novelraw Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Final Exam (4)
Did she hear me muttering?
Seol Hayun’s head tilted slightly toward me for a moment before turning back to the summoned scorpion-type monster.
Flames had already enveloped her body and, flickering like greedy snakes, attacked the enemy.
The crimson-burning flames ensnared the massive scorpion's body.
The melted body scattered like ash on the wind and vanished without a trace.
I was inwardly impressed. After all, I had just seen a scene I had only ever witnessed in the game for real.
However, Seol Hayun did not leave her spot after finishing the battle.
Her gaze was directed toward me.
Before long, she opened her mouth.
“You called my name earlier. Do you know me?”
It seemed that calling Seol Hayun’s name in my surprise had attracted unnecessary attention.
While I was flustered for a moment, Seol Hayun’s eyebrows rose subtly.
“Of course I know you. Though it’s one-sided.”
Fortunately, it was easy to make an excuse.
Seol Hayun was a celebrity even before her admission.
“…….”
After that, our eyes met for a moment, but Seol Hayun left without a word.
As if she had no time to waste.
“Thought something was going to happen.”
Seol Hayun’s personality isn't particularly dangerous.
Nevertheless, her sharp gaze itself was quite intimidating.
Still, I should count myself lucky that it passed without any issues.
This wasn't the time to be lost in sentiment.
Just as I was about to leave to find the last citizen.
An unexpected person appeared from around the corner of the building.
That guy with the number 461 name tag was standing there, leaning against the wall.
“Ugh.”
Number 461 flinched with a surprised sound upon discovering me.
It seemed he didn't expect to run into me again either.
His eyes were wide open, frozen in place.
Number 461 was doing the dog-leg dance with trembling legs; seeing his state, he didn't seem very threatening.
It looked like the shock from being hit by the Minotaur hadn't fully subsided.
“Wa-wait! Let’s talk. I’m sorry about before. I have no intention of aiming for your cards. Even if you catch me, I don't have a single card yet…… huh?”
Peong-!
The moment Number 461 was rattling off excuses and apologies with near-divine speed, a rough explosion sound echoed from a nearby point, and black smoke rose up.
We stopped talking and turned our heads in the direction of the explosion.
‘I know who it is without even looking.’
The culprit was obvious.
There was only one person who could handle such powerful fire.
Seol Hayun, whom I had encountered earlier.
I don't know what kind of monster was caught in that explosion, but it was probably well-done.
According to the game's setting, most of the characters appearing in Zero have special abilities.
When one awakens ‘magic power,’ the power that forms the foundation of the world, and a strong will is imprinted on that magic power, it manifests as a specific ability.
This is a kind of magic and an Eoneung, and is so-called a ‘Gift.’
And the ability to handle the fiercely burning flames as if they were her own limbs, that was Seol Hayun’s Gift.
So she could cause a fierce explosion like the one just now…….
‘……Wait, an explosion?’
Something was strange.
With an explosion of that magnitude, there was a high possibility that nearby citizens would also be caught in it.
That’s why Seol Hayun seemed to be moving while controlling her output to some extent, so why such a big explosion all of a sudden?
“Uwaaaah!”
While questions were piling up, someone was screaming and running in this direction.
It was a male citizen in office worker attire.
The citizen was running away from something.
A moment later, Seol Hayun appeared from behind the citizen.
With a fierce fireball ignited in her hand.
‘Why is she chasing a citizen?’
A very strange sight.
From what I could see now, it was as if Seol Hayun was the monster.
There was one more strange thing.
Seol Hayun’s gaze was directed at the ground, not at the fleeing citizen.
Following that, an unknown ground tremor was felt.
A sensation as if the ground was shaking, something was happening.
‘Don't tell me.’
By the time I realized with a sharp sense, it had already happened.
A fierce vibration rang out from directly below the point where the citizen and I were standing.
Ugeugeugeu-
The ground began to shake.
Kwang-!
“Ugh!”
Number 461 lost his balance and fell on his butt.
And in front of him, a giant worm shot out, raising a cloud of dust.
My body was thrown into the air by its attack.
I understood the situation in a flash.
Seol Hayun had caused an explosion while attacking a Sandworm that had gone underground.
The source of the unease became clear.
The Sandworm opened its maw wide and tried to swallow me whole.
At that moment, I saw Seol Hayun hurriedly activating her magic power.
A form of fire began to flow from her fingertips.
But it’s too late.
By the time that fire reaches, I’ll already be in the Sandworm’s stomach.
I won't die, but the test will end there.
Because if you take a fatal blow, you are eliminated from the test.
There was no time to think.
I decided to follow my instincts.
Seeing the Sandworm surging up, I activated a skill.
[Hundred Night Yaksha]
At that moment, my forearm under the suit twitched strangely.
As if a foreign substance was wriggling inside my flesh, a cool sensation spread to my fingertips.
My body reacted reflexively.
I lowered my center of gravity deeply and tightly gripped the hilt of the sword.
The moment the sword’s trajectory was clearly drawn in my mind.
[Yaksha Style: White Lotus Dance]
The blade, emitted from the scabbard, became a flash of light and cut through the air.
The trajectory the sword flowed along, those countless lines overlapped in my vision.
Pibibit-!
A hundred slashes carved in an instant cut through the air, leaving afterimages.
A short silence fell after that.
Seu-seu-seut-!
That too was brief, as the Sandworm’s body split into countless pieces and scattered in the air.
Like paper torn to shreds.
***
The tests at Zero are fundamentally conducted in secrecy.
A large hall reminiscent of a stock exchange.
Screens of various sizes were attached to one wall, and the people filling the hall each held a tablet in their hands.
Every year during the exams, industry officials from the hero world gather here.
From guild scouts to various executives, and even personnel from the Hero Association.
It was to check the faces of new talents.
They carefully observed the final exam of Zero.
Like adults gathered to watch a newborn baby’s doljabi.
And sometimes, the parents of the baby doing the doljabi received more attention than the baby itself.
A woman with skin as white as jade and red hair sat guarding her seat.
Her smile-less lips and straight nose revealed her demanding and resolute nature.
“Ms. Ju Yeonhwa, you’re here.”
“Principal Jang Juyoung, it’s been a while.”
Ju Yeonhwa’s elegant demeanor and deep eyes, despite her youthful appearance, held the depth of long years.
The magic power that occasionally flashed from her fingertips slightly revealed the secret of her youth.
Principal Jang Juyoung’s age was revealed by his graying hair, but his neat suit and straight posture made his age seem irrelevant.
A gentle yet firm dignity coexisted in his gaze.
“Did you come to see your granddaughter?”
“Of course not. As the representative of a guild, isn't it only natural to discover new talents?”
“Guild masters don't usually come in person. If we had known a legendary hero was coming, our academy would have paid more attention.”
At Jang Juyoung’s jest, Ju Yeonhwa waved her hand lightly and said.
“That slick way of speaking of yours hasn’t changed even as you’ve gotten older. In fact, it's become even more detestable.”
“Hoho. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Their conversation quickly stopped.
Because the screen was showing ‘Seol Hayun.’
Ju Yeonhwa’s eyes were fixed on Seol Hayun as if nailed to her.
“As expected of Seol Hayun. She’s dealing with the monsters in an instant.”
“It’s a shame she’s already affiliated. She’s the one who will take responsibility for ‘Fire of Annihilation’ after Ms. Ju Yeonhwa.”
Seol Hayun was dispatching monsters at a very fast pace.
Without being flustered at all, no matter how powerful an enemy appeared.
“Everyone is talking about your granddaughter. It must have been worth coming.”
“Tsk-.”
At Jang Juyoung’s words, Ju Yeonhwa clicked her tongue.
“Cut the insincere compliments.”
Ju Yeonhwa frowned as if uncomfortable with the face-saving compliments about her granddaughter and lightly dabbed her lips with a handkerchief.
“Still, compared to the other examinees, she’s definitely…….”
Jang Juyoung stopped talking.
Because a fierce aura was flowing from Ju Yeonhwa’s direction.
“Heek-!”
“W-what!”
With someone’s sound of sucking in a surprised breath, flustered voices flowed from the surroundings.
“I told her to control her magic power thoroughly. To get so easily excited. I never taught that child like that. How embarrassing. Other examinees? Of course she should surpass them. As the successor of Fire of Annihilation, of all people, she ought to…….”
Ju Yeonhwa muttered while crumpling her handkerchief.
In a state of what is commonly called ‘eyes have gone crazy.’
“Hoho. Calm down.”
Jang Juyoung quickly soothed Ju Yeonhwa.
Because there could have been an incident of mass fainting in the audience.
Seol Hayun’s performance was certainly excellent. Enough to capture everyone’s attention.
However, even that did not satisfy Ju Yeonhwa’s expectations.
With only one person left, Seol Hayun discovered a citizen in the form of an office worker and immediately entered a combat stance.
But this time, the opponent was not good.
Because the summoned monster was a Sandworm that swam through the ground.
‘The matchup isn't good.’
Jang Juyoung thought quietly.
A Sandworm that has dug into the ground with determination is a difficult enemy to hunt with fire.
When he glanced over at Ju Yeonhwa, the aura she was unconsciously emitting had become even stronger.
The people around them also quieted down as if their breath had been caught.
‘This is troublesome.’
Jang Juyoung rather hoped that Seol Hayun would finish the test quickly.
However, contrary to his wishes, an incomprehensible thing happened at that moment.
A boy had disposed of the Sandworm in Seol Hayun’s place.
The problem was the method.
The Sandworm was instantly split into countless pieces.
And there was a familiar strangeness lingering in that swordsmanship.
Could it have been an unexpected scene?
“……That’s impossible.”
Ju Yeonhwa’s eyes, who was muttering blankly, were wide open.
While looking at the boy who had shredded the monster.
“Principal, did you see that just now?”
“Yes, unless I saw wrong, I saw it clearly.”
“That old geezer, I thought he was living quietly in seclusion, but he sent his disciple to the academy?”
The image of an old man flashed through Ju Yeonhwa and Jang Juyoung’s minds.
An old man with white hair reminiscent of a swan and a sharp temper.
Jjeojeok-!
The floor where Ju Yeonhwa stood began to crack roughly.
Her aura was rising up uncontrollably.
“Baekseok……!”
Ju Yeonhwa spat out, grinding her teeth.
Baekseok’s disciple had entered the academy.
***
The shattered remains of the Sandworm slowly melted away and then disappeared.
“Examinee 456, Ryu Jinwoo, you have passed.”
In the silence, the smartwatch indifferently reported the result.
And it was right after that.
Ddiring-!
[Tactical Manual]
[Settlement will now begin.]
‘Kkeu……aaaaah……aaak!’
As soon as the settlement message appeared, a suffocating, excruciating pain spread from my arm throughout my entire body.
It feels like my bones are splitting.
No, maybe they actually are splitting.
The pain of my blood vessels twisting and my nerves being torn one by one.
I collapsed to the floor right there.
‘It was like this last time too, is this the skill's recoil?’
I can’t even breathe properly.
It feels like my whole body is being torn apart from the inside.
[Intermediate Rehabilitation Art is activated (-100SP)]
Even with the hurriedly activated Rehabilitation Art, the pain just wouldn't go away.
‘This is why I tried not to use it unless it was an emergency…….’
Clutching my trembling arm with a trembling hand, I froze right there on the spot.
My body curled up on its own.
And it was then.