Chapter 49 : Practical Exam
The examinees who had finished the written exam immediately moved to another location.
The expressions of the examinees were quite clearly divided.
The people who thought they had done well on the written exam looked quite relaxed, and on the contrary, the people who thought they had messed up had a sense of anxiety on their faces.
'I can definitely make up for it in this exam.'
'My written exam score is a bit ambiguous, so I'll have to get a good score on the practical exam...'
'This is my last chance! I have to do well here!'
It was then.
A sharp gaze was felt from behind the examinees who were steeling their resolve.
"...!"
When they turned their heads to where the gaze was felt, Namgung Il was glaring at them with fierce eyes.
Glare— Glare—.
It was a heat that made them break out in a cold sweat just by making eye contact.
The examinees cautiously looked at Namgung Il and ran out of his line of sight, and Namgung Il, whether they did or not, was still looking at the same place and muttering something small.
"Two hundred thousand gold. Two hundred thousand gold. Two hundred thousand..."
The examinees here would each have their own reasons for having to enter the Flying Dragon Academy.
For the honor of their family. Or to become stronger.
Although everyone might be personally desperate, there were probably almost no people among those gathered here now who were more desperate for this exam than Namgung Il.
Because two hundred thousand gold was something that was right in front of his eyes.
If he passed, it was his. If he failed, it would be for nothing. It was a fate that was truly and clearly divided in an instant.
"Young Hero Gwangcheon, what has the captain been muttering about since a while ago... what on earth is he saying?"
"To think he would attract people's attention in that way. As expected of the captain, I've learned something new."
"..."
I'm a fool for asking Gwangcheon.
Jong Seo-eon let out a low sigh and looked around.
'Is that... a sparring stage?'
As soon as he looked around, a wide sparring stage made of stone slabs was the first thing that caught his eye.
Was he planning to make the examinees spar on that stage?
Since he had not yet heard the content of the practical exam, Jong Seo-eon had no choice but to make such a vague guess for now.
Thud— Thud—.
Just then, Cha Yul-ryeong finally appeared in front of the examinees again.
"You've waited a long time."
"..."
"Then, from now on, we will begin the practical exam."
At that moment, a sense of tension appeared on the examinees' faces.
At the same time, the muttering of Namgung Il, which had been heard continuously until now, also disappeared as if it were a lie.
"Before that, let me introduce the people who will be helping with this exam."
"...?"
A moment later, people who had not been seen before appeared behind Cha Yul-ryeong.
There were three people. And just like Cha Yul-ryeong, each and every one of them was a considerable master.
The examinees who had survived this far had at least the ability to notice such a thing, so due to the sudden appearance of the masters, a much greater sense of tension filled the hall than before.
"Let me introduce them. The people here are the supervisors who will be evaluating you in this exam."
"...!"
"They are also the heads of the academic classes of our academy."
When Cha Yul-ryeong introduced them, the examinees could understand why such a momentum was felt from them.
The four academic classes that existed in the Flying Dragon Academy.
Since the head of an academic class could be said to be the top person in charge of each academic class, they naturally had the skills to match.
"Then, please give the examinees a simple introduction of yourselves and tell them what points you will be focusing on for evaluation."
Cha Yul-ryeong said to the three.
And so, an old man with lush white hair first stroked his beard and opened his mouth to the examinees.
"I am Jeong Dae-woong, the head of the Black Tortoise class."
"..."
"So I..."
Everyone was tensing up and concentrating on Jeong Dae-woong's words.
However.
"...What was next?"
When Jeong Dae-woong suddenly asked, the examinees' tension was released.
"You can tell us your evaluation criteria."
"Ah, that's right. I'm sorry. My memory has been getting hazy lately."
As if he had remembered, Jeong Dae-woong cleared his throat and looked at the examinees.
The examinees, who were now tensing up again and concentrating on Jeong Dae-woong's words.
Jeong Dae-woong said, looking at the examinees with narrowed eyes.
"I will focus on perseverance."
Perseverance...?
A sense of puzzlement appeared on the faces of the examinees who heard those words, but as if it were her turn now, a woman walked forward.
"Nice to meet you. I am Han Yu-wol, the head of the White Tiger class."
At that moment, an excited voice erupted from somewhere.
"Oh!"
The owner of the voice was none other than Gwangcheon.
At the appearance of Han Yu-wol, Gwangcheon began to run forward like a water buffalo that had lost its reason.
"You're my ideal type! Can I hug you just once?!"
What on earth is that crazy monk?
To dare to say such a thing to the head of the White Tiger class, of all people... everyone looked at Gwangcheon with a dumbfounded gaze.
But unlike the others, Han Yu-wol showed a light smile towards Gwangcheon.
"Hoho— no."
Saying so in a low voice, Han Yu-wol took out an iron fan from somewhere.
At that moment, a gust of wind filled the hall.
The most powerful gust of wind among them directly hit Gwangcheon.
"Kuwek—!"
In the end, with a strange scream, Gwangcheon's body was sent flying into the air.
But the people were more focused on Han Yu-wol now than on Gwangcheon.
Because her fluttering sleeves and every gesture that was reminiscent of a dance were so splendid that they couldn't take their eyes off them.
He didn't know if it was intentional, but even the flower petals that were scattering in all directions now were making Han Yu-wol's splendor stand out even more.
Thud—
With a heavy sound, Gwangcheon's body fell to the floor.
Only then did Han Yu-wol stop moving and fold the iron fan back to its original state.
"What I will be looking for is splendor."
"...!"
"Just as you all couldn't take your eyes off me just now, please show me a martial art so splendid that it will make my mouth drop."
Saying so, Han Yu-wol returned to her original spot.
Until then, the examinees, as if they were drunk on the splendor that Han Yu-wol had shown, continued to stare at her with a blank face.
Thump—!
It was then.
As a heavy footstep that made the hall ring was heard, the examinees barely came to their senses and looked at the person who had just walked forward.
"I am Ho Jeong-won."
"...?"
"If I like you, you'll get a high score. If not, I won't give you a single point."
Ho Jeong-won said and immediately turned back.
Of course, hearing those words, the examinees couldn't help but have questions.
Not only did Ho Jeong-won not say which class he was in charge of, but it was natural that they would not be able to understand properly if he explained the evaluation criteria in that way.
"..."
Cha Yul-ryeong looked at Ho Jeong-won, who was turning back, in silence.
Soon, he turned his gaze back to the examinees and said.
"And I, the head of the Azure Dragon class. The four of us will be evaluating you."
"..."
"For reference, I plan to look at all aspects evenly, so all examinees, please just proceed with the exam with a comfortable mind."
A comfortable mind... of course, the examinees could not do as he said.
Didn't the statement that he would look at all aspects evenly mean that they had to be above average in everything?
In a way, Cha Yul-ryeong's evaluation method felt more difficult than the other supervisors'.
"..."
The introductions of the supervisors were all over.
And, Cha Yul-ryeong finally said the content that the examinees would be most curious about.
"The practical exam will be conducted as a one-on-one spar."
As expected.
Since most of them had thought so from the moment they saw the sparring stage, the examinees did not have a particularly surprised expression.
"However, it is a... somewhat special spar where the winner continues to fight."
"...?"
"To put it simply, the winner remains on that sparring stage and continues to fight, and the loser's exam ends right there."
At that moment, Namgung Il's eyes sparkled.
A spar where only the winner remains and continues to fight.
In other words, it meant that the more one won, the higher the probability of receiving a high evaluation from the supervisors.
'This is... an opportunity!'
If he continued to fight and win, most of the supervisors would have no choice but to give him a good score.
On the contrary, if he won the spar overwhelmingly, the opponent would not receive a good evaluation.
The more he won, the higher his score would become, while the opponent's would fall... it was to the point where it could be thought of as an exam for Namgung Il.
'I have to make everyone except me get a low score!'
It couldn't be helped if he wanted to make up for the written exam.
Since he had said that there were about three hundred and fifty people here... he would have to make at least two hundred and fifty of them lose miserably.
Namgung Il began to send a silent gaze towards Cha Yul-ryeong.
'Put me up first!'
Then he would make all the other examinees except for him get a zero.
No matter how he thought about it, this was the only way he could pass now.
"Then I will call the first examinees to spar."
"..."
"Examinee number one and number eighty, please go up to the sparring stage."
"...Huh?"
When Cha Yul-ryeong announced the opponents, Namgung Il had a dumbfounded face for a moment.
Could it be... that this was also in order of examinee number?
Namgung Il quickly checked the nameplates of the examinees around him.
'...This is a big problem.'
Although he had only looked around for a moment, there were not many people with a higher examinee number than him.
In other words, it meant that even if his turn came, there would not be many brats left behind.
Namgung Il could already see the result of the exam ending without him even fighting a few times.
"Uh... examinee number one has been lying down and not moving for a while now."
Just then, an examinee said to Cha Yul-ryeong.
At that moment, a strange light appeared in Namgung Il's eyes.
Looking at Gwangcheon, who was lying on the floor with his face buried, a thought flashed in Namgung Il's mind.
"Supervisor!"
Namgung Il suddenly raised his hand and called for Cha Yul-ryeong.
"What is it?"
"Examinee number one is currently unconscious and is in a state where he cannot spar at all, right?"
"..."
"So, what if we switch my turn with examinee number one's?"
This was the scheme that Namgung Il had just come up with.
Since the exam could not proceed in this state, wasn't Cha Yul-ryeong also in a rather difficult situation?
Namgung Il was planning to use that point to slyly move his turn forward, as if he were doing him a favor.
'Thank you, Gwangcheon.'
He had never thought that Gwangcheon would be of help to him in this way.
Although he was sorry for Gwangcheon, Namgung Il prayed inwardly for him to stay unconscious like that for a little longer.
"There is also a way to give examinee number one the lowest score without having to do that."
"Isn't that unfair?"
"...Unfair?"
When Namgung Il said that, a slight sense of displeasure appeared in Cha Yul-ryeong's gaze.
"Isn't it one of the supervisors who made examinee number one like that?"
"..."
"So I don't think it's right to put all the responsibility on number one."
That argument was not entirely wrong.
In fact, Gwangcheon had become like that because of Han Yu-wol's martial arts.
No matter how much Gwangcheon had rushed at Han Yu-wol first, the fact that a supervisor had made an examinee unconscious could not be overlooked.
"It's interesting. For me to be responsible... well, it's not wrong."
"Hoho, what a bold examinee."
"..."
The other three supervisors seemed to be acknowledging Namgung Il's words.
Now, only Cha Yul-ryeong was left.
After a rather long silence, Cha Yul-ryeong opened his mouth.
"It seems all the other supervisors acknowledge your words..."
"..."
"...Alright. Then I will switch your turn with number one's."
That's it.
Namgung Il answered Cha Yul-ryeong with a quiet smile on his lips.
"Thank you."
(End of Chapter)