Chapter 6: Bringing Graduation Assignments to the Entrance Exam (2)

 

In fact, the entrance and graduation exams of Pentagon Academy were the same.

 

Skills, knowledge, and practical experience that every Awakened should have.

 

When new students, lacking in all these aspects, took the entrance exam, they realized their own shortcomings.

 

They thought the world would be theirs just because they had awakened, but they still had a long way to go.

 

This was how their arrogance got crushed.

 

Afterwards, cadets who honed their skills for four years challenged the same exam again.

 

They felt their significantly improved skills as they conquered each stage, one by one.

 

Eventually, they reached the 10th stage and grabbed their diplomas.

 

The exam was meant to be a kind of closure, a circle completed within the academy.

 

———However, Seo Yu-jin had a question.

 

“Wait a minute. What happens if you clear all the stages as a freshman?”

 

Though it seemed impossible, what if a freshman cleared the 10th stage?

 

Wouldn’t this be like bringing a PhD thesis to a college interview?

 

I was curious. I had to try it right away.

 

This curiosity led him to dig into the tutorial called the entrance exam.

 

Despite being in the early stages of his regression and transmigration, he managed to clear the 10th stage.

 

His skills, which had decayed and rotted, were once again unleashed upon the world.

 

-BOOM!!!!

 

The boss monster of the entrance exam, the Executioner.

 

Tentacles, emerging from an A-grade gate, slashed through the air.

 

Active Awakened soldiers would suffer PTSD from such erratic attacks.

 

An observing instructor shook his head.

 

“No distinct motion, and where it aims remains random till the end. Even that cadet can’t avoid it….”

 

-Swivel.

 

“He dodged!!!?”

 

But Yu-jin dodged the attack with a simple tilt of his head.

 

As if he knew the attack was coming, he did it with ease.

 

His golden eyes glinted mischievously.

 

[Skill ‘Perfect Hypnosis’ activated. Failed. At the current caster’s level….]

 

“Are you mad because I dodged? Now, use the extended tentacle to wrap around its neck and break it.”

 

[……Confirming the target’s intention. Despite the difference in levels, the target falls under ‘extremely slight’ hypnosis!]

 

“Once you know where it’s coming from, it’s easy to dodge.”

 

The hypnosis, which shouldn’t have worked due to the significant difference in abilities, succeeded repeatedly.

 

He used it to guide the tentacle, which was pondering where to attack.

 

It was a utilization worthy of the self-proclaimed hypnotic manipulation expert.

 

As a result, extreme skills were displayed before everyone’s eyes.

 

-Swish, swish, swish.

 

“No way. It’s like he knows exactly where the attack will come from….”

 

The tentacles swung. The sound of the air being ripped apart echoed sharply.

 

They never touched Yu-jin.

 

Even before the attack came, he was already in motion to evade it.

 

Tap, tap. Steps that even an ordinary person could manage.

 

His movements seemed slow, almost as if they had stopped compared to the tentacles.

 

That was all, but the tentacles missed him and struck only the empty air.

 

It was a just-barely dodge, a hair’s breadth away.

 

The enraged monster swung its tentacles again.

 

A stab focused on speed aimed at vital organs.

 

A sweep emphasizing range whipped the middle.

 

Even the instructor couldn’t react to the unpredictable attack filling the space.

 

But they still missed him by a hair’s breadth.

 

Fifteen years of accumulated experience surpassed the overwhelming physical difference by just that margin.

 

-Thud, thud.

 

Before long, Yu-jin approached the main body, surpassing the rain of tentacles.

 

His hand moved to his waist.

 

A katana roughly tied with a rubber band.

 

Towards its scabbard.

 

Taking advantage of that moment, the tentacle surged forward.

 

Its target was the heart.

 

It aimed at his back, stabbing as if to ensure he couldn’t dodge.

 

“Yu, Yu-jin!! Behind you…!!!”

 

“This is really the end. Not even Ai can dodge that.”

 

Alice’s scream and the instructor’s sigh overlapped.

 

The tentacle, which had been missing continuously, finally…

 

Touched his back for the first time.

 

A horrifying crunching sound echoed.

 

“Yu-jin!!!!”

 

“Alice doesn’t seem to understand because I’ve only been dodging….”

 

-Ding!

 

[The effect of the trait ‘Indomitable’ reduces damage by 90%. The status effect ‘Penetration’ is ignored.]

 

‘I’m pretty tough.’

 

The tentacle, which seemed poised to pierce through everything, ended up pushing his back instead.

 

At the same time, a brilliant violet light erupted from the scabbard.

 

It was a technique that involved exploding the concentrated magical energy in the scabbard as the blade was drawn.

 

A technique similar to how a bullet is fired… Iaido.

 

Due to its intense mana consumption, it was a Zaha Swordsmanship technique reserved until the very end.

 

‘———Purple Scarlessness.’

 

-Swish.

 

The katana swung at an invisible speed.

 

A violet line was engraved on the body of the boss monster, the Executioner.

 

Before that beautiful line could transform into a ghastly wound,

 

the core split perfectly in half, and the image dissipated into smoke.

 

-Click. …Hisss.

 

‘One-hit kill. I now have more bragging rights with my master.’

 

It was the moment when a freshman completed a graduation assignment.

 

* * *

 

Yu-jin, who cleared the 10th stage with unstoppable momentum.

 

Those watching were in shock.

 

“Senior!! This, uh.”

 

“An A-grade… right after enrolling?”

 

The boss monster of the 10th stage, the Executioner.

 

…In fact, it was a monster that most graduates couldn’t even defeat.

 

After all, wasn’t it a monster that only appeared in A-grade gates?

 

To defeat it, one would need to be an A-grade Awakened, so why would they demand such a thing in a graduation exam?

 

Therefore, the original purpose of the 10th stage was survival.

 

Against an overwhelmingly powerful enemy that one could not resist, how long could they endure and survive?

 

If they could hold out for just 10 minutes, they were deemed to have sufficiently performed as an Awakened and were passed.

 

But to not just endure but actually defeat it?

 

Defeating a monster that only an A-grade Awakened could kill implied that the cadet himself was also A-grade.

 

In fact, a cadet who completely cleared the 10th stage of the graduation exam was immediately granted the qualification of an A-grade Awakened.

 

He had effectively become a state-certified A-grade Awakened.

 

———And he wasn’t even a graduate, just a freshman.

 

“This is, as far as I know….”

 

“Yes. Ninomiya Aika, the current S-grade rank 1. She’s the only one who has done that in the entrance exam so far.”

 

It wasn’t an unprecedented record.

 

After all, the current S-grade rank 1 had achieved it.

 

But was that a reason to underrate his achievement?

 

Absolutely not.

 

The journalists’ eyes lit up.

 

“That means, that boy… oh, oh? Senior, where are you going!!?”

 

“I’m going to get an interview with the next S-grade!!!”

 

Ignoring the guards’ attempts to stop them, journalists swarmed like zombies.

 

As a result, the training ground descended into chaos.

 

“……!!!? Everyone, I understand, but please calm down!! We will arrange a separate place….”

 

“Just, just for a minute!!”

 

“I’ll give you my card and leave immediately….”

 

“If you do not comply any further, we will consider it an act of terrorism and respond accordingly!!”

 

Outsiders desperately trying to break into the exam hall.

 

Instructors and academy staff struggling to contain them.

 

And,

 

‘That talent is meant only for Cheonhwa!’

 

-Slip.

 

A woman who had been watching from the shadows also began to move.

 

She was certain that the Korean top clan, Cheonhwa, which her father operated, was the rightful vessel for such talent.

 

-Swoosh.

 

“Sister, shall I help?”

 

“Ah, Shia!”

 

Her figure, finally revealed after remaining hidden.

 

The instructor, who recognized the familiar brown pigtails, greeted her with a bright expression.

 

The instructor was also a former member of Cheonhwa.

 

He knew the capabilities of her, the third daughter of the clan leader.

 

“Bind them without injuring the civilians! If I use force, the aftermath will be too messy!!”

 

“Understood.”

 

-Clap.

 

A sound like a clap echoed as if hands were brought together.

 

Then…

 

Black ropes emerged from her shadow.

 

-Slip.

 

“…Yu, Yu Shia!!?”

 

“Why is someone from the Cheonhwa clan…!!!”

 

Only after being bound by the ropes did the people realize her identity and were shocked.

 

She simply sneered with a smile.

 

“Right now, I’m not part of Cheonhwa. I’m a freshman.”

 

‘I’m a classmate with him. Unlike you guys.’

 

Let other clans just sit and watch for four years.

 

That smile was brimming with superiority.

 

The headhunters’ faces turned to dismay.

 

“Miss Yu Shia, then perhaps….”

 

“Ah, was it Reporter Kim Ha-neul? If you have any questions, ask through Cheonhwa. As a ‘classmate,’ I might ask him for you.”

 

“We, we as well!!”

 

“Please ask on our behalf too!!”

 

Not only that, she even suggested that she could leak exclusive stories to media outlets friendly with the Cheonhwa Clan.

 

Thanks to this, the commotion was quickly settled.

 

The journalists turned into obedient dogs, wagging their tails.

 

The headhunters bowed their heads, envious of Cheonhwa’s overwhelming fortune.

 

She smiled.

 

‘This is the perfect excuse to talk to him. Now, where is he….’

 

Only then did Yu Shia turn around.

 

To find the exceptional talent she had been seeking,

 

where the cadet named Seo Yu-jin was.

 

———Her smile vanished as soon as she found him.

 

“You were amazing, Yu-jin! Even in Korean webtoons….”

 

“…Huh?”

 

‘Who is that girl?’

 

Yu-jin had slipped out of the exam hall amidst the confusion.

 

A woman was clinging tightly to him.

 

It was Alice.

 

“Uh, uh, yeah.”

 

‘Isn’t she a bit too close?!’

 

Even Yu-jin, usually composed, was flustered and babbling.

 

Wow. The skin of someone in their early twenties feels so different…

 

No, wait. It’s weird for a 35-year-old guy to think like this.

 

And why is Alice so close?

 

She doesn’t even like fighting that much?

 

He was at a loss due to these thoughts and the honest physiological reactions typical of a 20-year-old.

 

Meanwhile, Alice…

 

was feeling her heart race with emotions she couldn’t quite understand.

 

-Creepy, creepy.

 

‘Everyone seems jealous. Hehe.’

 

The women staring at her.

 

Mixed with envy and jealousy.

 

-Glaring.

 

‘Especially… that girl with the sudden pigtails looks like she wants to kill me.’

 

The murderous glare from Yu Shia, who had worked hard only to be outdone.

 

For some reason, she found it pleasing.

 

‘Jealous? Yu-jin even gave me a drink. We’re comrades in our single-eyedness.’

 

-Cling.

 

‘We can sit this close, shoulder to shoulder.’

 

As she moved her hip closer, the gazes intensified.

 

Especially Yu Shia’s reaction was the most extreme.

 

‘What’s with this fox? Why is she touching what’s mine?’

 

-Crack.

 

“……♡”

 

Alice’s lips curved up in proportion.

 

In the end, she couldn’t resist smiling.

 

Secretly, so Yu-jin wouldn’t notice. Directed at Yu Shia.

 

-Grin.

 

‘You can stare all you want. What can you do about it?’

 

“………!!!!!!!”

 

‘That, that vixen!!?’

 

“Uh, um. Alice. Th-tha….”

 

‘Alice is still in her early twenties. Don’t react. Hold it in, hold it in….’

 

It was a war waged without Yu-jin noticing.

 

* * *

 

That evening.

 

“My unique ability is hypnosis. Perfect Hypnosis.”

 

“……!!!!!?”

 

A talent almost guaranteed to be the next S-grade dropped a bombshell.