Midterm Exam (2)
Do-gyeol's gaze turned to Yun Ga-eun, but he immediately shook his head. 'Yun Ga-eun said herself she bombed it, so pass.'
Next, his eyes landed on Seo Tae-yun. The elite of elites. Even in his casual "Eh, whatever" response earlier, there'd been this inexplicable confidence. Plus, Do-gyeol had poked at the guy's yeong-ryeok plenty of times already. Reading it would be a breeze—perfect.
'Alright, Seo Tae-yun! You're the one!'
Scratch-scratch.
Do-gyeol's hand began mirroring Seo Tae-yun's movements.
The chat's snickering soon picked up on something off.
Amid the chat's dumbfounded admiration, Do-gyeol suppressed the grin spreading across his face.
'You learn sorcery to use it, right?'
Who says it's only for real combat? Nah. This was practical application at its finest.
*
"Urgh!"
Finishing the written exam, Do-gyeol stretched with a sense of relief.
"You look so refreshed."
At Seo Tae-yun's question, Do-gyeol's lips curved into a smile.
"Thanks to you."
"Thanks to me?"
"Written exam's over. Thanks to you, I feel refreshed."
"Don't get too relaxed. Midterms aren't done yet."
As Seo Tae-yun said, the practical exam remained. After lunch, the students gathered at the exam site—precisely, the entrance.
"Good work on the written exam. Now for what you really need to shine at: jujul practical evaluation."
Pi Yu-jun, standing at the entrance, jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"The entrance you see behind me is the maze starting point."
"Maze?"
The kids' heads tilted.
"The test is simple. Get through the maze. Enter from here, find the exit, and come out."
Pi Yu-jun added, rolling the lollipop in his mouth.
"Individual runs. One at a time, and once you're out, wait at the designated spot."
This prevented early finishers from giving hints to the next.
"If you've steadily practiced yeong-ryeok control like I emphasized on day one, you'll get good results."
That was Pi Yu-jun's only hint. But for these elites, it wasn't even necessary—as the exam clearly showed.
Baek Seo-rin went first. She instantly grasped the subtle flows of environmental yeong-ryeok throughout the entire maze. Using that, she mapped it in her head. No need to even peek into dead ends.
Kang Hak's approach differed. He itched to smash the walls in front of him to bits. But he gritted his teeth.
'Bet smashing gets points deducted again.'
He recalled the time attack: his overwhelming speed, yet Pi Yu-jun had skinned him alive spiritually. The deductions Pi Yu-jun cited were binding his hands and feet.
'Swiftness with restraint and control. Ponder those points I mentioned, and your yeong-ryeok efficiency and spell precision will rise.'
Pi Yu-jun's voice echoed in his ears.
"Output control? Fine, I'll do it!"
Instead of smashing walls, he focused explosive output solely on his two feet.
Boom!
At corners, he'd slam the brakes, whip around, and accelerate again. Reckless sprinting, pushing explosive output and restraint to the limit.
And Seo Tae-yun. He just moved steadily and swiftly. No hesitation whatsoever. Reading environmental yeong-ryeok and navigating simultaneously, traversing the optimal route like a machine.
Pi Yu-jun nodded as he watched them. Information gathering and power restraint. These three embodied the model answers he'd demanded from his first-years.
And finally.
Do-gyeol's turn.
The maze was solid concrete, sealed on all sides. Paths were wide, ceiling high. But definitely sealed.
'Can't just jump over.'
That thought was fleeting. Do-gyeol grasped the principle instantly.
First. Map it in your head based on environmental yeong-ryeok flows.
Second. Cross-reference the map with your current position to find the exit.
Yun Ga-eun had told him: the higher the opponent's level, the trickier it is to read yeong-ryeok flows. But this was ownerless environmental yeong-ryeok.
'This? I could do blindfolded.'
As Do-gyeol grinned leisurely—
The chat exploded suddenly.
Only then did Do-gyeol realize his state. He'd been unconsciously slurping up the surrounding yeong-ryeok.
"Shit! Habits are scary!"
He knew it. Absorbing all the environmental yeong-ryeok would wipe out the map guiding him.
'Like smashing your own compass when you get lost mid-way. Total idiot move.'
He hurriedly stopped the absorption. But the real problem was elsewhere.
'Knowing the maze layout doesn't mean you can navigate it!'
Figuring out the maze was just completing the puzzle frame. Navigating it was the actual game.
'And do it all in your head? Am I a genius?!'
As Do-gyeol scowled to a halt, the devil's whisper rose in the chat.
Do-gyeol's eyes sparkled. He already knew where this was going!
Do-gyeol's lips split into a grin. That method would let him blast straight to the exit once he pinpointed it.
'Nice! Simple!'
Do-gyeol proudly extended his hand toward the wall—then paused.
Pi Yu-jun's words flashed through his mind.
'Raze the op area and call it mission complete?'
Why Kang Hak beat Seo Tae-yun's time attack record but still got second. They'd set time as the metric, but hadn't judged solely on speed.
'Teacher didn't say explicitly, but won't be different this time.'
Do-gyeol withdrew his hand.
As the chat grew rowdy, Do-gyeol placed his hand on the wall again.
"Wonder if this'll work."
'No, that's not the issue.'
Do-gyeol muttered inwardly. Explosion method was scrapped long ago.
'But injecting yeong-ryeok... tempting.'
With that thought, he began injecting yeong-ryeok into the wall. And he recalled.
The basics of Sigyeong, the principle eliminating side effects: wavelength conversion. Perfect frequency match eliminates repulsion.
'So, dismantle and rearrange the wall's structure to eliminate repulsion.'
Twist the injected yeong-ryeok to alter the structure. Hold it so it doesn't scatter.
Do both, and he could pass through without destroying the wall.
'Way easier than shaping and holding external yeong-ryeok.'
At that moment, the wall's wavelength began syncing with Do-gyeol's unique subtle vibration.
Soon, the space around his palm rippled faintly.
Slurp.
Like dipping into a calm lake. Or passing through a hologram. Do-gyeol's hand was sucked into the wall.
"Oh."
No destruction, no debris. His body simply overlapped the concrete like a ghost, coexisting in the space.
"It works."
Do-gyeol's grin stretched to his ears. Without hesitation, he stepped toward the wall.
Shoulder in, chest in, head vanishing smoothly into the wall.
"……."
Silence fell between the chat and Do-gyeol for a moment.
And then.
Question marks flooded the chat window.