Ch.84First Exam (2)

Fifty minutes into the exam.

By this point, over ninety percent of the examinees had already fainted and been carried out of the examination hall.

“The finish line is in sight! Just hold on for ten more minutes and you’ll pass the first exam!”

“Ugh… Even if you say that…”

“I really… can’t hold on anymore…”

“Damn it… My body won’t listen to me…”

The examinees who had somehow managed to endure for the first ten minutes were now falling to their knees one by one, collapsing, and ultimately crumpling to the ground as if crawling.

Even those who maintained consciousness would have been crushed to death if not for Blanche’s swift energy control.

Amidst this scene, one presence continued to catch Blanche’s attention.

‘Over fifty minutes, and he hasn’t changed his posture once.’

Once he had lain down, he remained that way.

A man sprawled out like a starfish, motionless as if dead.

The only male examinee in the 8th examination hall.

His name was… Kang Janghoon, right?

“…Has he fainted?”

“No?”

“…I see.”

It bothered her strangely.

Of course, the main reason was that he was a ‘man.’

Fragile and easily broken beings.

That was the general perception of men in this world.

Blanche, who had thought such a man couldn’t possibly survive in this extreme pressure, was watching his condition with almost obsessive attention.

And Janghoon was acutely aware of her gaze.

‘My left calf is so itchy I could die… but I absolutely can’t move!’

If he awkwardly squirmed even slightly, Blanche’s interrogation would surely follow immediately.

His goal right now was simple.

To quietly secure his hero qualification without drawing any attention.

But.

“Huk! Heuk…!”

“Ms. Song Hana, pull yourself together!”

“Hana, are you okay?”

“I can’t… I can’t breathe…!”

Under that extreme pressure, someone finally began to break.

Song Hana, who had barely been holding on with Zero’s encouragement, had finally reached her limit.

Startled, Janghoon turned his head following Zero’s gaze.

And he saw.

Song Hana gasping as if her breath was about to be cut off, her entire body drenched in cold sweat, pressed down as if burrowing into the floor.

“Huk… Heuk…”

“Examinee Song Hana, are you alright?”

“?! Exam… Examiner…”

Before anyone realized when she had approached, Blanche was suddenly standing in front of her.

Wolf ears twitched between slightly damp hair, and a fox-like tail rested limply on the floor.

She knelt on one knee and quietly observed the examinee before her.

More than the visible pain, there was a sense of slowly burning from within.

Her body had already reached its limit.

“For a soldier, you’ve endured quite well. Don’t push yourself. Your current physical state is… dangerous.”

At this point, anyone would have given up.

No, most had already fainted or lost consciousness.

But.

“I’m… not done yet!”

“Ms. Song Hana!”

“Hana!”

“With my idol Zero beside me, and even the fragile man Janghoon enduring together…”

She moved her stiffened lips and raised her head with a fragile determination.

“How could I give up alone?!”

With clenched fists, she shouted while trembling among those much stronger than herself.

Even as her heart raced madly and her lungs felt crushed, making it hard to breathe, she refused to fall.

The qualification to be a hero didn’t necessarily come from strength alone.

A small, feeble pride that only ordinary people could possess.

To protect that pride, she continued fighting until the end today.

Drawn to that look in her eyes, Blanche burst into laughter in disbelief.

“Ha, hahaha! Alright. Let’s see you endure until the end, Song Hana.”

A small spark that might someday become a true hero.

Her words contained genuine encouragement for that possibility.

But the warm afterglow didn’t last long.

BOOM!

“?!”

“What was that?!”

From one end of the quiet examination hall, black smoke rose with a massive explosion.

It was the moment an unexpected ‘variable’ occurred on the stage of the first exam, where one only needed to ‘endure.’

***

As the exam entered its final stage, most examinees were simply enduring quietly to survive.

Even while coughing blood and struggling to breathe, they didn’t move a single step for one reason.

The passing condition for this exam was simply ‘endurance.’

She was the same.

Kneeling neatly, looking up at the sky with a pale face, she remained completely still except for blinking her eyes.

Breathing quietly to conserve energy and maintain consciousness.

Throughout the exam, she had remained as quiet as a shadow.

She wanted to remain an ordinary examinee A.

She wanted to complete the exam without attracting any attention, silently.

But as time approached the final moments, something began to go wrong.

“G-Get away…!”

“Die!!”

CRACK!

“…?”

Tilting her small head to the side, the girl witnessed a strange scene.

A staggering examinee was deliberately stepping on other examinees who had collapsed on the floor.

It was clearly intentional, planned, one-sided violence.

She slowly stood up.

She walked through the examination hall, soaked with blood and sweat, as if unaffected by any pressure.

With that delicate, expressionless face, she quietly asked while looking at those who had fallen.

“What are you doing?”

“Wha?! Who are you?!”

“You should answer a question first. That’s manners.”

There was no emotion on her face.

Only her blood-red eyes pierced through the opponent clearly.

The person who had been trampling examinees with monstrous intensity actually stepped back at her gaze.

Their instinct was sending a warning.

‘This is… dangerous! It’s strange, she’s just standing there but she’s terrifying…’

After a moment of silence, she spoke with a bitter expression.

“What do you think? I’m eliminating competitors.”

“Eliminating competitors?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to fight the survivors again in the second exam anyway, so it’s better to make them all fail now while they’re weakened.”

The words were simple, and the logic made sense.

The expressionless girl nodded briefly.

“…Smart. Can I help you with that?”

“What? Oh, of course…”

THUD.

Before the words were finished, the examinee took a direct hit to the solar plexus and collapsed to the ground.

The girl walked past without even blinking.

“This is my strategy. You’re no longer needed.”

That’s when she realized.

If you want to become stronger, you should eliminate the weak first.

From that moment, Marna began eliminating ‘obstacles.’

It was a massacre.

She eliminated everyone she deemed unnecessary.

Amidst the scene of blood and screams, Marna walked quietly.

Despite being covered in blood, her face showed no emotion.

And finally, when she reached Janghoon’s group, the girl muttered as if whispering.

“No matter how many I eliminate, there are still too many.”

“…What’s with that appearance.”

“That’s… beyond just being covered in blood?”

“…A little girl?”

As Janghoon, Zero, and Song Hana all focused their attention, a doll-like girl in a blood-red dress approached them.

But before the girl could get any closer, her feet lifted from the ground.

With a thud, her nape was grabbed.

“You… Examinee number 82785, Marna Strana, right?”

“…Yes, Examiner.”

That voice was too calm for a child, and though her body was small, her eyes were deeper than anyone else’s.

“So… what is this?”

Blanche gestured with her chin to the scene behind.

The massacre scene spread across the end of the examination hall.

“Why did you do such a thing?”

“……”

“What kind of behavior is this! There’s no rule, no humanity!”

Blanche’s shout resonated throughout the examination hall like a vibration.

At that moment, the walls trembled and the floor flinched from the energy wave.

But Marna, without saying anything, quietly spoke with a face that didn’t shed a single drop of blood.

“Did I break any rules?”

“What…?”

“Or was there a rule that said we couldn’t attack other examinees?”

It wasn’t a rebuttal.

Just a question from a child with doubt.

As if asking a parent with an innocent face, Blanche seemed rather intimidated by that gaze and closed her mouth.

And after a moment, she released the girl.

Marna turned around silently and walked.

Her destination: the next elimination target.

“Mom told me.”

“Uh, uhh… I think she’s coming this way?”

“To become a hero, don’t be picky about methods.”

Marna slowly rolled up her wrist.

Sharp nails slid across white skin, and a stream of blood trickled down from beneath.

The moment the droplets of blood met the air, a small spark ignited.

Like a living creature, the red flame climbed up her skin, spreading heat.

“Blood Flower, Ignite.”

A whispered incantation.

Simultaneously, the blood at her feet spread out, forming a pattern.

She casually extended her arm and scattered the burning blood into the air.

WHOOSH.

The stream of blood cut through the air in a curve, followed by a flash that spread like fireworks.

Flames engulfed the group like a storm.

The ground shook, and heat penetrated.

It wasn’t ordinary fire.

A heat that penetrated deep into the body, as if carrying emotion.

“…For my family’s dream.”

Blood-red eyes trembled calmly.

“Die.”

BOOM!

One side of the examination hall was dyed red, and black smoke soared into the sky.

But.

“Are you both alright?”

“Uwaaa… I feel like I’m going to throw up…”

“Hana! Pull yourself together!”

“?! You’re safe…?”

The one person who stood in front of Marna.

The one who protected his “friends” from that maddening explosion was the former S-class hero.

Zero shook off his blood-stained coat and calmly stood before Marna.

“You shouldn’t be doing such things at your age.”

“……”

“If you continue… I’ll pull down your panties and spank you.”

Marna, for the first time, tilted her head slightly.

“Pervert… Mom said to only let someone precious do that to me.”

On the girl’s expressionless face, a very subtle change passed, almost imperceptible.