The EX-Class Extra of the Academy Chapter 98 : Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Final Exam (7)

The third day of the final exam had finally arrived.

While Glory was busy due to the exams, another place was also spending a hectic ti for different reasons.

"It seems the preparations are roughly finished."

The voice of Hwa-ryeon echoed through the quiet, abandoned building.

At those words, Baek Ha-seong replied lightly.

"I am always ready."

"Is that so?"

"They say being constantly prepared is the way to succeed, do they not?"

Baek Ha-seong's voice sounded playful.

Based on his tone alone, one might think he was going on a picnic.

Of course, the reality was nothing of the sort.

Therefore, unlike Baek Ha-seong, Hwa-ryeon replied to him with a serious voice.

"Please treat this with gravity. This is a Decree issued by that person."

"Did I not tell you last ti? That is a mission limited only to you."

"That is true, but..."

"So, stop with the useless talk. I will take care of things on my own."

Baek Ha-seong's voice had beco sharper than before.

It was a natural reaction.

One of the things Baek Ha-seong hated most was anyone trying to restrain him.

And that was a fact Hwa-ryeon knew well.

"...I understand."

Thus, she had no choice but to stop what she was saying.

After all, he was a card she had brought in while anticipating this kind of situation.

No matter who she had brought in instead of Baek Ha-seong, they would likely have been even more difficult to manage, not less.

So, Hwa-ryeon chose to change the subject moderately.

"However, I still do not understand one thing."

"What is it?"

"The reason why you are helping . To begin with, did you not dislike this sort of thing?"

It was a valid point.

As Hwa-ryeon said, Baek Ha-seong did not particularly like this kind of work.

It was his nature to avoid actions close to evil as much as possible.

Despite that, he was providing help like this?

It was only natural for her curiosity to arise.

"Well, that is true."

"Then what on earth is the reason for helping ?"

"A reason? Is such a thing really necessary?"

"..."

"If you need one, let us just say it is for interest. Speaking like this makes feel like I have beco the Puppeteer."

Baek Ha-seong spoke as if there were no particular reason for Hwa-ryeon's question.

If soone else had said that, it would have been sothing to argue about.

"..."

But if the words ca from Baek Ha-seong's mouth, there was nothing to be said.

After all, that was simply the kind of person Baek Ha-seong was.

A free-spirited human whose next move was always unpredictable.

Therefore, even if it did not make sense, one had to simply accept it.

Well, that was Hwa-ryeon's perspective.

'I am looking forward to seeing what kind of encounter this will be.'

Unfortunately, a clear reason did exist for Baek Ha-seong.

That was the encounter with the cadet nad Choi Yu-seong.

The reason for helping Hwa-ryeon was nothing more than a process for that eting.

From the beginning, he had no intention of granting Hwa-ryeon's request for its own sake.

However.

'It does not matter as long as I keep her in the dark.'

As he said, it did not matter as long as she did not know.

In any case, there was no possibility that the deployed villains would co out alive.

If so, no one would know what Baek Ha-seong did inside.

Therefore, there was no issue regarding the request.

Only the upcoming eting filled his mind.

'The more I dig, the deeper my interest grows. Is this why the Puppeteer even made a contract?'

At first, it was a very, very small interest.

Just a level of wondering why the Puppeteer would put so much effort into a re cadet.

So, he dug into it whenever he had ti, and what did he find?

That tiny spark of interest only continued to grow.

'The way he gets caught up in all sorts of incidents, and the attention of giants like Shin Yu-hwan or Cha Yu-na.'

Nothing about it was dull.

How should he put it?

He felt as though the world was revolving around that guy.

It was purely a personal opinion, but...

'What matters is that it looks that way to .'

What was the only ironclad rule of life he had established?

To judge and act on his own for everything; that was his rule.

Therefore, this interest was also unavoidable.

'And who knows?'

Whether his personal opinion might be the truth.

If fate exists and he was truly born with such a destiny...

'It would not be a bad idea to get involved at least once.'

Perhaps.

Just perhaps, he might be able to bring Baek Ha-seong what he desired.

It was while Baek Ha-seong was thinking this and slowly closing his eyes.

"Everything is finished."

Hwa-ryeon's voice broke through his thoughts.

At that sound, Baek Ha-seong opened the eyes he had briefly closed.

"Faster than I expected."

"Of course. Would a re security system made by such lowly people work against ?"

Hwa-ryeon spoke confidently.

At that sight, Baek Ha-seong snorted inwardly.

'Did she forget that this will only buy us about a day's worth of ti?'

However, he did not voice that thought.

There was no need to maintain a bad relationship with Hwa-ryeon.

So, laughing it off was the best option.

"Then, can we depart right now?"

"If you are ready. I do not mind letting the trash run wild first."

"There is nothing to do here anyway, so I might as well head out first."

With that, the short conversation ended.

Having finished the talk, Baek Ha-seong imdiately deployed his talent.

Then, clouds ford and wind surged around him.

Hwa-ryeon briefly closed her eyes against the intense wind.

"...Truly elusive, no matter when I see it."

When she opened her eyes again, Baek Ha-seong was nowhere to be seen.

***

"This boring nonsense will finally end soon."

It was evening, and the blue sky was now being enveloped by the sunset.

Under that sunset glow, Ryu Jin-oh was muttering in a quiet voice.

Calling an exam—one that determined the grades responsible for his future—"boring nonsense."

In a way, it could be perceived as quite arrogant.

However, it was not strange for such a reaction to occur.

"It would be much better to enter a Gate during this ti."

For Ryu Jin-oh, this did not even serve as a foundation for growth.

Ultimately, because it was not real combat, only sowhat anticlimactic situations continued.

In short, for Ryu Jin-oh, it was a continuation of ti that was not particularly helpful.

It was while Ryu Jin-oh was continuing the exam with a bored expression.

BZZZT—

"...What is this?"

The Identification Tag suddenly stopped working.

That was not all.

All the various safety devices prepared to prevent casualties during the exam had beco useless.

At that sight, Ryu Jin-oh clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"This is why artifacts made by human hands are unreliable."

Not artifacts that appeared as rewards from a Gate.

Artifacts made by humans occasionally failed to function.

Ryu Jin-oh dismissed the current situation as one of those cases.

Of course, that thought did not last long.

WHIIISH—!

Seven flaming arrows shot up into the sunset sky.

Seeing that, Ryu Jin-oh's expression crumpled slightly.

He knew exactly what those arrows ant.

"Regroup because it is dangerous?"

It was one of the signals they had decided on before starting this operation.

A signal to gather at the designated location in a dangerous situation.

At the ti, he had snorted, wondering if there would ever be a situation that would beco dangerous...

"That is being used now?"

Coincidentally, the Identification Tag and artifacts had just stopped working.

And in such a situation, a danger signal was being fired?

Sothing was flowing in a strange direction.

"Even though I said I was bored, I did not want this kind of developnt."

However, the event had already been triggered.

He did not know what kind of incident had broken out, but in any case, it would not be an ordinary matter.

With that final thought, Ryu Jin-oh ran toward the eting point.

***

anwhile, at the location where Do Gang-ho and Ha Eun-ha were.

Things were moving busily there as well.

"Pant, pant..."

"Gang-ho, are you okay?!"

While they were moving after hearing the regrouping signal.

Whether it was bad luck or not, the two had just finished a battle after encountering a villain who had invaded the island.

If there was a lucky point, was it that they had t a C-Rank Villain?

Thanks to that, although it was a struggle, the two were able to achieve victory against the villain.

Of course, there was a corresponding amount of damage.

"Damn it, I suppose real combat truly is different."

Do Gang-ho, who finished the battle while receiving healing from Ha Eun-ha, muttered under his breath.

Attacks that were thoroughly aid only at his life.

It was on a different dinsion from what he had learned in theory.

Because of that, he had made several mistakes, and it was true that he had almost died.

'If it were not for Ha Eun-ha, I really might have died.'

Healing that ca in constantly during the battle.

If not for that ability, which restored his vitality in addition to his wounds, it would have been a serious problem.

He probably would have been riding a ferry on the River of Death by now.

"Heh, I am still pathetically lacking."

"Gang-ho, did you happen to hit your head while fighting?! You look fine on the outside..."

Seeing Do Gang-ho suddenly laughing as if he had lost his mind, Ha Eun-ha worriedly checked his head.

Of course, it was not that Do Gang-ho had gone crazy from a head injury.

It was simply Do Gang-ho's original personality.

The type of person who enjoys a challenge rather than being frustrated by it?

However, one could not just stay laughing forever in this situation.

Do Gang-ho soon stopped laughing and spoke to Ha Eun-ha.

"Hey. Are you injured anywhere?"

"Huh? Oh, no. You were the only one fighting..."

"Is that so? Then how is your stamina?"

"My stamina is great. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"Why else? I am asking because we have to run like hell from now on."

Do Gang-ho spoke in a nonchalant voice and continued.

"From the looks of it, it seems those villain bastards have invaded."

"Uh, yeah."

"So, we need to et up with the others as soon as possible. I am sorry, but I do not have the strength to fight while protecting you alone."

It was a rational judgnt.

In the first place, they had been lucky this ti.

Because the enemy had foolishly targeted only him.

If they had targeted Ha Eun-ha, they might have been in deep trouble.

Since that could really happen next ti, Do Gang-ho's concern was natural.

"Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yeah..."

"Ah, and do not close your eyes when you fight. You could really die that way."

"I-I am sorry..."

Recalling the battle from earlier, Do Gang-ho spoke to Ha Eun-ha in a firm tone.

At those words, Ha Eun-ha imdiately apologized, as if she knew her mistake.

It was a natural reaction.

In fact, the behavior Ha Eun-ha had shown during the battle was very dangerous.

'If it had been a chaotic lee, it would have been a real disaster.'

Imdiately after the villain finally fell from his attack.

He had beaten the fallen villain like a madman to ensure a complete finish.

Even though he himself did not have experience killing a person.

A fight where you die if you do not kill is eventually like that.

That was why he had no choice but to speak strongly to Ha Eun-ha.

'Of course, it is not a problem that can be solved just by talking.'

Do Gang-ho also knew.

He knew that this kind of issue was not sothing that could be fixed simply by being told.

In Do Gang-ho's case, he showed a stoic appearance because of his usual resolve and innate personality, but not everyone was like that.

Therefore, scolding her more here would only have the opposite effect.

So, after saying only that much, Do Gang-ho naturally changed the subject.

"Then let us go quickly for now. Staying here longer is just a waste of ti."

Indeed.

No matter the circumstances, the most important thing was to et up with the others.

Whether it was the problem of Ha Eun-ha not adapting to combat.

Or the fact that Do Gang-ho's strength alone was woefully insufficient.

These were all problems that would be solved once they t with the rest of the group.

Therefore, with those final words.

The two sprinted at full speed toward the eting point.