The Sword Saint's Evaluation

The instant the broadcast announced that Kim Jinhyuk’s evaluation was beginning, the atmosphere around me boiled over even hotter than before.

"Oh! Is it finally starting?"

"Kang Harin was incredible, but when it comes to the sword, it’s got to be Kim Jinhyuk."

"If those two fought, who do you think would win?"

"I’m still going with Kim Jinhyuk."

As expected, the protagonist really was different. Just one person was enough to completely flip the mood of the entire place.

I looked toward the center of the Grand Auditorium. Standing in front of Kim Jinhyuk was one of those pure-white virtual mannequins—the same kind that had crushed me earlier.

Kim Jinhyuk closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly closed his fingers around the hilt of the sword at his waist.

That instant—

Seureung—

A clear ring of steel leaving its scabbard, and his figure vanished without a trace.

…!

Chwaak!

A white flash streaked across the Grand Auditorium.

By the time anyone could blink, Kim Jinhyuk was already standing with his back to the mannequin, sheathing his blade.

A brief silence fell.

Then—

Kwajik!

The mannequin’s body split diagonally and shattered into pieces.

Another beat of silence, and then—

"Waaaaaah!!"

A roar of cheers exploded through the Grand Auditorium hard enough to shake the walls.

"That’s our Kim Jinhyuk!"

"Completely overwhelming!"

"5.4 seconds."

"Huh?"

"The time from when Jinhyuk’s evaluation started to when it ended."

"Holy crap, so he’s several seconds faster than Kang Harin?"

"Yeah. And Harin used an area skill, while Jinhyuk cut down that many mannequins in a single stroke with a single-target technique."

Not everyone looked pleased by that overwhelming display, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠though.

"Tsk… What’s so great about that…"

Kang Harin shoved her chair back and strode out of the Grand Auditorium without another word.

……

I was just as thoroughly dominated by the sword aura Kim Jinhyuk had left behind. As expected. Kim Jinhyuk was strong.

It took a long while for the afterglow lingering in the Grand Auditorium to finally settle.

—Grrrrowl

Before heading back to the dorms I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stopped by the student cafeteria to fill the hole in my stomach.

Oh, spicy pork stir-fry. Nice.

Now, where to sit…

With evaluations just finished, the cafeteria was packed. Tray in hand, I made a full loop looking for an empty seat.

I’m starving to death and even finding a chair is a war.

I’d been feeling it for a while now—this system had a real talent for needling me.

Tray still in hand, I swept the cafeteria again.

Left side. Full.

Right side. Full.

Far corner. …Also full.

Seriously, when did everyone rush over here to eat so fast?

I let out a sigh and took another step—

…Found one.

An empty seat by the window. Afraid someone else would snatch it first, I picked up my pace a little.

That was when it happened.

"Whew, thank god. How is there only one seat left?"

A student brushed past me, yanked the chair out in a flash, and dropped into it.

……

I stared blankly at the place that had, until half a second ago, been an empty chair.

At the same time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a blue window popped up.

I became certain once again.

This thing was doing it on purpose.

A room of about ten pyeong.

I finally returned to my own dorm room after a long time.

Man, how many years had it been?

Frontier’s dormitories were so far ahead in student welfare that other academies couldn’t even come close. Every student got a private room.

Spacious enough for a bed, desk, wardrobe, and even a private bathroom, so almost everything you needed for daily life could be handled without leaving the room—letting students focus purely on study and rest.

Soundproofing barriers and security magic were layered on top of that, so almost no one could barge in uninvited or get disturbed by noise.

—Fwoomp.

I threw myself onto the bed and felt the familiar softness wrap around my back.

This is why I put up with dorm life.

Lying there, I opened the systems that had been unlocked earlier today in the Grand Auditorium.

First up.

I checked my unique trait first.

"Just from the description it sounds ridiculously broken…"

But I still need to know how to actually use the thing.

"Insight!"

……

…Sudden wave of secondhand embarrassment.

I decided to look at the other systems instead.

Shop.

Ohhh! Nice!

This one, at least, worked properly.

I selected the top category, “General,” first.

Hmm… General really was just daily necessities.

I unconsciously tapped Cup Noodles.

Oh, so tapping an item brings up a detailed description.

But 1,000 points feels a little expensive, doesn’t it?

……

Well, whatever. My interest had been elsewhere from the start.

I immediately tapped the “Traits” category.

There were more traits than I expected…

What about a search function?

After a quick look I spotted a tiny magnifying-glass icon in the upper right corner.

"Found it."

I opened the search bar right away.

The moment the shop unlocked, one thing had jumped into my mind first.

Yes!

A whole list of mana-related traits unfurled in front of me.

I figured nothing would be better for patching up my pathetic scrap of mana.

I decided to start with the one at the very top—Heart of the Star.

Hmm……

Insanely expensive.

Which probably meant it was worth every point.

Even at a glance it was a trait that made my mouth water. With just this one I would never have to worry about running out of mana again.

But the price was far beyond what I could afford right now.

I swallowed the regret and started looking for traits in a more realistic price range.

Blue Bloodline was still way too expensive…

Mana Absorption? That one was at least somewhat within reach.

After sorting what I could and couldn’t buy, the traits I could actually afford averaged out to E-rank and D-rank.

There were even a few C-rank traits that looked like pure garbage no one would take even if free, but any C-rank worth using started at 15,000 points or more.

"What am I supposed to do with only 9,700 points in the first place?"

And of course the system chose that exact moment to jab me again.

Well, okay, my eyes had gotten a little too high. I shouldn’t have started by looking at SSS-rank traits.

Hmm…

"Ah!"

Could this work too?

I added more search terms next to mana.

Huh?

Only four?

……

Well, better than nothing.

Let’s see…

I started with Dormant Mana Core.

What? Tw—twenty thousand??

20,000 points was higher than most C-rank traits.

Just in case, I checked the prices of the others.

Seed of Mana—19,500 points…

Incomplete Magic Circuit—24,000 points???

Turns out growth-type traits cost more than three times a regular trait of the same rank.

Ha… Do I have a choice?

I really didn’t want to go this far, but—

There it was. Exactly one.

My last hope.

If even this one was expensive…

Please!

Ah…!

Ten thousand points…!!

My eyes flicked to my current points.

How was I short by exactly one hundred points?

……

I stared quietly at the system window.

"Hey."

No reaction.

"No, listen for a second."

"I just need a hundred more points, okay?"

Of course the system wasn’t the type to answer.

"I’ve unlocked a pretty good number of achievements so far."

"Can’t you throw me a little bonus at this point?"

And right on cue, as if it had been waiting, a blue window rose in front of me.

This little shit?

After thirty minutes of wrangling with the system, I finally received those fifty points and managed to fall asleep in one piece.