After the salacious encounter.

Leaving the unconscious girl behind, I became obsessed with exercise and body-building for a while.

At one point, I thought Seyeong, who likely bore a grudge, might report me, but ultimately, I was not reported.

Whether it was shameful to be robbed by a human or whether she was satisfied, I did not know.

Anyway, it was a tough matter for anyone to argue who was the wrong one at that time.

Time passed, and the entrance exam came.

During that time, I devoted most of my given time to training.

Thanks to the exercise, the fats attached to my body also fell off a lot.

-Trait :: Obesity(F)

He is on the chubby side. With successful dieting, it can be upgraded to a normal body(E).

From severe obesity to obesity, I had made significant progress.

I was a loser now, but my muscles were growing day by day, so I should soon have a solid body.

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I studied from time to time and easily passed the written exam.

The problem was a lack of practical experience.

I didn’t know how far my inherent abilities could assist me.

The waiting room for the candidates was enveloped in silence.

“Group E, come in.”

A man sitting next to me jumped up at the soft voice of one of the supervisors.

Thinking I was next, my heart thumped.

Who was my opponent?

I turned my head slightly and saw a woman with a cold, subdued atmosphere.

Soft pink short hair and a brooch with jewels. Her small face was quite beautiful.

“……?”

Feeling my gaze, she turned her head towards me. A pin with a flower, the same color as her hair, was attached to her left hair.

Jin Dallae.

Looking at the floral name tag on her chest, I remembered her name.

The only daughter of the Jin family leading the Jin Group. A woman who was rumored to have graduated from Seoul Hunter Private School this year.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“No, I was just surprised to see someone I’d read about in the newspapers.”

Jin Dallae narrowed her eyebrows slightly. Famous people did find it annoying to hear people talking about them.

So, the first impression was the worst.

“Oh, is that so?”

Jin Dallae turned her head again. Her gaze was fixed on a petite man sitting opposite her.

Jung Siwoo. He was tall and impressive. Did she have him in mind?

-Zing.

Perhaps I stared too much. Jin Dallae gave me a look. I decided to quietly wait for my turn.

“Group F, come in.”

I jumped up as my turn finally came. Six of us, starting with me, entered the practical test field.

A simple natural grass training field. There were a few chairs in the center.

“Group F, has everyone arrived? I am Man Sejeok, the examiner who will judge this practical combat test.”

The examiner, who was already sitting there called a simple roll and went into the explanation.

“Your practical exam is a one-on-one battle. We will observe the duels between the candidates and judge based on the opinions of the examiners. Soon after Group E’s exam is over, you can enter when I call you. The first match is between Jung Seonhu, and Lee Jiyeon.”

You were allowed to bring your personal training weapon or use a wooden sword or a foldable staff.

For me, who was almost a blank slate, I just picked up a sword that seemed decent.

‘I wish I had a gun. Damn.’

Waiting for my turn with my sword drawn, I heard voices around me.

It was the voice of Jin Dallae, who I talked to earlier.

“Jung Siwoo, brace yourself for this exam.”

“Well, don’t cry even if you meet me.”

“You’re funny. You better be careful.”

Jin Dallae and Jung Siwoo were quibbling. I guessed they knew each other from before.

Probably classmates from private school.

“By the way, Dallae, how did you do on the last written exam?”

“Just so-so. It was easy.”

“Really? How about the others?”

The conversation that started between the two gradually spread to the surrounding people, disturbing the air around them.

How was the written exam, what will the practical exam be like?

In the middle of all this, my name popped up.

“Is it Mr. Shiheon? How did you find it, Shiheon?”

“Me? I thought it was just normal. Oh, you can drop the formalities.”

“Shall we be comfortable? Normal is the hardest. Oh, right, Shiheon is a human like me, isn’t he?”

Human.

All eyes turned toward me unanimously at the words that sprung from Siwoo’s mouth.

“Yes, a human.”

“I knew it at a glance. Let’s do well as fellow humans.”

Siwoo offered his hand, and I gave it a decent shake.

It seemed quite pleasant to meet a human in an exam filled with Tree People; Siwoo’s face was filled with pleasure.

He was handsome and had a good personality; he seemed like someone who would be of great help if we became friends.

I should get in his good graces.

When I smiled slightly, Siwoo spoke up.

“You have to pass. I don’t want to be the only human.”

I could only smile bitterly at that.

“I have to pass. Definitely.”

If not, I would die.

-Startled.

Just then, the door opened, and the members of Group E came out.

Some were crying, and the atmosphere, which was buzzing, suddenly fell silent.

In the prolonged silence, we got up.

“The two people I mentioned earlier to the exam field, Lee Shiheon, and Jung Siwoo, prepare for the next match.”

I doubted my ears at the declaration.

“So it turned out this way? Siwoo, fight hard.”

Jin Dallae lightly waved her hand to Siwoo, whom she already knew.

“Ha ha….”

I returned Siwoo’s awkward laughter in kind.

Still, being a fellow human, wouldn’t the difference not be too great?

Relieved with this thought, my turn came quickly.

-Gulp!

“The next two, come in.”

We exchanged a word as we went in.

“No hard feelings.”

“Right.”

Passing by the two people with mixed fortunes, we stood in the match field.

Jung Siwoo was holding a wooden sword in one hand, just like me.

“I’ll give you time to loosen up. Tell me when you’re ready.”

“I’m fine.”

The examiner turned his head to me.

I hesitantly did some warm-up exercises and swung the sword in the air a few times.

At that moment, the examiner watching me slightly frowned.

“…Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Begin.”

The declaration fell.

At that moment, a sinister feeling enveloped my neck.

The instinctive sense of a human who has tasted defeat. Surprised, I instinctively lifted my sword to the side of my neck. A sword that appeared suddenly slapped my sword away.

-Crack!

A sound that should not have come from a wooden sword was heard.

Splinters from the broken wooden sword scattered in the air and splashed onto my face and neck.

My sword, naturally deflected by Siwoo’s sword, was soon heading towards my head with magic-

“Jung Siwoo, stop.”

As soon as the instructor’s words came out, Siwoo’s movements stopped as if time had frozen.

At that moment, the wooden sword in his hand was precisely at my neck.

“The use of magic is prohibited.”

“Yes.”

“Lee Shiheon, pick up a new weapon. It starts in 10 seconds.”

During the 10 seconds of rest, I struggled to loosen my surprised body.

What was this?

My current stats, excluding magic, were around 3 to 4, not a bad ability score for an incoming academy student.

But what about just now?

It wasn’t merely challenging to follow; I couldn’t see the movements at all.

I caught my breath and drew a new wooden sword.

-Thump, thump, thump, thump.

My heart was pounding.

Honestly, it seems like I couldn’t win.

This wasn’t a prediction; it was a certainty. Despite the looming failure and subsequent death, I had no confidence to win.

How many seconds had it been now? I didn’t know.

A defeat in the match didn’t directly result in failure.

If both sides demonstrated excellent skills, it would be proper for the examiner to pass both.

But if, like just now, I couldn’t land a single hit on him, I would fail.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I couldn’t fall here.

“Start.”

At the examiner’s word, I tensed every nerve in my body immediately.

The sensation I just felt. I surrendered to the feeling that staying like this would lead to defeat.

-Whoosh!

The figure of Siwoo that had been in front of my eyes disappeared.

Panicking means death.

After endless agony, the sensation pressing down on my shoulder concentrated in one place.

The same sensation I felt when I protected my neck just now.

I quickly tilted my head in desperation.

-Bang!

The sound of air exploding right next to my ear reached me.

A sword strike grazed me dangerously close, and my eyes, following that sensation, were fixed on Siwoo’s waist.

If I was to counter, it was now. The moment I was certain, my tightly gripped hand moved naturally.

Not by my will but to where my body led. I gathered strength and struck with all my might.

-Thump!

“Huu.”

The first engagement without any forewarning resulted in a draw.

What was important was that I had exchanged blows with a monster.

After that, I fought as my instincts led me.

“…!”

Every time I received his sword strike, my body showed strangely terrifying movements. His sword strike brushed past the spot where my waist bent.

Every time I felt an unknown sense of discomfort and turned my head, there was always a sword there.

-Poof!

“Eugh!”

Of course, that only happened a few times. A blow that struck my upper body knocked me down.

My stamina wasn’t good enough to continue fighting.

“The winner, Jung Siwoo. The passing notification will be posted on the website tomorrow. You may leave.”

“You’re amazing. See you later.”

Hearing the declaration of victory, Jung Siwoo threw a word at me, who was on the ground and left.

See you later? What was that guy saying?

I smiled wryly and got up. Just a few seconds of exchanging swords and my whole body was soaked.

I lost.

As I stood up and walked out the door, Jin Dallae and Siwoo exchanged words about the exam.

“You won?”

“Of course.”

“I thought so.”

Jin Dallae grinned as if she had known. It wasn’t her intention, but it hurt my heart.

‘How embarrassing.’

I seemed to have found another reason to become stronger.

“Shiheon, about the exam result-”

“It’s fine.”

“Did I call you Mr. Shiheon? You did well.”

“Yes, so did you, Dallae.”

I responded casually to the farewells of Siwoo and Jin Dallae and left the examination room.

Distraught and empty, I wandered the surrounding corridors.

What did Jin Dallae say just now?

I mumbled the words while standing alone under the light.

‘Not see you later but well done.’

It seems like a phrase used with the consideration that we might never meet again.

Well, it was true that Jung Siwoo was that strong.

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I put back on the mask I had temporarily removed for identity verification.

Then, a voice came from behind me.

“Eek!”

A familiar shriek.

When I reflexively turned my head, a woman with a large chest was looking at me with wide eyes.

I was surprised to see her face and even more surprised to read the nameplate on her large chest.

Lee Seyeong[Supervisor, Instructor]

Even after a second look, there was no change.

Hu. Huhuhuhu. Even if the sky fell, there was a hole to rise through. A smile naturally came to my face.

“Hey. Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

“You, you shamelessly!”

[The Team Leader (F) is activated.]

“What the hell are you talking about? Isn’t it insane for someone who has abducted an innocent person and stolen the heirloom left by my grandfather to speak?”

I shrugged off Seyeong’s remarks. The mention of the grandfather was a lie to gain the upper hand in the conversation.

However, she raised her voice as if it was not even worth considering.

“If you know what you’ve done, it’s clear who’s in the wrong?”

“What are you talking about, the woman who threatened me with her family name?”

Seyeong’s face turned red and blue.

Her eyes, narrow under her furrowed brow, were so fierce that even a three-meter-long snake would be surprised.

Still, I was not scared. After that day, she hadn’t messed with me.

“Is it okay for teachers here to mess with innocent people?”

“Ha. You made a mistake.”

I approached Seyeong and looked her in the eyes.

Then, she more violently brushed off my hand and started yelling.

“If I just say the word, killing someone like you is-”

I stole her lips.

The ‘Lustful Demon’ and the ‘Protection of Color’ told me to do so.

“-Uhh.”

“You know that both of us did something wrong, right?”

“……”

“You need a Wood Coin? I’ll give you one.”

She, who sensed my intention, raised her eyebrows.

“I think I know what you want. It’s not gonna happen. Do you know how sensitive the Academy is to such things?”

“Do it.”

“Crazy……”

“Just say something reasonable. I probably got most of the written test right.”

“Most of it, right? Don’t joke. Even the students of the El Academy struggle with the difficulty level of the written exam.”

“Oh, that? It was high school level.”

“What? Even academy students find it difficult to solve!

This was true.

Compared to the world I lived in, I remember being surprised because the difficulty level of the exam was quite easy.

If I exaggerated a bit, even a middle school student could solve it.

“Anyway, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“You’re going to fail.”

“Don’t say that. If things go well, I’ll give you three Wood Coins. Is this real?”

“Three……!”

Seyeong gasped.

Wood Coins were really good items for trade. It was good to know.

I left the place, leaving Seyeong absorbed in thought with her mouth tightly closed.

I had done all I could; now, all that was left was the decree of fate.

And the next day.

[Student Lee Shiheon has passed.]

[Passing rank 152/154]

I passed.