5. Midterm Exam
“Before starting the midterm test, I want you to clearly recognize that the goal of this test is not to measure how strong you are when you have just started walking. So do your best, but don’t overdo it to the point of leaving scars that can’t be washed away for a lifetime. Understood?”
“Yes!”
At first glance, the instructor’s demand to do their best while not overdoing it might sound contradictory.
However, his words were a clear fact.
It was because there were sometimes cases where children with no talent or skill would go overboard to the point of throwing away their lives in order to survive at the academy.
“Sigh, is it starting now? I’m nervous. Right?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I’m the fool for asking.”
Seong Yu-ra tried to confide her nervousness to Han Seol next to her, but the moment she looked up at his face, she could realize how foolish a question she had asked.
“The 1:1 mock battle test that will start first is a test of whether you properly understand the position you have chosen now. Those who think they only need to focus on defense because they are a tanker, those who think they can neglect defense because they are an attacker who sticks to close-range attacks, those who fantasize that they can attack safely because they are a long-range dealer – they will all taste bitterness. The opponents are class versus class, and no one knows which classes will face each other, including the instructors. We’ll decide that now.”
The instructor began selecting the classes that would be the opponents for the mock battles through a draw.
Han Seol’s class was Class 1, and the opponent was chosen to be Class 5 as a result of the draw.
Then, murmurs began to flow among the children of Class 1.
It was closer to worry and concern rather than excitement.
“The atmosphere doesn’t seem very good.”
When Han Seol read the atmosphere, Seong Yu-ra was slightly surprised, but soon nodded and explained upon realizing that the other person was Han Seol.
“You didn’t know? Well, you’re someone who’s not interested in even your own classmates. Still, you know about Han Ji-woong from Class 5, right? Even if you don’t know his name, you must have seen the kid who was the largest at the entrance ceremony.”
“The big kid? Come to think of it…”
It vaguely remained in Han Seol’s own memory as well.
It was ingrained in his mind because the kid boasted a height and size larger than adults among 15-year-olds.
“From what I hear, he’s aiming to be a tanker. I don’t know for sure, but I guess the result won’t be good for whoever faces that guy.”
“…”
Han Seol didn’t reply at all.
However, one thing he could be sure of was that no matter who he faced, there would absolutely be no bad results for him in the current 1:1 mock battle.
* * *
After the class draw was over, the training ground was divided into sections, and the opposing classes drew their match opponents.
Since no one knew who would face whom, the students had no choice but to be extremely nervous.
It would be comfortable if the same types were matched, but as the instructor mentioned, an attacker could face a dealer, or a dealer could face a tanker.
This also meant there was a possibility of an attacker facing a tanker.
‘Please, Dangun-nim, God, Buddha! I’m praying like this, so please let me face the same dealer. At least not a tanker, please…!’
While Seong Yu-ra was earnestly praying to every god next to him, Han Seol checked the matchup table with his usual expressionless eyes.
Gradually, the empty spaces on the matchup table were filled, and soon, each other’s opponents were determined.
The same went for Han Seol.
However…
Murmur murmur.
The moment Han Seol’s match opponent was determined, the gazes of the Class 1 children focused on Han Seol.
In their eyes, there was no encouragement or cheering, but pity and sympathy.
Even Seong Yu-ra, who thought they had become somewhat close.
“What do we do… I guess my loose tongue brought bad luck. I’m sorry, Han Seol…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Han Seol’s randomly determined opponent was none other than Han Ji-woong.
Soon, according to the matchup table and order determined through the draw, the students took to the arena one by one.
The weapons used were the training weapons they were accustomed to.
Eventually, with the instructor attending as the referee, the matches began.
“Hyaaa!”
“Haah!”
The instructors called the first-year midterm test ‘threshing’.
Just like threshing grains from wheat or barley ears, this was the time when they could filter out the most untalented troublemakers and pick out useful talents.
Clang, ta-dang! Ta-da-dat, swish!
The other students watching their peers, who were trying their best to target each other while holding the same or different weapons, and the referee were also observing with eagle eyes.
Especially the students who thought of their positions one-dimensionally, as the instructor said, struggled without fail.
Tankers who only thought of defense often missed opportunities for counterattacks even when they saw them, getting beaten and ending up like that, while attackers, on the contrary, focused only on offense after approaching close range and got hit by counterattacks they could have easily avoided, leading to absurd results.
Dealers trying to attack from long range were even more pathetic.
“Uwaah!”
“Ah, um, wait…”
“Class 5, Kim Nam wins.”
When Kim Nam, the attacker from Class 5, deflected the incoming arrows with his sword and approached point-blank, Ju Min-hwa, the dealer from Class 1, finally sat down on the spot and burst into tears.
“Take a good look. That’s the most fatal mistake an archer can make.”
“Huh? Why? I think that Kim Nam kid did well to go up. Min-hwa’s arrows had power and good aim too.”
At Seong Yu-ra’s words, Han Seol shook his head.
“That’s under the condition of being protected by others. For an archer, losing ‘distance’ is the same as sticking your neck out and asking to be killed. No matter how good the power and accuracy, arrows flying from the front are relatively easy to deflect. And it’s easy to approach after deflecting.”
“Does that mean Min-hwa will fail?”
“Didn’t the instructor say at the beginning? This test isn’t about seeing skill, but potential. The kid named Ju Min-hwa that I saw will become quite a useful archer if he learns to use his feet. At least much better than you are now.”
“I feel like the last part was unnecessary!”
While Seong Yu-ra blushed and puffed her cheeks, the referee called out the next contestants after the arena was cleared.
“Han Seol from Class 1 and Han Ji-woong from Class 5, step forward.”
At the call, Han Seol got up from his seat and headed to the arena.
However, no one paid attention to Han Seol.
It was because the presence of Han Ji-woong approaching from the opposite side was too immense.
“Is that physique possible with the same nutrition capsules? Amazing.”
“Shh! He’ll hear you.”
“If a guy like that tanks for our team, it would be really reassuring.”
“I know…”
Everyone looked at Han Ji-woong with gazes of awe or ridicule, but Han Ji-woong didn’t care at all.
His mind was solely focused on Han Seol in front of him.
Han Seol also felt like it would be an interesting match as soon as he faced Han Ji-woong.
“Begin!”
When the teacher signaled the start of the mock battle, Han Ji-woong put forward his tower shield matching his physique and lowered his posture to ensure stability.
Only Han Ji-woong’s gaze was revealed from behind the shield.
“Crazy! How do you break through that 1:1?”
“That guy is the only one who’s pitiful.”
“But that guy named Han Seol, was he in our class? When did he transfer?”
Seeing that iron wall-like appearance, the students were shocked and everyone predicted Han Seol’s defeat.
Realistically, it seemed like the practice sword Han Seol was holding alone couldn’t even scratch Han Ji-woong’s tower shield.
However, the reason Han Seol found Han Ji-woong interesting was different.
‘It’s not easy to remain this calm in such an overwhelming advantage. Impressive.’
Despite having an overwhelming advantage, Han Ji-woong never rushed.
He slowly pressured Han Seol while carefully observing his movements little by little.
‘If he didn’t learn this, then this guy is a genius. A genius of tanking.’
Pressure wasn’t something that could be achieved by simply rushing without giving a break.
Like Han Ji-woong now, slowly reducing the opponent’s path of action and cutting off their retreat while cornering them mentally.
This was the highest form of ‘pressure’ a tanker could exert.
However, the opponent was none other than Han Seol.
And Han Seol was the apex predator who had subdued countless stronger opponents with defense on a different level from Han Ji-woong.
That predator finally finished analyzing his prey and began to move.
Pat!
…!
The moment Han Seol moved, the eyes of the Class 1 and Class 5 students doubled in size compared to usual.
Some students even opened their mouths or stammered because Han Seol’s movement was unbelievably fast.
Of course, this was not acceleration using mana.
It was just that his way of utilizing his body was different from the students.
‘Phew…’
Han Ji-woong, who became tense, deeply exhaled and relieved his tension appropriately.
The opponent was rushing at an unbelievably fast speed, but it was fine.
‘As long as he only charges from the front, I can deflect him as much as I want!’
For Han Ji-woong, the tower shield was both a shield and a weapon.
Just extending the tower shield forward with elastic force in his arm was enough to become an excellent charging attack.
However…
Swish!
‘He disappeared…!’
The moment he reached the range of the charge, Han Seol disappeared from sight.
The shield extended out almost instinctively because he had already entered the charging range.
It was proof of thorough training, but that thorough training caught his ankle this time.
‘I don’t feel it!’
If the charge had succeeded, he should have felt the opponent’s body colliding with the shield.
But his shield felt nothing, as if it had struck empty air.
No, there was a sensation.
The sensation of ‘pain’, different from charging, tingled up from his ankle.
‘Ugh!’
Han Ji-woong swallowed a groan and immediately twisted his body in the direction where he felt the pain.
Han Seol had to give up his follow-up attack and distance himself, finding it hard to believe that Han Ji-woong could change direction while holding a tower shield weighing over 40kg.
‘His waist strength is good. His response was quick too. Above all, even in the face of an unexpected ambush, he became calmer than before, let alone getting excited. It seems it will be difficult to end this quickly.’
While Han Seol inwardly analyzed Han Ji-woong’s response, the children couldn’t close their opened mouths, and even the instructor who attended as the referee was so surprised that he didn’t notice a drop of cold sweat flowing from his forehead.
‘A-are these guys really first-years?’
Although Han Ji-woong was impressive, the real reason the instructor was surprised was none other than Han Seol’s ambush.
The opponent was covering his body with a tower shield and was taller than him by two heads even when standing up.
Yet, not only did he charge from the front, but he also analyzed the charging distance in an instant and rather lowered his body to slip into Han Ji-woong’s blind spot. It was something that couldn’t be attempted with ordinary guts.
If he were to be hit by a weighted charge while in a lowered posture, his bones could break, let alone being pushed back.
‘But that guy did it like it was nothing and accurately attacked the ankle ligament. They say the bending part of a joint usually has weak defense, but there are only a few among third-years who can accurately aim for that. Moreover, someone who can strike with power even in such an unstable posture…’
Objectively analyzing, there were none even among the third-years.
Meaning, a ‘monster’ capable of such a feat.
