Chapter 106: Final Exam (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Final Exam (2)
The explanation of the game's structure was more or less finished.
Tension and excitement crossed the students' faces, and some were already whispering as if planning their strategies.
But the most important part was yet to come.
Team assignments.
The Blue Team and the White Team.
The question of how to divide the two sides, which would face off by alternating between offense and defense, would decide the exam.
They had to be formed rationally, in a way that wouldn't upset the balance.
Breaking the brief silence, the Chairman stepped forward.
“We have chosen the fairest and most perfect method.”
As he spoke, familiar words appeared on the screen.
『Odd Ranking – Blue Team』
『Even Ranking – White Team』
It was simple.
1st, 3rd, 5th... were on the Blue Team.
2nd, 4th, 6th... were on the White Team.
As an answer to the question of balance, it seemed Gaon had presented the option of odd and even numbers.
“The rankings are the result of your own efforts. No one can deny them.”
The Chairman said with a proud smile.
Well, he wasn't wrong.
However, there was another problem.
There were students who currently had no rank.
Special admission students like me who didn't have an official rank, or students like Yoon Chae-ha and Joo Seo-jun who had transferred from Carlos.
The remaining issue was how to place these special cases.
That question didn't last long.
“For your information, for the students who have not been assigned a rank, an internal sorting was conducted based on their midterm exam and exchange match performance, as well as their practical evaluation scores.”
“We declare that these results were also fairly and automatically assigned according to Gaon's unique algorithm.”
It was a case of adding a reasonable amount of intervention on top of the established rules.
This much was understandable.
And finally, the confirmed compositions of the two teams were announced.
-Ding-
-Ding-
Dozens of names scrolled by, but I picked out only the most important people and committed them to memory.
[Blue Team - Odd Ranking]
[Rank 1 Kang A-rin]
[Rank 5 Yu Hana]
[Rank 19 Ha Sion]
[Unranked Joo Seo-jun]
[White Team – Even Ranking]
[Rank 2 Yohan]
[Rank 4 Cheon Yeo-wool]
[Unranked Yoon Chae-ha]
[Unranked Jung Hae-in]
As an unranked student, I was assigned to the same team as Yoon Chae-ha.
Joo Seo-jun was on the opposite side.
They might have been split up on the pretext of the synergy he had shown while participating in the exchange match with Chae-ha.
The Blue Team had Kang A-rin and Yu Hana, along with Ha Sion, whose raw power was not inferior to theirs.
On the other hand, the White Team was a combination of Cheon Yeo-wool, Yohan, me, and Yoon Chae-ha.
The overall balance—in my opinion, was quite good.
Neither team was extremely lopsided, and both were structured to operate around their core powerhouses.
The Blue Team could center around Kang A-rin or Yu Hana.
The White Team could center around Cheon Yeo-wool, Yohan, or even... Yoon Chae-ha.
They could be operated freely in any way.
It didn't look bad.
“Looks like we're on the same team.”
Cheon Yeo-wool, who was sitting next to me, spoke first.
With the corners of her lips slightly raised, she pointed a finger at the Gaon map displayed on her watch screen.
The Heavenly Martial Hall on the screen. It was a building located right in the middle of Gaon's lecture hall complex.
“Come here when it starts.”
She added with a wide, playful grin.
“Let's stick together.”
It was an invitation to stick together.
At that moment, a voice piped up from my quiet right side.
“Okay.”
But it wasn't me who answered.
Yoon Chae-ha had replied nonchalantly.
Cheon Yeo-wool turned her head in that direction.
The finger she had lightly placed on the screen stopped.
“...And who asked you?”
“I'll go too. We're on the same team, so what?”
Yoon Chae-ha retorted indifferently.
Cheon Yeo-wool's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
She had no grounds to refute it, and logically, it made sense.
After staring at me for a long moment, Cheon Yeo-wool opened her mouth.
“You comin'?”
I looked at her for a moment, then slowly turned my head.
"No. A little later.“
The corners of Cheon Yeo-wool's mouth faltered and fell.
I had something I needed to take care of.
Because this exam had several hidden secrets.
And one of them was the Resurrection Point.
If you reached that place, which existed somewhere on the battlefield, you could pay points to resurrect a designated eliminated player, regardless of whether they were on the Blue or White Team.
However, the price was ‘Subordination.’
The person's body and mind, as well as a certain number of their points, would belong to the one who resurrected them.
In many ways, they would become a faithful servant to their reviver.
And since the person themselves was being given a new chance, they had no choice but to work hard.
Besides that, numerous other undisclosed hidden elements were scattered throughout that area.
That's why I couldn't meet up with them right away.
“I have a few things to take care of. Just until the offense and defense switch once.”
I said with a smile, craning my neck to look at both of them.
“Why don't you two try sticking together for a bit?”
In that instant, both of their expressions twisted at the same time.
*
The final exam briefing in the auditorium ended.
We were walking out in the hallway.
The exam was about one or two weeks away.
-Ding.-
A notification arrived on my and Yoon Chae-ha's watches.
[Time to assemble~~]
It was a summons from the Club President, posted in the Board Game Club's group chat.
For the club president, who usually went around saying, ‘Attendance is optional, leaving is even more optional,’ to call for an assembly herself...
It was a truly unusual summons, so Yoon Chae-ha and I headed for the clubroom.
The problem was.
“Why are you following us?”
Cheon Yeo-wool was there with us.
“I've got nothing better to do.”
“What do you mean you have nothing to do...”
I was about to point out Cheon Yeo-wool's written exam scores, but.
“Hee.”
Cheon Yeo-wool met my gaze with a soft, nasal laugh.
Come to think of it, she did well on the last exam.
I had no intention of discouraging someone who had done well.
I just quietly shut my mouth.
“Fine.”
Actually, the Board Game Club had its fair share of outside visitors.
As long as they followed the rule that at least one club member had to be present.
In that respect, there was no reason Cheon Yeo-wool couldn't come in.
We opened the clubroom door and stepped inside.
For some reason, the chairs were neatly arranged in rows.
The three of us were the last to arrive.
As the door closed, the Club President, who was organizing something at the front, looked up.
“Oh, you're here...”
Then her gaze froze.
Jo Seoyeon's eyes went past me and Yoon Chae-ha, stopping on Cheon Yeo-wool.
"Who are you?"
At that moment.
“Hello. I just came by to visit for a bit.”
As if she'd been this way all along, Cheon Yeo-wool smiled, elegantly tucking her hair behind her ear.
Her voice was soft and polite.
Her usual playful attitude was nowhere to be seen; she even bowed her head slightly, appearing quite well-mannered.
“What the...”
Yoon Chae-ha and I got goosebumps at the same time.
“Ah, yes, yes. Please make yourself comfortable?”
Jo Seoyeon also seemed bewildered and flustered, but she didn't try to stop her.
So the three of us quietly sat down, and a short while later, Jo Seoyeon stepped forward.
“Alright, everyone. I have an important announcement today.”
She clapped her hands lightly, settling the atmosphere.
“I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Instantly, voices overlapped from all over: "The good news!" "Bad news first!"
Voices clashed from every direction.
Jo Seoyeon listened to it all and said with a smile.
“Let's start with the good news, shall we? Glory is going to sponsor our club, Lexium, in a big way!!!!”
“Woooah!”
The clubroom erupted.
“Really?”
“From Glory?”
“We can finally get rid of some of these old-fashioned games!”
It was common for corporations to sponsor Gaon's clubs.
But a board game club, not a combat club, was usually far from being a target for sponsorship.
To be sure, Gaon itself provided support that was second to none, but the latest magitech board games were ultimately too expensive.
Therefore, receiving support from an outside corporation was an unparalleled stroke of good fortune.
I wasn't sure if an event like this had happened in the original story, but it was good news regardless.
Jo Seoyeon swept her hair back and continued proudly.
“Starting with a clubroom remodel! Full-dive magitech board games! And on top of that, the newest simulators... Isn't it great?”
“Yeah!”
Cheers and applause erupted from all around.
Cheon Yeo-wool was also clapping, her hands neatly folded.
Just then, Jo Seoyeon gave a slight shrug and spoke again.
“Now for the bad news.”
She deliberately paused, slowly looking around the clubroom.
“I mentioned the clubroom remodeling earlier, right?”
she said, raising a hand high.
At her words, a few students seemed to guess what was coming and let out a sigh.
“For one month! The club is closing~~”
The hand she held high had all its fingers folded down except for one.
“Ah...”
“Can't be helped...”
The entire clubroom grew gloomy.
“But it's a relief that we'll be able to use it after the final exams, right?”
Jo Seoyeon added, as if that were any consolation.
At the mention of final exams, the atmosphere became even more somber.
“So let's see each other again then—alive~”
She made a heart shape with her hands and smiled playfully.
But no one laughed.