Gap (1)

Ryu Jia’s advice gave me quite a bit of enlightenment.

Enough to feel pathetic about myself for thinking I had nothing to gain from this mock exam.

Ryu Jia and I hunted 12 cave spiders.

And we kept moving forward.

-Time remaining until exam end: 01:15:08

In 15 minutes, person-to-person combat where killing is allowed will begin.

Before that, we needed to regroup with Kim Ji-hoon, Choi Bit-na, and Park Seong-gu.

I think if the three of them are together, the probability of dying to monsters is almost zero.

Because Park Seong-gu’s stability as a tank and Choi Bit-na’s growth rate were remarkable. Kim Ji-hoon’s sense of reading battles was also far from the 10th class called the inferior class.

“I feel wind, Dojin.”

At the two-way cave passage, Ryu Jia pointed to the right.

“Okay, let’s go.”

The side where the wind was blowing had a higher probability of being the exit.

---

Choi Bit-na gripped her spear.

Kim Ji-hoon gulped and scanned the surroundings.

Park Seong-gu stood in front of those two, raising his shield.

And.

There were students surrounding them as if to encircle them.

-Time remaining until exam end: 01:01:02

Just 1 minute until the time when bloodshed is allowed.

-Current 1st place score: Group 12

-Number of beads held: 134

Gazes were inevitably drawn to the members of Group 12, which was clearly marked as first place.

The sound of clicking tongues echoed through the cave.

“They probably don’t even have the beads on them anyway.”

“Idiot. We should clean up these guys first. Then it’s just two from Group 12 at most. Even if he’s the freshman representative or whatever, what can two people do?”

The majority thought was to deal with the three first before Lee Dojin and Ryu Jia, who hadn’t shown themselves yet, could join up.

“That’s the right judgment. One of them is a useless number anyway. The woman. She can’t face people.”

Kim Ye-rim, daughter of the <Taehwa> Guild Master, said while pointing at Choi Bit-na.

The corners of the mouths of her Group 28 members beside her lifted.

“Then that means they’re just pushovers, right?”

-Time remaining until exam end: 00:59:59

-The final hour, person-to-person combat is now allowed.

The time for bloodshed had come.

But despite all the talking, no one rushed out like a bullet.

“I probably won’t get first place anyway. I’ll just play around a bit and then hide.”

In the end, it was a game of chicken.

Groups with moderately high or moderately low rankings didn’t actively engage in person-to-person combat.

After all, it was still an exam.

If you die by rushing in recklessly, all the bead points you’ve collected will disappear.

As a result, only 3 groups faced Group 12’s 3 members.

Kim Ye-rim, the leader of Group 28, was only watching one person. Only Kang Chan-hyung, the leader of Group 5 from combat class 1. Kang Chan-hyung was a boxer famous since <Athena>.

The youngest son of <Power>, one of the 5 major guilds.

Considering the family’s halo and backing, he was the only one in this vicinity who was a more perfect strong person than herself, so she was watching him.

Kang Chan-hyung chuckled. The two were acquainted due to their parents’ interactions.

“You don’t need to watch me, Kim Ye-rim. I’m only interested in Lee Dojin anyway. I won’t touch them.”

Kim Ye-rim slowly nodded.

“I see. Well, you were never the type to care about these ranking games.”

Kim Ye-rim picked up her favorite dark-colored spear.

And moving away from Group 5, she called her group members together.

“Let’s go, we’re either 2nd or 3rd place now. If we just kill Lee Dojin, we’ll definitely be 1st place. We’ll take out these 3 first, and then if we join forces with Kang Chan-hyung’s group to take out the remaining two, we might be able to claim ownership of about half of those beads.”

Kim Ye-rim’s eyes were filled with ambition.

“Will Kang Chan-hyung allow that?”

“He doesn’t really care about grades and such. He’s got a bright future set anyway. Since I’m friendly with him, he’ll probably give them without thinking.”

Kim Ye-rim persuaded her group members.

“We just need to be careful of that big guy. The rest are from class 10 anyway.”

Kim Ye-rim’s 4 group members approached Group 12’s 3 members.

And Group 8, who had been watching and waiting, observed the confrontation from afar.

Since Lee Dojin, who was likely to have the beads, wasn’t there, they didn’t seem to have any intention of acting.

“Let’s kill the other kids who definitely have beads first. Every little bit counts.”

Group 8 left the area first.

Choi Bit-na gripped her spear shaft as if to crush it.

Fortunately or unfortunately, despite the numerous gazes that had gathered, only Kim Ye-rim’s 4 group members were actually approaching them.

The fact that Lee Dojin, who would have the beads, wasn’t there was a big factor.

They judged there was no need to increase risk by fighting a battle with no gain.

Kim Ye-rim glared at Choi Bit-na.

“Bit-na. Why are you glaring like that? You can’t even stab people with that spear anyway.”

Kim Ye-rim grinned at Choi Bit-na.

It was clearly a sneer.

“I didn’t like you since hero school. Acting like you’re hiding something all by yourself. Just the daughter of a normal household with no guild or family backing.”

Kim Ye-rim continued to mock.

“You just can’t fight because you’re scared, right? Acting like you have some great trauma. You. You’re just riding on Lee Dojin’s coattails to get 1st place this time too, huh?”

Kim Ji-hoon, who had nocked an arrow, shouted angrily.

“Hey, that’s going too far!”

Choi Bit-na herself showed no change in expression from start to finish.

“It’s okay, it’s not that wrong.”

Choi Bit-na, who muttered in a low voice, simply aimed her spear forward to prepare for battle.

Kim Ye-rim stomped the ground hard and said,

“Let’s go.”

Two swordsmen advanced to Kim Ye-rim’s left and right. Park Seong-gu quickly raised his shield to block the sword of the swordsman in front.

And a streak of purple light extended from beside Park Seong-gu.

It was Choi Bit-na.

An attack without a shred of hesitation.

Kagagang!

That single strike mercilessly destroyed the opponent’s sword path.

The spear technique Choi Bit-na had learned was only within the scope of the basic textbook given to all students.

But just the day before, her noble talent had just awakened.

By Lee Dojin’s hand.

The girl who had considered her heaven-given talent a curse was no more. A purple light flickered in her eyes. A strange heat enveloped her entire body.

“I know, how pathetic I was.”

Choi Bit-na stepped forward.

“It wasn’t just ordinary pathetic.”

Now, it was time to completely break the shell. Choi Bit-na’s body shot forward.

According to the rules of the final hour’s person-to-person combat, there’s no need to even subdue.

Killing is enough.

Choi Bit-na, who had made the instinct for killing blows her own, bent her two legs and then used that elasticity to leap high.

The swordsman class student whose strike had been blocked quickly swung his sword towards the front.

Crack-

The sword path is completely shattered.

By a purple meteor that bloomed in mid-air.

The meteor that shattered the sword to pieces pierced right through the student’s head.

Choi Bit-na landed on the ground nonchalantly, bending her right knee.

Purple energy was still rising from her spear.

Silence enveloped the onlookers.

Even her group members Kim Ji-hoon and Park Seong-gu stared blankly at Choi Bit-na with their mouths open.

“…Huh? Why is someone like that in class 10?”

Kang Chan-hyung from combat class 1 stared at Choi Bit-na with a face like he was looking at an interesting toy.

“Kim Ye-rim greatly misjudged a person.”

Kim Ye-rim stared blankly at Choi Bit-na.

“…Why do you have such movements. Huh? Shit, this doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s thanks to you, Kim Ye-rim.”

Choi Bit-na smiled brightly.

“The advice you gave me that day at the cafe gave me a lot of enlightenment.”

Kim Ye-rim thought that Choi Bit-na’s movement just now was truly a fluke.

It was because the pathetic image of Choi Bit-na during their high school life was too deeply ingrained in her mind.

“Bullshit…! Die!”

Kim Ye-rim thrust her spear towards Choi Bit-na.

It was the unique spear technique passed down to the bloodline of the <Taehwa> Guild.

You pull your shoulder back sharply and then thrust forward greatly. The important thing is to engrave a swirl of magic power at the tip of the spear blade.

Kwaaaa!

The swirl concentrated on the spear rotated as if to tear through the front.

Choi Bit-na took in that spear path and magic power with her eyes.

After throwing her body to the side of the attack with light footwork, she swung her spear horizontally.

The spear tips collided with each other.

The swirl tilted sideways and then disintegrated in mid-air.

“That, you do it like this, right?”

Choi Bit-na concentrated purple energy flow at the tip of her spear.

Just like Kim Ye-rim had done just now, she implemented it in the form of a swirl from the moment she concentrated the energy.

A purple gale flickered at the spear tip.

Kim Ye-rim’s whole body trembled.

“How, how can you… in one go…”

Choi Bit-na said nonchalantly.

“I guess I had talent.”

Choi Bit-na took one step forward, and Kim Ye-rim took two steps back.

“If, if you die you’re disqualified, right? It doesn’t make sense for the Taehwa Guild Master’s daughter to be disqualified from the exam, right? Huh? If you just let me live I’ll just go.”

Kim Ye-rim finally realized.

That the caliber of talent was different. That Choi Bit-na was truly stronger than her.

Choi Bit-na didn’t stop walking.

“Stop saying that already.”

“Wh-what?”

“Taehwa Guild. That’s not yours, you know.”

A purple gale shot out.

The gale completely pierced Kim Ye-rim’s heart.

“I’m sick of hearing you chatter on and on.”

Kim Ye-rim’s body fell to the ground.

Her wide-open eyes were tinged with shock.