Yu HanNah screamed in excitement while watching the monitor.
"Student Shin YuSung has dodged all of the crystal shards! When they were flying as fast as bullets!"
The Shin YuSung on the screen was clenching his fist in midair. It was the moment where defeat or victory was on the line. In his fists was the principle the Fist King had taught him.
One hit, one kill.
The mana-boosted punch YuSung threw was so fast that it was hard for Yu HanNah's eyes to follow it.
Boom!
An ear-splitting boom resounded as Shin YuSung's fist smashed into the head of the crystal golem.
Cccrackk!
As its head and the core split in half, the golem lost its strength and fell.
Crashhh!
Yu HanNah and Jin ByungCheol held their breath as they saw the golem crumble into a heap of rubble. Even though the broadcast was still recording, the two couldn't speak for a while. That was how shocking what Shin YuSung had done was.
Gulp.
Yu HanNah broke the long silence with a gulp.
"…Holy crap." she said, with a wavering tone.
"Yu WonHak… so the disciple of a monster is a monster himself, as expected…"
Jin ByungCheol had also forgotten about the news broadcast and was mumbling the name of the Fist King. Shin YuSung had completely demolished the rank 4 boss monster, crystal golem.
He had split open in one strike crystal that was hard enough that a steel blade couldn't cut it. On top of that, it was news enough for a first-year from the Academy to be defeating a rank 4 boss, but Shin YuSung's Trait was F-rank—there had never been a precedent.
"…He really is incredible."
Yu HanNah, who was mumbling this under her breath, started to quickly turn the gears in her head. If that footage got aired, it was certain that Shin YuSung's prominence would rise.
'I can't let another news channel steal this kid. I have to make the first move and claim him.'
Finishing her calculations, Yu HanNah turned off her mic and grabbed Jin ByungCheol's hands.
"Mr. Headmaster?!"
"Whoa!"
Jin ByungCheol threw his head back in surprise. Yu HanNah inched closer to the man, eyes ablaze with passion.
"I'll give you a proposal! Gaon Academy should have exclusive broadcasting rights with K Channel."
"Hm? What kind of… Suddenly throwing around 'exclusive' like that is a bit…"
"At least for Shin YuSung!"
The headmaster started to think. K Channel was the kind of news station that waved its net worth in people's faces, and even towards Gaon Academy, like a weapon.
'…Did this woman eat something weird? Well, in any case, having K Channel as a partner isn't bad at all.'
Until then, Gaon had been getting a lot of financial Support from K Channel in exchange for allowing them to film its students.
They were also huge sponsors for many guilds and corporations that were recruiting outstanding students.
'But that's all talk that was going on before Shin YuSung existed…'
Finishing his calculations, Jin ByungCheol squinted his eyes. The reason that Yu HanNah was making this appeal was because of Shin YuSung. The boy, who could still boast an undefeated record, had the worth of a winning lottery ticket waiting to be scratched.
'There's no need for me to make a contract just yet when he hasn't even shown us the full extent of his power.'
Skyscraper Academy's Liú Jùn in China.
Clocktower Academy's Lorelei in Britain.
There were students with an incredible amount of prominence, even at the academy level, in other countries as well—such as the United States and Japan; those students had gone on to become the stars and the faces of their respective academies, bringing their image up along with them.
'Adela was the star of our academy…'
But Adela was a transfer student who had come from Italy. It was a stretch to use her as the face of Gaon Academy.
But Shin YuSung fulfilled all of the requirements that Jin ByungCheol had for a representative student of the Academy.
'He's Korean, first of all. His title as the Fist King's disciple is valuable. On top of that, he has incredible skill unbefitting of his F-rank Trait!'
Jin ByungCheol smirked.
'Even to K Channel, it's a waste to give them exclusive rights to Shin YuSung!'
At odds with his devious thoughts, Jin ByungCheol refused the offer with a pleasant laugh.
"Huh huh, as the headmaster, I'd like to ask for the opinion of student Shin YuSung when the exam ends. Of course, I believe talk about the contract will go over well."
"Well, we'll be waiting for your response then. Please contact us at any time."
Yu HanNah looked disappointed, but there was nothing she could do. As a pro, she knew this was the time to take a step back. Of course, that didn't mean that she was willing to let another news station steal Shin YuSung away.
'…Hm. I'll have to meet him later and try to appeal to him separately. Money should sway him, right?'
Yu HanNah grinned and started to quicken her steps. Her tall high heels clacked loudly on the wharf, and the sound rang throughout the area.
* * *
"What the hellllll!!"
Kim EunAh's cry stood out even amongst the hubbub on the cruise liner.
"What just happened?! How can he defeat a rank 4 monster with one strike…"
Kim EunAh was mumbling this with a bewildered expression on her face, her sunglasses dropped onto the ground in her shock. The only reason that she had invited Shin YuSung to a spar was because she was bored.
But what was happening before her eyes was worrying.
'O-of course, to a genius like me, a golem is nothing… but shouldn't I at least get a better grasp of his skills beforehand?'
Gulp.
Kim EunAh swallowed dryly and took out her cellphone with a nervous expression.
'…Should I cancel it?'
But, against her wishes, a message had appeared on the screen.
[Spar Registered]
"Aw shit! It already got registered?! Why does it process stuff like this so fast only when you don't want it to?"
Kim EunAh unconsciously began chewing on her thumbnail. She opened her mouth and started muttering rapid-fire under her breath.
"Tch… If I cancel it now, he'll think that I chickened out, right?"
She muttered like this for a while until eventually pulling at her hair with a yell.
"Argh, should I just…! Fight him?!"
The students around her were loudly chattering with each other, oblivious to Kim EunAh's circumstances.
"At this rate, isn't Shin YuSung going to become a Seven by the end of this exam?"
"It might really be possible if he combines his score with Sumire's."
"I can't believe they're from the lower rank classes…"
Like a spark was lit, the students started to show their appreciation of Shin YuSung's capabilities. Rather unfairly, Kim EunAh aimed her wrath at them.
"Hey! Shut up! Why are you guys blabbering so loud next to me, anyways?"
Everyone turned their gazes towards her at the sound of her deafening shout. Kim EunAh glared back at the students with a pissed-off expression on her face.
"…What, something to see here?"
Zzt! Zzt!
A large amount of electricity began to surround her as it reacted to her temper.
"N-nope!"
"Sorry! We'll go and talk somewhere else!"
Kim EunAh managed to chase most of the students away, as she was a source of terror. One of the male students from the same A Class smiled in a friendly manner and approached her.
"So you were here, huh?"
7th in student rankings, Park SuHyun. He was a genius that had risen to the spot of one of the Sevens with his real-life combat experience and his Trait that controlled water. But Park SuHyun was much more interested in something other than his grades.
'…I can use Kim EunAh in a lot of different ways if I become friendly with her.'
As part of a Chaebol family, Park SuHyun's interests were always grounded in inheriting his family's corporation.
That was why Park SuHyun had constantly tried to become Kim EunAhs's friend after enrolling into the Academy—She had the worth of being the pampered granddaughter of the Shinsung group's chairman.
"Why are you so worked up today?"
Despite Park SuHyun's considerate tone, Kim EunAh's answer was cold.
"None of your business."
Kim EunAh scrunched up her face into an annoyed expression. Park SuHyun had a kind smile plastered on his face, but his eye was twitching.
'This rude little…'
He endured Kim EunAh's attitude while throwing curses at her from inside his head. She was always incredibly haughty, but Park SuHyun couldn't do anything else but endure it.
'…Even our corporation is nothing but a small business compared to the Shinsung group.'
He kept trying to talk to her in an effort to get closer.
"You're watching the lower rank classes? C'mon, elites like you and me don't need to give a crap about trash like that."
Park SuHyun tried to flatter Kim EuhAh by putting down the lower rank classes and Shin YuSung, and forced a sense of camaraderie by purposefully saying "you and me".
But her reaction was unexpected.
She cocked one eyebrow as if displeased
"Trash?" she said.
Kim EunAh immediately thought of Shin YuSung destroying the crystal golem with one strike. She squinted her eyes and laughed, as if mocking SuHyun.
"Is that so? I think you'd lose against him. You haven't forgotten that he's the disciple of the Fist King, right?"
"Haha, of course not. But even if he's the disciple of the Fist King, he has an F-rank Trait—"
While saying this, Park SuHyun adjusted his glasses with his middle finger. Kim EunAh cut him off, however.
"You wanna fight with him, then?"
Her sudden proposal.
As Park SuHyun gave her a bemused look, Kim EunAh marched up to him and showed her phone screen to him.
[Spar Registered]
[Challenger: First grade A Class Kim EunAh]
[Challenged: First grade F Class Shin YuSung]
[Terms: The loser must pay 150SP to the winner. If the loser does not have enough SP, the remaining balance will be deducted from the loser's account and will be shown as a negative.]
"I initially registered a spar with him. But if he loses to someone like you, I won't need to fight him, right?"
Park SuHyun's brows twitched as he saw through her ploy.
"So you're treating me as a lab rat?"
With an awkward laugh, he tried to get out of the fight that Kim EunAh was foisting off on him.
"Haha, I mean, I have my own reputation to keep. How can a Seven like me fight an F Class student like…"
"Is that so? Well, nothing can be done about it then. I guess the student with the second-highest rank~ has to spar with him out of the generosity of her own heart! Ah~ what a pain!" she said, putting an emphasis on her words and glancing towards Park SuHyun. She waved him away as if he were a bug.
"What are you doing? Go on, shoo."
He had definitely lost points with Kim EunAh. Park SuHyun let out a sigh and decided to go back on his word.
"U-um, actually. Now that I've thought about it, I'll fight him."
"Pfft, so suddenly?" Kim EunAh asked in a sarcastic manner.
Park SuHyun laughed.
"Haha. It's a little overboard for the second-strongest student to fight F-rank trash like him."
There was a gap between Kim EunAh and Park SuHyun that had existed between the two since they were born. Something like pride wasn't important if he could close that distance between them.
As a matter of fact…
"Is that so? Good~ good~ If you're going to fight him, go and win it, will you?" Kim EunAh responded nonchalantly as if she was used to this happening.
* * * * fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Crystal Cave was awash in translucent, blue light. Instructor Lin Xiao pointed at the pile of rubble that used to be the golem.
"D-did you do that? A rank 4 boss monster?" he said in a shaky voice.
A boss monster.
As the ruler of a dungeon, they had [Traits], unlike regular monsters. To your average first year, even non-boss rank 4 monsters were incredibly powerful beings.
But Shin YuSung had demolished a rank 4 boss monster on his own.
Even more surprisingly, his Trait was F-rank.
But Shin YuSung fixed his hair in a relaxed manner and nodded.
"Yes."
From his wristband-shaped storage, he took out the golem's core and showed it to Lin Xiao.
"This is the core of the crystal golem. This applies to my total score, right?"
While this was the first time that a first-year had ever killed a rank 4 monster on Jewel Island, there was, of course, a standard that was used to hand out points.
A trophy from a rank 1 monster was worth 1 point.
A trophy from a rank 2 monster was worth 3 points.
A trophy from a rank 3 monster was worth 10 points.
And a trophy from a rank 4 monster was worth 30 points.
But the monster Shin YuSung had defeated was no ordinary rank 4 monster.
'…To think that an F Class student defeated a rank 4 boss!'
Lin Xiao's lips were dry.
The opponent was a boss monster.
The points allocated to a boss monster were, in consideration of the heightened difficulty in defeating one, three times the point value of a regular monster of the same rank. That meant that the golem core that Shin YuSung held in his hand was worth 90 points.
"Y-yes… of course it counts towards your total."
That wasn't the end of it.
Because there no longer existed a rank 4 boss monster on Jewel Island, it was impossible for either the lower-rank class students or the upper-rank class students who were next in line to take the exam to get a higher score than Shin YuSung.
Lin Xiao looked at the boy with a serious expression and fell into thought.
'So an F Class student… is going to dominate this exam.'
Because of his F-rank Trait, Shin YuSung was the subject of many 'firsts'. Even to Lin Xiao, who had watched over many geniuses at Skyscraper Academy, Shin YuSung was special—he wasn't simply strong, he was a breath of fresh air to hunters who believed that Traits were everything.
'He really is the Fist King's disciple...'
While he was looking at Shin YuSung's back with the same serious expression. The cellphone in his pocket began to vibrate.
Vmmm!
[Instructor Lin Xiao, please come back here. We need to have a talk. –Jin ByungCheol–]
What greeted him was a message from Jin ByungCheol. Lin Xiao felt a chill down his back.
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