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Chapter 38 — Freshmen Hunt (8)
Before the morning of the third day, JaeHyun, Kim YooJung, and Seo Ina had managed to get a million points.
The time it took being 35 hours and 17 minutes, they had made a new record for reaching the score of 1 million.
“With this, we’ve earned 1.1 million points.”
Kim YooJung spoke as she showed the name tag she had just stolen from a senior and smiled.
It somehow seemed savage in a way, but one thing JaeHyun was absolutely sure of was that everything was going in the right direction. With just the combo of the three and the Paralyzing Spore Mushroom, they were able to get around a million points in the forest.
“We made it this far. With this, it’s certain that we’re in first place.”
JaeHyun took a deep breath as he relaxed his body and then clenched his fist.
If it was him in the past, this would have been an unimaginable achievement—getting first place at an event hosted at Millaes.
Back then, it would have been easier to find JaeHyun’s rank by counting from the bottom.
However, he was now showing such results as if it was just a matter of course.
‘It feels pretty weird. It also looks like Seo Ina is slowly trusting me more as well.’
JaeHyun briefly glanced behind at Ina.
He made eye contact with her for a moment, but she didn’t look away like she did at the beginning.
As expected, the root of trust for raiders was ability.
For the past two days, JaeHyun had shown YooJung and Ina how skilled he was.
Not just with his ability to fight in the frontlines but also his ability to strategize and instruct them efficiently.
As a result, the two seemed to have put a lot of trust in him.
“…But Min JaeHyun, do we really have to leave this place?”
YooJung asked with an expression of regret.
The three were currently planning on leaving the ‘Nightmare Forest.’
Kim YooJung didn’t seem to want to leave the forest since they had already caught a lot of seniors and gained a lot of points there.
However, they couldn’t stay in this area any longer.
A senior who escaped before had spread rumors that there were dangerous freshmen in the forest.
As a result, the number of customers(?) who came to the ‘Nightmare Forest’ had reduced quite a lot.
“It can’t be helped. The seniors are too afraid to come here anymore.”
“…I agree with JaeHyun on this. If we want to gain more points…”
Either way, there would be no further need to use the shelter since it was the last day. The cooperation amongst the three was also quite effective, so they could deal with most situations without a problem.
‘By the way, Seo Ina… is pretty competitive, huh?’
JaeHyun simply admired her.
It was the morning of the third day,
and they were looking for a new opponent even though they’d quickly gained more than a million points.
JaeHyun had planned to set a record from the very beginning, but he didn’t expect Seo Ina to be that fired up as well. Although YooJung seemed annoyed by it, when it was time to fight, she still did quite well.
‘If we continue like this, we won’t meet any dilemmas, but… we should still stay on guard.’
It was what he had regretted bitterly in his previous life. Carelessness was one’s worst enemy.
In the past, he had almost died in a dungeon that he thought would be easy to clear.
If it weren’t for regressing with the Nornir System, he would have surely died.
“Hey. What’s the record for the highest points obtained in a Freshmen Hunt?”
“1.14 million points.”
Unexpectedly, Seo Ina had swiftly answered the question.
YooJung let out a big sigh.
“So we need five or six more. So annoying.”
“If it’s annoying, don’t do it. Besides, the points earned here will be vital in the future.”
At those words, Seo Ina asked while tilting her head.
“…JaeHyun, you seem to know a lot about this and that.”
“Yeah. I heard a lot of things.”
He tried to sound as innocent as possible. It wasn’t like he could be honest about how he had experienced everything before.
As he was thinking so, he felt strange mana coming from behind.
The source of the enormous mana was approaching the group.
JaeHyun took up a battle stance as he instructed in a low voice.
“Get ready.
…It’s coming!”
A sword attack glowing with a blue light headed straight for JaeHyun.
The sword that flew in an arc towards them was at a level above what they had gone up against until now.
‘What is that? This is obviously an A-rank skill… How?’
Whoong!
Barely dodging the sword, JaeHyun’s pupils contracted.
“I didn’t think we’d meet here.”
In front of him was a handsome guy with brilliantly shining black hair.
An unexpected name slowly fell from JaeHyun’s stiff lips.
“…Ahn HoYeon.”
***
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“…What the hell is happening right now? How can freshmen…”
“Hey! Min JaeHyun! Are you ok?”
He heard the worried shouts from Seo Ina and Kim YooJung.
However, JaeHyun didn’t have any time to worry about anything like that. There was only one question that went through his mind at that moment.
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Why was Ahn HoYeon swinging his sword at him?
Both he and Ahn HoYeon were freshmen. There was no reason why they had to fight.
“Ahn HoYeon! What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?”
Although JaeHyun yelled, Ahn HoYeon just stoically swung his sword.
A face with a terrified expression and a hand that attacked without second thought.
Clearly there was something wrong.
‘What is happening? Can he not hear me?
…No way!!’
Whoong!
Quickly taking a few steps back, JaeHyun dodged a sword attack as he recalled information from before he regressed.
He distinctly remembered something like this having happened.
It was probably at a Millaes Academy festival. He remembered a few half-crazy bastards crawling about like this.
Crash!
Parrying a sword with a mana-infused fist, JaeHyun struck Ahn HoYeon in the solar plexus.
Wham!
Ahn HoYeon retreated a few steps back as his leg shook with the pain. At this level of strength, no matter how hard Ahn HoYeon’s skin was, he would have some difficulty moving for a while.
He had to think from this point on. Why was Ahn HoYeon doing something so stupid and vain?
The answer soon appeared in his head.
‘f*ck… This is Gu Ja-In’s work. That bastard, playing such an aggressive trick…’
JaeHyun gritted his teeth in anger.
The chairman of Millaes Academy had interfered with this year’s Freshmen Hunt.
Before regression, something similar had happened during a campus event. Dozens of cadets were suddenly overcome by a blank look on their faces as they attacked their peers and killed them.
The cause of the incident was Gu Ja-In.
He had used his Unique Skill 《 Indoctrinate 》 to control cadets into creating an accident and caused several innocent cadets to die.
Ahn HoYeon was showing the exact same symptoms as the cadets who had been controlled back then.
‘Let’s keep calm…’
JaeHyun took a deep breath. He really wanted to strike Ahn HoYeon down and steal his nametag to send him back right away.
But if he did, he would only be playing into Gu Ja-In’s hands.
Gu Ja-In’s goal was pitting him and Ahn HoYeon against each other to see who was stronger.
This went without saying, but JaeHyun had no plans of going along with what he wanted. However—
‘Damn.’
He was really not in the best situation at the moment.
The cadet in front of him was truly a monster.
Even if he hadn’t shown his best when faced with goblins because of his weak mentality, he was still an immensely talented genius.
JaeHyun gathered his mana as he tensed up.
What could he do to defeat the prodigy in front of him? Right now, it would be difficult to hold back and avoid killing Ahn HoYeon if they really started to fight.
Just as JaeHyun was trying to think of a plan—
一 The connection to the demi-plane is unstable.
一 The restriction on the player is broken.
Look at this.
JaeHyun shook his head at the nonsense Gu Ja-In was spouting and got into focus.
‘He probably prepared this surprise event because he wanted to figure out who was stronger between me and Ahn HoYeon. And he must have decided that a fight with only skills C-rank and below would be too boring.’
“Hey! Min JaeHyun! Did you hear the announcement?! The connection in the demi-plane is unstable right now!”
“…You have to be careful. That guy doesn’t seem to be in his right mind. As if he is being controlled by something…”
“Don’t worry. If things are like this, it’s more advantageous for me.”
“Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean…”
YooJung couldn’t continue her sentence. She saw JaeHyun’s resolute eyes.
It was strange. The opponent in front of them was Ahn HoYeon, the genius that every freshman in Millaes knew about. He was stronger than most seniors.
So why was JaeHyun smiling?
‘If it’s like this, things are different. I think this might work.’
JaeHyun had a smile on his face.
If he could use skills above B-rank, that meant that the situation was in his favor.
Although Ahn HoYeon was a genius, he wouldn’t have a lot of skills that were B-rank or A-rank.
This was a fight JaeHyun could win.
Defeating an enemy without taking their life was something he could easily do. A binding skill like 《 Lightning Chain 》 would make it possible without much difficulty.
“Haa… Haaa…”
Watching Ahn HoYeon quickly fixing his grip on his sword, JaeHyun was prickled with goosebumps.
‘His recovery speed is insane. Though, this much should be expected of the top Warrior.’
The sword of the most talented person who he envied flew toward him.
JaeHyun exhaled and observed his opponent’s movements.
He had a perfect stance with no visible flaws.
‘From the start, he was almost fully trained. His weak mentality, which was his only weakness, is also missing right now due to the mind control. But… I have no plans to go easy on him for it.’
With a calm expression, he started to gather his mana.
Bzzzzz…
A torrent of mana flowed into JaeHyun, shocking Kim YooJung and Seo Ina who were standing behind him into subconsciously taking a few steps back.
‘What is this mana…?!’
Seo Ina’s pupils dilated and her face was filled with astonishment at the sight of the blue effect and lightning attack that wrapped around JaeHyun.
What the hell was happening right now?
Did this mean that he had not shown all his skills thus far?
‘As expected, he was still hiding something…’
At that moment, JaeHyun calmly instructed them.
“You guys, quickly leave. Get as far away as possible. If you can, earn some points too while you’re at it.”
Kim YooJung instantly shouted back.
“What? What the hell does that mean?! Don’t you know who that is? It’s Ahn HoYeon, the No. 1 in the Warrior rankings. How do you plan on defeating him by yourself?!”
“You don’t think I can?”
YooJung’s expression stiffened for a moment.
JaeHyun looked more serious than ever.
Seo Ina thought for a moment, then nodded first before she spoke.
“…Okay. We’ll go.”
“What?! Ina, what do you—!”
Kim YooJung stared at Seo Ina with bewildered eyes. However, Seo Ina simply looked back at her with a placid expression.
In the end, YooJung quickly turned away.
“O-Okay! I’ll go. We’ll earn some points however we can. Beat him up or steal his nametag… Win somehow, and come find us.”
“Yeah. It won’t take too long.”
At YooJung’s words, Ina nodded along. The two darted away from the field Ahn HoYeon and JaeHyun were fighting in. Fortunately, Ahn HoYeon’s target seemed to be only JaeHyun, so he didn’t chase after them.
“Clench your teeth. You’ll get hurt otherwise.”
As if answering JaeHyun’s thoughts, a translucent quest window appeared in front of his eyes.
[Sub Quest]
Save the Cadet Under Mind Control!
There is a cadet nearby who is under a mind-control spell. Break the spell and save him.
Difficulty: C
Reward: Blank card ｘ 1
Remaining Time: 1:59:59
Failure Penalty: –
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