Published at 11th of November 2020 11:14 pm

Chapter 8: Practical Evaluation (2)

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Central position.

This position is considered the most critical and dangerous among all positions, adding stability to the hunting party.

The hunters said it was like a football midfielder.

By the way…Why did he put me in the central position?

What’s the reason for assigning me to such an important place?

I haven’t shown anything yet. I was out of luck during my first training session.

[Isn’t it possible that he recognized your talents in advance?]

I wasn’t given a chance, and he couldn’t figure out talents by just looking at my face.

I put my hand on my chin, closed my eyes, and put myself in the instructor’s position.

‘Why would he put me in the central position?’

The answer came to my mind not long after.

‘I told him I re-awakened, so is he trying to test it?’

Right now, he didn’t know whether or not I had actually re-awakened.

Any cadet would admit he’s lying as soon as he’s given a position as important as the central one.

Hwayeon Choin Academy is one of the world’s leading awakened educational institutions.

No one would want to be kicked out of it.

However, I wasn’t lying, so it wasn’t bad that the instructor gave me a prominent position.

I could make an excellent appearance with my new skills.

“…”

Okay. That’s why he assigned me that position.

Then, it doesn’t matter.

I looked at the instructor and smiled a little.

[If you show your skill perfectly, you can get a lot of proper attention.]

Someone pulled my collar.

“Hey, our group is complete… I think we should start now.”

Okay. I had other things to think about.

The young Yoo Ji-Yeon was in a hurry.

No matter how I thought about it, she looked so different from the person in my memory.

But I wasn’t mistaken.

The use of magic, the light purple eyes, and the same name; no two people could be so alike.

The important thing right now was the actual evaluation.

I didn’t intend to drop out of the academy this time. I was going to graduate smoothly.

For that, it was imperative to have a good grade in the first evaluation.

I replied to her with a grin on my face.

“Yes, let’s go.”

* * *

With every step, a sticky thing clung to my shoe.

Located in the basement of Hwayeon Choin Academy, numerous spaces were created solely for actual evaluations.

I was now inside one of those numerous spaces, the Black Swamp.

Kim Hyun-Cheol was the first to speak.

“What we need to do is simple. Walk through the Black Swamp, kill the monster at the end.”

Apart from his wealth, he was a cadet who was recognized for his talents.

“Unfortunately, the instructor didn’t hand over any information about the Black Swamp structures or the monsters that we should kill … Fortunately, though I don’t know the monster, I know this place roughly.”

“You know the way?” Lee Hak-soo, who had continued to be depressed after receiving the auxiliary role, brightened up.

“Uh… Yeah. I heard something from a senior.” Kim Hyun-Cheol continued talking.

“So, the only thing we should worry about is attacking the monster. Well, it’s a real monster, but they were created by the wizards of the academy. It’s not like the crazy bastards inside the crack.”

Lee Hak-soo and Yoo Ji-Yeon seemed relaxed by his speech.

“You don’t have to worry about anything,” he said confidently.

Of course, my expression didn’t change because of his foolish words.

It was stupid to take things easily just because wizards created the monster.

They only make one rule for the monsters they created: Do not kill a cadet.

In other words, it could do anything ‘without killing’ a cadet.

It meant that it didn’t matter if the cadet got paralyzed, if his limbs were torn, or barely breathing.

“Jeong Si-woo!”

I was lost in thought when Kim Hyun-Cheol suddenly called my name.

He seemed displeased.

“Why are you looking at me like a dumb baby? If you don’t want to say anything, at least open your eyes.”

I understood precisely what he had in mind.

“It’s so annoying that you’re in a central position, but we’re trying to bear it. Please.”

“Right.”

He swore and muttered as I stood there without a reaction.

Then he got back to what he was saying.

He explained the structure of the black swamp, pouring out speculations about which monsters would appear.

“Wow… Really Hyun-cheol, what would we have done without you?”

Lee Hak-soo nodded his head admiringly. Yoo Ji-Yeon’s eyes glowed as she focused on his words.

The words he was spitting out were like a ray of hope for a bunch of agitated students.

But he is wrong. Since we were in a swamp, it was too low-grade for any monster that he mentioned to come out.

I sighed.

[That ugly guy keeps ignoring you.]

I was fine, but the Traveler was angry.

[How about leaving those useless guys and then killing the monster yourself? I think hunting alone won’t be too difficult if you use what I’ve taught you properly…]

“Well, I was thinking the same thing.”

If I abandoned Kim Hyun-Cheol and Lee Hak-soo, who were still chatting, and defeated the monster myself, I could finish the test faster and show off my abilities.

However, the actual evaluation was a team test.

No matter how excellent the individual’s ability was, he could not get a good score if he acted alone.

So, I was thinking of another way.

“What… Wait a minute. There’s a way to get a good score and not get hindered by that annoying guy.”

* * *

The conversation that Kim Hyun-Cheol led ended after about 10 minutes later.

Yoo Ji-Yeon and Lee Hak-soo were looking at Kim Hyun-Cheol with trusting eyes, and the guy who ‘knew the structure’ of the Black Swamp took the lead.

“Going to the left here is a little more convenient…”

“The mossy side is close to where the monster is…”

Mook, Pook.

“Oh, damn! How did I get stuck this deep? Hak-soo, please help me …” Hyun-Cheol complained from time to time.

And as time passed, the faces of the team members gradually became darker.

“Are you confused, Hyun-cheol? The swamp is getting deeper. It’s getting hard to walk,” Hak-soo asked.

“Hey, what’s confusing? Naturally, the swamp is getting deeper because we’re almost near the monster!”

The swamp terrain that was just a little slippery in the beginning was now ankle-deep and gotten stickier.

As I walked silently, I laughed bitterly.

‘If it wasn’t just a test, but a real battle…’

I went through the notification window that appeared in front of me.

[Name: Black Swamp Test Site]

[The labyrinth was created by a magician from the Hwayeon Choin Academy. It was designed after a real crack, a black swamp. It is the place where even adequately trained cadets could get lost because of the demanding structure and the sticky mud. The monster at the endpoint…]

A description of the Black Swamp Test Site was on the notification window, along with a map complete with detailed information.

I compared the information that Kim Hyeon-Cheol said earlier.

He lied to be the boss and get more points than other team members. He doesn’t know about this place.

“I can’t, ugh. Lee Hak-soo, take the lead!”

“Uh? I’m in the auxiliary position…”

“Position is only important in front of the monster, baby. You don’t have heavy personal equipment. Go first; I’ll tell you the way.”

“…”

Kim Hyun-cheol’s attitude had completely changed when the situation wasn’t turning out as he expected.

It seemed that the others were beginning to notice that something wasn’t right.

‘Position is only important in front of monsters? If professors and instructors heard that, they would be hysterical.’

It was uncertain when a monster would appear in a real crack. That’s why a team must stay in position once inside.

Lee Hak-soo sighed as he slowly took the lead.

I looked around the ceiling and the wall once more.

There was a lens from a camera that shimmered in a tiny gap in the wall.

It was a CCTV camera to monitor the students who were taking the actual evaluation test.

On the other side, many people would be watching this sight, fascinated.

This was enough for the instructors to determine how inefficient Kim Hyun-Cheol was. Breaking the formation would have caused much damage in a real situation.

Of course, he will not lose much because this was only the first evaluation, and he was still a cadet.

But if he kept talking and doing stupid things, he’d destroy himself before long.

I had no intention of ending Kim Hyun-Cheol’s troubles to just a minor deduction.

We were not on good terms because he kept insulting me, but more than that, I didn’t want him to be a hunter.

His life is going to be wasted inside a crack.

In the past, he had become a hunter with his family background and some decent talent, but he would never be a hunter this time as long as I had my eyes open.

No, I wouldn’t even allow him to graduate from the academy.

I turned my head.

“You’re Yoo Ji-yeon, right?”

“Oh, eh? Uh… why?”

She was a cadet at the Department of Magic. Although it was difficult for her, she continued following us without hesitation or complaint.

“I think we have walked too much,” I told her. “Shouldn’t we have encountered a monster already?”

“Well… Probably? We have already walked for over an hour …”

“So how about taking a break? It’s hard to keep walking, and it’s harder to use magic properly if you’re not in good shape. The dealer is the most important …”

Nothing I said was wrong.

Yu Ji-Yeon was tired. Magicians needed to be in a good physical condition when they cast their spells.

Moreover, I would get extra points for caring for a teammate.

“Okay. Then let’s sit down and rest,” she agreed.

Deliberately keeping a distance from Hak-soo and Hyun-Cheol, I suggested we take a break as we entered a fork.

The gap between us went wider.

“… Where are they?” Ji-Yeon noticed.

There was no response from the others. We were completely hidden inside the fork.

Who would be able to notice us?

Who would even think of an idea to rest in the first place?

“Huh? What, what … Where are all the others…” Ji-Yeon asked.

“I think they walked on and didn’t see us?” I replied.

Without any doubt, I have created the perfect situation.

From the perspective of the instructors, Kim Hyun-Cheol got us lost and delayed us. Lee Hak-soo broke his position.

What tank would allow the rear to go first?

Kim Hyun-Cheol probably wouldn’t play any role in the front until he graduated.

The instructors would have him marked. It was an outrageous move.

Yoo Ji-Yeon still didn’t seem to understand what’s happening.

“What is going on?”

“Even I don’t know. Let’s continue walking. It’s better to keep track of them as we move. If we keep walking, we’ll join them again, eventually.”

I got up slowly while keeping an eye on Yoo Ji-Yeon, who seemed to be struggling.

She took a deep breath and stood up.

Then she said in a shaky voice, arranging her disorganized hem.

“Are we lost? He said he knew the way… he said we would just walk to the end and face the monster… wait, what if the two of us bump into a monster?”

I thought of what to say for a moment.

“Then, we have to defeat it.”

“… Huh?”

It sounded impulsive, but I had made that decision after countless calculations.

Yoo Ji-Yeon and I would be enough.

“If just the two of us caught the monster, we will get the best performance evaluation. There is no need to go round and round, finding them. Save time; get more points. Is that good?”

“What is that, what are you talking about… This is not a joke…”

“I’m not kidding.” I was confident that we would be unconditionally successful. “The two of us are enough.”

It was the confidence of the best analyst in humankind’s history, the analyst who had never failed.

[You choose the right words, yes.]

The Traveler who floated behind me muttered.

He was floating around me like a spectator watching an exciting scene in a movie.

Yoo Ji-Yeon shook her head, looking tired and afraid.

“How the hell are we two….?”

Seeing her like that, I remembered the past and had to hold back a laugh.

The history of magic is divided into two periods: Before and After Yoo Ji-Yeon.

In the study of magic, there was a great being that shone brighter than anyone, one who showed how strong a magician could be.

With one gesture, this being could shake the ground and crush monsters’ waves as easily as crushing worms.

This being was part of the Five Heroes – powerful enough to serve as the hope of humanity.

She was the Storm, Yoo Ji-yeon.

Storm, Yu Ji-Yeon.

Her figure, as she wiped out tens of thousands of monsters with little gestures, was imprinted in my memory.

I smiled at her.

“Let’s move. As we go along, I’ll explain my plan…”

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