She could hardly move her body.
It would have been nice if she could at least use magic, but the mana inside her body had run dry, and the state of her mana circuits was poor as well.
If she forced herself to cast magic like this, there was a chance she would cause permanent damage to her circuits or trigger a mana rampage.
Min Arin, slammed into the ground, had no choice but to gaze mournfully up at the sky and wait until some of her strength returned.
Thanks to that, she lost quite a bit of time.
“Damn it….”
Leaning on her staff for support.
By the time Min Arin climbed out of the pit, the sun had already set, and the sky was turning a deep blue-black.
In other words, she had spent more than half a day buried underground, lying there.
For her, it was nothing short of devastating.
There were less than twenty hours left in the exam, and she had lost every last one of her exam tickets.
Forget entering the academy as the top scorer—she was now faced with the question of whether she could even get admitted at all.
Every second counted.
She had to gather at least 200 points somehow in the time she had left.
“It’s fine. I’m Min Arin. Two hundred points? Hmph, as if I can’t even gather that much.”
Because she had already cried her heart out inside the pit, no more tears flowed.
There was no guarantee that crying would solve anything, and she could not give up until it was over.
For magic, which manifested imagination into reality, giving up only served to limit one’s imagination.
Min Arin firmly steeled herself.
She decided to search for other examinees.
Just then, the Gate Watch, which rang an alert every three hours, informed her of the locations of exam tickets around her.
[21:00:00]
[Displaying all exam tickets within a 500m radius.]
“…I just have to go here, then.”
Perhaps because the exam would end tomorrow, the examinees were gathering in one place.
For Min Arin, it was a perfect opportunity.
She moved her aching body and headed toward the area where the exam tickets were clustered.
“There really are a lot of them gathered. Nice.”
When she spread out her detection net, she was able to pick up examinees stationed all over the area.
Min Arin swept back her red hair, her yellow eyes gleaming.
Confidence appeared at the corners of her mouth.
If she obtained their exam tickets, she would easily surpass 200 points.
“W-What the!?”
“I’ll be taking your exam tickets.”
However, she was a mage, and she was alone.
She could not take all of them on at once.
It was also dangerous to move around at night in a forest inhabited by monsters.
Like a cat, Min Arin crept around the outskirts of the forest, ambushing examinees who were few in number and far away from other groups.
‘I feel like some petty thief.’
The thought suddenly occurred to her, but she was in no position to be picky.
It hurt her pride, it was shameful, and it was humiliating, but what could she do?
Surviving came first.
Saving face came afterward.
Min Arin forced those thoughts aside and focused on collecting exam tickets.
And so, without sleeping or resting, she roamed the forest until she managed to gather 200 points.
“See? Who do you think I am? I told you, I’m Min Arin.”
In a way, Min Arin was simple.
She forgot the humiliation she had suffered and proudly held her nose high.
Then, for the sake of her score, she tried to gather even more exam tickets.
“Why are these bastards suddenly…?”
The monsters in the forest attacked.
As the examinees were thrown into utter panic, Min Arin could not help but get caught up in it as well.
This was no time to be stealing exam tickets.
Making a swift decision, she took down the one that had ambushed her from behind.
“…”
Her yellow eyes swept across the battlefield.
There were two examinees she needed to save.
There were five monsters nearby.
Monsters with an appearance similar to hyenas were surrounding her.
[You have encountered monsters.]
[Shadehyena (Rank. 01) x 5]
They were monsters that rested in the shade during the day and became active at night.
“Ha.”
After checking the message that appeared before her eyes, Min Arin snorted.
She swept her red hair back with one hand.
“You think the likes of you can do anything to me? Do you know who I am…?”
Min Arin snapped her fingers.
Whoosh.
Flames rose behind her.
Startled by the sudden blaze, the monsters widened the distance.
With the flames at her back, she aimed her staff at them.
“Don’t underestimate me.”
* * *
Lee Gahyeon, who was possessing the body of an examinee, could not bring out her original strength.
Moreover, her soul was not complete; it was only a fragment.
Even so, she could not be underestimated.
As I crossed blades with Lee Gahyeon, I checked her status window.
[Personal Information]
Name: Park Jihui (Lee Gahyeon) (Female · 17 years old)
Alias: Lee Gahyeon’s Soul Doll
Affiliation: Miyang Middle School
[Possessed Gift]
Flexibility
[Physical Abilities]
Stamina: 35 → ?7
Strength: 31 → 52
Durability: 30 → 5?
Agility: 33 → ?4
Magic Power: 27 → ??
Luck: 12 → 27
Remaining Points: 0
As expected.
Her stats had risen to match Lee Gahyeon’s soul.
Unfortunately, some of the numbers were corrupted, so I could not confirm them completely.
It was probably because there was a difference in rank between Lee Gahyeon and me.
Or there might have been some other reason.
‘At the very least, it’d be better to assume she’s on par with me.’
In fact, Lee Gahyeon was responding to my attacks without difficulty.
She showed no sign of being flustered in the face of my relentless strikes.
On the contrary, she was even smiling, as if she found something terribly amusing.
It was then that she opened her mouth.
“Where do you keep looking? When you’re with me, you should only focus on me. This makes me feel hurt, you know?”
“Kh!”
In the brief moment my eyes went to the status window.
Lee Gahyeon did not miss the opening and immediately struck at my blind spot.
The trajectory of her attack suddenly changed, and I reflexively knocked her sword aside.
That was when the sword in her other hand entered my field of vision from outside it.
Crackle!
Fortunately, Evasion Instinct activated.
I narrowly grazed past the blade and tried to counterattack.
“Your reflexes are absurdly good. I’ve never seen anyone dodge as well as you.”
But Lee Gahyeon was faster.
Before I, having extended my foot and stopped my rotation, could even regain my stance, she abruptly rushed into my chest.
I saw her approach low in my field of vision, licking her lips with her tongue, and her two arms stretched behind her back moved like whips.
“Your swordsmanship, you know, is truly strong. And fast. It deserves to be evaluated as the best among swordsmanship families.”
“…!”
“But you see.”
A blade shot up from the right.
I swung my sword and blocked it.
Then one came from the left.
And then the right again.
Just as I had done moments ago, Lee Gahyeon relentlessly swung her twin swords, pressing me hard.
I was too busy blocking her swords to unfold an attack form.
“What use is it if you aren’t even given the chance to swing? In particular, the Azure Lightning you all take pride in comes from upright movements and balanced control of force, doesn’t it?”
That was why the Beast King Style had defensive forms, unique forms, and special forms in addition to attack forms.
Ignoring her giggles, I stepped back as if drawing a vortex.
Lion Wheel Dance (獅子 輪舞)
The stride that had initially been nothing more than half a step slowly lengthened.
Accordingly, the range of rotation also grew little by little.
Focused on pressing me, she did not notice.
“What is this…? When did…!”
“The Beast King Style doesn’t only have swiftness and strength. It also has illusion and flow (流), you know? It’s troubling when you arbitrarily define our swordsmanship.”
By the time Lee Gahyeon realized she had fallen for my intent and that the two of us had been dancing as though drawing a vortex, the situation had already been reversed.
I, who had been blocking attacks at the center of the vortex, was now outside it, while she, who had been outside the vortex, was standing at its center.
While I had been inducing her attacks, our positions had switched.
Now she was no longer in the position of pressing the attack, but in the position of blocking one.
Bewilderment appeared on her face.
Meanwhile.
Crackle!
Blue currents were sparking around the vortex Lee Gahyeon and I had created.
It was Azure Lightning.
It had arisen as I unfolded the footwork of Lion Wheel Dance.
Those currents were flowing along the movement of the vortex toward the spot where she stood.
“Urgh!”
Even when Lee Gahyeon sensed danger and tried to break away from the flow of the vortex, it was useless.
The Azure Lightning that had flowed without her noticing had already clung to her.
No matter where she fled…
Lion Rending Slash
She could not avoid the attack of the Beast King Style.
The Azure Lightning created by Lion Wheel Dance had the effect of drawing in other Azure Lightning.
At my level, once was the limit, but still.
When I sent a slash in the direction Lee Gahyeon had disappeared, the slash moved on its own and flew toward her.
“…!”
Lee Gahyeon, flustered, blocked the slash.
Unable to withstand its force, she crashed into the trunk of a tree behind her.
And at that moment.
Piyung!
Go Eunbi, who had been watching us cross swords in a dazzling exchange all this time, fired an arrow.
Lee Gahyeon, who had not been wary of her, ended up allowing the unexpected attack.
The arrow lodged itself in her left arm.
After putting some distance between us, she glanced at the arrow embedded in her arm and frowned.
“I don’t like it when someone interferes…”
Lee Gahyeon pulled out the arrow and threw it behind her.
When she manifested the mana inside her body, the wound quickly healed.
Her gaze turned toward Go Eunbi and her friends behind me.
“You’re getting in the way too, so would you leave?”
At Lee Gahyeon’s words, the forest stirred.
The sound of monsters barking was rapidly drawing closer.
Even without broadening our senses, we could tell that the monsters in the area were gathering here.
“Gyeonwoo! Hurry and run—”
Go Eunbi’s words were cut off midway.
That was because monsters that looked like hyenas appeared from the nearby bushes.
[You have encountered monsters.]
[Shadehyena (Rank. 01) x 4]
Starting with them, monsters appeared one after another and surrounded us.
Lee Gahyeon was outside the encirclement, watching us as if she found it delightful.
“Don’t worry. These little ones won’t harm you at all.”
“…”
“But I’m not so sure about them?”
It seemed Lee Gahyeon intended to use the monsters to keep my group in check.
For me, who had to fight while protecting them, it was nothing short of an unfavorable situation.
So I made a bold decision.
“Eunbi, take the others and run.”
“What?”
“If you stay tied down here for no reason, more monsters will only gather. So you guys get out.”
“What about you!”
“She said it herself. The monsters aren’t after me, they’re after you. So don’t worry about me and prioritize your own safety.”
“But…”
“And I’m not just telling you to run. You remember what I told you earlier, right? I’m counting on you.”
“…All right. I’ll do as you say.”
It was not as if I had failed to consider the possibility that Lee Gahyeon would be stronger than I expected, or that some unforeseen situation would arise that would prevent me from protecting my companions.
I had told Go Eunbi what to do in advance in preparation for such a case.
Because of that, though she had initially tried to object, she accepted it as if resigning herself.
“I’ll open a path, so use that chance to escape!”
I dashed toward the weakest point in the encirclement.
The Ultramarine Sword emitted a blue light.
Lion’s Fierce Assault
There was no swordsmanship better suited for breaking through a path.
Moving in a lightning-shaped trajectory, I annihilated the monsters.
The ones nearby flinched violently and hurriedly retreated.
A hole opened in the encirclement.
“Now!”
“Guys, let’s go! Gyeonwoo! Don’t push yourself too hard, no matter what!”
Go Eunbi led the group and ran down the path I had opened for them.
She quickly left the area, and the monsters that had fled to avoid my sword hurried after them.
Soon, I turned my eyes away from the direction in which they had disappeared.
Lee Gahyeon was smiling with her eyes.
“Now it’s just the two of us left.”
“That works out well. Now I can kill you without holding back.”
“My, even if you’re angry, aren’t your words a bit harsh? Not that you’ll take my exam ticket, but that you’ll kill me…”
“I really am going to kill you, though.”
“…”
“There’s no rule saying I can’t kill you, is there? I’ll just kill you first and then take your exam ticket.”
“How strange. I heard that people of the Divine Sword Do Clan avoid killing whenever possible… You’re rather unusual, aren’t you?”
“I do try to avoid indiscriminate killing. But I don’t think you fall under indiscriminate killing.”
“What… is that supposed to mean?”
“The demons of the Demon Association are targets for eradication.”
“....”
“And all the more so if it’s one of the Six Demons. Don’t you think? Doll Ghost Woman, Lee Gahyeon.”
Lee Gahyeon’s eyes flew wide.
Her face visibly stiffened, and the corners of her lips, which had been raised, sank.
“…How did you know?”
Her voice was utterly chilling.
The woman before me narrowed her eyes and asked, as if threatening me.
Her aura was anything but ordinary.
I replied calmly.
“How did I know? Is that what you’re curious about?”
“....”
“If you’re curious, come at me. Don’t try to gauge my skill like you’re testing the waters. Did you think I wouldn’t know you were planning to run away halfway through? You can’t do that. Not if you’re trying to run from me.”
If I let Lee Gahyeon get away here, I would never find her again.
So, in order to get rid of her, I had to throw out bait that would keep her rooted in place.
That bait was none other than her true identity.
“You’d better not regret this.”
“Just don’t run away.”
Lee Gahyeon’s eyes glowed red.
With an aura incomparable to before, she closed the distance in an instant.
I pursued her and swung my sword.
[You have been exposed to Pressure.]
[All stats decrease by 8%.]
[Skill ‘Guts Lv 5’ activates.]
[Stats reduced by Pressure are compensated up to 13%.]
[Reduced stats have been restored.]
[Concentration and evasion rate increase by 13% due to Skill ‘Guts Lv 5’.]
* * *
The monsters’ movements were unusual.
It was unsettling that creatures of different species, tendencies, and ecologies were attacking the examinees without clashing with one another.
‘What on earth is this…?’
Something strange that she did not know about must have happened in the forest.
Having followed news of Do Gyeonu all the way here, Yeon Haneul could not hide her bewilderment.
Her rabbit ears kept twitching, catching sounds from every direction.
She could not hear Do Gyeonu’s voice.
‘Where is he right now?’
There were too many monsters.
It seemed as if every monster on Honrim Island was flocking here.
Perhaps that really was the case.
Monsters were drawn to mana.
It was instinct.
Thus, the mana the examinees unconsciously leaked, the mana violently emitted as their emotions fluctuated wildly, and the mana that lingered in the air after they cast spells could not help but stimulate the creatures’ instincts.
Saying that they were swarming here was no exaggeration.
‘There are too many presences around me, so I can’t find him even with my detection net.’
As a result, Yeon Haneul could not help worrying about Do Gyeonu, who had to be somewhere nearby.
Feeling impatient inside, she smashed every charging monster she saw with her iron hammer.
“Haneul! Do you really think he’s here!? What if Gyeonu has taken shelter….”
“No, that can’t be. Gyeonu is still in this forest.”
The creatures came rushing in as a group.
Lisa quickly spread a barrier in front of them, blocking their approach.
In the meantime, Yeon Haneul chanted a spell inside the barrier and burned them all to ashes at once.
They immediately ran through the darkness.
“You don’t have to force yourself to come along. There’s no need for you to take the risk.”
“…No. If Gyeonu really is in this forest like you said, Haneul, then we have to help him. And it’s dangerous to let you go alone, too.”
Do Gyeonu was definitely here.
As his childhood friend who had known him for five years, Yeon Haneul was certain of it.
‘No matter how badly he wants good results, there’s no way Gyeonu would turn every examinee against him and try to steal their admission tickets.’
As far as Yeon Haneul knew.
Do Gyeonu was absolutely not the kind of person to provoke others rashly.
If he provoked someone, then behind that action, there was likely a highly calculated intention.
Therefore, there had to be a sufficient reason why he provoked the examinees and started a fight over their admission tickets.
He was aiming for something.
‘What is he aiming for?’
Yeon Haneul fell into thought.
Judging only by the result, he had ended up becoming the examinees’ target.
The examinees who heard the rumors had come to surround him.
But if one looked at the situation from another angle, one could also say that by becoming the target himself, he had drawn them in.
‘To draw someone in?’
She arrived at one possibility.
One thought led to the next.
‘Why is he trying to draw them in? What kind of person is that person?’
She knew Do Gyeonu’s relationships.
Among the examinees, there were not many children he had ties with.
Herself, the triplets, Go Eunbi, Lisa, Yong Haerang, Do Gyeonu’s cousin Do Seungwoo, and so on.
But there was no need to go this far just to draw them in.
There were many ways to lure them.
The fact that he had chosen this method meant it was reasonable to assume he was not close to the other party.
‘Then why is he trying to draw in someone he isn’t close to?’
Only one thought came to mind.
To fight that person.
‘Why? For what reason?’
To organize her thoughts.
Do Gyeonu had a reason to fight someone he wasn’t even acquainted with.
It was incomprehensible.
“....”
But he was like that sometimes.
The very existence known as her childhood friend, Do Gyeonu, was someone she felt she could understand at times, only to realize she could not.
During the five years she had known him.
He had sometimes done incomprehensible things as if they were nothing.
This might be one of those times.
Though she had questioned him at first, she had now come to accept that this was just how it was, and she searched her memories.
‘Then what I have to do is….’
Yeon Haneul began inferring from there.
As long as Do Gyeonu, who was hiding some kind of secret, told her nothing, all she could do was judge for herself and act accordingly.
Before long, she reached a conclusion.
“We’ll have to catch them off guard.”
“Pardon? What did you just say?”
“Even if we find Gyeonu, let’s not approach him. Let’s watch for now. The person Gyeonu is probably dealing with must be connected to this commotion, too.”
“Haneul, what do you mean….”
“They’re probably an opponent we can’t underestimate. So we’ll strike where they don’t expect it.”
Putting strength into her red eyes.
Yeon Haneul peered into the darkness.
* * *
Meanwhile, Lisa and Yeon Haneul were not the only ones going against the flow of the examinees.
Nam Yuri of the Yeonseong Nam family.
She, too, whose admission ticket had been taken by Do Gyeonu, was in the forest.
“Wow! Half monsters, half admission tickets!”
She had not come looking for Do Gyeonu in order to retrieve her own admission ticket.
Nor was it to steal the admission tickets he was supposedly wearing all over his body.
She had simply come to hunt the examinees being drawn toward him.
Thanks to that, she was able to collect a large number of admission tickets in a short time.
She had more than enough points needed to pass the exam.
That was when the monsters living in the forest began their assault.
“What’s wrong with them? I have no idea!”
Nam Yuri found it strange.
But she did not think deeply about it.
As far as she was concerned, it was simply nice that she could kill monsters without hesitation.
She could feel the stimulation of being alive.
Unlike the examinees who were running away, she gleefully killed the creatures left and right.
She did not care at all that the blood spraying from them stained her gray hair and white one-piece dress.
Then she arrived at a sudden thought.
“Did they maybe gather because of Gyeonu-Gyeonu? Fun things really never stop happening around Gyeonu-Gyeonu!”
Ahaha, ahaha.
Drunk on the stimulation of being alive, Nam Yuri laughed madly as she ran through the forest.
She went against the flow of the examinees and headed deeper into the forest.
And so.
“Damn it…. At this rate, I’m going to end up hunting only monsters without collecting any admission tickets.”
Min Arin of the Mado Min family.
“Do Gyeonu! Just wait a little longer!”
Yong Haerang of the Chivalrous Yong family.
“I have to help Gyeonu.”
The “self-proclaimed” loner, Go Eunbi.
“Haneul! It’s Rank 2! Be careful!”
The princess of another world’s empire.
Lisa Grace.
“It’s fine. I can kill it on my own. It’ll be over soon.”
The disciple of the Seven-Colored Witch, Yeon Haneul.
“Ahaha! I wonder what’ll come out if I go even deeper from here?”
Nam Yuri of the Yeonseong Nam family.
By some twist of fate, the main characters of the game were gathering around Do Gyeonu.
“So noisy….”
Cha Eunsol of the Sunhwan Cha family.
Except for her.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss