—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In FD, the troll had a total of five attack patterns.
“Uooooooh!”
“Yes, I get what you’re trying to do, so could you speak a little quieter?”
Bang!
The first pattern was ‘Root Strike,’ where it roared and slammed its tree root down with tremendous force.
This attack was easy to dodge, but a careless mistake could turn anyone into a pancake.
“Suuuuuuuuuck!”
“Ah, don’t do that.”
Guooooooooooooh!
The second pattern was ‘Shouting,’ where it inhaled air to the limit and unleashed a deafening roar.
This was more dangerous than Root Strike because it could burst eardrums and throw off balance.
For Lee Seok-Hyun, who couldn’t use mana for a quick recovery, this was the most perilous pattern.
“Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!”
“Yes, yes, don’t get angry, be good.”
Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang!
Successfully dodging Root Strike and Shouting would enrage the troll, leading to the third pattern, ‘Ground Leveling.’
Watching a creature as tall as a five-story building stomping around with excitement to squash a single person was quite the spectacle.
This pattern was easy to dodge, and by using spider silk to position himself at a high point, it was a relatively easy break.
“Kuaaaaaaah!!!”
“Ah, it’s throwing things again, this crazy bastard.”
If one avoided the first three patterns, the troll, now fully enraged, would resort to ‘Tree Rocket’ as its fourth attack.
Swoooosh – Bang!
The troll would hurl its tree root at a distance, and even if one dodged the root, the fragments could still cause harm.
Occasionally, it would throw embedded rocks with deadly accuracy.
“Uuuaoaaa!!!”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Lee Seok-Hyun pulled the spider silk wrapped around the troll’s neck to quickly close the gap.
Since a troll’s skin couldn’t be pierced by ordinary weapons or spider silk, it seemed nearly invincible.
He leaped from the troll’s neck to its eye area in one breath and thrust his fist into the soft eye.
“Kuooouaoaaaa!!!”
“That’s…one.”
A troll wasn’t an invincible monster; it could die if its brain was destroyed, heart shattered, or head severed.
In other words, there were parts that couldn’t regenerate, and the eyes were among them.
“Kuooooo!”
Evading the troll’s pained attempts to crush its face, he descended back to its neck.
Since spider silk couldn’t cut through the troll’s skin, he used it to maneuver around its body.
Wrapping spider silk around its neck, shoulders, and waist, he used the lines for mobility and restraint.
“Hah…! One more time.”
Repeating the action to gouge out the troll’s eyes, its skin began to turn red.
‘This is the last pattern.’
When its health fell below a certain level, the troll would enter ‘Berserk Mode,’ turning its entire body red and attacking recklessly.
However,
‘What are you going to look at without eyes?’
The loss of sight was a fatal blow.
The troll could no longer use Tree Rocket or Root Strike and could only shout and stomp its feet.
“Kueuaaaaaaa!!!”
“Ah, shut up already!”
Even in Berserk Mode, the troll’s ineffective thrashing made it easier for Lee Seok-Hyun to hold on tightly to the spider silk.
With the troll thrashing wildly, he had to cling tightly to avoid falling.
If he fell, he would be trampled to death before he could climb back up.
“Uo! Uo! Uoooo!”
“Yes, you’re tired now.”
As the troll’s Berserk Mode wound down, its skin returned to its original color, and it caught its breath.
This very moment was,
‘The moment I’ve been waiting for.’
Using the spider silk wrapped around its neck, he dove into the troll’s eye socket.
The troll’s toughness was only skin-deep; its internal organs were vulnerable.
“Kugok…! Uk…!”
He moved swiftly through the eye socket, reaching the brain.
Ssssuk – Crack.
Without hesitation, he shattered the brain and felt gravity as if on a gyro drop.
Realizing the massive body was falling, he exited the troll and threw spider silk at a nearby tree.
Thud!
He landed safely just before the troll’s body crashed down.
Reviewing the situation,
‘It would have been better to shatter the brain before Berserk Mode… but then it might have gone berserk and reached for me.’
Shattering the brain after Berserk Mode ended was the safest approach.
If done earlier, the troll might have attempted to crush him, risking his life.
“Whew…huh?”
As he was about to catch his breath after the troll battle, Lee Seok-Hyun was startled by the looming shadow that cast itself over him.
If the troll was known as the tyrant of the forest, the creature before him now was the king of the forest, also known as the demon king.
“Kuoooooooo!”
An ogre.
To think such a formidable monster would appear right after defeating the troll.
‘The troll was the limit of what I could handle by chance.’
An ogre was beyond his reach. Defeating it with just physical abilities and spider silk was out of the question.
‘This is the end.’
Realizing the practical exam was reaching its end, he slowly stood up.
“Still, I can give it my all.”
If you don’t have teeth, use your gums.
Even if I have to trade bone for flesh.
He charged at the ogre, determined to inflict as much damage as possible before the inevitable.
About 30 minutes later…
Practical exam terminated.
You will be ejected from the exam hall.
And so, the practical exam came to an end.
“…?”
After being ejected from the exam hall, Lee Seok-Hyun emerged, only to be surprised by the sight before him.
‘Everyone is still inside the doors?’
The entrance doors to the practical exam, which disappeared the moment one exited, were still filled with hundreds of students.
It was astonishing to see so many attempting to tackle an ogre solo.
‘Is the academy level too high this time? It seems like I came out first.’
Confused by the unexpected result, he followed the signs and exited the academy, left with nothing to do but wait for the results.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Oh? The first dropout has appeared.”
“Not a dropout. They just finished the exam early.”
“Ah, right. Since they came out first, I got a bit…confused.”
The two students who volunteered as entrance exam assistants were relieved to have some action during their boring shift.
“Professor Gainad, can we check the results of the student who came out first?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Thank you!”
This was part of the charm of their job.
While they couldn’t see the theory exam answer sheets, they had permission to check the practical exam results.
“If they came out now, they must have defeated an orc, right?”
“I don’t know, I think it might be around the werewolf level.”
“Want to bet?”
“How about a week’s worth of Mirinae Special Deluxe Burgers?”
“Deal.”
The Mirinae Special Deluxe Burger was incredibly popular, always in short supply, with students lining up to get a taste.
Betting a week’s worth was akin to a major wager.
Excited to make such a bet, the two rushed to check the results.
“Pro-Professor Gainad?”
“I… I think you need to come here.”
“Alright.”
They had to call the supervisor in astonishment.
At the same time,
“Gainad! Gainad! I told you to carefully observe and inform me if anyone solved the first page problems!”
Professor Lee Hwa-ryeong, with her fiery hair flying, called out to Gainad from afar.
“You only told me to observe carefully. I did as instructed.”
“What? You’re saying that even after seeing this?”
Flap flap.
Lee Hwa-ryeong threw the exam paper at Gainad’s face as she reached him.
The paper was filled with densely written answers and marked with five circles.
“Right now! Tell me where this Lee Seok-Hyun is! I need to discuss something separately.”
“He…he’s here.”
The students near the door where Lee Seok-Hyun had taken the exam answered nervously.
The tension was palpable.
“What? Oh? Ah, right, it’s you guys. Is it there?”
“Yes, but…he just left.”
“Left? He finished the practical exam already?”
“Ye-yes, so we thought it was odd and were going to ask Professor Gainad to confirm…”
“Go that way.”
Lee Hwa-ryeong and Gainad moved towards the door where Lee Seok-Hyun had taken the exam.
The two students, feeling the weight of the situation, quickly moved away to avoid the intensity of the moment.
“What’s strange? Hurry and check.”
Lee Hwa-ryeong urged Gainad, who didn’t have supervisory authority for that space.
Gainad, despite her urgency, silently reviewed the results and was astonished.
“…Lee Hwa-ryeong, it seems I won’t be the only one eyeing this.”
“I spotted him first, so he’s absolutely mine. Cross the line, and I’ll really kill you.”
While other students struggled with orc parties, Lee Seok-Hyun had conquered a troll and nearly defeated an ogre with astounding speed.
His results were nothing short of extraordinary.
“…”
Gainad’s eyes mirrored the intense desire for talent that Lee Hwa-ryeong displayed.
It was as if they had found a true gem among the rough.
“Lee Seok-Hyun.”
“…Lee Seok-Hyun.”
Both Gainad and Lee Hwa-ryeong uttered his name, staring intently at the exit he had left.
The impact of Lee Seok-Hyun’s results on the entrance exam was profound.
“Achoo! Is someone talking about me?”
Only the subject himself was unaware of the stir he had caused.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Shio here~!
Seems like Seok-Hyun’s expectations of the student’s abilities are wayyyy higher than they should be.]
Naturally his expectations are high. He’s estimating their ability based on how they’d do if he had specs the same as theirs lol
Maybe he was playing on hard mode all this time and didn’t realize it, it seems it took him years to realize the character he picked was the worst