Chapter 235
Chapter 235
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: A Condition
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“A condition?”
Lee Seo-jun’s face twisted in confusion at my words.
“A condition? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I mean it literally. I’ll yield first place to you, so just do me one favor.”
“What favor?”
Lee Seo-jun asked with a curious look on his face.
“Nothing big. Just match my pace in this exam.”
My goals for this Seongmu Festival came down to three.
First: Make Lee Seo-jun win to secure the Hero’s Blessing.
Second: Ensure Jaun successfully acquires his Inner Self.
Third: Keep Daria alive.
The first and second aligned with the original story’s flow and would leave Lee Seo-jun with growth as the result.
The second one especially was essential. In the process of controlling his Inner Self, Jaun’s vast mana would spill out, granting Lee Seo-jun massive growth.
The third...
Was my personal desire.
Insurance to thrive in a changing future, I suppose?
Either way, succeeding in all three would net Lee Seo-jun’s growth, Daria’s survival, and her trust.
To achieve that success, I needed to coordinate with Lee Seo-jun in advance.
But Lee Seo-jun had many questions left from my answer and asked again.
“Why do I need to match your pace? Explain properly.”
“I’m helping someone in this exam.”
It was an unexpected answer, and Lee Seo-jun’s expression shifted briefly.
“...Helping who? Who is it?”
“Daria Taran.”
Lee Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
“Daria? Why are you helping her?”
This was going to take a while.
Half-baked lies could shatter trust with Lee Seo-jun, so I decided to tell the truth.
With that, I began Daria’s story.
Of course, some parts might seem suspicious if told raw, so I embellished a bit.
The story of how I’d coincidentally seen Daria being blackmailed over the phone by Jaun, who’d kidnapped her little brother.
And how that voice matched Bert’s from last year’s mercenary class.
After that, I’d met Daria privately, talked it over, and heard detailed explanations about the summoning stone.
“...Is that true?”
Lee Seo-jun’s face was filled with shock after hearing everything.
“All of it’s true.”
“...These damn scum!”
Lee Seo-jun clenched his fist tight.
He couldn’t hold back his anger at Jaun’s despicable act.
It was an intolerable situation for the righteous Lee Seo-jun.
It was the exact reaction I’d expected from him, so I felt oddly relieved.
“So, will you help?”
“Of course I will. Lives are at stake.”
I gave a small smile.
“Then I’ll explain the plan from now on.”
Nine hours into the final exam of the Seongmu Festival.
“Haaah—!”
Lily Rose felled the Nightmare before her.
The Nightmare’s body broke down, leaving behind a single small orb. Lily picked it up, satisfied with her clean victory.
Click!
She slotted the orb into a groove in the wall, and the door to the next stage opened.
“Easy peasy~”
Lily stepped inside with light footsteps.
The scenery shifted, revealing a vast forest.
She looked around in wonder, then drew the sword from her waist.
Shing—
Gripping her sword, Lily tensed her body, ready for combat at any moment.
Because crossing stages meant the chance of running into other students.
Lily had beaten every student she’d encountered so far.
Teaming up was an option worth considering, but Lily preferred solo play over teamwork.
She took up her stance and scanned the surrounding walls. With no reaction, she relaxed.
“...Looks like no one in this stage.”
Good. Fighting other students was a hassle.
That was when it happened.
Vwooom!
A mechanical engine roar echoed in her ears, and an empty space opened.
Someone soon stepped into the stage from within.
“...You?”
The person looked at Lily in surprise.
Lily eyed her opponent with displeasure.
No personal connection, but a familiar face.
She’d seen it countless times while investigating Kim Sun-woo.
“...Choi Seo-yoon.”
At Lily’s call, Choi Seo-yoon’s eyes sharpened.
Choi Seo-yoon clearly wasn’t thrilled about the encounter either.
Then Lily felt puzzled.
From her investigation, Choi Seo-yoon was sociable.
But the gaze directed at her now brimmed with heavy wariness.
No, not wariness—more like disgust or contempt?
We’d never even talked before today, so why feel that way toward me?
She quickly shook off the suspicion.
It’s an exam. Of course reactions get sensitive.
Don’t mind it.
“Hi. First time talking, right? You know me?”
Lily smiled and spoke warmly.
She planned to lower her guard just enough, then eliminate her.
But Choi Seo-yoon didn’t reply.
She just stared with those wary eyes.
Then she finally answered.
“Yeah. The attention-whore stalker from SNS.”
“...Attention-whore, what? What did you just say?”
Lily’s eyes widened in fury at the sudden provocation.
Anyone else might’ve flinched at that menacing glare, but Choi Seo-yoon didn’t budge.
“Attention-whore stalker. Always posting Kim Sun-woo sunbae’s pics on SNS to fish for attention. You’re not gonna deny it, are you?”
“Hey! That was just fan love!”
“Fan love? Oh~ Did the definition of fan love change?”
No comeback.
It was twisted enough that calling it pure fan love felt off.
“Fine. Let’s fight then. You’re dead!”
Fuming to the top of her head, Lily gripped her sword and drew up her mana.
Choi Seo-yoon quickly manifested an ice spear, bracing for the attack.
Just as battle was about to erupt.
[14 hours have passed since entering the Dream World.]
[Announcing the leader.]
[The current leaders are Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sun-woo, tackling the 8th stage.]
Lily and Choi Seo-yoon froze in place at the sudden announcement.
“...Kim Sun-woo and Lee Seo-jun?”
Them leading together meant they were teamed up. Lily felt absurd.
“No way that’s fair. Those two on a team?”
This is bad. That duo? What kind of cheat combo is that?
Before that, tackling the 8th stage? This is only the 6th...
Stages take longer as they go, so that’s a huge gap.
At this rate, she’d hand over victory without a fight.
Lily ground her teeth and glared at Choi Seo-yoon.
She’d planned to casually knock her out, but needed to change plans.
No choice now—she’d ally with Choi Seo-yoon to close the gap on Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sun-woo.
“Hey. You hear that?”
Choi Seo-yoon nodded at Lily’s question.
“If we fight each other, we’ll never catch them.”
“Let’s ally.”
Choi Seo-yoon seemed to ponder briefly, then spoke.
“No thanks.”
“What? You giving up on winning?”
“No. Even teaming with you doesn’t look like it’ll reclaim first.”
“You ignoring me...”
That was when it happened.
The voice rang in their heads again.
[Announcing the second-place leader.]
[Daria Taran, tackling the 7th stage.]
“...Huh? Did I hear that wrong?”
Lily blinked.
Choi Seo-yoon, who’d seen Daria as a rival, looked genuinely flustered this time.
“Daria’s tackling the 7th stage?”
16 hours into the exam.
“...This it?”
After twists and turns, Lee Seo-jun and I found what looked like the portal to the final stage.
A black dot floating in the air.
Just approaching it sent strong waves of mana.
Per the original description, touching this black spot transported you to where the Inner Self hid.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Lee Seo-jun and I touched the black spot without delay.
Space warped simultaneously, dropping us into a new area.
[Entered the Inner Sanctuary.]
[Your Inner Self detects your entry.]
[Find and touch the hidden Inner Self in the sanctuary.]
[Achievement: Dream Space Entry unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
I slowly looked around.
An empty space where black and white blended like paints.
“...This the final stage?”
“Seems like it.”
Lee Seo-jun scanned around with complicated thoughts in his eyes.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
“Yeah?”
“You said earlier you’d make me first.”
“Yeah.”
More like letting fate play out as planned, but.
“I hate handouts or yields for first. Let’s compete for real.”
I looked at Lee Seo-jun’s face.
He stared at me with utterly serious eyes.
Classic Lee Seo-jun, always chasing fairness.
I met his gaze and shook my head.
“Nah. You win. I’ve got no desire for first.”
“No desire? Winning here gets you a blessing. How could you not want that?”
That’s exactly why I’m yielding.
If it were just money and fame, I wouldn’t mind winning, but the blessing was power Lee Seo-jun absolutely needed.
My interference couldn’t leave him weaker than in the original.
“Nah, no desire.”
But Lee Seo-jun didn’t know my intentions.
He stared at me like, how could you have no desire for victory?
He thought I was forcing the yield.
“Whatever, Kim Sun-woo. You give it your all too. Slack off and I won’t let it slide.”
Lee Seo-jun’s voice was firm.
No benefit in him hating me, so I nodded reluctantly.
Pretend to try hard, then yield. Fine.
We advanced into the sanctuary. Lee Seo-jun, staring ahead, suddenly spoke.
“By the way, when’s Daria showing?”
“Probably right around when victory’s decided. Announcement said she’s just one stage behind us.”
“Second-year and that fast.”
I chuckled softly instead of answering.
No need to mention the enhancer’s effect.
We kept walking.
After about 10 minutes straight, a human-like figure of mixed black and white with runes etched all over appeared.
It matched the original description, so I knew that was the Inner Self.
[I’ve been waiting. Lee Seo-jun, Kim Sun-woo.]
“You the Inner Self?”
Lee Seo-jun asked.
The Inner Self nodded.
[Yes. I am the Inner Self hidden in the Demon of Observation. If your hands touch my body, you become the exam’s ultimate victor. Of course, I won’t allow it easily.]
Muttering that, the Inner Self chuckled softly and turned its gaze to me.
No eyes, so hard to tell if it was looking right at me, but its head faced me, so probably.
[...Well, the future’s changed like this. Never expected this situation. Interesting. Heh.]
“...What’re you talking about?”
[I’m not fully free, but I feel a sliver of it now. A sensation I’ve never known in life. Probably because of you...]
The Inner Self trailed off, glancing at Lee Seo-jun.
Muttering weird stuff about freedom all of a sudden.
Of course, I vaguely grasped what it meant by “freedom.”
Freedom from the “laws of the world,” like it’d told me before.
But the apostle said no one in this world could gain freedom.
Yet now it felt free?
Then the Inner Self spoke.
[I’ve rambled too long. Let’s begin the exam. As I said, the moment your body touches mine, the exam ends.]
Sss...
With those words, smoke rose around the Inner Self.
The smoke turned into dozens of black and white tentacles, wriggling grotesquely.
[Since I’m enjoying this freedom, I’ll double the difficulty from standard. Stay sharp, or one of you drops out. Give it your best.]
For a moment, I panicked.
...Double the difficulty?