Inter-Squad Battle (5): Debrief and Doubts
Instinctive disgust and wariness flickered in Baek Seo-rin's eyes.
"What are you?"
But no answer came.
I've pulled it out, but how the hell do I use this thing?
While Do-gyeol pondered internally, Baek Seo-rin gripped her spear tighter and widened the distance. A clear defensive stance.
Do-gyeol... were you hiding your power on purpose?
Meanwhile, the chat window was exploding.
Do-gyeol tilted his head.
Why are they making such a huge fuss?
"...Summoning a shikigami."
"That kid who barely awakened his Yeong-an during the entrance exam already created a sorcery formula?"
"What the hell is up with that kid's talent?"
The teachers were in collective panic. Some were even gearing up to grab Pi Yu-jun by the collar and shake him.
"Teacher Pi! What the hell did you teach that student?!"
"If you've got a crash course like that, share it at the next staff meeting right now!"
But Pi Yu-jun didn't respond. He couldn't.
That guy...
He was so shocked that the lollipop fell from his mouth, rolling across the floor.
That's not a sorcery formula or a shikigami.
Heart image manifestation? No, it didn't feel quite like that either.
Whatever it was, it was astonishing. But there was one fatal flaw.
Unlike shikigami that only consumed yeong-ryeok at summoning, this was a primitive method that drained it continuously in real-time.
It's an absurd sensation, but at this rate...
Do-gyeol eyed Baek Seo-rin and thought,
Can I pull off perceptual distortion like in the tunnel?
At that moment, Baek Seo-rin's aura shifted. But only for an instant.
His yeong-ryeok drained rapidly, and the distortion on her snapped free almost immediately.
What? Did dodging her attack eat up too much yeong-ryeok? The form's still holding, though?
Baek Seo-rin didn't miss the opening. The moment her mind cleared, her spear blade surged toward the familiar.
Shwick—
The familiar was cleanly bisected. Yet Do-gyeol's lips curled into a grin.
Baek Seo-rin had fallen under another status effect.
"Oh, didn't mention? This guy's a barrier spirit. What'd you go grabbing it for?"
Do-gyeol approached and scooped up the spiritual object. Then it hit him.
Come to think of it, she was holding onto the spiritual object...
If his hands had been free, he wouldn't have dodged at all. Thank god he was fighting in the Gonryongpo robe.
With the inter-squad battle over, the Je-ryeong Class students gathered once more.
They were all sweat-soaked and caked in dirt, but the mood was dead serious.
"This is the evaluation sheet with feedback from the observing teachers. Read it and use it to sharpen yourselves."
Pi Yu-jun strode among them, handing out crisp stacks of paper one by one.
He paused in front of Do-gyeol.
"Take that outfit off already."
"Right here?"
As Do-gyeol started to strip, Pi Yu-jun reached out to stop him.
"No, no—don't. Just keep it on."
The other kids' eyes snapped to them. It sounded like he was giving away a spiritual object.
"It's just a robe anyway. You think we'd put real spiritual objects in your exam? They could get wrecked. Anyway, you did great today—keep it if you like it."
Do-gyeol wasn't refusing; he looked thrilled, flapping the Gonryongpo's hem.
"Thanks! Can I wear this instead of my uniform?"
"Your call."
Pi Yu-jun turned to the group.
"I hope this exam taught you how to handle interpersonal combat during missions with your teammates. Squad 1, who took first, will be thrown into a real combat mission soon, as I mentioned."
Jealousy and envy flashed in the students' eyes.
"Go rest up today. Pore over your evaluations and agonize over your weaknesses. Dismissed."
After showering, Do-gyeol flopped onto his bed and unfolded the evaluation sheet from Pi Yu-jun.
I can guess what the others got.
Pretty obvious, right? For Kang Hak, overwhelming firepower as a strength, but concerns over power loss from poor emotional control. For Baek Seo-rin, great judgment and mobility in striking weak points, but warnings about underestimating foes and getting sloppy. For Seo Tae-yun, praise for leadership in trusting and delegating to teammates, but notes on weak crisis response. For Yun Ga-eun, compliments on her courage in holding formation against 2-on-1 odds or tough opponents.
But.
Be honest. What did you learn? I wanna add it to the curriculum, but your homeroom teacher won't tell me.
Come see me in the staff room later. Or I'll come to you.
I had stuff to tell you but forgot it all.
"...What the hell is this?"
Do-gyeol stared at his sheet in bewilderment.
This is supposed to be feedback? There's literally none of that.
"Zero nutritional value."
As he grumbled, someone knocked.
"Who's there?"
He opened the door to find Seo Tae-yun.
"You again? Why do you keep barging into my room?"
"Wanna do it outside today. Come on."
"Can't forget that thrill from last time, huh?"
"That hurt 'cause you went overboard. Drop it."
"Aww, poor Tae-yunnie's hurting?"
Do-gyeol teased playfully, then sensed someone behind Seo Tae-yun.
"But who's back there...?"
"Oh, Yun Ga-eun."
Seo Tae-yun stepped aside, revealing Yun Ga-eun frozen with a dazed look. Her face was tomato-red.
"What's up with her?"
"Beats me."
Do-gyeol tilted his head and flung the door wide.
"Come in anyway. Better than outside."
Seo Tae-yun flinched, but Yun Ga-eun glanced around and nodded.
"Yeah, whatever. She's here too."
He turned to her.
"Let's go in. Called you both to do this together."
"I-in the r-room? T-together? W-what, what are we doing together?!"
Yun Ga-eun's voice cracked. Steam practically poured from her ears.
"What else? Review today's inter-squad battle, obviously."
"Oh! R-right! Haha... hahaha!"
Yun Ga-eun squeaked like a broken wooden doll and darted inside first.
"...Seriously, what's her deal?"
"I said I don't know."
The room buzzed with a full debrief.
"Kang Hak—next time, the same approach won't cut it."
"Yeah. He looked pretty pissed."
Do-gyeol replied, but Seo Tae-yun countered.
"Not just that. He didn't even fully deploy his sorcery today."
The explanation continued earnestly.
"His flames are high-density energy brushing plasma territory at base. I have the elemental edge, but at the level I blocked today, I couldn't weaken those flames."
Do-gyeol's eyes widened.
"Then how'd you block it?"
"He doesn't realize it himself. The moment he sets his own limits and believes them, they become reality—and his power actually drops."
Seo Tae-yun fiddled with his cup and added,
"But keep in mind—he could realize it anytime and come at us harder."
Listening, something clicked for Do-gyeol. He'd felt an oddity in combat too.
"Come to think of it, me too... Nah, forget it."
"What? Don't leave me hanging—what?"
Yun Ga-eun leaned in curiously.
"Huh? Nothing."
He'd figured dodging Kang Hak's attacks came from getting familiar with his yeong-ryeok flow from all the messing around. But thinking back, he'd barely dodged Baek Seo-rin's spear thrusts too.
Even with the spiritual object in hand...
He'd never even touched Baek Seo-rin'syeong-ryeok wavelength before, yet he'd evaded better than expected.
It's not familiarity with wavelengths... Did my perception really sharpen like Ga-eun said?
Do-gyeol pondered silently.
"What were you gonna say?"
"If you don't wanna..."
As Seo Tae-yun backed off considerately, Do-gyeol spoke up. No need to seem secretive from his team.
"Nah, it's not that. Back at the exam ground, I summoned a spirit."
"Right! I was gonna ask how you beat Baek Seo-rin! Was that it? What spirit? How?!"
Yun Ga-eun buzzed with excitement.
"Nothing special. Just mimicked some tropical fish. But man, it guzzled yeong-ryeok like crazy. Thought I was gonna die keeping it up—that's what I meant."
He smoothly shifted to Seo Tae-yun.
"But how do you summon those tropical fish like breathing? Insanely cool."
Seo Tae-yun looked puzzled, like he had no idea what he meant.
"What's impressive? Barely any yeong-ryeok drain."
"...Huh? Even maintaining the form felt like it was sucking me dry."
"Guess our methods differ. Mine only costs at summon—no extra after."
What?
Do-gyeol's eyes blinked rapidly.
"If it was the same, you'd be way more efficient than me since you're better at handling yeong-ryeok. So yeah, different."
As Do-gyeol still looked lost, the chat window rambled on.
"Aha!"
Do-gyeol smacked his knee in perfect understanding.
Seo Tae-yun and Yun Ga-eun exchanged What the...? looks.
Seo Tae-yun broke the silence.
"So, how long you keeping that robe on?"
"Huh? This?"
Do-gyeol glanced down at the Gonryongpo.
"Isn't it cool? Thinking of wearing it instead of uniform from now on."
"...You'll stand out too much. Everyone'll stare."
Yun Ga-eun said worriedly.
"That's a plus?"
Do-gyeol jumped up, flapping the hem dramatically.
"Citizens! Applaud your hero!"
"Take it off if you don't wanna look like a clown."
Seo Tae-yun recoiled.
"Here?"
As Do-gyeol reached for the hem, Yun Ga-eun's face exploded red again. She whipped her head away but sneaked peeks.
"Anyway."
Do-gyeol paused and asked her,
"That real mission we got—is it like the tunnel last time?"
"Huh? W-what?"
"Like the off-campus training?"
Yun Ga-eun cleared her throat, cooling her flushed face, and answered seriously.
"Nah, kinda different."
"Different how?"
"Yeah. Real missions aren't just 'exorcise and done' like school drills. They're based on all kinds of requests."
Her eyes turned grave.
"Depending on the request, it might not even be exorcism."