Episode 112: Final Exams (8)
The space for the eliminated was silent.
There was no conversation.
No one wanted to speak first, and there wasn’t much reason to say anything anyway.
A small sigh broke the silence.
“…Ah?”
Beyond the screen, a scene of Jung Haein emerging from the hidden point was shown.
The door opened, and he stepped over the threshold.
At that moment, someone quietly gasped.
Once someone exited, they couldn’t return.
Yet none of the eliminated had ever been able to return to the exam.
In other words, Jung Haein had given up on revival.
Yu Hana sat with her hands neatly placed on her knees.
It was her own posture for waiting for a chance at revival.
But now, that posture had lost all meaning.
“You might as well keep sitting like that.”
Sitting beside her, Ha Sion twisted her lips as she spoke.
Her tone sounded mocking, but it carried a tinge of bitterness.
After all, she hadn’t been chosen either.
“Ah…”
The trip after the final exam.
That was the only comfort left for her now.
***
[Switching Offense and Defense Begins]
[Current Members]
[Blue Team: 77] VS [White Team: 101]
[Score Status]
[4200 Points] vs [3010 Points]
[Switch will happen in 5 minutes.]
[This is the final switch.]
The watch displayed the status of the eliminated players.
[Rank 1: Kang Arin]
[Rank 5: Yu Hana]
[Rank 4: Cheon Yeoul]
[Rank 19: Ha Sion]
[No Rank: Yoon Chaeha]
“Whoa…”
I glanced down at my watch and let out a short breath of admiration.
It was a complete mess.
Once this switch ends, the entire exam will be over.
Which means this is the final battle—the last defense.
Under normal circumstances, the defending team should be ahead in points at this stage.
That way, all they’d have to do is block the enemy to secure an easy victory…
But despite having to defend now, we were already behind in points.
Blue Team: 4200 points.
White Team: 3010 points.
A gap of over 1000 points.
And it made sense.
A huge number of high-ranking players were unexpectedly eliminated.
Kang Arin and Ha Sion were both eliminated while challenging the boss.
Both Blue and White teams had lost many key members, but the difference lay in the quality of the remaining ones.
White Team only had one core member left:
Rank 2: Yohan.
In contrast, the Blue Team still had Rank 3: Shin Hyun-woo, and Joo Seo-jun holding strong.
Under their leadership, the Blue Team kept steadily earning points, even while defending.
And then they managed to defeat the final golden bell boss, earning a massive score boost.
As a result, the White Team now had to defend while trailing in points.
Our remaining option was obvious.
‘Boss raid.’
It was the only possible way to turn the tables.
Defense naturally involves the risk of losing team members.
Either way, we were bound to lose more.
Even defeating a boss wouldn’t guarantee a comeback.
Silver bosses wouldn’t be enough.
Even with a gold boss, overturning the score couldn’t be promised.
The practical goal narrowed to one:
Yu Serin, the Black Bell.
“Ah… I’m tired.”
She was the one opponent I never wanted to go up against.
And I had no teammates I truly got along with.
“Let’s have a serious talk later.”
It was the moment I started resenting Cheon Yeoul and Yoon Chaeha,
For not listening to me and going after Yu Serin on their own.
I pulled out my watch and opened the map.
Yu Serin would move clockwise, centering around the center.
No matter how I looked at it… a frontal attack was impossible.
With her traits, Yu Serin could defend in all directions—up, down, left, right—without distinction.
She was the perfect counter to Cadenaccio.
Except for one perfect blind spot—her back.
“If only I had a team…”
If I had teammates, one could draw her attention from the front while I attacked from behind.
But it was already too late.
I had no team.
Letting out a quiet sigh, I swept through the entry routes on the map one by one.
“…Huh?”
Wait a second.
Does it even have to be a teammate?
If someone else could initiate combat, draw her attention, and cause chaos…
If someone could just play that role…
There was someone.
No—there had to be.
Someone who wanted to be the protagonist. Someone who wanted to be a hero.
And right now, someone who’d charge ahead without hesitation to turn the tide for a losing team.
You’re going to have to make an effort.
‘Yohan.’
I just needed to use him.
A faint smile crept to my lips.
***
In the forest, hidden from the enemy team’s eyes, a short but heavy conversation passed among them.
“…We really have to do this, right?”
A trembling voice.
“Of course.”
Yohan replied without even turning his head.
He was firm.
There was no other option in this situation.
Yohan and his group, the Crusaders.
His teammates gathered in the forest, discussing their next move.
Unlike Joo Seo-jun of the Blue Team, who moved collectively with all the students—
Yohan only formed a team with those who impressed him or who he personally approved of.
[4200 Points] VS [3010 Points]
The watch’s score brutally reflected reality.
They, too, had come to the conclusion that they needed to take down Yu Serin.
There’s no way they would’ve put in a boss even Gaon couldn’t defeat.
If it was them, they should be able to take her down.
Only five members could attack simultaneously.
If they ran into Joo Seo-jun or any other Blue Team members, it would be over.
So the plan was to strike right after the switch in offense and defense—
Before the others even left the Central area.
That was their strategy.
Beyond the forest, black smoke began to slowly rise above the ground.
That meant Yu Serin had begun to move.
“Get into formation.”
“Flashbang as soon as we enter.”
“Yohan takes the front.”
They began to share their strategy one by one.
Yohan silently drew his sword.
“I’ll take the lead.”
And with that, five shadows slowly disappeared into the black mist.
Sensing movement, Yu Serin came to a halt.
She quietly opened her eyes.
As she lightly raised her arm, chains scattered from midair like they were crumbling and falling apart.
Clearly, there were fewer chains now than before.
This time, her opponents were from the defending team.
“…Tch.”
Stretching lightly, she muttered.
“Guess they’re coming again?”
She had already fought twice.
And both times, she had done so with her limiters off.
She had thought she’d fight at most twice, maybe once.
But the students’ competitive drive burned far hotter than she had expected.
Cheon Yeoul. Yoon Chaeha.
Kang Arin. Ha Sion.
None of them were opponents she could take down as easily as swatting away feathers.
Even with her limiters removed, they were stronger than expected—and lasted longer than expected.
Her body felt slightly heavy.
Normally, it was the kind of fatigue she wouldn’t even notice, but now it was slowly seeping in from the tips of her limbs.
“I’m a little tired.”
She gently stroked the back of her hand.
Black chains once again coiled tightly around her wrist like a snake.
Steady intervals.
Synchronized footsteps.
“Five of them?”
It was a well-organized team.
Yu Serin narrowed her eyes.
And then—
“Flash!!”
A frantic voice rang out.
Focusing her senses, the black smoke that had been flowing along the ground surged up around her and lifted her into the air.
The first flashbang exploded.
A blinding light filled the center of the commons.
But she had already risen higher, dodging the flash completely.
Through the blinding light—
A dark shadow swept over their heads.
“Above—!!”
Even before Yohan could shout, chains spiraled down from the sky and wrapped around them.
- Bang!
- Bang! Bang!
Two of them were immediately knocked to the ground, losing their swords.
Yu Serin landed softly on both feet.
Like it was a game, she twirled once on her toes as she touched down.
“Nice to meet you… huh? A famous face?”
She looked down at them.
Three remained.
In the center of them—Yohan, sword in hand, met her gaze.
In that instant, the corners of Yu Serin’s lips lifted in a smirk.
Yohan charged quickly and swung his sword, but… it was completely blocked by Yu Serin’s chains.
- Clang!
Pain shot through his wrist.
In the blink of an eye, a chain twisted around his wrist and launched a counterattack.
- Whoosh!
- Clang!
His sword was flung from his hand, unable to withstand Yu Serin’s chain.
“Damn it…”
Yohan grimaced.
His teammates were of no help at all.
Just a few chains emerging from beneath Yu Serin’s feet were enough to hold them all back.
Of course, the same went for Yohan himself…
All he could think about was replacing those useless teammates once this test was over.
Yu Serin, on the other hand, found something odd.
‘What is this…?’
She paused for a moment to think.
Yohan’s resistance—
It was about the level she had expected from a mid-tier ranker at Gaon.
Not far off from her pre-test assumptions.
But the students she fought before were on a whole different level than this guy.
Even with her limiters removed, they had been far more difficult.
So she had raised her evaluation of Gaon’s ranked students…
“Huh?”
But now, they were right back to her original expectations.
‘Is there really that much of a gap?’
Yu Serin fell into brief contemplation.
She hadn’t expected the difference in skill to be this significant.
“Ugh… grrraaagh!”
Yohan’s screams of pain echoed again and again.
They exchanged a few more blows.
Every time Yohan’s sword failed to pierce Yu Serin’s chains, his strength waned further.
It wasn’t that Yohan was weak…
It was that Yu Serin was simply too strong.
Her chains completely overpowered all of his attacks, and pushed him back while defending.
- Thud!
- Slam!
All his teammates had already been taken down.
At last, Yohan’s body slammed into the ground.
He coughed up blood and collapsed, completely drained.
It was the side effect of pushing his mana to its absolute limits—mana exhaustion.
He closed his eyes and gasped for breath.
Yu Serin looked at the scene before her with a bitter expression.
“…You did your best~”
There wasn’t really much else she could say.
The score status was shared with her as well.
So she had expected the final challenge from the White Team to come.
But she hadn’t thought it would end so quickly and decisively.
In the end, well, she didn’t get to meet Jung Haein.
She lightly tapped Yohan’s watch with her chain.
[Raid Failed]
Since they were challenging the boss as the defense team, they weren’t eliminated.
However—
At that moment—
The instant she pressed the button on the watch,
Yu Serin felt an overwhelming presence approaching from behind.
As if it had been waiting for just this moment.
‘Too late…’
She didn’t have time to turn around.
—KWAANG!!!!
Chains tried desperately to wrap around her back to block the attack, but it was no use.
—THUD!
She was flung across the ground and slammed straight into a building wall.
‘What…!’
Yohan’s eyes widened in shock.
A massive spear came flying in a straight line right before his eyes.
He hadn’t even sensed it coming until it was already there.
And Yohan saw it clearly—how it pierced Yu Serin directly.
The moment he saw that attack, Yohan realized just how powerless he truly was.
The density of mana, its size, its speed—
It was already far beyond what a student should be capable of.
‘Who is that?’
A shadow fell across Yohan’s vision.
A man, clearly exhausted.
His shoulders rose and fell with his ragged breath, and his sweat-soaked shirt clung to his skin.
“Ugh… I’m seriously dying here.”
The moment Yohan heard that voice, his back flinched involuntarily.
He raised his head, staggering—
And in that moment, the last person he ever wanted to see appeared before him.
Jung Haein.
He was the person Yohan hated the most.
No—more accurately,
He was the person Yohan feared the most.
Yohan reflexively flinched.
Then came Jung Haein’s single comment:
“Hey, man… why are you so weak?”
It wasn’t mockery, nor sarcasm.
It just sounded like a genuinely curious question, devoid of emotion.
And somehow,
That made it feel even more brutal to Yohan.