Chapter 43.

Chief Magician Jin Joohwa’s explanation dragged on for a long time . How the exam will be carried out, how groups will be formed, the types of monsters that will be summoned… I understood that he was a cautious person, but I just wished he would get on with the exam already .

“Now, we will begin the exam . Group 1 members should stand up . ”

Finally, he spoke the words I was waiting for .

Group 1 was Hazuki, Kim Junho, Yoo Jungjin, and Spenner . Hazuki was the only one I knew .

“I’ll do my best!”

Hazuki got up as she received encouraging words from her friends .

The four group members followed a staff to the examination ground .

“Everyone else, please stand to the side . ”

The 96 remaining cadets of Veritas class stood against the wall while wondering why . Suddenly, Jin Joohwa clapped, and ten circular tables with ten chairs each rose up from the floor .

“Take a seat, everyone . You will be writing a report for this exam as well . ”

Immediately, cadets broke out into groans .

“Sit wherever you want . ”

Since I already knew this would happen, I wasn’t fazed by it in the slightest . I took a seat randomly, while other cadets sat close to their friends .

“…?”

Just when I was thoughtlessly waiting for Jin Joohwa’s next word, a sweet fragrance tickled my nose . It was a unique and aromatic smell of rose . I glanced sideways .

It was Rachel . She was staring at her fingernails . It seemed one of her nails was too sharp as she took a nail clipper to one of her fingers . At that moment, her eyes met mine .

Rachel hastily put away the nail clipper into her pocket .

“Battle analysis will be part of this exam . ”

Jin Joohwa’s explanation began once again .

“It’s simple . You will carefully analyze cadets who are battling monsters and write a report . ”

In an instant, a monitor shot up from the tables . There was one for each seat, a total of a hundred .

The monitor’s screen was split into four, and each screen showed a cadet from the group taking the exam .

“How they were able to defeat their monster, or why they lost; even if they won, in what areas they were lacking; if they lost, what methods they could have used to get a better result . This is what we are looking for in your reports . ”

Chak, chak .

Jin Joohwa clapped, and the other magicians began to hand out report papers .

“You have to write three reports in total, but only the best report will be reflected on your grade . Of course, that doesn’t mean you can only write one report . If you do, you will be penalized . ”

I picked up the paper in front of me . Looking at the peer assessment paper, I suddenly remembered my college days . I had to write my name on the “evaluating cadet” line and the name of the cadet I’m evaluating on “evaluatee cadet . ”

[Check the ‘anonymous’ checkbox if you wish to remain anonymous . ]

Thankfully, we had the option of being anonymous .

“For the record, this report is only 5% of your grade . But, the reports you write will be given to the cadets you evaluate . ”

At these words, cadets began to exchange meaningful looks .

“Giving your peers healthy advice and recommendations, and encouraging honest self-development, I think these are duties of a Hero . So if you abuse the ability to be anonymous to be malicious, you will be penalized accordingly . ”

The chief magician’s mouth curled up to a smile .

“It seems we are ready . Group 1’s exam will now begin . ”

I stared at the monitor fixedly . I then clicked on the box Hazuki was in . The other three boxes disappeared, and only Hazuki’s filled the screen .

Hazuki was facing a ghoul, a low-intermediate rank grade 1 monster . It should be a difficult fight for Hazuki .

—Clang, clang

The ghoul’s claws clashed with Hazuki’s axe .

Hazuki responded to its attacks rather calmly, but a ghoul’s claws were harder than average high grade weapons . After exchanging a few blows, Hazuki must have concluded that she was at a disadvantage in close ranged combat as she began to circle around the room . Using the ghoul’s slow speed to her advantage, she began to look for an opening in the ghoul’s defense .

But 15 minutes went by with no change .

The ghoul disappeared after being reverse summoned .

“Draw, Hazuki and Yoo Jungjin . Victory, Spenner . Defeat, Kim Junho . Next is group 2 . Chae Nayun, Hojun, Jutryn, Carlos . ”

Next up was Chae Nayun’s group .

Chae Nayun walked up in an imposing manner . The weight of her bow seemed lighter than usual . Just what could Kim Suho have said to her to make her feel so energetic?

I looked at Chae Nayun through the monitor .

“A Thousand-Mile Horse?”

Chae Nayun’s opponent was the Thousand-Mile Horse, an intermediate rank grade 9 monster . It was one of the trickiest monsters for an archer to face . But in the screen, Chae Nayun stood tall with confidence in front of the Thousand-Mile Horse .

Not long afterward, the battle began .

Chae Nayun drew her bow, and the Thousand-Mile Horse charged towards her .

I examined their fight closely . My Gift, Master Sharpshooter, seemed to affect my eyes of discernment, as I could clearly see Chae Nayun’s faults .

[Chae Nayun]

Chae Nayun dodged the charging Thousand-Mile Horse by rolling to the side . Doing so, she had missed an opportunity to attack . She should have stabbed an arrow in its flank, or if she fired after rolling, she would have hit the horse’s butt .

[Chae Nayun only wants to shoot her bow in upright positions . In other words, she lacks adaptability and situational awareness as an archer . ]

Chae Nayun was too fixated on textbook stances . As a result, the Thousand-Mile Horse easily dodged her arrows .

[In a one-on-one fight, sharpshooters require detailed analysis and background knowledge of their target . However, Chae Nayun lacks knowledge about monsters . ]

Defeating a Thousand-Mile Horse was easy if one started with disabling its legs . However, Chae Nayun was attacking places with a large surface area like its neck and body .

‘She doesn’t like memorizing theory . ’

It was Chae Nayun’s flaw I created myself .

[Her ability to predict her opponent’s movements is superb, but she lacks the ability to take her arrows’ speed into account . ]

This was a matter of talent . Chae Nayun’s talent in bows was ranked second or third . In contrast, her talent in longswords was ranked first . The spear and bow only came afterwards .

In other words, Chae Nayun couldn’t predict what I could predict .

That was the difference between our talents, our Gifts .

[Despite all this, Chae Nayun was able to win against the Thousand-Mile Horse because of her overwhelming magic power control, capacity, and adaptability . ]

Eventually, the Thousand-Mile Horse got tired . It couldn’t withstand the endless barrage of arrows that came from Chae Nayun’s terrifying magic power capacity .

[Overall, I recommend that Chae Nayun find a weapon that is more suited to utilizing her immense magic power . ]

The exam ended with her victory .

However, my report was filled with criticisms . Still, they were reasonable . If the person grading this report had sharp eyes, he would know that I was right .

“Victory, Chae Nayun . Defeat, Hojun, and Jutryn . Draw, Carlos . ”

After the exam, Chae Nayun returned in the same imposing manner as when she had left . I didn’t even give her a glance . Feeling somewhat guilty, I flipped over my report .

“Next is group 3…”

The exam thus continued .

**

Meanwhile, Oh Junhyuk was patrolling the west forest . The faint vibration he felt a while ago was bothering him .

Normally, he would have thought of it as a natural phenomenon and ignored it, but a police officer had been killed the day before . As a result, Oh Junhyuk was currently more sensitive to his surroundings .

Oong—

A vibration even clearer than the one he felt before rang out .

“Youngji, did you feel that?”

Seo Youngji’s reply came within a second from the micro-transceiver he had .

—Yep, another vibration . I think it’s coming from the ocean . Can you tell me exactly when you felt the vibration?

“How should I know?”

—Then just send me your smartwatch data .

“…”

Oh Junhyuk did as she said .

—I’m in the east forest . The vibration was 0 . 03 seconds faster on your side . The source of the vibration must be in the west sea .

“Can I use the smartwatch to calculate the same thing?”

— You should be able to . It’s the Association’s specially crafted smartwatch . It has a lot of useful functions . Anyways, I’m heading over there now . Wait for me .

“Got it . ”

Oh Junhyuk began to walk towards the west sea through a field of weed . Since the vibration came from the west sea, he planned to observe it from a distance .

But at that moment…

He felt a condensing and scattering of magic power .

Oh Junhyuk quickly turned to that direction .

A shadowy figure was walking out from the dense forest .

“…”

Oh Junhyuk stared at the figure while holding his breath .

Tap, tap . With heavy steps, a man walked out… a man that he had seen before . Because of the unique aura he gave off, Oh Junhyuk remembered him .

A large build and a sinister face . It was the man who was glaring at him in the arena .

Oh Junhyuk’s eyes met the man’s . The man returned a big smile .

Looking at the man, Oh Junhyuk spoke in a businesslike manner .

“This area is off-limits to outsiders . ”

“Is it?”

A fierce light shone from the man’s eyes .

“Then why are you here?”

His voice was fittingly husky and full . However, Oh Junhyuk retorted without being fazed in the slightest .

“Because I’m not an outsider . ”

“Mm, what a surprise . ”

The giant man gave a dry reply as he rubbed his chin . Oh Junhyuk forced himself to smile .

“If you understand, please go back . ”

“I refuse . ”

With a grin, the giant man suddenly began to crack his joints . He was clearly asking for a fight . Oh Junhyuk let out a deep sigh .

“The one who murdered that police officer, that was you, wasn’t it?”

“Huh? I don’t know . Rather than that, don’t just stand there . ”

At that moment, a chilling wind blew from the sea . Oh Junhyuk’s smartwatch loudly rang at the same time .

“Move if you don’t want to be beaten up . ”

The moment the giant man’s voice fell low…

Chwaa—

From the depths of the sea, a giant creature shot up with a burst of water . Oh Junhyuk quickly turned around .

The creature looked like a generic snake, but its overwhelming size and vicious mouth showed that it was on a league of its own .

Serpent Dragon .

A mythical monster had appeared on the west sea .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .