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Chapter 186
Chapter 186
Chapter 186
[Relationship: Evaluation]
[The evaluation of someone's value can vary greatly depending on the criteria used. Using their past and present as criteria is intuitive and offers clear standards, unlike their future, which has yet to arrive and is thus unpredictable and lacking in clear standards.
Regardless, instead of merely accepting these evaluations, it is essential to understand what the subject’s criteria are in order to advance to a more intimate relationship.
*A Fatestone is created whenever the subject’s evaluation of you has improved.
*The maturation rate of the Fatestone increases as long as your evaluation is maintained.
*The probability of the subject’s synesthetic mindscape manifesting inside the Fatestone increases when you fully understand the subject’s evaluation criteria.
*Currently created Fatestones: 1]
“...”
Se-Hoon read through the notification message, narrowing his eyes. He had suspected from the beginning of their bond that his Relationship with Erika wasn’t ordinary.
And now, upon reaching bond level three, their deepened unordinary Relationship allowed Se-Hoon to realize that Erika was more twisted than he had initially thought.
She’s more laissez-faire than I expected.
It seemed similar to his Exploitation relationship with Kwang-Soo at first glance, but it was slightly different. While Kwang-Soo had clear plans to use Se-Hoon in some way to kill Doppelganger, Erika had no such plan; her only concern was achieving her goal, regardless of the means.
So even if I chose a dangerous path, she would probably support me rather than dissuade me.
To Erika, the means he used didn’t matter as long as she could achieve her goals.
Thinking her personality really was like a bottomless swamp, Se-Hoon recalled the spell Erika used at the end.
Although I only saw it for a moment... it was definitely a sacrificial-type spell.
The spell she used enhanced one’s power by sacrificing the soul and body of another living being. She rarely used it out of the occasional use on animals, spirits, or monsters.
It was a type of spell that made Se-Hoon feel deeply uneasy. He could never forget how, before the regression, he had witnessed the Inoue family mass sacrificing humans to seal Erika, who had been one of the Ten Evils, Gluttony.
I should watch her closely.
It was still too early to judge, but he decided to closely keep an eye on how it would end up playing out. Quickly organizing his thoughts, he looked up at Erika, who was staring at him silently.
“It was supposed to be a well-prepared counterattack, but you blocked it too easily. This is a bit frustrating,” Se-Hoon said with a bitter smile.
Shaking her head, Erika corrected him, “You don't need to think that way. It was impressive even within the Department of Spells.”
“What, among first-year students?”
“No. The entire department.”
Se-Hoon made an expression of disbelief. Erika was saying his barrier spell was noteworthy among the second, third, and fourth years, who were mostly active-duty heroes.
Was it really that good?
He knew his barrier was well-executed, but he doubted it merited such high praise. Puzzled, Se-Hoon mulled over it, and Erika, who noticed, just pointed with her finger instead of explaining further.
Following her finger, Se-Hoon looked toward the faculty and students who were outside the training hall.
“...”
His fellow students were all in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had happened, and the instructors, who understood somewhat, were shocked. And Professor Robert, who understood everything, intensely stared at Se-Hoon with a stern expression.
Taking in their reactions, Se-Hoon turned back with an embarrassed look.
“I guess I did do well.”
“Yes. If your opponent just wasn’t me, it would have worked.”
“I see.”
She was praising him, but she was also simultaneously boasting about her superiority.
We’ll see when I reach the top of the class.
Determined to repay her multiple times over, Se-Hoon began making plans.
Clap!
At the clap, everyone’s attention turned to Robert.
“This concludes the first-semester evaluation exam for Barrier Compositions. Study hard for your remaining exams, and feel free to ask any questions. You are now dismissed.”
Thanks to his announcement, the students regained their senses and glanced at each other before leaving the training hall without a word. Jealousy was something that only manifested between those of similar levels, and they acknowledged that Se-Hoon and Erika played in a different league.
Let's just focus on my remaining exams.
It's not like I'm going to become an honor student anyway.
Watching the students quickly leave, Se-Hoon turned to Erika.
“Then I'll be going too. I still have some exams left.”
“Sure. See you after the exams.”
“Alright. Take care.”
Turning, he headed out, leaving behind Erika, who watched his retreating figure without moving.
And once he had left, Robert gestured to his assistants, who were about to clean up.
“I'll clean this all up later. You guys can leave first.”
“Ah, okay. Understood.”
Knowing the relationship between Robert and the Inoue family, the assistants quickly left.
With everyone now gone, Robert approached Erika.
“Are you all right, miss?”
At his voice, Erika turned to meet his gaze with her violet eyes. They shimmered with an eerie light, making Robert tense up at the sight.
Noticing, Erika averted her gaze.
“Yes, I'm fine.”
“About the spell you used at the end—”
“Stop. There's no need to say anything more.”
At her firm command, Robert bowed his head respectfully.
“Understood.”
“You'll still report what happened to my brother, won't you?”
“...Yes.”
Since Robert served under the current family head, he naturally prioritized the commands of Erika's brother, Ren, who was the legitimate successor. Though Erika knew that.
“Tell him I cast out of necessity,” she ordered, remaining calm.
“Understood.”
Saying nothing else, Erika slowly walked out of the training hall, signaling the end of their conversation. And within the shadow that trailed behind her, a shadowy form resembling the corpse of a dead crow floated up to the edge before being quickly sucked back in, all traces erased.
***
Most departmental tests concluded on the fifth day of exam week, and students had begun preparing for the college-wide exams the following day.
Yet the Physiology Control lecture hall looked the same as it had on the first day.
Click.
Kwang-Soo drew a sword from the scabbard with his left hand, and Se-Hoon quickly prepared to counter with the Celestial Infinity Blade.
Clang!
Seeing that Se-Hoon had used a black sword aura, the perfected Exalted Steel, to block his blade, Kwang-Soo sheathed his sword.
“Not satisfactory. A+.”
Narrowing his eyes, Se-Hoon eventually let out a deep sigh from the depths of his soul.
“Sigh... This is driving me crazy.”
From the first day of exams to today, Se-Hoon attempted the test. With that many attempts, he should have gained a lot of practice with Synesthetic Synchronization, a technique that synchronized another’s synesthetic mindscape with his body. However, the results were less than satisfactory.
Increasing stability reduces power, but increasing power reduces control. What am I supposed to do now?
His scores fluctuated from A to B each time he adjusted the technique, failing to get a perfect score each time. But despite that, he had made significant progress, as he could now perform the technique without Luize's Fatestone.
I’m improving, but the exam score is what matters.
No matter how excellent the improvement was, it was meaningless if it didn’t get high scores, especially when his competitors were already pulling far ahead.
“You said Jake got a perfect score yesterday, right?”
“Not yesterday. Today at 3:00 am.”
Originally, Jake was also stuck at A+, but last night he had insisted on training until dawn, finally securing a perfect score by perfectly blocking Kwang-Soo’s strike.
He said he blocked it by parrying his sword correctly, unlike me.
Although Kwang-Soo hadn’t used his full strength, a first-year student blocking a serious strike from an S-rank hero like Kwang-Soo was still impressive. Under normal circumstances, Se-Hoon would congratulate Jake, but it was different because Jake was his only competitor.
If he's performing that well, he probably dominated his departmental exams too. Just like Erika.
With Jake and Erika following so closely behind him, Se-Hoon felt a mix of pride and frustration. Their display of ability during the exam period was aggravating.
I'm confident when it comes to the special college-wide exam that Amir mentioned, but still...
Now genuinely wondering if things were going to be okay, Se-Hoon heard Kwang-Soo let out a tired sigh.
“How about just ending it here? If you exhaust yourself and mess up the college-wide exam, what's the point of getting a perfect score?”
“Hmm... You do have a point.”
No matter how excellent his Physiology Controls exam score was, failing the college-wide exam would make it meaningless.
This college-wide exam is said to have a lot of variables.
“ I don't believe in the notion of bonding through fighting, but many people actually do.”
Recalling Amir's words, which were somewhat vague due to the restrictions on divulging information, Se-Hoon quickly managed to deduce the answer thanks to the transfer student data Amir had provided.
The most likely variable in the college-wide exams will be the participation of transfer students.
From the academy’s standpoint, they had to accomplish the necessary task of assessing their abilities before their scheduled transfer in the second semester. So for the academy, having them participate and compete with current students in the college-wide exams was likely the most practical, albeit a bit aggressive, approach.
In fact, Amir's presence alone validated such a scenario.
Everything suggests that he’ll be a transfer student.
When he had subtly asked Amir about it, Amir didn’t deny the possibility either. If he took that as confirmation, it confirmed another fact.
The Dream Demon... It looks like she feels quite confident this time.
Even for the Dream Demon, meddling with things inside Babel, which was under the Emperor of Ascension’s solid surveyance, would require extensive preparation. But there were no signs of any at all—except for Amir.
It seemed she had drastically reduced its scale to catch Ludwig off guard, deciding to use Amir and Amir along. Expanding the plan would only increase restrictions and the likelihood of detection, after all. However, while the plan itself wasn't bad, the problem was what Amir could possibly accomplish alone.
Even if used as a sacrificial pawn, I doubt he could accomplish much...
Maybe she prepared something special, or his guess was just wrong and the Dream Demon had given Amir some future insight. Unable to form a definitive conclusion, Se-Hoon decided to just closely monitor Amir during the college-wide exam.
I'm already busy with the exams, and now I have to worry about this as well. Things aren’t helping me out at all.
Honestly, if he hadn’t planned on becoming the year-wide honor student, he wouldn’t have cared much about all of this. Yet he was, so annoying as it was, he couldn't give up. Resigning to his fate, Se-Hoon agreed with Kwang-Soo.
“You're right, Professor. I will wrap up soon.”
“Ahem. Then, for today...”
“I'll just do it until 9:00 pm.”
“...”
At Se-Hoon's “generous” offer, Kwang-Soo glanced at his watch. It was currently 10:32 am. Kwang-Soo closed his eyes tightly.
“Oh, and I won't be eating lunch or dinner.”
“You damn bastards!”
Kwang-Soo vowed never to allow retakes on his exams again.
***
BRRRRRRRING!!!
“?!”
Startled awake by the siren in the dormitory suddenly blaring loudly, Se-Hoon jumped out of bed and quickly looked out the living room window.
“Is there an ambush... wait, what is that?”
He had thought it might be a surprise attack from the Demon Force, but the sight outside left him dumbfounded.
Where Babel's cityscape should have been, walls at least one hundred meters high hid all visible areas in a massive maze. The enormous scale left Se-Hoon speechless.
...Is the Dream Demon messing with my brain?
Unable to accept the view before him, he seriously considered the possibility that he was attacked while he slept. But it wasn’t long before he heard a familiar voice from the speakers.
—The first-year college-wide exam for Borsippa will begin now.
Recognizing Eun-Ha's indifferent voice coming from the speaker, Se-Hoon snapped out of his thoughts and listened intently.
—We have revamped this year's college-wide exam for Borsippa to reflect the recent incidents and the ongoing tension with the Demon Force, making it more practical.
Previously, Borsippa's college-wide exams were quite relaxed compared to other colleges, just asking students to create or forge items based on given tasks. But this year, the newly appointed Dean, Eun-Ha, had completely overhauled the exam to match the rapidly changing circumstances.
—You might consider yourselves technicians, craftsmen, or artists, but fundamentally, you are all ‘heroes’ who will one day need to join the effort against the Demon Force.
Her voice was cold, sounding like a pre-battle speech. It made the students listening in the dormitory tense up.
—Hence, the theme of this exam is practical combat. Use the strength, knowledge, and skills you have to break through the maze and reach the central core.
Rumble!
Following her words, heavy sounds came from the walls of the maze descending outside, unveiling a hidden giant structure.
Woong!
Revealed at the center of the maze, a large circular machine shone brilliantly—the core maintaining the entire maze and the final goal of the exam.
Everyone stared at it with awe.
—Good luck.
Clunk!
The dormitory doors all opened simultaneously, signaling the start of the Borsippa college-wide exam.