Chapter 69
An exam to wrestle for the test ticket.
For oneself, who had hidden in the exam hall to assess the abilities of the test-takers, it was nothing short of an opportunity.
Feeling stifled observing the test-takers quietly, Cha had already thought there was no point in being here, seeing only the usual suspects around.
“The ability of the test-takers that can be grasped in the 3rd and 4th tests was limited.
Originally, as the 4th test took place in their dreams, they gained no income.
Above all, due to their large number and the division of personnel for the test, it was impossible to see them all.
But this test was different.
With all test-takers participating, the freedom of the test was exceptionally high.
[Entered the gate.]
[Yellow: Honrim Island V]
Doll-like girl, Lee Ga-hyun.
She, with the yellow test ticket attached to her body, was very excited about the situation.
“Hmm, it’s being conducted on the island.”
Entering the gate and opening her eyes in the forest, Ga-hyun cleared the message.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings.
It seemed like no one was nearby.
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Outwardly, at least.
“…Many eyes on me.”
Even if she restrained her emotions as much as possible, she was still a test-taker.
Now, those about to enter the new world would not be accustomed to ‘hunting’ people.
Ga-hyun, who had no qualms about killing people, could feel their hesitant gazes.
“In the position of being hunted… Nice. It’s not bad to be the one hunted.”
On the other hand, Ga-hyun somewhat enjoyed the situation she unexpectedly found herself in upon entering the gate.
Since becoming a Six Horse, no one dared to touch her, so she never expected to be targeted like this.
It felt like a long time.
It feels like getting younger.
She licked her lips with her tongue.
“Who will make me fall first?”
Humming a tune, she confidently walked through the forest as if daring someone to try and catch her, deliberately showing vulnerability as if she hadn’t noticed their presence.
That’s how they seduced them.
Bang!
“You’re first?”
At that moment, someone fired a gun.
Hearing the sound of the bullet being fired, Lee Ga-hyun’s lips curled into a long smile.
She drew two short swords from her waist and deflected the bullet flying towards her head.
It was a rubber bullet.
‘How cute.’
Lee Ga-hyun chuckled inwardly.
She dashed straight towards the direction from which the rubber bullet had come.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The opponent, dodging her attacks and launching a counterattack, seemed greatly bewildered.
Gunshots echoed in succession.
However, guns are delicate weapons.
Even a slight tremor can throw off the aim.
The rubber bullets fired by the opponent passed by Lee Ga-hyun even when she didn’t bother to dodge them.
‘Quite disappointing for someone who tried to take me down first.’
Elimination.
Lee Ga-hyun decided to take down the opponent without the need to watch further.
She threw the short sword gripped in her left hand.
“…Argh!”
As the attack didn’t land, the opponent, belatedly trying to evade, got the short sword stuck in their shoulder.
Startled by the sudden attack, the opponent fell from the tree.
A thud sounded.
Lee Ga-hyun, slowing down, approached the fallen opponent on the ground.
One of the opponent’s arms was broken.
“Ugh….”
“You need to learn how to stay calm. Eliminated. I’ll take this.”
She doesn’t kill.
It’s difficult to move around if you catch the evaluators’ attention for no reason.
Lee Ga-hyun, unfazed by the opponent’s groans of pain from the broken arm, tried to take the exam slip without a second thought.
＜Mana Crasher＞
It was precisely then that the examinees who had been hiding revealed themselves.
They had taken advantage of the moment when her attention was on the fallen opponent.
‘They know how to read the situation.’
Of course, it didn’t work on Lee Ga-hyun.
Dodging the sword strike that flew from behind, she dealt with the nearby examinees first.
The battle didn’t last long.
“Mom, this can’t be real….”
“How can it be yellow….”
After several rounds of back and forth.
The students who challenged Lee Gahyun were all writhing on the ground.
Each of them had a face that expressed disbelief.
She evaluated them in that state.
“You, and you, and you, and you too.”
“….”
“You all failed.”
With a tone that seemed almost teasing, the students’ faces contorted.
However, they couldn’t move their bodies due to unbearable pain.
Lee Gahyun grabbed the exam papers attached to their bodies.
“It seems there are no more others.”
She had gathered the minimum scores required to pass the exam.
But Lee Gahyun’s purpose was solely to assess the students’ levels.
She left her seat to evaluate the other students.
By considering themselves as prey, they were caught off guard.
“You too failed.”
In reality, they didn’t even realize they were the ones being hunted.
Lee Gahyun, with their exam papers attached to her body, licked her lips with regret.
“There are no students meeting my standards.”
As it was the final exam, the students they encountered were relatively skilled.
However, they did not meet expectations.
There was no one who appeared beautiful and strong enough to set their soul on fire.
Hence, their motivation dwindled.
──!!
The sound of a clash was heard at that moment.
The recording device in the direction of the sound shook violently.
Lee Gahyun suppressed their presence as much as possible and headed towards the source.
“You’re trying to run away in fear right now! Is that how a man behaves!?”
“….”
Two students were fighting.
The battle was flowing in favor of one student.
Lee Gahyun focused on that student.
“That kid is….”
A male student with a sallow complexion.
On the back of his black uniform and on the left side of his chest, the characters ‘俠’ and ‘義’ were engraved.
With just that, Lee Gahyun could discern his identity.
“He’s from the Yongga clan of the Euihyeop martial arts lineage.”
Unexpectedly coming across a student from that prestigious clan, Yi Gahyun’s eyes sparkled.
She observed his battle.
“Quite skilled, aren’t you?”
There are no tricks in his attacks; they are straightforward.
However, the power emitted so uprightly is unbelievably destructive.
One wrong move could lead to defeat.
Knowing this, opponents who tried to evade his attacks ultimately found themselves unable to block them and fell.
The bond of battle was formed.
In that moment, Yi Gahyun, who had been quietly watching, moved to personally confirm his skills.
“Though you showed promise during the fight, it was still a good match. Your exam paper is going to be in my hands… Ugh!”
As the direct descendant of the Yoo Clan clashed, Yi Gahyun, who had managed to approach him without being noticed, leaped up from the ground and delivered a kick.
He, whose guard was down due to the lack of vigilance, belatedly noticed her presence.
Raising his arms just in time, he was able to fend off the incoming attack from outside his field of vision.
However, pushed back by the force, he staggered.
“What cowardly act is this?”
Through the raised arms forming a guard, the man’s eyes flashed as if irritated.
Undeterred by his momentum, Yi Gahyun continued with the next attack.
Closing in by pounding the ground, she swung the dagger held in both hands.
“So, you want to fight me? Fine, I’ll correct that attitude.”
The student from the Yoo Clan responded.
The knuckle guard in his hand transformed into a gauntlet, enclosing his arm.
The blade failed to cut his arm.
Instead, as he deflected the blade, he sent a punch towards Yi Gahyun.
─!!
The fist headed straight for her face.
Yi Gahyun turned her face to the side.
As the fist passed by her cheek, the wind generated by the punch left a long cut on her face.
‘It was a face I liked. That punch was like a real blade. Is this what people from the Yoo Clan are like?’
Droplets of blood scattered at the edge of her vision.
Yi Gahyun, confirming his skills firsthand, smirked.
“You pass.”
“What!?”
As if questioning what she meant, the face of the Yoo Clan’s student contorted.
Once again, Yi Gahyun did not respond.
She struck with a kick again.
Thud! Swish! Thump!
The student from the Yoo Clan reacted.
He raised both arms horizontally, creating a barrier of mana.
Iga-hyun’s attack was blocked by the barrier, causing no harm.
Nevertheless, she had a different intention.
Whoosh!
Using the barrier as a foothold, she leaped into the air.
Spinning in mid-air, she landed far from her original position.
“Well then, do your best on the test.”
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going instead of fighting? Come back, right now! Are you going to sneak away until the very end like a coward?”
Iga-hyun turned her back on him without a trace of regret and ran away.
Only then did he realize her intentions and cursed under his breath.
He tried to chase after her, but the distance between them could not be closed.
In the end, he lost sight of her.
“Let’s fight fair and square!”
Meanwhile, the examinee who almost had his admission ticket stolen had slipped away during the commotion.
—
Nam Yoo-ri wields a massive scythe classified as a Side weapon.
The advantages of the scythe lie in its long reach that can block the opponent’s approach and its ability to attack a wide range at once.
In the game, she utilized tactics that capitalized on these advantages.
However, it would be inaccurate to say that she relied solely on the scythe.
The scythe was just one of her tactics.
Swish!
Using herself as the pivot, Nam Yoo-ri swung the scythe like a windmill.
A whirlwind of blades emanated from her, blocking any approach.
Those who rushed towards her had no choice but to change direction hastily.
“Ahahahaha! You’re just going to keep running like that!? You can’t win against me by just running away!”
It’s not running away, it’s avoiding.
I mentally retorted to Nam Yoo-ri’s taunts as I distanced myself.
Then, as if her rotation was slowing down.
“Is it because of this that you can’t come near me!? Then I’ll give you a chance for a fair fight!”
“…!”
Utilizing the remaining centrifugal force, Nam Yoo-ri sent the scythe flying towards me.
The scythe, released from her hand, drew a large circle in the air.
Swish!
If it hits directly, it will tear the body apart.
Given the wide attack range, it’s precarious to try to dodge by changing direction.
But it’s not impossible to evade.
Nam Yoo-ri must be anticipating my movements.
Of course, I have no intention of following her plan.
I dashed forward recklessly towards the flying scythe.
Crack!
My instinct to dodge kicked in.
Gift detected the optimal evasive route and advised me.
I trusted Gift’s signal and lowered my stance.
Swish!
The scythe passed above my head.
Strands of hair, cut by the scythe, fluttered down into the air.
If I hadn’t lowered my head in time, it would have been severed.
My gallbladder felt icy.
But thanks to that, a path forward opened towards Namyuri.
Now, she was unarmed.
There was no need to worry about Sid’s restraint.
Without stopping my stride, I ran towards her.
＜Water King Attack Type 2＞
Lion Gaze
I infused compressed mana into the blade of the Blue Frost Sword.
The blue mana, nestled in the jet-black blade, sharpened fiercely.
Preparing to wield the sword, I now gazed at Namyuri, who was running out of options.
She looked at me and smiled.
“Gyungoo, you don’t think I can’t fight without Sid, do you? I can do this too.”
Namyuri’s lips curled up.
It was also the moment her hair, wriggling as if alive, became animated.
“Hair, you know, despite looking thin and fragile, can surprisingly withstand a tremendous amount of force. With all of a person’s hair, you can hang weights of up to 5 tons.”
Waves of silver-gray hair.
Hair divided into two strands intertwined and fused.
The hair turned into a large fist bigger than Namyuri’s face.
“That’s why my hair can block a sword.”
This was the reason Namyuri didn’t rely solely on Sid.
In the game, her regular attacks were twofold.
One was wielding Sid, and the other was turning her hair into fists to strike when not holding Sid.
“That’s why, while one aspect is appreciated, it becomes troublesome when it’s an enemy.”
Fists made of hair surged.
I dealt with attacks coming from both directions simultaneously.
Swish!
I stepped and twisted my body.
Sending out one fist, I swung the sword towards the other.
As Namyuri said, fists made of her hair could block most swords.
But it’s limited to normal attacks.
The emblem of Lion Joheun on the navy sword couldn’t stop it.
As evidence.
“Your hair, is it cut?”
“…What?”
Nam Yoori’s fist was cut off.
A bunch of hair fell to the ground.
Confusion crossed her face.
But she quickly regained composure, raising her remaining fist to block me.
The emblem of Lion Joheun was unable to cut through the vanished navy sword this time.
“Gyunwoo, Gyunwoo overlooked the fact that I am a Shin-geom Do practitioner. Indeed, with Shin-geom Do’s swordsmanship, it’s possible to cut my hair too.”
Nam Yoori’s hair trembled.
Soon, new hair grew from the section where it was cut.
Yet, she seemed visibly upset by the fact that her hair was cut.
The purple gaze looking at me sharpened.
“I won’t let my guard down now.”
Nam Yoori raised a hand.
I remained cautious of her movement.
Swish!
Turning towards the sound, I saw the side that Nam Yoori had thrown returning towards us.
The side landed neatly in her hand.
“Gyunwoo, be careful not to die.”
As if implying things would be different this time.
She warned me with a face that now held a hint of a smirk.
Her momentum was noticeably more ominous than before.
Even her hair bristled backwards.
It was clearly dangerous.
Instincts of evasion were heightened.
Nam Yoori was aiming to attack me with the intent to kill.
Yet, I remained unfazed.
After all.
“Isn’t the fight over with this?”
“Huh?”
Nam Yoori’s exam paper had been taken.
The reason we were fighting had now vanished.
I showed her exam paper to make her realize the same.
Only then did her eyes widen.
“Ah.”
Nam Yoori let out a short sound.
She, who had realized multiple times that there was no exam ticket pinned to her chest, seemed to loosen up as if feeling disappointed.
“Now that I think about it, you took it when you cut my hair.”
“Exactly, that’s the answer.”
Nam Yoori quickly grasped the situation.
I simply nodded my head.
However, I was also worried.
“But how should I handle this?”
It was good that I had taken Nam Yoori’s exam ticket, so she wouldn’t exert any more pressure.
The problem was, as long as she had this exam ticket, I had to consider the possibility of her trying to reclaim it by challenging me again.
In fact, she could do it right now.
Thinking about that, having her exam ticket became burdensome for me.
“Holding onto this could mean being chased around by her for three days for no reason.”
That was not an option.
So, I only had one choice.
“Let’s just throw it away altogether.”
Nam Yoori wouldn’t bother paying attention to me in her pursuit of her exam ticket.
There was no better option than that.
As I was about to put my thoughts into action, she suddenly spoke.
“Well, it can’t be helped! I want to keep fighting, but it seems like I’m the only one who’s going to be hurt more if we keep fighting, right? A win is a win, so let’s leave it at that!”
“….”
“I’ll cleanly give up my exam ticket.”
Nam Yoori turned the key, larger than herself, back with a metal clank.
She revealed that she had no intention of engaging in further combat.
I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“So… you mean you’re not planning to come back to reclaim it?”
“If that’s what you wish for, I’ll do it, but isn’t that a bit petty? It’s not fun at all. Then what’s the point of us fighting like this?”
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“…You’re right.”
“Also, if I carry around this black exam ticket, everyone will be cautious and treat me differently, making it less fun. It’s not bad either. Taking the test in a situation where my score is lower than others might be interesting.”
Nam Yoori unexpectedly made a valid point.
Truly, she was unpredictable.
Even though I knew her personality, I couldn’t predict her actions perfectly.
I agreed with a wry smile.
“Okay then, let’s leave it at that! Do well on the exam and let’s definitely meet at the academy next time, okay!? I’ll go gather my scores now! It was fun playing with you!”
“Alright, goodbye. Let’s agree not to run into each other for the next three days.”
Nam Yoori waved her hand and disappeared with a relieved expression on her face.
I waved back at her, breathing a sigh of relief.
Anyway.
“Have I met the passing criteria for now?”
By obtaining Nam Yoori’s exam ticket, my total score became 200 points.
Upon entering the gate, they achieved the minimum score in less than an hour.