She was not sitting directly beside me, but there was someone I had never seen before in the seat across from mine.
When did she get here?
She was a petite girl with striking bangs cut perfectly straight across her forehead.
SCRITCH SCRITCH—
She pushed up her large, thick-rimmed glasses while jotting something down.
Just a minor supporting character?
“Ah, I-I am sorry. I was looking for somewhere quiet……”
Noticing my suspicious gaze, the girl with the straight-cut bangs hurriedly introduced herself.
“My name is Min Youngji. I am writing an article about the diagnostic assessment……”
I had not even asked, yet she readily explained what she was doing.
Whatever.
“I do not care. Keep doing what you were doing. It is probably quieter here than over there.”
“R-Really?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“No……”
She seemed rather shy, judging from how much she stammered.
-Support System student Lee Eunseong. Beginning assessment.
Something about her still felt slightly odd, but I turned my attention toward the next participant.
I was observing.
She was observing.
We were here for the same reason, so what more was there to say?
We could each mind our own business.
***
The assessment continued.
Lee Daeho, a major supporting character, stood out, and Joo Arin left a strong impression as well.
“Wow! That is insane. How does she even look like that?”
“Is every day a new all-time record with her?”
There was no need to ask what exactly they found so astonishing.
For one thing, most of the people cheering were men.
“……Ah. I cannot even describe it properly.”
And judging by how Min Youngji clutched her head and repeatedly erased and rewrote something, there was little doubt that they were talking about Joo Arin’s appearance.
But did that mean she lacked ability?
Not at all.
She ranked tenth overall, and as befitted an elite from a prestigious family, her command of Water-Attribute Divine Beasts was exceptional.
Aside from those two, no one else particularly stood out.
Most lower-ranked students recorded times in the four-to-five-minute range, while the middle ranks generally finished in the three-minute range.
“They should speed this up.”
Watching the same thing over and over was beginning to make me restless.
[Time remaining: 15 hours, 4 minutes, 32 seconds.]
I was confident I would complete the quest, but watching my lifespan shrink in real time still made it impossible not to feel nervous.
Maybe I should go to the bathroom.
I was just about to stand and loosen up when—
-Superhuman System student Baek Sayoung. Beginning assessment.
The turn I had been waiting for arrived with uncanny timing.
The student ranked first overall among the second years.
The name of this world’s true protagonist had been called.
Of all the timing……
“Up we go.”
Baek Sayoung stood as casually as though he were going for a walk, and I awkwardly lowered myself back into my seat.
“Hey, are you breaking into the one-minute range this time?”
“What are you talking about……”
“Stop pretending to be modest. You are going to come first anyway.”
“That part is true. Thanks for the encouragement.”
Just look at that composure as he played along with Lee Daeho’s half-serious joke.
Even if he declared himself the winner before the test had begun, it did not come across as arrogance or bravado.
I had once imagined what it might have been like if, since I had to possess someone anyway, I had ended up as him instead.
“Do you think they will upload Baek Sayoung’s assessment footage separately again?”
“If he comes first overall, probably.”
“I am jealous. The views are going to be ridiculous again.”
But I quickly abandoned the thought.
Being him did not seem entirely pleasant either.
Having everyone’s attention constantly focused on you.
And having to live as an upright, righteous person on top of that?
Ugh.
Just imagining it made my chest tighten.
It sounded suffocating and exhausting.
In any case, once Baek Sayoung entered the field, I set aside my idle thoughts.
The assessment was about to begin.
“……”
As everyone’s attention converged on a single person, the atmosphere became solemn.
Perhaps it was some protagonist effect, because even the breeze died away.
Just as that sudden stillness began to feel strangely heavy—
BEEP!
The signal sounded.
Baek Sayoung exploded forward at such incredible speed that an afterimage trailed behind him.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Thunderous explosions erupted from the very beginning.
The interference dummies blocking his path burst like balloons pricked by needles.
It happened too quickly for me to see exactly what he had done.
All I caught was the flash of color across the broad side of the medium-length sword in his hand, followed by explosions in every direction.
Probably Attribute Conversion.
The ultimate trait that would eventually allow him to wield various attributes freely, supported by monstrous physical ability.
All I could understand was that those innate talents were already beginning to reveal themselves.
“Wow, he actually finished the first section in under two minutes.”
“He broke Cheon Seoyoon’s intermediate record, right?”
After destroying every dummy, Baek Sayoung reached the wall faster than anyone else.
Without even pausing, he thrust his sword forward.
SHUNK.
The wall in Section Two was pierced absurdly easily.
It was like sticking a chopstick into freshly made tofu.
Baek Sayoung twisted at the waist and dragged the embedded sword diagonally downward.
SLASH—
Then he slipped through the opening he had cut.
[Lap Time: 1:48.23]
His final record appeared the instant he reached the destination.
“……”
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
“As expected of Baek Sayoung. He is on another level.”
Min Youngji’s assessment was apt as she clicked her tongue in amazement and continued writing.
“Whoever goes next is doomed.”
“I hope it is not me. The pressure would make me perform at half my usual level.”
For once, I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the murmuring students.
But there was no need for me to worry.
It was not going to be us anyway.
If events followed the original novel, the next student should be Seol Yungi, ranked second overall.
What a perfectly arranged matchup.
The class system had long since been abolished, but enthusiasts still loved comparing the two.
Baek Sayoung, the hope of ordinary people, and Seol Yungi, the rising star of a prestigious family.
A transforming sword against a blade that could cut through anything.
I was looking forward to that exciting rivalry—
-Special Scholarship Student applicant, Sorcery Arts System student Park Hayul. Beginning assessment.
Come on. Stop joking.
-Student Park Hayul?
Seriously?
***
“Was he not in the Superhuman System? Why is he suddenly in the Sorcery Arts System?”
“He is from the Origin Sorcerer Family, after all. I guess he changed Systems. Still, he is completely screwed. Going right after Baek Sayoung?”
“He said he would prove himself through ability. Looks like he got exactly what he asked for. The stage is certainly set.”
The mockery and relief that it was not them carried clearly through the monitor.
Watching Park Hayul’s distorted expression, the corners of Lee Taekjin’s mouth twisted in satisfaction.
“Professor, was it not originally Student Seol Yungi’s turn?”
“Does the order matter?”
“No, but……”
There was no need to concern himself with his assistant’s questions.
The professor had sole authority over the order of the assessment, and this was a fitting punishment for someone who had dared covet a scholarship without understanding his own place.
“Begin.”
“The settings for the ranged configuration are complete. I will start the assessment.”
Kim Miyoung rested her hand on the switch and looked to him for approval.
Lee Taekjin nodded.
BEEP—
The signal sounded, and the waiting interference dummies’ eyes flashed.
They located the participant and surged forward at once.
WHOOSH. WHOOSH.
Accounting for the characteristics of the System, there were twelve in total.
There were more than in the close-combat configuration, although their speed was lower.
“What does he think he can accomplish with the abilities of a declining family……”
Even this much, in Lee Taekjin’s opinion, would prove too difficult.
As the representative professor of the Magic System, he regarded sorcery arts as little more than antiquated Eastern imitations.
Harsh as it might sound, that was the present reality of sorcery arts.
They ran directly counter to the modern trend, where speed was valued above all else.
Unlike magic, which was based primarily on incantation, sorcery arts were activated through symbols.
Their disadvantages were especially pronounced in activation speed and complexity.
What did powerful destructive force matter?
Battles between experts were decided in a literal instant, within the span of a single utterance.
Taehak itself proved the point.
Students in the Sorcery Arts System made up barely three percent of the total student body.
The field was neglected so thoroughly that no one could object if it were abolished tomorrow.
CREAK—
Lee Taekjin clicked his tongue softly and leaned back in his chair.
He intended to watch the inadequacy of sorcery arts reveal itself soon enough.
That had been his intention, at least……
“He is smiling?”
Park Hayul, who had been engraving a formula, suddenly curled his lips into a grin.
Just as he had when extending that filthy hand yesterday.
Why?
The moment Lee Taekjin narrowed his eyes, his unease became reality.
FLASH—
The instant the sorcery art activated, Lee Taekjin shot upright in his seat.
“……!”
“W-Why did the dummies suddenly……”
Even the normally composed Kim Miyoung began stammering as she pointed toward one section of the monitor.
“Why are they not attacking?”
“……”
Just as she said, something was wrong with the dummies.
The interceptors that should have been swarming him like moths to a flame were instead wandering around aimlessly, as though they had malfunctioned.
“I-I am sorry. I will check the settings again.”
TAP TAP TAP TAP.
Assuming there was a problem with the system, Kim Miyoung frantically worked the controls.
“What is going on?”
“Should they not stop the assessment?”
The atmosphere in the waiting room was no different from the control room.
Students rose from their seats and murmured at the unexpected situation.
HFF, HFF—
Yet the person at the center of the controversy remained calmer than ever.
HOO, HOO—
Park Hayul began jogging lightly, as though running along the Han River.
***
The dummies used in this diagnostic assessment have no conventional senses. Instead, they respond exclusively to the participant’s mana. It is an upgraded model. Ha ha ha—
The memory cut straight through the situation.
The moment Lee Taekjin recalled the idiotic assessment designer’s explanation, he snapped irritably.
“Stop. It is not a system error.”
“Pardon?”
“One-Star Wind Release Art, Concealment.”
“……?”
“He used Concealment. The sorcery art erased the traces of his mana, so naturally those brainless machines have no idea what to do.”
Lee Taekjin clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked and glared at Park Hayul.
How dare he resort to a trick……
Lee Taekjin had no idea how he had discovered it, but Park Hayul had cleverly exploited both the dummies’ operating mechanism and the fact that there were no separate points awarded for destroying them.
“How long does it take the dummies to reach the participant?”
“The preset value for the ranged configuration is nine seconds.”
“So he took roughly eight seconds to engrave a One-Star sorcery art……”
His engraving speed was not bad either.
Slightly above average.
……What exactly was this boy?
TAP TAP TAP.
Meanwhile, Park Hayul was running alone toward Section Two.
To an ordinary observer, he was simply staring straight ahead and running.
Kim Miyoung, however, saw something strange.
“But why is he not using a movement-speed enhancement art? This is exactly where he could reduce his time.”
Lee Taekjin had been thinking the same thing.
There was nothing obstructing the path.
In racing terms, this was where one shifted into top gear and pushed for maximum speed.
If Park Hayul used a movement-enhancement art such as the Wind Release Art Bull Wind, he could advance more than twice as fast.
Yet his behavior remained unchanged.
HFF, HFF, HOO, HOO—
Only his rhythmic four-beat breathing came through the monitor.
It was almost as though he were mocking them……
“……Is he mocking me?”
Once the thought occurred to him, suspicion followed.
Could that reckless brat actually be putting on a demonstration in retaliation for yesterday’s so-called test?
What other reason could there be?
It was not as though he should be short on mana, yet he was behaving like this in an assessment where every second mattered.
A deep crease formed between Lee Taekjin’s brows.
RUMBLE—
An impregnable wall surged upward, blocking Park Hayul’s path.
He had reached Section Two.
Park Hayul stopped and began moving his hands, engraving another formula.
The wall was roughly fifty centimeters thick.
Its surface was also protected by Shield, a Second-Circle spell.
To break through it in a single strike, he would need at least a Two-Star sorcery art.
And among those, he would have to choose one with enough destructive power to justify the considerable difficulty of engraving it.
FZZZT.
Yet Park Hayul’s choice was unexpected.
“Flame Bullet?”
A mere One-Star Fire Release Art?
It was one of the most elementary techniques taught to beginners.
Only then did Lee Taekjin give a small, amused scoff and relax.
He knew the destructive power of sorcery arts well.
It was impossible.
Perhaps a graduating Taehak student with a highly refined Flame Bullet could manage it.
But there was no chance a Flame Bullet produced by a mere second-year student could penetrate a barrier protected by a Second-Circle Shield.
“He made a mistake. He will lose time here.”
Exactly.
He should have saved the time for the transition into Section Two.
His inexplicable overconfidence had tripped him up.
Predicting Park Hayul’s failure, Lee Taekjin raised the corners of his mouth.
Perhaps his comprehension was insufficient.
Or perhaps he had not yet learned any Two-Star sorcery arts.
Whatever the reason, if the accuracy of the formula was acceptable, he would need two shots.
If it was crude, perhaps three.
FZZZT, FZZZT.
But Park Hayul completed the formula with a more serious expression than ever.
The blazing red Thirty-Two-Stroke formula etched itself into the air.
WHOOSH—
A ball of flame shot from his hand, spinning violently as it flew toward the wall.
And at that very moment—
“P-Professor!”
“……!”
Lee Taekjin and Kim Miyoung both jerked in shock once more.
The size of the Flame Bullet.
The speed of its rotation.
Both were so flawless that it was difficult to believe they had been produced by a second-year student.