I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 79 : Midterm Exams (1)

"Hey."

Park Min-cheol stared at Su-hyeon, who was sitting in the back seat of the taxi waiting after signing the provisional contract, with a face like he was in a trance.

"What are you, really?"

"What now."

"No. Just looking at that old man's eyes made my legs weak. But you so nonchalantly..."

"Don't be so scared, hyung. You'll have to deal with him next time."

"...Ah shit."

"It's fine if you don't cross the line. Act appropriately intimidated and humble. Occasionally drop my name."

Park Min-cheol laughed bitterly at those words.

"You're talking like some organization boss."

"It's just a figure of speech."

Anyway.

"...I don't know how I ended up with you like this at dawn."

Su-hyeon laughed at Park Min-cheol's lament.

"Hang in there. You won't regret it."

"Once I've boarded the bus, I'd be an idiot to get off now."

"I'm counting on you going forward."

"Sure."

Park Min-cheol glanced at the taxi driver who was quietly holding the steering wheel as if he couldn't hear anything, then extended his hand to Su-hyeon.

"Looks like we'll be seeing each other for a long time."

"That guy..."

Old man Jang, watching the rear of the departing taxi through the window, smirked.

"What an audacious brat."

It had been a while since he'd met someone immune to his ability.

"I wondered why Hwang Yong-jae was interested in that kid."

Everyone who met Su-hyeon seemed to be quite conscious of him.

Though he was curious about the reason.

Normally, Su-hyeon would just be an interesting subject to observe through the eyes he had planted in the academy.

"But to think he'd crawl in on his own feet."

"Would you like to find out more?"

Old man Jang waved off the voice coming from the shadows.

"Forget it. How could I touch someone the Hwang family is carefully watching?"

"If you set your mind to it, sir..."

"Tsk, I said forget it."

Old man Jang laughed.

"We've got an interesting spectacle. Why stir things up? Just stay put, all of you."

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Since that day, Su-hyeon's business had definitely caught a favorable wind.

Known as the "Delivery Service," they were reliable and willingly procured anything as long as it wasn't drugs, alcohol, or tobacco.

The high level of trust they gained in such a short time was primarily due to the deal with Choi Mina.

Of course, she never spoke about it herself.

But when they properly packaged Choi Mina's case while discussing deals, and casually showed photos of those items, cadets would nod and think, "I don't know who this person is, but they're good at what they do."

Therefore, no one.

No one thought they could be freshmen who hadn't even been enrolled for a full semester.

'Who among the second-years would do something like this?'

'It might be third-years.'

'No way. Would third-years have nothing better to do than this?'

'That's true, but their business acumen is no joke. This isn't just kids playing store.'

However, this never reached the ears of teaching assistants or instructors.

None of them felt the need to slit the belly of the goose that laid golden eggs.

And so, as Kwon Seung-yeon grinned broadly at the precise weekly deposits.

Even cautiously stepping into the premium food section at the mart.

And upgrading the quality of salads she ate with Su-hyeon.

The midterm exams were suddenly right around the corner.

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There were four major assessment components for the midterm exams.

One was the Gate practice class, or performance assessment.

Another was the accumulated scores from regular classes.

And the remaining two components to be tackled during the exam period were written tests and practical tests.

The written tests consisted of basic subjects like Korean, English, and math, as well as specialized subjects covering Gate theory, Execution Force theory, and characteristic theory.

Studying.

It was something most cadets at this academy weren't very familiar with.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

In a study room at the usually quiet central library.

Eight Class 1 cadets were gathered around the table, diligently writing with their pens.

"Ah, I really don't understand any of this."

Kwon Seung-yeon complained, but the other seven, on edge, focused on their notes without responding.

"Sigh."

Embarrassed, Kwon Seung-yeon pouted and glanced at Su-hyeon.

This situation had all come about at Su-hyeon's suggestion.

'You managed to gather this many.'

If ranked by study ability rather than combat ability.

Based on quiz scores so far, Hwang Ji-su, Jeong Su-hyeon, and Choi Mina were considered Class 1's top students.

'Well, Ji-su has strong determination, and she's been diligently receiving private tutoring since childhood.'

She probably could have gotten into any department at any university she wanted if she had aimed for college admission.

'As for Su-hyeon, I don't know when he studies, but he's no joke.'

Of course, she had no way of knowing that when it came to specialized subjects, no one, even among the instructors, could beat Su-hyeon.

'And Mina, well. Magicians themselves need to be practically Mensa members to function as a class.'

With that monstrous computational ability and comprehension, high school-level studies were nothing to her.

'Purely in terms of intellect, Mina would be the best.'

But she declined, saying she preferred studying alone, and didn't come to this session.

Anyway, if those three were at the top.

Just below them in the upper ranks were Seo Jun-seong, Lee Yu-jin, and Hong In-hyeon.

'Jun-seong, well, like the model student he is, he's good at everything.'

He lacks humanity, thought Kwon Seung-yeon as she tapped her pen.

'Yu-jin is more talented in the humanities.'

The real surprise was Hong In-hyeon.

'Despite looking like a delinquent, he seems really diligent.'

Moreover, even more surprisingly, he was extremely good at science subjects.

But the most annoying one was Nam Tae-hoon.

'That guy gets good grades purely through cunning.'

He was resourceful, able to catch key concepts while reading very little, and was practical enough not to fall for trick questions.

'Park Chang-jun's scores aren't great compared to how much he shows off, but well.'

Setting aside Park Chang-jun, who wasn't invited because no one liked him.

'A-yun's scores in social studies and history were better than expected, weren't they?'

Kwon Seung-yeon thought, looking at Kim A-yun, who was quietly taking notes with her head down.

'She did well in Korean too.'

...Of course, Kwon Seung-yeon had no way of knowing that this was because Kim A-yun had no friends since childhood and spent her time reading novels and history books.

'Still, it's reassuring to have the bottom three.'

Song Yu-ha, Kwon Seung-yeon, Kang Geon-woo.

Kwon Seung-yeon grinned as she looked at her two friends who were firmly at the bottom.

'I'd do well if I tried, I'm just not trying.'

Just as she was thinking this.

"Kwon Seung-yeon, you haven't turned the page in a while. Are you daydreaming?"

Su-hyeon's sharp remark flew at her.

'He's a ghost, a real ghost.'

"No, it's just that this is difficult."

"Which part?"

"...This one?"

Su-hyeon's expression was strange as he looked at the part she had randomly pointed to.

"You don't know this?"

"No, no. Now that I think about it, I think I do know it!"

"Hmm. Then explain it."

"Uh, well..."

"Tsk, tsk. This is why you should have concentrated."

Nam Tae-hoon clicked his tongue as he watched Kwon Seung-yeon getting scolded.

"Tae-hoon. Is this correct?"

"Huh?"

For some reason, Lee Yu-jin's sharp question pierced him from the side.

"What, what? This is correct, isn't it?"

"You might get lucky and get it right once on the test. But that's all."

"Well, we're just trying to do well on the exam..."

Glare!

'Whoa, there's killing intent in those eyes. Is this the fabled mind test?'

Nam Tae-hoon flinched and quietly closed his mouth.

Scratch scratch scratch scratch.

Gulp.

Scratch scratch scratch.

The sound of caffeine being consumed and pens scratching filled the study room again.

'The members are good.'

Su-hyeon thought.

Setting aside those who didn't participate.

The characters Su-hyeon was focusing on and watching were gathered in large numbers.

'The argument that studying together improves efficiency worked well.'

Hwang Ji-su had agreed to the proposal of studying by teaching others as a form of review.

Hwang Ji-su was in charge of science subjects, while Su-hyeon handled specialized subjects.

Lee Yu-jin and Seo Jun-seong had nodded and taken charge of Korean and English respectively, with the promise that they'd help others while studying themselves.

'Seo Jun-seong's English skills are almost at the level of someone who studied abroad.'

It was the work of Seo Dong-jin, who was looking ahead to future interactions and cooperation with foreign Execution Forces or equivalent units.

'The effort he puts in is impressive.'

A hero and a legend of his era.

And then to have a son whose talent surpassed his own.

It wasn't incomprehensible.

Anyway.

Those four took on tutor roles, while Nam Tae-hoon, Kwon Seung-yeon, Song Yu-ha, Kang Geon-woo, and Kim A-yun studied on their own and asked questions when they didn't understand something.

...But.

"Aaaargh! I don't get it! Su-hyeon, please explain this to me!"

Song Yu-ha, who had finally run out of patience, cried out and made a scene.

"...What is it?"

Su-hyeon asked, suppressing a sigh.

"Just. I don't understand any of this??"

"Yu-ha..."

Lee Yu-jin tried to stop her, embarrassed on her behalf.

"Hmm."

Su-hyeon didn't give up and started explaining again.

"People who stood out during the transitional period between the first and second generations later split into two branches. Do you understand this far?"

"A little?"

"It's easier to understand if you focus on key figures. Among those who went in the direction of the Execution Force, the current academy principal, Min Jeong-gap, is representative, and figures who distinguished themselves from this period under him include Unit Leader Son Ji-gwang and former Captain Seo Dong-jin, whom we met previously."

Seo Jun-seong flinched when his father's name was mentioned.

"On the other hand, the most famous on the Hunter side is Lee Yu-jin's grandfather, the Sword God Lee Un-hak. The Sword Warrior Lee Cheong-myeong also stood out in the generation below him."

"Hmm."

"During this transitional period, it was these superhumans who contributed most to protecting human society in the fight against demonic beasts and the emergence of Ma-ins. You could call it an era before the system was established, when a few heroes had to be beacons of hope."

"Heeh."

Song Yu-ha nodded her head.

"Looking at that, Jun-seong and Yu-jin come from amazing families."

"While I respect my father, that doesn't make it my achievement."

Seo Jun-seong said.

"That's right. Of course, my grandfather will always be someone I aspire to be like."

Lee Yu-jin had a proud expression.

"The name 'Sword God' is bound to be the goal of all swordsmen."

Sword God Lee Un-hak.

A man who perfected his own style of martial arts by cutting down demonic beasts again and again.

An ambitious man who burned his entire life with the desire to create and pass down the strongest swordsmanship.

'That ambition is still ongoing.'

Despite being at a level where everyone worshipped him as the Sword God, it was still not enough for Lee Un-hak.

'That's also why he trains so many disciples.'

Su-hyeon thought.

But.

No one knew that Lee Un-hak's aspirations and pride were quite distorted, far from the common understanding.

Except for Su-hyeon.

'Depending on how the scenario unfolds, he could become a named character who goes quite berserk.'

Since thinking about the Sword God gave him quite a headache, Su-hyeon stopped thinking about it further.

"He's a remarkable person."

There was nothing else to say about it now.

"Anyway, there will likely be a couple of questions about this transitional era on the exam. Specifically..."

"Mmm. I see."

Hwang Ji-su, who had been watching Su-hyeon, asked.

"Hey. But why are you helping everyone like this?"

"Well. Isn't it good if we all get good scores?"

"...Is that really a good thing?"

Hwang Ji-su asked with a face that showed she didn't understand.

"It is."

'If we want to clear this damn scenario.'

Although Su-hyeon's answer was simple.

'That guy is really unusual.'

'As expected of Su-hyeon.'

The expressions of the cadets watching Su-hyeon, who was leading everyone together in this bloody arena of competition, were far from simple.

[Hwang Ji-su, Lee Yu-jin, Seo Jun-seong, Kwon Seung-yeon, Kim A-yun, Song Yu-ha, and Kang Geon-woo's favorability has increased.]

[Nam Tae-hoon thinks, 'What is this guy plotting now?']

[Achievement points 80 awarded.]

'Hmm?'

Su-hyeon blinked, not understanding why.