The qualification exam, which tests examinees’ ability to infer and solve problems, demands more than just problem-solving skills.
Focusing solely on solving problems to display your exam number and earn bonus points might make you overlook something.
“Wow, those guys have blue tickets.”
“They were red just yesterday. Changed again overnight.”
“How’d they get that far?”
“The fewer problems left, the harder they get…”
The exam, lasting up to a week or as short as a day, allows examinees to attempt problems freely until the day before the practical exam. The core requirement is to have solved at least one problem by then.
Until then, exam numbers remain provisional.
Only on the day of the practical exam do the numbers on the tickets get finalized.
“But you two always stick together? Act separately when solving problems.”
“…”
In other words, until the day before the practical exam, ownership of the exam tickets is ambiguous.
Thus, stealing and wearing someone else’s ticket isn’t impossible.
A flaw in the qualification exam.
Examinees who fail to solve problems or hit their limits might exploit this flaw, targeting others’ tickets.
“Should we tail them quietly?”
“…”
“You never know what might happen.”
Yet Gangnam Academy couldn’t have overlooked this flaw.
Leaving it as is likely serves a purpose.
After all, Gangnam Academy emphasized always wearing the ticket.
The conspicuous size of the ticket is intentional.
Ultimately, this is part of the exam, testing examinees’ ability to protect or seize tickets.
To become a Hunter who protects the nation and humanity by conquering Gates and slaying monsters, one must demonstrate the skill to either steal or safeguard a ticket.
Thus, examinees’ vigilance rises as the practical exam approaches.
Unlike ordinary examinees…
“Aren’t there any kids hanging around them?”
“I’ve watched them for two days—nope. They only move together.”
“They’re basically asking to be targeted.”
A man with an innocent face and a girl with bunny ears stroll through District 23’s streets, wearing blue exam tickets as if they’re not worried about theft at all.
To examinees eyeing others’ tickets, they’re easy prey.
Of course, they’re not fools.
“Hey, they’re blue.”
“So?”
“Solving 25 problems means they’re stronger than us, right?”
“True… Maybe they move together because they’re confident in their skills.”
While their strength is unknown, examinees who’ve tailed them for days noticed their extraordinary problem-solving speed.
Thus, such thoughts arise.
But that’s all.
“Only two days left—what chances do we have?”
“A rare opportunity to earn exam numbers and bonus points—should we give up? I don’t want to.”
“Even if they’re strong, it doesn’t matter. We can overpower them with numbers.”
“Plus, we’re not the only ones targeting them.”
“If we gang up, we’ll manage somehow.”
“Who gets the ticket is something to decide later.”
“Are you in, or out?”
Urgency, overwhelming numbers, irrational group mentality, and collective consciousness—examinees, pushed by these factors, have no choice but to make a move.
They see this as an opportunity.
Meanwhile, exam tickets are money.
“I came to earn some pocket money—don’t really care about passing.”
“How much can a blue ticket sell for?”
“You? The client’s rich, so they’ll pay handsomely.”
“Rich folks just buy tickets outright, huh.”
Where there’s demand, there’s supply.
Every year in Academy City, people use exam tickets as a means to make money.
They’re usually dreamers who entered the city to become Hunters, felt their limits, despaired, and fell behind others, ending up as vagrants scraping by.
These vagrants wouldn’t miss this chance either.
Thus.
“They went into that alley now!”
“It’s a dead end.”
“It’s also secluded… If we follow now, we can block their path and surround them.”
The enemy of my enemy is my ally.
Naturally, vagrants and examinees with aligned interests chased the duo.
The duo, unaware, walked into the alley out of sight.
Like rabbits entering a burrow.
It was a perfect opportunity for them.
“Fools.”
Time to hunt the rabbits.
Hyenas snickered openly.
Soon, surrounding the alley, they each took out their metal plates.
“Device On.”
To carry weapons conveniently, humanity, 200 years post-Calamity, invented technology to perfectly compress mana alloy weapons without damage.
The epitome of this tech is the Device.
Upon uttering the activation phrase, the metal plates transformed back into weapons.
Then.
“Whoever snatches first gets the ticket!”
Armed, they recklessly charged into the rabbit burrow.
But what awaited them was a dead end.
“What’s this…?”
“Isn’t this the place!?”
“Who said they came in here!?”
“We did come in here…”
“Where did those brats go?”
“Search quickly!”
As if swallowed by the ground, the rabbits were nowhere to be seen.
They were visibly flustered.
Just then.
“Who are you looking for up there?”
“…”
A voice came from above.
Startled, they slowly looked up.
“I’m right here.”
“…”
Above them, on the wall, the rabbits loomed over them like kings of the mountain.
Then, the man with the innocent face stepped between two walls and leaped, landing at the alley’s entrance.
“Now, I’m right in front of you.”
“…”
The situation reversed.
Now, the trapped ones weren’t the rabbits but the hyenas.
But rabbits blocking the path weren’t scary.
After all, they’re just rabbits.
The hyenas’ hesitation was brief.
“Take them down!”
“That brat’s provoking us!”
Regaining composure, they moved.
Twenty-plus hyenas hunting one rabbit—ridiculous.
Of course, that rabbit was…
“Hmph.”
Only looking like a rabbit.
How could they be so foolish as to not realize they were lured?
But their foolishness led them to underestimate us and target us without gauging our strength.
“Do they think numbers matter in a fight?”
In a fight among those who wield mana, numbers mean little.
As one hero can save the world, sheer strength overshadows numbers.
These rabble can’t handle me or Yeon Ha-neul.
To teach them that.
“Device On.”
I took out my metal plate from my pocket.
A Device, compressing weapons for Hunters to carry easily.
The Device, lighter in volume but not weight, responds to the activation phrase, returning to its original form.
I drew the Junjeong Sword.
Immediately.
Whoosh!
The first to charge swung his sword fiercely.
The blade had rubber padding.
Probably won’t kill on impact, but it’ll hurt.
Of course, I didn’t plan to get hit.
“Their attacks are too simple and straightforward.”
No flair in swordsmanship—feels like basic training.
No way I’d lose to such a sword.
No need to rely on evasion instincts.
That’s why I chose the alias “Lion Cub” over “Rabbit” to unleash the power of the King’s Flow.
My current agility stat is 68.
With Junjeong Sword’s effect, it’s 71.
In the 70s, their attacks look slow to me.
Stepping aside easily, I struck the guy’s back with the flat of my sword.
“Ugh!”
“You brat…!”
As one collapsed, another targeted my rear.
Too late to swing Junjeong Sword.
But I can block with the scabbard.
“…”
Swinging the scabbard without worry.
I slapped the guy’s cheek.
“Feels like his face turned….”
No worries, that won’t kill him.
If it did… I’d have to flee quickly.
Meanwhile, they didn’t check the fallen guy and kept charging.
“Anyway, it’s just one guy! Gang up on him!”
“Phew….”
Dealing with over 20 guys while consciously using the flat of my sword is a task.
I channelled mana into Junjeong Sword.
Switching to Reverse Blade mode.
The blade and flat switch places.
“This makes fighting easier.”
Now, I can fight properly.
I blocked one attack while dodging two others.
“…What!?”
Their eyes widened in shock.
Seems like a decisive blow.
It looked slow to me, though.
Their movements are far inferior to the triplets.
“Ugh!”
With Reverse Blade Junjeong Sword, I struck a guy’s chest.
His ribs likely broke, making breathing hard.
Combat-incapacitated.
Ignoring him, I attacked the two whose combo fell apart.
Crash!
The impact felt great.
The guy who missed my attack collided with the nearby wall.
Then, he slid down the wall, losing consciousness.
Like he’d been hit with a tranquillizer dart.
The Beginning of the Incident
“The culprit is me.”
And she was also a culprit.
“This is provocation!”
“Gang up on him!”
Swinging swords made the space too cramped.
Dodging the attackers by kicking off walls, I landed behind them.
Then, I struck their heads while looking up at Yeon Ha-neul, who was suppressing them from above.
Air Bullet
A 1st-degree wind-element magic.
The non-lethal projectiles Yeon Ha-neul created from her index finger targeted the foes.
She was both covering me and controlling the situation to prevent them from escaping the alley.
Then, it happened.
“This is underhanded…!”
“…”
A latecomer appeared behind Yeon Ha-neul.
She was too close for magic to respond.
But she wasn’t just a magician—she’d trained in martial arts too.
“Device On.”
“…What!?”
Yeon Ha-neul twisted her body to dodge the attack.
In an instant, she wielded a hammer larger than herself.
Swinging it…
CRACK!
A terrifying sound echoed above.
I saw a guy flying and crashing down after being hit by her hammer.
I leaped from the ground.
THUD! WHOOSH! CRACK! THUMP!
Before the guy’s head hit the floor, I spun and kicked his side, sending him flying into a pile of garbage bags.
“This should keep him from dying.”
I licked my lips, looking at the guy buried in an awkward pose.
Yeon Ha-neul seemed even more impressive.
“Thanks, Kwon-woo.”
“Uh… Yeah.”
She was acting so nonchalant.
I, with a trembling face, decided to finish off the remaining foes.
There were still quite a few left.
I needed to make a bigger scene.
I revved up my mana circuits.
ZAP!
“…Spark?”
“Wait, that’s…!”
It was too late to realize.
They should’ve known better than to provoke me.
I grinned at them.
“Shin-Gum… Do clan….”
“One wrong move and you could die.”
Blue mana crackled with sparks.
Lightning enveloped my sword.
“So don’t die, for my sake.”
Lion Rampage
A freely swinging sword technique to deal with foes in front.
The rotating sword, growing stronger with each spin, swept through them.
“So don’t die, for my sake.”
“…”
“Yeah, that was cool. Really… Lu….”
After the situation settled, Yeon Ha-neul descended and immediately spoke with a forced expression.
Her lips twitched as if holding back laughter.
“Y-eon, H-a, n-eul.”
“Aaaah! What are you doing?!”
No doubt about it—Yeon Ha-neul was teasing me.
I wasn’t one to take being teased lying down.
I grabbed her face and squeezed her bunny ears hard.
“You….”
“Well, who’s teasing now?”
“You always tease me.”
“I can, but you can’t.”
“Wow, double standards.”
Yeon Ha-neul looked speechless.
I shrugged at her and stopped the scuffle.
Then, I looked down at the foes we’d taken down.
“Ugh….”
Groans came from all around.
Clearly, they’d taken quite a beating from us.
“It’s not me, it’s Kwon-woo, right? If you think about it, it’s because of your swordsmanship that they ended up like this.”
“Didn’t you swing your hammer?”
“But less than you, right?”
Yeon Ha-neul was being sarcastic.
But the fact that she fought alongside me, swinging her hammer, remained unchanged.
No use trying to hide it.
The state of the guy buried in the garbage pile earlier told the truth.
Anyway.
It was time to clean up.
“Ha-neul, can you use your object-floating magic to take their exam tickets?”
“I can with wind-element magic. But why?”
“Why else? They targeted us, so they should pay the price.”
“Oh, right… That’s so you.”
“Use magic to bring them to me.”
I asked Yeon Ha-neul for help.
Despite her trembling face, she followed without complaint.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, wind swept through the area.
At her command, the wind tore the exam tickets from the fallen foes’ chests.
“Ah….”
“My, my exam ticket….”
The foes tried to grab their tickets, but it was impossible with their current strength.
Soon, the tickets floated toward me one by one.
“…”
The ticket-less foes’ gazes all turned to me.
I smiled as brightly as I could.
“If you were prepared to steal from others, you should’ve been prepared to be stolen from.”
“What are you trying to do….”
“Just watch helplessly from there.”
“Kwon-woo, that’s something a villain would do….”
“I can, but a villain can’t.”
“Yeah, right….”
There were about 30 exam tickets, so I had to hold them with one arm.
I threw the tickets with all my might.
Whoosh!
Without me saying a word, she conveniently sent wind to lift them.
The tickets soared high into the air.
Then, they began to fall.
I watched them and began stabbing consecutively.
Lion Soars
A sword technique combining speed and illusion.
Planting both feet firmly on the ground to steady myself, I channeled mana into my sword arm and fiercely stabbed the falling objects.
Once the number of strikes exceeded twelve…
Roar!
The mana I’d spent condensed, taking the form of a lion.
Now, the lion soared high.
————!!
The lion, imbued with physical force, swallowed the exam tickets.
They were torn to shreds.
“Aaaah….”
“My, my exam ticket….”
“How….”
“Sob….”
Sparkling dust scattered.
The dust didn’t settle on the ground but was whisked away by the wind to who knows where.
I decided to comfort the stunned foes.
“Sincerely congratulations on getting eliminated before even taking the exam.”
“…”
“You didn’t seem cut out to be Hunters anyway. It’s a relief you got eliminated early. I hope you find your way forward.”
“Sob….”
At my words,
the foes were moved to tears.
“Wow….”
Yeon Ha-neul was also impressed.
Two days later.
[Exam Number Verification…]
[Exam Number Verified.]
[Gangnam 1532]
[Clear!]
[Color: Blue(29) → Black(30)]
Yeon Ha-neul and I solved all the problems, turning our exam tickets black.
Then, as the date changed, the day of the practical exam approached.
[Exam Number Confirmed!]
[Do Kwon-woo – Gangnam 1532]
[Color: Black(30)]
[Exam Location Announced.]
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