“……”
Red eyes glanced up at me, then quietly looked away.
Although Hong Yeon-hwa squirmed in embarrassment, she kept her head resting on my lap.
I guess she wasn’t ready to get up just yet.
From my perspective, whether someone was sleeping next to me or using my lap as a pillow, it didn’t make much difference. I was just Kim Ho the pillow either way.
So I let it be and spoke to Seo Ye-in and Song Cheon-hye.
“Same rules. No other skills, just three minutes with the toy hammers.”
“Okay.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll count to three. One, two… three!”
Unlike Song Cheon-hye, who dashed forward immediately, Seo Ye-in simply stood there, blankly watching her opponent approach.
The distance between them closed in an instant, and both toy hammers swung at the same time.
Boing!
But only Song Cheon-hye got hit.
Surprised by the unexpected outcome, her eyes widened slightly. Then, with renewed determination, she stepped forward again.
“……”
Seo Ye-in leaned and twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the incoming attacks.
Then, timing it perfectly as her opponent pulled her hammer back, she thrust her own forward like a bolt of lightning.
Boing!
Watching this, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a quiet exclamation.
“Wow…”
She had always seen them spar, but because they belonged to different classes, it had been hard to gauge their actual skill levels.
But now that they were using the same weapon under simple rules, the difference was clear.
Boing! Boing boing!
It was obvious to anyone. Seo Ye-in had the upper hand.
Even though her dodges weren’t perfect and she took one or two hits, she landed more than twice as many in return.
It seemed that Song Cheon-hye hadn’t expected to be overwhelmed like this. Her face clearly showed her confusion.
On the other hand, I had expected this outcome from the start.
She’s just put in way more time.
While I’ve only been sparring with Song Cheon-hye for barely over a month, I’ve been training with Seo Ye-in on and off since the beginning of the semester.
To be blunt, there’s also a noticeable gap in talent.
To borrow the old saying “there’s always someone better”, Song Cheon-hye may count as someone who can fly.
But Seo Ye-in, the genius sloth, rides a space shuttle.
Because of that, at least in close combat, there was just no way she could lose.
Getting pounded for three minutes straight, even Song Cheon-hye seemed to realize that.
“…I lost. Good match.”
“Good match.”
Seo Ye-in returned the polite farewell and trudged back toward me.
Then she looked down at Hong Yeon-hwa.
“Return the pillow.”
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa slowly backed away from my lap, sneaking glances at me.
The Kim Ho pillow rental had lasted a mere three minutes.
Seo Ye-in moved to reclaim the vacant spot, but her attempt failed as I abruptly stood up.
I looked at the three of them and asked,
“Anyone want to go again? Rematch is fine too.”
At that, Song Cheon-hye and Hong Yeon-hwa exchanged a quick glance then declined in unison.
“I’m good.”
“Me too… I’m fine.”
Well, you do need at least a somewhat friendly relationship to improve through sparring.
And going up against Seo Ye-in would only mean getting crushed.
Then, Hong Yeon-hwa gave the door a quick glance.
“Well… I’ll be off then. Gotta get back to my research.”
As part of her hardship quest, she was developing a new spell.
Though she’d made considerable progress, it still wasn’t polished enough for real combat, so she hadn’t used it in duels.
Still, it was only a matter of time before she finished it.
I nodded lightly.
“Alright, keep at it.”
“…Oh, and Unnie said she got ‘that thing’.”
If it’s what Hong Yeon-hwa calls “that thing”, it’s almost certainly the Book of Chaos.
“That was quick. It’s not urgent, though.”
“She just said no one’s using it right now…”
“Well, that works out. I’ll message you later.”
“Okay…!”
I waved at Hong Yeon-hwa as she exited the training room.
Watching her go, Song Cheon-hye gave me a very suspicious look and asked,
“What’s ‘that thing’?”
“It’s just… a thing.”
The Book of Chaos is a strictly prohibited item.
If word got out that we had it, the Disciplinary Committee might raid the Ruby Tower.
Mentioning that we planned to use it for unauthorized content would be even worse.
As I kept dodging the question, Song Cheon-hye grumbled,
“What is it, seriously? You guys always talk like it’s some secret code only you know.”
“Everyone has a few secrets. We’ve got some, too. Like, for example—”
“Ack—don’t! Why are you giving examples? She’s listening!”
She quickly cut me off.
After all, it would be bad if Seo Ye-in found out about the wish ticket.
Even though, ironically, she lay sprawled on the floor looking completely uninterested.
I shrugged.
“See? You’ve got secrets too.”
“…Fine. I’ll just stop asking.”
Song Cheon-hye backed down, though her expression made it clear she hadn’t completely let go of her suspicions.
To change the subject, I picked up a toy hammer.
“Let’s get back to training.”
“…Alright, then.”
Song Cheon-hye returned to a serious mindset and took her position across from me.
Soon, the training room was filled with the sounds of toy hammers hitting their mark, electric sparks crackling, and the rumble of thunder.
***
After investing the rest of the weekend into nonstop sparring, both Song Cheon-hye and I achieved noticeable results.
[The rank of ‘Wind Force’ has increased. (B+ → A+)]
[The rank of ‘Blink’ has increased. (C → B)]
▷ Cooldown time reduced from 2 minutes → 1 minute 20 seconds
While Wind Force had always been one of my go-to spells, what surprised me was how quickly Blink was leveling up.
That was probably because it’s a spell that’s heavily influenced by how skillfully it’s used.
I planned to steadily raise the rank of my other skills and traits as well.
And so, the weekend passed, and Monday arrived.
While I was eating breakfast with Seo Ye-in, a message came in from the academic office.
Stripping away all the unnecessary formalities, the gist of it was this:
– This week’s Strategy Battle class will be held in a separate location.
The message included a location link at the bottom.
Seo Ye-in seemed to have gotten the same notification. She tilted her head as she read it, then looked at me as if to ask, “What’s this about?”
“……?”
“You’ve racked up quite a bit of score by now.”
Every week during Strategy Battles, we had cleared dungeons with high completion rates, and we’d also ranked near the top in both the midterms and finals.
Thanks to that, our total points were now nearing 25,000.
Seo Ye-in had been with me for every week except for the [Random Match] weeks, so her score should be about the same.
Most of the top-ranking students should have passed 20,000 points by now.
I pointed at the announcement.
“They’re probably calling us out for a special class.”
“Special class?”
“We’ll see when we get there.”
They’ll explain everything there, so there’s no need to waste our breath beforehand.
Seo Ye-in was still staring at the message with a puzzled look.
Just then, an annoyingly cheerful voice rang out from somewhere.
“Well, well! Good morning to you all!”
It was Shin Byeong-cheol, the future tea shop owner.
He raised an eyebrow as he saw Seo Ye-in reading the message.
“Something come in?”
“Looks like you didn’t get it.”
“Me? I… didn’t get anything?”
Just in case, he checked his messages. But as expected, nothing.
If my guess was right, his score was probably in the low 10,000s, so there was no way he’d received it.
I let out a sigh with a conflicted expression.
“Mr. Shin Byeong-cheol, it seems you won’t be joining us. Truly unfortunate.”
“Hey now, at least tell me what it’s about.”
“Let’s just say…maybe next time.”
Seo Ye-in added a short remark.
“Rejected.”
***
After coldly turning away the rejected tea shop owner, we headed for the “separate location” mentioned in the announcement.
When we arrived, we found it was a classroom that wasn’t usually in use.
A few students were already seated, and just as expected, they were all top-tier performers.
Jo Byeok, Geum Jo-han, and Song Cheon-hye from the disciplinary committee.
I also spotted Lee Seul-bi, who had faced me in a recent one-on-one match.
Sitting on one side, Lee Sung-hyun gave a small nod in greeting, and Park Na-ri was, as always, getting beaten up by Beom and Cham.
After exchanging greetings with a few familiar faces, we found a decent spot and sat down.
Before long, Go Hyeon-woo, Han So-mi, and Hong Yeon-hwa arrived and filled the remaining seats.
– ♩♪♬♩♩
Soon, the melody from the speaker signaled the start of class.
Right on cue, Seo Cheong-yong entered the room.
Wearing his usual friendly smile, he began to speak.
“Most of you probably figured it out from the announcement. The reason you’re all gathered here today is—”
A single word appeared on the board.
[20,000 Points]
“It’s because your Strategy Battle score has surpassed 20,000! From what I’ve heard from the other instructors, this is a new record.”
Normally, students surpass 20,000 points in the early part of their second year….or, if they’re fast, by the end of their first year.
This year’s first-years have been breaking records nonstop, which according to Seo Cheong-yong, makes teaching all the more rewarding. He laughed, clearly pleased.
“So then, what happens after 20,000 points? Just like how the E-rank restriction was lifted at 10,000, now the D-rank restriction is lifted. Starting next year, you’ll be eligible to take on external D-rank requests.”
That’s why higher clearance levels are always better.
You can sneak down to the underground levels without permission, but with outside requests, that’s basically impossible.
But then, the board was wiped clean, and a new word appeared.
[Promotion Exam]
“However, starting from D-rank, you need to pass an evaluation process.”
F and E-rank dungeons are relatively low-risk, so even when things go wrong, most cases end with minor injuries.
That’s why they only required cumulative points to grant access.
In contrast, many D-rank and higher dungeons are deadly if the raid fails.
So, when determining entry eligibility, experience alone isn’t enough. Other evaluation criteria are necessary.
“You’re probably wondering how the exam works. Don’t worry….it’s simple. Clear the dungeon and review the replay.”
An artificial dungeon on the surface level.
Naturally, its difficulty has been set to match a D-rank.
Seo Cheong-yong added with a small smile,
“It’s a dungeon designed to evaluate your skills, so it might feel tougher than a typical D-rank. Still, if you can’t handle this much, the instructors would have every reason to worry, right?”
The students nodded in agreement.
If you’re barely able to clear the artificial dungeon, the real thing would likely be far more dangerous.
So, in order to pass the promotion exam, your performance must meet the academic office’s standards.
“Just so we’re clear. You can attempt it anytime. If you feel like you need more experience, or you’re not mentally prepared yet, don’t push yourself. Wait for the next opportunity.”
Since health has its limits, the number of dungeons you can attempt within the given period is naturally restricted.
If you don’t think you’ll pass the evaluation, wouldn’t it be more productive to conserve your energy and earn rewards in E-rank dungeons instead?
A brief silence followed, and a few students seemed to be deep in thought before slowly raising their hands.
“I’ll… take it next time…”
“Me too.”
Seo Cheong-yong nodded without hesitation, then gestured lightly toward the door.
“You can head back to class. Try again when you’re confident. Anyone else?”
– …….
“No one else? Then let’s talk about the dungeon you’ll be tackling.”
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