NOVEL NEXT chapter 92
92
Zzzz─ Zzzz─
[20]
Crying out, the vibrating bracelet.
It was a signal indicating the end of the test.
─Ah, can you hear me?
Kim Joo Hyuk’s voice echoed from the bracelet.
─As of the current time, the survival test has ended. All novices, please gather in front of the main entrance. Once again, ······
Surprise was evident in Chun Woojin’s eyes, who had halted the sword.
“Did you really aim for this?”
“Well, it was a bit close, but I succeeded.”
Beyond being close, my heart felt like it would stop from fear.
‘I never thought my energy would be pierced so easily.’
I had set up an energy wall in the path of Chun Woojin’s charge. A wall that even most mages couldn’t penetrate due to its resilience.
However, Chun Woojin literally tore through that energy wall.
Of course, Anastasia was there, but Chun Woojin was much tougher than I had anticipated.
Calming my surprised heart, I furrowed my brow and said,
“Why would you recklessly charge in, taking magical bullets and spells bare-handed? Are you out of your mind?”
Chun Woojin had recklessly charged forward without caring about his own body. I wasn’t even his enemy ······
“That’s how I thought I could win. Hyesol, you know she’s not the kind of opponent you can defeat by protecting yourself, right?”
“······.”
“You lost even without protecting yourself.”
Ahahahaha. Chuckling awkwardly, Chun Woojin wiped the ‘blood’ trickling down his forehead.
My expression turned gloomy.
It wasn’t nothing; Cheon Woojin’s body was a complete wreck. His school uniform had turned into mere rags, his skin was charred from the lightning, and his entire body, battered by magical bullets, was covered in deep bruises.
“···Aren’t you supposed to go to the hospital?”
“I’m fine. This will heal quickly.”
As Cheon Woojin spoke, he staggered.
“······.”
“hahahaha, I’m really fine. When training with Noah-sensei, it was worse than this.”
If that’s training, isn’t it more like a crime?
What kind of training did he go through······
“Well, I’ll go ahead.”
“···Sure, be careful.”
Cheon Woojin, who adamantly refused any support, turned his back. As he moved away, his staggering seemed quite severe, as if he had taken a significant blow.
Watching Cheon Woojin leave like that, I briefly glanced beside me. Since earlier, Amelia had been immersed in self-pity.
She was breaking down significantly at the realization that her detection had been compromised.
Amelia, who had strong pride, was the type to blame herself for any loss in her field of expertise.
Especially in a situation like now, where the team was almost harmed.
“Cheon Woojin is the weird one, you didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t need to worry.”
My words were not to cheer up Amelia but sincere.
The eccentric who usually went around killing magic like that was unique to Eternity Academy, not just Cheon Woojin.
In human terms, it’s like walking around with all your muscles tensed up.
Regardless of whether it’s possible or not, where can you find someone who does such things 24/7 like a maniac?
It was clear to anyone that Amelia was the victim here.
Anyway, she was skilled but always faced weaker opponents. That’s why she tended to underestimate her own abilities.
But my attempt to comfort Amelia wouldn’t likely reach her ears. I was truly undetectable. While I had no potential to be detected.
Regardless, just as I was about to reconsider my words, fearing they might sound like deception, Amelia murmured quietly.
“The wrath of the Brain God is···”
“······.”
Huh.
The wrath of the Brain God, one can easily name it like that······
“The Brain God, what?”
As I asked in amazement, Amelia’s face turned pale in surprise.
It seemed like at least four exclamation marks popped up in her mind. And with a stutter, she tried to explain herself.
“I-It’s called Lightning Sphere.”
“No, no, ‘Light’ and ‘ning,’ from the pronunciation itself, it’s too···”
“I said no.”
Amelia immediately cut me off.
She seemed ready to take immediate preemptive action as soon as I opened my mouth.
“Stop it.”
“···I didn’t say anything yet?”
“You were smiling just now.”
“Me?”
“Yes, the corners of your mouth were turned up a lot.”
“Is that so.”
Unconsciously…
“Anyway, it’s nothing.”
“Got it.”
‘It was real.’
Magic is a discipline of association. To cast a lightning spell, one must visualize lightning, just as for a fire spell, one must visualize fire. Magicians have their unique words to reinforce their associations. Of course, this is done internally, and there are formal terms in academia. Just like Lightning Sphere, which Amelia shouted out as if making an excuse.
By the way, I vaguely remember seeing in a game that someone like Amelia would use grandiose associative words even for a mere 2nd-circle spell, like the Gale’s Charge or the Goddess’s Punishment.
It took quite a bit of courage to speak those words out loud, given the embarrassment that came from their naming sense. Did she always chant them inwardly whenever she used magic? She’s quite remarkable…
At that moment, Amelia and I locked eyes.
With an indescribable expression, Amelia, who had only been mumbling, hurriedly moved forward.
I turned to Han Seyun, who was grumbling beside me, and asked, “What did I do?”
“Yeah, you were staring at her as if in awe.”
“Really?”
Was that so?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Han Seyun grabbed my waist. Wondering why, I looked down to see that the strap of my leather holder had come loose.
Han Seyun fixed the holder properly and tied up the loose part with a handkerchief.
During that process, I had to stand still and do nothing.
“Thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do.”
As I awkwardly scratched my cheek, Han Seyun grinned. Just then, two sparrows that had caught prey landed on the holder.
And I sensed something off in Han Seyun’s response. Why was it the least he could do?
***
The first to greet me as I returned to the dormitory in the mountains was Eun-ga.
Having been eliminated first and arriving a month later, Eun-ga shouted, “Hey, you’re alive?”
“Yeah.”
I showed him my bracelet.
[50]
“Wow, insane…”
Eun-ga’s eyes widened as he checked the score on the bracelet.
It was a low score compared to the 27 points that Cheon Woo-jin had and the points I had earned from the store, but I had scattered them around a lot.
I had given 8 points to Amelia and Eun-ga each, 10 points, and 3 points to several other disciples. That’s what was left after all this.
For reference, although Eun-ga didn’t travel with me, I had given him separate points and entrusted him with tasks.
To lure Cheon Woo-jin around a bit.
Eun-ga was the lankiest disciple I knew.
Of course, even if I were to give her 10 points, Eungaye wouldn’t have listened to me.
Nevertheless, the reason Eungaye listened to me was that despite not doing the work properly on the first day, my virtue of generously providing a tent, food, and other supplies shone through.
Of course, it was more of a precaution for drawing the big picture than a favor. Thanks to Eungaye buying time, Cheon Woo-jin’s search for me was significantly delayed, so it could be considered a proper investment.
Well, it seemed like Eungaye had failed miserably in various aspects.
Still, since rankings were calculated based on points held at the time of death, it wasn’t a bad condition for Eungaye.
And I also gave points to other students besides Eungaye and had them do similar tasks.
With resources overflowing, there was plenty to spare even after using them generously.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t give any points to Han Se-yeon.”
Being so close to her, I had forgotten even the awareness that I should give her points. After all, I hadn’t even asked her for it in the first place. Well, it wasn’t a big issue anyway.
Since I had handed over all the students to Han Se-yeon, capturing them, she must have earned quite a few points, right?
“How many points did you earn?”
Curious all of a sudden, I turned to ask, and Han Se-yeon, checking her bracelet, replied, “42 points.”
“······.”
Hmm, it was a good call not to give her any.
***
The students who returned their test bracelets received words of encouragement from the instructor Kim Ju-hyuk, who had come to replace them, and then went straight up to shower.
The atmosphere was very welcoming for the students who hadn’t properly showered in the past three days due to being outside.
After cleaning themselves up nicely and resting in their rooms for a while, they headed to the kitchen at noon.
Amelia still hadn’t exchanged a single word with me until then.
It seemed like the shock brought about by the anger of the Guardian was quite significant. It seemed like it would take at least a few days of nursing to get over the aftereffects.
Even though I had said I understood whether it was the Guardian or the Divine, not speaking further was puzzling······
It seems hobbies are difficult to share. Anyway.
“Amazing.”
In Taebaeksan, where forty existences resided, there was one precious ingredient cultivated.
Mandrakka.
In Korea, it was only cultivated here, and it was a ginseng-like creature strictly managed in quantity that was not exported outwards.
To an ordinary human, it was an elixir that slightly enhanced magical power, but to someone below an ordinary human like me, Mandrakka was more than an elixir.
If you ate a lot, you’d build up resistance, but if you consumed two, it was a treasure that increased your stamina by 1 each.
However, for those who struggled in the final exam, Mandrakka was served for lunch as a sign of hardship.
Ugh.
——–
[I have consumed Mandrakka grown with the vitality of Taebaeksan. Stamina will permanently increase by 0.5 over the course of a day.]
[Stamina increase due to Mandrakka is available twice.]
[Mandrakka (1/2)]
——–
As I bit into the bitter root, the status window appeared.
“Amazing.”
The problem was that Mandrakka was one per person, a fixed ration distribution.
Moreover, even though it was in a very small amount, there was the merit of magical power increase, so there couldn’t be any student who wouldn’t eat it······
There it was.
Right next to me, I found a mandragora untouched by anyone.
Feeling a slight pang of guilt, but knowing I was free to ask, I cautiously spoke up.
“···Can I have that if you’re not going to eat it?”
“Sure.”
Blinking, Han Seyeon brightened up and nodded with a smile.
Without hesitation, I chewed and swallowed the mandragora.
“Is it bitter? Here, have some Japchae.”
Watching me eat with delight, Han Seyeon offered me her food as well.
As if just watching me eat made her full, she rested her chin on her hand and smiled.
Familiar with the sight, I paid no mind and diligently chewed and swallowed the mandragora.
[Mandragora consumed twice. Enduring increase of 1.0 in stamina permanently over the day.]
“Oh.”
It was a moment where the satisfaction of coming to the Taebaek Mountains was truly fulfilled.
***
With the second test of survival over, the first-year students finished their meal and immediately left for the Taebaek Mountains. Just like the arrival, they returned through the warp zone. And in the blink of an eye, three days passed. Despite being in the midst of the practical exam, the students had no time to rest. After the practical, a written exam awaited them. It was a day when the students were deeply focused on preparing for the written exam.
On the bulletin board in the first-year lobby, a post was made.
——–
[First-year Class 1 student, Lee Haesol, missing.]
[Abducted by Mine.]
——–
The academy was in an uproar at the shocking news.
It had only been a week since the students had returned from the Taebaek Mountains.