Chapter 59
“Of course, even if we tell you to introduce yourselves randomly, you might have many concerns about how to talk about yourself, what kind of conversation to have when meeting someone. That’s why we have prepared question cards to make you feel less awkward.”
Having come to take an exam where we compete to get into the academy, it was absurd to suddenly be asked to build camaraderie with competitors.
It felt ridiculous to me.
Examinees seemed to share a similar sentiment, with murmurs heard here and there.
“And on top of that, saying the 4th practical exam is just a way to relieve fatigue in preparation for the 5th practical exam….”
It was hard to believe those words.
I couldn’t understand what was going on.
Nevertheless, the evaluators continued their explanation without addressing such doubts.
“On the tables in the banquet hall are the cards I am holding right now. These cards contain questions that can be used as topics of conversation. Each examinee should engage in a conversation with their partner based on the question on the card. After exchanging 10 cards, you should get the card you received at the entrance signed by your partner.”
“….”
“Moreover, the self-introduction must be done in a 1:1 setting, lasting at least 5 minutes. We have prepared this rare opportunity for you to build camaraderie with your potential peers, so please don’t ignore this effort and just collect signatures if you find it bothersome.”
No wonder the tables were small.
It seemed to prevent multiple people from introducing themselves at once.
Meanwhile, a cardholder was placed on the table where the evaluators were.
“Let’s start with the self-introductions! Mini-games will also be held during the banquet, so we hope for the active participation of the examinees. Although it won’t affect your exam grades, instead, Golden River Coins will be given as prizes. Golden River Coins can be used in various ways once you get into the academy and start living here.”
Indeed, it was truly a banquet.
Eating and drinking comfortably, laughing and chatting, enjoying the camaraderie.
There was no sense of tension.
No hidden intentions could be found in the words, actions, or gazes of the judges.
“Is there really no ulterior motive?”
Even when I extended my senses, there was no response, no instinct of avoidance triggered.
It meant there was no danger nearby.
It didn’t seem like they were waiting for us to let our guard down to launch a surprise attack.
“Am I just overly suspicious…?”
I took a sip of my drink.
The music filling the banquet hall was lively and cheerful.
Having delicious food and drinks naturally lifted my spirits.
My sense of vigilance dulled.
In that moment, test-takers began to pair off and head towards the tables in the banquet hall.
“Since there’s no way to know by thinking, let’s start with getting signatures first.”
I decided to start moving as well.
Naturally, the first person to get a signature from was Yeon Haneul.
Right at that moment.
“Haneul, let’s team up…”
“Do Gyunwoo! Let’s do it together!”
“Gyunwoo!”
Just as I was about to turn to Yeon Haneul.
Yong Haerang suddenly grabbed my arm.
I hadn’t anticipated his strong grip, and found myself being pulled towards him.
“…Haneul, I should team up with someone else.”
When I looked back, I saw Yeon Haneul reaching out towards me.
She had a bewildered look on her face as she stared at me.
I probably looked the same.
With a wry smile, I waved to her.
“Hey, it hurts. I’ll walk by myself, so let go of my hand.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m not good at controlling my strength. My bad.”
I had to get signatures from 10 people anyway.
Though it wasn’t my intention, I decided to start with Yong Haerang’s signature.
We found an empty seat and sat down.
At that moment, an assistant carrying a tray came over and replaced our glasses.
“Can I offer you another drink?”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Isn’t this tasty?”
“Yeah, suits my taste.”
“But this won’t fill you up! Even for my muscles, I feel like I should eat something, can I eat while doing this?”
“Well, if it’s for the muscles, then yes, you should eat. I was hungry too, so I should eat something.”
“Meat! Meat! A man is all about meat!”
“I agree.”
“You know a thing or two. Do Gyung-woo, you’re indeed my perfect rival…”
“Yeah, not really.”
Just drinking beverages felt lacking, and it was time for dinner.
We got up from our seats, quickly filled our plates with food, and returned.
As I chewed on the sliced meat, I took out cards from the card case.
“I’ll shuffle.”
“Should I draw first?”
“Sure. Go ahead and draw.”
I placed the shuffled cards in the center of the table.
Yong-hae, who was tearing into a chicken leg, drew the top card.
“What do you think are the 3 elements of an excellent Hunter?”
“What do you think?”
“No need to ponder. It’s obviously tenacity, passion, and boldness that an excellent Hunter should possess, right!?”
“A typical answer.”
“How about you?”
“I… talent, background, effort?”
“Hmm, a conventional answer. I thought you’d think differently.”
“What’s there to think differently about? Ultimately, whether it’s you or me, we’re here because of talent, background, and effort. But if I were to add one more element…”
“Tenacity, perhaps.”
“Maybe luck.”
“Well, can’t deny that. Luck is an important factor too.”
“Let’s end the first question with this, shall we draw the second question? I’ll draw this time.”
“Sure, come on! Hand it over!”
Hand over what?
Yong-hae spreads his chest wide open.
His dobok was split up to the chest, revealing the muscles underneath.
With his skin tanned, the muscles seemed even more distinct.
‘…enviable.’
I withdrew my gaze and placed my hand on the card.
“The place in Hunter City you most want to visit? Hmm…”
“You can answer this right away. If nothing comes to mind, shall I go first?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I want to go to the Battle Arena!”
“…That’s so you.”
The Battle Arena was where students from the Academy in Hunter City mainly competed against each other.
It was a fitting choice for Yong-hae.
Meanwhile, it was now my turn to answer.
‘The place I most want to visit is….’
There were many places that came to mind.
But among them, choosing the place I wanted to go to the most wasn’t an easy task.
“The sky is up there.”
At that moment, Yeonha appeared in my sight.
She was chatting with one of the triplets.
Looking at her…
“I choose Heart Land.”
The answer popped out.
“Heart Land? Is it a theme park?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Even though it’s a must-visit spot in the Academy City… surprising. I thought you’d want to go to the Battle Arena. Heart Land, Heart Land…”
Well…
Since Yeonha wanted to go.
She said she wanted to ride the carousel.
“Great! Let’s go together if you pass! After that, we can also go to the Battle Arena!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Sorry, I promised to go with someone else. I’ll look for another person.”
“Ugh, then let’s just invite that person along too…”
“You’re out.”
—
I finished my conversation with Yongha.
I signed Yongha’s card, and she signed mine in return.
“Here you go! Signed it.”
“Take yours too.”
I received my card back.
Yongha’s name was roughly written in bold letters at the top of the signature line.
It seemed like the person signing below would have a hard time.
“I’m off to find someone else! See you next time!”
“Sure, take care.”
Yongha, who had turned away from me, left with confident steps.
Just as she had done with me earlier, she grabbed a student she met on the way and disappeared somewhere.
I expressed my condolences to the student.
‘But now, instead of dwelling on this, I should also look for my next opponent…’
I found Yeonha.
She seemed to be engaging in conversations with the triplets, taking turns.
‘Looks like I’ll have to wait quite a bit for it to end.’
It couldn’t be helped.
Deciding to put off signing Yeonha’s document for later, I went in search of someone else.
Having just finished a conversation or perhaps seeking someone who was also without a conversation partner, I roamed around.
“Are you looking for someone to talk to?”
At that moment, someone approached me.
Seemingly like me, they were also looking for a conversation partner.
I turned my head at the sound coming from behind me.
The person was short, requiring me to lower my gaze slightly.
Looking at that person…
“Oh, yes. I was just looking for…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
The person who approached me happened to be someone who had tried to avoid getting involved with me.
“Really? I was looking for someone too.”
“…”
“Great. It works out. Let’s talk.”
Matted gray hair that seemed genetically altered and purple eyes.
With hair nearly reaching down to her hips and a smiling face, she unintentionally evoked an image of a fluffy sheep with a gentle temperament.
However, she, Namyuri of Yeonseong Namga, was far from such an image.
“Was she also in the exam hall? But this meeting doesn’t seem random; it feels intentional…”
As someone familiar with Namyuri’s true self, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy and flustered about this unexpected encounter.
Contrary to my feelings, she seemed curious about me for some reason.
Otherwise, her lips wouldn’t be curved up like that.
It was a habitual gesture she made when she found something interesting in a game.
“I’m Namyuri of Yeonseong Namga! You’re from the Shingyeok Do, right? I saw you causing explosions while hunting rabbits in the forest.”
“…”
“I heard that when the swordsmanship of Shingyeok Do reaches a certain level, mana friction ignites to form a current. It was fascinating and cool to see it firsthand. I want to know the exact principle behind it.”
Namyuri released the hand holding her cards and extended one towards me.
“You want to play with me? Here, take my card. Will you give me yours? Oh, by the way, I didn’t ask for your name.”
“…Dogyun.”
“Got it! So, you’re Dogyun!”
I hadn’t expected her to approach me first, but now that it had happened, there was no turning back.
As someone who had no intention of turning her into an enemy, I knew that eventually, we would have to become friendly.
Though the plan was accelerated sooner than expected, it wasn’t a bad thing to know in advance.
The situation actually seemed favorable.
“She seems friendly towards me.”
Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Namyuri was unpredictable.
There was no guarantee that her friendliness would last.
I had to be wary of sudden changes in her attitude overnight.
She was dangerous and temperamental.
“As skilled as she is.”
I eventually concluded my thoughts and exchanged glances with Nam Yoori.
“Sure, let’s do it.”
◈
“Where is Gyunwoo…”
Being delayed by receiving the triplets’ signatures, I ended up wasting time.
Yeonha stood up and headed to find Gyunwoo who must be somewhere in the banquet hall.
It wasn’t difficult to find him.
“Oh, there he is.”
He just caught my eye.
I could sense where he was.
Is it the intuition of childhood friends?
Or is it because I unconsciously wander around looking for him when Gyunwoo is not around?
I don’t really know.
“It’s Gyunwoo. Yeah.”
I felt oddly proud.
In the bustling banquet hall, I was glad to find him without any confusion.
That familiar back of his head over there looked incredibly cute.
“But… he’s talking to someone else.”
Meanwhile, as Yeonha was walking, she spotted someone sitting across from Gyunwoo.
A woman with wavy, long gray hair and purple eyes that were quite striking.
“…She’s pretty.”
It wasn’t clear from her sitting posture, but she seemed shorter than Yeonha.
She looked petite and cute.
As she gazed at her…
“Who initiated the conversation?”
Yeonha suddenly became curious.
Was it Gyunwoo who started the conversation, or was it the woman?
She couldn’t help but wonder about what expression Gyunwoo was wearing at the moment, or what kind of person that woman was.
Despite knowing it was nothing special, she couldn’t help but be curious.
“Let’s get closer and observe.”
Of course, without revealing it outwardly.
There was nothing good about making it obvious.
It would only make people around tired.
She didn’t want to appear that way.
So, Yeonha quietly approached to observe the situation.
“Oh! Yeonha!”
“…!”
It was when Yonghaerang called out.
Startled by the loud voice, Yeonhaneul’s rabbit ears perked up.
She slowly turned her head to look at Yonghaerang.
“Are you also looking for a partner? Great, I was just looking for one too.”
“Uh….”
Yonghaerang was approaching.
Judging by the cards in hand, it seemed like he was pointing to himself as a conversation partner.
‘Uh-oh… He’s not my type….’
This was going to be a problem.
Yeonhaneul found it difficult to deal with someone who seemed assertive, even more so than Goeunbi, who appeared to have many friends.
“How about teaming up with me?”
Yeonhaneul was internally panicking.
If she continued like this, she felt she would be caught up with him and go through various hardships.
‘I need to say something….’
Yeonhaneul frantically racked her brain while watching him approach.
Then, she noticed a student standing to the side eating food.
‘Ah.’
She was a calm-looking woman.
Yeonhaneul intuitively sensed something.
‘She seems like someone I could get along with.’
Making that judgment, her body moved involuntarily.
“Huh?”
“Sorry! I already agreed to team up with someone…. Right?”
“Oh, is that so? That’s a shame….”
Yeonhaneul briskly ran over to her and casually linked her arm.
Then she apologized to Yonghaerang, sending a silent plea to understand her words.
“Huh?”
Failing to grasp the situation, the girl blinked her green eyes, fork in her mouth.