Gap (2)

Choi Bit-na stared at Kim Ye-rim’s corpse for a moment.

Someone approached Choi Bit-na.

It was Kang Chan-hyung. Blue fighting energy rose from Kang Chan-hyung’s right hand.

Kang Chan-hyung approached Choi Bit-na with a face full of curiosity.

“You, you’re strong.”

Kang Chan-hyung extended his fist.

A gale blew. Choi Bit-na furrowed her brow and extended her spear.

Blue wavelengths and purple wavelengths interlocked.

Choi Bit-na felt her arms go numb.

Even with just one exchange, she could tell. That the difference in level between the Kang Chan-hyung before her eyes and Choi Bit-na who had just faced him was enormous.

“You haven’t even learned proper spear techniques yet, right?”

Blue fighting energy rose from both of Kang Chan-hyung’s hands. And he poured out instinctive punches without form.

Kwagwagwagwang!

Fighting winds and spear strikes exploded dozens of times in mid-air.

The two instincts created endless exchanges as if trying to devour each other.

A smile tinged with ecstasy formed on Kang Chan-hyung’s face.

“Sometimes a dogfight like this is good too!”

Taking advantage of the momentary pause in battle, Choi Bit-na threw her body backwards.

Choi Bit-na exhaled roughly.

Both her stamina and inner energy were depleted.

Kang Chan-hyung stared at Choi Bit-na.

“You didn’t have much inner energy to begin with. Seems like you’re not even 2-star yet.”

Choi Bit-na was struggling just to stand on her two legs.

So the words of Kang Chan-hyung before her didn’t sound very pleasant.

“…Shut up.”

Now even a ringing sound echoed in her ears.

“I’ll acknowledge you as a strong person. Putting aside things like being in class 10 and such. It would be nice if we could fight again after you build up your inner energy a bit more.”

Kang Chan-hyung’s words were sincere.

Pure acknowledgment as a fellow martial artist.

But to Choi Bit-na, Kang Chan-hyung’s acknowledgment had no value.

“I said shut up.”

The person she truly wished would acknowledge her growth had not yet appeared.

Kang Chan-hyung stepped forward. To end the fight.

At that moment, someone’s voice echoed from the edge of the cliff above the ground.

“Good job.”

Choi Bit-na slowly raised her head.

Lee Dojin was standing there.

It had taken quite a long time to break through the pitch-black darkness with Ryu Jia.

Lee Dojin saw Kim Ye-rim dead in front of Choi Bit-na.

“You did it. The proof.”

The corners of Choi Bit-na’s mouth lifted in a grin.

The person she wished for appeared faster than expected.

“Of course, whose disciple am I?”

Lee Dojin raised his wooden sword.

He also saw Park Seong-gu and Kim Ji-hoon struggling.

Lee Dojin utilized the Reverse Heaven Divine Technique. Colorless sword energy rippled on the wooden sword.

Lee Dojin’s body lightly descended to the ground.

Lee Dojin struck down the wooden sword towards the ground.

Jeoooooong!

A colorless shockwave spread widely from the point where Lee Dojin stood. Enough to reach even the corners of the cave area.

“……!!”

The gazes of all 50 or so students standing on the same ground were fixed on Lee Dojin.

Even students who had been clashing weapons to kill each other stopped fighting.

Everyone felt a tingling sensation rising from their toes.

Lee Dojin’s mouth opened.

“From now on, any group that touches Group 12 will all die.”

The four people facing Park Seong-gu and Kim Ji-hoon flinched while holding their weapons.

Kang Chan-hyung just smiled brightly.

“Of course, all the groups that have already touched will die.”

Lee Dojin raised his hand and started pointing at them one by one. Those in front of Park Seong-gu.

“You and all the students in your group.”

And he pointed at the people in front of Kim Ji-hoon.

Finally, he pointed at Kang Chan-hyung.

“You and all the students in your group.”

Lee Dojin declared collective punishment.

Kang Chan-hyung still shrugged with an expression full of ecstasy.

Lee Dojin adjusted his grip on the wooden sword.

“If you don’t touch us, we won’t do any harm. As you can see, we’re in first place.”

Silence fell.

A silence where not even breathing could be heard.

Thud!

The first sign of presence was felt from none other than right beside Lee Dojin.

Choi Bit-na collapsed to the ground.

“Can I rest a bit?”

Lee Dojin nodded.

“Sure, rest. You held out well.”

The three members of Group 12 had done their part.

Ryu Jia standing beside him smiled with her eyes.

“Now the latecomers should finish up, right?”

-Time remaining until exam end: 00:34:38

Two swordsmen stomped the ground.

Ryu Jia extended her sword towards the two in front of Kim Ji-hoon. Her supreme quick sword took their lives.

Lee Dojin’s body shot forward.

The wooden sword shot out in a straight line.

A flash of light struck down like a storm.

The bodies of the men facing Park Seong-gu were crushed simultaneously.

It was instant death.

Park Seong-gu looked over the students’ corpses with a dumbfounded face.

“…It’s terrifying.”

A disaster.

Park Seong-gu considered Lee Dojin’s existence in this cave to be like a disaster.

“You stupid bastards! Let’s all charge together! What can he do if all 11 of us charge at once! He’s still just a first-year after all!”

A man holding dual swords shouted loudly.

The three groups that had touched Park Seong-gu and the two members of Group 12, and the people who had joined those three groups among those who had survived alone like Park Seong-gu, all charged at Lee Dojin simultaneously.

All the students from the designated groups, except for Kang Chan-hyung, rushed at Lee Dojin.

Kang Chan-hyung chuckled as he watched the scene.

“Can 11 ants defeat one tiger just by rushing at it?”

---

The Iroaz Academy instructors monitoring the mock dungeon exam on screens opened their mouths wide.

“…Once again, I find myself saying this. He’s an amazing prodigy.”

“He could become a hunter right now and do his part sufficiently.”

A middle-aged instructor chuckled.

“Just his part? He could do the work of 20 people.”

“Even now, isn’t he easily killing 11 people?”

On the screen, Lee Dojin was tearing apart students like a beast.

He simultaneously pierced the hearts of two people rushing in successively, and unhesitatingly cut off the ankles of those charging at him.

He used dead bodies as shields and threw them away without hesitation.

Even in a situation where everyone knows it’s not real killing, it’s not easy to show such unrestrained actions to that extent.

“He’s no different from a veteran special forces soldier hardened by facing villains.”

“From what I saw earlier, he seems to know how to use fist techniques too. He can’t handle all weapons, right?”

“What’s certain is that it doesn’t seem to matter what’s in that friend’s hands anymore. Even if he’s holding a wooden sword. The moment he holds it, it will be sharper than any sword.”

“That guy himself is a sword, what are you talking about.”

Park Cheol-ung agreed with the words of all the instructors and advisors.

‘Has an opponent of the Tower descended from heaven?’

The Tower.

The source of the Great Change known only to a very small number of people worldwide.

‘He’s still a novice to face the apostles in the Tower, but.’

Considering that he’s just a first-year student who entered only a month ago, he could be called a seed of an opponent.

‘I see why the Sword Empress was so confident.’

Park Cheol-ung recalled a meal he had with Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah recently. She had said this:

‘That child is the future.’

Park Cheol-ung knew the weight carried in the Sword Empress’s words.

Except for one forgotten superhuman of the previous generation, there had never been anyone the Sword Empress had praised so highly.

‘…The future.’

Park Cheol-ung took in every single movement of Lee Dojin with his pupils.

Ten-Existence Spear King Lee Ji-gwang, one of the advisors, was smiling brightly.

“I need to make contact with that student immediately after the mock exam ends.”

While others were talking about Lee Dojin, Lee Ji-gwang was only focusing on Choi Bit-na this time as well.

“The spear path drawn by that student is the most beautiful among this year’s first-years.”

Beauty.

Kim Han-sol, the advisor of <Prism> Guild, agreed with those words.

“Choi Bit-na. It seems like a name we should remember now. Today’s contact might be too burdensome… I’ll set it for tomorrow.”

Kim Han-sol contacted academy connections to inquire about Choi Bit-na’s contact information.

“Yes, we should remember. Choi Bit-na.”

Lee Ji-gwang, who had discovered a raw gem shining more brilliantly than any rock, smiled with satisfaction.

---

A light cluster condensed at the tip of the wooden sword.

An energy wave reminiscent of a huge full moon embroidered the air.

The bodies of two students were swept up in the sword energy.

Saak!

A strange sound of flesh tearing resonated with the sound of the air being torn.

Waists cut in half tilted diagonally.

There were a total of 11 corpses in front of Lee Dojin.

Lee Dojin continued walking nonchalantly.

Kang Chan-hyung smiled as he looked at Lee Dojin with blood sticking to the front of his black suit.

“Heaven Breaking.”

Kang Chan-hyung’s two hands turned blue.

“That’s the name of my martial art.”

Lee Dojin tilted his head.

“I didn’t ask.”

Kang Chan-hyung continued his words nonchalantly.

“I’m acknowledging you as a strong person, Lee Dojin.”

The blue flames rising from both hands traced a trajectory as they advanced towards Lee Dojin.

A fist path like lightning unfolded from the hands of the bloodline of the Fist King belonging to the Ten Existences.

Jeouk!

Blue flames rose fiercely, tearing the air.

Lee Dojin lightly twisted his ankle while utilizing the Reverse Heaven Divine Technique.

Form Shifting unfolded.

Kang Chan-hyung didn’t panic even when he saw Lee Dojin change position to the right like light.

The flames elegantly traced an arc and fired off in the air once more.

Kwang!

Blue fist wind exploded, scattering blade winds in all directions.

Lee Dojin received the fist with the flat of his sword.

The waves of the two energies that met drew a circle around them.

Rock fragments shattered by the shockwave scattered throughout the cave.

Screech!

Lee Dojin’s sword strike, seizing a gap, slashed Kang Chan-hyung’s left shoulder.

“…!”

He didn’t even see the trajectory of the blade.

Kang Chan-hyung was smiling with ecstasy despite the burning pain felt in his shoulder.

“This is fun! Very!”

Kang Chan-hyung and Lee Dojin stomped the ground simultaneously.

The ground cracked.

Blue flames concentrated in Kang Chan-hyung’s right hand.

Heat reminiscent of midsummer heated the surroundings stuffily.

“I want to die by that sword of yours!”

Kang Chan-hyung’s fist rushed in, rippling with blue waves.

A huge wave rolled in.

It was a tsunami.

Lee Dojin gripped the wooden sword with both hands and swung it down in a straight line.

“It’s an excellent fist strike.”

The tsunami was split in two by a single streak of light. Like Moses’s parting. The air shook violently.

The slash that cut through space swept vertically past Kang Chan-hyung.

“But it seems you haven’t reached the name of Heaven Breaking yet.”

Kang Chan-hyung’s vision tilted diagonally. He couldn’t feel any sensation in his body.

“I will… reach it. Even if it’s to defeat you.”

“Try it.”

Lee Dojin chuckled and turned his back on Kang Chan-hyung’s corpse.

---

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

-Current 1st place score: Group 12

-Number of beads held: 208

The mock dungeon exam has ended.