The day of the third practical exam had arrived.
We left the hotel right on time and headed toward the bus stop.
The bus soon pulled up in front of us.
“Wow… There are way too many people. Can we even get on?”
“We should’ve left at least ten minutes earlier.”
“Ten minutes? It feels like we should’ve come an hour earlier.”
“Well, what can we do now? We have to squeeze in anyway.”
The bus heading toward the Academy grounds was crammed full of candidates taking the third practical exam.
Unable to find seats, we had no choice but to squeeze among the other students standing in the aisle.
Fortunately, there was at least one handgrip within my reach.
I quickly grabbed it to avoid losing my balance as the bus moved forward.
“Ugh…”
The problem was that there was nothing nearby for Yeon Ha-neul to hold onto.
She was tossed left and right, struggling to keep her balance amidst the crowd.
Seeing her predicament, I spoke up.
“Ha-neul, lean on me.”
“Huh?”
“It’s dangerous like this. I’ll support you from behind, so just lean against me comfortably.”
“But… wouldn’t that make it hard for you?”
“I’m not exactly a normal civilian, am I? I’m an inspector candidate, so your weight is hardly—”
“You could’ve stopped at the first part, but did you really need to add the second? I’m not heavy at all, you know?”
“I never said you were heavy.”
“That sounded exactly like it.”
“No, it really didn’t.”
“Anyway! If you insist… I’ll rely on you for now.”
Yeon Ha-neul carefully leaned into me.
She placed one hand lightly between my chest and stomach, gently grabbing my clothes for support.
At that very moment, the bus abruptly braked.
Screech!
“Kyaak!”
Everyone’s bodies lurched forward.
I tightened my grip on the handle quickly, firmly planting my feet to keep myself steady. With my free hand, I quickly reached out and grabbed Yeon Ha-neul, preventing her from falling.
Her body tilted momentarily but was guided safely back into my embrace.
“Ha-neul, are you alright?”
“Y-yeah… Thanks…”
Unlike just moments before, startled by the sudden stop, Yeon Ha-neul now clutched my chest tightly with both hands.
Since she was so closely pressed against me, I couldn’t check her expression. All I could see clearly were her rabbit ears swaying right before my eyes and the top of her head.
“What happened up front? Someone could’ve gotten hurt.”
“Y-yeah…”
“Why do you keep saying just ‘Y-yeah’? You sure you’re okay?”
“I am, really, I’m fine…”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Please stop talking directly into my ear… Your breath tickles, and it feels like you’re whispering.”
“Hey, your ear is right in front of me. What am I supposed to do?”
“My ears… are sensitive, so please just stop…”
“Alright, alright, I got it.”
“Y-yeah…”
Yeon Ha-neul’s ears twitched slightly.
She pressed herself even closer to me, practically burying her face into my chest.
‘Though, you know, it tickles me too.’
She wasn’t the only one feeling the warmth of breath.
Her breathing gently brushed against my neck, playfully tickling my skin. It wasn’t unbearable, but it certainly felt strange.
‘Maybe because it’s the neck?’
The neck is a vulnerable spot for any animal.
A bite there immobilizes you; break it, and you die. Humans aren’t much different.
Perhaps my instincts were unconsciously cautious because my weak spot was exposed to her.
Yet my avoidance instinct strangely wasn’t reacting.
‘Probably because my instincts sense that Ha-neul means me no harm.’
At least, that was my assumption.
To shake off the strange sensation, I turned my gaze to the scenery outside the window.
“Huh?”
Just then, I heard murmurs from other examinees.
“Showing off their lovey-dovey act this early… Damn…”
“If they’re going to flirt, they should do it out of sight…”
“I swear, I’ll make sure they fail.”
“Did they come here for the exam or to date?”
“Students shouldn’t be dating around like that…”
“But aren’t we students too?”
“Let’s just pass the exam. If we pass, we’ll have our own…”
Their whispers were filled with self-pity, resentment, and melancholy.
Based on their words, someone was apparently flaunting their relationship openly inside the crowded bus.
‘Whoever they are, I hope they fail miserably.’
People like that usually don’t study well anyway.
Good grief.
Instead of saying anything aloud, I quietly sympathized with them.
Finally, the bus arrived at the Academy grounds.
After getting off at the final stop, we started toward the Dimensional Hall, where the third practical exam was held.
Suddenly, someone called out from behind us.
“Ha-neul! Gyeon-woo!”
“Oh, it’s Eun-bi.”
It was Go Eun-bi.
She had just stepped off a bus herself and was waving at us energetically, wearing a bright smile despite the early hour.
“…Do you like her?”
“Why ask that all of a sudden?”
“Well… you just seem unusually friendly with her. You rarely show much interest in other people.”
“Was I really like that?”
“You were. That’s why it feels weird to me.”
Yeon Ha-neul’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Given she didn’t know about the game’s existence, it must’ve seemed strange that I was so familiar with Go Eun-bi despite meeting her only a few times.
Unable to reveal the truth, I decided to brush off her suspicions.
“She just seems like a good person. I thought it’d be nice to become friends. Don’t you think so?”
“…I suppose she’s not a bad person. She notices I’m shy and treats me gently.”
“See?”
Although still looking unconvinced, Yeon Ha-neul reluctantly agreed.
She seemed satisfied enough to drop the topic, looking away as Go Eun-bi approached.
“Hey! You guys being here means you did well yesterday, right? Are you heading to the third practical exam?”
It wasn’t even nine yet, and she’d likely be tired from yesterday’s test, yet Go Eun-bi still energetically chatted away.
“Hello…”
Yeon Ha-neul shyly greeted her, immediately hiding behind my back as if uncomfortable.
I smiled wryly, now unintentionally playing her shield.
“Morning. Are you headed to the exam too? Ours is in room 206. How about you?”
“Mine’s 206 as well! From what I’ve heard, all combat-type examinees are assigned there.”
“Guess we’ll be taking it together.”
“That’s great! Help me out if things get tough, okay?”
“You seem pretty strong yourself, though?”
“Oh, come on, I can’t compare to you guys with those black candidate badges. Oh, by the way, you two were talking about me just now, weren’t you?”
“We were. We were saying you look like a genuinely nice person. Ha-neul agreed too. Didn’t you?”
“You didn’t have to say that out loud…”
“Oh? Really? Thank you! You two are also such a handsome pair!”
“You also seem popular.”
“Me? No way! I don’t have many friends at all!”
Go Eun-bi waved her hand dismissively, clearly surprised by the compliment.
Having expected her reaction, I shrugged lightly. Clearly, Go Eun-bi was skilled at deception.
With that casual conversation, we finally arrived at the third practical exam site.
“All examinees, confirm your candidate number before entering through the gate.”
Dimensional Hall, Room 206.
Following the assistant’s instructions, we completed the necessary steps and stood in front of the artificial gate.
The dimensional portal shone bright yellow.
“Let’s head inside.”
“Okay.”
“…Alright.”
I stepped into the gate first, followed closely by Yeon Ha-neul, and then Go Eun-bi.
My vision was filled with a bright yellow glow.
[You have entered the Gate.]
[Yellow Gate: Hotel of Dreams IV]
[Delivering clearance conditions.]
[This Gate has already been cleared.]
By the time the message disappeared, I found myself in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by examinees.
‘Hotel of Dreams?’
I dismissed the notification and immediately searched for Yeon Ha-neul and Go Eun-bi.
Even in the bustling crowd, it was easy to spot Ha-neul, thanks to her rabbit ears.
‘There she is.’
Through the throng, a pair of rabbit ears peeked over the heads nearby.
I pushed through and approached them.
“Ha-neul, Eun-bi.”
“Oh, Gyeon-woo.”
“We were just looking for you. Good thing you found us first!”
“Well, Ha-neul’s ears stood out.”
Both welcomed me warmly.
Relieved, Yeon Ha-neul gently grasped my sleeve, clearly wary of getting separated again.
Suddenly, Go Eun-bi spoke up.
“Hey, they’re moving!”
The examinees around us began walking forward, apparently guided by assistant supervisors.
“Let’s follow them.”
We joined the crowd and moved along the forest path.
After a long walk through the woods, something finally appeared ahead.
‘What is that?’
Beyond the trees, a rooftop gradually came into view.
As we drew nearer, the building hidden beneath the roof slowly revealed itself.
It seemed the assistants were guiding us toward that structure.
When we finally stepped clear of the forest, the entire building came into full view.
‘A hotel?’
That was the first impression I got from the aged structure standing before us.
In front of the building was a dried-up fountain, beside which stood several examiners waiting for our arrival.
The examiner standing at the forefront checked his watch before speaking.
“Since the designated time has arrived, I will now explain the third practical examination.”
The murmuring among the candidates ceased immediately, and everyone turned their attention toward him.
“The forest surrounding the Hotel of Dreams is inhabited by monsters ranging from Rank 1 to Rank 2. Among them is a monster called the Ghost Rabbit. Instructors, please show the examinees the Ghost Rabbits.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…”
One of the examiners reached into a cage on the ground and lifted a small, brown rabbit by its ears. Hanging limp in the air, it appeared mostly ordinary—except for the single long horn protruding from the middle of its forehead.
Then, other examiners each raised rabbits of various colors.
As I stared at them, messages appeared before my eyes.
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Ghost Rabbit (Rank 01) × 1]
[Red Ghost Rabbit (Rank 01) × 1]
[Yellow Ghost Rabbit (Rank 01) × 1]
[Blue Ghost Rabbit (Rank 01) × 1]
[….]
“These creatures are called Ghost Rabbits. Aside from the horns you currently see, they seem like ordinary rabbits, however…”
The examiner nodded slightly as a signal.
Immediately, the examiners holding the rabbits released their grips. As soon as their ears were free, the rabbits’ bodies became translucent before vanishing completely.
“As demonstrated…”
“…”
“These creatures can employ a camouflage that makes visual confirmation extremely difficult. In that camouflaged state, ‘ordinary’ attacks become ineffective. Conversely, when not camouflaged, ‘other’ types of attacks become ineffective.”
Ghost Rabbits—a Rank 1 monster.
I knew them well.
‘I’ve dealt with them plenty of times, both in the game and during the New Sword School’s assessments.’
Naturally, I was aware that, depending on the rabbits’ states, either physical or magical attacks—but not both—would be effective.
I quickly understood the examiner’s meaning behind ‘ordinary’ and ‘other’ attacks.
By ‘ordinary attacks,’ he meant physical strikes, and by ‘other attacks,’ magical ones.
But more importantly…
‘Si-eun nuna’s prediction was right.’
This was clearly a test designed to check our ability to freely switch between physical and magical energy manifestations.
However, from the examiner’s further explanation, it appeared the test wasn’t as simple as it first seemed.
“Candidates, your task is to hunt the Ghost Rabbits residing within the forest and bring the magic stones obtained from them back here, to the fountain. We will then…”
The examiner approached a large weighing scale.
It was an artifact designed to measure the energy contained in magic stones.
He placed a magic stone onto the scale.
Numbers instantly appeared, sensing the mana contained within the stone.
“For example, like this.”
[3Gg]
“We will assess the value of your magic stones by converting various standards such as weight, size, damage ratio, and energy level. As you can see, the stone I’ve measured is worth 3Gg according to our scale. For reference, ‘Gg’ stands for ‘Geumgang.’”
“…”
“For every 10Gg of worth you gather, you’ll receive one chip.”
The examiner held up what appeared to be a casino chip, presenting it to us.
“The third and fourth practical exams will be conducted within the same gate. The location for your fourth practical exam is the Hotel of Dreams behind me.”
“…”
“Tonight at 7 PM, there will be a banquet for you at the Hotel of Dreams. By that time, you must have collected enough chips to reserve a room for the night.”
The examiner then sent a message to the Gate Watch we all wore.
[Hotel of Dreams Room Classes]
― Standard: 10 chips
― Superior: 20 chips
― Deluxe: 30 chips
― Premier: 40 chips
― Suite: 50 chips
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