Chapter 66 – Group 2 enters

As Nayun walked into the hallway, she was joined by the other members in Group 2.

As for who those were...

"Ugh." Yeonha sighed. "This is annoying... What's the point of fighting monsters in pairs anyway?"

Shin Jonghak adjusted his spear and said, "It isn't supposed to be pairs. That guy just decided to do it that way."

Suho checked his sword and nodded. "That's right. This is an individual evaluation, so it's actually not good to fight in pairs."

...Apparently, someone in administration was having fun making the groups.

Nayun looked amused and said, "Forget about fighting in pairs, who the heck thought it was a good idea to put us all in a group?"

Yeonha rolled her eyes. "The same ones who paired Lee and Rachel up."

Jonghak glanced at Nayun and looked away, mixed emotions on his face.

Nayun raised an eyebrow and said, "If you wanted me to team up with you, Jonghak, I have bad news..."

Jonghak's face turned red and he said, "I-I didn't want that. I was just... curious."

"Sure..." Nayun looked skeptical, but she humored him. "What are you skeptical about?"

Yeonha chimed in and said, "Yes, Shin Jonghak. Do tell."

Jonghak flinched at being addressed with his full name. Then he rubbed the back of his neck and murmured, "...Fine. I'm sorry for being annoying."

*THUD*

Suho rubbed his forehead, wincing after suddenly running into a wall.

Jonghak groaned and said, "Do you have to be so dramatic, Kim Suho?"

"Me? Dramatic?" Suho looked at Jonghak, genuinely concerned. "Are you Shin Jonghak? Did you make a deal with a djinn? No, are you even still Shin Jonghak? Maybe you got replaced." He placed his hand on his sword and said, "Tell us something only the real Shin Jonghak would know."

Nayun laughed and said, "Don't worry, Suho." She jabbed her thumb at Jonghak and said, "This guy would eat his own spear before making a deal with a devil."

Suho paused to consider that. Then he nodded. "True... So that just means that a djinn stole his body instead."

Jonghak rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. If you have to be annoying about it..." His ears turned a bright red and he mumbled, "Lee has a picture of me on my knees."

Yeonha let out a scandalized gasp. "SO IT'S TRUE?! YOU LIKE- MMPH?!"

Nayun quickly covered Yeonha's mouth and said, "Yeonha! Everyone can hear! And there's a staff member!"

The female Cube staff member, the same one who escorted Lee, Rachel, Hajin, and Skid. She quickly held her hands up and said, "Way above my paygrade. Don't care, didn't hear anything." She paused. "...Though sound does carry in these halls, so-"

In the distance, Lee's voice echoed. "Hah! I win the bet!"

A chorus of groans echoed in response.

Jonghak clicked his tongue and shut his mouth.

Yeonha looked embarrassed and shut her mouth too.

Suho finally relaxed and said, "Yep. That's Shin Jonghak alright."

Nayun rolled her eyes and said, "You're spending too much time around Lee, Suho."

"Can't help it. I had a duel of his pure shenanigans yesterday. It left an impression."

"...You're just saying that as an excuse to goof around now, aren't you?"

"...I will neither confirm nor deny that statement."

Nayun rolled her eyes again and looked at Jonghak. "You were saying earlier before that guy mouthed off?"

Suho said, "I resent that statement. I was just confirming things. Who knows where the djinns are hiding these days. It wouldn't surprise me if one attacked us in the exam, you know?"

Yeonha let out a deep sigh. "Please do not jinx it, Kim Suho."

"I'm just saying, it's surprising that nothing happened with Lee's exam. I had good money on an assassin or two jumping in somehow."

Yeonha gave Suho a betrayed look. "Not you too...!"

Jonghak averted his gaze.

Yeonha noticed and gasped. "Et tu, Jonghak?!"

"...It's easy money." Jonghak mumbled.

"My life and the lives of our classmates are not a betting matter!"

Nayun snorted. "Says the woman who has a running bet on when Rachel's going to elope with Lee."

"NAYUN! I TOLD YOU THAT IN CONFIDENCE!"

Nayun nodded. "And I am confidently saying what you told me."

Suho laughed and said, "Alright, alright. Shin Jonghak apparently had a serious thing to bring up, so let's hear him out."

Jonghak gave a grudging nod towards Suho. Then he looked at Nayun and said, "Nayun... Are you fine fighting with a sword again?" He glanced at the sword sheathed on Nayun's left side.

Nayun paused. "...Not really. But it's just in case." She let out a determined look and said, "Oppa isn't around to protect me anymore. While I'm confident in my bow... Especially after Lee showed me that Archery doesn't have to just be sniping from a distance... Well, I'm not rigid. I've seen how the real world is."

That brief trip with Lee and Rachel to Wonju had been proof of that.

If Lee hadn't been so ridiculously buff, he would have died to that gunshot from Lancaster.

Unlike in the academy, the real world had unpredictable variables.

Relying on just one thing was asking for trouble. Not only that... but if Nayun wanted to go hunting in Dungeons to find a cure for her older brother, she had to prepare for the worst-case scenarios in combat.

If her bow broke, Nayun had to be able to use a sword. If her sword was missing, she had to be able to fight unarmed and with magic until she got another weapon...

Nayun subconsciously palmed the hilt of her sword and then ran a hand through her long brown hair, a smirk on her face. "I might look like a delicate lady, Jonghak, but I'm far from the part anymore."

"...Yeah. I guess so." Jonghak smirked as well. "...That's good."

"Aw, does someone have a crush on me?"

Jonghak turned a bright red and immediately turned his head to the side, shutting his mouth.

Suho laughed and clapped a hand on Jonghak's shoulder. "Sorry, Shin Jonghak. I think that ship has sailed..."

"...Shut up. I know." Jonghak brushed Suho's shoulder off and said, "...Come on, Kim Suho. The last match wasn't fair. I'll prove I'm better than you in this."

"Oh?" Suho smiled and walked beside Jonghak, heading towards one door. "You want a competition then?"

"I'll kill more monsters faster. Bet anything."

"If I win... I want that Li Shuwen spear you have."

Shin Jonghak narrowed his eyes. Then he said, "Fine. If I win... I want the replica seven-branched sword you got from the museum."

"How do you know I still have-"

"Secret."

Suho clicked his tongue. "Fine."

Yeonha covered her face with both her hands. "The sin of gambling has infested all of Cube's cadets..."

Nayun snorted. "Yeohna... you can't say that when you're the one who's running the site where people make the bets."

Yeonha froze and quickly turned to look at Nayun. "How did you know?!"

Suho gasped. "Kim Yeonha! It can't be!"

Yeonha blushed and said, "I-It's only a side business! A side business!"

Jonghak blinked. "Huh. You didn't deny being Kim Yeonha."

Yeonha froze and then turned a beet red.

Nayun gasped. "NO WAY! YOU FILED A- MMPH?!"

Yeonha dove at Nayun and covered her mouth. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

Meanwhile, the female Cube staff member let out a long suffering sigh. "...You know the drill. Doors at end of hallway. You get a minute to survey the terrain and monster. I'll just... be going."

Before any of the four cadets could protest, the staff member immediately ducked out of the hallway, practically sprinting towards the exit.

Nayun thought it was just because she didn't want to be involved with the drama. But...

"PAY UP KIDS! IT'S OFFICIAL!"

...Apparently, it was the opposite.

Yeonha covered her face. "...My life is over."

Suho laughed and lightly nudged Yeonha's arm. "Nah. Your life is history in the making. There are going to be SO many dramas from your lovelife with Hajin, 'Kim' Yeonha."

Yeonha paused. "...Yes. That's true." She slowly lowered her hands. "...Which means royalties. And the ability to select which actors play me and my- and Hajin in the drama."

"'My?'" Nayun teased.

Yeonha blushed but didn't deny it.

Jonghak let out a long sigh and said, "Let's just finish the exam already..."

===

After finishing up their banter, the group split up into Nayun and Yeonha through one door, and Jonghak and Suho in the other.

Nayun was curious about what would happen with Suho and Jonghak, but she focused on her own exam.

In all honesty, Nayun didn't really care about her grades... but Evandel was watching, so she couldn't slack off. Speaking of which... She glanced over at Yeonha and said, "Remember. Eva's watching."

Yeonha froze. Then she let out a long suffering sigh. "...So I have to be serious then. Ugh... I'm still sore from last night."

Nayun's ears perked up. "Last night?"

Yeonha blushed and said, "Not that! I mean from my duel with Rachel!"

"Oh, right." Nayun chuckled. "She whipped you good, huh?"

"Nayuuuun!"

Nayun laughed and glanced through the door, confirming their exam details.

It was an open field. And grazing in that field, there were Thousand-Mile Horses. Intermediate rank grade 9 monsters... which meant they were pretty strong. But for these monsters in particular...

Yeonha glanced over at Nayun, concerned. "Are you going to be fine, Nayun? These monsters are fast, aren't they? It'll be hard for an archer like yourself."

Nayun grinned. "Hard? Please. You'll see. I'm more worried about you, Yeonha." She glanced at the whip coiled at Yeonha's side. "Is a whip really going to be enough to beat them?"

Yeonha looked back at Nayun with a determined gaze and said, "You and the others keep bullying me... but I'm competent in my own right. I might not have the raw destructive power you all possess, but I can at least secure my own life."

Nayun paused and shifted her gaze to the shotgun on the opposite side of Yeonha's waist from the whip. "Oh? And that's totally not just so you can match your hubby or anything?"

"..."

Nayun laughed as the door opened. "Well, alright. Enough chitchat." She walked through the threshold, followed by Yeonha.

After the two walked through the door, the space shimmered and the door vanished, making it seem like there was only the open plains stretching out into the horizon.

Almost immediately, a horse with crackling lightning around its blue coat locked onto Nayun, already preparing to charge.

Yeonha wisely dashed off to the side.

And the moment she did, the Thousand-Mile Horse rushed towards Nayun.

In another lifetime, Nayun would have dodged the charging horse by rolling to the side.

In another lifetime, Hajin would have critiqued her with completely inaccurate comments.

But in this one...

"I can charge too, you know!"

Nayun laughed to shake off her fear and rushed the horse, bow raised and arrows already firing.