Ch.185Episode 37. Certification Exam (4)

* @ *

“Everyone here right now is a hero. Rescue civilians throughout the collapsed ruins and subdue villains. You must never kill them. Use of your abilities is temporarily authorized.”

This time, there were over a hundred people to be trained.

Each person was assigned a number, and at the end of the training, heroes and civilians would evaluate their performance and provide feedback based on those numbers.

However, in the actual practical exam, they would only receive evaluation without feedback, and since there was absolutely no flexibility, the atmosphere would be much more strict and serious compared to training.

“There are no special rules, so you can move freely, but please note that if you are subdued by a villain during training, you cannot move until your comrades rescue you.”

After the officer in charge finished speaking, the four members of the special class naturally gathered at Jeong Iyeon’s words.

“How should we move?”

“Yujin and Ha Yuri are over there. If we move carelessly, we’ll die.”

“We couldn’t beat the instructor even with the four of us working together. Aren’t we going to lose no matter what?”

“Even if we lose, we should at least land one hit.”

“Yeah, I think we need to land at least one hit.”

“That’s right. We’ve all grown properly. Let’s go try to win.”

The four members of the special class strengthened their resolve.

A few minutes later, when the time came, the special class students began to enter the training ground in earnest. The urban area designated for training was turning into ruins with fires burning and harsh noises.

“Shall we go together?”

“No. It’s better to split up. Especially with such a large area as our background.”

“Alright! I’m going!”

Gu Yeonhwa spread black flames around her entire body and began to fly using telekinetic power. She judged that searching while flying would be better than walking around.

“Wait. I think it’s better to move in pairs.”

When Yeon Muhui spoke, Yu Ari briefly glanced at her before turning toward Gu Yeonhwa. Jeong Iyeon naturally joined Yeon Muhui’s team, forming two pairs.

“Call if anything happens.”

“Don’t worry.”

As Jeong Iyeon watched Yu Ari and Gu Yeonhwa leave, she created a sacred object. It was shining more brilliantly than before.

“But shouldn’t we be cooperating with others too, not just among ourselves?”

“Even if we wanted to, we can’t immediately elect a leader to command so many people. Everyone will want to be the leader to get a good position. It’s better to move than waste time with pointless power struggles.”

Yeon Muhui said while drawing her sword. Now, a red aura automatically emanated from the blade.

‘Anyway, it’s fine as long as I get a high score by myself.’

“Then—”

Just as Jeong Iyeon was about to speak, she twisted her body and activated her technique in response to the sound of something rushing toward them.

「God’s Protection」.

Clang—!

A sharp ice spear struck her shield directly and shattered. Jeong Iyeon was pushed back by the impact and stared at the crumbling ice powder.

‘What incredible power…!’

“What was that attack just now?!”

“It was Ha Yuri’s ice spear.”

“!”

Yeon Muhui said while staying alert for the next attack.

“Does that mean Ha Yuri has pinpointed our location?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think she threw that spear without thinking.”

Yeon Muhui’s speculation was quite sharp, but in reality, it had been thrown randomly.

Ha Yuri could use ice to secure her field of vision, so she had thrown spears in various directions to locate the trainees.

“What should we do?”

“Let’s start searching in the direction the spear came from.”

Yeon Muhui said while watching other trainees move forward. Jeong Iyeon nodded and began moving into the inner part of the urban area.

About 30 minutes later, full-scale battles between trainees and heroes began to break out.

The nature of the competition was overwhelmingly one-sided.

Students without proper coordination couldn’t keep up with the movements of the heroes playing the villain roles.

There was a difference in capability, but from a practical standpoint, many students didn’t know how to handle encounters with villains, resulting in a lot of confused behavior.

Of course, there were exceptions.

「Shadow Movement」.

Yu Ari appeared behind a hero in an instant and struck their jaw with her knife handle.

Thwack!

“Kuhk?!”

The hero lost their grip on the student they were subduing. They immediately counterattacked, but Yu Ari, with her power of 「Foresight」, easily read the hero’s attack.

She deflected the attack and conversely drove into the opponent’s inner space, striking between their ribs with the back of her blade.

“Urgh!”

Taking advantage of the hero’s staggering from the impact, she thrust her sword into the exposed vital point.

“Subdued.”

“Kuk…!”

But that wasn’t the end. Another hero had arrived as reinforcement. Just as Yu Ari was about to move, anticipating this, Gu Yeonhwa intervened and formed a wall with black flames.

“Tch! What kind of flames…!”

“You seem intimidated by my flames that devour everything in this world.”

“What?”

“Let me show you. My vast power!”

The black flames soaring high into the sky created numerous fireballs. The number was enormous, and each one had very high density.

This was possible because Gu Yeonhwa currently possessed stamina that would be difficult even for active heroes to maintain.

“Yeonhwa, don’t kill them. And don’t destroy too many buildings. The civilians will all die.”

“I know.”

Just as she was about to swing her arm while staring at the hero with golden glowing eyes…

“Take thi—”

Bang!

A single ice spear from somewhere pierced through one of the fireballs. And from that point…

Bang-bang-bang-bang—!!

The fireballs in the air exploded one after another.

“What?!”

In the moment Gu Yeonhwa hesitated at the sudden attack, ice froze the asphalt and rushed toward her at high speed.

「Glacier Zone」.

“…!”

Gu Yeonhwa hurriedly gathered black flames in her hands and pressed her palms against the asphalt.

「Black Flames」.

The glacier zone skill that was freezing the surroundings was blocked by the force of the black flames.

When the blue ice and black flames met, white steam rose around them.

Gu Yeonhwa sighed as she felt the cool chill piercing her skin. Her breath was visible in the air.

She was shocked to see that the world had frozen except for the area around herself and Yu Ari.

‘If the output had been just a little weaker, my black flames would have been consumed.’

“Oh? There’s someone who can block my ice?”

Ha Yuri was now standing on a streetlight, looking down at Gu Yeonhwa and Yu Ari. She was even smiling leisurely.

“Hero Ha Yuri…! No, you’re a villain right now!”

“Stay alert. That’s a monster.”

Yu Ari said as she stood beside Gu Yeonhwa.

“I know. Should we call Muhui and Iyeon?”

“If you think we can’t win. Let’s try with just the two of us first.”

An hour into the training, Yu Ari estimated that most of the students had already been subdued by the heroes.

“You can go elsewhere.”

“Ah, yes!”

At Ha Yuri’s words, the heroes respectfully bowed and headed elsewhere. Gu Yeonhwa and Yu Ari took their stances after glancing at the heroes disappearing behind buildings.

“Shall I let you attack first?”

‘Given who we’re facing, I can go all out.’

Gu Yeonhwa ignited flames in her hand that were denser and more powerful than ever before. She concentrated the power further by condensing it with both hands.

Yu Ari, glancing at this, gripped her dagger tightly and took her stance, ready to move at any moment.

“Here I come!!”

「Black Dragon Cannon」.

Intense black flames that seemed capable of melting the surrounding area rushed toward Ha Yuri. She stretched her hand toward the flames.

An ice wall rapidly formed, precisely blocking the path of the incoming flames.

Boom!

When the flames collided with the ice wall, the wall began to melt little by little. Ha Yuri’s brow furrowed slightly as she felt the force not diminishing.

‘…As expected of Yujin’s disciple. This is already S-class level. Even I could have a problem if I underestimate—’

While blocking the flames, Ha Yuri suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. Instinctively turning around at the killing intent from behind, she saw Yu Ari attacking with the edge of her dagger raised.

‘When did she—?!’

She bent her waist to avoid the dagger’s trajectory and created ice to thrust at Yu Ari’s abdomen, but Yu Ari dodged by twisting her body.

‘She dodged by twisting her body in mid-air…? How flexible is she?’

Several exchanges occurred in a split second.

Thwack!

In the end, it was Yu Ari who was sent flying.

‘That wasn’t a direct hit.’

Yu Ari, landing safely on the ground, dusted herself off and looked at Ha Yuri on the streetlight. She immediately prepared to throw weapons by placing them between her fingers.

By now, the force of Gu Yeonhwa’s Black Dragon Cannon, which had been exerted at full power, had also died down.

“Huff…! Huff…!”

‘I thought I could break through…’

Gu Yeonhwa wiped the sweat from her face and regulated her breathing. Ha Yuri looked over Gu Yeonhwa and Yu Ari once each and raised the corners of her mouth.

“You two are interesting.”

‘I thought it would be boring. Good. This level of capability makes playing the villain worthwhile.’

“I can get a bit serious now.”

「Blizzard」.

The moment Ha Yuri flicked her hand, countless snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

* @ *

“Oh my, hello there, elder.”

“What kind of hero smiles and leisurely rescues people at a disaster site?!”

“Haha! A hero who never loses their smile—”

“Bullshit. You’d get a zero on the practical exam with that attitude.”

“……”

Jeong Iyeon was sharply criticized by a person trapped under a building. The disaster victim also pointed and shouted at Yeon Muhui, not just Jeong Iyeon.

“And why aren’t you helping?!”

“Because a villain might appear.”

“…Shouldn’t you help the person right in front of you first?”

Yeon Muhui ignored this. She couldn’t let her guard down with the sounds of impacts and numerous shock waves coming from around them.

「Lotus Style – Flowing Heaven」.

Clang!

She deflected upward the attack of a hero who ambushed them, immediately taking the next stance.

「Lotus Style – Slashing Flash」.

Clash!

The hero lost their sword to the red aura. They managed to land safely by barely maintaining balance, but couldn’t respond to Yeon Muhui’s quick dash. Just as she was about to thrust her sword deep into the hero’s neck, Jeong Iyeon shouted.

“Don’t kill them, senior!”

“…I know.”

“Are you sure you knew?”

Yeon Muhui slightly averted her eyes as Jeong Iyeon looked at her, and lowered her sword.

It was then. There was a figure boldly approaching them head-on. Making the sound of dress shoes, they brazenly revealed their presence.

“That’s right. It’s good to train as if it were real, but you shouldn’t kill.”

“…!”

“…Yujin.”

Spark!

The expressions of the two froze instantly as Yujin appeared with sparks flying.

“No mercy today?”