## Chapter 721 – 721. Savior Of The Academy
721. Savior of the Academy
“Crazy! One second! Isn’t that record-breaking? No, before that, there’s no way a Noll would die from a single lightning strike. There must be some kind of cheating…”
“No. There’s no cheating. It just wasn’t ordinary lightning. More concerning is his stress level.”
“Stress level… 0?! Does that mean he felt nothing while killing the Noll?!”
“Yes. It’s like he killed the Noll as naturally as breathing, like an ant he carelessly stepped on while walking.”
Hong Ji-wook’s face was filled with shock.
Stress level is a measure of mental stimulation. It’s usually below 10 in a normal state, and it gradually increases when someone becomes tense due to any factor. A stress level of 0 is practically the same as not receiving any mental stimulation at all.
For reference, the passing cut-off for stress level is 80. An average of 80 or below is a pass, and anything above that is a fail.
“……Even thinking about it again, it doesn’t make sense. Is this even possible? For a human to have a stress level of 0… It’s impossible unless they’re the worst kind of psychopath.”
“He didn’t seem like one, but it seems Sung Yu-jin is the worst kind of psychopath.”
“I’m not joking, Dean. Seriously, is it okay for someone like Sung Yu-jin to enter the Hero Academy? Or maybe the stress monitor is malfunctioning.”
“Sung Yu-jin isn’t a villain who committed a crime. He’s an examinee trying to enter the academy. One of the goals of Maruhan Hero Academy is to prevent talented awakeners from falling into a life of crime. There are psychopaths among active heroes, so there’s no problem.”
She reviewed the video several times. The Sung Yu-jin she saw didn’t have the power to drop lightning and defeat a Noll in one second. But he succeeded. The fact that she was wrong was a bit shocking.
“And it’s too early to label Sung Yu-jin as a psychopath. There are many possibilities. For example, he might have a mental-related ability, or as you said, the monitor might be malfunctioning. So, it would be good to have him retake the test.”
“……Will Sung Yu-jin retake the test? He has an overwhelming record of one second…”
“Let him choose whether to keep his record. It’s an opportunity to get a better record, so he’ll accept it.”
“It’s already the best record ever, though… Anyway, I’ll talk to Sung Yu-jin.”
Sung Yu-jin accepted the offer. It felt like he accepted it without hesitation. Even during the conversation, the monitor was running. His stress level was still 0.
“Seeing the examinees reminds me of the old days. I also took the academy entrance exam 10 years ago. 2 minutes and 21 seconds. I still remember my record. What was your time, Dean?”
“1 minute and 55 seconds.”
“…Huh?”
Hong Ji-wook took his eyes off the screen and looked at Kang Ji-young. He didn’t expect that Kang Ji-young, an S-class hero, would have a record close to 2 minutes. Kang Ji-young spoke nonchalantly despite his questioning gaze.
“I wasn’t strong from the beginning.”
“…Well, yeah… No one is strong from the beginning.”
“I thought so too, but it turns out there are some.”
“……Are you talking about Sung Ha-ri?”
“Yes. Sung Ha-ri’s record was 5 seconds. In a way, Sung Yu-jin surpassed his mother.”
“Huh? Suddenly, Sung Yu-jin’s stress level spiked to 320.”
Kang Ji-young looked at the screen.
There was only one thing that happened on the screen. A field supervisor moved to clear the Noll’s corpse. Sung Yu-jin’s gaze was fixed on the female supervisor.
“…Could it be that he feels stress from humans? Is that it?”
The stress level dropped back to 0.
“The supervisor is a woman. Maybe the fact that she’s a woman is the problem. Prepare a female Noll.”
“Is that okay? Isn’t it an unwritten rule to use male Nolls for the entrance exam?”
“That’s an unwritten rule I’m hearing for the first time. Are there no captured female Nolls?”
“…No. I’ll prepare one.”
Hong Ji-wook immediately agreed. He couldn’t keep arguing when the highest authority wanted it.
The test began.
The moment Sung Yu-jin saw the female Noll, his stress level spiked to 500. But in 0.1 seconds, his stress level began to plummet.
Lightning struck.
The female Noll fell, and the battle ended.
“What’s his average stress level?”
“……220.”
“220? Ah, the battle time was too short.”
“Yes. According to the rules, he’s a failure…”
“Failure is out of the question.”
“Can we ignore the stress level?”
“In the case of stress level, it did spike for a moment, but it returned to 0. He probably has a mental skill or ability. He passes.”
“Yes.”
Kang Ji-young was lost in thought, looking at Sung Yu-jin on the monitor. She still couldn’t make an accurate judgment about Sung Yu-jin.
***
The association asked me to retake the test. Since my first record wouldn’t disappear, I agreed to their request. They said the stress monitor was the problem.
‘It’s probably because my stress level is too low.’
I could guess the reason. It must be because of the [Absolute Mind] trait of my game-like life app.
“Examinee Sung Yu-jin. We’ll clear the corpse now, so please wait a moment.”
At that moment, a supervisor who had been watching the situation from a distance walked out. She was a female supervisor wearing a neat black suit.
“It died so cleanly, it’s easy to clean up.”
She grabbed the Noll’s corpse with one hand and walked to the corner of the test site.
My gaze focused on her, scanning her face and body.
‘As expected of an active hero, she has a good figure. C-cup breasts, and a big butt. Her legs are sexy… Hmm. Her face is not so good.’
My interest faded.
-The test will begin. 3. 2. 1.
A Noll appeared in front of me. It wasn’t a male, but a female. It had a dog’s head, but its body was outstanding. B-cup breasts and firm arm muscles. It was wearing strange leather clothes, so I couldn’t see its breasts or vagina.
‘A moment.’
The world slowed down. I observed the female Noll more leisurely. Her body was outstanding. But I didn’t like her dog’s head. The moment I saw the pit bull terrier-like head, my interest completely disappeared.
‘Thunder!’
A lump of mana drained out. And lightning struck the Noll’s head. The Noll died without even reacting properly.
The supervisor informed me that it took 2.135 seconds. I was slightly surprised when I first saw the female Noll, so it was slower than my first record.
-Examinee Sung Yu-jin. You’ve done well. Please return to the waiting room and wait.
I returned to the waiting room.
I had to wait for an hour. Unlike the written test, the association didn’t tell us our scores or rankings. Instead, the failed examinees quietly left.
-The team battle test will begin. Examinees, please gather in lecture room 3. Before starting the test, we will begin the briefing.
“Hello. I’m Hong Ji-wook. You saw me during the written test, right? I won’t be as strict as I was then. In fact, your passing is a foregone conclusion. The purpose of this test is not to eliminate you, but to assess your abilities. Maruhan Academy also ranks its freshmen.”
“……”
The examinees quietly focused on Hong Ji-wook’s words.
“We will assign teams based on your scores. You will then conquer a dungeon. Success or failure in conquering the dungeon doesn’t matter much. What we’re evaluating is how you conquer the dungeon. We’ve assigned teams based on your scores. The teams will be announced after the briefing. Now, I’ll tell you about the dungeon you’ll be conquering.”
I listened to the briefing indifferently. It was a low-level dungeon tailored to the examinees’ abilities. An artificial dungeon completely controlled by the association. There would be no serious injuries or deaths.
“The briefing is over. Now, I’ll announce the teams starting with team 1. Team 1: Ryu Hana, Sung Yu-jin, Bae Hyun-sung, Oh Yu-mi. Team 2: Noh Ji-han, Kim Man-oh, Lee Jae-sung, Park Gu-son. Team 3…”
The teams were set.
‘As expected, I’m in the same team as Ryu Hana.’
Teams are assigned based on similar abilities. That is, team 1 is the top 4 examinees here.
‘It’s a test that looks at the process, not the result of the dungeon conquest.’
According to the original story, this test values teamwork.
‘Originally, if the skill difference is almost non-existent and similar, there will be a lot of conflicts of opinion.’
In the hero industry, skill is power. If similar guys gather, opinions won’t align, and there will be a lot of conflicts.
“Hi. You’re Sung Yu-jin, right?”
While I was thinking about how to approach this test, a man approached me. He was a muscular, large guy with a flat face that resembled a flounder.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Bae Hyun-sung, who’s on the same team as you. Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you too.”
Someone else approached us. This time, it was a brown-haired woman. She had a clump of hair at the lower back of her head. I think they call it a low bun hairstyle.
“You guys are team 1, right? I’m Oh Yu-mi. I’m a mage. I’ll say it in advance. I specialize in the rear. I’ll never be in the front.”
She was quite beautiful. But the mole on the lower left side of her lip was very annoying.
‘The mole can be removed, so it’s not a problem. I’ll have to take her someday too.’
I shifted my gaze to the side. Ryu Hana was approaching us from afar. Her dignified and confident walk caught people’s attention.
Ryu Hana said bluntly as she looked at us.
“My goal is to kill the boss monster in a short time and get a high score. For that, I need your smooth cooperation.”
Oh Yu-mi nodded.
“You’re Ryu Hana, right? I’m Oh Yu-mi. I also want to get a high score. But this test isn’t just about conquering the dungeon quickly. The supervisor said it earlier.”
Bae Hyun-sung looked at Ryu Hana and then opened his mouth.
“I’m Bae Hyun-sung. Oh Yu-mi is right. This dungeon isn’t about conquering it as quickly as possible, but about showing the supervisors excellent teamwork. Even if the conquest is slow, everyone has to be active and conquer it safely. Especially, I think conquering it safely is key.”
Ryu Hana nodded. She didn’t ignore Oh Yu-mi and Bae Hyun-sung’s words.
“What about you?”
Ryu Hana looked straight at me and asked.
“What do you think?”
“…It’s true that the evaluation is based on the process rather than the result. But it doesn’t make sense to not look at the result at all. If the result is good, we can get additional points. So, we have to move as efficiently as possible to conquer the dungeon.”
Ryu Hana nodded again this time.
Oh Yu-mi asked me.
“You’re Sung Yu-jin, right? What’s your position or specialty?”
Position.
There are a total of 5 hero positions for dungeon conquest.
Defender, Attacker, Supporter, Scout, Operator.
“Hmm. Scout? My specialty is spirit magic.”
“Ryu Hana, what about you?”
“Swordsman. My position is Attacker.”
“Bae Hyun-sung is obviously a Defender. It seems like the team formation is set.”
As a result of our meeting, we decided to go with a safe approach without any special tactics.
***
-Team 1, please begin. The time given for the dungeon conquest is 1 hour.
I saw it on the way here, but there were a total of 3 dungeons. 3 teams were taking the test at the same time.
-Please enter the dungeon.
We entered the swirling space. Bae Hyun-sung, Ryu Hana, me, and Oh Yu-mi in that order. We didn’t just enter randomly. The entry order was also decided in advance.
As soon as we entered the dungeon, the surrounding scenery changed. It was a ruined city under a bright blue sky.
The asphalt roads were cracked and overgrown with weeds, and the cars were rusted and broken. The tall buildings had all their windows broken or were half-collapsed.
Ryu Hana looked around and sighed. She must have judged that it would be difficult to find the boss monster within an hour because the dungeon was too large than she knew from the briefing.
“Sung Yu-jin. You said your position is Scout, right? Please scout ahead.”
I stared at Ryu Hana.
“Our original plan was to find the boss monster first. Should we stick to the original plan?”
“Let’s move on to the third plan. The dungeon is too big in reality. We can’t spend all our time looking for the boss.”
The third plan.
It was a plan to prioritize monster subjugation and slowly search for the boss monster.
‘According to the original story, the boss monster here is… Heh heh. I’ll get to see Ryu Hana’s pride broken.’
I used Spirit Eyes. My pupils turned golden. I felt various information entering through my eyes and summoned Mocha.
“Koo!”
Mocha climbed onto my left shoulder.
Bae Hyun-sung and Oh Yu-mi didn’t notice Mocha in her spirit form. However, they tilted their heads, probably sensing a special presence. On the other hand, Ryu Hana looked directly at Mocha.
