Exam Period # 12
Exam Period # 12
"No, he said his stomach's bothering him?"
"His stomach?"
"Said he ate something bad and felt like throwing up. Said he'd be embarrassed to do it in front of everyone."
I came up with a decent excuse on the spot. Si-hoo—whether it was genuine indigestion or not—had bolted because he couldn't hold back the urge to vomit.
"So he dashed straight to the bathroom. Before it erupted."
"Hmm... I see. Well, alright. I'll speak with Lee Si-hoo directly about the rest."
"Yes, ma'am."
Did she buy it? The instructor let me go. I immediately pulled out my phone and messaged Si-hoo that I'd told them it was an upset stomach.
"What was that about, Kim Geun-cheol?"
"Ah. Nothing much. Seems his stomach was bothering him. Said he had a sudden wave of nausea."
"Sudden... maybe he ate something bad. Anyway. Doesn't that mean his condition's off? He's about to face Ryu Cheon-hwi—can he even perform properly?"
"We'll have to see. Let's watch. Watch very carefully."
"Right. Watch and learn."
Yu-ri, who'd walked up, said that. Watching masters spar does genuinely help.
"Observe closely and write me a report."
"A report—come on!"
"Hey. Putting what your eyes see into words helps you improve. Don't you know that?"
"Does it really work like that?"
She's not totally wrong.
"Indeed, Kim Geun-cheol. Whatever the skill, watching, listening, and writing it down speeds up mastery. The same likely applies to swordsmanship. Observe carefully and just jot down what you felt."
"Studying, even here...!"
I just wish the retest would hurry up and be over.
—Ding.
Anyway, Ryu and Si-hoo climbed onto the ring and their match started. Who's going to win?
"Come, Lee Si-hoo! Today I'll finally bring you down!"
Ryu erupted with fighting spirit as he shouted and charged straight at Si-hoo. He's seriously fast. So fast my eyes can barely track him.
The moment the two clashed.
—Boom!
A heavy impact rang out in every direction.
"Good heavens!"
"Oh! Mister Dragon! Excellent!"
"Whoa!"
Brian—with his sixty-seven-point English—actually spoke English and sounded impressed. Seriously, what the hell is he? Who is this guy? I'm dying to know his deal.
Anyway, the match matters more than Brian right now.
—Boom!
—Crash!
The two of them kept trading attacks, heavy impacts scattering everywhere. It was nothing but high speed. Watching them constantly lunge forward and retreat, I could only marvel.
It's entertaining, but I couldn't exactly picture how watching this would improve my own skills. The gap in our abilities is just that huge.
But then.
"Huh?"
This time Si-hoo was gradually being pushed back.
And just like that.
—Crash!
Ryu's sword slammed down onto Si-hoo's headgear.
—Bang!
"Ryu Cheon-hwi wins. Step down."
Wait, Ryu actually won?
"Keu...! Ha, haha! Hahahahaha!"
I'd never seen Ryu laugh like that in my life. Laughing with that much joy, Ryu climbed down from the ring. That bastard is genuinely thrilled.
"Lee Si-hoo. You're a reasonably capable fighter, but as expected, you're no match for me."
He's even talking arrogantly now. Si-hoo just scratched his head and sighed.
"Sigh... I made a mistake at the end."
Well, matches do get decided like that sometimes. I went straight over to Ryu and spoke.
"Whoa. No way. You're telling me Ryu won?"
"Keuh-heu-heu...! The obvious result!"
Ryu marched off looking like the happiest man on earth. Ha, that guy's nose is going to be up in the clouds again. Si-hoo should've given him a proper lesson, but he lost instead.
"Hey, Si-hoo! You can't lose to Ryu! You're supposed to win!"
"I wasn't in good shape, Geun-cheol...! I'm gutted too!"
"How'd you lose at the end?"
"No, I just... lost focus for a second... Ah, seriously. My condition is absolutely awful today."
I could sort of tell. He genuinely looked out of it.
"Anyway, Si-hoo. I told the instructor you had indigestion. Said you made a mad dash because you were about to hurl."
"What? Indi— hurl?"
"Yeah."
"Of all the excuses you could've used! Pick something normal!"
"No, what else was going to work right then?"
Whether it's school or the military, claiming you're sick is always the best excuse.
"Alright, then. Next. Leona. Woo Yu-ri. Step up."
The matches continued like that. Since it's the class ranking battle, you have to fight until all the ranks are settled. Who's my next opponent?
I just hope it's someone I can learn from. And I wonder what sort of rank I'll end up with.
* * *
It took the entire day, but the rankings were finally settled.
"Fufufu! The expected outcome!"
Leona took first. She fought Yu-ri and narrowly pulled off a win at the very end. Seems Yu-ri misread Leona's strategy.
"Ha, seriously so damn close. Still, third place—I did pretty well."
Yu-ri nodded, arms crossed. After losing to Leona, Yu-ri faced Si-hoo, and Si-hoo lost again. Si-hoo's definitely out of sorts—he racked up a string of losses.
And the long-awaited second place is, of course, Ryu.
"Damn it...! I defeated Lee Si-hoo, yet I still taste defeat...!"
He lost to Leona.
Honestly though, these ranking matches aren't an absolute measure of strength. The outcome of a spar depends heavily on your condition on the day. Anyway, the upper ranks roughly shaped up like that.
I landed right in the middle of the class. After beating Mun Min, I faced Min-sik and won. Then I lost to Brian.
"Oh, Big Cheol. Don't take it to heart, boi. You were quite strong. I was just more strong."
"Agh! Why'd I have to lose to this cult freak of a foreigner!"
"Of course!"
I tried to rush him down fast and finish things quickly like I did with Mun Min, but Brian's style is fundamentally built on rock-solid defense.
In the end I couldn't break through his defense, and when I ran out of breath after my offensive, I couldn't deflect his incoming chain of attacks and took a heavy hit to the shoulder... This is insane! If nothing else, the thought that I lost to this cult freak of a foreigner drives me up the wall!
"Hahaha, Big Cheol, you remind me of Dragon Cheon-hwi, a little bit."
"Bullshit. Hey. I won't lose next time, so be ready."
"Yeeeesss!"
Brian flicked his blond hair and pressed his palm to his forehead... It's seriously psycho behavior. Anyway, his defensive swordsmanship was genuinely decent. I'll have to study how to break it.
While I was thinking that.
"Kim Geun-cheol, you lost to Brian? I beat Brian last time."
"No, this bastard Mun Min?"
Mun Min was strutting around like it was the funniest thing in the world. That bastard is completely high on the fact that I lost.
"Mun Min, I swear I'll give you another harsh lesson next time. I'll crush you so completely you won't even be able to act cocky."
"How about you beat Brian first, and then come back?"
"Fuck!"
Whatever it takes, I'm going to smash through Brian's defense! No, seriously, he's way too good at guarding. It was genuinely impressive. Completely defense-oriented style.
"Anyway, Si-hoo? You okay?"
"Ugh... I even lost to Yu-ri. If only my condition had been right, I would've won."
"Yu-ri...! Si-hoo says if his condition was at maximum, he would've beaten you!"
"Don't tell her! Don't tell her!"
When I whispered it like a tattletale, Si-hoo had a fit. Well, like that, the ranking matches came to an end. You could call it a genuinely entertaining day.
"In the first semester, ranking matches aren't that frequent, but starting next semester they'll be held once every two weeks. Everyone, good work today. Take time to reflect on your ranking and think things over."
Guess I'll do that.
"Of course, these results are not absolute. Combat power fluctuates with your condition, so rankings can change at any time. Being first once doesn't mean you're first forever. Continue to strive. Dismissed."
Basically, don't be satisfied with your current ranking. Obviously I won't be. Just because I beat Mun Min once doesn't mean I can beat him every time. I can only raise my win rate if I give it my all to win next time too.
"Next objective: break through Brian's defense."
I'll learn that from Yu-ri.
If I ask her to just focus purely on defense, she'll probably do it.
"There, there! Kim Geun-cheol! Time for some fun after-school study!"
Leona immediately bounced over to me.
"Today, first-place Leona here will teach you math, so follow along diligently, okay?"
"Are you that happy about getting first?"
"Of course! Who in the world hates being first!"
Watching her look like she's absolutely dying of happiness makes a laugh leak out without me even meaning to. Leona really does suit this kind of expression.
"Hehehe, fine. Shall we go and get a first-place math lecture from first-place Leona, then?"
"Come on, let's go. You placed fifteenth, Kim Geun-cheol, so you have to work hard. Getting stonewalled like that... You clearly need to put in more effort."
"Ah, Brian's defense was genuinely great."
"He blocked absolutely everything you threw at him."
Leona explained that he's a type specialized in defense.
"Well, learn swordsmanship stuff from Yu-ri. Today, just focus on studying."
"Yes, ma'am."
Shall we go hit the books, then.
* * *
Daily life flowed by like that.
With my focus on studying and training, time just absolutely flew. I guess your school days really do pass in a flash. Anyway, my academic ability improved day by day, and my swordsmanship skills rose noticeably as well.
While I was spending such a fulfilling time, the retest day finally arrived.
"How can they make you take a test on a Saturday?"
Today's Saturday.
Retest day. Surprisingly, out of every single class, I was the only one taking a retest. I am literally the sole dumbass of the entire grade. I genuinely can't believe this. No matter how you look at it, dead last—absolute rock bottom—just doesn't make sense.
"Kim Geun-cheol, you're here."
"Ah, Instructor. Hello. Good morning."
"Making me come into work on a Saturday. Truly remarkable. Well. Good morning."
Oh no...!
"Agh! I'm sorry!"
"If you're sorry, pass the retest. No—just make sure you never have to take a retest again. Your other grades are fine, so you only need to do well on the general subject exams. Understood?"
The instructor said that, pressing her fingers to her forehead...!
"Understood!"
But I've got nothing to worry about! How many private tutoring sessions with Leona did I go through for today! If I fail today, I'm not even human!
"That aside. Are you keeping up with the community service?"
"Yes. I'm doing it properly. You don't need to worry about that. I'm carrying out extreme volunteer work at the orphanage!"
"An orphanage... I see. Then follow me."
I followed the instructor straight to the exam hall. But when we arrived, it turned out to be a somewhat small room. Small enough you could call it a private room. What's this about?
"Instructor? Isn't the room a bit too small?"
Don't tell me I'm supposed to take the test in here, just me and the stunning Instructor Lee So-ra, alone together?
Absurd!
"It's a private room."
"Ah."
"Kim Geun-cheol will take the retest alone in here. Over there. Do you see the CCTV? Obviously I won't repeat myself, but any cheating results in an automatic fail, so don't let that happen. Work hard."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Then take a seat. When the buzzer sounds, I'll hand out the exam."
"Understood!"
Good.
Well then, let's take this test!