Chapter 55
[Artifacts other than your wand may be brought, up to three in total.]
[Mana potions are also counted as artifacts, and high-grade potions and above are prohibited.]
[The order will proceed from lowest to highest according to the combat ability assessed in dueling class.]
Karnarov wrote a few more lines under the notice, then cast some kind of spell with his wand.
“Then, carry on.”
Karnarov left, but nobody paid it any mind.
The moment I saw the notice, I snapped fully awake.
“What the hell is that?”
“The examiner is Karnarov!!”
“A great mage who might be close to Rank 7, too!”
The remaining students seemed just as stunned.
I don't know how strong Karnarov is.
But right now, even an A-rank Hunter showing up would make this brutally hard.
Just judging by the mana I can feel from Karnarov, he's at least S-rank.
It's unclear whether even dragon mana would work.
Then I suddenly remembered Karnarov's last words.
“I should've realized it when he told me to just use the wand.”
That didn't seem to mean not to break the wand.
He meant I should save it until the final exam…
Herbology is brutal too. Damn, this is rough.
“A magic duel with Professor Karnarov…”
Aris looked shocked too.
Linia and Robert came over too, looking stunned.
For now, we decided to take turns and work out a simple strategy.
“Thirty seconds is going to be tough…”
Honestly, I'd hardly ever seen Karnarov's magic properly.
But the feedback from dueling class…
‘If I were the instructor, I probably would've done it that way too.’
There were even a lot of things I hadn't thought of.
Even I could learn from it.
His basic defense and basic offense, along with his mastery of other spells, completely outclasses every student.
“There's no way to win.”
“I agree.”
Linia and Robert both nodded.
Robert spoke up.
“The first thirty seconds will probably follow a similar pattern anyway.”
Probably.
“Haaam. If he's only using the average student's mana, then that means we'll be watching how he handles mana as a technique…”
Linia yawned.
“As for overwhelming him with mana…”
Aris offered her opinion.
That's the average student's mana output.
No matter how efficiently you use mana, it's hard to surpass a noble.
That's the idea, but…
“Impossible. Karnarov has no mana limit when it comes to defense.”
Robert cut in right away.
“I see…”
In the end, the top ranks need to hold out for the first thirty seconds while spending as little mana as possible, and after that…
Linia trailed off, and I picked up the thread.
“Figure it out yourselves, huh.”
But there's absolutely no way we can lose.
Why? Because it'd hurt my pride.
The biggest reason I ended up as the top of the training camp was that I just didn't want to lose to those other bastards.
No, that was the only reason.
“Perfect score. I’m getting it no matter what.”
***
Since it had come to this, I figured I'd look for someone who could at least keep up with Karnarov.
No, someone who could beat Karnarov.
“Huh? The examiner is Karnarov? Why is he serving as the first-year examiner?”
Adrian spread her wings wide and tilted her head.
She looked like she genuinely couldn't understand.
For the record, today I brought dessert as tribute.
Though it was more of a gift than a tribute.
“I don't know, that's what they say. But is Karnarov really that strong?”
“Mmm… for humans, he's really strong, isn't he?”
Suddenly, the Observation Eye came to mind.
It hadn't worked on Karnarov.
I wondered how it would work on Adrian.
[The difference in rank is enormous! Observation Eye cannot be used!]
As expected, it didn't work on Adrian either.
“Huh? What's with those eyes? I can feel a faint divine power in them.”
“Eh?”
I hurriedly put away the Observation Eye.
“Ah, it disappeared. Well, it probably wasn't anything special.”
“Divine power?”
“Big sis, there was a faint trace of divinity in your eyes! Did you perhaps come under some kind of consecration somewhere?”
“That's a first.”
“The Observation Eye is a divine skill?”
“That's a funny one.”
“Anyway, could you fire the strongest spell you can use at me?”
“I don't like using dragon mana since it wears down the wand's lifespan.”
If I'm going to use it, I'd rather save it for the final exam.
“Then anything but that.”
“Casting, Bullet, Penny, Explode.”
I fired without hesitation.
A white mana bullet, after so long.
But it had enough physical force to punch through even a thick steel plate with ease.
—Bang!
Adrian crushed it bare-handed.
Mana with nowhere to go spilled out like a burst water balloon.
Not a scratch was left on Adrian's slender hand.
I knew it, but having it blocked that uselessly still left me pretty deflated.
“Mm… stronger than I expected, but still weak.”
“What were you expecting me to do?”
“Huh? You just need to stay my big sis, that's all.”
Adrian twisted her body slightly and met my eyes.
“Oh, is that so.”
I ruffled Adrian's hair mercilessly.
Adrian squeezed her eyes shut and made a pleased little sound.
Back in the day, she felt like such a forceful dragon, but nowadays she's just treated like a little sister.
What's there to be afraid of about someone like this?
“Still, your specs keep going up.”
“Huh?”
“I don't know if you chugged some strength elixir or whatever, but your physical abilities have gone up, haven't they?”
“You can tell that too?”
“To some extent. I may look like this, but I'm actually quite capable, you know?”
“Nya-haha,” Adrian laughed.
“You're steadily getting closer to being a dragon!”
“What are you trying to turn me into?”
She wasn't really trying to make me her sister, was she?
“For now, it looks like the mana has settled in, so I'll do a little more work on you?”
“Ah, wait.”
“Here we go again!”
“Hmm? I can put in quite a bit more this time. It'll hurt a little, okay?”
Looking at Adrian smiling like she was having the time of her life, I decided to just give up.
“Gyaaaah!!!”
It hurt even more than usual.
***
I shouldn't have given up.
Of course, the result was sweet.
[A tiny amount of Dragon's Heartblood (UR) has entered Dragon Eye (SSR++)!]
[Dragon Eye is expanding to both eyes!]
[The dragon's blood and your blood are mixing… Resistance successful!]
[Your species traits have changed!]
[All stats have increased dramatically!]
[Durability(D+)] [Stamina(E)] [Strength(C+++)] [Agility(B)] [Mana(B)] [Technique(S)]
[Durability(C++)] [Stamina(D)] [Strength(B)] [Agility(B+)] [Mana(B+)] [Technique(S+)]
“This time, even my stats went up.”
The procedure's effect was incredible.
All stats up, no less.
My stamina and durability jumped by a huge margin.
“And Technique went up too?”
I had deliberately left S-rank alone without using the selection ticket.
I'd heard that once you reach S-rank, it's hard to raise it by ordinary means.
They say you need a pretty high-level stat selection ticket or top-grade elixirs.
But I'd heard from Sera that the effect itself was definitely real.
Just as she said.
Every action I took with my own hands felt a little more precise than before.
I felt omnipotent, as if I could pick up every speck of dust and stack it into a tower.
But I still feel like this isn't enough.
To get full marks, I needed to raise at least one stat to A+.
So it's the tower again.
But this time, I'm not alone.
“Aris, let's go sightseeing before the final exam.”
“…Huh?”
Aris, who had been fiddling with my phone, turned back toward me.
***
“So you still couldn't find her!”
He was at his wit's end too.
If we could at least get her identity, we could find a weakness, or maybe even make an offer she couldn't refuse.
She still didn't show up anywhere in Korea.
Damn it.
I got a statement from Isera that she was a cool, dependable person.
It was information obtained through the Eyes of Jupiter, so it was reliable.
Then I checked every Awakened woman in her twenties and thirties across Korea.
But she didn't show up.
If that kid hadn't barged in, we could've gotten a bit more solid information.
“Team Leader! We have new information!”
“What is it?”
“This person turns out to be a first-generation Hunter.”
The moment that information came out, the situation room started buzzing.
“First generation?”
“You mean that first generation!?”
Different reactions burst out in the situation room.
There were those who didn't know what first-generation Hunters were, and those who were dredging up old memories.
“Uh… Team Leader. What's a first-generation Hunter?”
Someone raised a hand and asked.
Park Hyun-young reminisced.
There was a time when Awakened people were still inexperienced.
Even after the Tower appeared, there were far fewer Awakened than there are now.
There were many sudden Gates, and with tanks deployed to suppress them, the city itself was far too sprawling and complex.
Back then, it was ordinary non-Awakened people who picked up guns and knives. And among them were some exceptional ones…
They made money by selling monster materials.
Not only that, they even protected people by taking down monsters.
They were called Hunters, and that name has lasted to this day.
According to the investigation, Hunter Yumia had been active as a first-generation Hunter right up until just before she Awakened.
“What? Then she's just an unlicensed Hunter!”
By now, first-generation Hunter had become an almost obsolete term.
But I'd heard there were people quietly carrying on that lineage.
Though in the world of Awakened people, they weren't all that exceptional.
That said, her track record…
Park Hyun-young lifted the sheet, her eyes going wide.
“This is a non-Awakened person?”