history, combat methods, their weak points—all that stuff was interesting, so I could memorize it fast.
Since it's knowledge I'll actually need to use, I crammed it hard. For me, an exam like this is extremely simple.
—Swish.
I quickly solved the problems and marked the OMR card. It was a real throwback. Anyway, once the theory test finished, next up were Korean, Math, English, and Electives. Those were simple too. I had already been through all that stuff.
I'm technically a military veteran—how could I fail a high school test, especially not a college prep test but a cadet academic evaluation?
—Annihilated!
I literally tore through the test papers, destroying the problems.
Being top of the whole school isn't just a dream... Me, back as a high schooler, getting rank one? Isn't that the most natural thing in the world?
* * *
And then came the long-awaited day of the exam results.
"Kim Geun-cheol. You have failed every general subject. You will retake the exams, so prepare properly."
Ah.
—Boom!
A bomb went off inside my ears, and my head went blank.
"You—!"
Leona shot up from her seat and roared like a wild beast.
"Dragging down the class average like this is absolutely unforgivable! A failing grade in a class where I am the class president...! What on earth are you playing at?!"
"W-well, you see..."
"Didn't you say you were confident?!"
No, I mean.
"My god! I can understand being dead last! Line people up, and someone has to be last! But you, Kim Geun-cheol, you have a forty-point gap from the second-to-last person?! A twenty-point average in general subjects makes any sense at all?! Are you a moron?!"
—Shake shake!
Leona grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. I felt like... my soul was going to escape. Why the hell was a high-school test so hard? I had literally gotten exactly one out of five right. How was that possible?
Right up until I finished the problems, I hadn't doubted top rank at all.
"N-no... I studied hard too..."
"Don't you know you have to do more?! This won't do! It is the class president's duty to guide a failing student! From today, I will be inspecting your studying, so know that! I'll give you daily pop quizzes, so be ready!"
No! What kind of nonsense is this!
"L-Leona! No matter what, that's going too far, isn't it?! Daily pop quizzes are just too much!"
"Do you have a problem with that?!"
"Of course I do!"
"You have a problem? Want me to hit you?! Can you beat me, Kim Geun-cheol?!"
—Clench!
Leona raised her fist and said it like she was showing off!
"Say that while looking at this fist!"
"Hey! You're gonna use your fist for this?!"
"For your sake, Kim Geun-cheol, I am more than happy to use my fist! I do not forgive failure! You will receive my training until the makeup exams!"
This is completely insane!
"Answer!"
"Agh, understood, Leona! I will receive your training until I pass the makeup exams!"
"Good! My god, I'm so baffled I can't even... The only person in the entire grade to fail general subjects...! And with an average of twenty points, does that make any sense?!"
Now that I think about it, I was always shit at studying.
Looking back, I have particularly happy memories of every exam period. Why? Because exam day meant school ended early. Because I had to rush to the PC café and play games with my friends.
Of course I'd be happy.
Apparently, those happy memories made me briefly hallucinate... fuck.