“Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

The nameless person apologized. The Chameleon Troupe’s boss looked surprised. I took the soda cup off her head as ice cubes drizzled down. Boss shut her eyes.

“Please wait just a moment. I’ll go get a towel…”

The nameless person suddenly froze. His eyes turned lifeless, and he walked away in a zombie-like manner. I glanced at Boss’ neck and saw a faint light. I almost recognized that necklace, but couldn’t quite remember. I wasn’t too keen on item settings.

“Haaa.”

She sighed and turned towards me. I scratched my neck. I had a tiny pack of tissues in my pocket, but it wasn’t enough to clean the mess on her.

“…”

She kept staring, so I took out the tissues.

“Um, you can use this…”

She looked back and forth between me and the tissues. Then she grabbed them and wiped her face, legs, and arms.

“Thank you.”

She lightly bowed. I couldn’t believe what just happened. Suddenly, the host’s loud voice resounded.

— We will now begin!

The crowd loudly cheered. Countless reporters aimed their cameras at the arena. Although they weren’t allowed to film, they could take pictures. The reporters from England were incredibly excited.

— Rank 3 Rachel vs. Rank 4 Chae Nayun!

A battle between a rapier and a bow. This also happened in the original story, and I already knew Rachel would win.

I stared at them on stage. I could see as though they were only a few feet away. Chae Nayun’s mouth moved, and I could hear what she said.

— Princess, our rank will be changing today.

Rachel didn’t react to the provocation.

— Counting down! Three! Two!

Chae Nayun aimed her bow at Rachel, and Rachel held up her rapier. Neither side showed any openings in their stances as they waited for the signal.

— Start!

Chae Nayun fired immediately. Her magic arrow flew at lightning speed. However, Rachel efficiently skirted past by a hair’s breadth.

Chae Nayun continued with a barrage of arrows that rained down from the sky. The arrows split into several offshoots with unpredictable paths. It seemed this was Chae Nayun’s plan. Since Rachel would just dodge direct shots, Chae Nayun tried boxing her in.

However, Rachel elegantly evaded the terrifying barrage. Not only that, she didn’t hesitate to stab with her rapier when given a chance. Her magic power shot towards Chae Nayun like beams of light. Even so, Chae Nayun didn’t dodge. Instead, she emitted magic power in the form of a shield and blocked them.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Chae Nayun’s magic power control surpassed the level of a cadet.

However, the outcome of this battle was already determined. Chae Nayun couldn’t win against Rachel.

Rachel was a swordsman who specialized in receiving long ranged attacks. Her flexible body could dodge arrows with the slightest movement, and her accurate attacks continuously disrupted an archer’s posture. Chae Nayun created a shield to protect her posture, but it consumed too much magic power.

Rachel would win the moment Chae Nayun’s magic power ran out.

“I saw your duel against Kim Horak.”

A voice suddenly spoke next to me. I slightly jolted because I was so focused on the duel that I forgot about her. That felt incredibly foolish since she was far more powerful than Rachel or Chae Nayun.

“Um, thank you,” I calmly replied.

“Was that your gift?” she asked while staring at me.

“… I’m sorry, but that’s not something I can reveal.”

“…”

She took out a business card from her pocket.

“This is who I am.”

She handed me her business card.

[Li Xiaopeng] [Desolate Moon’s grade 3 hero] [Contact address: 0103-3243-9203-93]

It was one of her many fake identities. Even so, my heart trembled as few people could contact her. I simply smiled and muttered. “It’s illegal to scout cadets in advance.”

“…”

She tried to put away her business card.

“Ah, but…”

I grabbed her wrist. As I thought, she didn’t know about playing hard to get.

“I’ll hold onto yours.”

“…” She nodded and gave me her business card.

“I’ll leave now. Contact us whenever you want.”

She stood up and walked out. I stared at her back in a daze.

“… What did she come here for?”

I couldn’t figure out why she would visit me.

***

All the duels ended by 5 P.M. Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Rachel, and another cadet named Joo Youngho were the only ones who won all their duels. Many unexpected outcomes occurred due to fatigue as cadets fought up to three times a day,

— Wow, that was amazing. Did you see Kim Suho? He’s so stylish!

— Chae Nayun lost to Rachel… I’m a bit bitter. This is the first time I’ve seen Korea’s rising star lose against a foreigner.

By the time I left, the sky had already turned dark. Spectators brushed past me as they chatted about today’s battles. Before I returned to the dorm, I went into an alleyway at the back of the arena. I sat down and took out the drone from my cross bag. This drone was different from the original because I added several settings like battery life boost, stealth mode, and target lock-on. These modifications would only last four days until the Chameleon Troupe left, costing relatively little SP.

“Fly.”

I threw the drone into the air as it flew into the forest. Then I headed back to the dorm.

— kuk… huk… kuk…

“… Huh?”

I heard someone crying and stopped. It sounded a bit like an animal, but was pitiful enough to make me turn. My eyes saw through several walls into a nearby forest. Chase Nayun hid between the trees crying. Her body shook with her face buried between her knees.

“Ah.”

I remembered this event. Chae Nayun would completely fall for Kim Suho after he consoled her. She would view Kim Suho as more than just a friend after everything else that happened between them. Although things had slightly changed from the original, the big picture remained the same.

I turned back without much thought.

“… Tsk.”

However, I hesitated to leave. Kim Suho would comfort Chae Nayun, but his kindness wouldn’t change anything. You can do better next time. Work hard with me. I will help you get stronger. Such words wouldn’t help Chae Nayun. In life, sometimes it was better to give up and change. However, Kim Suho never gave up on anything and would never suggest it to others. Chae Nayun wouldn’t give up the bow for a long time because of Kim Suho.

“… Huuu.”

I turned on my smartwatch. Chae Nayun’s message from last night was still there.

[Hey, don’t ignore me. If you don’t reply, I’ll nominate you for real.]

I responded after 18 hours.

[What are you doing?]

Through the walls, I could see Chae Nayun’s smartwatch ring. She didn’t check it because she was crying, so I sent another message.

[I saw your duel today.]

Chae Nayun glanced at her smartwatch.

— What does this bastard want now?

She planned on ignoring me, so I sent her a message she couldn’t ignore.

[See, I told you. You’re more suited for a sword than a bow. It’s not too late to change your weapon. I did too.]

— This son of a…

It was incredibly effective. Chae Nayun fumed and tapped on her smartwatch.

[Screw off before I kill you.]

I replied with another message that would drive her over the edge.

[Come on, you defeated a djinn with a sword, so why do you insist on using the bow? I just can’t understand. It’s almost… pitiful. If you fought Rachel like how you fought that djinn, do you think you would have lost?]

[What? You wanna die?]

[Think a little. You beat her when you were in the Military Agent Academy, so why do you think you’re losing now? It’s because you don’t have an aptitude for bows.]

[You piece of shit where are you do I look like a pushover you bastard don’t be so arrogant just because you beat Kim Horak]

I could hardly understand her emotional message with all the punctuation errors. I didn’t bother replying either. I wanted to mess with her more because of her funny reactions, but it was time.

— Huh? Chae Nayun?

Kim Suho peeked behind the tree where she hid.

— Eh?

— What are you doing here?

— W…What!

Chae Nayun quickly wiped away her tears. She tried to run, but Kim Suho caught her.

— Let me go!

Chae Nayun tried to shake him off, but Kim Suho wasn’t the type to leave a crying girl. He had a typical main character personality.

“… It’s time to leave.”

I didn’t stay to watch what would happen between them. I only made sure Chae Nayun didn’t forget about her real gift. That was the extent of my role.

***

The next combat exam began on Wednesday. Cadets would fight against monsters, so guests couldn’t spectate. Furthermore, because the summoned monsters varied, the exam was graded on an absolute scale rather than a relative one.

“Be especially careful in today’s exam. If you refuse to give up, you might die.”

Kim Soohyuk solemnly warned. The monsters couldn’t comprehend complex orders. Annihilate the enemies and protect allies, was the extent they could understand. An order like, test that cadet’s skills, was out of the question. Not to mention, summoned monsters didn’t disappear after magicians reverse summoned them, so cadets had to be careful after surrendering.

“If you think your life is in danger, give up immediately. You can yell, I surrender, or simply tap on the ground twice.”

“…”

I calmly listened to Kim Soohyuk’s explanation. Chae Nayun glared at me, but I ignored her.

“The magicians in charge will explain the rest. Give them a warm welcome.”

The door opened and robed magicians walked in. Summoner magicians weren't given any special treatment. The Magician’s Tower had a strict hierarchy depending on specialties, and summoner magicians were average. They didn’t have twisted personalities like most magicians because they often worked outside the Magician’s Tower.

“Nice to meet you all. I am the Chief Magician, Jin Joohwa.”

The lead magician bowed to the cadets.

“Today, you will fight monsters we will summon. Be careful, since summoned monsters are no different from real monsters. Even if we reverse summon them, they won’t disappear immediately. If things look dangerous, please surrender immediately.”

The cadets nodded at the magician’s kind explanation.

“Good. Then we will tell you how the exam will proceed.”

Jin Joohwa smiled.

“Four cadets will go in at a time, and each cadet will be given 15 minutes. You will not be graded based on victory or loss, and your role will be taken into account.”

Jin Joohwa stuck up his index finger.

“First is how long you last. Next is how calm you responded. In other words, you don’t have to kill the summoned monster.”

Wiing—

A smartwatch cut him off. The magician looked around the room.

“Please turn off all your smartwatches.”

He spoke nonchalantly as we turned off all our smartwatches.