Translator: Wan ED/PR: novio
14. Mid-term exams (2)
Mid-term exams last for four days.
First day.
From the first day, the 1st year class 0 had a repeater.
It seemed that I was just imagining things that I thought something cool like ‘I hate having an exam repeater in our class’ some time ago.
Yes, I was imagining things.
I thought about this twice, because it was important.
“We already have a person with an additional exam?”
The expression of Ham Geun-hyeong, who heard the news about the female student’s escape, was sad.
It can’t be helped.
She is a kid who says that seven people is too many.
Even if she was forcibly stopped and made to sit down, she wouldn’t be able to showcase her abilities.
“Teacher-nim, are the kids who didn’t come… will they be taking an exam?”
“Yeah. Nine people applied for a remote exam beforehand.”
At Kim Yuri’s question, Ham Geun-hyeong nodded his head.
I guess the others are really alive!
It seems they plan on advancing too.
We had an incident before the exam started, but anyway, the time to start mid-term exams was approaching.
“Everyone get ready. As soon as the class bell rings, the exam will start straight away.”
In the end, the peppermint candy bags Kim Yuri brought were distributed between the seven of us from the 1st year class 0 and Ham Geun-hyeong, two portions for each.
***
Second day.
Happy news spread among the Eungwang School students who were suffering.
“Hey! Is it true that Moon Rabbit Rice Cakes are served in the school cafeteria throughout the mid-term exams?”
“It’s true. All kids who didn’t eat at school yesterday are regretting it now.”
“It was the first time I tried them, but the rice cakes melted in my mouth with just one bite. The cherry blossom rice cakes are so good.”
Was this result of Hwang Jiho’s extortion of Ok Toyeon?
Perhaps Ok Toyeon wasn’t killed by her Jin tribe Toyon unnie.
‘Our chairman changed.’
Thinking about the chairman’s actions until now, it was a surprising development.
‘And it’s cherry blossom rice cake from among many types of rice cakes. I don’t know who picked it, but they picked well.’
Cherry blossoms in flower language meant fragility and beauty of life, a female of matchless beauty, the beauty of the mind, fortune, refinement, prosperity, etc…
In Korean, cherry blossoms have one more meaning, ‘mid-term exams’.
It had a particularly notorious reputation of always blooming during the period of the preparation for the mid-term exams in highschools and then withering like a ghost just before the exams.
Usually, when the exams ended, all you could see were green leaves.
However…
“Why did the cherry blossoms not wither? In the previous year they bloomed for a moment and then withered straight away.”
“Cherry blossoms in all other areas than the Eungwang District withered. I guess the trees went crazy too.”
“This year’s exams are generally crazy. The teacher’s hyungs and noonas who had risen in position after Choe Pyeondeuk’s gang was fired, all seem crazy.”
“Uh… I think they just know how to roll and bleed us out to the limit. Ah, that’s too hard!”
“Cherry blossoms, students, teachers, all of them went crazy.”
The student who took a break from their studies for a while and went on a stroll, constantly commented like this while watching cherry blossoms.
“The kids who finished the exams early can go watch the cherry blossoms.”
“Lucky. I have exams until the very last day.”
“With good luck, you can go even after finishing the exam late. I hope they will continue to bloom.”
The cherry blossoms in other regions all wither, but Eungwang School’s cherry blossoms didn’t.
Even during the exam period, Mun Saeron was bursting with excitement, saying she was doing an investigation in the Newspaper Club freshmen group chat.
I guess her results weren’t worth worrying about failing grades, so she had a lot of free time.
[Mun Saeron] I was able to check it when riding an airboard and marked the entire area! Those who have time should go to see it. And tell me if you find anything special!
On the map Mun Saeron sent in the chat room, the areas where the cherry blossoms were blooming in the Eungwang School were indicated.
I guess Mun Saeron, with her top notch movement ability, ran around the entire school.
‘In the game, Eungwang School’s cherry blossoms withered in an instant.’
Looking at the map sent by Mun Saeron, I could guess the reason.
‘It seems that cherry blossoms last longer at and around Heavenly Wings Mountain.’
The divine beast, Snare, is gradually recovering and the cut ley lines are slowly restored under Hwang Jiho’s lead.
I had no idea that restoring Power of Earth could have such an influence.
Marvelous phenomena happened also outside of school.
[Eun Seoho] Jo Uisin hyung, the cherry blossoms also continue to bloom in Hwangho-nim maze garden. Here is a picture!
[Eun Niho] Sinrok oppa said it’s because of the divine beast’s influence! They continue to bloom when the divine beast wants it.
In the group chat with Eun-ho’s three siblings, the picture taken on the cherry blossom road in one of the areas in the maze garden appeared.
In the corner of the photo I noticed a mat and a picnic box, so I guess they come out to the garden for the flower viewing.
Those kids are strictly forbidden from leaving Hwang Myeong-ho’s manor currently, so I think it’s something to change their mood.
‘… But Sinrok oppa?’
Thinking from their standpoint, it wasn’t weird to call him like this, but I thought about that gloomy writing supplies show, so I had an enormous feeling of incongruity.
But it’s nice that he has a good relationship with descendants.
[Eun Jaeho] The divine beast is sleeping now.
Amidst my bloody recollections, the youngest casted a healing spell on me.
In the picture the youngest sent, Snare was sleeping under a cherry blossom with a smile on its face.
I don’t know what it was dreaming of, but it curled up with a happy expression.
A few cherry blossom petals fell on its cotton ball-like body.
‘Save it!’
I saved the two photos, changed the name of each, and set one of them as the screen when the device starts.
‘I hope they will take a lot of pictures of Snare to send.’
There was no way Hwang Jiho or Baek Ho-gun would do such a commendable deed.
Jeok-ho is busy and Kim Sinrok is a bit… he lives in the teacher dorms and would be busy. Probably.
From now on, I should become closer to Eun-ho’s descendants.
I would receive Snare pictures. Let’s do what I have to do today.
‘Let’s check how that event has changed.’
First day of the mid-term exams, the two illegal admissions poison Cotton Ball to shake An Dain’s mentality.
Second day of the mid-term exams, exhausted by exams, An Dain discovers a dead Cotton Ball.
In the place rarely visited by humans, Ju Su-hyeok happens to come across a crying An Dain.
That Ju Su-hyeok, who usually possesses great social and communication skills, has no idea what to do to comfort her, so he turns around to investigate the incident.
‘The illegal admissions were expelled and Cotton Ball is sleeping well right now and… Just nothing could happen.’
So the want to check what changed in aftermentioned was a sad habit of the national hypewreck addict.
‘It’s a bit of a remote trail leading towards the Heavenly Wings Mountain. It has to be in the central zone or in the 1st year’s zone and there was also a description ‘the road is rough, so no one comes this way’.’
I think it was the trail Sawol Seeum mentioned once before.
I may be able to find it directly.
While I was checking the opened school map on the hologram, far away I spotted walking An Dain.
‘I guess I did directly find it.’
I don’t want to be noticed, so let’s hide.
The cost-efficiency is terrible, but there is an appropriate Gwangrim.
There won’t be any other big incidents during the mid-term exam period, so it was okay even when time usage of Player’s Trajectory was greatly reduced.
⟨Using Gwangrim ‘Player’s Trajectory’.⟩
The used character was the best one for the covert actions.
‘Colorless Man Jeon Muyeong’.
If it’s not this much, the superhuman An Dain may detect me.
⟨Using active character’s Gwangrim ‘Time without traces’[1].⟩
After activating Gwangrim, my presence became extremely faint.
While using it, my presence won’t be detected by people’s eyes, recording devices, or skills from the detection category.
I quietly walked following An Dain towards the place where humans gradually became rare.
After a long walk, we arrived at the dead-end of a road.
At the end of the road was an enormous cherry blossom tree and under it stood a wide bench.
And…
A person was sitting on that bench.
“Oh, uh… Dain?”
The one sitting on the bench was Ju Su-hyeok.
As if he was just thinking about An Dain, his face was faintly red and he had an expression as if he didn’t know if it was a dream or a reality.
If an ordinary person would make such a face, they would look endlessly stupid, but I was looking at the extremely handsome face, so the unfairness of the world could be felt clearly.
“… Hi.”
As if she didn’t expect Ju Su-hyeok to be here, An Dain didn’t say anything for a long moment and then gave a small greeting.
I expected that the two may meet, but I had no idea Ju Su-hyeok would come first and wait.
I guess the power of fate is strongly applied for the title hero and title heroine even without a relevant skill.
“Yes, hi! That…so… “
Ju Su-hyeok fumbled to properly respond to An Dain’s greeting.
Where are his strong communication skills in front of An Dain?
“… want to sit here?”
Did it take you so long just to say that?
His tone was stiff and his expression was extremely nervous when he asked.
An Dain didn’t answer quickly and after thinking for a moment, she replied:
“…Is it okay?”
“Naturally!”
An Dain sat with a bit of a distance from Ju Su-hyeok.
It wasn’t smooth, but the two once in a while started a conversation about nothing particular.
About exams, about cherry blossoms, about the Moon Rabbit Rice Cakes which appeared in the cafeteria…
It was a clumsy conversation comparative to a talk between a boy and a girl in elementary school.
It seems that those two still have a long way to go.
‘Ah, I stayed here for too long!’
The two sat there for a bit longer, so it seemed they continued their conversation, but I decided to leave.
The event changed somehow, so I wanted to observe but I ended up watching them being lovey dovey.
A corner of my heart felt ticklish.
‘It was a rude act towards the two… I came here for no reason.’
As a result I peeped and eavesdropped on the two’s story.
I’m sorry, Ju Su-hyeok, An Dain.
Even so, I was sincerely cheering for my two Playable Characters.
The two will have to overcome many trials in the future, but… Stay strong.
***
Third day.
After finishing exams and coming to the Wings Hall study room No. 210.
I finished the exam for the Introduction to Enemy Studies, which boasted a hideous scope.
Han Yi and I, who took the same subject, were checking the answers.
“In question 1, answer 1.”
“Me too. In question 2, answer 5?”
“Correct. In question 3, my answer was ‘Similarity with Bewitching Category Enemies’.”
“I wrote ‘Bewitching Category Ghost Species and Devil Species Enemies’, would that be okay?”
“I don’t know. Because Formless Species Enemies also apply.”
“Ah… Right. Teacher Gong Cheonghwon-nim is strict, so it will probably be treated as a wrong answer. I think it was a mistake to write it indirectly.”
Han Yi, who was aiming for a perfect score, sighed.
However after comparing all remaining questions and self-grading ourselves, Han Yi still scored one point higher than me.
Me and Han Yi continued to compete for the lead with mini tests.
Han Yi will probably lead with 1 point on this exam.
“… Aren’t your grades too good?”
Maeng Hyodon was suffering from hyperstress before the math test tomorrow.
Out of excitement, he broke five mechanical pencils while solving problems and was currently holding a sixth pencil.
“Yeah, you two had perfect scores in all the general subjects, right? We’re lucky to have Hani and Uisin in the same study group.”
“Yes. I really received a lot of help.”
Lee Lena and Sawol Seeum safely passed the exams from subjects they weren’t confident in and were now relatively free.
Even so, it’s too early to accept thanks.
“The last exam day is tomorrow, so let’s stay strong.”
I hope that Maeng Hyodon will stay very strong.
***
Last day.
All exams ended, but all the 1st year class 0 members who were in the study group gathered together in the Wings Hall.
All of us gathered here today for a big event. Maeng Hyodon’s math test result announcement.
“Hey, vice president. Say it quickly. How many points?”
Maeng Hyodon’s face was dark, because he didn’t even take a nap and studied the entire time.
The results of his graded exam paper…
“I can’t believe it.”
“What? What is it?”
Maeng Hyodon’s score was literally unbelievable.
The way we chose was choice and concentration.
Deciding that it was impossible to cover the entire range, our strategy went for perfectly learning the remaining part of the range.
The criterion for failing was 40 points.
Considering we were aiming for 50 points, it wasn’t the best strategy, but it wasn’t the worst strategy.
And Maeng Hyodon’s score was…
“63 points.”
“Uaaaaaaaa! I did it!”
He held up his fist and roared.
It was a score that corresponded to D grade in the letter grade system used in the past.
Maeng Hyodon will probably be the worst performer among the students who choose math as their subject.
Even so, thinking about his desperate studying, it was nothing short of a miracle.
The pebble of Maeng Hyodon’s teacher triumphed in that very moment over Maeng Hyodon’s stone head.
“You resolved almost all questions from the range we had been studying, so it’s 44 points and then 19 points are from multiple choice questions. Good job, Maeng Hyodon.”
It seems that a god of mathematics empowered Maeng Hyodon.
“At last, I feel that mid-term exams have ended.”
“Yes, Hyodon safely passed, so it’s fortunate!”
“Hyodon, you guys, seriously, I’m seriously thankful.”
The kids who were watching the self-grading process with nervous faces exhaled a sigh of relief.
Among the participants of the dormitory study group, there was no dropout.
I wasn’t worried about Kim Yuri and Hwang Jiho, so the 1st year class 0 practically passed.
Let’s exclude the escapee. I’m going to forget this.
“Cheers!”
Sawol Seeum held a bottle of soda and shouted brightly.
Carbonated drinks were prohibited during the exam period because they could cause stomach aches.
Once the exams ended, the ban was dropped.
We lightly toasted with the soda in paper cups.
Everyone was exhausted by exams, so we couldn’t have a grand party.
We ended up having a simple end of exams party and then disbanded.
Leaving the study room I felt somewhat a bit regretful.
***
Mid-term exams ended and the after exam party ended.
So exams were finished, but I still had an enormous ordeal before me.
It was more painful and mentally damaging than mid-term exams.
‘I would rather have exams one more time.’
There was a possibility of Hwang Jiho tracking me down and finding me, so I removed the school provided device.
Though this guy was a guardian of the divine realm, so if he put his mind to it and release his power, it would be possible for him to check everything happening in the Eungwang District in real time.
‘If he could use it without penalty, he wouldn’t take the trouble of tracking me down with my device on April Fool’s Day.’
So it should be okay.
Probably.
Ding-ding.
Message arrived.
I left the school provided device behind, but it was possible to connect messages, so I was able to check new messages.
The message sender was Kim Yuri.
[Kim Yuri] Uisin, I’m preparing for this year’s 1/4 quarter student representative meeting, so I’m sending you class management materials. Please read them!
The 1/4 quarter student representative meeting was held when mid-term exams ended.
Each class’s president and vice president.
School four student organizations, Students Council, Guideline Club, Wings Club, General Club Council[2].
Over 100 students would participate as student representatives.
I guess the hardworking Kim Yuri already prepared meticulous materials.
‘I should deal with this matter and then read them.’
I can do it.
I can survive it.
I repeated self-suggestion and self-brainwashing.
“Hello.”
Off-limit zone without recording devices.
Old school’s classroom.
The person I called here spoke up first.
“That crow mask, I’ve seen it before. You purified the Eungwang District School Environment Protection Zone.”
I guess he had investigated all incidents that occurred in the Eungwang District.
Even a very short article with a picture, which was immediately buried.
“The face visible under the mask, the build. Everything is similar to me. But looking closely, you seem to be a bit older than me. On the invitation you had sent there were scorchmarks and I could sense traces of Red Dragon power, so surely, you’re really…”
Finally Yeom Junyeol said that thing.
“Red Wall Phantom Thief!”
It came out.
Red Wall Phantom Thief.
I was determined, but hearing it from Yeom Junyeol made my insides twist.
My own Playable Character putting such a shame on me!
With Player’s Trajectory, I had transformed into the Yeom Junyeol’s version I had used during Fantasy Auction.
I desperately feign a posture.
“That’s right, I’m… Red Wall..Phantom Thief…!”
I want to go home, to my dormitory room.
*~*~*
[1] Time without traces — It could also be ‘time without shadows’ and it sounds damn cooler, but traces is a more appropriate description and this translator is sad.
[2] General Club Council – I called it just General Club before, but their role is to manage all the clubs and small groups, so let’s call it Council. (Now let me continue to agonize over how to translate Leadership Club and if Wings Club should be changed to Wings Council.)
Translator’s note:
Jo Uisin: *rolls will power saving throw* NAT 1.
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