Exam Period # 13
Exam Period # 13
I was in hell.
Demons came at me—baffling, but beatable if I gave it everything I had. They were strong. Could I really take them all out at my current level?
I dodged the absurdly powerful ones and only picked fights I could win. That's how I fought—one at a time, going all out against each of them.
And still, I barely had the strength.
"Aah."
A brutal flashback flickered past my eyes. I reached for the hazy half-visible memories, and my mind snapped back to reality.
"Leona."
In the middle of hell, I called her name.
"Leona...!"
Lend me your strength!
"Lend me your strength, Leona!"
Leona's smile. Then a face filled with sorrow. It all flashed through my head. But Leona had turned away from me. The next thing I felt was urgency. I have to catch her. I have to catch Leona.
I tried to call out, but no voice came. My chest burned. My throat tightened. Just as the pain of not even being able to breathe drove me to scream—instead of screaming, I called Leona's name inside my heart.
And then.
"Th-this is...!"
A miracle happened.
"You're solving it with me?!"
Leona in Spirit Form stood behind me. She stood there, grabbed my wrist, and helped me solve the problem.
—Ghost Study King.
Aah, right. This is the exact same type of problem I studied with Leona. If I use the same formula, I can solve it. If I can't, I'm a moron. Didn't I spend all my time studying nothing but this for the exam?
This is a problem I can solve.
—Shhk!
I confidently wrote down the formula and marked the OMR card. Finally, I double-checked for any mistakes.
Mistakes?
None.
"Perfect."
Confidence overflowed.
This exam.
My chance of crushing it.
100%
* * *
"Average 68. Passing grade. Kim Geun-cheol."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"
"D-do not fly away! Land this instant!"
I stopped mid-flight and landed.
"Woo! Instructor! Do you have any idea how hard I studied for this! And I passed on the first try! Wow! I seriously busted my ass, man, wow!"
The results came out just twenty minutes after the exam ended! I passed! Not a single subject dropped below 65, and I cleared it with an average of 68!
A bloodless victory!
Straight breakthrough!
One man against ten thousand, unstoppable!
"Man! Seriously, wow!"
Euphoria and blind joy seized my heart. Can a person even be this happy? An average of 68! Mom! I passed the exam!
"Sniff!"
I was on the verge of tears.
Thank you, Leona. Without you, I never would've gotten a score like this. Infinite gratitude and emotion surged within me.
"K-Kim Geun-cheol... you are probably the first student to ever be that happy over a mere 68. Get a hold of yourself! If you're satisfied with a score like this, how do you expect to handle the next exam!"
Instructor Lee So-ra shouted, but—
"You're right, ma'am! But right now, please just let me enjoy this!"
Right now, all I wanted was to savor the joy.
"You're driving me crazy... Well, congratulations on passing. Though this isn't the end, of course. Prepare properly for the next exam too. If I have to make you come in on another weekend—"
—Clench.
She showed me her fist.
"In—Instructor?"
"I'll leave it at a hint. Dismissed."
"Yes!"
Of course, I'm not worried.
I, Kim Geun-cheol, am a being who levels up. If I scored 68 this time, next time I'll score 70. That's inevitable—a fixed future. I confirmed it with future sight and locked in my future.
This future will not change.
"Heh heh heh!"
Ah, man, this totally makes going back to high school worth it. Already doing this well in academics? My own talent is starting to scare me.
Anyway, I should let Leona know the good news.
—Brrrr.
I called Leona right away. The moment she picked up, I exploded with all the joy inside me and shouted that sacred name.
"Leona! Leonaaaaa!"
"Kim Geun-cheol...!"
Through the phone, Leona's voice was full of anticipation.
"The results! What happened!"
To that—
"I passed!"
I roared!
"I knew it! Sniff! See! As if you could ever fail with me teaching you! Our Kim Geun-cheol did great! You did well!"
"Heh heh heh! Ah, seriously, you said it! I'm so happy and thrilled, Leona! It's all thanks to you!"
"Hohoho! I feel like teaching you was worthwhile too. I'll let the jjamppong punishment slide today."
"I'm saved!"
Honestly, the jjamppong is absolute overkill.
Thinking I'd escaped that fate—a genuine brush with death. All I can think is that I survived.
"So, Kim Geun-cheol?"
"Yeah, what?"
"What's your average? Well, I'm sure it's not 100. 90? 80?"
"Brace yourself!"
"Oh no! I think I'm going to be so shocked! What on earth is it! I'm so excited!"
She's just full of expectation. Of course, it's not that high of a score. Nobody can ace it on the first try. But still, I do want to be praised.
I'll reveal my achievement.
"It's—an average of 68!"
"YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
Wh-what?
"W-wait? Leona?"
"STAY RIGHT THERE!!! I'M COMING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!!!"
"What! Why!"
Leona's voice was draped in colossal fury!
"Kim Geun-cheol, do you seriously wanna die?! What the hell! I taught you that hard and you pull this 68-point crap! You stay right where you are! Where did you even put everything I taught yooooou!"
"No, no! Leona! Calm down! It's 68, alright?! I raised my average from 25 to over 40 points!"
"Are you making fun of meeee! Prepare to die, anyway! Not even 70, but sixty-eiiiight?! Get ready!"
What is happening!
"Damn it...!"
How did this go wrong?
I definitely passed the exam, and I was supposed to make Leona happy because of it.
I can't figure out where it all went wrong. Is this some conspiracy? Have I been caught up in some scheme? Maybe this is a nightmare.
Unrealistic thoughts crossed my mind, but one thing is for sure right now.
"I have to run!"
I need to run, right now!
If the enraged Leona catches me, who knows what she'll do...!
—Whoosh!
So the moment I kicked off the ground to flee somewhere—
—Vwoooom!
A strange sound came from the sky. A sound I've heard many, many times before. Filled with despair, I lifted my head.
"The Flying Limousine...!"
Her flying private vehicle was swooping in like a predator locking onto me. Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. She already spotted me? But there's no way that flying thing can track me once I slip into the city streets!
So she'll have to land to come catch me, and I should have some time until that thing finds a suitable place to set down.
"Huh?"
But—my optimistic prediction got smashed to pieces the moment it began. I swallowed a breath as I stared at the limousine.
—Boom!
The limousine door flew open violently.
In midair, no less.
—Whoosh!
And from inside it—
"Kim Geun-cheol!!!"
A ghost—no.
An airborne trooper.
D
R
O
P
P
E
D.
"No! No, Leona! Wait!"
Why is Leona free-falling toward me like a goddamn meteor? Accepting this reality is... too hard. Where exactly did it all go wrong? This world?
"Aaaaaah!"
I was screaming like a child and running away. Today, Leona is a paratrooper with a single objective: me. I have to run. No matter what, I have to run.
"Where do you think you're going! You get over here right now!"
But... there's no way I can outrun her.
—Grip!
"Hyaaak!"
Leona caught up to me in an instant and grabbed my shoulder!
"Hyaaak my ass! Kim Geun-cheol, say that score again! Was it 68!"
"No, I mean—it's three points above the passing grade!"
"Stop spewing absolute bullshit! Kim Geun-cheol, you've lost your mind! Ugh!"
Leona shouted like she couldn't take it anymore, then spread her palm wide and slammed it against my back!
—Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Ow! Aagh! Leona! Wait!"
"After I! Taught you! That hard!"
"Aaaaaagh!"
"You still haven't come to your senses! Do you think you can scrape by the next exam with that score! You seriously don't study properly!"
"I seriously worked my ass off!"
I've seriously never studied this hard in my entire life!
"Worked your ass off, my ass! That's it! Kim Geun-cheol, follow me! Someone like you deserves the full jjamppong treatment!"
"What? No!"
"Hmph! Begging won't help you! You're going to accept my congratulations, nice and quiet!"
"Nooooooooo!"
And so, I was dragged off by the ear by Leona...
* * *
"Pfft...! Geun-cheol. What's with the duck lips? Did you put on lipstick too?"
"Don'd dalk aboud id."
"Don't talk about it?"
Turns out Asura Jjamppong has levels. The one I ate last time was Level 1, and today's was Level 2. The higher the level, the spicier it gets, and thanks to that, my lips swelled up like some ugly duckling.
"Geun-cheol, a photo. Can I take a photo?"
"Do'n dake a pichure."
"Take a picture?"
No!
"Do'n dake id!"
"Okay. I'll take it."
"Gah! I said do'n dake a pichure!"
My buddy here just watched me go through hell and Si-hoo was having the time of his life, pulling this crap trying to take a picture of my face!
"Pffhahaha! What kind of noise is that, Geun-cheol!"
"Gack!"
Seriously! How I felt, downing that spicy jjamppong while getting an earful from Leona! Why doesn't anyone get it! I passed the exam and still damn near died of misery!
"Which means, Geun-cheol. You should've studied harder. Hm? Use your head. Your brain. What's with a 68? You're not actually an idiot, you know."
"I seriously wanna kill you...!"
"Geun-cheol, your lips. Can I poke 'em just once? Huh?"
"You're dead!"
—Whoosh!
I lunged to grab Si-hoo, but Si-hoo dodged me with absurd agility. Not even a flying squirrel moves that fast, seriously. Just ridiculously quick.
"Yep, Geun-cheol can't catch me."
Gah!
* * *
Anyway, the weekend came and went, and Monday arrived.
I got to school and was about to greet Leona, who happened to be sitting there, but apparently she was still mad—arms crossed, just glaring at me.
"Hey. L-Leona...?"
"Hmph! Don't talk to me! You idiot, Kim Geun-cheol!"
"But... we ate jjamppong together..."
"That's exactly why I'm even acknowledging you at all!"
This is painful.
Seeing Leona not be gentle is painful...!
"Despair."
That was the moment I sat down, sunk in sorrow.
"You...!"
The Ryu guy behind me called out.
"Hm? What is it? Does our Mr. Dragon Sky have something to say to me?"
"Dragon...! Cut the crap and answer me!"
He had an incredibly serious face.
"What?"
"When are you coming to my house!!!"
Wh—what?
