I Became an Illegal Cheat User – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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A hologram appeared above the smartwatch.

It was an exam guide, but I already knew the contents.

Still, I checked to see if there were any differences from the game.

There were no changes.

‘Should I hurry and move?’

I dismissed the hologram and looked around.

Although we were randomly transported to somewhere in the maze, there were quite a few examinees nearby due to the large number of examinees.

I needed to move while they were checking the exam contents.

That’s because…

“Use any means or methods?”

“…That’s right.”

Some examinees were looking at nearby examinees with unusual eyes.

‘There are those kinds of guys.’

Those who fight where there’s no need to fight.

So I had to get away from the place before fighting with those guys.

Step step.

As if I wasn’t the only one who thought that, several examinees were already moving deeper into the maze.

Seeing them, I also quickly left the place.

And as I entered one of the paths of the maze…

Whoosh!

My surroundings changed.

I was transported to a different location.

‘It’s too twisted.’

It was already difficult to find the exit in the maze, but teleportation magic circles were hidden throughout the maze from the entrance.

I understood their intent to make it difficult for examinees to easily find the exit, but it seemed a bit excessive.

Anyone who was not sensitive to mana would inevitably fall victim to it.

Just like me.

Well, what can a commoner do?

A commoner should use ‘wisdom’ to solve it.

With that thought, I opened my inventory.

And from inside, I took out a small glass bottle containing a glowing blue bug.

Among the three exams, this was the preparation item I will use for this exam.

The identity of the item was ‘Manastone Beetle’.

As the name suggests, it’s a bug that eats manastones, and this will help me pass this exam.

“Please take care of me.”

As I said that and shook the glass bottle, the Manastone Beetle, which was fast asleep, began to move.

Wee-eeng.

The beetle’s head looked around.

Then, it fixed its head in one direction and cried out.

“It’s over there?”

Manastone Beetles were incredibly good at finding the magical power emitted by ‘manastones’.

The stronger the magical power of the manastone, the better they find it.

Why am I explaining this?

It’s because the power that moves this maze I’m standing in right now is a manastone.

And that manastone is located at the exit of the maze.

I walked in the direction the Manastone Beetle’s head was facing.

There are many paths, but perhaps because there are no traps, I don’t feel tense.

I occasionally encountered other examinees, but…

“Let’s each go our own way?”

“Sure. We’re just trying to find the exit, so it’s a bit awkward to fight.”

We looked at each other and then went our separate ways.

As I repeated those boring steps following the Manastone Beetle’s lead…

Ding.

I escaped the maze.

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“Wow, there are a lot of talented kids among this year’s examinees.”

“I know, right? They say kids these days are the golden generation, and it’s not a lie.”

“Although there are many talented students currently enrolled, there are so many geniuses among this year’s examinees. The title of the golden class will go to the examinees who will enroll this time.”

“That’s probably the case.”

The instructors who were watching the examinees through the screen that clearly showed the maze were having a friendly conversation.

The topic was the skills of the examinees who would enroll this time.

Whenever an examinee with outstanding skills appeared, they were finding out who that examinee was and who their parents were.

Two instructors were looking at one monitor and expressing their admiration.

“That examinee… has a Manastone Beetle?”

The female instructor with blue hair said in amazement, looking at the examinee Lee Yu-jin, who was walking through the maze using a Manastone Beetle.

At those words, the male instructor with a long scar from his forehead to his right cheek stroked his chin with interest.

“He’s smart. To think of using a Manastone Beetle to escape the maze, this kind of method is something only high-level heroes know.”

“Could he be the child of a high-level hero?”

The male instructor chuckled at the female instructor’s question.

“Maybe. But we don’t need to know that. Whether they are the child of a famous person or an orphan without parents, they are all the same students at this academy.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The female instructor agreed with the male instructor’s words.

As he said, there was no need to know the backgrounds of the examinees.

Even if they were revered outside for their background, it was all useless within the academy.

Arena Academy only looked at two things.

Skills and heroic spirit.

Having outstanding skills surpassing anyone else.

And having the will to protect people from evil.

They don’t care about anything other than those two.

Because that was the will of ‘Martial God’, Baek Yu-hwa’, who established Arena Academy.

Ding.

[Examinee ‘Lee Yu-jin’ passed the maze in ‘5th’ place.]

“He’s lucky too.”

Not only was it surprising that he had a Manastone Beetle, but it was also surprising that he didn’t fight at all.

Perhaps because the exam content stated ‘Do not hesitate to use any means or methods’, fights between examinees were happening in many of the screens the instructors were watching.

They were doing it to eliminate their competitors.

But the examinee named Lee Yu-jin passed the maze without a single fight.

Without showing his skills even once.

“Having a Manastone Beetle is a skill in itself, but…”

It was just good preparation, and it was ambiguous to call it a skill.

Still, in the third exam, he would have no choice but to show his skills.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

What will that examinee show?

Anticipation filled the eyes of the two instructors.

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As I entered the exit of the maze, a teleportation magic circle welcomed me like at the entrance.

After blinking once, I was back in the auditorium before moving to the maze.

‘I’m in 5th place…’

It was within the expected range, but it was a bit early?

The range I expected was between 4th and 10th place.

Among them, I thought I would be around 8th place.

That’s because the talents and skills of the main characters are so outstanding.

And even if they weren’t main characters, there were supporting characters who were as special as the main characters…

Me being in 5th place.

Was I lucky this time?

‘Come to think of it, there were no fights.’

Because every time I encountered an examinee, we just looked at each other and went our own way.

‘The kids here…’

The descendant of the Knight King, Arthur Pendragon.

The daughter of the Sword Star Lee Jung-baek, Lee Seo-yeon.

The successor of the Twin Sword Dragon Shuhei Kento, Shuhei Asuka.

The son of the Great Saint Gloria, Noah.

They were all main characters…

‘…Why are they looking at me?’

All four of them, two males and two females, were looking at me.

Arthur Pendragon with curiosity.

Lee Seo-yeon with an expressionless face, not knowing what she was thinking.

Asuka with a beaming smile as if it was fun.

Noah with an air of wonder.

Feeling awkward under the gazes of the four, I scratched my cheek and sat on a nearby chair.

And I just closed my eyes with my arms crossed.

It was partly to avoid making eye contact with Arthur’s Fairy Eye, but it was also because their gazes were burdensome.

As I tried to ignore the attention, after a while, I felt the gazes that were piercing me disappear.

Like that, I spent time with my eyes closed, thinking about the next exam.

Murmur murmur.

The surroundings had become noisy at some point.

So when I opened my eyes again, I could see that the auditorium, which had been deserted, was now crowded.

– The second exam will begin in 30 minutes, so please refrain from going outside the academy.

The PA system was heard.

“Those who are injured, please come this way!”

Healers wearing doctor’s gowns were shouting from one side of the auditorium.

Many examinees were receiving treatment there.

Some examinees had minor injuries.

Some examinees had major injuries.

They were probably all failures.

Every single one of them had dark expressions.

They probably failed to find the exit in time or passed out while fighting and exceeded 10 minutes.

Still, there were many people remaining.

Roughly estimating with my eyes, there seemed to be about two thousand people.

‘Since a thousand people failed in the first exam.’

About one thousand five hundred people will probably fail in the second exam.

Because the total number of examinees admitted is only 300.

Why do people massively fail in the second exam, the ‘Courage Exam’?

Actually, if we consider ease, the second exam is easier than the first exam.

But the reason people fail in the second exam is…

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Because you have to overcome what you fear.

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