Episode 25: Exam Results
Episode 25: Exam Results
"F*ck...ing hell... Ugh!"
Thud.
Harold's massive body collapsed.
Lee Hye-ri's spear pierced his abdomen, and Baek Han-beom drove his sword into his heart.
Harold, the most dangerous villain of this simulation, had fallen.
"Haa, haa."
Yoo Ara gasped for air as she looked at Harold's corpse sprawled on the floor.
Even though she knew it was a simulation, the corpse was so realistic it sent shivers down her spine.
'Is it not real?'
Just as that question crossed her mind, his corpse turned to dust and vanished.
"Well done, Ara-ya."
"That was great, Seonbae-nim. Honestly, I was dizzy when we missed him. Did you know how he was going to attack?"
"Yeah, roughly."
"And it was pure luck that his weapon broke in the middle of that. We had heaven's luck."
It seemed Baek Han-beom hadn't seen it.
The fact that the iron shards she threw with her psychokinesis had caused the cracks in his sword.
'The professor must have seen it.'
That was enough.
1st place.
'This time, I'm definitely going to use that wish ticket.'
Yoo Ara clenched her fist, steeling her resolve.
"Then let's move quickly. Before other villains swarm in after hearing the noise. If we rescue these people to the target point, we'll pass."
"No, as long as we don't get eliminated early, we'll keep 1st place."
Lee Hye-ri cut off Baek Han-beom.
"Catching a villain like Harold means that much."
Lee Hye-ri seemed to know about Harold.
"Did you fight him directly?"
"No. I saw Oppa fight. This villain, Harold, is an opponent my Oppa missed several times."
"To think even Lee Gang-san-nim missed him. Just how scary of a villain was he?"
"He knew Oppa was sincere about saving people, so he always cut off the ankles of weak colleagues to escape."
"Ah."
At her words, Baek Han-beom bit his lip.
He had missed the villain's movements, too.
Even though it was a villain whose level was adjusted to fit the simulation.
What if he had been real?
'He wouldn't have cut his ankle, he would've cut his throat.'
Yoo Ara had protected Lee Hye-ri's ankle as if she had known.
She had excellent instincts as a hunter.
Personally, she was a talent she coveted.
Even if she had known the strategy beforehand, it was still impressive.
Because it wasn't the kind of attack you could block just by knowing about it.
Even though she was a supporter positioned in the middle-rear, her reflexes were as fast as those of an agility-type hunter.
'Good judgment and decisiveness. She can stand in the rear, but depending on the situation, she can even handle the middle.'
Originally, she had volunteered to join Team D-33 to recruit Lee Hye-ri.
But to think there was another skilled person she liked just as much as Lee Hye-ri.
'One more hunter to report to Uncle.'
As expected, public opinion couldn't be trusted.
She hadn't taken 2nd place thanks to Lee Hye-ri.
Baek Han-beom's eyes, watching Yoo Ara, shone.
Yoo Ara, who had no way of knowing Baek Han-beom's gaze, focused on Lee Hye-ri's words.
"Then who caught this villain? The fact that there's a simulation record of him means he was caught, right?"
"You probably know the hunter too, Yoo Ara? He's famous for hunting other hunters in a dungeon two years ago."
"Ah, don't tell me, Shadow Mask?"
"Yeah. I heard that person caught him."
That's amazing.
Even the fake one is this strong, so how did he catch a villain like that?
"He just landed the last hit."
Lee Hye-ri clenched her fist.
"My Oppa had caught everything. He just caught it in place of my Oppa, who couldn't chase because he was helping colleagues, and then claimed he did it alone..."
"Ah."
Lee Hye-ri seemed to have quite a bit of resentment built up.
"Forget it. It's already been proven that that human was no different from a villain anyway."
"That is true."
It's a famous anecdote in the hunter world.
That Shadow Mask, who preached justice, was actually a shameless villain who hunted his own colleagues.
[Team D-33 Harold Eliminated]
Just then, a notification appeared in the simulation arena.
"Let's stop talking about that now. If we keep this up, the villains will come."
"You're right. Let's move."
"Good."
Team D-33 hurried away with the civilians.
In reality, once Team D-33 hunted Harold, the 1st place group was decided.
They even rescued all 10 civilians to the base without any major interference.
After that, they focused more on citizen rescue than fighting villains.
As if to avoid unnecessary fights.
It was the composure of a winner.
On the other hand, the remaining cadets struggled desperately to take 2nd place.
Some cadets from Class A with excellent combat power couldn't overcome their excessive desire to win and rushed in recklessly, only to be defeated by lower-level villains.
It was a series of unexpected events.
The 2nd exam is like that.
It was an exam with heavy mental strain due to the heavy atmosphere on the field, the civilians dying in real-time within the simulation, and battles with villains that felt real.
Judgment became clouded, and they sometimes made decisions they shouldn't have.
"F*ck!"
Kwon Jun-hyeok, clutching a wound on his shoulder, spat out a curse.
He was one of the representative cadets who fell to a villain.
He had tried to somehow take 1st place within the time limit, but he was left behind after recklessly taking on multiple villains.
The elimination of Kwon Jun-hyeok and Team A-1 was shocking news.
-Wow f*ck lololol. Kwon Jun-hyeok actually dropped out.
-Five villains is too much.
-Even if Team 3 of Class A becomes one team, five villains is f*ck lololol.
-Your Jun-hyeok is out.
-Baek Han-beom >>>>>>>>>>>>> uncrossable wall >>>>>>>>> your Jun-hyeok, agreed?
-Don't you know No-jam-beom was carried by Lee Hye-ri and the repeater? The tank who almost killed the dealer because he couldn't manage Harold's aggro should shut up.
-The tank fighting Harold at that time wasn't Han-beom, it was Lee Hye-ri, right?
-Where did all the Jun-nins who ignored Baek Han-beom go?
-Feels good now that those dealer-trash bastards are gone.
-You guys are way too obsessed with the academy exam.
-Yeah~ Bye bye Jun-nin?
The internet comments were in chaos.
Even after the exam ended, internet communities were discussing Kwon Jun-hyeok's elimination.
"......."
Baek Han-beom ignored Kwon Jun-hyeok.
Provoking Kwon Jun-hyeok in that state was suicidal.
Because he didn't know what that hot-tempered, competitive monster would do.
'That's not what's important.'
The reason Baek Han-beom joined this team.
It was to recruit Lee Hye-ri into the Cheongwol Guild, the guild where his uncle was an executive.
It was a guild with some recognition as the 4th largest in the country.
The problem was that it had an image of being pushed around by the top 3 guilds.
'Lee Hye-ri seems to want to join the US Saint Guild where Lee Gang-san is, more than I thought...'
As long as Lee Hye-ri insists on being a tank, she won't be able to go there right away with her current skills.
Because the #1 guild in the US wasn't a joke.
If he tempted her by saying they could step up using Cheongwol and then move up, it would be fully possible.
What was unexpected was Yoo Ara.
'Excellent.'
It was clear that after today, various guilds would send scouts.
Proposals from large guilds would come, too.
'Daesung will also make a recruitment offer.'
So, before the results are announced and the guild officials come in, he needed to highlight Cheongwol's strengths...
"Yoo Ara Seonbae-nim."
"Y-yes?"
"I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Have you decided on a guild to join yet? I wanted to talk about that."
"I've already decided."
"Yes?"
"I decided a long time ago. I'm sorry."
"Ah... Still, even just to talk about it."
"I'm sorry. Nothing will change no matter what you say."
"Is that so?"
She was surprisingly firm.
"Is it perhaps Daesung?"
"No. It's not that."
"Then...?"
"You'll find out later. But it's not that big of a guild."
The moment he met Yoo Ara's eyes as she rejected him, Baek Han-beom realized.
'She won't come over.'
He could tell just by Yoo Ara's expression that she already fully trusted a guild whose name he didn't know.
"I understand."
And the results appeared on the electronic display board.
1st Place [D-33 Yoo Ara], [D-33 Lee Hye-ri], [D-33 Baek Han-beom]
As expected, Team D-33 took 1st place.
However, a joint 1st place was unexpected.
No matter how much a team grabs 1st place, there's usually a ranking within the team.
Perhaps it meant that no one was particularly lacking and they all showed balanced performance?
"Is it really 1st place?"
Yoo Ara, looking at the display board, smiled brightly.
1st place.
Finally, 1st place.
It was a joint 1st place, but it was still 1st place!
"Kyaaaa!!!"
Yoo Ara let out a cry of joy.
Thus, the 2nd exam, the final exam, was successfully concluded.
Now she just had to go to the teacher and tell him her wish!
What wish should she ask for?
How should she say it?
Could she say it well?
The joy of winning the bet made her even happier than the joy of taking 1st place.
"Congratulations, Ara-ya."
"Thank you."
"Everyone worked hard."
"Han-beom-ssi, you worked hard too."
"I hope we can form a team like this next semester too. Then, Yoo Ara Seonbae-nim, are you coming up to Class A next semester?"
"Yes?"
Class A?
"2nd place in the 1st exam, 1st place in the 2nd exam. Even for a repeater, that's enough of a grade to get into Class A."
No sooner had those words finished.
"Student Yoo Ara, can you come to the professor's office?"
Professor Park Ji-yoon called for Yoo Ara.
"Uh... Is that really true?"
"I heard it correctly. Student Ara, you'll be moving up to Class A starting next semester. And you've become a top-priority scholarship student."
Park Ji-yoon continued as she flipped through the file.
"The scholarship is 20 million won, which is the tuition for the first semester. You will also receive support for dormitory living expenses for the next semester. Of course, it's possible to live in the accommodation you're currently in. In that case, the amount that comes out as support funds..."
"Uh, uh."
Yoo Ara couldn't close her mouth every time she heard what she was saying.
Because the support for a top-priority scholarship student was greater than she had known.
Full scholarship support.
Dormitory fee support.
They would lend equipment and training grounds for free from the school, and they even said they would attach a dedicated assistant if she wanted.
"Quite a lot, right?"
"Y-yeah, it is..."
"Since it's a national support project, the support is bound to be generous. But what will you do about a guild?"
"A guild?"
"It's been broadcast nationwide now. The Korea Academy's 2nd exam is quite popular. Officials watch the videos of the 1st-year cadets with interest, too. Since you took 1st place there."
"The officials will be talking among themselves."
"They'll probably start contacting you from today. Of course, the academy can block them for you. What will you do? Is there a guild you've already decided on?"
"Yes. There is. So please block them. Please also tell them that I already have a guild decided."
"Is it a guild you decided on when you were a repeater, by any chance?"
"Yes."
"...That's unexpected. I thought you were a student with ambition."
"That's right. I have a lot of ambition. That's why I decided."
A smile spread across Park Ji-yoon's face upon hearing her words.
"Ah, I see, it's your teacher's guild, isn't it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I said I wouldn't stop private tutoring. You don't have to hide it."
Yoo Ara saw the greed in her eyes.
'Thinking I'd fall for that?'
Absolutely not.
Since she took 1st place, the reason to promote Teacher's class had disappeared.
So.
"Professor, I'll be going now."
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Yes."
"Have a good vacation and see you in Class A in the 2nd semester."
"See you in the 2nd semester."
Yoo Ara returned home with a fluttering heart.
I raised the corners of my mouth as I watched the changed public opinion.
The voices of people who ignored her for being a repeater had completely vanished.
-But catching Harold was crazy.
-Why did she repeat last year anyway?
-Was she not in good condition?
-It's not that level. Her play was just insane. Look at the sense. Moving completely instinctively like a beast. A beast.
-Analysis of the unexpected 1st place, Yoo Ara.txt
-The cadet who caused an upset in this 1st-year 2nd exam is Yoo Ara, who was a repeater. Despite being an intelligence-type psychokinetic, she also has high agility, so she can dodge the charge of an opposing warrior. This becomes a crazy advantage when forming a party. The more people there are, the more the advantage will be maximized.
She can help the dealer, she can be the main dealer herself, and she can even pull aggro herself in an emergency, you know?
If she moves around as a free-roll in an 8-person party and assists the main dealer and tanks, the party's power will increase by more than 2 times.
The weak damage, typical of a psychokinetic, is a weakness, but that's a part that can be sufficiently developed at the academy...
There was even a quite serious column.
Not content with just making GIFs of Yoo Ara's movements and analyzing them, they even caught the scene where she broke Harold's weapon at the end.
"They know how to look properly."
I was satisfied.
Yoo Ara had showcased her value, and thanks to that, my value would rise even more.
"Time to give her a gift."
I knocked on the door of Yoo Ara's house, where the lights were on.
Knock, knock.
"Y-yes! I'm coming!"
Yoo Ara, dressed in particularly pretty clothes, greeted me.
"Congratulations on 1st place. I watched the whole match. You caught Harold well."
A simple word of congratulations.
That was enough.
"Have you thought about your wish?"
"Ah, a-ah, w-well, that. U-um. I did think about it, but..."
"What is it that you're hesitating so much?"
Yoo Ara, fidgeting, opened her mouth with difficulty.
"W-would you like to go on a date?"
"A date?"
"Yes."
"Will that be enough?"
Yoo Ara, whose face had turned red, looked up at me.
"......Yes."