Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: B Team Assignment
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Maybe I should pick up something tasty on the way.
Home... Come to think of it, I haven't been playing with Gretel much lately.
Today, I'll play a round of Jenga with her.
It was while I was heading down the mountain, lost in thoughts of Gretel.
A notification chimed from both my pocket and Lee Seo-jun's—our Smart Student Notebooks.
"What was that? It rang at the same time."
Lee Seo-jun muttered, staring at his Smart Student Notebook.
"They said the finals Captain's Battle team announcements are at 9 today."
"Oh, right."
I checked my Smart Student Notebook.
I tapped the screen to view the team roster, my fingertips trembling with needless tension.
I wonder who I'll be teamed up with...
With teams of over 100 each, it'd be great if we had plenty of wide-area magic specialists.
Someone like Yoo A-ra, for example.
She's second place, but her talent is second only to Lee Seo-jun worldwide.
I logged into the homepage and clicked the team list.
A long list of names scrolled out.
I used the search function to find my name.
"I'm on B Team. What about you?"
"Me... Wait a sec. Why is this so hard to find?"
Lee Seo-jun grumbled while scrolling frantically.
"Idiot. Just use the search."
"Oh."
"What do you mean 'oh'."
This guy's surprisingly bad with tech. Or rather, he only knows swords.
Then his busy fingers stopped.
"Found it."
"Where?"
Lee Seo-jun looked at me and grinned.
"I'm on B Team too."
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Team Balances
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Tuesday morning, 8:30 a.m.
Students were already checking the announced team lists on their Smart Student Notebooks early in the morning.
〈Captain〉 Kim Chang-hyun (3rd year 1st)
Lee Hyun-joo (2nd year 4th), Yoon Ha-young (2nd year 22nd)
Jeon Min-gi (1st year 2nd)
〈Captain〉 Lee Seo-jun (2nd year 1st)
Jang Soo-yeon (3rd year 2nd)
Kim Seon-woo (2nd year 9th)
〈Captain〉 Choi Seo-yoon (1st year 1st)
Yoo A-ra (2nd year 2nd), Shin Young-jun (2nd year 3rd), Park In-hwan (2nd year 5th)
"The teams seem pretty balanced."
"Captains are the top from each year, huh."
"Then isn't Choi Seo-yoon's team at a disadvantage? She's only a first-year."
"But her team has all the top second-years. Idiot."
Then the classroom door slid open, and Yoo A-ra entered.
As Yoo A-ra sat down, Shin Young-jun approached her with a smile.
"Hey, Yoo A-ra. We're on the same C Team, right?"
Yoo A-ra nodded at his words.
"Yeah. I was worried about all the manifestation mages on the team, but I'm relieved you're there."
Team C, which Yoo A-ra was on, had a lot of manifestation mages.
Of course, with battles involving over 100 people, having more wide-area attacking manifestation mages was an advantage.
But Team C had too many.
Among the top rankers on C Team—Yoo A-ra, Choi Seo-yoon, and Park In-hwan—all three were manifestation mages.
"We do have a ton of manifestation mages, but it's not that bad. We can thin out the enemy numbers fast. Look at B Team—their balance is a mess."
B Team.
The team with Lee Seo-jun and Kim Seon-woo, who Yoo A-ra was most wary of.
She hadn't expected those two to be together, so it bothered her even more.
The silver lining was, as Shin Young-jun said, their terrible balance.
B Team's top students were Lee Seo-jun and Jang Soo-yeon, both reinforcement mages.
Kim Seon-woo, who handled manifestation, was there too.
But his style wasn't suited for group fights like a typical manifestation mage; he specialized in 1v1.
"Still, we can't underestimate them. Both Lee Seo-jun and Kim Seon-woo are unpredictable."
"Yeah, true. Lee Seo-jun's a maniac, and Kim Seon-woo's been on fire lately."
Shin Young-jun muttered, glancing at Kim Seon-woo's empty seat—he hadn't arrived yet.
"Hey, when's the C Team strategy meeting?"
Park In-hwan wedged himself between Yoo A-ra and Shin Young-jun.
"What's with you, Park In-hwan? Since when are you so proactive?"
Shin Young-jun teased, and Park In-hwan scowled.
"Why? It's the exam."
"Oh, I get it. You saw that article, huh? Heh heh."
Shin Young-jun snickered, and Park In-hwan scowled in displeasure.
Yoo A-ra, unable to follow their conversation, gave a curious look.
Shin Young-jun selected an article on his Smart Student Notebook and showed it to her.
"...Ah."
Yoo A-ra understood immediately upon seeing the article.
After this finals exam, next year's Seongmu Festival participants would be finalized.
Places 1 through 4 were secure with their solid points.
The last spot was Park In-hwan's 5th place. This exam might change that.
"So that's why you're proactive? Scared of losing 5th?"
"W-who's losing it? Just watch. I'll defend 5th for sure."
Park In-hwan yelled. Shin Young-jun smirked and said,
"But Kim Seon-woo's what, 9th? Why the article if he can't crack top 5?"
"9th."
At Yoo A-ra's answer, Shin Young-jun's eyes widened in shock.
"Whoa, Kim Seon-woo's 9th? He was 150th last semester. His rise is insane."
Shin Young-jun shook his head in dismay.
"Still, 5th from 9th in one go? Tough. Even winning the team isn't enough."
"Team 1st is baseline; he needs massive individual points too."
"But can he? He's not wide-area specialized like you, and the captain's locked, so no captain points. This one's rough."
Yoo A-ra nodded in agreement with Shin Young-jun's pessimism.
It was a low probability.
Climbing from 50th to 10th was easier than 9th to 5th by orders of magnitude.
Plus, the Captain's Battle had too many disadvantages for Kim Seon-woo.
"...Still. With Kim Seon-woo, who knows."
Yoo A-ra murmured quietly.
He always pulled off unexpected results from bad odds, delivering upsets.
He might do the same miracle this time and hit 5th.
The door slid open, and Kim Seon-woo arrived.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo followed behind—they must have met on the way.
Yoo A-ra stared intently at Kim Seon-woo from her seat. Feeling her gaze, he met her eyes.
Then he smirked and looked out the window.
"...What."
Is that a taunt?
Yoo A-ra clenched her fist.
I won't lose. Absolutely not.
Her fighting spirit ignited.
"So, which team do you think takes 1st this time?"
Lunchtime.
The teachers, finished eating, gathered for tea and rest.
The topic was, naturally, the upcoming all-year joint Captain's Battle for finals.
The staff room had a long tradition of betting on team rankings for the second-semester finals.
"A Team for me."
"Same."
Two teachers dropped papers with their names into the glass box labeled [A Team].
Several followed suit into the [A Team] box.
"A Team's popular, huh. Heh."
"Safe bet."
Most picked A Team for a simple reason.
Best balance with diverse magic types.
And it had 3rd-year #1 Kim Chang-hyun.
"I have high hopes for Seo-jun and Seon-woo, but 3rd-years' experience is tough to beat."
"Chang-hyun's sharpened his blade this time. It's his last exam before graduation."
Kim Chang-hyun.
Undefeated 3rd-year #1 since enrollment—never lost top score.
I thought Lee Seo-jun would share #1, but he fell to 2nd last Captain's Battle against Yoo A-ra and Kim Seon-woo's team.
"Chang-hyun vs. Seo-jun. That's hype. I'd back the 3rd-year usually, but Seo-jun's special."
"Still, tough for Seo-jun. Team's melee-heavy, and as reinforcement captain, he can't fight freely."
A quiet teacher spoke up.
"Highest ranker as 'Captain' being public is a bad move. For B Team."
"Key is overcoming team weaknesses."
Team weaknesses.
Seemingly balanced, but each had fatal flaws.
A Team: Top balanced, but bottom ranks weaker on average.
B Team: Too melee-focused.
C Team: Too ranged-focused.
The team mastering their weakness wins.
"Factoring that, B Team has the hardest flaw. No AoE in group fights is fatal."
"Yeah. I say C Team with Yoo A-ra takes it."
One teacher dropped into [C Team] box.
"C Team too. Yoo A-ra's cheat-key in these exams."
Another into C. A and C boxes filled up.
B Team's was empty.
Then Lee Hee-young quietly dropped into B Team.
"I'm B Team!"
Teachers looked at her in surprise.
"Classic Lee Hee-young. Voting with Seon-woo bias."
"Hey! I judged objectively and coolly."
"Eh, B Team's still rough. Seon-woo's great, but 1v1 specialist..."
Lee Hee-young laughed.
"Seo-jun and Seon-woo together, and you don't bet on it? You haven't learned. Amateur analysis means nothing, teachers."
Her tone brimmed with confidence.
Afternoon, after classes.
I stayed in the classroom with Lee Seo-jun, discussing the necromancy ritual from the 'Research Journal' I found yesterday.
"Necromancy needs six relics. Two are known to be owned by others."
I explained what I'd researched and recalled from the original story.
Lee Seo-jun nodded, listening.
"The big issue is the 'Mana Stone Dreamcatcher'. French National Museum owns it—no loans possible."
Lee Seo-jun nodded gravely.
"...Hmm. Museum-owned. Tricky."
"Two ways: Substitute it or get an equal/superior relic and propose a trade."
Lee Seo-jun crossed his arms, pondering seriously, then glanced at me.
"...But you researched a ton overnight. More motivated than me?"
I flinched, caught.
It was a necessary step anyway.
Better I prep than drag it out, but it might look suspicious to him.
"Nothing else to do. I've always been into relics."
Lee Seo-jun nodded. Relic interest is common among mages, so no big suspicion.
"Suits you. Know a lot surprisingly. But don't dive too deep. Dangerous, you know."
"Don't worry. For Dreamcatcher, sub's hard, so aim for trade."
"Yeah, sounds good. Wider options. When to start relic hunting?"
"Finals first, then after."
Lee Seo-jun nodded.
"Okay. Oh, right. Kim Seon-woo, aiming for Seongmu Festival this time?"
I paused at his question, then nodded.
"Yeah."
"Team looks rough this time."
I knew what he meant.
Students were saying B Team's disadvantaged.
Reason: No wide-area magic.
Fatal in group fights, and I pondered it last night.
But not now.
"Because of AoE?"
"Yeah. Gotta figure that first..."
"Don't worry."
"Huh?"
Lee Seo-jun looked puzzled. I smiled confidently.
"I'll handle the AoE part."
Point usage was decided.
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Storm of Magic Power
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I sat on the sofa, reviewing the ability I planned to buy.