She could barely move.
If only she could cast magic—but her mana reserves had long since run dry, and the state of her mana circuits was far from ideal.
To force a spell now would risk permanent damage to her circuits, or worse, trigger a mana rampage.
Min Ah-rin lay half-buried in the earth, staring up at the sky with quiet despair, waiting for her strength to return.
Time slipped by, unnoticed.
“Tch…”
Leaning on her staff, Min Ah-rin finally climbed out of the crater. The sun had already set, and the sky was soaked in hues of deep blue.
She had lain buried for over half a day.
It was nothing short of disheartening.
There were fewer than twenty hours left before the exam ended, and she had lost all her admission tokens.
Forget entering the academy as a top scorer. At this rate, she might not even get in at all.
Time was of the essence.
She had to gather at least 200 points with the little time she had left.
“It’s fine. I’m Min Ah-rin. Two hundred points? Hah. That’s nothing.”
Having wept in the pit earlier, her tears had dried. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. She couldn’t afford to give up—not until it was truly over.
Magic was the manifestation of imagination into reality. Giving up was just another form of limiting one’s imagination.
Steeling her resolve, Min Ah-rin set off in search of other candidates.
Thankfully, her Gate Watch pinged every three hours, displaying the locations of admission tokens in her vicinity.
[21:00:00]
[Displaying all admission tokens within a 500-meter radius.]
“…That way, then.”
Perhaps it was because the exam would end tomorrow—candidates were beginning to cluster together.
For Min Ah-rin, this was an opportunity.
Ignoring the ache in her body, she made her way toward the dense grouping of tokens.
“There’s quite a crowd. Perfect.”
As she spread her detection net, she picked up on the presence of scattered candidates.
Tucking her red hair behind her ears, her golden eyes gleamed.
A confident smirk curved her lips.
If she claimed those tokens, 200 points would be a breeze.
“W-What the hell?!”
“Thanks for your tokens.”
But she was a mage. And alone.
She couldn’t take on all of them.
Besides, wandering the forest at night, where monsters lurked, was already perilous.
So Min Ah-rin crept like a cat around the forest’s edge, targeting isolated candidates who had strayed too far from their groups.
‘I feel like a petty thief.’
The thought crossed her mind, but this wasn’t the time for shame.
Her pride was wounded, it was humiliating, degrading—but survival came first.
Dignity could wait.
She shoved the thought aside and focused on gathering tokens.
Without sleep, without rest, she scoured the woods. And in the end, she succeeded—she had her 200 points.
“See? Who am I? I’m Min Ah-rin.”
In some ways, Min Ah-rin was simple.
She forgot the humiliation and straightened her back with pride.
Now she would push for an even higher score.
That was when chaos erupted.
“Why are these damn things attacking all of a sudden…?”
Monsters surged into the forest.
In the panic, Min Ah-rin too was swept into the fray.
This was no time to be swiping tokens.
Reacting swiftly, she struck down the one that had ambushed her from behind.
“…”
Her golden eyes swept across the battlefield.
Two examinees needed rescuing.
Five monsters surrounded her—beasts that resembled hyenas.
[You have encountered monsters.]
[Greneina (Rank 01) x 5]
They were nocturnal predators, sleeping in the shadows by day and hunting by night.
“Hah.”
Reading the system message, Min Ah-rin scoffed.
She ran her fingers through her crimson hair.
“You think the likes of you can stop me? Do you even know who I am?”
With a snap of her fingers—
Fwoosh.
Flames erupted behind her.
The startled beasts backed away from the sudden blaze.
With fire lighting her back, she levelled her staff at them.
“Don’t underestimate me.”
The one possessing the candidate’s body—Lee Ga-hyeon—could not exert her full strength.
Her soul was incomplete, merely a fragment.
Yet, she couldn’t be dismissed.
As I exchanged blades with Lee Ga-hyeon, I checked her status window.
[Personal Information]
Name: Park Ji-hee (Lee Ga-hyeon) (Female, 17)
Alias: Soul Puppet of Lee Ga-hyeon
Affiliation: Miyang Middle School
[Gift]
Flexibility
[Physical Attributes]
Stamina: 35 → ?7
Strength: 31 → 52
Endurance: 30 → 5?
Agility: 33 → ?4
Magic: 27 → ??
Luck: 12 → 27
Remaining Points: 0
Just as I thought.
Her stats had risen in line with Lee Ga-hyeon’s soul.
Some values were corrupted—likely due to the disparity between our ranks.
Or perhaps another reason entirely.
‘It’s safer to assume she’s on par with me.’
In truth, she handled my attacks with ease.
Despite the relentless flurry, she showed no signs of panic.
On the contrary, she was smiling, as though she found joy in it.
Then she spoke.
“Why do you keep looking away? When you’re with me, I expect your full attention. It’s rude otherwise.”
“Ugh!”
For a split second, my eyes drifted to her status window.
Lee Ga-hyeon didn’t miss the opening.
Her sword curved suddenly, and I instinctively parried.
That’s when the other blade—hidden from my view—struck from the side.
Crack!
Thankfully, my reflexes kicked in.
I barely avoided the slash and prepared to counter.
“Your reflexes are ridiculous. I’ve never met someone who dodges like that.”
But she was faster.
She extended her leg, halting my spin before I could reposition. Before I could react, she rushed into my guard.
I saw her lick her lips with a flick of her tongue, her eyes dancing with delight. Behind her, her arms moved like whips.
“Your swordsmanship—it’s strong. Swift. Among the elite sword schools, yours deserves high praise.”
“…!”
“But you know…”
A blade soared from the right.
I blocked.
Another from the left.
Then again, from the right.
Lee Ga-hyeon unleashed a barrage of twin-sword strikes just as I had before.
I could only defend—no chance to activate my forms.
“If you don’t even get a chance to strike, what use is your technique? Isn’t your famed Thunder Lion Style built on precise motion and balanced force?”
That’s why the Thunder Lion Style has more than just attack forms—there are defensive forms, unique forms, and special styles.
Ignoring her taunts, I stepped back in a spiralling motion.
Lion’s Whirling Dance
At first, my steps were subtle.
Gradually, the spins widened.
Lee Ga-hyeon, engrossed in pressing the attack, didn’t notice.
“What is this… When did—?!”
“The Thunder Lion Style isn’t just about strength and speed. It includes flow and illusion. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
By the time she realised we had been dancing a spiral together, the situation had already reversed.
I was now outside the spiral—she was in its centre.
While she’d been lured into my rhythm, our positions had swapped.
Now she was the one defending.
Her expression shifted to confusion.
And then—
Crackle!
Blue lightning sparked around the spiral.
Thunderclap.
It was summoned through the Lion’s Whirling Dance footwork.
The current followed the spiral’s path, straight to her position.
“Gah!”
Sensing danger, she tried to escape, but it was too late.
She hadn’t realised it yet, but the current was already clinging to her.
Wherever she ran…
Lion’s Rending Strike
She could not evade it.
The Thunderclap, born of the Lion’s Whirling Dance, summoned more lightning with it.
I could only perform this once, but once was enough.
I slashed in her direction. The energy found its own path, flying toward her.
“…!”
She blocked, barely managing to absorb the blow.
Still, the force sent her crashing into a tree.
And just then—
Fwish!
Go Eun-bi, who had been watching our duel, lost an arrow.
Lee Ga-hyeon, unguarded against her, was caught by surprise.
The arrow struck her left arm.
She stumbled back, frowning at the wound.
“I don’t like interruptions…”
She yanked the arrow out and tossed it aside.
With a surge of mana, the wound healed instantly.
Her gaze shifted behind me, toward Go Eun-bi and her friends.
“You’re in the way, too. So, how about you disappear?”
The moment Lee Ga-hyeon spoke, the forest trembled.
The howls of monsters rang out, rapidly drawing near.
Even without extending our senses, we could feel them converging upon us.
“Gyeon-woo! Run!”
Go Eun-bi’s voice cut off mid-sentence.
From the underbrush, monsters shaped like hyenas emerged.
[Monsters Encountered]
[Greneina (Rank. 01) x 4]
They were only the beginning.
One after another, monsters poured in and surrounded us.
Outside the circle, Lee Ga-hyeon stood watching with a delighted smile.
“Don’t worry,” she cooed. “They won’t harm you.”
“…”
“But I can’t say the same for them.”
She clearly intended to use the monsters to keep my companions in check.
It was an unfavourable situation for me—I had to fight while protecting them.
So I made a swift decision.
“Eun-bi, take them and run.”
“What?!”
“If we stay trapped here, even more monsters will gather. You need to get out.”
“What about you?!”
“She said it herself—they’re not after me, they’re after you. So don’t worry about me. Just focus on your safety.”
“But…”
“Remember what I asked earlier? Please—do it now.”
“…Alright. I trust you.”
I hadn’t ruled out the possibility that Lee Ga-hyeon might be stronger than I expected, or that something unforeseen could happen, leaving me unable to protect them.
That’s why I briefed Go Eun-bi beforehand.
She had resisted at first but eventually agreed, her voice heavy with resignation.
“I’ll clear the path—go while you can!”
I charged toward the weakest point of the encirclement.
My navy-hued blade shimmered with blue light.
Lion’s Rampage
There was no better sword technique for breaking through enemy lines.
I moved in a lightning-bolt arc, erasing monsters from my path.
The others recoiled in fear and scrambled back.
A hole opened in their ranks.
“Now!”
“Let’s go, everyone! Gyeon-woo—don’t overdo it!”
Go Eun-bi led the others through the breach I created.
As they fled, the remaining monsters scrambled after them, eager to give chase.
Soon, they were gone from sight.
I turned back.
Lee Ga-hyeon smiled at me with narrowed eyes.
“Looks like it’s just the two of us now.”
“Good. Now I can kill you without distractions.”
“My, my. Isn’t that a bit harsh? You’re not even after my admission token—you actually want to kill me?”
“I do.”
“…”
“There’s no rule that says I can’t. I’ll kill you, then take the token.”
“That’s odd. The Swords of the Do Family are known to avoid unnecessary killing. You’re quite… unique.”
“We avoid indiscriminate killing. But you don’t count.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Anyone affiliated with the Demon Society is marked for eradication.”
“…”
“And if you’re one of the Six Demonic Pillars, even more so—am I wrong, Puppet Witch, Lee Ga-hyeon?”
Her eyes flew open.
Her lips, once curled in a smile, flattened.
“…How did you know?”
Her voice was cold enough to cut.
Narrowing her eyes, she glared at me with deadly intent.
The air around her shifted, charged with menace.
I answered calmly.
“How? Are you really curious about that?”
“…”
“Then come and find out. Don’t just analyse me from a distance. You thought I wouldn’t notice your little plan to run mid-fight? That won’t work on me.”
If I let her escape now, I’d never find her again.
I needed bait to keep her here.
That bait was the truth of her identity.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Just don’t run.”
Lee Ga-hyeon’s eyes glowed crimson.
With a speed unlike before, she closed the distance in a blink.
I swung my sword to meet her—
[You are under Pressure.]
[All stats reduced by 8%.]
[Skill ‘Courage Lv. 5’ activated.]
[Recovering stats reduced by Pressure, up to 13%.]
[Attributes restored.]
[Courage Lv. 5: Focus and evasion rate increased by 13%.]
The monsters were behaving strangely.
Creatures of different species, tendencies, and habitats—all attacking candidates in unison, with no infighting.
“What on earth…”
Something was happening in the forest—something unknown and unnatural.
Having followed news of Do Gyeon-woo here, Yeon Ha-neul was overwhelmed.
Her long rabbit ears twitched rapidly, capturing every sound.
But she couldn’t hear his voice anywhere.
“Where is he?”
The number of monsters was alarming.
It felt like every creature on Honrim Isle had gathered here.
And maybe… they had.
Monsters were drawn to mana. It was instinctual.
Unconscious mana leaks, emotional surges, residual energy from spells—these all acted like beacons.
So yes, they were gathering.
“There are too many presences—I can’t even detect him with my sensory net…”
Naturally, Yeon Ha-neul worried.
She struck down each attacking monster with her iron hammer, anxiety building.
“Ha-neul! Are you sure he’s really here?! Maybe Gyeon-woo escaped—”
“No. He’s still in the forest.”
More monsters approached.
Lisa quickly cast a barrier, blocking their advance.
Inside its safety, Yeon Ha-neul completed her chant and incinerated the beasts in an instant.
They dashed into the shadows once more.
“You don’t have to force yourself to follow. It’s too dangerous.”
“…No. If what you say is true, and he’s still here, then we have to help him. It’s too risky for you to go alone.”
Do Gyeon-woo was here—of that, Yeon Ha-neul was certain.
As his childhood friend of five years, she knew him well.
“No matter how badly he wants a high score, Gyeon-woo would never turn the entire exam against him by stealing tokens recklessly.”
She was sure.
He wasn’t the kind to provoke others on a whim.
If he did, then it was calculated.
There had to be a reason.
He was aiming for something.
“But what?”
Yeon Ha-neul pondered.
By all appearances, he had become the target of every candidate.
They’d encircled him after hearing rumours.
But what if that had been his plan all along?
“Did he lure them intentionally?”
A new theory was formed.
“Why lure someone in particular? Who could it be?”
She knew his social circle well—herself, the triplets, Go Eun-bi, Lisa, Yong Hae-rang, his cousin Do Seung-woo…
But none of them needed to be drawn out like this.
There were easier ways to contact them.
If he chose this path, then the target was likely someone he had no personal connection with.
“Then why fight them?”
One answer surfaced.
To fight.
“But why?”
So she reasoned:
Do Gyeon-woo must have a compelling reason to fight someone he doesn’t even know.
It was hard to understand.
But that was just who he was.
For five years, Yeon Ha-neul had known him to do the inexplicable—things no one else would consider.
This could be another one of those times.
She thought back.
“Then what must I do…?”
She traced her thoughts carefully.
If he wouldn’t speak of it, then she had to act on her own judgment.
Eventually, she came to a conclusion.
“We’ll have to strike from the blind spot.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“When we find Gyeon-woo—don’t approach immediately. Observe first. I think the person he’s facing is connected to this entire mess.”
“Ha-neul, are you saying—?”
“They’re dangerous. We’ll go for the flank.”
With determination flaring in her red eyes,
Yeon Ha-neul stared into the darkness.
Elsewhere in the forest, not all examinees followed the flow of fleeing crowds.
Lisa and Yeon Ha-neul were not the only ones moving against the current.
Nam Yu-ri of the Alchemy Southern House was doing just the same.
Though Do Gyeon-woo had taken her admission token, that wasn’t the reason she was here.
“Whoa! Half monsters, half tokens!”
She hadn’t come to reclaim what was lost.
Nor was she chasing him for the cluster of tokens reportedly plastered all over his body.
She had come simply to hunt—hunting the examinees who were being lured toward him.
In doing so, Nam Yu-ri had amassed an impressive collection of tokens in a short time.
She had more than enough points to pass the exam. In fact, she had points to spare.
That was when the forest monsters began their sudden assault.
“What’s gotten into them? I have no idea!”
Nam Yu-ri tilted her head, puzzled—but she didn’t think much of it.
Frankly, she was thrilled.
Monsters were easier to kill than people, and they didn’t hesitate. Neither did she.
Every kill was a reminder that she was alive.
While the other examinees ran, screaming in fear, Nam Yu-ri giggled and slashed through the beasts without pause.
Blood splattered across her grey hair, stained the hem of her white dress—and she didn’t mind one bit.
And then, a stray thought struck her.
“Could it be that Gyeon-woo-Gyeon-woo is the reason they’re all gathering here? Things really never get boring around him!”
Ahahaha. Ahahaha!
Drunk on the thrill of survival, Nam Yu-ri cackled like a madwoman and dashed deeper into the woods.
She, too, was moving against the stream, headed toward the heart of the chaos.
And so it came to pass.
“Damn it… At this rate, I’ll just end up hunting monsters and fail to collect any more tokens.”
Min Ah-rin of the Mage Civilian House.
“Do Gyeon-woo! Just hold on a little longer!”
Yong Hae-rang of the Chivalry Dragon House.
“I have to help Gyeon-woo.”
The self-proclaimed loner,
Go Eun-bi.
“Ha-neul! It’s a Rank 2! Be careful!”
The imperial princess of the Isekai Empire,
Lisa Grace.
“It’s fine. I can kill them on my own. This won’t take long.”
The Seven-Coloured Witch’s disciple,
Yeon Ha-neul.
“Ahaha! What’ll I find if I go deeper? Let’s see!”
Nam Yu-ri of the Alchemy Southern House.
One by one, the key characters of this game-like trial converged toward Do Gyeon-woo.
They were drawn to him not by plan or scheme, but by their own wills, convictions, and instincts.
A convergence of power, will, and tangled fate.
All except one.
“…So noisy.”
Cha Eun-sol, of the Cycle Vehicle House.
She alone stayed behind.
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