Episode 110: Final Exams (6)
“Haa… haa…”
“Phew…”
Both of us panted heavily, our lungs filled to their limits.
One side of the training ground was in ruins, and Yu Hana’s sword was completely broken.
Of course, it wasn’t the Dongbaek Sword.
To be honest, I was pretty surprised.
A duel is, after all, a kind of sparring match—meant to test one’s skill with the sword while limiting the use of mana.
That was what Yu Hana meant by duel.
And within those limits, her mastery of the Flower Butterfly Sword was beyond imagination.
It was truly a razor-thin difference.
A technique I’ve spent ten years honing—
—and a disciple who, after only a few months of training, had caught up right beneath my chin.
“…What the hell did you do during that closed-door training?”
Still catching my breath, I muttered with a hint of laughter.
Yu Hana lay on the floor, gasping for air.
The shoulder of her uniform was slightly off.
With each sharp breath, her damp hair clung to her cheeks, and the sweat-soaked fabric stuck to her skin.
The front of her uniform had loosened a bit, and her upper body rose and fell evenly with every inhale.
It was almost… sensual.
“…I lost.”
Yu Hana said between pants.
Instead of replying, I walked over and slowly sat down beside her.
Her forehead glistened with sweat, her sword sheath lay discarded on the ground, and the heat of battle still lingered.
Even in that state, Yu Hana smiled faintly and held out her wrist.
“Here.”
She added with a grin,
“Disqualify me.”
Her tone had shortened. From here on, she wasn’t disciple Yu Hana—just student Yu Hana.
“There’s no need to disqualify you, is there?”
I meant it. The win or loss didn’t matter.
What I wanted to see was the depth of her technique—and I’d seen more than enough.
It was a shame for her to be eliminated so soon.
“No. Disqualify me. That’s why I challenged you.”
I chuckled at her words.
I’d seen enough of her technical proficiency.
She had been more sincere and diligent than anyone, and most of all, she was prepared.
I made my decision.
Her unwavering focus throughout the fight, the determination in her eyes—
I’m looking forward to seeing how strong she’ll become when she starts using mana.
With this… selection is complete.
“Hana.”
Yu Hana, still lying down, opened her eyes and looked at me.
“Huh?”
“Are you going anywhere during summer break?”
“No. I’ll probably be training with my dad…”
“Then tell him you’re busy.”
“Huh?”
I smiled briefly.
“Let’s go somewhere during summer break. You know, like a trip.”
In that moment.
Her eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly.
And her face began to turn red.
Just as she was about to say something—
Beep.
I tapped her watch with my finger.
“See you later.”
[10 pt!]
With her disqualification confirmed, a gentle light spread across Yu Hana’s body.
“W-Wait! Where? What trip? Overseas? China? America?!”
Yu Hana shouted in confusion as her body began to fade.
But her silhouette soon dispersed like mist.
“…How did she guess?”
The destination was China.
I took a short breath and checked my watch.
[Time until team rotation: 12:21]
We’d dueled for over thirty minutes.
“Guess it’s time to go.”
I left the training ground.
Next stop—Heavenly Martial Hall, the promised meeting place.
***
Cheon Yeoul casually tossed a comment to Yoon Chae-ha, who was walking beside her.
“How many did you take down?”
“Five.”
“I got seven.”
“…So what.”
Yoon Chae-ha and Cheon Yeoul had run into each other midway through the exam.
Their spawn points were nearby, and both were headed toward the rendezvous point.
The current time: 5 minutes before team rotation.
Knowing Jung Haein’s personality—always showing up at the exact promised time—it was about time to get moving.
“……”
“……”
No words were exchanged, but their steps were in sync.
Then, a thunderous sound shattered the silence.
—KWAANG!
Far below the mountain ridge, a black plume of smoke rose with an explosive sound.
Judging by the scale of the explosion, it wasn’t caused by an ordinary student.
“What was that?”
Cheon Yeoul muttered.
At that moment, Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes gleamed.
She activated a priori.
She read the flow of space.
At the center of the disturbance—
Yoon Chae-ha muttered under her breath,
“…Yu Serin.”
Yu Serin was up ahead in the direction they were headed.
Apparently, the defense team had recklessly gone after her.
“Let’s take another route,” Yoon Chae-ha said in a low voice.
Jung Haein had warned them: Never confront Yu Serin. If you do, avoid her.
That went for defense roles too—but especially when on offense, no exceptions.
However, Cheon Yeoul didn’t stop walking.
“Hm…”
She tilted her head slightly, a small smirk forming on her lips.
It was already too late to turn back.
Jung Haein would definitely arrive at the exact time. He might already be waiting.
And as for Yu Serin?
Cheon Yeoul didn’t have any information on her.
In the previous round, she had been killed early by the Lotus guild leader.
Of course, if Jung Haein said she was strong, then she probably was—but that only made Yeoul more stubborn.
“Just how strong is she, really?”
Lately, she felt like Yu Serin was getting too close for comfort.
Cheon Yeoul had sharp instincts.
“…Let’s just go,” she said.
Honestly, Yoon Chae-ha didn’t feel too differently.
Even though she’d mellowed a bit thanks to Jung Haein, she was still very headstrong by nature.
Besides, this wasn’t the first time Yu Serin had approached Haein, and it was starting to rub her the wrong way.
“…Me too.”
Their eyes met.
There was a strange tension in the air—an unspoken understanding.
It was an unexpected moment of agreement.
Both smiled faintly at the same time.
And without another word, they walked toward the center of the chaos.
***
[Time remaining until team rotation: 00:30]
By the time he reached Heavenly Martial Hall, the watch timer had only 30 seconds left.
But the two people who were supposed to be waiting were nowhere in sight.
“Where are they?”
They were the ones so eager to meet up, yet now they couldn’t even be on time.
The offense team would be flooding in soon.
They had to move toward the boss zone before it was too late.
The first boss to target was Do Han-seong.
He was stationed behind the mountain behind Heavenly Martial Hall.
Taking down the silver bell boss would earn a large number of points.
But honestly, the offense team wasn’t the real threat.
Yu Serin.
As a black bell, she could roam freely without being bound to any area.
Just then, an alert popped up on the watch.
[Team Rotation Begins.]
[Current Team Members]
[Blue Team: 184] VS [White Team: 248]
[Current Score]
[380 pts] VS [660 pts]
[Offense/Defense will switch in 5 minutes.]
Exactly as expected.
He had predicted that about two people from the white team would be eliminated.
It was probably some students who got themselves killed messing with the boss.
I feel like giving a round of applause for the honor of being the first eliminations from the offense team.
Just then, the list of eliminated players popped up on the watch.
On the Blue Team, aside from Yu Hana, most were names I didn’t even recognize.
It looked like mostly lower-ranked players had been knocked out.
Out of habit, I opened the White Team’s elimination list.
Who could it be?
Which two idiots thought it was a good idea to mess with a boss monster and got themselves eliminated?
[Rank 4: Cheon Yeoul]
[No Rank: Yoon Chae-ha]
“…….”
I rubbed my eyes.
I wanted to believe I’d read it wrong.
“…What?”
I even said it out loud.
They’d been getting along lately—maybe too well.
Guess they got eliminated in perfect harmony.
“What the hell did they even do…?”
And as if the system had anticipated my curiosity, Gaon kindly displayed the reason for their elimination.
Their cause of elimination was…
[Reason for Elimination: Boss]
Since they were on offense, all bosses were open targets.
Still, there aren’t many instructors capable of taking those two out so cleanly.
…Only one person comes to mind.
“…Yu Serin.”
A scene flashed through my mind.
The look on their faces when I mentioned Yu Serin.
Both of them looked kind of… skeptical.
“We’re listening because you said it, but that’s about it.”
That was exactly the vibe.
I slowly nodded to myself.
“Serves them right.”
I muttered under my breath while shaking my head.
Yu Serin is a black bell. That doesn’t mean she attacks indiscriminately.
Just running into her doesn’t automatically trigger a fight.
That means either they purposely crossed into her territory…
Or they made the first move.
Either way, they deserved to be eliminated.
I scrapped my plan to go after Do Han-seong.
“Phew…”
Going solo is tiring anyway, and there’s no need to push myself.
[140 PT]
“Guess I’ll use this.”
I pulled up the hidden spot I’d marked on my watch.
Time to spend some points.
Revival?
“No.”
I suddenly lost all motivation.
I muttered quietly,
“Just let ‘em rest.”
***
“Ahahaha!! AHAHAHAHA!!”
Laughter loud enough to shake the space echoed through the air.
In the central area outside, where dozens of eliminated students had gathered.
The monitor still displayed the battlefield in real-time, showing the remaining participants in action.
In front of it, Yu Hana clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
“Serves you right?”
She pointed back and forth at the two of them, smirking.
“You charged in so confidently together\~ Guess you two are besties now, huh\~?”
Cheon Yeoul pressed her lips together tightly, and Yoon Chae-ha turned her head away.
There was nothing to say.
They hadn’t expected Yu Serin to be that strong.
Their eyes were fixed on the giant screen.
On it, Jung Haein was shown heading toward the hidden point.
“…He’ll revive us,” Cheon Yeoul muttered. Yoon Chae-ha nodded beside her.
They’d heard from the staff—if you’re lucky, someone might revive you.
“Yeah, but,”
Yu Hana folded her arms and added lazily,
“After making a whole plan to meet up, then completely ignoring him and rushing in like idiots…”
Her smirk deepened as she finished,
“You think he’s really going to bring you two back?”
At that, Cheon Yeoul and Yoon Chae-ha stared silently at the screen, their lips pressed into a firm line.
They had no comeback.
Yu Hana smiled triumphantly, landing one final blow.
“Don’t you think he’d rather bring back me, the one he promised to go on a summer vacation with?”
“What?”
Both their heads whipped around at the same time.
Yu Hana blinked innocently.
Ngl this was the first time this novel made me laugh lmao
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