Chapter 121.

With an arrow using three streaks of Stigma, I took away the arm of a peak intermediate-rank monster .

It was a decent explosion, but I didn’t have the energy to watch the outcome . In an instant, drowsiness flooded my brain, and the sky and ground switched places .

I had fallen down the tree from sudden dizziness .

“…Ah . ”

I looked at the battlefield in this state . I could see a sword of magic power shooting up . It was Chae Nayun .

Her greatsword, which was half the size of the Black Ogre’s arm, swung down . Struck by this domineering slash, the ogre staggered on its feet, during which countless attacks of other cadets poured in .

…In any case, the recoil from using up a large amount of Stigma seemed to get stronger the more streaks of Stigma I got .

It was probably because my body couldn’t withstand the emission of magic power .

“Argh . ”

Feeling dizzy, I closed my eyes .

Boom, boom, boom .

The battle was getting fiercer, but the sound entering my ears only got softer .

Eventually, I gave my body to the drowsiness .

**

When I opened my eyes, Chae Nayun was right in front of me .

Soft skin and an expression full of curiosity .

I was once again surprised by her otherworldly beauty .

“Ah . ”

Chae Nayun flinched and took a step back .

“…What . ”

“Y-You, You’re awake?”

What was she doing to be so surprised? I asked as I rubbed my face .

“…Did you do something to me?”

“W-What do you mean? I was just surprised to see you sleeping so peacefully when everyone else is fighting!”

Chae Nayun sat down next to me as she yelled nervously .

“Oh, sorry, I was just tired . ”

“…Kuhum . But what you did was awesome . Was that your finishing move? You know, like an ultimate ability . ”

I nodded silently . What I wanted it to be was irrelevant . It seemed using it made me fall asleep for an hour or two, so it could only be a finishing move .

“What happened to the Black Ogre?”

“We killed it . It was easy thanks to you . ”

“That’s good to hear . ”

At that moment, a hologram window popped up in front of us .

[You cleared the stage!]

[Contribution points will now be awarded . The top three contributors are as follows . ]

[Chae Nayun: 68 points]

[Kim Hajin: 39 points]

[Yi Jiyoon: 33 points]

[The bottom 30% of contributors will immediately be moved to a lower stage . ]

[The top 30% of contributors will be moved to a higher stage after 2 hours of rest . ]

[The remaining 40% will be given a chance to try again . ]

Seeing the alerts, I finally understood how this Tower worked .

By repeating stages like this, cadets would either go up, go down, or stay on the same level . Grades should be given out accordingly once the exam ends .

“Ah~ so this is how it works . ”

Chae Nayun seemed to have understood also as she clapped her hands together .

Then, she poked my shoulder .

“Hey, team up with me . ”

“Team up?”

“Yeah, there’s a party function . Look . ”

Chae Nayun showed her smartwatch screen . Just like the last final exam, cadets were given exam smartwatches to wear during the final exam . At first, I thought that this exam’s smartwatch could only tell time, but there was now a ‘party’ function available .

“…The heck . ”

“Let’s team up . ”

I looked at Chae Nayun . Pressured by her sparkling eyes, I dodged her gaze . Chae Nayun then grabbed my sleeve .

“I want to team up with you . ”

“Let me go . ”

“Come on, let’s team up . Please~?”

Pulling my sleeve here and there, she was trying to act cutesy… but I could feel my brain shaking, like she was grabbing and shaking me by the collar .

“Hey, wait, let go . I’m going to puke . ”

“I’ll let you go if you agree . Hurry up . ”

She shook me with enough force to rip off my shirt .

Without a choice, I nodded .

“Okay, okay . ”

Chae Nayun’s tussling didn’t stop until we officially partied up .

**

Afterwards, I went through two more stages with Chae Nayun .

In a forest, we protected an NPC from monsters, and in a colosseum, we fought against other cadets or giant monsters .

To be completely honest, Chae Nayun was carrying me . That was how overwhelming her display of skill was .

In the first place, Chae Nayun’s speciality was prolonged fights . Because of her immense magic power capacity, not even Kim Suho could stand up to her recovery speed . Naturally, Chae Nayun shined in stamina-heavy tasks like climbing a Tower .

Of course, even though Chae Nayun was carrying me, grades were given out individually .

I raked up points whenever I had the chance and constantly stayed in the top 30% of every stage .

[This is the final stage . ]

Eventually, we reached the final stage, which was a cave .

Only the cream of the crop cadets should be present at this stage .

Chae Nayun nudged my shoulder and spoke .

“Hey, this must be the boss fighting stage . Try to see if there’s anything in front of us . ”

“Yeah, yeah . ”

I opened my eyes wide and focused .

My line of sight expanded, flying past the ground with nothing noteworthy .

Then, I caught sight of someone .

—Haam .

There was a girl squatting in front of a stone wall and yawning .

It was Rachel .

I smiled, happy to see her .

“There’s someone there . ”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it looks like you can’t go in alone . Let’s go . ”

“Okay . ”

Chae Nayun and I ran forward .

Hearing our footsteps, Rachel immediately shot up . Then, she took out her rapier and stood with her guard up .

I shouted .

“Rachel-ssi!”

“What? Rachel?”

Chae Nayun suddenly stopped running . Meanwhile, Rachel put away her rapier and began running toward us .

It didn’t take long for us to meet up .

“Hajin-ssi…?”

Rachel called my name with a bright expression, which stiffened slightly when she saw Chae Nayun standing next to me .

“…Chae Nayun?”

“What, why is the princess here?”

Chae Nayun and Rachel exchanged displeased looks .

I reached out my hand to Rachel . Rachel shook my hand, then returned to glaring at Chae Nayun .

So this was what it meant to have a rival .

For the next five years, the press would be constantly comparing them and encouraging them to fight . They had the same gender, the same age, and now they even had the same role as swordsmen . Naturally, they would be easy targets for Hero reporters, who were more extreme than typical celebrity reporters .

“So um, Rachel-ssi, why were you alone?”

“Yes? Ah, it said I couldn’t enter alone, so I was waiting for someone else . ”

This final exam was dangerous for Rachel . Since Lancaster’s influence was still relatively small, monsters above high-intermediate rank wouldn’t suddenly pop out, but Rachel was certainly in more danger than other cadets .

“That’s good to hear . Then let’s go in together . ”

“Yes, follow me . ”

When Rachel touched the stone wall blocking the path, it suddenly rose up, revealing a corridor . Rachel led us in, and I walked along next to her . Chae Nayun glared at us from the back, then ran up and joined me .

After walking for about three minutes…

“Oi, Princess . ”

After staring at Rachel for some time, Chae Nayun finally opened her mouth .

“You didn’t team up with anyone?”

“…Yes, I was alone the whole time . ”

Rachel replied briefly .

“Oh, really~? Teamwork should be part of the exam’s grading criteria . You’ll probably get a zero for that then . ”

Chae Nayun snickered and provoked Rachel, but Rachel remained silent . Then, Chae Nayun placed her hand on my shoulder and spoke .

“But you and I should get a perfect score . ”

“What do you mean . ”

“We were together from the first stage . Plus, I’m a warrior and you’re a sharpshooter . It’s the perfect combonation . ”

“Oh… well, sure . ”

Rachel glanced at Chae Nayun .

“It’s combination, not combonation . ”

“…Same difference . ”

After walking silently for three more minutes, Rachel clapped her hands together, as though she suddenly thought of something .

“Oh right, Hajin-ssi, would you like to come to England over winter break with some other team challenge members? There’s a huge festival in Clancy Islet . ”

“In Clancy Islet? Sure, that sounds great . ”

I’ve been wanting to go back for some time, but couldn’t because I had no invitation . Although I felt a bit sorry to Rachel, I wanted to make some more money until I got blacklisted from the casino .

“Great, then come with Hoseung-ssi, Bokgyu-ssi, and Jamer-ssi . ”

Rachel smiled .

Jamer .

Hearing Tomer’s alias for the first time in a while, I suddenly grew curious how she was doing . At that moment, Chae Nayun muttered from the side .

“If you only play around, you’ll fall behind~”

“… . ”

For a moment, Rachel’s eyes narrowed sharply . However, people like Chae Nayun only enjoyed such reactions . Just as I expected, Chae Nayun smiled triumphantly .

“Have you heard of Yoo Sihyuk, Princess? What about the Yoo Sihyuk Camp? It’s the camp that heirs of Hero clans pay billions of won to try to get in . That’s where I’ll be going over winter break . I might surpass you in swordsmanship soon . ”

In response to Chae Nayun’s sneering, Rachel exhaled and retorted, while pretending to talk to me .

“Hajin-ssi, there are ways to be efficient in training too . Stupid people are often bad at comprehending what they’re taught, so they aren’t as efficient . ”

“…What? Did you just—”

“In that sense, I think I’m a very efficient learner . ”

Rachel was obviously not talking to me .

“Recently, I’ve gotten close to elementals elementals quite a bit . ”

Perhaps provoked by Chae Nayun’s words, Rachel even emphasized the word ‘elementals’ . Just how Evandel called me Hajin Hajin, she said the same thing twice .

“…Elementals?”

“Yes, elementals elementals . ”

“What? What does she mean?”

Chae Nayun furrowed her brows . I could see her eyes burning with a sense of rivalry .

“Ah, my bad . That was supposed to be a secret . ”

Rachel put her hand over her mouth, with a somewhat proud expression . The cheeks were puffing up, like she was holding back her laughter .

…She usually wasn’t like this .

I guess Chae Nayun had the tendency to make people around her just as childish .

“Did a hamster enter your mouth?”

While Chae Nayun was murmuring mockingly, we arrived at another stone wall .

We didn’t have to waste energy trying to open it . When the three of us walked up, it opened by itself .

“This is it?”

What lied beyond the stone wall wasn’t any different than what was outside .

But rather than a straight corridor, it was a circular room that was much larger .

“…Wait . ”

I held my arms up and made the other two stop . It was because I could see someone in the distance .

He couldn’t look more suspicious if he tried with a black robe covering most of his body .

“There’s someone there . ”

“Hello, cadets . ”

The man approached us first .

“I am, Heuk Jeon, the exam overseer in charge of the final stage . ”

I met his eyes, specifically his squirming black pupils .

No matter how much I thought about it, the aura he gave off wasn’t that of an exam overseer’s . More specifically, I could sense a ghastly aura and the smell of blood .

By the looks of it, Chae Nayun and Rachel seemed to share the same suspicion .

“Are you really an exam overseer?”

“Of course . But before you participate in this stage, I will pick someone to stay behind . Only two people can participate at a time . ”

The self-proclaimed exam overseer took out a die .

“1 and 4 for the male cadet, 2 and 5 for the short-haired cadet, and… 3 and 6 for the blonde cadet . ”

Tok .

The die rolled on the ground .

“If your number is shown on the die, you won’t be able to participate in this stage . ”

The result of the roll was 5 as expected .

Chae Nayun furrowed her brows, and the exam overseer spoke up .

“Short-haired cadet . ”

“…What . ”

The overseer flicked his finger . Then suddenly, a cage fell down from above, pulling in Chae Nayun with a powerful magic power .

“Ah! What’s this!?”

“Stay up for now . It will end soon . ”

“Ah! Wait! Ah, uaaaaah… . ”

The overseer flicked his finger again, and the cage quickly shot back up .

Seeing this, Rachel muttered nervously .

“Hajin-ssi, that person…”

“Yes, I also think he’s a Djinn . ”

Rachel shook her head and corrected me .

“…He’s from Dark Moon Society . ”

“Dark Moon?”

“Yes, look at that symbol on his robe . ”

A black goblet and a faint moon above it .

Dark Moon Society .

Rachel clenched her teeth .

“…Sorry, it’s because of me . ”

“Yes? Ah, no…”

Was Dark Moon Society that amazing?

I furrowed my brows .

I felt like it was part of the setting I wrote, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it .

“Now then, shall we start the test?”

However, my thoughts didn’t continue for long .

Heuk Jeon raised his magic power, staring at us .

Koooong—!

Suddenly, the earth began to rumble .

Crevices began to appear on the ground, which slowly grew bigger .

“The test is simple . ”

Behind Heuk Jeon, dozens of daggers shot up .

The killing intent he was emitting was real .

“There is a dueling arena below . ”

Heuk Jeon jumped down a crevice . As the ground continued to break into pieces, Heuk Jeon’s voice rang out from below .

—If you can last up there for the next 10 minutes, you will have cleared the stage, and the test will end .

In that instant, a heavy pressure pressed down on me . At the same time, the ground I was standing on sunk down, causing me to lose my footing .

“Ak!”

Rachel immediately jumped and grabbed my hand .

“Hajin-ssi, are you okay!?”

“This… . ”

“It’s a gravitational field . Come… up… uk . ”

Rachel tried to pull me up, and I tried to climb up .

In the next moment, however, my body became heavier . Since even Rachel was struggling, the pressure was undoubtedly immense .

As for me, I could hardly breathe .

—But if even one of you falls down…

Heuk Jeon’s voice echoed out .

—I will kill that person .

Kill .

The intent behind this word was chilling and honest . Fear spread across Rachel’s face .

—Ah, but don’t worry, the gravitational field will disappear once one person falls down . For the record, the chance of both of you surviving 10 minutes in that field is 0% . The gravitational field will continually get stronger until even I can’t withstand it, so one of you should just give up .

Just like he said, the gravitational field was getting stronger, and more and more of the ground was breaking apart .

“… . ”

“… . ”

Rachel and I exchanged glances .

I finally understood what his intentions were .

He wanted us to fight each other to survive, or fight each other to sacrifice ourselves .

Suddenly, Rachel’s expression turned serious .

“Hajin-ssi, don’t have strange thoughts . ”

“…What, strange, thoughts . ”

Seeing that I was on the verge of falling down, Rachel used both of her hands to hold onto my hand .

“Don’t try to let go . Put strength into your hand . Hurry!”

“…No . ”

‘No, you see… unlike you, I can’t not let go out of my own volition . ’

While I was inwardly laughing at myself, the gravitational field grew unbearably strong . Weight tens of times our own pressed down on us, and it was getting harder to keep my eyes open .

“Ah, ah, Hajin-ssi, don’t have strange thoughts and come up—!”

“… . ”

Rachel was screaming my name desperately .

But feeling like I would die if I stayed up here any longer, I let go of Rachel’s hand strongly .

“Ah, aah, no!”

I fell down .

Rather than heading to my death, I felt like I was being liberated .

“Kim Hajin—!”

Screaming my name, Rachel also jumped down . However, a transparent barrier appeared out of nowhere, blocking her descent .

Rachel slammed the barrier with her fists, staring at me as I continued falling .

*

Thud .

“Argh . ”

My back hit the ground, but like a déjà vu, I wasn’t hurt thanks to Aether .

However, the situation was different this time .

I quickly shot up .

I could see the self-proclaimed exam overseer standing a fair distance away from me .

He spoke .

“So you came, just like I expected . ”

If what Rachel said was true, he should be from Dark Moon Society . Although I couldn’t remember much about this organization, he should at least be at the level of an intermediate-rank Hero .

I felt my heart tremble .

I had an ominous feeling from the beginning of the exam . It seemed my intuition wasn’t wrong .

“…So I have to fight you now?”

But even if I couldn’t defeat him, I was confident in not losing .

He didn’t know about the Ghost Wolf hiding in my chest .

There was a reason that surprise attacks were favored . As soon as he approached me with his guard down, the Ghost Wolf should bite off his neck .

“Are you confident?”

Heuk Jeon asked .

Without answering him, I fired the cadet handgun .

Tang, tang, tang, tang, tang .

I emptied the clip in less than a second . However, not a single bullet managed to reach him . The daggers hovering behind him had all cut them down .

“Unfortunately, I really will kill you . ”

He was quite talkative .

And that was exactly what I wanted .

I threw the cadet handgun at him . One of his daggers flew forward, cutting the handgun in half .

“You’re abandoning your weapon? It’s too quick to surrender, don’t you think?”

“No . ”

I stretched my arm out .

Magic power shot out of my upper arm, forming a handgun in my hand .

“You see, I’m the type that’s quite overgeared . ”

Desert Eagle .

First, I transformed it into its assault rifle mode .

Since he didn’t show signs of approaching me, I had to make him do so .

Heuk Jeon was still smiling .

I smiled back, provoking him some more .

“Don’t hold anything back . You might regret it . ”

“… . ”

As I thought, his smile stiffened .

After clenching his teeth, he threw off the robe he was wearing and unleashed his magic power .

However, what caught my attention was the strange tattoo on his upper arm .

A black goblet and a faint moon .

Now that I saw this symbol again, I felt like I recognized it .

“Dark Moon Society… . ”

“…Oh? Looks like you’re quite knowledgeable for a brat . ”

The man made a proud smile . He seemed to be happy knowing that his organization was famous .

I pondered over these three words .

What role did they fill in the original story…? I felt like it was on the tip of my tongue .

“AH!”

A light bulb went on in my head .

Simply put, these guys were… one of Chameleon Troupe’s many lackeys .

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