Joo Arin gritted her teeth.
She was experiencing firsthand just how true the saying was that people never changed.
“That damned bastard…….”
A frigid aura harsh enough to sting the skin engulfed the surroundings, but all it managed to do was slow the leader down.
Its movements remained as sharp as ever.
As expected…….
Trying to suppress darkness with incomplete Ice was too much.
If Haerin had not been struggling so fiercely on her behalf, Joo Arin would already have taken a direct hit.
“He’s worse than a Divine Beast.”
That only made her angrier.
And the angrier she became, the more curses slipped from her mouth.
She should never have trusted him in the first place.
The problem was that she had briefly been taken in when he suddenly appeared with a sword and charged around recklessly.
He had volunteered to put himself in danger first, running around until he was drenched in sweat and taking care of the unpleasant work.
Contrary to the rumors she personally knew of him, she had begun to think that perhaps he was not completely beyond redemption.
And now he had stabbed her in the back like this.
“You…….”
Joo Arin was about to shout again, but bit down on her lip and swallowed the words.
What good would it do?
It had already happened.
And when she thought about it, it was not entirely his fault.
She herself had known how troublesome their opponents were, yet had still gotten greedy and tried to secure a fast conquest time as well.
Had she taken responsibility for the leader from the beginning, the conquest might have taken longer, but they would never have fallen into a crisis like this.
CRAAACK.
After another clash, Joo Arin widened the distance and caught her breath.
The remaining ordinary Kkeomeoksari had surrounded her from every direction, while the leader flashed its brilliant white eyes and grinned as though already certain of its victory.
It was the gaze of a predator looking down upon its prey.
“How dare you…….”
Humiliation seeped into her lofty pride, and her pounding heart rapidly cooled.
Joo Arin gritted her teeth and drew up her mana.
She knew it was reckless, but she began preparing another manifestation of Ice.
KRRRK-KRRRK—
The leader moved as well.
Its already-black body darkened further through its incorporeal state, and it surged forward like a shadow.
Joo Arin thrust out her hand without hesitation to meet it.
……But then.
COUGH—
Her chest suddenly seized, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
“My mana…….”
There was not enough left to manifest Ice.
“Arin! Watch out!”
Lee Minha shouted after sensing the danger, but it was already too late.
The distance between Joo Arin and the creature had shrunk, and with so little mana remaining, even if she deployed what she had, it would be like trying to stop a speeding train with her bare body.
“You should at least get away.”
Joo Arin immediately dismissed Haerin’s summoning and braced herself for the incoming impact.
FWOOSH.
That was when something flared behind the leader.
A sphere of fire had appeared from nowhere and was flying straight toward them.
At the starting point of its trajectory stood him.
“……Park Hayul?”
The man she had thought had fled was using Sorcery Arts to help her.
“Could it be?”
He was late, but perhaps this was not the worst possible outcome after all.
A faint glimmer of expectation appeared in Joo Arin’s eyes.
But only for a moment.
Of course.
Was that even a one-star technique?
What help could such a pitifully tiny ball of fire possibly—
POP.
The moment the fireball struck the leader—
RUMMMMMBLE.
Joo Arin’s already-large eyes widened even further.
GRAAAAAAAGH—
The point of impact erupted as though it had suddenly expanded.
A bewilderingly intense wave of heat surged outward, accompanied by a strange emptiness that made it feel as though all the air in the vicinity had vanished at once.
…….
Then the vicious heat swallowed the surroundings, and both the leader and the ordinary Kkeomeoksari screamed in agony.
“Ugh.”
Joo Arin was no exception.
It was only the aftershock, yet the force was too great to ignore, and a groan escaped her.
What in the world……?
She hurriedly gathered back her mana and used it to protect her entire body.
PATTER, PATTER.
Even then, she could not block everything.
The heat penetrated her defenses and stung her skin.
Debris from the explosion scraped across her face.
The pain, which she had not experienced in quite some time, combined with the early symptoms of mana exhaustion, leaving her mind hazy.
Even so, she forcibly held on to her consciousness.
Soon, the leader that had taken the explosion head-on came into view.
Half of its upper body had melted away, and only one of its once-brilliant white eyes remained.
It was the last opportunity to kill it.
Joo Arin compressed the final handful of mana she possessed and prepared to unleash it.
Straight at the creature……
“Leave it.”
A familiar voice reached her ears.
Park Hayul had somehow already approached to within arm’s reach, and he thrust his sword toward the creature.
STAB—
The leader’s head was pierced through, and it collapsed without even managing a final scream.
…….
Joo Arin stood there blankly before realizing that there were many things she needed to demand an explanation for.
“You…….”
But perhaps it was because he looked different from usual.
As she stared at Park Hayul’s cold, rigid expression, she found herself unable to continue.
-Team 4. Report exactly what just happened.
Lee Taekjin’s voice came through belatedly, but Joo Arin merely released the breath she had been holding.
***
The Opening Stage Conquest Battle involving all ten teams came to an end.
The evaluation meeting was held in Lee Taekjin’s faculty office.
Because each team had faced different Magical Beasts and varying levels of difficulty, outside evaluators had also been invited to ensure fairness.
“Let us watch Team 3’s footage.”
Kim Miyoung spoke while gesturing toward the magic screen installed on the wall.
The recorded footage soon began to play.
Seol Yungi, a handsome young man running ahead entirely on his own, appeared on the screen.
Without the slightest hesitation, he charged toward the Magical Beast guarding the core of the Opening Stage.
It was a massive creature nearly three meters tall, a Geogugoe.
It ranked among the stronger Grade 7 Magical Beasts, so the evaluators expected it to be difficult to handle.
Their concern proved unnecessary.
Seol Yungi was already far beyond the level of his peers, and with the buffs of the Support System members concentrated on him, the outcome was inevitable.
With effortless movements, he subdued the creature cleanly in less than ten minutes, drawing admiration from everyone watching.
“Oh. They said he was a talent treasured by the Seol Family, and he certainly lives up to the reputation. I am genuinely impressed.”
The first evaluator to speak was So Yihyeon, a member of the Monster-Slaying Corps, the government’s specialized anti-demon extermination force.
She was the deputy commander of the 8th Unit and a Rank 6 Awakened widely known by the alias Red Witch.
“The strategy was solid. They made good use of each team member’s strengths. And his ability as the team’s centerpiece was worth watching.”
The other outside evaluator who agreed with her was also from the Monster-Slaying Corps.
Lee Hajoon, deputy commander of the 13th Unit.
He was likewise a Rank 6 Awakened, and his gentle eyes suited his nickname, Blue-Green, giving him an agreeable impression.
“Professor, you must be pleased to have a talent like that as your student.”
Lee Hajoon looked toward Lee Taekjin and spoke teasingly in good humor.
“I have not been teaching him for long, but I intend to guide him well.”
His response was restrained, but he did not seem displeased.
The corner of Lee Taekjin’s mouth twitched, and So Yihyeon caught the movement.
She narrowed her eyes and cut in.
“Deputy Commander Lee Hajoon. Are you already making your move?”
“Come on. What do you mean, making my move……?”
“Let us play fair, shall we? Recruitment comes later. We are here to evaluate them.”
“What, am I not even allowed to compliment someone? Do not be so rigid. You are just as interested in recruiting them as I am.”
Lee Hajoon waved a hand as though telling her not to interfere, but So Yihyeon was not the type to back down.
“I simply do not make it as obvious as certain people. It is childish.”
“Childish? Is that any way to speak to your senior?”
“Senior, my foot. Then try acting like one.”
“What did you say?”
In the end, small sparks flew between the two.
Just as Lee Hajoon had said, the evaluation was only the official reason they were there.
Every unit of the Monster-Slaying Corps was desperate to recruit talented personnel.
“Ahem. Professor, shall we continue the evaluation?”
Fortunately, Kim Miyoung, who was moderating the meeting, stepped in at just the right moment.
“Have you both finished saying what you wanted to say?”
Lee Taekjin also asked with an uncomfortable expression, prompting the two of them to clear their throats awkwardly.
Kim Miyoung resumed speaking.
“As you know, the evaluation consists of three categories. Completion time and safety score have objective criteria, so you only need to confirm those. Please discuss and determine the difficulty score together.”
Lee Taekjin, So Yihyeon, and Lee Hajoon.
All three possessed exceptional judgment, so the discussion did not take long.
Seol Yungi’s Team 3 received a difficulty score of 47 out of a maximum of 50.
They received 49 points for completion time and 48 points for safety.
Their total score was 144.
It was the highest score among all the teams evaluated so far.
“Let us watch the next team’s footage.”
The evaluation continued.
Whenever one of Class A’s famous talents appeared, the eyes of the two outside evaluators lit up.
“Student Baek Sayoung is far too selfless.”
“Agreed. He lost too much time looking after his teammates’ safety. There are moments when you have to be decisive.”
“Still, there is no questioning his ability. I would believe it if someone told me he had already graduated.”
Baek Sayoung’s Team 1 received a total of 143 points, placing second.
Cheon Seoyoon’s Team 5 was evaluated next and received 140 points, putting them in third place.
“Next is Team 4.”
At last, they reached the final team to be evaluated.
“Ah, Joo Arin’s team.”
“She is from the Guardian Joo Family, correct? I have heard plenty about her.”
“A Summoning System user is a treasure in and of itself.”
The two members of the Monster-Slaying Corps focused on the screen with the same interest as before.
Most of their attention was directed toward Joo Arin.
The footage began.
Thanks to a team member with a pathfinding Trait, Team 4 advanced toward the core without getting lost even once.
KRRRK-KRRRK—
Then, before they had any chance to prepare, they encountered the enemy.
The Kkeomeoksari had launched an ambush.
There was some confusion at first, but Joo Arin performed beyond expectations.
When she demonstrated control over Ice in addition to commanding a high-ranking Divine Beast, the two evaluators could not hide their admiration.
“But what is that one doing?”
“Finishing them off?”
“That is amusing. He really is only going for the last hits.”
Another student had awkwardly joined the fight and was enthusiastically stabbing away with a sword, but he drew little attention.
If anything, he only obstructed the footage by getting in the way of the screen.
It looked as though the battle would end without any major problems.
Until an unexpected crisis struck.
“Huh?”
Kang Cheolmin and Lee Minha, who had been holding off the leader, were knocked aside before long.
The creature immediately seized the opening and rushed toward Joo Arin.
“That is dangerous. She has already been pushing herself too hard.”
“There were quite a lot of ordinary creatures as well. She must already be exhausted. The difference in difficulty between the stages is substantial, is it not?”
It was an unexpected development, but now they wanted to see how Joo Arin would overcome the crisis.
Just as both evaluators focused their attention on her again—
“What?”
The breakthrough came not from Joo Arin, but from another student.
It was the same student who had been running around with a sword only moments earlier.
He had vanished from the screen as though fleeing, but shortly afterward, blue and red Sorcery Formulas flashed from that direction.
Because he was near the edge of the recording, they could not see clearly, but the mana was fluctuating so intensely that even the surrounding air appeared to ripple.
Lee Hajoon, who had been watching, shouted.
“Wh-what is that? Did he just use Fire Attribute and Water Attribute Sorcery Arts simultaneously?”