Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: One Hour Into the Exam
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One hour after the exam began.
The first day of the finals was proceeding relatively peacefully.
That was because the main team events would start on the second day and the third day after that.
For reference, the biggest event, the large-scale battle, would take place on the final third day.
For that reason, rather than focusing on combat roles, everyone had started taking on new tasks.
Scouting, guarding, food supply, and so on.
My role was scouting.
For reference, I had volunteered for the scouting role myself.
In a captain battle, 'information' was the most important thing, so I didn't want to leave it to anyone else.
"Hmm."
For that reason, I was currently climbing a mountain.
Rather than wandering aimlessly through this vast area, there were several advantages to climbing to a high vantage point and taking in the view at a glance.
"Whew! The air's great."
Even though it was a virtual world, the natural environment was implemented just like in reality.
Breathing in the clear air made my body feel purified.
After taking a deep breath of the air, I looked out over the surrounding scenery from the mountaintop.
Vast grasslands and forests. And in between them, modern buildings standing tall and isolated.
It felt just like a secret lab from a sci-fi movie.
As I surveyed the surroundings like that, I spotted a group where a bunch of people had gathered.
It was Team A and Team C.
With so many people, it was easier to find them than expected.
"...Everyone's securing food first."
Using magic to catch nearby animals and carry them looked just like watching a primitive tribe.
The concept of the 'Joint Captain Battle' was modeled after wars between such primitive tribes, after all.
At that moment, at the edge of my vision, I caught sight of a man surrounded by several people.
It was the 3rd year rank 1, Kim Changhyun.
"Hmm..."
I wiggled my fingers and pondered for a moment.
Kim Changhyun was Team A's captain.
If I could assassinate him, I could eliminate the entire Team A without needing a large-scale battle.
Plus, I'd earn a huge amount of points proportional to the number of Team A survivors.
And if I set my mind to it, I was confident I could assassinate Kim Changhyun right here and now.
If I drank a mana concealment potion, even an S-Rank wizard couldn't dodge my surprise attack, and if I compressed my mana deeply, I was sure I could hit him from this distance—though the power would weaken gradually.
But I gave up on the idea soon enough.
The exam taking place in this virtual world was being broadcast live to the outside in real time.
Using my mana concealment ability just for a bit of greed would definitely lead to more troublesome issues.
I had to avoid that.
"...Tch."
I'd aim for the next opportunity.
There was still plenty of time.
Now, time to prepare for the event.
There were no team events on the first day, but that didn't mean there were no events at all.
There were individual and small-scale joint events.
The first event that would happen soon was 'Monster Hunter Time Attack'.
As the first event, the points you could earn weren't that generous, but one of the 1st place prizes was pretty important to me.
It was something essential for reaching the overall 5th place.
It was the '1v1 Colosseum Summon Ticket'.
It was a ticket that let you summon one desired opponent for a 1v1 battle.
Of course, you couldn't use it on captains. But that wasn't a big problem for me.
My target was 'Park Inhwan', my rival for overall 5th place, after all.
For me to climb to overall 5th, Park Inhwan's early elimination was essential, so I had to get it.
[In 3 minutes, the first event will begin.]
Right on cue, the event announcement rang out.
[The first event is the 2-person team event, 'Monster Hunter Time Attack'. The top 10 will receive personal points as rewards, and 1st place will receive the special prize, the 1v1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.]
Monster Hunter Time Attack was an event where the team that defeated a quasi-boss monster 2v1 the fastest won.
The rules were very simple, so anyone could do it easily.
As long as you had someone to participate in the exam with.
[Those who wish to participate, add your 'party member' and apply via your Smart Student Handbook.]
I immediately sent a party invite to Lee Seojun via my Smart Student Handbook.
And I typed a message.
[Accept it.]
And about 10 seconds later.
['Lee Seojun' has accepted the party invite.]
The message that Lee Seojun had accepted popped up. It was great how he accepted without any fuss.
[Participation confirmed.]
[2 minutes until 'Monster Hunter Time Attack' begins.]
Before entering the event, I checked my body.
Stamina, mana. Everything was in a satisfactory state.
There was still time until the third day when the biggest event would happen, so on this first day, I planned to go wild as I pleased.
Saving strength for the finale could wait until tomorrow.
My goal for today, the first day, was to earn as many personal points as possible.
[10, 9, 8, 7...]
[3, 2, 1...]
[Entering the event location!]
A strong mana enveloped my body.
At the same time, a blinding light flashed before my eyes.
Flash!
When the light before me faded, I was in a new location.
A pure white space.
It felt like looking at a laboratory hiding some secret.
—Grrr...
From somewhere, a monster's growl echoed like a reverberation.
In my previous life, I hadn't participated in individual events, so every single one of these situations felt unfamiliar.
"Kim Sunwoo."
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind. I turned my head to see Lee Seojun approaching with a welcoming face.
"Yeah. You made it?"
"Yeah. But I didn't know there'd be 2-person events like this in the captain battle."
Lee Seojun looked around in wonder as he spoke.
"They're probably doing it because everyone just holds back and plays the waiting game, making it boring."
"Yeah."
I turned my gaze to the side.
A massive iron cage.
Behind it, in the darkness, a huge wolf with glowing red eyes came into view.
Even at a rough glance, its standing height seemed over 2 meters.
That wolf's name was 'Giant Red Cyclops Wolf'.
It had one eye, but with its massive build, sharp teeth, and tough hide, it was a tricky A-Rank monster.
[The event begins!]
[Rankings will be determined by who defeats the monster in front of you the fastest!]
—Clank!
The cage door rose, and the wolf slowly walked out from the darkness, drooling.
I calmly activated Outsider's Benefit to find the wolf's weakness.
"Aim for the brow."
"What?"
"The brow is the weak point. The hide is relatively thinner there."
Lee Seojun looked at me for a moment before nodding.
He could have asked how I knew, if the info was accurate, but Lee Seojun didn't.
"The brow. Okay."
Pure white mana light poured from Lee Seojun's sword.
[Time attack begins.]
Boom!
The giant cyclops wolf was engulfed in massive flames and collapsed. The impact sent strong vibrations through the floor.
"Whew..."
Relief at their victory washed over Yoo Ara as she let out a deep breath.
Choi Seoyoon, her party member and Team C's captain, approached her.
"Weren't we pretty good just now? I think we can definitely aim for 1st with that."
Yoo Ara nodded at Choi Seoyoon's words. Their coordination had been surprisingly good for a first try.
Kim Sunwoo and Lee Seojun nagged at her a bit, but even those two who shattered records left and right at the magic academy felt like rivals she could compete with this time.
Yoo Ara looked satisfactorily at the cyclops wolf's corpse before glancing at Choi Seoyoon.
Then she replayed the battle in her mind.
The magic battle Choi Seoyoon had just shown.
She had the complete opposite style from Yoo Ara.
While Yoo Ara crushed opponents with her innate mana capacity and destructive power, Choi Seoyoon used precise mana control and senses to manifest various forms of ice and slowly pressure her foes.
Specialized in 1v1 over groups. In other words, a style quite similar to Kim Sunwoo's.
Yoo Ara, who had recently become conscious of Kim Sunwoo, found Choi Seoyoon's battle style a bit envious.
On top of that, wanting to emulate Kim Sunwoo, she had secretly practiced that style and magic.
"...I'm jealous."
"Pardon? Of what?"
"Your battle style. I don't have that kind of sense. I practiced wanting to be like that, but it didn't work out."
Choi Seoyoon tilted her head at Yoo Ara's mutter.
"I'm jealous of your destructive power with magic, sunbae."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You know how other people's rice cakes always look bigger."
Yoo Ara pondered Choi Seoyoon's words.
Other people's rice cakes look bigger.
It felt true.
"But practicing a different style... it's because of Kim Sunwoo sunbae, right?"
"Huh?"
When Yoo Ara flinched, having hit the nail on the head, Choi Seoyoon smiled lightly.
"Spot on. But me too. Watching Kim Sunwoo sunbae fight mixing in physical techniques is so cool. I want to be like that too."
Yoo Ara agreed with Choi Seoyoon's words.
It was definitely cool and enviable how an emitter-type actively mixed in physical techniques.
But Yoo Ara didn't even dream of emulating Kim Sunwoo's physical techniques.
She knew herself well enough that she had no talent for physical abilities, having chosen support-type over enhancement-type as her sub-specialty.
They were chatting with Choi Seoyoon while waiting for the event results when it happened.
['Monster Hunter Time Attack' has ended.]
The event was finally over.
[Announcing the top 10 teams.]
1st. Lee Seojun, Kim Sunwoo (2 min 22 sec)
2nd. Choi Seoyoon, Yoo Ara (7 min 52 sec)
3rd. Kim Changhyun, Jeon Mingi (7 min 55 sec)
[Congratulations. 600 personal points awarded for 2nd place!]
". . .2nd?"
Yoo Ara and Choi Seoyoon were stunned looking at the rankings.
They had thought they'd yield 1st to Kim Sunwoo and Lee Seojun.
But the problem was the time difference.
The gap between 1st and 2nd was insanely huge.
It was nearly three times the difference.
"...Insane."
Choi Seoyoon showed a shocked reaction too.
"Ah, no way. How did they fight to finish in under 3 minutes?"
Yoo Ara thought the same.
At this point, it was like they knew the monster's weakness and targeted it.
Ah, Kim Sunwoo might actually be capable of that...
"...Kim Sunwoo."
Yoo Ara gritted her teeth.
In the previous captain battle, he had been incredibly reliable as an ally, but as an enemy, he was just as tricky.
"...If it's gonna be like this, they should've put us on the same team for the finals instead of midterms."
Yoo Ara felt unfairly aggrieved for no reason.
Flash!
The event ended, and they returned to their original location.
In my hand now was the 1st place reward box from this event.
I finally got it.
The 1v1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.
With this, I could attempt to force an early exit for Park Inhwan, the biggest obstacle to my overall 5th place.
For reference, the special reward was given to only one person, so I asked Lee Seojun and decided I'd use it.
"Heh."
I quietly chuckled and opened the box.
Inside the box was a single small ticket.
['1v1 Colosseum Summon Ticket' acquired.]
[Designate a desired opponent for a 1v1 battle.]
No reason to drag it out, so I immediately infused mana into the ticket.
The mana-infused ticket emitted a small light. Soon, a 'voice' echoed in my ear.
[Using 1v1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.]
[Please state the desired opponent's team and name.]
"Team C, Park Inhwan."
[Team C, Park Inhwan. Found.]
[Summon to the Colosseum immediately?]
"Yes."
[Confirmed.]
[Team C Park Inhwan, summoning to the Colosseum.]
Light flashed again, and the scenery changed.
I looked around. True to its name Colosseum, it looked just like the Roman Colosseum transplanted here.
[Entered the Colosseum.]
[Only the surviving winner can escape this place.]
Looking ahead, I saw Park Inhwan, bewildered by the sudden summon.
Our eyes met soon enough.
Park Inhwan stared at me with eyes full of bewilderment. Smiling at him, I said.
"Hey, Inhwan. Long time no see."