Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Crushing the Green Giant
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I planned to target only the weak points of that unknown monster in this exam, distributing my mana appropriately so no one else would notice.
I already knew the Green Giant's weak points.
Thanks to the outsider's blessing, the Green Giant's weak points were shining brightly.
Grrrrr...
The Green Giant's rough breathing echoed. A massive frame over 2 meters tall.
The pressure from its gaze looking down at me was intense.
Even though the monster before me was just a puppet summoned by a summoning wizard, it gave the illusion of facing a real monster.
Graaaah!
It let out a roar. Now I was starting to doubt if it really was just a puppet.
"Huu..."
I took a deep breath and immediately charged into battle.
I extended my hand, manifested a magic sphere, and fired it at the creature.
Boom-!
But it simply wrapped its arms around itself and blocked it easily. Its tough hide only suffered minor scratches, nothing major.
It was the expected result. The Green Giant's skin had strong resistance to magic. But this was just a simple probe to gauge its level.
I immediately concentrated mana in my lower body.
I kicked off the ground with legs reinforced by mana and rushed toward it.
—Whoa!
The audience erupted in cheers, not expecting such an aggressive charge from a manifestation wizard.
As I closed the distance, it swung a fist at me.
I ducked low and slid between its legs.
The Green Giant's fist sliced through empty air. It flailed around, searching for my position.
But it wouldn't find me. I was right behind it.
Two magic spheres floated above my hands.
The Green Giant's hide was tough with strong magic resistance.
But even that Green Giant had two areas where the hide was relatively weaker.
The first was the back of its knees.
I unleashed magic at both of its kneepits.
Boom!
Graaaack!
The Green Giant screamed and dropped to its knees. First effective hit.
I immediately aimed at its next weak point.
The second was the nape connecting its head and torso.
I targeted the Green Giant's exposed neck.
A transparent light magic sphere manifested above my hand. Unlike before, I compressed and reinforced the mana.
This should be enough to pierce its neck.
I fired straight at its neck.
Whiiiish!
KABOOM-!
The compressed magic sphere pierced its neck and slammed into the ground.
At the same time, a massive sound reverberated through the auditorium.
The Green Giant collapsed limply to the floor with a groan.
"Huu."
A battle so short I didn't even break a sweat.
[2nd Year Class A, Kim Sunwoo. Exam complete.]
My first exam ended just like that, anticlimactically.
After Kim Sunwoo's exam ended.
A lingering question about the battle hung over the audience seats.
It had been eerily silent at first, but gradually people came to their senses and murmured.
"What did I just see?"
"Yeah. The magic itself wasn't that impressive. But it flowed so naturally, like water."
That was how the audience evaluated Kim Sunwoo's combat exam they had just witnessed.
Some guild scouts hurriedly pulled up data on Kim Sunwoo and began writing reports.
"How many seconds did it take?"
"About 25?"
"Eh? That fast?"
[2nd Year Class A, Kim Sunwoo. 22.43 seconds.]
Woooah-!
Cheers erupted again from the audience as Kim Sunwoo's results appeared.
"Wow, what rank is that? Top 5, right?"
"How many seconds were the other top rankers?"
"Lee Seojun was 16, Yoo Ara 18."
"Only that much difference from them?"
"But are the kneepits and nape really weak points? The hide pierced so easily."
As the audience buzzed in confusion, Kim Deokhyeon, who had been quietly watching among them, muttered.
"That kid's got skills."
At Kim Deokhyeon's words, Jeong Hyeonsu beside him nodded with a stiff expression.
"Yeah. Honestly, his magic ability itself isn't that amazing. It's like a sense? Or combat instinct? Whatever it is, he's got a ton of it."
As Jeong Hyeonsu said, Kim Sunwoo's combat power itself wasn't exceptional.
His magic's destructive power was average, and while his mana-reinforced movements were quick, they weren't outstanding.
Yet he downed the Green Giant simply because he possessed an extraordinary combat sense unbelievable for an 18-year-old student.
But Kim Deokhyeon had doubts.
"Is that really just combat sense?"
"Yes?"
"It doesn't seem like something you're born with."
"Then what is it? You can't learn and mimic that at his age."
At Jeong Hyeonsu's question, Kim Deokhyeon closed his mouth briefly and pondered. Whether he should voice his absurd thought.
Soon, having sorted his thoughts, Kim Deokhyeon spoke.
"Experience."
"Pardon?"
"A sense born from countless battles."
"Pfft, where would an 18-year-old get that kind of experience?"
That was Kim Deokhyeon's question too.
If it was a sense honed from numerous battles, then where had he accumulated that experience?
"But I get what you're saying, sunbae. It did feel too seasoned for an 18-year-old to me too."
Exactly. Seasoned.
Especially at that age, students only fought using their specialty, none actively used their secondary skill like that.
Moreover, the bold forward charge without hesitation from a manifestation wizard was particularly impressive.
"Interesting."
Kim Deokhyeon watched Kim Sunwoo descend the stairs to the waiting room.
Even after the former dead last achieved the best result with his combat ability, he showed no great joy.
As if it were only natural.
"...Come to think of it, he used compressed manifestation back then too."
Kim Deokhyeon recalled the public ranking evaluation test uploaded to Mityube.
He had thought the kid neglected other training upon seeing him use compressed manifestation at that age.
But seeing him now, that wasn't the case.
Kim Deokhyeon grinned.
'Kim Sunwoo... I need to remember that name.'
I came down from the exam platform via the stairs.
The cheers from the audience behind gave a strange sense of pleasure.
As I stepped off the platform, countless messages popped up before my eyes.
['B-Rank Prospect'] achievement unlocked.
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
[6 characters you haven't met yet feel great curiosity toward you.]
[Reward: 5,000 points acquired.]
[Character 'Kim Deokhyeon' takes interest in you.]
[Reward: 1,000 points acquired.]
[Character 'Park Inhwan' feels humiliation toward you.]
[Reward: 1,000 points acquired.]
"Oh."
One exam netted me a whopping 9,000 points. Maybe because of the low expectations from being the school dead last, the effect was dramatic.
Arriving at the student waiting room, I felt countless stares directed at me. All filled with surprise.
"Sunwoo, that was awesome!"
"What are you? Why are you so good?"
Students stood from their seats and approached me.
A far cry from the public ranking evaluation test last time. How could people change so much?
I responded to them appropriately and returned to my seat.
Sitting down, I spotted Park Inhwan glaring at me from afar.
His eyes burned with anger, just like when he lost to me in the reinforcement running exam before.
'Come to think of it, there was a message about him feeling humiliated toward me...
Still, humiliation?
Does he have some grudge against me?
"Hmm..."
It seemed I'd stimulated Park Inhwan's inferiority complex.
Park Inhwan saw everyone except Lee Seojun, Yoo Ara, and Shin Youngjun as beneath him.
Then suddenly, the school dead last surges ahead, so it must irk him.
'What was his time again? 25 seconds?'
Mine was 22, so a 3-second gap.
3 seconds was a big difference.
From Park Inhwan's perspective, it was humiliating enough.
I met his gaze as he stared at me.
The absurdity of the situation made me chuckle.
'Acting like this against kids.'
At that moment, Park Inhwan's expression hardened.
He abruptly stood and stormed out of the waiting room in anger.
A dark alley not far from the Wizard Academy.
A man leaned against the wall, waiting for someone.
Then, a figure approached from the distance toward the man.
As time passed, a beautiful woman hidden in the shadows emerged under the bright moonlight.
"Cheonhae-nim. Long time no see."
"Yes, it's been a while. Jang Ye."
Cheonhae called her name in an indifferent tone.
Park Minye—no, Jang Ye—looked at Cheonhae and asked her question.
"Did you attend the 2nd years' exam today?"
"Yes."
"Did you find the 'Child of Prophecy'?"
"If I had, I wouldn't be here."
"I suppose so."
Jang Ye nodded quietly.
"Separate from that, I saw something more interesting than expected."
Cheonhae chuckled slightly, as if still baffled. Seeing that, Jang Ye grew curious.
"Something interesting? Ah, you mean Lee Seojun or Yoo Ara?"
"No, not them. Someone else."
"Who?"
"A kid who looks like Kim Jinwoo."
"Ah."
Jang Ye immediately knew who Cheonhae meant.
The arrogant 2nd-year who foolishly tried to flirt with her yesterday: Kim Sunwoo.
"You know him."
"Yes, I do."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he just resembles him."
She swallowed the incident from yesterday when Kim Sunwoo hit on her.
"It wasn't just resemblance. Maybe family?"
"No. He has no family."
"You investigated?"
"Yes. I checked his school registration documents. The family section was completely blank."
At Jang Ye's firm answer, Cheonhae looked into her eyes.
"Family section completely blank? Saying it like that makes me more suspicious. Humans don't lack family records entirely like that."
"What do you mean?"
"Something's off. The school dead last suddenly shows outstanding skill. He's drawing attention in various ways."
"You're saying he's Kim Jinwoo's hidden family?"
"I don't know for sure. But it's premature to say they have no connection at all."
...
Indeed, Kim Sunwoo's info was suspicious. No visible link to Kim Jinwoo, but far from normal.
'Maybe I should investigate separately.'
As Jang Ye thought to herself, Cheonhae suddenly said.
"That's that. The reason I asked to meet is something else I need to relay."
"Something to relay?"
"Yes. An order from the 'Ten Demon Society' itself."
...From the Ten Demon Society?
"In two days, to flush out the 'Child of Prophecy' hidden in the school, there will be a terrorist attack inside the Wizard Academy."
My magic ability evaluation exam today became a minor issue among the wizards.
I'd had mana shortages causing discharges, but in just a few weeks, I'd changed and scored high, so it made sense.
[Wizard Academy 2nd Year Ranking Dead Last's Current Status]
>Comments
[What? That kid from back then?]
[No way it's the same person. How does someone change that much in weeks?]
[1,000 people feel interest in you.]
[Reward: 5,000 points acquired.]
"Heh heh."
Thanks to that, points kept piling up in real time.
Even without extra effort like last time, my video drew massive attention.
[Points held: 21,500]
The exam effect, indeed.
I'd earned the target 20,000 points in a single day.
Once you stand out in a crowded space, earning points gets this easy.
Now that points are stacked, time to buy the subspace pocket.
[Mid-tier Subspace Pocket (A)]
Category: Special
Description: Store items in subspace. Maximum 30kg capacity.