episode_0010

Finally, the day of Cheonjihae’s practical exam arrived.

As the date arrived, tension inevitably surged.

‘I prepared hard too, but the people here must be absolute monsters, right?’

Looking around the external exam site, there were a lot of people.

From those in suits to those dressed in shamanic robes.

Even elders and children were among the crowd.

‘Are those people also taking the exam?’

In the martial world, there’s a saying to be wary of the elderly and children.

But I wondered if that applied to the exorcism industry as well.

Anyway, as I waited nervously, a man who looked exhausted walked up to the examinees.

“Welcome. I’m Lee Jaehak, the supervisor in charge of this year’s Cheonjihae practical entrance exam.”

As the man introduced himself, murmurs spread among the examinees.

“Wow, that’s really Lee Jaehak. You can feel the difference in his spiritual energy.”

“A genius necromancer is the examiner?”

“Cheonjihae really is on another level.”

Lee Jaehak was a name I knew too.

A high-ranking figure even within Cheonjihae.

At the same time, he was a renowned exorcist famous for his top-tier necromancy.

‘He’s incredible. It’s like the vice president or a director personally showing up to recruit new employees.’

If someone that famous and powerful was overseeing the exam, wouldn’t it be relatively safe?

“From now on, you’ll be signing a waiver relinquishing your body.”

…And just like that, my naive hope was shattered from the start.

“We do have a conscience, so we’ll at least cover minimal medical expenses. But this contract states that you won’t hold Cheonjihae accountable even if you die or get injured.”

I probably wasn’t the only one shocked.

The previously excited examinees were once again filled with tension.

Lee Jaehak smirked as he watched their reactions.

“Exorcism isn’t a joke or a game. If this scares you, run. It’s the only escape route left for you.”

No one ran after hearing that.

If they were the type to run, they wouldn’t have applied to Cheonjihae in the first place.

‘…Should I run even now?’

The thought briefly crossed my mind.

Honestly, I wanted to bolt right then and there.

But the chance to pass into a major corporation was dangling right in front of me.

It was like how the leading cause of death for people in their 20s is ‘just one more line…’

“Well, fine. The incompetent ones will fail here anyway, so no need to waste my breath.”

Lee Jaehak shook his head once and began explaining.

“You’ll take the exam in pairs of two. The rules are simple. Enter the forest behind you and hunt as many monsters as possible. Of course, we’ll evaluate both individual and teamwork scores.”

The brief explanation left me slightly dumbfounded.

‘…Is this exam for real?’

This isn’t some Blade of the Phantom world.

Are they really throwing rookie exorcists into monster hunting?

They’re not seriously going to pull some ‘Hmm, a lot of you survived this time’ bullshit, are they?

This is what happens when you only vaguely know the game’s lore.

I expected the practical to be tough, but I didn’t look into the specifics.

“Oh, this seems doable?”

“Ah… I just hope I get paired with someone decent. What if I get dragged down?”

The surprising part was that the examinees weren’t scared even after hearing this.

It felt like they were just doing a group project.

‘This world is definitely insane.’

Then, a woman raised her hand.

A beauty with a sword at her waist and long black hair cascading down.

A stunning woman anyone would call beautiful.

“May I ask a question?”

“Well, I’ve said all I needed to, so go ahead.”

“I heard Cheonjihae offers the top scorer the privilege of selecting a weapon from Cheonjihae’s arsenal. Is that true?”

The examinees’ eyes lit up at her words.

If it was Cheonjihae, the weapons would undoubtedly be extraordinary.

The examiner, who had been observing their reactions, slowly nodded.

“It’s not just for the top scorer, but yes, outstanding participants will receive that benefit. It’s Cheonjihae’s way of showing sincerity to exceptional talent.”

—Ooh…!

The examinees grew even more excited at the examiner’s words.

Standing out among so many would be difficult.

But at least it meant there was a chance if they performed well.

‘…Not that I’m in any position to hope for that.’

Cheonjihae’s exams were a gathering of all kinds of geniuses.

Especially this one, since it was the protagonist’s generation—I remember a lot of exceptional talent participated.

‘The woman who just asked is one of them.’

She’s a named character too.

I think her name was ‘Cheok Jiyeon.’

A descendant of Cheok Jun-gyeong, the Goryeo-era Sword Master.

True to her lineage, she’s an exceptional exorcist specializing in the sword.

However, I shouldn’t team up with her in this exam.

‘Because Cheok Jiyeon gets seriously injured in this exam.’

Despite that, the genius still passed with a high score.

But her partner, another examinee, was eliminated due to injuries.

Meaning, at the moment, it’s the team with the highest chance of failure.

No matter who else I could end up with, I had to avoid Cheok Jiyeon.

“Now, we’ll form teams. Teams will be decided by lottery, so no complaints.”

…And as if fate was mocking me, I ended up paired with Cheok Jiyeon.

‘Fcking death flag.’

Out of all the examinees, why did it have to be her?

I felt a twinge of unfairness at my insane luck.

‘……Well, I’m not one to talk.’

Unlike the other examinees, I’m not a proper exorcist.

All I have is a one-hit-kill ability usable once a day!

To others, I’d be the worst possible teammate.

“Uh… Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Nam Dohyeong.”

I decided to at least greet her.

Cheok Jiyeon glanced at me and nodded.

“Cheok Jiyeon.”

True to her stoic character, her greeting was short.

But don’t mistake her curtness for bad manners.

‘Her parents really are dead.’

Not just her parents—her entire family, except her older brother, was wiped out.

Let your guard down, and you’ll be reduced to trash in an instant.

Plus, she’s a genius swordswoman, isn’t she?

A no-name like me has to make a good impression on people like her.

“Uh… Sorry in advance. I’m not exactly skilled in spiritual abilities…”

“Doesn’t matter.”

I tried to explain just in case, but Cheok Jiyeon cut me off with a firm voice.

“I’ll handle the monsters. Just follow me.”

‘Huh? What’s this? She’s so cool I might fall for her.’

A genius beauty swordswoman saying ‘Hey, noob! I’ll carry you!’

As an extra, I was even a little moved.

“Whew~ Well then, I’ll be in your debt.”

“……”

With that brief exchange, the exam began.

We immediately entered the designated area.

“First, let’s find some monsters…”

Whoosh!

Before I could even finish, Cheok Jiyeon kicked off the ground.

She dashed through the forest at a terrifying speed.

“H-Hey! Wait up!”

I hurriedly ran after her.

She was so fast that even at full sprint, I could barely keep her back in sight.

As we ran, a monster appeared in front of Cheok Jiyeon.

—Slaaash!

Without hesitation, she swung her sword and cut it down.

Her movements were clean and efficient, like she’d done this countless times.

‘…D-Damn, she’s amazing.’

The moment she killed the monster, she kicked off again, racing through the forest.

The entire process—spotting and killing the monster—took less than 30 seconds.

‘W-Wait, is she planning to just keep sprinting through the forest like this?’

Is this what it means to be a top-tier combat exorcist?

She was cutting down every monster in sight while running, and I couldn’t keep up at all.

No, the only reason I could even follow this much was because she stopped to kill monsters.

If she had just sprinted at full speed, I would’ve been left behind long ago.

‘Did she eat a cheetah or something? How is she so fast?’

I’ve trained my stamina and strength too, but no matter how hard I ran, the distance between us only grew.

‘Ah, no! If I lose Cheok Jiyeon, I’m screwed!’

This forest is packed with monsters.

You never know when or where you’ll be attacked.

If I’m alone, I might actually die.

‘The talisman’s effect will keep me from dying, but who knows what horrors I’ll face.’

Right now, Cheok Jiyeon is my lifeline.

I poured every ounce of strength into chasing her.

‘…Yeah, that was too much.’

But of course, I couldn’t fully keep up with a seasoned swordswoman.

Eventually, after running for a while, I was left panting and gasping for air.

“Hah…! How far did she even go?”

After running blindly, I realized I’d gone pretty deep.

Something felt ominous—if this weren’t an exam, I’d have run away immediately.

‘At least there are tracks, so I can follow her later.’

How long had I been trudging along when—

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed from one side of the forest.

‘What was that?’

It came from the direction Cheok Jiyeon had run off to.

Just in case, I immediately sprinted toward the sound.

When I arrived… an insane battle was unfolding.

‘What the hell is that?’

A monster on a completely different scale from the ones Cheok Jiyeon had been killing.

A monster almost the size of a truck was attacking her.

“Ghk!”

Even for Cheok Jiyeon, that thing must’ve been tough to handle.

She was dodging and slashing, but it looked like a struggle.

‘Was this why Cheok Jiyeon got injured in the original?’

No wonder a powerhouse like her got hurt in the practical exam.

She must’ve gone too deep and run into that thing.

“Kuhk!”

Finally, the monster’s arm struck her, sending her rolling across the ground.

“Ah…!”

Cheok Jiyeon sprang up and locked eyes with me.

For a moment, her eyes wavered uneasily before she spoke.

“Ru…”

Run…?

Even if she said that, facing that monster in this dangerous forest…

“Run away!”

Cheok Jiyeon forced herself up and charged at the monster, shouting.

“This happened because of my mistake! You don’t need to throw your life away! Run now and call for backup!”

“……”

Her words left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Sorry, but that’s not happening.

‘If I want to make it out alive, I need you by my side.’

I followed her so deep into the forest—if I try to go back alone and run into a monster, what then?

After a moment of thought, I stared at the monster.

And used my one and only ability.

“Die.”

Thud!

The massive monster collapsed to the ground.