Midterms (3)
“The evaluation criteria boil down to two main things. First, how well you can analyze the attributes, lineage, rank, and effects of a mana construct created by someone else. Second, how accurately you can replicate it. Stay at least one meter away from the construct—use only visual inspection or by sending out your mana to probe it. No consulting with others, and we'll start grading in groups of ten starting in ninety minutes. Write down exactly which construct you'll manifest on the paper I handed out earlier and submit it in advance. You have until 2:30 p.m.... Everyone, give it your all.”
It was a straightforward method, if simple. A flat mana construct sat in the center of the lecture hall. The students had to figure out its nature using only their own abilities, without any hints.
If I compared it to cooking, it felt like this: identifying the recipe and ingredients of a dish where the flavors were mixed so thoroughly you couldn't tell what went in, then recreating it as closely as possible. Easy to say, but no high schooler could solve it without serious skill. Especially since the construct we'd prepared was particularly tricky.
“Uh... what's up with this?”
“Feels kinda weird...”
“Quiet. Any comments that could give hints to other students will deduct points, so watch it.”
The students tilting their heads near the construct clamped their mouths shut. I could understand their bewilderment. We'd layered traps so thick that even a glance wouldn't reveal its true nature—just as Professor Seo Sang-wook and I had intended.
This wasn't just testing mana construct analysis; it was a proper Magical Dynamics practical exam. You had to observe visually, sense with mana, and draw on all the theory and construct types covered in class to even guess right.
At this rate, at least a third might fail and need a retake.
Professor Seo Sang-wook skimmed documents on defensive construct tech exchanges while I patrolled with the TAs, checking for anyone cheating via non-verbal means. Most were staring holes into the construct, scribbling on scratch paper, erasing, frowning, repeat. But three stood out.
Yoo Hae-bin had apparently nailed the analysis already—she'd tossed her scratch paper and was jotting key points concisely on her answer sheet. Lee Sea had fudged a few connections where theory escaped her, but she'd found the right answer regardless. And the last one...
Jin Yu-ri was going at it like she was writing a thesis, filling the paper with every Magical Dynamics theory she knew. But substance-wise, it was inferior to Yoo Hae-bin's, and even patchier than Lee Sea's. Knowing a lot was fine, but spelling it all out meant nothing if you hadn't fully grasped the construct's identity—like Yoo Hae-bin and Lee Sea had.
This exam confirmed it once more: Jin Yu-ri's talent fell short of Lee Sea and Yoo Hae-bin's. She probably put in several times the effort unnoticed... but crucially, her mana sensitivity was lacking. Not just compared to them, but even among top students, she wasn't ahead.
Projecting her growth based on what I'd seen... even with nonstop effort like now, she'd top out at high A-rank. Generously, upper elite. S-rank was out of reach.
By normal standards, that wasn't low. In Korea, where awakener rates and levels were sky-high relative to population, basic mana users were about 1 in 100. Even the A-rank baseline was another 1 in 100 from there. Jin Yu-ri, in the upper echelons, was one in a hundred thousand rarity.
But gather a hundred A-rankers, and you might get one S-rank. She fell short of that one-in-a-million talent.
No need to undervalue her, and mocking her effort would be absurd... but still, I wondered. Even if slim odds, she could be the protagonist of Kill the Evil. Even as a side character, she'd have major screentime.
Her talent dipping below a certain threshold didn't add up. Was she just an early-game side character with heavy focus, or was there another reason? Unclear for now... but it nagged at me.
Lost in thought, the ninety minutes ended.
“Submit your answer sheets and move to the back of the room. We'll check numbers 1 through 10 first.”
Grading was straightforward too. Professor Seo Sang-wook and I sat at the front desk. Students came in tens, manifested their constructs. We checked against submitted sheets to prevent late tweaks from peeking.
The results...
“Hrm...”
Professor Seo Sang-wook groaned, dissatisfied. After fifteen minutes and over a hundred students, nothing impressed. Plenty couldn't even grasp it, and those who got the shape half-right missed most effects.
“That's enough. Good work—results next class. Next... 111 through 120.”
Ten students stepped up, tense—except Yoo Hae-bin, who looked downright relaxed.
“...”
I ignored her meaningful gaze and creepy smile, addressing them. “You have thirty seconds to create the construct. Good luck.”
Shoooo... Pfft—Boom!
Peeping Eye (Rank A)
Just shapes vaguely similar. Some effects spotted, but overfocusing left the whole sloppy. I quickly calculated how to fail nine without mercy, then stared at one spot.
“Hmm, heh heh...”
Professor Seo Sang-wook stroked his chin, voice utterly changed from before. Right in front of Yoo Hae-bin: a flat, translucent membrane rippled perfectly. Form, glimpsed effects—near flawless.
I glanced at her answer sheet. Summary:
Rank: 3rd grade
Attributes: Water, Fire composite
Lineage: Water—erosion, Fire—diffusion
Effects: Waves from clashing mana disrupt intruder's mana in range. A form of spatial mana nullification; triple-layered, it could even siphon enemy mana. Earth absorption lineage fits for the triple composite.
“Oho...”
First admiration of the day from the professor. “You even noted improvements... Can you implement that?”
“Nah, just thought it'd be better.”
“Fine, excellent anyway. Shoot some mana at it.”
Pewooong— A tiny mana burst from Yoo Hae-bin's fingertip. Ours ignored probes, but hers reacted instantly.
Shwaaaa— Blue mana rippled like waves. Whoosh! Red spread opposite. Her burst, trapped...
Wooong, psssh... It resisted briefly, then vanished in the swirl.
Professor Seo Sang-wook beamed. “Yoo Hae-bin, perfect score. Others show effort, so no harsh grades. Back to your seats. Next, 121 through 130.”
Ten more came up. I eyed the girl on the right.
Lee Sea focused without glancing my way.
Jin Yu-ri bit her lip relentlessly in anxiety. Yoo Hae-bin got a perfect score confirmed before results even posted. Lee Sea's was structurally rougher but matched effects near-perfectly.
But her own...
Why couldn't I see it?
Water and fire attributes—she'd barely caught that. But not lineage, so guesswork on the sheet. Not erosion or diffusion, but absorption. A barrier variant. Utterly wrong.
Why... why?
Professor Seo Sang-wook said something—indistinct in her turmoil, but praising Lee Sea. Lee Dojin watched her with evident pride.
Jin Yu-ri was livid. And... had to admit it.
Am I... really below them?
She knew her talent lagged. Inferior mana resonance to Yoo Hae-bin. Inferior mana handling to Lee Sea. She knew, accepted it.
But she'd believed effort would close the gap in results. She'd outwork them.
Now, she doubted herself.
I thought nonstop effort would do it...
She'd sensed it since semester start. Hitting a wall maybe. Effort barely keeping her ahead, frantic to not fall behind. Maybe entering talent's domain.
She'd denied it. Not yet. Not till Jeil High graduation, at least—she'd fight for that. Post-grad, same guild or rivals, she'd endure.
Last two months, that's what she'd told herself. But today, after sleepless nights memorizing and practicing, failing to grasp what they spotted easily... her fragile confidence shattered.
I practiced way more than them...
Jin Yu-ri lacked aptitude for attributes. Mastering composites meant tears on her private training ground floor, dozens of times. Lineage theory was better—still inefficient compared to them.
She found it unfair. Talented slackers coasting. Low self-esteem despite gifts, infuriating to watch. Them pulling ahead with slight slacking—enraging.
So she'd vowed never to fall behind. Rage first. Second... once behind, she'd never catch up.
Now, she felt that second fear hit.
“Now, 151 through 160, come up.”
Professor Seo Sang-wook's listless voice. He skimmed sheets, stacking without deep review. Her group nowhere near right?
Jin Yu-ri stood, steadying shaky legs, heading front. A gaze prickled—Lee Dojin watching intently.
Normally, it'd choke her, heart racing. In despair, she barely felt it.
Pathetic self, pathetic sheet, humiliation at their judgment... her limit, full effort, yet despair.
Then.
“Thirty seconds to create. Relax, no pressure.”
Lee Dojin's words stung unintended.
Relax? She glared bitterly. How so brazen? Who made her flinch on sight? Haunted her dreams?
Lee Dojin obsessed her—negatively leaning. Son of heroes she admired, childhood envy for his genius. Then rumors of his debauchery—pathetic. But meeting him: ace student, affable, agelessly handsome... eye contact sweats her... too much on her mind.
And he tells me to relax?
She gritted teeth. Wrong answer known, but now irrelevant. Goal: no ugly scene before him, proper construct.
She poured everything into manifesting. Her construct spread wide, drawing in the other nine...
Tang!
Lee Dojin dashed out. His wave nullified all ten.
Breath audible close, he gazed down quietly.
Thump, thump. Shock? Fear of him up close? She heard her heart.
Silence seconds, then Professor Seo Sang-wook gawked. “That just now... wasn't that an Immune Body?”
Peeping Eye (Rank A)
: Unmeasurable mana construct.
I was certain. Jin Yu-ri, second-year at National Academy 1 High Division. The girl looking up at me in shock—she was no mere early-game side character in Kill the Evil.