Chapter 108: Final Exam (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 108: Final Exam (4)
Time flew by.
If you thought the atmosphere would be subdued because of the upcoming exam, you’d be mistaken.
Instead, both the Blue and White Teams were busy, gathering in their respective groups to strategize and exchange information.
As if to prove it, Gaon's cafe was also packed today.
What stood out most was how the cafe was perfectly divided, with the Blue Team on one side and the White Team on the other.
No one had assigned the seating, nor were there any partitions or signs. It was just that, without a word being said, the seating had naturally split.
“Sorry I’m a little late. I was putting a file together.”
I arrived a bit after our scheduled time.
As I made my way to what looked like the White Team's section, Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha looked up from their seats.
Throughout the exam period, the three of us had been moving together as if we were a single team.
I tapped my Watch and gestured.
“Take a look at this.”
A moment later, a message arrived on both of their Watches simultaneously.
It was a list of the bosses for the upcoming Catch the Bell practical exam.
From instructors to active heroes.
It included not only the top-tier targets who would be difficult to face head-on, but also a selection of individuals within a winnable range, all compiled into data.
Stamina, specialties, combat patterns, weaknesses—everything was there.
It even included details that were considered confidential information for heroes.
The information, organized into a table, was neat and easy to read at a glance.
Did I make it?
Not a chance.
I swiped it from Vanquisher's internal database.
For the record, you could call it Park Gwang-cheol's handiwork.
All I did was pluck out the necessary information and organize it nicely.
“Is this… real?”
Yoon Chae-ha asked, a look of surprise on her face.
“Mostly.”
If Mr. Park Gwang-cheol did his job diligently, it should all be real.
I sat down, giving them a moment to scan the file.
The rules of Catch the Bell were simple.
The offense-defense switch would happen three to a maximum of five times.
On offense, the key was to capture students faster than anyone else. When it was time for defense, it was to quickly take down the bosses and collect the giant bells.
But then, Cheon Yeo-wool, who had been scrolling through the screen, asked me a question.
“Why is this person… missing?”
“Who?”
Cheon Yeo-wool held out her Watch.
She was pointing at Yu Serin. Next to the name, aside from the grim information ‘[Specialty: Kill on Sight],’ there was nothing written.
Weaknesses, stamina, combat patterns. The fields that were meticulously filled out for all the other bosses were completely blank for her.
“Ah… about that.”
I slowly set down my bag, pondering for a moment.
“Because she’s not someone we should even be considering.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t even go near her.”
This was my conviction.
The active instructors, the active heroes… they're all excellent and powerful.
On a level that students couldn't even hope to compare to.
However, Yu Serin was a little different.
She was clearly on another level entirely.
“Honestly, I don't even know why she's here.”
She didn't even appear in the final exam in the original story.
By now, she should have been buried in Lotus's internal power struggles, unable to meddle in outside affairs.
This was a time when she had neither the reason nor the leeway to enter the exam grounds herself.
So this was a genuine surprise.
She was a character who was supposed to appear much, much later.
And even then, only as a blood-soaked corpse or as an antagonist who opposes the protagonist to the very end.
“…Can’t we confiscate this person’s bell too?”
“She gives a lot of points.”
Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha commented.
As if to prove their point, her bell was a different color from the other bosses.
They were called ‘giant bells,’ but the bells on the instructors and heroes in the exam area were graded from bronze to silver, then gold.
The color's tier was determined by the threat level.
It wasn't that their actual skills differed that much; you could think of it as the level of the Limit placed on the instructor.
A bronze-level Limit, a silver-level Limit. Like that.
But Yu Serin's was black.
A deep, inky black.
As if the color itself were a warning.
And they wanted to fight someone like that?
I was against it.
There's a reason it's rated so high.
Of course, they'll place constraints on her, but… it's anyone's guess how much that will actually protect us.
It was a gamble I had no intention of taking.
“I won’t stop you.”
I said calmly.
Moving as a team was just more efficient; at its core, this was an individual match.
Each person had to judge for themselves and act on their own.
I had no intention of stopping them if they wanted to go.
If they got eliminated, I could just revive them, so it might not be a bad experience for them.
At my words, the two of them fell silent.
They looked dejected.
Both bit their lips slightly and lowered their heads.
“Okay…”
In the end, they agreed.
It was only then that I noticed their drinks were empty.
“I’ll go get them. Wait here.”
Seeing their expressions made me feel a little guilty again.
Since I’d dampened their spirits a bit, it seemed only right to compensate them with some sweet drinks and cake.
I ordered an iced chocolate and a strawberry latte at the counter, adding a cheesecake as well.
Plus an Americano for myself.
I returned to the table, my hands full of drinks and dessert.
But the table was already occupied by unfamiliar faces.
“So, if you guys join us, we're guaranteed to rank high.”
Two male students and one female student.
They were explaining something to Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha with rather confident looks on their faces.
This was a common occurrence.
The final exam was, in the end, a test that encouraged cooperation under the guise of an individual match.
A structure where it was difficult to even survive alone.
Who you teamed up with determined your grade.
Even this was part of Gaon's design.
The biggest faction within the White Team right now was likely Yohan's.
The gathering of the Fake Crusaders, with Yohan at their center.
I turned my head slightly, scanning the inside of the cafe.
Just as I thought.
In a corner sofa seat, a massive figure came into view.
They were probably envoys sent to check on them.
I could pretty much picture the scene.
‘Bring Yoon Chae-ha and Cheon Yeo-wool, and we'll let you guys in too.’
Wasn't that what they were saying?
But I already had a feeling whether the girls would go or not.
The data I had sent to their Watches earlier.
Both Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha had placed it under the table, covering it with their palms.
Hiding it very carefully.
“How admirable.”
I said quietly, setting down the dessert plate and looking at the two of them.
At my words, Cheon Yeo-wool accepted her drink with a proud smile, while Yoon Chae-ha nodded silently.
Watching them, I lifted my head and threw a glance at the boy from the other group.
“Tell him to come himself.”
I continued calmly, sipping my drink through a straw.
“We're on the same team. There's no reason to make contact so secretively, is there?”
The male student couldn't hide his flustered expression. He glanced around before giving an awkward laugh.
“Uh… uh. Got it.”
After saying that, he and his companions hastily left.
When I looked down again, the two girls were looking at me.
Their eyes held a strange sparkle.
Staring intently, like baby birds looking at their mother.
I gave an awkward laugh and said.
“Do you like cheesecake?”
Truthfully, I already knew they did.
I only asked because I suddenly felt awkward.
“Are you kidding? I love it.”
Cheon Yeo-wool was the first to smile.
“…Me too.”
Yoon Chae-ha followed, speaking softly.
“That’s a relief.”
I murmured, carefully dividing the slice of cake.
The supplementary lesson that followed continued until the sun went down.
*
As I was busy getting things in order and preparing for the practical exam, the written exams came to an end before I knew it.
The written exams lasted for a total of two days. And today was the final day.
The day for exams on majors and specialty subjects.
Despite it being exam season, Gaon’s campus was surprisingly quiet.
There was none of the festive atmosphere from the midterms.
And for good reason—the final exam is no festival.
That perception doesn't even exist, really.
Unlike the midterms, no outsiders come to watch, and no parents come to cheer.
However.
Every practical exam is broadcast to the entire world.
It had been that way every year, and this year was no different.
They proudly livestream the battles under the slogan, ‘This is the future of humanity.’
Among them, the first years received the brightest spotlight.
With so many new faces, the first years inevitably drew the most attention.
This year, with the moniker of the ‘Golden Generation,’ that interest was particularly intense.
Of course, the final written exam had to be dealt with first.
“How was the test?”
I greeted Cheon Yeo-wool as she staggered out of the Holy Method exam hall.
Given the nature of the subject, which required drawing entire holy circles from scratch, it was bound to take the longest.
“I stared it down!”
She declared with great confidence.
But despite her words, I knew better than anyone how hard she had prepared for this exam.
I had watched her from the side.
The way she had silently kept her pen in hand, never giving up.
So I just said it.
“You worked hard.”
Yoon Chae-ha, next to her, had also finished her exam, but…
She doesn't think of exams as exams.
She just sees them as a time to solve some mind-bending—no, interesting—problems.
So her expression was no different than usual.
Did I do well?
As I always say, it's impossible for me to do poorly.
This is the result of combining background knowledge with the Old Man's early education.
“The real thing starts tomorrow.”
Yoon Chae-ha said, stretching.
For her, this was her first exam at Gaon.
She couldn't hide her slightly excited expression.
But at that moment.
Gaon's central scoreboard began to glow.
The first-year students passing below it began to look up, one by one.
[Practical Exam Announcement]
All examinees are to assemble at the Gaon Central Hall tomorrow at 9 AM.
A simple but powerful message.
Most likely, once everyone gathered, they would all be simultaneously teleported to random locations.
That sentence remained on the scoreboards all across Gaon.
“See you tomorrow.”
I said, heading in a different direction.
And finally.
The moment the real exam was about to begin.