The original plan had been a little different.
Johan’s team would challenge Yu Serin and stall her until the very brink of elimination.
I never expected them to succeed in the raid. That was unrealistic.
The idea was to strike her in the back—at the precise mont she dropped her guard from victory.
That was my first draft.
They'd draw her aggro from the front, and I’d target the one and only blind spot on her back.
For soone like without a team, it was a bit cowardly—but in terms of efficiency, nothing beat that scenario.
However—
“...What the hell?”
Things fell apart much faster than I had expected.
Like falling leaves in autumn.
That phrase echoed in my head.
She'd swing one arm and two would go flying. Swing the other, and two more were gone.
Movents too sloppy to even call attacks.
Whatever strategies they had vanished the mont Yu Serin dodged that first flashbang.
Johan held out the longest, but... even that was just a matter of ti.
In the end, I had no choice but to jump in earlier than planned.
One hit.
It had to end in one hit.
Even though she likely had plenty of stamina left, I had no choice but to pour out everything I had.
I gathered my mana and steadied my breath.
—KWAANG!!
It landed perfectly in her back.
Phalanx exploded through the chains coiled around her spine.
Yu Serin was hurled into the air, slamming hard into a building wall.
Debris scattered and dust rose.
Right there, I made eye contact with Johan.
“Hey, man... why are you so weak?”
It wasn’t mockery.
I was genuinely curious.
Then, I focused every nerve on the rubble.
Was it over?
...Probably not.
I had hit her with everything, but I doubted it was enough to finish her off.
Then—
The debris began to shift and bulge upward.
“...Figures.”
I expected this much.
From the cracks of the collapsed building—
A dark shape rose through the smoky dust.
Srrrk—
Chains.
They erged from the rubble, sweeping the debris aside one piece at a ti.
“...Ugh, that really hurts...”
Through labored breathing, Yu Serin revealed herself.
She straightened up with a wince, brushing her hair aside with one hand.
Dirt covered the bridge of her nose, and her clothes were ripped in several places.
“...Wasn’t that a bit much?”
She looked over at with a weary smile.
Her voice was light, but her face looked far more worn than before.
The hit had definitely landed.
Even she couldn’t hide the fatigue.
“...What a sha.”
Pfft.
Yu Serin let out a short laugh and lowered the hand holding her chain.
“You’re late, you know? Your friends already stopped by.”
“Yeah, I imagine they’re sowhere nice now.”
Her chains scraped along the floor as she slowly walked toward .
I too began to close the distance—one step at a ti.
Beep.
A signal rang from the watch.
A notification that the boss raid had begun.
“Why’d you co here?”
I threw out a question I’d been holding onto.
“Oh, that?”
She chuckled and nodded.
As if it were nothing.
“You rember the rooftop party—the third question?”
“...Question?”
It ca back to .
That day, she’d asked three questions.
I was pretty sure I answered them all....
Ah.
“What’s your relationship with Vice Guildmaster Kang Arin?”
She smiled.
“I don’t think you answered that one.”
The mont those words left her lips—
Her silhouette blurred and vanished.
“—!”
I reflexively looked up.
Chains swept past overhead.
I twisted my body on instinct.
BOOM!
Fragnts of grass and soil exploded next to .
Just inches away, a black chain had slamd into the ground.
Long-range won’t work. Just trying to maintain distance would slowly wear down.
I had to get close.
At that mont, her silhouette spun weightlessly in the air.
Yu Serin’s eyes narrowed with a grin.
“I get to ambush too, you know.”
I took a breath—and leapt forward with all my strength.
“Nice... move!”
I shouted back, soaring through the air.
Imdiately, multiple chains ca flying toward my trajectory.
From the side. From behind. From the front and diagonals—entwined.
Even though the limiter restricted how many chains she could use, the pressure was imnse.
‘How the hell...’
Now I understood why my friends had gone first.
I give them credit for their recklessly brave attempt.
I spun my spear like a windmill behind to deflect the chains coming from the rear.
CLANG! CLANG!
I twisted my body to dodge the ones flying in from the front.
Then—charged directly at her.
At a distance of just three steps—
“Hnn...”
A breath.
I could hear it now that I was close.
Yu Serin was panting.
The fatigue {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} from back-to-back battles was clearly catching up to her.
But I was also at my limit.
From the punch machine to that earlier strike, I had already used Phalanx twice today.
This fight would have to end quickly.
SHWIP!
Another chain slashed toward .
I ducked under it.
CLANG!
I deflected a chain coming for my ribs without even looking.
There wasn’t ti to spare even for sight.
“...You even predict movent?”
Yu Serin sounded surprised.
We exchanged several more strikes.
Then—she inhaled sharply.
Her shoulders twitched.
She was in pain.
That one beat—
That was all I needed.
Phalanx was no longer an option.
But I had a technique I’d been researching.
Aldebaran’s second Authority—Ghost Severance.
Although I didn’t have Catastrophe in hand but rather a test spear—I could imitate it.
I raised my spear.
This ti, I wouldn’t thrust.
I’d swing.
Yu Serin quickly leapt back.
...!
Now it wouldn’t reach.
She had dodged perfectly.
Got .
She’d faked pain to lure out an attack.
It was a psychological trap—expecting to rush in.
Her eyes lit up coldly.
She twisted her chain and readied a perfect counterstrike.
She’s... ridiculously strong.
She’d even deduced that I lacked long-range options.
It felt like she had already finished analyzing .
But—
There was one thing she didn’t know.
Ghost Severance isn’t lee.
She’d never seen it. So there’s no way she could know.
A weight rose along my wrist.
I layered the mory from that day onto the present.
Even if I couldn’t fully recreate it—I could imitate it.
WHIP!!
The spear carved through the air—and sothing ripped.
From its tip, a wave of Spear Qi erupted.
At point-blank range—just one step away.
It exploded.
SKREEEEEE!
Yu Serin couldn’t defend.
She had taken a counterattack stance, thinking my attack would miss.
Too late to defend. Her body was caught mid-motion.
In that gap—
The Spear Qi struck her square in the abdon.
SQUELCH!
The explosion tore through the air.
Yu Serin’s body was hurled back in a high arc—
—and slamd into the ground, back-first.
Dust flared, and the earth caved in.
I flipped my spear in reverse grip and charged.
I couldn’t assu it was over yet.
But—
She didn’t move.
“....”
I landed gently.
Turned my head.
Crack...
The spear in my hand began to fracture.
I’d pumped more mana into it than a test spear could handle.
It shattered.
Yu Serin continued to breathe—barely.
Just lying there.
Eyes closed, her breath faint.
After a mont, she let out a quiet laugh.
“...Hahh.”
She turned her head, eyes half-lidded as she looked at .
“...Haein, are you an onion?”
“...What?”
“The more I peel, the more surprises... That intuition... and that last move... ugh, it hurts.”
A gash was clearly visible beneath her torn clothing.
“Do you concede?”
I pointed the remains of the shattered spear at her.
“...You're really awful.”
She muttered, brushing back her hair with one hand.
Then extended the other toward .
Her watch glead on her wrist.
The Black Droplet icon was blinking on screen.
I stepped closer.
Gently took her wrist. Just before pressing the screen—
Our eyes t.
I allowed myself a short smile.
Ti to answer what she’d always wanted.
“Oh, right. About Kang Arin?”
Her expression froze slightly.
“We’ve promised each other the future.”
“...What?”
It wasn’t wrong.
Without another word, I pressed the screen.
Beep!
The watch chid.
[Black Droplet Boss Defeated!]
[Reward Granted]
[Solo Kill!]
[Points Earned: 2000]
[2040 pt]
And then—the ssage announcing the end of the exam rang out.
[Exam Complete!]
[Current Headcount]
Blue Team: 77 | White Team: 42
[Score]
4790 pts vs 5110 pts
[White Team Victory!]
Having reached 5000 points, the exam ended automatically.
“...Holy shit.”
The Blue Team had gone on a rampage trying to take us out.
If it hadn’t been the Black Droplet—or if I had been just a little later—we would’ve lost.
[MVP: Jeong Haein]
[2640 pts Earned!]
[Solo Clear: Black Droplet Boss!]
[Solo Clear: Silver Droplet Boss!]
My achievents kept popping up one after another—but I turned my watch off without a glance.
“...I’m dead.”
And then I collapsed onto my back.
“...Wanna lie down over here? It’s pretty comfy.”
Yu Serin’s quiet voice.
A little sarcastic, but the sincerity was there.
“....”
Co to think of it—she was right.
I turned my head toward her, then silently moved beside her.
The two of us lay side by side, saying nothing.
After fighting like hell just a mont ago—it felt fitting.
I was completely out of breath. The mana circuits in my body scread in pain.
...It’s over.
The long final exam was finally over.
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