Chapter 109: Final Exam (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: Final Exam (5)
“Does this one suit me? Or this one?”
Yu Serin stood before the mirror, holding up two outfits in turn as she asked.
They were clothes she used to wear in her prime, when she roamed fields and battlegrounds.
Stylish pieces that were functional yet paid close attention to appearance.
Her secretary, with her usual expressionless face, pointed not at the two outfits, but at a dark-colored suit hanging on a separate rack.
“Ah… that one…?”
The one the secretary indicated was her Stealth Suit.
It fit her body the best, but… it wasn't exactly flattering.
It was a skin-tight, deep purple suit.
“That's a bit…”
“Then the one on the right would be better. It's slightly less threatening.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Yu Serin said with a low laugh.
An exam she normally wouldn't have given a second thought. But this time, she had decided to participate herself, as a Black Bell.
She took a dark charcoal gray coat from the rack.
The smooth fabric flowed over the shoulder line, the cut cinching her slender waist.
A sophisticated design, no matter how many times she saw it.
“I'll go with this one.”
The secretary nodded and added a brief comment.
“Have you… made your decision?”
At that, Yu Serin dusted off the coat and replied.
The secretary's words were not just about her choice of attire.
Yu Serin knew that perfectly well.
Gazing at the mirror for a moment, she adjusted her collar and smiled lightly.
“Yes. Almost.”
She draped the perfectly arranged coat over her arm.
The luxurious fabric brushed against her body with every movement.
“Still, I can't just leave.”
The secretary lowered her head slightly.
Most of the people in the department, including herself, were Yu Serin's people.
If she were to just storm out, the remaining people would be left in an awkward position.
It wasn't like Yu Serin not to know that.
She turned around quietly, a familiar smile on her face.
“Don't worry.”
Their eyes met.
“I'll make sure your futures are secure before I go.”
At some point, she had started speaking to them informally.
No longer Sub-Guild Master Yu Serin, but just Yu Serin.
Perhaps like an older sister saying her final goodbyes.
Her tone was gentle, but it held a strangely clear conviction.
“Clinging to something until it breaks… is not my style.”
She looked in the mirror again.
Half anticipation, half fear.
She took a step toward a new place.
*
Gaon Central Hall, beneath the scoreboard on the stage.
In that place, the focus of countless eyes, the announcer's voice rang out.
“Representatives of each team, please step forward.”
Two people walked to the front of the stage.
The Blue Team's representative was the Odd Ranking number one, Kang A-rin.
The White Team's representative was the Even Ranking number two, Yohan.
As was tradition, it came down to Rock Paper Scissors.
“Rock… paper…”
Following the announcer's count, the two raised their hands.
“Scissors!”
On the final command, they both thrust their hands forward.
Kang A-rin's hand was a tightly clenched fist, while Yohan's had two fingers extended.
“Woooooah!”
Cheers from the Blue Team filled the hall.
“Blue Team, will you attack first, or defend first?”
At the announcer's question, Kang A-rin stroked her chin with a thoughtful expression.
“Defense! Let's do defense first!”
“No, we should attack first!”
Opinions were divided throughout the Blue Team.
I quietly crossed my arms and watched her.
…Neither choice would be particularly strange. Both have their advantages.
If they start on defense, they can buy time.
They can accumulate points by taking on boss monsters before the attacking team arrives.
On the other hand, if they start on offense?
They could pressure the defending team with their full numbers and rack up some early points.
In the end, it's a matter of strategy.
After a moment of thought, Kang A-rin looked up.
“I… will choose to defend.”
Kang A-rin's choice was defense.
Large text appeared on the scoreboard.
[Blue Team - Defense / White Team - Offense]
Along with that, the instructor's announcement followed.
After the announcement.
“Teleportation will commence in five minutes. All students, please stand in your designated positions with your bells activated.”
They called them bells, but they were actually a program installed on our watches.
After subduing an opponent, if you touched their watch for a certain amount of time, a chiming sound would ring out and their bell would be captured.
I silently checked my watch.
A red border indicated the bell was active.
Above it, a countdown timer was blinking.
The students around me began checking their equipment one by one.
“See you later.”
Cheon Yeo-wool spoke to me first.
“Yeah.”
I replied with a smile.
Beside her, Yoon Chae-ha also spoke quietly.
She was right next to me.
“You have to come there.”
The place we'd agreed on was in front of the Heavenly Martial Hall.
We promised to get there before the first offense-defense switch.
“Got it.”
They soon headed to their own positions.
They each scattered, walking into their designated teleportation circles in the hall.
After one last check of my watch, I walked expressionlessly to my teleportation spot.
A faint magic circle began to bloom beneath me.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second.
-Fwoosh!
A flash of light split my vision, and the scenery tore apart as if being ripped.
I opened my eyes and looked around.
“…Ha.”
I let out a small laugh.
The space before me was a first-year lecture hall where I took classes.
The technology to randomly teleport over 500 students.
Probably only Gaon could handle something like this.
I stood up carefully. Since I was sitting by the window, I had a clear view of the entire classroom.
Just then, I saw someone sitting in the corner of the room, in a seat by the front door.
Our eyes met at the same time.
He looked at me with a surprised expression, then suddenly shot to his feet.
He turned his left arm back to show me his armband.
“Hae-in, I-I'm on the White Team! I'm on your team!”
The armband. It was white, the same as my team's color.
We were on the same team.
I gave a slight smile and nodded.
I thought I was about to get an easy 10 points, but too bad.
For reference, capturing a bell is worth 10 points.
Bosses are worth different amounts of points depending on their tier, and the points are distributed based on contribution.
I figure… if I can gather around 150 points by the end of the exam, I should be in the top ranks.
“I'm heading out! Good luck!”
The student in front of me scrambled out of the classroom.
I slowly turned on my watch.
[Time until Offense-Defense Switch: 58:40]
Time was ticking.
When this timer runs out, the switch will happen.
I walked outside.
It was time to attack.
I emerged into a wide-open space, but the only ones roaming the streets were White Team students wearing white armbands.
Most of them were moving in groups.
I had a group of my own, so to speak, but it wasn't time to meet up yet.
There was no reason to go to the hidden location now.
I'd need points to buy anything there anyway.
The defending students were likely hiding in the various buildings and mountains.
Or tackling a boss.
However, the attacking team couldn't just easily head to a boss area hoping to find them.
If they messed up and found the boss before any of the defenders…
They'd get beaten to a pulp by a boss with its limiters off and be eliminated.
I made my way toward Gaon's main training building.
According to the map, one Silver Bell boss and one Bronze boss were located nearby.
The defense team would definitely covet this area.
Which meant it was bound to be a hot spot.
I arrived there first and lay in wait.
“Looks like no one's here. It's quiet.”
“Let's hurry, we just need to get inside the boss zone.”
As expected, I heard the voices of several students.
“I'm right here.”
I stepped out casually.
“Whoa, shit, you scared me!”
“Hey… be quiet…!”
It was a group of two guys and two girls.
The armbands on their biceps were a distinct blue.
“Wait a minute… are you alone?”
“Yeah.”
But once they confirmed I was by myself, their expressions began to relax.
They started smiling as they stealthily got into position.
I could feel their intent to take me down in one go and enter the boss room.
“Get him!”
With one student's shout, they all rushed me at once.
And then.
[10 pt!]
[10 pt!]
[10 pt!]
[10 pt!]
“Thanks.”
They were probably some of the first to be eliminated.
To think they'd hand me 40 points.
Having reaped my reward, I quietly moved to another building.
Thanks to the noise from the fight, it was unlikely anyone else would come this way.
But then.
“…This scent.”
A fragrance wafted past my nose.
A very familiar smell.
I hadn't noticed it recently because of the exams, but it was the faint floral scent I smelled every morning.
It was Yu Hana's scent.
My body was already reacting.
My mind was skeptical, but my feet were heading toward the Gaon training ground.
It was the place where we had run, sweated, and crossed swords together.
The space where we had clashed blades dozens of times, from the basics of the Butterfly Sword Dance to actual combat.
For no reason at all, I felt a strange certainty.
Yu Hana would be there.
I quietly opened the door.
-Creeak.
The scene unfolded before my eyes.
Yu Hana, dressed in a neatly arranged training uniform.
The scabbard of the Dongbaek Sword at her waist held a heavy, unpolished light.
She was kneeling properly, looking at me.
Her blue armband was clearly visible.
Our eyes met.
She quietly, almost imperceptibly, raised the corners of her mouth.
Then, looking into my eyes, she slowly lowered her posture.
-Swish.
The sound of her uniform's collar brushing against the floor.
She knelt on the training ground floor and slowly bowed her head.
“To my master.”
Her voice was low, but clear.
“I, your disciple, request a sparring match after a long time.”
I just stood there, watching her.
The one waiting for me was Yu Hana.
Her body was bowed low, but her spirit was raised to its peak.
My own student is challenging me.
That was the first feeling that came to mind.
“Did you call me here?”
I was still a little unsure.
At my words, Yu Hana raised her head and smiled again.
“I knew you would come. It is a familiar scent, after all.”
That confirmed it.
She had summoned me here.
A request for a sparring match, sent from a member of the defense team to one of the offense.
A challenge worthy of Yu Hana.
After saying so, she quietly rose to her feet.
“Let's see how much you've improved.”
I said with a smile.
I was curious.
How much she had grown.
And whether she was worthy of going to get the Fragment.
I drew a sword from a rack on one side of the training ground.