Conquering the Broken Heroine?

The long-awaited first event, the practical evaluation, finally begins.

It’s the opening of the main story.
It should be the starting point for Han Seoyeon to step up as a munchkin protagonist.

Yet, why was it?
Han Seoyeon couldn’t bring herself to smile.

They grew distant.
They kept growing distant.
Right before her eyes.

“Then, sis─ I mean, Seoyeon, I’ll borrow your senior just this once.”
“Let’s see each other later.”

The blonde delinquent, together with the silver-haired pure beauty.
They disappeared from her sight.

“What are you standing there blankly for!”

Instead, what was there,
A roll-bun hairstyle giving off villainess vibes.
And one that made her want to throw up at that.

“Come on, let’s hurry and go!”

This must be a dream.
It couldn’t be reality.

Despite such wishes, Baek Da-eun pulled on Han Seoyeon’s arm.

“It’s started.”

The owner of the voice was watching the academy’s practical evaluation from a dark space.

However, strangely, this person was not related to the academy.

They had no connection to the academy whatsoever.
Perhaps they could even be called an antagonistic entity.

─Ding.

A sound rang in the man’s ear.
It was like a game sound effect.

[Hidden Quest!]

Letters floated in the air.
The man clicked on them.

[Attack the Academy!]
[Difficulty: S]
[The Hunter Academy conducting practical evaluations. The learning place for young saplings created with good intentions is being exploited by an evil dictator….]

Then a message appeared.
A message like in a game.

[Attack the academy and undermine the dictator’s authority! The sacrifice of students is somewhat regrettable, but…?]

“…An S-rank quest! Is this for real?”

The man jumped for joy upon seeing the message.
He wasn’t the only one rejoicing.

[The Constellation ‘Aide of the Abyss’ rejoices along with you.]

Constellation.
The owner of the throne beyond the starry sky.
The man’s Supporting Star also rejoiced with him.

“I’m grateful that you told me in advance that there would be a hidden quest, but to think it’s even S-rank! I’m just so thankful! Overwhelmingly grateful!”

To the monarch who was certainly there though invisible.
The man expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
It was like a reaction from a broadcaster.

[The Constellation ‘Aide of the Abyss’ is embarrassed by your praise.]

“Aw, what’s there to be embarrassed about! It’s all facts!”

Hidden quest.
And even S-rank at that.
It was a first since becoming a Player.

“S-rank… I wonder what the reward will be?”

The rewards for S-rank quests that the man had seen so far were all tremendous.

Legendary weapons.
Hidden professions.
Hidden skills.
Whatever it might be, the reward wouldn’t be light.

The man was still a newcomer among Players.
That would no longer be the case.

“Just you wait! I’m coming right now!”

The man steeled his resolve.
His Supporting Star also rejoiced.

[Killing Academy Students: Incomplete (0/50)]
[Tip: If cruelty is added to indirect methods, there might be an even more special reward…?]

No one paid attention to the achievement conditions at the very bottom of the quest.

The content of the simple practical evaluation itself wasn’t much.
Formed into pairs, they conquer the designated hunting ground.

What’s meant by conquering here is, in other words, completing the course.
The hunting ground prepared for evaluation took the form of a straight path.

Hunters are collectivistic.
A hunter is not a being that hunts alone.
As such, cooperation is essential.

The academy professors, considering this, placed monsters throughout that would require two students working together to overcome.

There were several evaluation criteria.
Ordinary completion.
Quick completion.
And above all, cooperation.

Even if one could easily dispatch monsters by handling powerful abilities, they wouldn’t receive high scores.
This was because this place was for training hunters.

In the end, it’s hunting in a hunting ground.
It was just a game, far from real combat.

Among real monsters, there were cases where even the strongest hunters couldn’t win without coordinated attacks.

Therefore, this was closer to a personality test than a test of ability.

“How weak!”

In that sense, it could be stated.
Han Seoyeon’s grade was screwed.

“Is this all? The monsters prepared by the academy are nothing special!”

Wind whirls.
The S-rank ability exerted its power without reservation.

D-rank monsters were like boneless meat.
The monsters were dismembered without a trace by the wind blades.

“Now, just trust and follow me! We’ll arrive first!”
“…”

Tak, Han Seoyeon grabbed the back of her neck.
This was one of the parts in [The Falling Star Swordsman of the Academy] that made one grab the back of their neck.

Baek Da-eun slaughters monsters alone with her powerful ability as a weapon.
Han Suho grasps the true intent of the test with her excellent insight, but fails to persuade Baek Da-eun.

With that high pride, the words of a powerless person don’t even register.

If she didn’t budge even at the words of that angelic high school girl Han Suho, how could Han Seoyeon, who had far less patience, possibly persuade her?

So it was better for mental health to keep her mouth shut from the start.

Originally, if following the flow of the original work, this test would end up in a complete mess.

There was no need to overdo it.
It was still time to hold out.

“Now do you understand a little? How great a talent I am!”

Endure, little Senior Michaela inside me.
No matter how infuriating, the other party is a heroine.

“…Right. You’re great.”

Even if rotten, Baek Da-eun was a real person to the current Han Seoyeon.
Perhaps a heroine who might end up with her younger sister.

Of course, this older sister was adamantly against it.

“Wh-What is this…! That attitude!”

Even though she gave praise, what was there to be unsatisfied about again?

“What.”
“It’s completely different from when you’re with that foreigner!”
“Of course it is.”

An angelic senior and Baek Da-eun.
Isn’t it natural for the reactions to be different?

Han Seoyeon wasn’t some insensitive harem protagonist, she was an extremely healthy high school girl.

“Do I, have some point where I fall behind that foreigner!”
“I told you before.”

No matter how much she denied it, nothing would change.

“That you lack size of heart.”
“Eeeek…!”

The solemn reality was reality.

“A, a girl, how dare you say such shameful things…!”

Shameful, she says.
It was rude.
Han Seoyeon was just being honest as a munchkin.

“Look who’s talking, lesbian.”
“Our country has sexual freedom! And you’re a lesbian too!”

Han Seoyeon was confident.
She could look up to the sky without a single point of shame.

“Just what are you anyway!”

Baek Da-eun shouted.

“Aiming for that foreigner and even Han Suho! Don’t, don’t, don’t you think you’re too promiscuous!”
“…Has a lustful demon possessed your head or something?”

It was a delusion.
As said repeatedly, she wasn’t into incest.
As a bonus, she was a pure yuri fan.

“Stop saying nonsense and let’s move forward.”
“There’s no need to even listen to what you say!”

Baek Da-eun moved forward.

“Just follow me! I’ll protect weaklings like you!”

Pervert lesbian.
But at the same time, a twisted but existing noblesse oblige spirit.

The reason she discriminates against the weak is simple.
Because they are the ones she must protect.

Those who need protection shouldn’t stand beside her without knowing their place, right?

This was why Baek Da-eun could be a heroine who could be “washed” in the washing machine.
Fundamentally, she wasn’t a bad child.

If that wasn’t the case, she would have left her to die long ago.
When she was just five years old.

“I think this practical should emphasize cooperation.”

That was the first thing Han Suho said to Michaela as they entered the hunting ground.

“Do you have a basis for that?”
“Yes. First of all, I think the fact that it’s a group assignment is significant.”

If it was a simple evaluation of abilities, there was no need to choose the method of a group assignment.
Aren’t there countless other ways to test pure abilities?

So if we interpret the intent of the test,

“At least two hunters are needed to enter a hunting ground. It’s too risky with just one person. If one person falls, the other can help them, right?”

This could only be seen as cooperation.

“I think this test is the same. It’s not evaluating strength as an Awakener, but suitability as a hunter.”

When hunters enter hunting grounds, pairs are essential.
In the past when there were few hunters, those who hunted monsters alone couldn’t even retrieve their corpses.

That was a lesson left by the blood and tears of senior comrades.

A good Awakener doesn’t necessarily become a good hunter.
There are those who can become powerful hunters but not competent and universally recognized hunters.

This test must surely be evaluating that.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to form pairs.

The reason for allowing free formation of pairs is also in line with cooperation.
Logically thinking, if pairs were formed randomly with complete strangers, it would be detrimental to both parties.

Since it was practical with monsters, regardless of the form.

“Indeed.”

A valid and logical observation.
Michaela agreed with this as well.

Even when she was in Europe, although not much help, there was always at least one comrade by her side.

[It’s hard to believe this is the judgment of a girl of this age.]

The sword spoke.
It was as she said.
It was like a hero overcoming the power of the demon king’s army with wisdom.

“…Although I’ve said all this, in reality, you and I, Senior, won’t need to cooperate on such a grand scale.”

The opponents are monsters that even ordinary students can conquer.

“Both you and I are S-rank Awakeners. Since this is a hunting ground prepared by the professors themselves, it will be full of monsters that even ordinary students can conquer to some extent.”

For S-rank Awakeners, that level was nothing.

“There’s no way the professors would have sent more powerful monsters just for us two S-ranks to see our cooperation.”

Additionally, the condition for evaluation is fairness.

“Honestly, either you or I could probably conquer this alone.”

It was unthinkable that the professors would have raised the standards only for these two just because two S-ranks teamed up.

“Let’s take turns defeating the monsters.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Let’s complete the course slowly. So that no one gets hurt.”

Han Suho used her ability first.

Her ability was the generation and manipulation of electricity.
The monsters turned to charcoal without even being able to react to the sound of thunder.

Next was Michaela.

Cold air rushed around her as she drew the artifact from her waist.
Only the remains of frozen statues were left where the blizzard had passed.

Lightning and cold.
Mere D-rank monsters were no match for these two S-rank abilities.

“While we’re slowly completing the course─”

Bzzt.
Electricity flowed.

Han Suho’s current instantly hacked some of the academy’s CCTV.
So that no one could hear what the two of them were talking about.

“Shall we continue our unfinished conversation, Senior?”
“…”

Han Suho’s eyes looking at Michaela were like those of a hero looking at a demon.