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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒𝟓
“Heh, to think that a mere fledgling like that would be the top scorer. The bar for the exorcist qualification exam must have been lowered quite a bit.”
“Or could it be that the skills of the new recruits these days have declined to such an extent?”
Of course, Han Kang-yoon’s top marks weren’t greeted with universal acclaim.
No, on the contrary, there were more than a few who looked upon him with disfavor.
To them, steeped as they were in their long-held superiority complex and competitive mindset, Han Kang-yoon, who belonged to no particular faction, was nothing short of an eyesore.
Even if that weren’t the case, there were those who couldn’t help but sigh at the news of Han Kang-yoon’s achievement.
Cheong Do-yool, an elder of the Cheong family, was one of them.
“. . . It seems he was no ordinary kid after all.”
“As you say, Elder, he seems to be an even more outstanding talent than we thought.”
“And such a talent is under Cheong So-ha’s wing.”
That was far from welcome news for Cheong Do-yool.
After all, a promising new recruit represented an almost limitless source of utility.
The gap that had already opened up between Cheong So-ha and himself due to the recent incident had just been widened even further.
「𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙤-𝙝𝙖’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙?」
That was truly astonishing. Cheong Do-yool, having fought her directly recently, knew better than anyone just how monstrous Cheong So-ha’s abilities were.
“Well, if she were the one who secretly nurtured his talent, then it wouldn’t be all that surprising.”
For Han Kang-yoon, at least, the exorcist qualification exam must have been as easy as taking a walk in the park.
Cheong Do-yool sighed deeply, his expression a mix of frustration and resignation.
Because he simply couldn’t see any way out of his current predicament.
「. . . 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢.」
Even those forces that had originally belonged to Cheong Do-yool’s faction were now showing signs of wanting to distance themselves.
They had judged that Cheong Do-yool no longer had a future.
Sensing Cheong Do-yool’s deepening despair, his aide, Cheong Lee Rin, spoke up cautiously.
“. . . Would it be wise to invite Cheong Woon-do to our side?”
“What are you talking about? That’s just asking for trouble.”
Cheong Woon-do was a former elder of the Cheong family who had been stripped of his position after being implicated in a scandal that had rocked the family, and had since been ostracized by the faction he had once belonged to.
To take him in would naturally invite even more criticism of Cheong Do-yool, but Cheong Lee Rin pressed on, undeterred.
“Forgive my presumption, but I believe our reputation has already fallen further than we could have anticipated. We stand to gain more than we lose by bringing him over to our side.”
“. . . . . . .”
She was not wrong. Now that he was the target of everyone’s scorn, a little more wouldn’t make much difference.
On the other hand, as a former elder, Cheong Woon-do’s abilities were undeniable. He was certainly among the strongest of the elders.
“Furthermore, we may be able to reap many benefits from him without having to make his presence public, so it may not be such a bad choice after all.”
“. . . You have a point.”
Cheong Woon-do may have been nothing more than a pariah to the family, but even he was enough to make Cheong Do-yool’s faction, weakened as it was, covet him.
In the end, after much deliberation, Cheong Do-yool nodded slowly.
Thus, the Cheong family’s problem child, who had been notorious even a dozen years ago, was about to make his grand return to the center of the family’s affairs.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
After the exorcist qualification exam, the academy began to publicize our names far and wide, touting our success.
That was only to be expected. After all, the emergence of early graduates was an opportunity for Cheonghwa Academy to demonstrate its superiority.
As a result, the students currently enrolled at the academy also came to learn of our achievements, and our names began to be mentioned here and there for a while.
『Five people? Isn’t that the highest number ever?』
『Yes. They say the current second and third years are a golden generation, and it looks like they weren’t just blowing smoke.』
『Is that all? I heard that both the top and second-place scorers are third years. Do you know what that means?』
Unsurprisingly, the news was of greatest interest to the first-years who had just entered the academy.
The second-years were already somewhat aware of the abilities of the current Class A third-years, so they were less surprised, but the first-years seemed to be rather shocked by their unexpectedly impressive performance.
『So that’s how strong the third-years in Class A are. . . . . . .』
『Do you think we’ll be able to do as well as them in two years?』
『I can’t really imagine it right now.』
Well, they were at the age when they were beginning to envision their own futures, so it was only natural for them to think that they might one day be the main characters of their own stories.
In any case, that was why strange gazes began to follow me whenever I walked around the academy grounds these days.
And the attention didn’t stop there.
“You mean a VIP?”
“Yes. It’s just that the person in question is too important for us to refuse. We’d at least like to hear your opinion.”
“I understand. I’ll meet with them.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded in response to the words of the teacher in charge of me, Baek Ji-eun.
If teacher Baek Ji-eun was emphasizing the importance of the person to this extent, then they must be quite well-known outside the academy as well. It couldn’t hurt to at least meet them.
I had a rough idea of who it might be from the teacher’s brief explanation, but the person waiting for me in the visitor’s lounge was a face I was quite familiar with.
It was none other than Shin No-eul, the head of the Red Unit, a special task force belonging to the Exorcism Headquarters.
「𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.」
Her long crimson hair, like the twilight sky at sunset, and her eyes that sparkled like jewels.
Even without making any overt movements, she exuded the faint aura of a formidable warrior.
Even without her distinctive appearance, I would have recognized her quite clearly. The image of a certain incident that would soon occur was simply too strong.
「. . . 𝘼𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨.」
During that incident, the Red Unit, which had encountered a S-rank yokai known as the Myudusa, was all but annihilated.
「𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙉𝙤-𝙚𝙪𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
Even now, the shocking power of the S-rank yokai that had appeared in the original story left a vivid image in my mind.
Up until that point, high-ranking exorcists had been considered to be among the strongest classes in the community and elsewhere.
To see them slaughtered so mercilessly and unceremoniously had come as a major shock to many players at the time. It had also been a moment when they realized once again just how brutally difficult this game was.
「. . . . . . .」
By this point, it was practically a given that the second Night Parade of a Hundred Demons would occur, as evidenced by the various foreshadowing events that had been revealed. However, the protagonist Yoo Ha-on and her party, no matter how well they had been trained, would still struggle to defeat even an A-rank yokai, even if they all joined forces.
And then, in the midst of all that, the overwhelming power of an S-rank yokai had been revealed. It was only natural that players would wonder how they were supposed to defeat such a foe.
In any case, Shin No-eul, who had been both a key player and a victim in that battle, was now standing right before my eyes.
Not as a mere collection of data in a game, but as a living, breathing human being.
“You must be Han Kang-yoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes. The pleasure is all mine.”
“Hmm? Do you know who I am?”
“As the head of the Red Unit and someone who has recently been promoted to special-grade exorcist, I’m sure your name is known to many.”
I had also heard of her recent promotion and had been quite interested in it.
Shin No-eul seemed to be rather pleased by my words and opened her mouth to speak.
“Actually, I’ve had my eye on you for a while now. I think it was around the time of your public presentation. But I figured it was unrealistic, so I just put the thought out of my mind. . . . . . .”
Judging from the fact that she had come to find me now, it wasn’t hard to guess her purpose.
“To be frank, I’d like you to join the Red Unit.”
“May I ask why?”
“Well, your talent goes without saying. I just like you, plain and simple.”
It was a refreshingly straightforward answer. Even from this brief exchange, I could get a rough idea of what kind of person Shin No-eul was.
Her invitation had been rather casual, but meeting her in person gave me a different impression. It was clear that Shin No-eul possessed great charisma as a leader.
“Now that you’ve acquired your exorcist qualification, there’s nothing stopping you. Do you happen to have any place in mind after you graduate?”
“Not yet.”
“Perfect. Think about it. I can’t promise you much in terms of money or fame, but if you’re looking to grow as an exorcist, the Red Unit would be a pretty good choice.”
Even from this brief conversation, I was somewhat tempted, but unfortunately, I couldn’t accept her offer.
After graduating, I planned to move independently, following my own goals rather than belonging to any particular organization.
However, that aside, I was also very intrigued by her proposal.
Or rather, I wanted to bring them over to my side.
「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.」
That was only to be expected. After being all but wiped out by the Myudusa, the Red Unit had naturally disbanded.
However, that didn’t mean that their abilities were to be scoffed at. On the contrary, the fact that they had managed to defeat their opponent even in their surprise encounter with an S-rank yokai was quite impressive.
So what if I could borrow their strength in the battles to come?
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩𝙚𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚.」
With that in mind, I quickly turned my thoughts to how I could get them to participate in the upcoming battle.
And soon, I came to a conclusion.
“First of all, thank you for your offer. I’m not particularly interested in money either.”
“. . . Then?”
“However, it’s not a decision I can make lightly. So, may I ask you a favor?”
“Sure. I’ll hear you out and then decide.”
My request to her was, in a way, quite simple.
“I’d like to join the Red Unit temporarily to gain some experience. I think June would be a good time.”
“That’s no problem. I’ll talk to the higher-ups and the other unit members.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps because she was pleased with the unexpected outcome, Shin No-eul soon left the academy with a satisfied expression on her face.
And I nodded slowly to myself as I watched her go.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙚.」
So I would join the Red Unit around the same time and help them avoid being wiped out.
That way, I could earn their gratitude and borrow their strength in the future, or even if that didn’t happen, it would still benefit me indirectly.
In the future that lay ahead, the more exorcists on my side, the better.
However, in order to do that, I would have to work very hard from now on.
「. . . 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙎-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞.」
No matter how many tricks I used, it would be impossible in my current state. I wouldn’t even be able to hold my own against it.
So by then, I had to find a way to improve my abilities to at least the next level.
As I walked back to my dorm from the lounge, I clenched my fists tightly.