Yoo Yeonha perspective
There was dead silence in the arena. Who lost hajin in battle but that is called durations. Shin Jonghak didn't even break a sweat in front of him. He was impressed when a multi-tasker in the arena used his O aura. Everyone was drowning, with no distinction between friend or foe. Even the high-ranking heroes in the field were sweating. Especially when Shin Jonghak bent down and said something, no one heard him. What did he say?
All duels ended at 17.00
A cadet named Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Rachel, and Joo Youngho were the only ones to win all of their duels. As cadets could fight up to three times a day, many unexpected results occurred due to fatigue on one side.
—Wow, this is blessed. Have you seen Kim Suho? How stylish can it be?
"Chae nayun and Rachel also tied."
"Well what about Kim Hajin, he was really strong Shin Jonghak and Kim Horak won without even effort."
Too much said code was circulating in the area.
The air divisions had decided to protect the arena. Many spectators swayed by it when contemplating today's wars.
Before returning home, he is about to open the arena first. After it sat on a random place, I took out the drone I had put in my crossbody bag.
This drone was quite different from the original as I added a few settings like increasing battery life, stealth mode and Target locking. These changes will last for four days, during which the Chameleon Squad will leave. As a result, it was pretty easy to make changes to SP.
Normally I should have seen Chae nayun cry. But he should be able to handle this much since they're a returnee.
Of course, notifications started pouring down on my smart watch. All guilds and troops were interested in me.
Of course, I saw the message of the boss, who was one of them, and he left a message introducing himself and leaving his number. I'm pretty hesitant to join them or not, but we'll decide.
Wednesday.
The next battle test has begun. Since the cadets had to fight monsters in this exam, ordinary people were forbidden to watch. Also, because the monsters summoned by magicians are of different types and strengths. the exam was graded on an absolute rather than a relative scale.
Here Rachel would be in Danger and be injured. I'm going to feed Evande with the blood I got by dressing his wound. So I will kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
"Be especially careful in today's exam. If you refuse to give up, you may indeed die in the end."
Kim Soohyuk gave a serious warning. Just like he said, summoned monsters were dangerous. Despite being summoned by magicians, they could not comprehend complex orders.
"Destroy the enemies and protect the allies" was the extent of the order they could understand. An order like "test that soldier's skill" was out of the question.
Not to mention, the summoned monsters didn't blow up when the magicians summoned them in reverse, so the disciples had to be on their toes even after they surrendered.
If you think your life is in danger, give up now. You can shout 'I surrender' or double-tap the ground."
I stood still and calmly listened to Kim Soohyuk's explanation. Chae Nayun was glaring at me from the side but I ignored her.
"The magicians in charge of the exam will do the rest of the explanation. Give them a warm welcome."
The door opened and robed wizards entered.
Summoner mages were not given any special treatment. The Wizard Tower had a strict hierarchy among wizards depending on their specialization, and the summoner wizards were neither more nor less than the average. And since summoner wizards usually worked outside of the Wizard's Tower, they didn't have twisted personalities like most wizards.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Chief Magician, Jin Joohwa."
The leader of the magicians bowed before the students.
"You will fight the monsters that we will summon today. But be careful, the summoned monsters are no different from the real monsters. Even if we summon them in reverse, they will not disappear as quickly as in the games. So if things seem dangerous, surrender immediately."
The cadets nodded at the magician's gentle explanation.
"Good. Then we'll tell you how the exam is going to go."
Jin Joohwa smiled brightly.
"Four students will enter at the same time and each student will be given 15 minutes. You will not be graded on victory or defeat, and your fighting role will definitely be considered."
Jin Joohwa raised his index finger.
"The first is how long you can hold out. The next is how calmly you react. In other words, you don't need to try to kill the summoned monster."
Wiing—
The faint vibration of a smartwatch interrupted his sentence.
The magician looked around the room.
"Please turn off all smart watches."
He spoke carelessly.
We also turned off our smart watches without caring.
Chief Magician Jin Joohwa's explanation went on for a long time. How the exam will be conducted, how the groups will be formed, the types of monsters to be summoned… I understood that he was a cautious person, but I wished he would take the exam as soon as possible.
"Now we'll start the exam. 1. Group members stand up."
He finally said the words I was waiting for.
Group 1 was Hazuki, Kim Junho, Yoo Jungjin, and Spenner. Hazuki was the only person I knew.
"I will do my best!"
Hazuki stood up with encouraging words from his friends.
Four group members followed a staff member to the inspection area.
"Everyone else, please stand aside."
The remaining 96 students from the Veritas classroom leaned against the wall, wondering why. Suddenly Jin Joohwa applauded and ten round tables and chairs rose from the ground.
"Sit down guys. You're going to write a report for this exam, too."
The cadets immediately began to moan.
"Sit wherever you want."
As I already knew this was going to happen, I wasn't impressed in the slightest. I sat randomly while other students sat close to their friends.
Just as I thoughtlessly awaited Jin Joohwa's next words, a sweet scent tickled my nose. It was a unique and aromatic rose scent. I looked sideways.
It was Rachel. He was staring at his nails. One of her nails looked very sharp as she moved the nail clippers to one of her fingers. That's when his eyes met mine.
Rachel hastily pocketed her nail clippers.
"Battle analysis will be part of this test."
Jin Joohwa's explanation began once again.
"It's simple. You will carefully study the cadets fighting the monsters and write a report."
All of a sudden, a monitor popped up from the tables. There was one for each seat, a hundred total.
The monitor's screen was divided into four and each screen showed a student from the group taking the exam.
"How they defeated their monsters, why they lost, what areas they lacked even if they won, what methods they could use to get a better result if they lost. That's what we're looking for in your reports."
Clink, knock.
Jin Joohwa applauded and the other magicians began to distribute report sheets.
"You have to write three reports in total, but the best report will be reflected in your grade. Of course, that doesn't mean you can only write one report. Otherwise you will be penalized."
I got the paper in front of me. As I was looking at the peer review paper, I suddenly remembered my college days. I had to write my name on the "Assessed Cadet" line and the name of the cadet I was evaluating on the "Assessed Cadet" line.
[Check the 'anonymous' checkbox if you want to remain anonymous.]
Fortunately, we had the option to be 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."
Upon these words, the students began to take meaningful glances.
"Giving healthy advice and advice to your friends and promoting honest personal growth, I think these are the duties of a Hero. So if you abuse the ability to be anonymous to be malicious, you will be punished accordingly."
The archmage's mouth curled into a smile.
"Looks like we're ready. Group 1's exam will begin now."
I stared at the monitor. I then clicked on the box with Hazuki. The other three boxes disappeared and only Hazuki filled the screen.
Hazuki was facing a ghoul, a low-mid rank 1 monster. It must have been a tough fight for Hazuki.
—Clang, pinball
The ghoul's claws slammed into Hazuki's axe.
Hazuki countered his attacks quite calmly, but a ghoul's claws were tougher than average high-class weapons. After throwing a few punches, Hazuki must have circled around the room, concluding that he was at a disadvantage in close-range combat. Using the ghoul's slow speed to his advantage, he began searching for an opening in the ghoul's defense.
But 15 minutes passed without any change.
The ghoul disappeared after being called back.
"Draw, Hazuki and Yoo Jungjin. Victory, Spenner. Defeat, Kim Junho. Next group. Chae Nayun, Hojun, Jutryn, Carlos."
Next up was Chae Nayun's group.
I actually wrote some advice on sword stance. I wrote a report saying that he should be more careful with his footsteps and watch out for the surroundings, not just the monster.
"Victory, Chae Nayun. Defeat, Hojun and Jutryn. Draw, Carlos."
After the examination, Chae Nayun returned with her imposing demeanor when she left. I didn't even glance at him. Feeling a little guilty, I turned my report over.
"Next group 3..."
So the exam went on.
Meanwhile, Oh Junhyuk was patrolling the western forest. The slight vibration he felt a while ago was bothering him.
Normally he would consider it a natural phenomenon and ignore it, but a police officer was killed the day before. As a result, Oh Junhyuk was more sensitive to his surroundings right now.
Oong-
A clearer vibration resounded than he had felt before.
"Youngji, did you feel it?"
Seo Youngji's response came within a second from the micro transceiver she had.
—Yes, another vibration. I think it comes from the ocean. Can you tell me exactly when you felt the vibration?
"How can I know?"
—Then send me your smartwatch data.
Oh Junhyuk did as he said.
—I'm in the eastern forest. Vibration was 0.03 seconds faster on your side. The source of the vibration must be in the western sea.
"Can I use the smartwatch to calculate the same thing?"
- You should be able to. It is a specially produced smart watch of the association. It has many useful functions. Anyway, I'm going there now. Wait me.
"I understand."
Oh Junhyuk started walking through a field of grass towards the western sea. Since the vibration was coming from the western sea, he planned to observe it from afar.
But at that moment...
He felt his magic power intensify and dissipate.
Oh Junhyuk quickly turned in that direction.
A shadowy figure emerged from the dense forest.
Oh Junhyuk stared at the figure while holding his breath.
Tap, tap. A man stepped out, a man he had seen before. Oh Junhyuk remembered him because of the unique aura he imparted.
A great build and an ominous face. It was the man staring at her in the arena.
Oh Junhyuk's eyes met the man's. The man replied with a big smile.
Looking at the man, Oh Junhyuk spoke with a serious tone.
"This area is forbidden to foreigners."
"Is this?"
A fierce light flashed from the man's eyes.
"Then why are you here?"
His voice was suitably muffled and full. However, Oh Junhyuk responded without the slightest excitement.
"Because I'm not a stranger."
"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 come back."
"I refuse."
The giant man grinned and suddenly cracked his knuckles. He clearly wanted to fight. Oh Junhyuk sighed deeply.
"You were the one who killed that police officer, weren't you?"
"Huh? I don't know. Instead, don't just stand there."
At that moment, a freezing wind blew from the sea. Oh Junhyuk's smartwatch rang loudly at the same time.
"If you don't want to be beaten, move."
The moment the giant man's voice dropped...
Chwaa—
From the depths of the sea, a giant creature sprang up with a gush of water. Oh Junhyuk quickly turned around.
The creature looked like a generic snake, but its overwhelming size and brutal mouth meant it was in a league of its own.
Snake Dragon.
A mythical beast had appeared in the western sea.