novelraw Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Chapter 72
After Yoo Iseo came to find me, time flew by quickly.
During that period, she re-investigated the list of Demon suspects, and the newly made list—after rigorous verification—contained only the names of those who were clearly Demons.
It was a relief that the innocent were cleared, but it was a shame that quite a few of the stronger Demons had slipped through the net.
It seemed like a trick by the Student Council Executives to minimize the loss of Demons.
At any rate, Yoo Iseo succeeded in purging two Demons who had infiltrated the Academy, which served as an excellent check against Berid and his lackeys.
Their movements noticeably quieted down, and thanks to that, I was able to focus on other matters.
For example—
Whack!
Helena, who was watching over my studies beside me, smacked the back of my hand with something like a strange cane.
“Wait a second! That formula’s wrong. Are you not paying attention? You haven’t forgotten that next week is the midterm exam, have you?”
“……I know.”
I ground my teeth but still nodded at her words.
With a smile that irritated me for some reason, she began pointing out my mistakes and explaining them.
I cooled my rising temper and listened to her explanation.
And how did I end up like this?
It was all because of the midterm exams.
Who would’ve thought that if your average score was below 40 points, you’d be forced to attend supplementary lessons? That was an unexpected trap.
I mean, Korean schools don’t even have these supplementary classes!
But since it was part of the game’s setting, what could I do?
It was obviously a ploy by the scenario team to easily insert random events.
For someone like me, who had no time to spare, supplementary lessons were nothing but a waste of precious hours.
As a result, I was now studying—something that wasn’t in my destiny at all.
Just preparing for the midterm event was enough to give me a headache, yet now I had to actually study too.
With even my training time and sleeping hours cut down, my fatigue was off the charts.
Still, I couldn’t just skip the midterms.
A number of important events took place around that time.
The most notable one being Dan Chun-woo’s reformation.
The Playable Characters began to grow directly from this point onward.
But what was even more important was the upcoming group practical exam.
During that exam, the Academy cadets would get caught up in fragments and trapped inside a dungeon.
It was a major event that officially unlocked the Fragments of the Gate and the dungeon system, making it highly difficult—and clearing it without any casualties required great caution.
It wasn’t called the “newbie guillotine” of
Fortunately, Yoo Iseo’s appearance timing worked in my favor.
If she appeared right before the midterm event, no Demons would show up during the exams.
That was because once Yoo Iseo returned before her complete corruption, the immediate Demon purge that followed weakened their overall influence.
Another fortunate thing was that I had already anticipated being bogged down by the special subject classes and had prepared to some extent.
Unlike when I first got possessed into the game, I now had a basic grasp of the special subjects through actual classes.
Getting to this point had taken a lot of effort from Park Siwoo.
Since I occasionally studied with the Student Council as well, I’d also received help from Seo Da-hee and Yoo Iseo.
I rubbed the stinging spot on my hand where Helena’s cane had struck.
“Do you understand a bit better now? This formula is often applied in exams, so you need to memorize it properly.”
“Yeah, explained like that, I do understand it. But… did you really need to hit me with a cane?”
“Corporal punishment might not be ideal, but it’s the most efficient in terms of retention. Pain is intuitive—it directly boosts learning efficiency. It’s not a great method, but still…”
“Be honest. You just wanted to hit me, didn’t you?”
At my words, Helena smiled teasingly.
“You’re only realizing that now? If you don’t like it, you can always study with Park Siwoo or Dan Chun-woo instead.”
“You really know how to get under someone’s skin.”
The reason I went to Helena instead of kind-hearted Park Siwoo, who had offered to tutor me—
It was simply because Park Siwoo had zero talent for teaching.
The difference between genius and average, I suppose.
‘Uh, how can you not get this?’
‘Because you have to explain it for me to understand, idiot.’
‘No, look—put this here, do the mental calculation, and then plug that back into the formula, and bam! You get it now?’
‘What the hell is bam, you bastard.’
Dan Chun-woo wasn’t even an option from the start, and Yoo Iseo was too cold for such things.
In the end, Helena had been my only real choice.
The new teacher I’d gained that way was strict, but she was also an excellent instructor.
Unlike Park Siwoo, who was kind but utterly inefficient, Helena was firm yet effective.
Above all, Helena’s summary notes were top-tier.
She could precisely point out the questions most likely to appear on the exam—like a sniper.
As I studied hard, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
Wait, come to think of it… wouldn’t it have been fine to ask Senior Seo Da-hee to tutor me too?
Whack!
“Ow!”
“Focus on the question!”
My head hurt because my body had to make up for what my brain lacked.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell signaling the end of the exam rang.
“Everyone, stop writing. The exam is over. Those in the back, collect the answer sheets.”
Instructor Kang Jae-seok’s firm voice echoed across the room.
From all around came groans mixed with despair.
“Ah, j-just a little more….”
“I just need to fill in the marking, just the marking!”
“The exam time is over. Everyone, hands under your desks.”
The cadets in the back row gathered up the answer sheets.
I collapsed onto my empty desk.
It felt like I had just fought the fiercest battle of my life.
The past two weeks had been nothing short of a march through hell.
I had cut my sleep down to the bare minimum and devoted every spare second to studying, excluding only what was absolutely necessary.
Never in either my previous life or this one had I ever studied this hard.
Helena and Park Siwoo approached my desk, where I lay sprawled.
“How do you think you did?”
“From what I saw, you managed to solve all the questions within the time limit.”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think I at least scored above 40.”
My exam strategy had been simple:
Abandon the questions I didn’t know, and focus only on the ones I did.
Honestly, even that had barely been enough time.
Especially since the special subject exams had fewer questions, but each carried high points, and the grading focused more on the solution and written explanation than just the final answer.
Still, there were more problems I could solve on my own than I expected, and quite a few of them were the same ones that appeared in Helena’s sniper-like lectures.
If I just got those right, it would be more than enough…
“But why do you look like that?”
Helena’s expression wasn’t good at all.
With her arms crossed, she tapped the floor irritably with her foot.
“I taught you so hard, and you only got 40 points…? Is that even a human score?”
“You academic elitist! You think I’m on the same level as you geniuses? I’m already satisfied that I avoided supplementary lessons.”
Helena, looking incredulous at my words, snatched my test paper, then began comparing it with her own as she graded.
After a short while, she finished and tossed my paper back at me.
Written in red ink on the paper were the numbers—
“38, 62, 42. So about an average of 50? Honestly, I thought it’d be a close call.”
“No way… after all that effort, you actually got this kind of score? You live with this kind of brain?”
“Wow, you’re really good at being rude.”
“Still, it’s amazing. To get this kind of score in such a short time.”
Park Siwoo looked at my results and praised me.
“For someone who didn’t even have the basics, this is actually impressive.”
“As expected, Siwoo, you’re kind and sensible.”
“……Kind what?”
“Park Siwoo, what are you saying! The average isn’t even 50! Just wait until the next exam. I’ll make sure to hit at least 70 on the finals.”
After all that effort, it was only 50 points.
But if I wanted to get an average of 70… what else did I need to do?
Feeling terrible, I tried to stop Helena.
“You really don’t have to try that hard.”
“Keep your mouth shut! This is a matter of pride now!”
“Yeah, sure, whatever you say.”
Just as Helena’s eyes began to flash with anger, Instructor Kang Jae-seok’s voice echoed through the room.
“Attention, everyone. First, good work on finishing the written exams. But remember—this is only halfway through.”
He was right. So far, only two of the four exams had been completed—the general subject test and the special subject test, the written evaluations.
The remaining two were both practical exams.
The practical tests were divided into two types.
The first was the individual practical exam, a ranking-style duel tournament.
The second was the group practical exam, where all first-year cadets were randomly assigned into teams to conquer a simulated dungeon.
Both were main scenario events where important things occurred.
Instructor Kang Jae-seok continued.
“This is the match bracket for tomorrow’s individual practical exam.”
As he spoke, he tapped on his tablet.
A screen appeared on the board, showing the match brackets.
I quickly scanned through them.
The matchups for the individual practical exams were important—because your individual performance affected your team formation for the group practical.
I should probably aim to stay in the upper-middle ranks.
Rather than standing out too much, it would be better to maintain a flexible position for whatever unexpected situations might arise.
There were two major events tied to this midterm exam.
One was Dan Chun-woo’s reformation.
The other was the appearance of the Fragment.
Since there would be no Demon interference, this event would most likely revolve around Park Siwoo or Dan Chun-woo.
My role this time would be that of a mere extra, at best.
It would be tough, but this much should be manageable for them.
Let’s see, my first opponent was… huh?
A name I had pushed aside due to more pressing matters caught my eye.
Park Min-seo.
The guy who had once confused me about whether he was a Demon or not.
Even after turning into a Demon, his personality softened, his sociability improved, and none of the usual traits of a Demon showed—making him a perplexing existence.
If it hadn’t been for Dan Chun-woo, I might still not have been sure whether Park Min-seo was a Demon.
Come to think of it, I’d promised to set up a duel between Dan Chun-woo and Park Min-seo.
Dan Chun-woo wanted to restore the honor he lost when he was expelled from his family for hunting a Demon.
Well, once his reformation event was over, I might be able to persuade him to let it go.
Still, Park Min-seo was the problem.
Until now, I had completely left him alone.
The situation had been too hectic to spare any attention for him.
Besides, the idea of a Demon who was polite and sociable—a contradiction in itself—was unnerving.
If I recklessly engaged someone whose power and true nature I didn’t know, and ended up in a game over… what then?
This wasn’t a world with a save or load function.
But since fate had intertwined us like this, it was time to decide what to do with Park Min-seo.
Yoo Iseo had returned, and the Academy’s schedule was nearing its end—
It was time to wrap things up properly.
But I was curious.
Why didn’t he show any traits of being a Demon, despite being one?
Actually, there was one more reason I paid attention to Park Min-seo—perhaps the most desperate reason of all.
If a Demon could resist their own demonic nature and maintain their true personality...
Then maybe there was a way for me, Yoo Seongwoo, to escape the shackles of Pandemonium.