๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐
“That kid uses shikigami techniques that even you donโt know about?โ
“To be exact, it’s the next step. Handling shikigami is already a sign of maturity, but on top of that, he’s able to harmonize his own techniques with the shikigami’s abilities.”
“That means. . .”
“It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s safe to say that he’s at least extremely talented.”
“Whew.”
The supervisors let out exclamations of admiration at Gil Sam-bong’s calm words.
Since he wasn’t one to talk nonsense, at least some of it must have been an accurate assessment.
After a while, Lee Moon-soo, who had been observing the situation, spoke again.
“There are quite a few others who stand out. To be honest, they’re already at a level that surpasses even active exorcists.”
“That’s for sure. I know Ji-hak ‘s abilities from our previous meeting, and Han-sol, the 21st applicant, has also shown skills that would allow him to be called a skilled exorcist.”
“It’s not entirely wrong to say that the times are changing rapidly.”
When Lee Moon-soo was the same age, the level of exorcist candidates was not as high as it is now.
It’s true that the new generation is rising at a frightening pace. Lee Moon-soo nodded in agreement.
“Anyway, at this rate, it seems that Sophia will be the first to pass the second gate.”
“It seems like she’s already far past the average clear time, shouldn’t we open the gate?”
Most of the supervisors agreed with that statement. Even though they had been talking about this and that for a long time, only about 4 minutes had passed since the start of the exam.
If someone was already about to reach the last gate, it would be reasonable to open the special gate.
And just as everyone was nodding in agreement, something unexpected happened.
Han Kang-yoon, who had passed the first gate a step behind Sophia, soon found the answer to the second gate.
“Whew, what the. . . “
“Did anyone see that clearly?”
“I was watching, but after entering the gate, he used various spells and found the key right away. It seems to be a detection-type spell.”
“Hmm, ordinary detection spells wouldn’t work properly in there. . .”
As Lee Moon-soo and Gil Sam-bong had assessed earlier, Han Kang-yoon was definitely a person to watch out for.
The supervisors quickly exchanged glances and came to a conclusion.
The result was unanimous, to send Han Kang-yoon to the special gate.
“Let’s open the door right away, and while we’re at it, we’ll check to see if there’s any foul play.”
With that, a new door opened, and Han Kang-yoon was sent to the special gate, the Cave of Proof.
Han Kang-yoon’s choice of direction was the center.
It was a gate that focused on pure combat ability, where he had to overcome the shikigami placed by Gil Sam-bong himself.
“This is going to be fun. A battle of shikigami techniques against shikigami techniques.”
“But even if it’s a special gate, isn’t it too much? The last two, as far as I know, are the senior’s main shikigami.”
“Heh heh. I took into consideration the case of Cheong So-ha, who is now a special-grade exorcist. Those who enter the special gate are all talented individuals who are different from ordinary applicants. If we don’t set this much, it will be impossible to make an accurate judgment, right?”
“. . .Hmm. For now, let’s believe the senior and watch.”
It could be considered strange, but that reaction was not wrong.
In fact, the power of the shikigami prepared by Gil Sam-bong was at a level that even other 3rd-grade exorcists could not surpass.
However, as Gil Sam-bong said, the opponent was still an unknown entity. It would be better to check their upper limit while they were at it.
And soon, Gil Sam-bong’s thoughts were proven correct.
Poof!
Swish!
Crackle, crackle!
As if by some magic, countless shikigami began to pour out of Han Kang-yoon’s enlarged shadow.
Demons, beasts, vengeful spirits. The variety was so wide that it was hard to tell them apart.
Many of them seemed to be actual yokai that had been subjugated, and their level was not low at a glance.
Most of the supervisors watched the fierce battle between the shikigami, which were entangled and fighting each other, with their mouths wide open.
“How many shikigami are there now. . .”
“Whew, how can he handle a vengeful spirit at such a young age?”
“I understand what the senior meant when he said that his shikigami techniques are already mature. Even in the field, it’s not common to see a sorcerer of that level.”
The supervisors’ opinions varied, but most of them were impressed.
And although he didn’t show it, the one who was most surprised was none other than Gil Sam-bong.
ใ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ก๐ค๐ช๐จ.ใ
To be honest, he was more bewildered than surprised.
To see this level of shikigami in a mere exorcist qualification exam?
In particular, the power displayed by some of them was truly astonishing. Even Gil Sam-bong, who possessed numerous shikigami, was envious.
Lee Moon-soo, a 1st-grade exorcist, also exclaimed in admiration next to Gil Sam-bong.
“Amazing.”
“That’s right. Especially the fact that he can handle such powerful shikigami without faltering in this kind of melee proves his ability.”
Originally, no matter how excellent a shikigami is, it’s useless if its master’s level is low.
Aren’t there countless similar stories throughout history?
In that sense, Han Kang-yoon was a true master, perfectly controlling and utilizing his excellent shikigami in the right place at the right time.
Even though Gil Sam-bong was already away from the front line, his shikigami were not so easy to let anyone pass.
Without a doubt, Han Kang-yoon was great. In fact, he was better than some of the active exorcists. His evaluation was beyond reproach.
“There’s no point in watching this any longer. I’ll withdraw the shikigami.”
“Whew, even though he didn’t use his full power, the senior’s shikigami were pushed back. . .”
“Maybe, just maybe, a person who will once again leave their mark on history has appeared. . .”
With that, Gil Sam-bong withdrew all of his shikigami, and Han Kang-yoon, who had opened the way, advanced without hindrance and passed through all the gates.
The total time taken until then was 5 minutes and 57 seconds.
It was an overwhelming achievement, far surpassing Cheong So-ha’s record of 7 minutes and 21 seconds.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
ใ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ฃ’๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐.ใ
To be precise, the examiners started to regard me as a person to watch out for after I set a new record in the gate escape gate of the second exam.
Well, it must have been a shock.
Even I, who knew the general gist of it, was taken aback by the power of the shikigami I saw in the last gate.
ใ๐๐ค, ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐’๐จ ๐๐ญ๐๐ข?ใ
Even if it was a special gate that required the skills of an active exorcist, there had to be a limit.
If I hadn’t increased the number of ordinary production shikigami after starting school, it might have taken me longer than I thought.
Anyway, after overcoming even such a difficult challenge and setting a new record, the supervisors who are watching the exam must be talking about me right now.
So, I had to build up a noticeable record in the remaining three exams.
“Now, follow the instructions and enter the third exam room.”
The third exam that followed was surprisingly a written exam.
I knew it was a rare occurrence, but I didn’t expect to actually take it.
However, from that, I was able to roughly deduce the contents of the last exam.
ใ๐๐ฉ’๐จ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐จ๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ข, ๐ฃ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ฉ.ใ
According to the original work, when there is a written section in the middle of the exam, it is mostly for the purpose of managing the stamina of the examinees.
In other words, the next exam would be quite fierce.
And as expected, the fourth exam was a combat-oriented exam where teams competed against each other.
And the contents were simple.
The eight selected leaders would take turns selecting team members, and in each round, two team members would be selected and sent into the duel arena, the fourth exam room.
And the 16 examinees who entered the duel arena would fight each other until only one team remained.
The survivors could decide whether to continue fighting in the next round or give up and pass their turn to the remaining team members.
To put it simply, the intention seemed to be to observe pure combat ability in actual combat and the chemistry between colleagues.
ใ. . .ใ
Since I was not selected as a leader, I waited silently for someone to select me as a team member. And the one who chose me was none other than Jung Han-sol.
“It looks like everyone did well on the exam. Did you go to the gate?”
“I guess the contents are all the same.”
Among those who had come this far, there would definitely be some who would drop out, but judging by their complexions, it seemed that the Class A students were all confident of passing.
ใ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ. . .ใ
It seemed that I would not be able to avoid fighting other students.
My gaze, which had been moving around restlessly, finally stopped for a moment. It was in the direction of Sophia Charlotte, the top student of the year.
Grin.
As if Sophia was watching me too, she gave me a bright smile the moment our eyes met.
Unfortunately, it probably didn’t mean anything good.
“Actually, I wanted to pick her too.”
“It’s difficult. She’s so famous.”
In fact, most exorcist candidates of the current generation would know her.
It’s hard to not know her when her face is on the media every day and she’s praised, unless they’re completely isolated from the internet.
Accordingly, it was not strange that the leader who had the right to choose for the first time chose her.
“Will she come out from the beginning? She will, right? She’s a spiritual power monster who doesn’t get tired.”
“Judging by her expression, it seems like she’s planning to go out.”
“Then should we take it easy and go out together at the end? If the others time it right, it might be worth a try.”
That was a sound judgment if they were aiming for victory. I would have done the same originally.
However, unfortunately, I had a previous promise with Sophia.
A promise I made when I visited her place after the last comprehensive exam.
ใ๐’๐ข ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐, ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ, ๐ฌ๐’๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐-๐ค๐ฃ.ใ
Perhaps Sophia’s smile from earlier also had that meaning.
Even though it was an exorcist qualification exam and not an academy exam, it was not something I could ignore when the conditions were right.
I sighed and finally spoke to Jung Han-sol.
“You go out last. I’ll go out with the other team members first.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I promised her last time.”
Jung Han-sol looked at me with an expression that said, “What nonsense are you talking about?”, but I ignored him and found one of the team members and walked up to the duel arena.
Then, Sophia, who had entered the arena before me, found me and smiled broadly.
“You came.”
“. . .It’s a promise for now.”
“This time, there’s no holding back.”
About a minute passed as we exchanged glances.
Finally, the signal to start the battle rang softly in the air.