A white Yeti, as if covered entirely in snow, opened its mouth. It looked like it was letting out a thunderous roar, yet no sound could be heard. It seemed the field was completely soundproof.
Siren, Yeti, and Midnight.
While facing those three types of Irregulars, they had to completely eliminate one designated type within 20 minutes. Compared to the previous evaluation, the difficulty spike was steep.
“Still… I don’t think we’ll fail.”
No matter how tricky they were, in the end, they only had to kill five. Forget 20 minutes—Sihyeon was confident that Class A would clear it within 10. With that thought, he looked at the monsters inside the field.
The Yeti, boasting power close to Hazard level even among Warning level Irregulars; the Siren, which lured people with its song; and Midnight, an assassin-type Irregular that summoned “night” and attacked from within the darkness. They were certainly troublesome, but not impossible to deal with. Especially in the case of the Siren—while it might be terrifying at sea, on land, without ships to wreck, all they had to worry about was avoiding its song.
The only one that required special caution was probably the Yeti.
As for Midnight, one pillar of light from him would be enough. Recalling Holy Light, which he hadn’t used since the last evaluation, Sihyeon quickly finished his analysis.
“I think we can stick with the plan.”
Grabbing Haru’s clothes lightly as he spoke, Sihyeon saw him nod. Watching them, Haeun tugged Sihyeon’s clothes toward himself.
“What? What are you talking about? Strategy meeting?”
Operation: Rescue Pia?
At the bright tone, Sihyeon shot him a look of blatant disbelief. He made it obvious in hopes Haeun would catch on, but Haeun remained completely unfazed. It was then that the first team was called into the field.
Perhaps they were starting from the lower classes, as two students from Class D were called first. Shrinking in on themselves, they walked forward, trembling—it was pitiful to watch. Sihyeon carefully observed the stairs leading up to the field.
Floating, translucent stairs—a Barrier.
Recognizing the familiar application, his gaze drifted toward the teachers. In the meantime, two more students were called to the other field. Hesitating at the front, they slowly stepped onto the stairs and climbed up. After hearing the target at the entrance, they opened the door—
“GRAAAAH—!”
A massive roar that made their spines stiffen rang out, and then the door shut.
“…….”
That brief sound alone put everyone on edge. The way the noise was instantly cut off when the door closed made it even more impactful. Sihyeon parted his lips slightly. The Yeti was supposed to be Warning level, yet judging by that roar, it wouldn’t be strange if it were Hazard level or higher.
“W-what do we do…?”
“Did you hear that just now…?”
“How could you not…?”
Worried voices rose from all around. Sihyeon fixed his gaze on the students inside the field. The transparent barrier allowed him to see everything happening within.
Once again, the Yeti seemed to roar as it charged at them. One student—likely a Swordsman—tried to block the attack but was sent flying, slamming into the wall with a heavy thud. As the male student collapsed, the remaining student looked at the Yeti with panicked eyes. The creature, easily over three meters tall, raised its massive foot.
It was about to stomp down.
Just then—
Fweeeet!
A sharp whistle echoed across the entire field. At the same time, all movement within the field froze—the Irregulars included. It was as if time itself had stopped.
“Kim Sayak, Yeo Jihwa—disqualified.”
At the Principal’s calm announcement, the students stirred. Teachers waiting outside opened the field door, and the two students rushed out in a panic.
“Ah….”
A regretful sigh spread. Sihyeon felt the same. Since they had exited midway, those two would now be transferred.
“Tsk, what a shame. They were pretty decent too. Must’ve frozen up.”
Haeun spoke lightly, as if it were nothing. Even in this situation, he showed no tension at all. Sihyeon quietly watched him before lifting his gaze back to the field. The last evaluation had been in virtual reality—this one, being real, must feel entirely different. It wasn’t strange to be terrified.
Clenching his fist, Sihyeon looked at the opposite field. Unlike the team that had been disqualified within a minute, the students there were putting up a decent fight.
Perhaps their designated target was the Siren. One student drew aggro while the other attacked the Siren. After repeating this several times, they finally took one down.
Then—
Another Siren opened its mouth, and the attacking student suddenly began walking in a completely wrong direction.
They had been enchanted by the song.
Disqualification.
At this rate, they would inevitably fail. Of all directions, the student was walking straight toward a Yeti. Their partner shouted something urgently, but it wasn’t enough to break the enchantment.
In the end, the remaining student screamed and rushed forward, attacking the Siren that had cast the spell. Only then did the enchantment break, and the dazed student regained their senses. They resumed working together.
Compared to those who had failed earlier, their skill was clearly superior.
Watching them narrowly avoid disqualification, Sihyeon checked the remaining time.
17 minutes.
They only needed to kill four more Sirens within that time to clear. Looking ahead at the students being called next, Sihyeon realized that at this pace, Class A’s turn might come sooner than expected.
By the end of the 4th period, eight teams had passed, and ten had failed.
Already, there were more disqualifications than successes. By the end, how many would fail? Then again, maybe fewer toward the end, since stronger students would go later.
Either way, one thing was certain: this evaluation would eliminate a large number of underperforming students.
Even so, the teachers casually told them to eat lunch and regroup by 2 PM. Dumbfounded, Sihyeon stood up. As he brushed the dust off his pants, familiar faces approached.
In a situation he felt he’d never get used to, he went with familiar people to a familiar cafeteria and ate a familiar meal. While eating, Sihyeon realized something—
Even something unfamiliar could become familiar over time.
He understood what the school was aiming for.
Students would become accustomed to others being expelled—and to fighting Irregulars. Compared to himself three months ago, when he first heard of Mir Military, he was completely different now. Lowering the spoon in his hand, Sihyeon found he couldn’t swallow his food.
In just three months, he had changed this much. The realization left him with a strange sense of dissonance.
Even as Yoo Seowoo tried to look after him, he declined, barely eating. By the time he finished, it was already 2 PM, and the evaluation resumed.
Despite each team having a 20-minute limit, by the 6th period, it was already Class A’s turn. Teams toward the end either failed quickly or succeeded quickly.
Even Class B had failed teams. It felt like this evaluation was stripping away the illusion surrounding every class.
Except for one.
“Lee Jihye, Jung Dawoon.”
The first pair from Class A was called. By now, the field had been reset with a fresh set of 15 Irregulars. Each time an evaluation ended, the dead ones were removed and replaced. It was hard to imagine how they had captured so many.
Step, step—
Dawoon and Jihye climbed the stairs without a trace of fear. After hearing the instructions and receiving something placed in their hands, they opened the door and entered. The now-familiar roar rang out briefly before being cut off. Inside the field, the two moved swiftly.
Their target seemed to be the Siren. Jihye focused her attacks on the Sirens, while Dawoon used her air ability to suffocate the others. Perhaps the range wasn’t that wide, as she incapacitated them in stages. Once all Irregulars were subdued, Jihye set the Sirens ablaze.
Being creatures of the sea, Sirens were weak to heat. Taking advantage of elemental superiority, Jihye swept through the remaining Sirens with her skills. Every attack struck their weakness.
It took less than 7 minutes.
6 minutes 44 seconds.
Even accounting for the time spent suffocating the others, it was the fastest record so far. While others struggled for 10 to 20 minutes, Dawoon and Jihye emerged unscathed, casually chatting as they returned.
The admiration was inevitable.
Sihyeon mentally reviewed their strategy.
Knock out non-target Irregulars via suffocation, then eliminate the remaining Sirens with fire without interference. Since enchantment broke upon being attacked, continuous damage from flames would prevent the Sirens from even casting it.
A textbook-perfect strategy.
Briefly impressed, Sihyeon looked at the next pair—Seowoo and Geonwoo. Before they left, Seowoo met his gaze. Sihyeon gave him a subtle signal, and Seowoo smiled, nodding.
“Do your best.”
Suddenly, Geonwoo turned to look at him, so Sihyeon offered him a short encouragement as well.
Don’t hurt your face.
Muttering internally, Sihyeon then noticed Haeun and Hamin being called to the opposite field. Only then did he realize something he had forgotten to say. He quickly grabbed Hamin, who was about to step forward.
“What?”
Hamin immediately turned his head, asking curtly. Sihyeon glanced briefly at Haru before meeting Hamin’s eyes. His voice came out calm and quiet.
“I changed my mind.”
“About what, all of a sudden?”
“You’re going to raise it, right?”
“What?”
“You’re going to raise the kid.”
“What are you talking about?”
At the sudden remark, Hamin frowned. He was the type who needed everything spelled out—one word wouldn’t get him to understand ten. Seeing this, Sihyeon spoke again, slightly annoyed.
“I mean Pia. We decided to raise it, so don’t overdo it and come back. Better yet, don’t get hurt.”
“…….”
“What’s wrong?”
Hamin seemed oddly stunned. When Sihyeon asked, he frowned and pulled his arm free.
“The way you say things is really….”
“What?”
“…Forget it.”
What’s with him?
He got irritated on his own, then gave up on his own. Saying he’d handle the evaluation himself, Hamin turned away. Watching him, Sihyeon frowned.
What was wrong with what I said?
He replayed his words, wondering if something had sounded off. Thinking about it carefully, the nuance might have been a bit strange.
But so what? There’s someone who talks like that all the time.
With that thought, Sihyeon turned his gaze toward that very person—Seowoo. The two had just entered the field and were preparing for battle.
Even inside the field, Seowoo seemed to feel his gaze and looked back.
“Go easy.”
Recalling those words, Seowoo smiled faintly and gripped his sword.
Bang! Bang!
Geonwoo lowered his stance, slamming his heavy shield against the ground. Provoked, the Irregulars rushed toward him all at once.
And at that moment, Seowoo moved.
Slash—!
With a single draw of his blade, he severed Midnight’s neck.
It was an astonishingly clean, flawless motion.
“Whoa!”
The students erupted in admiration as the battle continued.
Outside the field, Sihyeon could only glare at Seowoo—who, despite promising to take it easy, was swinging his sword without the slightest restraint.
