Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Survival (4)
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Villains who eliminated fifteen or more cadets were given the prefix 'A-Rank' and a villain name.
This was a hidden rule of the survival test.
"Right. I was wondering why the villains had such a big advantage."
This survival test was for skill evaluation. There was no way a one-sidedly advantageous rule would exist.
"Did I overdo it?"
In a game of Mafia, the one who stands out dies first.
I said it myself, yet I was the one who stood out the most.
The only saving grace was that only my name was revealed.
As long as my location wasn't public, whether the bounty was ten times or two times, there was no way for them to target me directly.
The only thing that became impossible was pretending to be friendly and then backstabbing me.
If it came to a direct fight, it wouldn't be much different from before.
I just had to keep repeating my ambushes like I'd been doing. Nothing had changed.
"Good."
I rose from my spot.
Having sorted out my thoughts, I planned to start hunting again.
I moved, following the location of a cadet that appeared on my terminal.
* * *
"How's the practical exam going?"
Yuhwa was on the phone in her car.
"It's proving to be quite interesting."
The person on the other end was Pi Jinho.
"What's so interesting about it?"
"It's a secret for now. You can check when it's announced later. It would be unfair."
"Tch."
Yuhwa pouted slightly.
"By the way, I heard from Elder Jeong Ilyong."
"Ah. About him agreeing to craft Mr. Seoyul's weapon?"
"Yes. I heard you went to see him with Meiden."
"Yeah. The three of us went. You should have come too. Oh, right. You said you were busy, didn't you?"
Pi Jinho fell silent for a moment at Yuhwa's words.
"...Is that what Meiden said?"
"Huh? Yeah. When I asked if we should call you, she said that guy was busy."
"Tsk. She's still sulking."
Pi Jinho let out a small sigh.
From his reaction, Yuhwa understood everything.
"Ah... So she didn't even tell you?"
"That's right."
No wonder.
"She was just endlessly chasing after villains, so I gave her one job. What's there to be so upset about?"
Pi Jinho shook his head. Yuhwa smiled wryly.
It seemed the construction of the educational labyrinth was Pi Jinho's way of showing consideration.
Hadn't Meiden called him a bad guy who forced a job on her through threats when she was already busy?
Their opinions were polar opposites.
"Ah, right."
"What is it?"
Yuhwa decided to change the subject and ask something she had always been curious about.
"Mr. Seoyul. What exactly are his physical abilities?"
"Are you asking me to privately disclose a cadet's information?"
"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. This much is fine, isn't it? I know their profiles get updated after the exam."
After the first exam ends.
The cadets' profiles are updated on the school's website.
They should have been updated a long time ago, but because the exam kept getting delayed, the profile updates were delayed along with it.
"Besides, everyone already knows, right? That he's roughly D-Rank."
Yuhwa said, recalling the training video released by the academy.
In the video, Kang Seoyul moved like any other D-Rank superhuman.
'He's so thorough.'
In Yuhwa's opinion, Kang Seoyul was at least an S-Rank superhuman.
The fact that he fought and held his own against Vagabond alone was the most definitive proof.
Another reason would be that he dealt with the villain duo, Geomryeong and Gwuiryeong, who had put Shin Jia in such a state, in such a short amount of time.
It was absurd for someone like that to have the stats of a D-Rank.
Despite being so certain, she asked Pi Jinho about Kang Seoyul's stats for another reason.
"Well, I suppose this much is fine. It's true that he's reached D-Rank."
"You mean he just recently ranked up?"
"Yes."
"You confirmed that with your 'Eyes', right?"
"Of course."
"...I see."
A strange light gleamed in Yuhwa's eyes.
'I knew it.'
This was the purpose of her question.
Pi Jinho's 'Eyes that See Mystery' perceived him as D-Rank.
This meant that Kang Seoyul possessed some kind of ability that sealed his power.
Or there was the possibility that Pi Jinho was lying...
"He may be my disciple, but his growth is incredibly fast. It's no exaggeration to call him a genius."
It seemed that wasn't the case.
"I agree."
That voice, filled with pride, was proof.
It was the voice of someone genuinely amazed by Kang Seoyul's growth.
'So Jinho really doesn't know about Mr. Seoyul's secret.'
Those were words that could never have been spoken if he knew about Kang Seoyul's past and hidden power.
'This confirms it.'
Pi Jinho simply thought of Kang Seoyul as a top prospect.
He must have taken him as a disciple because he believed Kang Seoyul possessed that much outstanding talent.
"By the way, Yuhwa, you've been interacting with my disciple a lot lately. Is there a reason?"
"Of course there's a reason. I'm trying to build a connection with the top prospect who will be responsible for Korea's future."
Yuhwa played innocent.
* * *
Day 4 of the practical exam, 2 PM.
I overcame several hurdles, big and small, and succeeded in eliminating an additional six cadets.
That made a total of 21.
Among those 21 were two villains, including Choi Jihoon.
Since villains are worth double points, my score was equivalent to having plundered 46 regular cadets.
Even if they used every other method of scoring, including survival points, this was a score they could never catch up to.
In effect, I was practically in first place.
"And I got another chip. Now, unless something really crazy happens, there's no way I'll be eliminated."
I chuckled, looking at the supply crate in front of me.
I didn't know how many of these terminal upgrade chips existed, but there certainly couldn't be many.
Getting two chips was a stroke of luck.
I hummed a cheerful tune as I inserted the chip into the terminal.
[Terminal Function Upgrade List]
[You may select one of the following.]
[1. Check Villain List.]
[2. Check Monster Locations.]
[3. Check Artifact Locations.]
[4. One-Time Brooch Protection.]
The familiar upgrade list appeared.
"So, what should I pick?"
Last time, after this, a message saying 'Confirming Villain Terminal' appeared, and a fifth option was added.
But I'd already chosen the fifth option.
That meant I had to choose one of these four.
Personally, I was drawn to the brooch protection.
Even if it was just once, having an insurance policy was a huge advantage.
"Huh?"
Just then, static appeared on the screen.
A new message appeared on the terminal.
[Confirming Villain Terminal.]
[A new function will be added.]
[5. Check Cadet Locations (Upgrade).]
[You can upgrade an unlocked function.]
"There was an upgrade?"
This was unexpected.
I never imagined a feature like this existed.
"It's gotta be number 5."
Without hesitation, I chose to upgrade the fifth function.
After a short loading screen.
[Upgrade Complete.]
The moment I saw the new message, my jaw dropped.
"No way."
[Displays the real-time location of all cadets within a 2km radius.]
The screen was dotted with points that seemed to be cadets.
From a two-hour cooldown to real-time.
From one cadet to unlimited.
It was a truly incredible evolution, but I wasn't shocked because of its performance.
"...What is this?"
Dozens of dots were blinking on the terminal.
The dots indicating the cadets' locations.
Those dots were moving as if to surround me.
* * *
"Looks like he's caught on."
Kim Cheoljin grinned with the most delighted expression as he looked at his terminal.
The movement of the black dot on the screen, Kang Seoyul, had changed.
"Huh? He noticed? How?"
A cadet asked.
"Who knows. Maybe his detection range is wide."
Kim Cheoljin shrugged, showing his terminal.
"Or maybe he's using a terminal upgrade chip, just like me."
"Was there a function that could find us?"
"No. There wasn't, but there could be a special function only villains can use."
"Ah."
Kim Cheoljin had obtained two terminal upgrade chips.
With the first chip, he chose 'Check Villain List'.
With the second, he chose the upgraded function of 'Check Villain List', which was 'Check Villain Locations'.
With this upgraded ability, Kim Cheoljin eliminated the villains one by one.
He recruited all the Class 1 friends he met along the way.
At first, everyone suspected betrayal, but when Kim Cheoljin showed them the villain list, they all accepted his proposal.
Of course, one could betray them even without being a villain.
"C'mon. You're not gonna betray us when there aren't any villains among us, right? We have to spend the next year together."
With just those words from Kim Cheoljin, betrayal became impossible.
"Once we take care of all the villains and then defeat the kids from the other classes one by one, our Class 1 can monopolize the top ranks. Without the villain list, other teams couldn't have formed an alliance like this."
He even presented such a clear justification. Betray them in this situation? You wouldn't do it unless you wanted to be ostracized.
In any case, Kim Cheoljin formed an alliance with the entire first-year Class 1 and accelerated his villain hunt.
And now, the only villain left was Kang Seoyul.
"But Cheoljin, if your plan is for Class 1 to monopolize the top ranks, wouldn't it be better to recruit Seoyul too? He'd be a great asset."
"I wouldn't mind, but the others would probably object. They'd ask how they could trust a villain."
"...That's true."
The man nodded.
"Besides, Seoyul needs to be taken down a peg."
"...All of a sudden?"
"His face, his popularity... he's got it all. How can you not be jealous?"
Kim Cheoljin laughed.
"So I'm gonna mess with him a little."
It was the same mischievous smile he usually wore when teasing Choi Jihoon.
With that same expression, Kim Cheoljin took out a walkie-talkie.
It was a walkie-talkie he'd acquired from a supply crate. They came in sets of two, and since he'd found two sets, there were four in total.
"Target. Joker seems to have noticed. Everyone, approach with caution and be wary of a counterattack."
"He noticed?"
"As expected of Kang Seoyul. He's amazing."
"Even so, he's got no chance of escaping."
The encirclement was already perfect.
Even if he tried to run, Kang Seoyul's speed wasn't enough to shake them all off.
No matter how skilled he was, as long as his physical specs were lacking, he couldn't win a one-versus-many fight.
'This is Kang Seoyul's weakness.'
With the encirclement complete, Kang Seoyul's defeat was all but certain.
He was confident of victory.
"Ambush... Aaargh! *Kssshh-*"
A scream, followed by the sound of a walkie-talkie hitting the ground, came from the other end.
"What?"
"Was that Jae-uk's voice just now? Did something happen to Beta Team?"
Could Kang Seoyul have done something?
Flustered by the sudden turn of events, Kim Cheoljin checked his terminal again.
"His location...?"
Kang Seoyul's position had changed.
Just a moment ago, he'd been in the center, but now he was standing exactly where Beta Team was.
"How?"
He moved that far in the brief moment I looked away from the terminal to use the radio?
Kang Seoyul wasn't that fast.
What on earth had happened?
"Beta Team, respond! What happened? Report immediately..."
That's when a familiar voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Why so serious?"
It was a low voice, as if he were acting, but it was immediately clear who it belonged to.
"Kang Seoyul..."
"Why so serious? It's just a test, a game. Anyone would think this was a real battle. Be yourself. Act like yourself."
Kim Cheoljin let out a short laugh.
"You're right. I got caught up in the moment. But how did you know?"
"Know what? About the ambush?"
"Yeah."
"It was nothing special. I just used two chips, like you. There's a villain-exclusive function, you see."
"...I knew it."
"By the way, I never thought Class 1 would be the ones targeting me. I was pretty surprised."
Kim Cheoljin smiled wryly.
"Is Beta Team wiped out?"
"Nope. They're all sitting on the ground, looking up at me."
"What?"
They're just looking?
"...Why?"
"Why? Because they can't even think of attacking."
Kang Seoyul said with a laugh.
Kim Cheoljin's brow furrowed.
What in the world was going on?
"Cheoljin."
Kang Seoyul said.
"Do you know why they didn't provide any equipment for this survival test, aside from the terminals?"
It was a random question.
"...I don't know. To prove one's own inherent strength, excluding all external factors. Something like that?"
"Exactly. Using items would make for an unfair evaluation. It's about proving your worth using only your own power."
"What about it?"
What a strange thing to say in this situation.
"Then, Cheoljin."
Kang Seoyul asked, his voice full of laughter.
"Is a guardian beast an external factor, or is it my own power?"
"...What?"
"Tough question, right? I thought it was a bit ambiguous myself."
Kang Seoyul joked.
"But when I was cornered, a thought suddenly occurred to me. No one calls a summoner using their summons a crutch, do they?"
Kang Seoyul said, sounding like he was having the time of his life.
"So, if I used my own power to summon a guardian beast from Korea? Would that be my inherent power or not? What do you think, Cheoljin?"
Kim Cheoljin's eyes trembled.
"...No way."
"Yep. You guessed it."
Kang Seoyul laughed.
At this point, it was all or nothing.
"Our Geumho, do whatever you want."
*Kuaaaaaaaah-!*
The roar of a tiger echoed from the distance.