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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Ah, seriously. My mood is ruined.”
“You dislike her that much?”
As soon as we all found a table at a cafe to start planning our summer vacation in earnest, a complaint burst from Ha-ni’s mouth.
“Well, do you like her? She’s a bitch.”
Normally, she would have just let it go, but seeing her keep showing her displeasure, it seemed like she was really quite upset this time.
“Still, wasn’t that last part a little funny? She ran away with her face all red.”
“That’s true. Pfft, now that I think about it, it is funny. Ah, she came all fired up, but she couldn’t even meet the person herself.”
On the other hand, unlike Ha-ni, Ga-eul acted as if something was bothering her.
“…At first, she’s hostile, then she quickly switches to another guy, and she even tries to evoke sympathy? But unlike me, she has drill hair, her speech is weird, and she’s even a platinum blonde. Isn’t this a completely superior version…?”
…What kind of strange worries was she having?
It’s okay, Ga-eul. At least she didn’t sit on my desk. The image of a butt doesn’t overlap.
“Ah, anyway, I really hate her.”
“I guess she is a bit unlikable. It’s unsightly for her to switch right after losing to me.”
For a moment, Lilac and I flinched at Yoo-na’s words.
It might look that way to others, but Lilac and I thought that the reason she suddenly changed target was far from that.
“You shouldn’t pay attention to such a fickle girl either.”
The arrow was suddenly turned on me.
“I have no intention to do so.”
“But it’s a bit strange. If she’s just going by looks, why doesn’t she cling to Yoo-hak?”
Joo-ri suddenly muttered that, as if in wonder.
Well, the reason was probably that I had suppressed the demonic energy that was about to run wild within her because she couldn’t overcome her old feelings that day, but it seemed a bit too much for that to be the only reason.
Come to think of it, just looking at how she skipped Cheon Yoo-hak and went straight to Lilac, it was clear that she didn’t choose based on looks alone.
If Lilac had a warm and friendly atmosphere, Cheon Yoo-hak had a slender but at the same time masculine, sculpted handsome style.
If she were to like someone just based on looks, it would be right to test the waters with Cheon Yoo-hak as well.
Even if she judged competence based on grades, Cheon Yoo-hak wasn’t particularly inferior to Lilac.
Then I had to assume that there was something Lilac had that Cheon Yoo-hak didn’t…
…The Holy Sword?
Lilac’s talent. And demonic energy…
It felt like the pieces were coming together one by one in my head.
A rough picture was being drawn, but I couldn’t derive a precise answer yet because of the small gaps in the information.
In the first place, when I met her before I regressed, she was already a considerably strange bitch.
Though it seemed like there was something there.
-Captain, you’re a fool. A fool who is the only one who doesn’t know what everyone else knows.
…If you were going to be hateful, you should have just stayed hateful. Why did I have to get attached?
“Ah, let’s stop now. Let’s just finish our summer plans instead of being gloomy like this, okay!?”
It was nice to see everyone agreeing with Ga-eul’s words, but had these guys forgotten that there was one event left before summer vacation?
“Guys, I hate to pour cold water on you when the atmosphere is so lively, but aren’t you going to prepare for the final exams?”
“Hmm? Is there anything else to prepare for? Won’t it be similar to the midterm exams?”
Lilac spoke for the group, but the atmosphere was one of agreement.
“Hey, unlike the midterms, we have to take the comprehensive evaluation. Aren’t you guys going to prepare?”
“Ah, I see what you mean. That’s ultimately decided by how well you’ve usually done, right?”
“The type of exam changes every year anyway, so what’s going to change if we start worrying about it now?”
“Hehe, all you have to do is not fail the exam. So-hyun, you’re being a bit of a loser here after such a long time!”
“It’s going to be a solo play exam anyway, so what’s the point of putting in effort now?”
That was Lilac, Cheon Yoo-hak, Ga-eul, and Yoo-na in that order, and as expected. Except for Ga-eul, this was the confidence of the top-ranked students.
But if you guys keep being careless like this, you’re going to get a big surprise later on. Even before I regressed, the professors had prepared a tough final exam because the level of the first-years this time was high.
Maybe because the incidents that had occurred were lighter than before, it might have become a little more lenient, but it still wouldn’t be a complete playground.
It was also meant to discipline the first-years, who were starting to get lax with the vacation just around the corner, and at the same time, it was the point where they started full-scale training to become heroes.
In the original work and in my life before I regressed, the content of the final comprehensive evaluation was the same.
A fluid exam that pretends to be an individual competition at the start, but it actually requires team play.
“Still, that’s true. It would be good to decide which of us is superior this time.”
“Should the winner buy drinks?”
“Hey, Lilac. If you’re going to buy something, why just drinks? Let’s bet on something big.”
It was good that they were burning with competitive spirit, but they would probably suffer if they didn’t cooperate obediently.
The event that comes to mind when you think of an academy story’s final exams was…
Deserted island survival.
Ah, of course, it wasn’t actually a deserted island, but anyway, a survival game on a pseudo-deserted island was waiting for us.
But now, with a villain who hunts heroes added to the mix.
Suddenly, a memory from before I regressed came to my mind.
The professors hunted the cadets while acting as ruthless villains.
I tried to end it quickly because it was annoying, but I got caught by Lilac and was forcefully dragged around by him.
Thinking about it now, it was all a memory.
But I didn’t want to experience it again.
It was fucking traumatizing.
With summer vacation just around the corner, it seemed like I would be able to spend the little bit of the first semester left without a moment of boredom.
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“No, this is ridiculous! It’s unfair! Why can’t I!?”
Arcadia’s Sky Island.
A man was desperately protesting, as if he really couldn’t believe it.
The Fighting Demon, Seo Tae-ho.
He was greatly dissatisfied with the fact that he alone was excluded from this mission.
“…That’s why I asked who told you to commit terror with your face revealed? There were witnesses, so it can’t be helped.”
“That’s right, you idiot. This time, it’s a mission we received from the hero’s side, not as a villain, so you can’t participate.”
The reason he couldn’t participate in this mission was simple.
Because he had exposed his face in the last operation and left a witness alive, he could no longer use his cover identity.
Well, it wasn’t impossible to change his face if he was determined, but creating a cover identity wasn’t something that could be done so quickly, so Callea decided to exclude him from this mission while thinking that it would be a good punishment for him, who hadn’t bothered to cover his face while saying it was annoying.
“Captain. Please, just reconsider once. No, please. Ah, if it’s the Academy, how many interesting guys would there be! And they even said that we can test them as much as we want this time!?”
Callea looked at him while swallowing the words ‘That’s why I’m even more reluctant to take you with us’ in her heart.
“That’s why I told you to properly wear a perception-distorting artifact or a mask. In the hope that you’ll learn to be more careful in the future, there’ll be no reversal.”
“It usually isn’t a problem!”
“Rather, there usually was a problem, but the other members worked hard to take care of it, and most of the time, all the witnesses were villains, so we just wiped them all out before leaving.”
“Ah, shit. Just listen to the captain! You’re on house-sitting duty this time! The captain and I are going on a date.”
“…Cho-hong, I don’t think that’s right either, though? We’re going to work.”
“It’s un-fa-ir!”
“Ah, shut up…!”
‘…Was this really an orphanage? Was I not the boss of a villain union, but was actually an orphanage director?’
Callea missed and at the same time resented the old man who had disappeared after passing on the role of leader to her while saying that she was the only one who could be entrusted with this place.
“The Academy.”
Callea thought of the boy who held the fragment of omnipotence that shared a grain with her talent.
He was an interesting boy in many ways.
The way he put on a mask and acted with a bluff was impressive, and the story he brought up about collaborating was also quite interesting.
It was also surprising that he had been acknowledged by Tae-ho, whether he had hidden his strength or had really become stronger in that short time.
The mission she received this time…
In the boring mission of participating in the academy’s final comprehensive evaluation as external personnel, he seemed like he would be a good stimulus.
“I! Want! To! Go! Too!”
“…Seriously, please be quiet.”
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If there were no incidents, time passed quickly.
I trained with the professor in the morning, spent the day at the academy, and sent a clone when the kids wanted to hang out.
As I spent each day the same as usual, the day of the comprehensive evaluation arrived before I knew it.
It would be nice if there was the romance of traveling by boat, but unfortunately, in a world with portals, such romance was a luxury as it seemed like the travel was done through a portal.
The professor in charge was explaining quite diligently, but honestly, no one was listening properly, so I felt a bit sorry for him.
I should at least listen carefully.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard the basic explanation, but this is for safety, so I’ll explain it once more.”
…Wow, but it was a bit much that his voice alone made me sleepy. Why did a person like him have to make the announcement? I’d have to give the kids a pass even if they dozed off.
“As previously announced, the exam will be held for a total of 3 days. You should be able to see the 10 portals in front of you. If you use the said portals, you’ll be moved to a random location within the exam area, and after that, you can earn points by competing with other cadets or completing the missions in the bags we distributed.”
Come to think of it, what was I doing here before I regressed?
“To take another cadet’s points, you just have to take the bracelet they’re wearing and bring it close to your own. Also, be aware that there are special NPC-like individuals on the island besides the cadets. If you get lost or lose consciousness, your bracelet can be removed so you can be rescued immediately, so don’t worry.”
Ah, right. I dozed off while saying it was all stuff I knew and was fucking annoying.
But even looking at it now, the explanation was really malicious. No, if he explained things in this way, the kids would naturally think that the NPCs were friendly.
Would they even imagine that the people who were supposed to rescue them would also be the ones creating the targets for rescue?
“Alright then, I think the basic explanation is over, so we’ll start the exam! Enter one of the portals in the order you’re called!”
There were guys who entered with confident faces, and there were guys who hesitated, but the ones who hesitated were kindly and forcibly pushed into the portal by the professors, so there wasn’t much of a delay.
“Next!”
Ah, it was my turn.
I didn’t want to be a nuisance, and it was a place I roughly knew anyway, so I passed through a portal lightly.
Before I regressed, I fell into a forest and it was a bit inconvenient.
The sensation of my vision inverting and my location changing was a bit unpleasant.
“Oh.”
The first thing that came into view was an endlessly stretching forest.
“Of course…”
No, well, let’s just think of this as a good thing.
It might be better to just suck on some honey and watch at first, rather than be targeted in a wide-open place.
First, should I just lightly look through my backpack and set up a base camp?
Thinking so, I opened the bag.
Inside were a small amount of emergency food that couldn’t possibly be considered enough to survive for three days, and a note with a mission written on it.
As well as an emergency flare and a lighter.
The moment I tried to check the mission, I heard a rustling sound, so I quickly packed my bag and turned in the direction of the sound.
“Huh!?”
I hoped it would be one of the kids, but unfortunately, judging by the unfamiliar faces, it seemed like they were cadets from another class.
They were probably the ones who went in before me.
“Hmm, hello friends? The exam just started, so how about we cheer each other on and then go our separate ways? I think it’s a good idea. Aja aja! Fighting!”
I was a kind person, so I tried to give those friends a chance.
I had no intention of hunting on the first day, and in the first place, it was more dangerous to earn a lot of points on the first day.
However, as always, they ignored my goodwill.
“Wow, did you guys plan this? How did you three team up already?”
Even the balance was good.
One swordsman, one archer, and the last one seemed to be a rear support class as they were keeping their distance.
“We happened to fall nearby and decided to form an alliance.”
“…Hey, then you should have proposed an alliance with me instead of being hostile. Why are you all ostracizing me?”
“If we have a team of four, when are we going to earn points by hunting others one by one?”
No? Even four wouldn’t be enough. It would be ideal if everyone cooperated.
Well, how would these guys know that though?
I was generous, so I would try to persuade them one more time.
“Let’s not do this…”
With a ping, an arrow grazed past me.
“Ah! I missed!”
…I dodged it, you bastard. You aimed for my head without even hesitating?
The safety device was active, but it still felt dirty.
“Right, what’s the point of persuasion? The survivors will all be on their guard by tomorrow anyway.”
Let’s see…
I transformed Ruyi into a short sword and held it in my hand.
It wasn’t impossible to take care of them all at once, but ‘Grow’ was too conspicuous, right?
“If it’s a close-range swordsman, we can easily subdue him if we just maintain our distance! Everyone, maintain formation!”
Right, it wasn’t a bad judgment…
…If the level gap wasn’t too large, that is.
“Huh?”
There was no need to use Enhancement here, but I still cut off my innate qi and wrapped it around my body to finish this for sure without being careless.
The sword was swung, and a black flower bloomed.
I’m not at a level where I have to grovel to you guys anymore.
It was a colorful, if not brilliant, start to the exam.
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T/N – Oh, an island survival exam. How fun! And Arcadia is entering the mix too, though too bad about the Fighting Demon. I would have wanted to see a rematch with him vs the MC (still mad about that blue ball).
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Another cinema arc incoming