Chapter 137

Finally, the new semester had begun.

The protagonist and main characters of this first installment of the Exorcism Academy Series, Yoo Haon and his group, became second-years, and I became a third-year in the graduating class.

‘…Looking back, it went by quickly.’

Unlike a game where you just swipe through text and images, here I had to live each day myself, but even so, time felt like it flowed by incredibly fast.

And it probably wouldn’t be much different going forward.

From now on, I would only get busier, with no time to leisurely enjoy any spare moments.

‘If there’s any chance to catch my breath, it’s probably at the beginning of the semester.’

So, I should try to finish all the things I need to do during that time.

“Alright, second and third-years, please move to your respective classes according to your rank! Everyone must be assembled by 9:30 AM!”

After finishing the opening ceremony alongside the new students’ entrance ceremony, we gathered again by class to check the faces of our fellow students.

Honestly, the members themselves hadn’t changed much.

By the time you’re in second or third year, the growth gaps between cadets are mostly sorted out, and it’s rare for those rankings to be overturned.

If there was one noticeable change, it was undoubtedly the addition of Laura, the princess of Spain.

“She will be joining us at Cheonghwa Academy this year. It’s a good opportunity for exchange, so I hope you all share knowledge usefully.”

“Nice to meet you. Since I’m just an exchange student here, there’s no need to treat me formally or find it difficult. Please, just treat me like a friend.”

Some had met her face before, but most seemed to find it interesting, likely seeing a figure of royal status for the first time.

After that first meeting, the now second-time curriculum selection period arrived.

The method itself wasn’t much different from last year, but there was one particularity for third-years in the graduating class.

Namely, they absolutely had to join a club somewhere and create a graduation project to leave behind.

‘Of course, there are exceptions…’

But at least for now, I had to choose a club to dedicate myself to.

So, after finishing all my elective course selections, I stared intently at the cadet Terminal screen and began searching for a suitable club to join.

‘Honestly, I don’t really want to put much thought into it.’

I remember Yoo Haon’s group also joined clubs and progressed through some stories, but none of them seemed particularly serious.

There probably won’t be any situations requiring my intervention.

Thinking that, I decided to simply pick a suitable field and focus on my own tasks.

The place I chose was the Field Research Club.

‘A place that conducts field research by visiting spiritual sites and cultural heritage locations around the country.’

Here, I wouldn’t have to worry about much, could get some rest in my own way, and also have personal time.

Furthermore, there was one more additional reason.

‘I’ll have to start looking for that soon too.’

The Yeoijoo that Cheongwoon stole from the Azure Dragon long ago, which I promised to retrieve for it through our last contract. I planned to gradually begin searching for it through field research activities.

After completing the input for all items, I submitted the contents via the Terminal, and unlike last year, the registration finished this time without any major issues.

Since there weren’t many classes on the first day, after finishing all my schedules, I went to find someone at the Academy as I had planned beforehand.

That person was Yoo Haon.

“How have you been lately?”

“I seem to be steadily improving. Most of the Art Formulas you taught me last time have become usable now.”

I’ll say it again and again, but the most important thing for future events, more than anything else, is the growth of the original protagonist, Yoo Haon.

Fortunately, Yoo Haon seemed to be diligently learning the future Cursed Techniques I taught him, but I still felt this alone wasn’t enough to overcome the Hell Difficulty obstacles.

So, I shouldn’t neglect the search for the sub-Traits of the Demon Breaker Trait either.

After checking on Yoo Haon’s condition, I decided to use the relatively free time at the beginning of the semester to help him acquire the other candidate Trait we considered last time.

‘The remaining ones are the A-Rank Divine Power Trait and the B-Rank Demon Resistance Trait, right?’

Whichever of these two, obtaining them isn’t easy, but for now, the Divine Power side is more worth attempting.

After making an appointment with Yoo Haon, as soon as the weekend began a few days later, I immediately took her and dragged her off somewhere.

That place was a quasi-gambling den near Incheon.

“This is…?”

It wasn’t an overtly blatant place, but half-serious bets were being made among people, knowingly or unknowingly.

This time, Yoo Haon looked at me, her eyes full of doubt.

“Why here…?”

It was natural. Even I would think something was wrong with someone’s head if they dragged me to a place like this under the pretense of training.

But there was no choice. To target the Bloom conditions for the Divine Power Trait, this was the best option.

“…Can training happen in a place like this? No, more than that, is it even okay for us to be here?”

Like a girl her age, Yoo Haon was confused and didn’t know what to do.

But there was no other way. If doing this could help protect citizens in the future, wouldn’t it be a worthwhile endeavor?

So, I decided to mix in some appropriate persuasion.

“It’s not a boast, but I used to come here often.”

“Why? Ah…”

As if remembering the orphanage incident, Yoo Haon suddenly stopped speaking and looked at me with pitying eyes.

And now, the main point.

“The higher the level of opponent you face, the more quick judgment and response ability become factors that determine victory or defeat.”

“……”

“To gain the upper hand in such battles of wits, you first need to practice identifying various opponents.”

It was nonsense, but depending on how you heard it, it wasn’t entirely unconvincing.

To the hesitant Yoo Haon, I added one final remark.

“As you said before, the reason I can fight skillfully anytime, anywhere might be because of experiences like these backing me up. At least, I think it helped me enough.”

“…Then I’ll give it a try.”

The process of obtaining the Divine Power Trait isn’t anything special.

You just have to make countless choices in various situations and guess the correct answers.

A Trait that borders on something akin to intuition.

Just as in reality there are people for whom everything they do goes well and luck follows them, to obtain it, frankly, aptitude is needed more than anything.

But I was convinced. If it was Yoo Haon, who possessed the Blue Lighthouse Trait, she surely also had that aptitude within her.

After the entire Saturday passed like that, Yoo Haon returned to the Academy with me, her face completely drained.

You can’t get full from the first bite, so there weren’t any particularly noticeable results.

To that Yoo Haon, I gave my final farewell before parting.

“We’re going again tomorrow.”

“…Can’t we take just one day off?”

The weekend passed, two days went by, and the next week, classes began in earnest again. Fitting the name ‘graduating class,’ programs concerning future career paths were also frequently conducted.

And during that process, there was one piece of news that particularly caught the attention of many cadets.

Namely, the announcement recruiting early applicants for the Exorcist Qualification Exam.

“Why bother? The pass rate is incredibly low anyway, and even if you get it right away, there’s not really anywhere to use it,”

In fact, that was the opinion of most cadets. They’d rather focus on self-development for their future than exhaust themselves taking a difficult exam for no reason.

However, even those people knew on one hand what meaning lay in taking and passing the Exorcist Qualification Exam early.

If you just pass, numerous prestigious families will covet you, and whether it’s institutions or corporations, everyone will want to recruit you.

However, even knowing that, the exam’s difficulty was so extremely high that most couldn’t even dare attempt it.

Unless you were truly exceptional, it was hard for cadets of this age to even get near passing.

Therefore, those who seriously considered the exam were usually only A-Rank or B-Rank cadets.

“Are you going to take it?”

At Jeong Hansol’s words, spoken while slurping her drink, I fell silent for a moment before replying.

“For now.”

“Huh, really? That’s unusual. I thought you wouldn’t be interested.”

I don’t know why she thought that, but considering future events, it’s better to officially obtain the Exorcist qualification.

So, I was determined to definitely pass in one attempt on this exam.

“They say this is incredibly difficult, are you confident?”

“No reason I can’t. Last year, two people passed.”

“Well, both of them were seniors who fluctuated within the top 5 of A-Rank. Huh, now that I think about it, does that mean it’s actually somewhat doable?”

Clearly, the exam’s difficulty was high, but for those who rank among the best even within the select cadets of Cheonghwa Academy, it’s not an impossible challenge.

After all, Jeong Hansol right next to me was also a genius who could overpower a decent 3rd-Rank Exorcist with her skills.

“Then maybe I’ll take it too while I’m at it. I don’t have anything planned anyway.”

In that case, it wouldn’t be bad for me either. Someone of Jeong Hansol’s caliber would make an excellent practice partner.

“Anyone else? I heard there’s a cooperative-type exam too, so it would be good to train together.”

“I’ll ask around separately later.”

Asking classmates I met during classes, aside from me and Jeong Hansol, there were exactly three cadets who clearly expressed their intention to take the exam.

Namely, the top-ranked Sophia, the second-ranked Hwang Jihak, and surprisingly, Gilford Fisher.

“What’s with you all? Is it that unusual?”

“No, man, weren’t you supposed to return to your home country?”

“I recently decided to stay. It’s not like I’m going to inherit the family anyway. Staying where I want to be is the right choice for me.”

Leaving the surprised Jeong Hansol behind, Sophia and Hwang Jihak also revealed their reasons.

“I plan to enter the field right away, so I need the qualification first, right?”

“I also need to secure the qualification and build a career to confirm my future Elder position.”

Certainly, each reason is understandable.

Anyway, that makes a total of five applicants, a perfect number to train together for the exam.

We set a time to meet periodically and then each immersed ourselves in preparations for the exam.

‘It definitely won’t be easy, but it won’t be difficult either.’

Even if we have to face seasoned adult Exorcists beyond the cadet level, there’s nothing particularly to fear.

Organizing the information about the Exorcist Qualification Exam that appeared in the original work piece by piece in my mind, I faintly lifted the corner of my mouth.