༺ First Exam ༻
“…Then, did you actually die 100,000 times, for us?”
“Stop making it seem so grandiose. I just did what I wanted.”
After listening to my whole explanation,
Seo-ah couldn’t stop herself from crying again.
Regret? Gratitude?
As I saw Seo-ah’s various emotions intersect,
I felt a little embarrassed.
Because all the things I did,
Was because I was furious when I saw the things they went through,
“Didn’t it hurt?… No, it must have hurt. It must have been pure agony. You must have felt so lonely…”
Seo-ah’s tears didn’t stop.
While looking uneasy,
I could see her checking to see if I was okay.
‘I even twisted my words a bit, but she’s still this affected…’
It was the first time I’d ever seen Seo-ah cry this much.
Despite my attempt to soften the story so Seo-ah wouldn’t be shocked, her tears wouldn’t stop.
I couldn’t believe the most rational one amongst us reacted this strongly,
I honestly didn’t think she would be this shocked…
‘It’s a bit too much…’
Of course, this wasn’t the first time I had heard someone thank me,
But still, it was a bit burdening to see someone directly express this much gratitude for my actions.
Perhaps I should say I wasn’t used to hearing compliments like this.
Feeling very awkward, I calmed Seo-ah down and changed the subject.
“Anyway, you think Ha-eun and Hyun don’t remember anything, right?”
“…Yes. I talked to Ha-eun and Hyun as soon as I came to the academy, but they acted like it was the first time they ever saw me.”
When I asked her for information on Ha-eun and Lee Hyun, Seo-ah replied that she didn’t know.
I wasn’t really surprised.
I made the question knowing how Seo-ah would answer.
“…But, do you really plan to enroll at the academy?”
I remained silent after listening to Seo-ah’s words.
Seo-ah asked me another question.
“I don’t completely remember the full six years, but I at the very least remember how the Academy leeched off of us until there was nothing left. On top of that, if it is as you say, Si-woo, there is someone even more dangerous than that. Would it not be better to not enter the Academy with Ha-eun and Hyun…?”
Seo-ah asked me whether it would be best not to enter the academy. It was a valid concern but, I had no intention of skipping.
“No, I will attend. I have to attend the academy. I will thoroughly destroy this place and get back at that bastard for killing us.”
“…Is that even possible? Honestly, our skill level can’t even begin to compare to the professors. Maybe in 6 years, but…”
“It’s possible. If not, I’ll make it possible. Haven’t I always brought significant results whenever I was this confident? So just trust me. If we’re the only ones to run away, it’s obvious that the other students will die just like us.”
I said something that would convince Seo-ah.
After all, Seo-ah wasn’t the type of person to overlook the misfortune of others.
“…Okay. If you say as much, I guess there must be a way to solve this. I will believe in you, just as I have always done.”
Seo-ah agreed to attend the academy again, just as I had expected.
As it was about time for the first exam to begin,
I took the now mostly calm Seo-ah and led her into the auditorium.
Of course…
“Seo-ah. Before we go, want to play rock paper scissors? But you always throw out rock and I always throw out paper.”
“…Pardon?”
“Just play along.”
“…O-okay.”
I had to copy her skills before we went.
She had a lot of skills after all.
I couldn’t just pretend not to know, right?
***
“Next number, please come forward.”
As soon as we went back into the auditorium,
We could see that they were still in the middle of the magic orb test.
When I entered the auditorium, all eyes were on me for a moment,
But, the attention soon faded, maybe because of the tension over what grade each person would receive.
Of course, I was about to make that attention focus on me again.
‘Let’s check my status window one more time.’
This time, I will definitely give this entrance exam my wall.
If my prediction was correct,
I would be able to grow a lot just from the entrance exam alone.
So I checked my status window to check my abilities one last time,
Level: 19 (1st Stage Awakener)
(Remaining attribute points are 21.)
Ability Copy(S) Magi Manipulation(S) Large Explosion(B) Magic Manipulation (E) Continuous Slash(D) Chaotic Slash(B)
Including the Chaotic Slash skill that I got from Seo-ah earlier,
It was quite a satisfactory status window.
After the Undead dungeon, I went through a few more dungeons.
But still, considering I leveled up this much in just a day,
I could feel that I had achieved tremendous growth.
You need to be over level 20 to become a 2nd Stage Awakener,
So I’ve only needed 1 level to go until then.
“Okay, let’s move on.”
As I was checking my status window,
A familiar figure entered the auditorium.
“Wow… What kind of grade do you think Yu Ha-eun will get?”
“She’s the most promising, so probably around grade B?”
“No, I mean, even so. I bet there’s not many people who got to grade B before the entrance exam.
“Huh? But still, it’s not like there hasn’t been anybody who got to grade A before the entrance exam.”
“But those are very special cases. If you put it that way, they say the current headmaster of the academy got an S rating from the start.”
Yu Ha-eun.
When it was the turn of this girl, who was not only my colleague but the academy’s most promising student, the auditorium grew noisy.
But even that kind of conversation,
Became quiet as soon as Ha-eun spoke.
Because…
“Please place your hand on the magic orb. Although it won’t break easily even, if a 5th Stage Awakener attacked it seriously, it’s still expensive so please handle it with care.”
“Fufu… I will have to make sure the power of the rampaging dragon within me doesn’t break it… If I break this, everyone might become afraid of my very existence!”
“Ah… Yes. Well, even if you break it, we will consider it a part of the exam, so we won’t ask you for compensation…”
Apparently, personalities didn’t change so easily,
She was showing herself tense up, as ever.
Spewing out lines as if she was some chunnibyo,1Editor Note: A term used to describe someone (Usually early teens) with grandiose delusions. It is often done for attention and of a genuine belief that they hold some secret power, it is also referred to as “Second-Grade Syndrome.” Ha-eun will be referred to that a lot going forward.
It just looked like a child making themselves look like an adult, so it was quite amusing.
‘But still, her skill is impossible to ignore.’
Even if she looked and acted like a little kid,
She possessed a once-in-a-century talent.
If I look at her status window with the Eye of Greed,
(Remaining attribute points are 0.)
Holy Arrow(D) Mana Explosion(C) Fireball(D) Mana Manipulation(E) Ice Sculpture(C) Teleportation(B) Mass Teleportation(A) Psychokinesis(B) Large Explosion(B) Summon Meteorite(B)
Points heavily invested in magic, befitting that of a wizard.
On top of that, if one saw her level which would be thought to be impossible for a freshman,
You could clearly see how talented she was in combat.
“Then, please place your hand on the magic ball.” Following the guide’s instructions, Ha-eun touched the magic ball. And with that, the electronic displayed,
The phrase appeared.
“…Shit, is this for real?”
“This is crazy. If I had that level of talent.”
“That’s insane…”
And as soon as they saw it,
Feelings of admiration, respect, and inferiority poured out into the auditorium.
Ha-eun didn’t get an A-class evaluation just because she was level 51.
That object actually evaluated one’s potential.
Even if a player was at the same level,
If they have no talent, they could get C-class.
Therefore, this reaction was only natural.
‘Let’s see, I remember me being the one after this one.’
As far as I could remember,
My turn was two places after Ha-eun.
I think my grade back then was a D.
It wasn’t extremely low,
But still, it was a grade that couldn’t be seen as high.
And after Ha-eun’s turn…
“Si-woo! Hyun is there!”
“…He is.”
It was Lee Hyun’s turn to take the magic test.
Lee Hyun was quite small for a man.
Unlike Ha-eun, Lee Hyun went up quite nervous,
While he looked around at people’s reactions.
‘Honestly, there’s something about Lee Hyun I don’t really like.’
It wasn’t because he was a man.
We were in the same party, after all.
He even made an effort to become close to Ha-eun and Seo-ah.
But, even though we spent 6 years together, he kept on putting up this invisible wall.
Whenever we were about to get close,
He would pull back and avoid me, and I didn’t really like that.
Maybe we could say it felt like he kept on pushing us away.
…Despite the fact I had saved him so many times.
‘Let’s first see his skills.’
Unlike my previous lives, this time I had this artifact called Eye of Greed.
Let’s see what Hyun’s skills look like at this point,
(Remaining attribute points are 0.)
Illusion(B) Nightmare(S) Powerful Attack(C)
‘…?’
…What is this?
Is this artifact broken already?
First of all, his stats were way too low for his level,
And on top of that, there were so many other questions to be asked about his status window, including his name
…Or, had this guy never actually given us his real name?
