Subject Evaluation Test (3)

“…Wh-Why are you here?”

Chaeng Daram showed a bewildered expression.
She looked at the approaching person.

A male, smaller in stature than Chaeng Daram, who was average in height among women.

A faint impression, neither handsome nor ugly, just an ordinary male student.
From the badge color symbolizing a first-year, it was clear he was a junior.

Additionally, he was someone Chaeng Daram was acquainted with.

“Long time no see, Senior.”
“…Long time no see? We just met a few days ago.”

The response was met with an awkward smile.

Kim Minsu.

A first-year at <Gonis Hunter Academy>, a mid-ranking figure in the warrior department.

And his real identity was…

A senior clan member of the criminal clan <Tartarus>.

Chaeng Daram became acquainted with him just a few weeks ago.
Last year, having been held back, she had once been paired with him for a group project in a first-year class.

Since then, they had shared a few meals and gone hunting a couple of times. It was just a shallow connection.

From Chaeng Daram’s perspective, it was more like she was humoring him since she didn’t have much experience meeting boys her age.

In fact, even that had become rare lately.

Kim Minsu was as kind and gentle as his harmless impression suggested.
He was an ordinary, uninteresting person without any charm.

From Chaeng Daram’s perspective, who always dreamed of ambition, he was someone of little value.

Anyway, she was puzzled.

“How on earth did you get in here?”

At the entrance, there would surely be the escort nuns responsible for the security of <Sisterhood>.
Even if he mentioned her name, it would certainly be reported.
However, this junior entered as if it were his own room.

“……”

Chaeng Daram gradually felt a peculiar sense of caution and hostility rising.

It wasn’t because she had a meticulous personality.

It was just a very natural feeling for any human being.

However, those feelings vanished at Kim Minsu’s next words.

“Why are you acting so cold? You invited me, didn’t you?”

Invite…?
I…?
There’s no…
No way…

Huh…?

‘Is that so?’

Chaeng Daram unconsciously lowered her hand.

Something felt both hazy and, ironically, clear in her mind.

Hmm, I guess so.
Yeah.
That harmless and kind-looking junior wouldn’t lie, would he?

Chaeng Daram felt all negative emotions like ‘hostility’ and ‘caution’ disappear from her heart.

Quietly.

Kim Minsu approached and placed a hand on her shoulder.

It was an unexpected touch.

Normally, Chaeng Daram would have been angry and asked what he was doing, but she couldn’t refuse his touch.

“Huh…?”
“Here, Senior. I’ll give you this.”

Kim Minsu handed over a black jewel to Chaeng Daram.

The hexagonal jewel emitted a uniquely captivating light.

Chaeng Daram didn’t know what it was.

She didn’t know, but…

She could sense a definite warning from the [Divinity] within her.

“This… isn’t it dangerous…?”
“I’m giving it to you… It can’t be dangerous, right?”

Is that so…?
Hmm, yes, it must be so.
Our Minsu…
Would never lie.

The light in Chaeng Daram’s pupils gradually became dazed.
As if hypnotized, she agreed with everything he said.

It wasn’t that she lacked self-awareness.

She simply couldn’t say ‘no’ to Kim Minsu’s words.

She couldn’t take any action based on ‘hostility’ towards him.

“Senior, with this, you can free yourself from all the resentment you’ve been ignoring.”

His words whispered sweetly.

He said she could take revenge on those who belittled her and talked behind her back.

And here, what Chaeng Daram so desperately wanted…

She could become the Mother Superior.

The last persuasively tempting statement clinched it.

“Those you hate so much, who despise you… who try to climb by abandoning you…”

She could crush Choi Mari.

“So, will you do it?”
“…Yes.”

Chaeng Daram, who agreed to Kim Minsu’s words, accepted the jewel he handed over.

She also received a package filled with something.

Inside were several syringes suspected to be <drugs>, and…
There was also an unidentified mace.

The moment she saw it, a light flickered in Chaeng Daram’s eyes.

Black, murky, and more than anything, a vile desire writhed.

A certainty arose that she could accomplish it with this.

A cruel smile naturally spread across Chaeng Daram’s lips.

Kim Minsu, seeing her like that, wiped the smile off his face and cautiously slipped out the back door.

“…Damn.”

A low curse.

Kim Minsu frowned and looked at his left hand, which he used to grab Chaeng Daram’s shoulder.

He clicked his tongue.

It was a bit awkward to activate ‘this ability’ through conversation alone, so he had made physical contact.

He knew it.
He knew it, but…

“Truly filthy.”

Kim Minsu took off the gloves he was wearing and stuffed them into his pocket.

Then he took out a perfume labeled <Moon Ha-yeon Essence 100%> from his coat and sprayed it on his hand.

“Whew…”

He finally felt like he could breathe a little.

The past few weeks of facing that disgusting pink pig woman and conversing with her.

For Kim Minsu, it was truly a horrific time.

If it weren’t for the mission…

‘If it weren’t for Moon Ha-yeon’s words…’

He wouldn’t have done it even if he had to die.

But thanks to that, the seeds of evil were sown.
A step towards the grand plan was firmly taken.

He deliberately approached that woman for this.

A woman who only cared about herself, whom no one would mourn if she died.

Yet she had a rather decent background with the <Sisterhood>.

Honestly…

‘For an experimental subject…’

There was nothing better.

Kim Minsu smiled with satisfaction.

He pulled up the hood imbued with [Perception Inhibition] and quietly exited the <Sisterhood>.

About two weeks had passed since Professor Cha Yeo-ju’s <Interpersonal Combat Among Hunters> class ended.

And it had already been six months since I entered the “Gonis Hunter Academy.”

‘It feels like less time has passed than I thought.’

It seemed like it had been at least over a year.

I’d been caught up in endless incidents, solving them, fighting, and brawling, so I must have forgotten the flow of time.

Anyway, as this time of year came around, it was typical for ‘those things’ to start approaching in any school.

‘Everyone seemed busy indeed.’

―Hey, hey, you have Professor Sarang-mi’s <Magic System> notes, right? Let me copy them.
―Hey, dude, you’re always sleeping. What’s the point of looking at it now? Huh?

―S-Senior, do you happen to have Professor Jung-yoon’s <Efficiency of Weaponry> textbook?
―I do have it… but weapon techniques only have meaning when experienced firsthand…

―I can’t do this. Since it’s come to this, I’ll give up on all the written exams! I’ll prove myself in the practicals!
―You’re crazy… Even if the written part doesn’t count for much, you can’t just ignore it. What if you fail and have to repeat the year?!

Cadets with dark circles under their eyes started appearing everywhere.

Some even slept during class, but the professors didn’t particularly point them out or scold them.

The reason was simple.

The <Midterm Exams> would start next week.

‘Ah, exams.’

An event that all cadets hated and dreaded, but I felt an exciting thrill instead.

“Meeooow? Seha, you seem to be in a good mood.”
“Hmm? Do I?”

I gently stroked the head of the angelic Meowi and beamed a wide smile.

“Meeeooow~”
“Oh, so cute!”
“Meow… Don’t pull my cheeks…”

It was understandable.

It was my first time entering school and making friends.

How could my heart not race, facing a school event for the first time like other kids my age?

What was particularly striking was that there was a sense of passion in everyone’s eyes.

‘Though everyone ends up exhausted…’

Everyone was doing their best to achieve good grades.

That alone was enough to feel invigorated.

‘…I vaguely knew from listening to college students talk in the real world…’

Experiencing it firsthand with them brought about a different sensation.

‘Father… Are you watching?’

You always said I was like a misfit.
You doubted whether I could properly socialize as an adult.

‘Am I doing well?’

“Seha, please focus. There are many mistakes on page 16.”

“Oh, sorry…”

I listened quietly to Moon Bora’s words with a sheepish expression.

The <Midterm Exam> was divided into three main evaluation tests.

The first was the <Subject Evaluation Test by Series>.

This was a test that included written and some practical components from the classes we usually attended.

‘In my case, I first take Choi Chae-gul’s <Byproduct Harvest>, Bong Mi-chun’s <Understanding of Monsters>, and Professor Strong’s <Strategy Class>.’

The <Midterm Evaluation> would be announced, then followed by Cha Yeo-ju and Peng Jin-ah’s <Basic Swordsmanship> exams.

Interestingly, there were no exams for the <Exclusive Disciple> courses.

It seemed that they judged there was no fairness in the scoring because the student was an exclusive disciple.

In this case, since they said the scores would be based on future performances, there didn’t seem to be a need to worry much for now.

‘Maybe I’ll work with Moon Bora.’

She also recently became an exclusive disciple of Professor Cheon Mira, so the probability was high.

And the second was the <Duel Evaluation> test.

This varied each year, but I heard that it involved pairing up from the lowest to the highest ranks within the ‘Warrior’ and ‘Assassin’ classes for sparring.

Well…
I wasn’t too worried.

‘There’s no way I could lose.’

It might sound arrogant, but it was a truly objectively clear evaluation.

I had grown explosively right after enrollment.

I had long surpassed C-grade hunters easily, and I was at a level where I could aim for B-grade hunters.

With my variety of skills, even A-grade hunters were within reach.

In reality, no ordinary student could match me.

‘At the very least, it would have to be a senior like Divine Light Garam in the third year, or someone like Ju Na-young who has currently unlocked <Breath>.’

The final third test was the <Monster Summoning> test.

We would face a boss-level monster, conjured from illusion, and collaborate with a partner to defeat it in a kind of party play evaluation.

Once we passed these three stages, all the <Midterm Exams> would be over.

It seemed like a lot at first glance, but on closer inspection, it wasn’t.

‘In two weeks, everything will be over.’

After finishing my thoughts, I diligently took notes, keeping up with Moon Bora’s softly spoken words.

I was currently in Ju Na-young’s VIP dorm room, a place I had visited once before.

Me, Meowi, Ju Na-young, and finally, Moon Bora.

The four of us, who always naturally hung out together, were studying for the written exam.

“Hana? You got this part wrong.”
“What?! Thanks for telling me, Bora.”
“You’re welcome.”

Ah, she was really just too cute.

With Meowi’s laughter in her ‘twin-tail’ fashion, Moon Bora also smiled kindly.

Currently, Moon Bora had her hair tied up simply and wore glasses, giving off a strong intellectual teacher vibe.

By the way, among the four of us, Moon Bora had the best grades.

A brain who maintained top marks in all written exams and ranked high in practicals too.

Though she might seem easygoing, her smartness was undeniable.

‘Next would probably be me.’

Don’t get me wrong.
It’s not that I have an exceptionally brilliant mind.

It’s just that a lot of the exam content comprised general knowledge a ‘Supervisor’ should know, so naturally, I knew a lot.

Of course, it was practical knowledge I had experienced, so I didn’t know the specifics.

‘…How would I know about issues like the government’s estimated cost assigned to a <Hunter>?’

These parts were supplemented with Moon Bora’s excellent explanations.

That was the most important point to focus on today.

“Yong-ah… Y-Yu Seha, c-could you help me with this?”
“Which one?”

In addition, I played a supporting role for the one with the worst grades among us…

That was Ju Na-young.

Currently, she had her hair styled in cute dumpling buns.

She groaned with an expression of “My head hurts so, so, so much!”

She was clearly a grown woman…
But her adorable demeanor made me think I might be severely smitten, too.

“Uh, here… the problem in the fourth line… I-I don’t know… Yong-ah.”

“Let me see. Ah~ it’s the <Hoofed Goat> problem? Just a moment…”

I looked at the textbook in front of Ju Na-young, naturally placing my hand over the back of hers.

“…!”

She flinched as I touched her.

Her neck reddened slightly, and she let out a faintly rough breath.

Finally, white steam-like smoke came out of her mouth.

“Yo-Yong-ah…”