NOVPUB"Vice President, do well!"
"Good luck, Jo Eui-shin. Isn't it about time to aim for the top spot?"
"Ah, if Ji-ho says that, I don't think Eui-shin will aim for the top spot..."
"Eui-shin, fighting!"
Though there were some unnecessary comments mixed in, most of them were words of encouragement.
I waved my hand lightly to the kids who cheered me on, and after standing in my spot, I could still hear voices chattering.
‘They're saying I’m not nervous at all,’ ‘Looks like we don’t have to worry about the vice president,’ which made me wonder if I should try to look a bit more nervous during the next exam.
If I look too calm, won't it seem out of place?
[The otherworldly strategy simulation is starting. Are you ready? (Y/N)]
I reached out toward the hologram and pressed the Y button, and the scenery changed drastically.
As the light from the otherworldly metal faded, no one was around.
I infused the escape item with my ability and surveyed my surroundings.
‘It’s this vast, the wind is blowing, but it’s humid. The rocks are wet even at the high places. I feel a powerful ability coming from a distance.’
In this space, far wider than the gymnasium, I could see the wet cliffside on uneven ground.
The high spots could offer a good vantage for defense, but the footholds looked unstable.
Choosing to wait in the lower areas and then escape would be foolish.
I needed to pick which cliff to climb.
The reason was the humidity and the wet rocks.
‘The water will start rising soon.’
I had done simulations in preparation for special fields like this.
These special fields are usually created by floor masters or boss enemies, and when the field changes, they appear too.
The sudden changes in the battlefield required knowledge of the precursors and the ability to prepare for them.
Thinking back to Kim Yu-ri’s words, this might be one of the field changes we prepared for in the study session.
According to what we learned, the water would rise within 30 seconds, and a powerful enemy would appear.
‘As long as I maintain the energy wave in the escape item, running away is probably the answer to this exam.’
There were a few kids in our class who could easily defeat all the enemies that would appear in this stage.
But the theme of this exam was escape.
I placed an electric attribute Rod item card in a good spot in my holster and made my way to a cliff of moderate height.
With this, I should be able to climb up quickly without needing to use Gwangrim.
Swoosh...
[Warning, enemy approaching.]
As expected, the system alert sounded as the water began rising.
Looking down, I saw an enemy dressed in blue armor emerging through the rising water.
It appeared to wield water powers, but its fist and arm muscles seemed well-trained for close combat.
With that, Maeng Hyo-don would definitely forget the exam’s theme and get fired up for a fight.
Of course, I wasn’t planning on facing it.
‘As long as I keep my distance, escaping shouldn’t be too difficult.’
As I thought that, I sensed a presence coming from above.
Sharp claws flew toward my left eye.
The sound of the air being torn rushed at my ears and eyes.
[Skill "All Things Use" activated.]
Kaaang!
I reflexively pulled out an item card from my holster, materializing it to defend my left eye.
The item that materialized was the R-ranked basic magic weapon “Beginner Mage’s Lightning Rod,” which wasn’t a melee weapon, so its durability quickly deteriorated.
In a rush, I also used my energy to activate the escape item, momentarily halting the activation gauge.
‘A flying enemy too?’
I alternated between the cracked Rod and the charging flying enemy.
When the flying enemy let out a shrill screech, more of them appeared.
Three flying enemies, flapping their wings, joined the fray.
Ignoring them entirely was going to be hard.
‘This difficulty is too high. I wasn’t prepared for this level of challenge.’
If these enemies appeared in the simulator, several students would have struggled to pass the exam.
I quickly materialized a new item card.
Against these enemies attacking so rapidly, I couldn’t afford to cast the Rod, which required a long casting time.
I immediately pulled out the “Beginner Sniper’s Ability Gun” and fired a warning shot.
Bang! Bang-bang!
Of the three shots, one grazed the wing of a flying enemy.
The flying enemy staggered, but didn’t fall to the ground.
Even while reloading, the flying enemy kept charging, and I had to roll to avoid it.
But now, the focus wasn’t just on the flying enemies.
Kwaaa!
The punch of a floor master shook the cliff.
At the same time, a massive pillar of water rose behind me.
The floor master, still below, was trying to disrupt the focus of the player trying to escape while providing cover for the flying enemies.
Meanwhile, the water continued to rise.
This was the kind of situation that would disorient any player lacking mental fortitude when faced alone.
As I kept watching the movements of the flying enemies, I noticed something strange.
‘...They keep targeting my left side. Did someone tamper with the enemy AI settings?’
It didn’t take long to guess who could have done this.
Only someone like a noble or a teacher could pull off something like this.
And the one who knew about my left eye and would play tricks like this could only be one person.
‘Why would Yong Je-geon do this?’
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shook, and the sound of water splashing filled the air.
Turning around, I saw that the water level had risen so much that the floor master was now climbing up the cliff with the water.
The floor master raised its fist, charged with the power of water, and aimed it at me.
Though it had no real meaning, I spoke to the enemy.
“You should have come a little faster.”
The emergency escape item around my neck began to glow.
The activation gauge for the item had reached 100%.
The gauge had only momentarily paused when the flying enemies appeared, but after that, I focused more on activating the escape item than on fighting.
My body gradually became transparent, and the space around me collapsed.
[Simulation cleared! Clear time: 4 minutes, 26 seconds.]
Beyond the hologram displaying the completion of the simulation, I could see the gym, covered in otherworldly metal, and the faces of my classmates.
“Eui-shin, good job!”
“Vice President, you’re slacking off! You could have come out faster.”
“Still, with this time, you’ll get a perfect score, right? Eui-shin couldn’t have been hit by the enemies.”
“See? It wasn’t hard at all... Ugh!”
Looking at my classmates, it felt like the time I spent facing the enemies alone was a distant memory.
Despite some issues, I had successfully escaped within the allotted time.
The flying enemies targeting my left eye and the floor master trying to break the cliff no longer had any effect on me.
But there was still a problem.
Although the students didn’t know what had happened inside, Ham Geun-hyeong, the exam supervisor, must have seen everything.
“Jo Eui-shin...”
Ham Geun-hyeong’s face looked more grim than usual.
Though newcomers wouldn’t understand, that expression was one of surprise.
It seemed like this simulation wasn’t what Ham Geun-hyeong had intended.
“...”
Ham Geun-hyeong didn’t say anything but seemed to be looking at my left eye with great focus.
Could it be that Yong Je-geon did this to inform Ham Geun-hyeong about the condition of my left eye?
The students, unaware of what had happened, were still chatting, and Jin Jeong-muk, who was next, got up from the lotus position.
“...I’ll go now. Next, Jin Jeong-muk!”
Ham Geun-hyeong didn’t speak about my left eye in front of the class, but his thoughtful expression indicated he was deep in thought.
Ham Geun-hyeong had played a major role during the Teacher’s Day incident, saving Maeng Hyo-don, and had seen me injured while disguised as Seong Guk-eon.
But he probably didn’t know that my left eye still hadn’t fully healed, despite appearing fine on the outside.
He may have suspected it after seeing Seong Guk-eon wearing the eye patch, though.
“Hmm, what happened?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Seems like something did happen.”
Hwang Ji-ho said something, but Ham Geun-hyeong’s shocked face kept appearing in my mind.
I thought the left eye would heal slowly, but I might need to hurry it up.
‘Yoon Ye-rang said the exam would end early. Should I visit her a bit earlier?’
Yoon Ye-rang had planned to focus on life around the Dragon Palace during her first semester and had chosen elective subjects that were easy to pass without investing much time in exam preparation.
So, most of her subjects were replaced with reports instead of exams, and she said she had no hesitation despite having to write difficult essays.
With her abilities, those reports would be no problem.
Before starting exam preparations, Yoon Ye-rang left me a message.
—Feel free to visit the Dragon Palace anytime! This time, Professor Lim Yeon-hwa is teaching the topic on the Zhen Clan, and most of it is being replaced with reports. Both the Hwangryong and the Dragon King know a lot about the Zhen Clan, so it’s easy to get help.
Yoon Ye-rang, as a priestess of the Dragon Clan, wanted to study more about the Zhen Clan.
Since she was busy with an external project from the association, she had chosen the subjects with reports instead of exams.
I decided I would head to the Dragon Palace early to get some treatment.
The next day, after all the students who attended school completed the practical exam, we heard shocking news.
Just before the morning assembly, Kim Yu-ri cautiously spoke up.
“...Guys, it looks like Louis and Seul-bi are going to have to retake the exam. Probably the absentees who were with them too.”
“Huh? The exam results aren’t out yet.”
“It seems they didn’t even take the remote exam.”
“They had to wear the headgear for it, and if they didn’t wear it at the right time, they immediately got a zero.”
“Right. I almost missed it a few times myself.”
The kids who had refused to attend quickly guessed the reason.
Kim Yu-ri nodded in agreement and continued.
“...Yeah, they couldn’t take the exam because they were asleep.”
What?
Last time, the attention-seeking duo had mentioned they might sleep longer, but I had called them before the exam started to make sure.
They answered my call and confirmed they’d take the exam.
Kim Yu-ri looked at me and said, “I guess they fell asleep right after getting your call. They contacted me later, saying they felt bad about it.”
Behind Kim Yu-ri’s awkward laugh, I could hear my classmates’ astonished voices.
I had woken them up, but it was all for nothing.
They heard the alarm and fell asleep immediately, it seems.
‘At least they woke up the next day.’
The attention-seekers and the school absentees would have to retake the exam, but with their abilities, they would likely pass it easily.
As long as they don’t fall asleep again.
