Chapter 148
“Put your desks up and your phones away. Everyone knows I’m a spatial wizard so if you can cheat, try it because if you get caught, you flunk.”
The morning of the midterm was filled with the sound of desks being spaced apart.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
For me, it was the first school test in years.
Even though I was just moving desks, I couldn’t help but smile nostalgically as the memories of those days came flooding back.
Of the three days of midterms, there were four subjects written on the blackboard today.
[Korean]
[Math]
[Morals]
[Strategy]
For Korean, math, and morals, we had test papers distributed in the classroom like other schools, but…….
The highlight of the day was the last subject.
[Strategy]
“I will come in as a supervisor during the strategy test, so when the other teachers come in, say hello to them. Oh, and by the way, if any of you……flunk out, be prepared, because this instructor will personally take you around and give you a lesson, okay?”
Before leaving the classroom, Ji-hyun said some murderous words.
The other children nodded their heads in agreement and began to look at the organizational notes they had prepared.
And as for me…….I thought about using ‘smart lenses’.
‘This is enough.’
To be honest, I felt guilty and worried about whether I should use this ability during the exam, but being able to look at the Internet in a way that others don’t know is a cheat key that is limited to days like this.
It would have been ridiculous to not use this ability.
‘It’s just a way to be faster and more efficient.’
Now, let’s get to…….
[The use of Smart Lens will be suspended for a limited time due to “Limited Trait: Start of Trials”]
“Oh, shit──”
* * *
As a result, the test was very. No, fortunately, I was able to do well.
When the smart lens was turned off, I was freaking out, but the difficulty level was easier than I thought.
The Seoul Hero Academy is not an ordinary high school, but a school for training heroes.
In fact, there’s no way that a school with such a special purpose would have the same level of difficulty as a regular high school.
As a result, I was able to get a perfect score on the test, as the questions were at the middle school level.
“Why are the questions so hard? What kind of private school are we?”
……Although the guy sitting next to me, Jin-woo, didn’t seem to think so.
We ended up taking the last subject, Strategy.
This is an important subject at the academy, so unlike other times, I could see the kids working hard to memorize the notes.
The process of taking the [Strategy] test was both difficult and simple.
One of the battles in history is recreated on a tablet at each seat, and the students use the units to fight for victory.
In other words, it was very similar to what instructor Ji-hyun showed us before. And so far, I was the top of my class in this subject.
“Okay, are you done with your screens? Is the timer up?”
The kids nodded as Ji-hyun entered the room to supervise the test.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll do fine. After all, you’re in the class where I’m the teacher in charge of the test, right?”
The children, who had correctly interpreted the words to mean, “If your grades are lower than the other classes, get ready to scramble,” all gulped and looked at the timer, which was slowly approaching zero.
“Okay, everyone get ready then.”
When the timer finally reached zero and the screen began to flip, Ji-hyun’s voice came through.
“Start.”
The black screen began to glow brightly, revealing a game-like interface.
It was a world where everything was on fire, as if I’d arrived in hell.
The first thing I do is take in my surroundings and begin to piece together information from the landscape.
The gray smoke rising relentlessly into the sky, the flames and ash spreading across the ground, and in the distance, a herd of kangaroos running hard to escape the flames.
‘This is Australia,’ I thought, ‘so is this……’Red Hell’?’
Quickly recognizing the field, I deduced the incident.
It was a hell of a question, one of the hardest in the world, even on a randomized strategy test but I thought, ‘This is easy enough to solve and could be fun.’
For me, it was nothing more than a distraction.
I quickly scroll through the interface to see the status of my currently assigned party members and four avatars appear.
Each of them had more than just a “burn” status.
One warrior, one archer, one rogue, and one cleric – a radical combination.
The monsters to face were the demonic forces on the ridge, a combination of 50 low-level imps, 30 goblins, and one mid-level demon.
‘To summarize, the field is a burning meadow so the terrain is against us and my party members are all wounded. Is this it?
It was a hopeless situation indeed but seeing that I still had plenty of time left on the tablet, I quickly began to move my fingers around and position my party members.
I placed the rogue and cleric at a distance, and the warrior and archer at the front of the demon army, in cover.
At the same time, I pressed the “Start Simulation” button, and the word “START” appeared on the screen and the demons began to move.
They head to the east where the cleric and rogue are.
I immediately ordered the rogue to carry the cleric and then ordered the cleric to heal the rogue’s leg.
-Kill the minions of the filthy god!
With the shouts of the mid-level demon, the pace of the army begins to pick up.
The enemies rush forward with great confidence, perhaps due to the overwhelming number difference of 4 vs. 81.
If someone had seen this, they would have asked how on earth they have won in a situation like this……but this was one of the more famous battles in this world, the stuff of legend.
It was a tale of heroism, of a priest who had once been a wizard, who turned the flames into his fire, and repulsed the entire enemy army.
So, if you studied hard enough, you could probably clear it with the materials you had and control it well.
‘But I wouldn’t do that.’
The problem was that if you paid attention to the characteristics of each race and the surroundings, you could get through it without anyone getting hurt.
Basically, demons hate priests with a passion.
If they see a priest in front of them, they want to tear them apart.
Therefore, I ordered my warrior and archer to cover themselves with ashes and stay down low.
As a result, only the rogue and the cleric were exposed.
The cleric poured all of his power into healing the rogue, and the rogue used his newfound strength to carry the cleric across the field, naturally breaking the enemy’s formations.
And then.
KEEEEEEEEEE!!!
While the demons were stunned by the cleric’s holy power, the warrior and archer began to advance in silence.
There was no need to worry about the mid-level demon noticing since they were taking full advantage of the field.
‘Vision limited by burning smoke. Sense of smell is obscured by the burning odor. Isn’t this the kind of battlefield you’re supposed to hide in?’
A field of sparks and ash would be a pretty daunting place to be on the run, but with a cleric trained in magic using the winds to move the smoke, the rogue path is unobstructed.
Then the ever-closer warrior and archer finally reach their backs, and slit the throat of a caught off-guard mid-level demon…….
‘The end.’
Not long after it started, I was able to end the trial without anyone getting hurt.
[Result]
[Attempts: 0]
[Seriously Injured: 0]
[Fatalities: 0]
[Time: 12 : 11]
‘Is 12 minutes that good?’
‘Probably,’ I thought, since the best I could recall for this one was definitely in the twenties.
‘In my prime, I would have gone under 10 minutes, so I must have taken a long break.’
Although I was disappointed.
‘Well, this should be good enough.’
After submitting the results, I realized that I still had a lot of time left, so I buried my head in my desk and slowly closed my eyes.
Korean high school students sleep when exams end early.
But…….
‘Why is he sleeping?’
Somehow earlier than me.
There was Jin-woo, who was sleeping on his stomach.
* * *
After the exam I was summoned to the training room by Kwak Chun-sik. It was the first time I’d had an Aura class in a long time.
“Today’s test was Strategy, wasn’t it? I heard you set a new record again.”
As I put on my Midas gloves before my lesson with Kwak Chun-sik, he smiled and asked.
“You mean the strategy class? Yeah, whatever. I got lucky.”
“What, luck?”
He looked at me in disbelief after hearing my words.
“Did you think it made sense to break a world record with luck?”
“I wouldn’t say it was a combination of luck and skill, would you?”
How can a man be so arrogant when he has such a low opinion of himself?
But Kwak Chun-sik crossed his arms and shook his head.
“An arrogant person can say that. I used to do that too.”
……Sure enough, the old man did.
“Above all, my disciple should be bragging about having accomplished such a feat, and if you’re so humble, I’ll think you’re being coy, so go ahead and brag all over the place!”
I guess that’s what he meant.
Still, the way he looked at me with such pride, I couldn’t help but smile and nod.
“By the way, I’ve heard the story from Kwangsoo. You learned his techniques this time, didn’t you?”
As I was bouncing around in place after warming up, Kwak Chun-sik asked me about the events of this weekend.
“Yes, the technique of using your hands as a furnace and a hammer. It’s a deadly technique, depending on how you use it.”
“That’s true, it’s better to break something hard than to cut it.”
With that, he casually focused the aura with his hand, demonstrating the technique before my eyes.
“It must have felt like this.”
It was obviously a technique that Yoon Kwangsoo had never shown Kwak Chun-sik until he taught it to me, but in an instant, it was perfectly reproduced in his hands.
“It’s definitely a good technique, and when you become enlightened while using aura, it can develop into something good like this.”
Then a question popped into my head.
“So, why don’t you use……?”
“What? Oh, you mean this?”
For some reason, I never saw him use it in the game, despite how easily he was able to deploy it now.
I think it’s a useful skill to have so I wondered why he didn’t use it more often.
Kwak Chun-sik smiles and approaches me.
“Do you remember what I said just now?”
“Yes? It’s definitely better to break something hard than to cut it…….”
“Eugene.”
His hand is on my shoulder.
“There is nothing I cannot break with my aura, so why bother?”
It was a very arrogant and confident statement, the kind that comes with being the pinnacle of a field.
“And you, too, will not need to use it in the coming exams.”
For some reason, Kwak Chun-sik seemed cooler than usual as he spoke.
“……Is it because you’re going to teach me a new technique?
“What do you think, does this master look a bit cool, huh?”
Hmm. I guess so.
