Chapter 81

Before I could even find the time to forget the events in Spain, a new week had already arrived.

And, as expected, the postponed second-semester comprehensive exam was now right around the corner.

“Given the somewhat ambiguous timing, it seems this exam will be conducted in a slightly special manner.”

“A special manner?”

“Yes. The exact details will be announced on the day, but what’s certain is that it will be an exam in a practical format.”

If Baek Jieun’s words were anything to go by, the difficulty would likely be nothing to scoff at.

“The exam begins tomorrow at 10 AM. Notifications will be sent to your personal Terminals, so make sure to assemble on time.”

The A-Rank cadets listened to Baek Jieun’s words with serious expressions. Then, each one hurried off to the Training Ground for their final preparations.

Watching that scene, I leisurely returned alone to the Dormitory.

‘No need to be so concerned about it.’

As I said before, exam grades don’t hold that much significance for me.

Rather than affiliating with some organization after graduation, I planned to act on my own, following the events that would unfold.

Therefore, as long as I recorded grades high enough to qualify for early application to the Exorcist qualification exam, there would be no problem.

‘Given the title of A-Rank, that shouldn’t be too difficult.’

If memory serves, maintaining a lower-tier ranking within the class should have been sufficient.

‘…Still, maybe I should check just in case.’

Using the laptop in my dorm room to search for information, I soon realized that my assumption was completely wrong.

‘What is this?’

The conditions were completely different from the information I knew. To this extent, I would need to maintain a ranking within the top 10 of the A-Rank class.

‘Why have the requirements become so high?’

Throwing the question out in my bewilderment, I didn’t have to wait long to find the answer myself.

‘…It’s the influence of the Hell Difficulty.’

Based on my experiences so far, the Specters in this world tended to be more powerful compared to what I remembered.

Simply put, the difficulty had been adjusted upward across the board.

‘So, the qualifications for becoming an Exorcist would naturally have to be raised as well.’

This was a blind spot. With this, my current grades wouldn’t even come close.

It seemed there was no room to take this exam lightly.

Letting out a sigh, I headed belatedly to the Training Ground to prepare.

“What’s this? Acting all disinterested, but you came in the end? Even you get a bit nervous the day before an exam, huh?”

Even though I had come to an old-style Training Ground with few usual users, there was an unexpected visitor. It was Jeong Hansol.

When I looked at her with a questioning gaze, Jeong Hansol casually revealed her reason for being here.

“No, it’s just that Hwang Jihak and you all seem to use this place, so I was curious about the vibe.”

“…On the day before the exam?”

“I’m not really the type to care about that sort of thing. Since you’re here, help me practice a bit.”

It seemed Jeong Hansol was testing a newly learned Art Formula. At a glance, it was one I recognized as well.

An Intermediate-Rank Binding Spell Formula, Cosmic Prison.

Like the Wall of the Azure Sky, it was a Cursed Technique with the highest difficulty among Intermediate-Rank techniques.

“The A-Rank is full of nothing but geniuses. If I go in with the same tactics as the last exam, I’ll be an easy target, right?”

“…You’re quite diligent.”

In the original work, her playful personality was mainly highlighted, so seeing her working so seriously was quite unexpected.

When I sent her a slightly admiring glance, Jeong Hansol awkwardly revealed the truth.

“Actually, I built up a bit of a grudge from the last exam… Gilford and Shin Sora are probably holding a serious grudge. If the format allows for direct competition, they’ll try to kill me for sure.”

“……”

As expected, it was a very Jeong Hansol-like reason.

“Come to think of it, I heard you’re pretty capable too? If the exam turns out to be that kind of format, want to team up with me?”

“No, I’ll pass.”

“Ah, come on. Don’t be like that. What are friends for?”

Jeong Hansol poked me repeatedly, pleading earnestly, but I had no desire to make unnecessary enemies.

Especially enemies like Shin Sora and Gilford, who are within the top 5 rankings. That’s a deal with no profit at all.

After finishing our preparations until evening, we each returned to our dormitories.

And finally, the day of the exam arrived.

The location for the exam was, like last time, inside a specially constructed Barrier.

The participants were all classes of the second year.

Excluding other grades, it meant virtually all personnel were gathered to take the exam.

“Everyone is assembled. I will now disclose the exam’s contents. First, check the messages sent to your individual Terminals.”

Ding.

Baek Jieun’s words about the exam being conducted in a special manner were indeed not false.

I quickly read the content received on my Terminal.

【2-A Rank Han Kangyoon : Field Player】

▶Affiliation: Undecided

The meaning of the message’s content became clear from the subsequent explanation by the supervising professor.

“Following a faculty meeting, twenty command cadets have been selected from the entire grade. The command cadets will now use their allotted Points to recruit Field Players.”

Just from that statement, one could roughly infer the exam’s format.

The cadets listened intently, and the professor’s explanation continued.

“Recruitment will be in an auction format. Cadets with better grades will naturally have a higher probability of their cost being set significantly. Through this process, the command cadets will form their own teams for the exam.”

And then, next.

“Choose and secure any mission you want from the dozens of missions notified via your Terminal. Competition is free. Achieving teams will be given scores according to the mission’s content, which will, of course, be heavily reflected in the evaluation.”

In short, it was an exam where twenty command cadets use Points to bid for team members and lead them to clear missions.

‘This won’t be easy.’

It was an exam that required not just individual skill but also cooperation, judgment, and various other qualities.

Since I was also a Field Player, coordination with team members and the command cadet would be important as well.

“As with the last exam, Identification Tags will be distributed. Cadets who have their tags taken can no longer assist their team. Now, we will begin team formation immediately.”

Ding!

[The recruitment competition for 2-A Rank Gilford cadet has begun.]

[150 Points]

[210 Points]

[270 Points]

.

.

.

[Final decision concluded at 510 Points.]

[2-A Rank Gilford cadet has joined the team of 2-C Rank Joseph cadet.]

The command cadets were evenly distributed across various classes, and after dozens of bidding processes, each team was finally completed.

[Final decision concluded at 310 Points.]

[2-A Rank Han Kangyoon cadet has joined the team of 2-B Rank Yoon Ihwa cadet.]

The command cadets were given a total of 1,000 Points. So, in my case at 310 Points, I was valued considerably lower than other A-Rank cadets.

‘Considering Sophia, the top of the grade, was an all-in bid of a thousand points.’

Following the Terminal message, I also hurriedly joined the newly formed team members.

The commander was Yoon Ihwa from 2-B Rank. The team members, excluding me, consisted of 2 B-Rank cadets, 2 C-Rank cadets, and 2 D-Rank cadets.

It seemed the strategy was to increase personnel with balanced distribution rather than investing too many Points in top-ranking cadets.

Looking at me, the last to join, Commander Yoon Ihwa muttered.

“…To be honest, I wanted to bring Adrian, but I didn’t have enough Points, so it couldn’t be helped.”

It seemed Yoon Ihwa didn’t have much faith in me.

Well, based on rankings alone, I was still at the very bottom of the A-Rank. Compared to other top-ranking cadets, I probably didn’t seem like an attractive card.

From Yoon Ihwa’s perspective, wasn’t I just the bare minimum to fill out the roster?

Once all members were gathered, Yoon Ihwa put on a serious expression and quickly relayed the strategy.

“I’ll explain the plan. We’ll avoid combat as much as possible and steadily accumulate points. To do that, we increased our numbers evenly, so even if we encounter enemies, avoid fighting if at all possible.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but what if we’re forced into a confrontation?”

“If it’s an opponent we can handle, we fight. If not, we sacrifice the person with the lowest ranking to escape. Since the common point share is high anyway, no complaints, right?”

“Tch. Well, fine. With our skills, if the opposing team has an A-Ranker, we’re done for anyway.”

This was quite a passive strategy. With grades on the line, it seemed like the plan was to minimize risk and gather points.

After pondering for a moment, I subtly called Yoon Ihwa over and offered my opinion.

“It doesn’t seem like a very good strategy. It won’t go as smoothly as you think.”

“…Oh, really? Well, to someone like you who barely scraped into A-Rank, it might look that way, but this is our best option. You know it too, right? The top-ranking kids are on a completely different level.”

“……”

“To put it bluntly, can you win against Sophia or Hwang Jihak?”

“I can’t say for sure.”

“See? In the end, taking an aggressive stance is too risky. You haven’t forgotten the rule about cooperating with the commander, have you?”

Since it wasn’t a statement without any merit to refute head-on, I decided to follow Yoon Ihwa’s instructions for now and observe the situation.

‘…Well, I can step in if things really go south.’

The command cadets had the role of controlling team members from a separate space, so the remaining teams, excluding them, headed to their designated locations.

And finally, the exam began.

Ding!*

First, we needed to clarify our objectives, so we immediately checked the contents of the missions that were revealed at the start.

【Light the beacon at the western tower and maintain it for 3 hours】

▶200P

【Acquire the treasure hidden in the northern cave area】

▶350P

【Achieve a combined team movement distance of 10Km】

▶100P

【Ensure the survival of all team members until the exam ends】

▶300P

【Be the first to induce the complete elimination of an enemy team】

▶400P

As the proctors had indicated, there were dozens of missions. They seemed to consist of common missions, where any team could earn points by meeting the conditions, and competitive missions, where only the winning team could earn points.

[…We should aim for the common missions first. Everyone, move as I instruct.]

The voice of Commander Yoon Ihwa came through the Communicator devices distributed beforehand.

Our first target was the mission to achieve a combined team movement distance of 10Km.

[We need to avoid routes that are too conspicuous. There will definitely be teams moving to target the ‘first complete elimination’ mission. Let’s avoid the cave area and head west.]

Listening to Yoon Ihwa’s instructions, I shook my head imperceptibly.

The idea of distancing ourselves from the cave, which had a high-score mission, wasn’t bad in itself, but on the other hand, it was too predictable.

And unfortunately, my prediction turned out to be exactly right.

“Huh, they really came?”

“See, Jackson’s intel was accurate.”

A team focused on combat, consisting of no less than two A-Rank cadets and two B-Rank cadets.

Their fingertips began to point towards us without hesitation.