Upon the battalion commander’s declaration, the unjust final exam commenced.
“Don’t, don’t push!”
“I didn’t push!”
“Kyaa! Where are you touching!”
367 soldiers squeezed into the narrow pool.
The water quickly became muddy from the dirt they carried in.
“Stop pushing!”
“I’ll be eliminated right from the start!”
The discomfort of having their lower bodies submerged in dirty water, the closeness as uncomfortable as a subway ride during rush hour.
If this test was designed to be the worst, there could be no worse scenario.
“Eek.”
Park Jinsung secretly clicked his tongue.
The water entering his combat boots made it difficult to maintain balance. The zombie squad, having depleted their stamina to the bottom, had to endure a fatigue greater than what the other trainees experienced.
The school nurse, with dark circles down to her chin, staggered towards the pool.
“Do your best…”
Struggling, the school nurse swung her right arm. From her weakly flailing fingertips, a powder close to golden dust sprayed out.
Woo-woo-woo!
The particles were very fine, like flour or pollen.
The powder settled on the wrists of the trainees, transforming into golden bracelets that absorbed a certain amount of damage.
Having appeared in every event so far, it was a very familiar object to the trainees.
“…I must go.”
The school nurse, her shoulders sagging, dragged her legs as she moved. Her entire body’s slump matched that of the zombie squad.
“Oh… Jinsung.”
The school nurse muttered as she sneakily passed by Park Jinsung.
“School nurse?”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to treat serious injuries for a while. Oh, you understand what I mean, right?”
“…I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”
The school nurse continued at the same pace past the zombie squad, towards the officers. She had passed by Park Jinsung specifically to say that one line.
Don’t create a situation like with the giant bug.
In her way, it was a word of caution for Park Jinsung’s sake. It would be troublesome to stir up a big issue with no one to treat the injuries.
‘Well then.’
Was he expected to face all those people without Edeya…
Moreover.
Even if scoring was based on the order of being pushed out, factions were bound to exist.
Park Jinsung smirked at the slowly moving atmosphere of the pool.
‘Right, right. They’ll group by room like that. And probably factions will join forces too.’
The pressure from other trainees forced the zombie squad towards the end of the pool.
The heated glares seemed to have already chosen the zombie squad as their first victim.
Exhausted and sickly beasts are always the top prey in any worldview.
‘I’ll protect my zombie squad myself… Wow, it’s embarrassing even just monologuing.’
Park Jinsung took a step forward from the zombie squad.
His appearance, reminiscent of a third-rate hero, elicited a sneering laugh from the other trainees.
“You’re thinking wrong, F-class.”
“We have no interest in dying losers, F-class.”
“Listen. We’re just, F-class.”
“No! That last remark has nothing to do with F-class! Do you have to end every sentence with F-class?!”
The trainees staring at the zombie squad turned in different directions.
The chilling silence made the phrase ‘the calm before the storm’ fit perfectly.
But that scene quickly turned into ‘a mess waiting to happen.’
“Chargeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!
Following one trainee’s shout, a messy curtain rose.
Park Jinsung guarded his head with his arms and tensed his trembling thighs.
“Ugh! I need to prepare for the shock first… Uh… Hmm…?”
Despite his strong effort, nobody attacked Park Jinsung. To be precise, no one even glanced towards the zombie squad.
“What, what! These trash bastards dare!”
“First off, you, Byun Kiyoung, should fall. Everyone, attack!!”
The trainees targeted the aces of each group first. Naturally, they made it seem like they would target the zombie squad first but instead made the other aces let their guard down.
“What the! I’ve worked so hard for you guys!”
“Hehe. Sorry, sorry. You guys are already in the top ranks. Please drop out early here.”
Aces who couldn’t use Edeya were not worthy of the title ‘Ace’ at all.
Splash, splash, splash, bang, crash!
Pushed by numerous hands, they were relentlessly chased out of the pool.
This swift attack resulted in the elimination of most aces. There was no ace who could withstand the ongoing attack. However,
“Hmph.”
The ace of aces.
One in 367.
Not even the trainees dared to easily mess with the white jade goblin. They could only surround it in a circle.
Kim Seyun looked at the faces surrounding her with her arms crossed.
“We, we need to attack now! The battalion commander might call the Edeya at any moment!”
“Hmph. A fine judgment, indeed. But what are you waiting for, not attacking.”
No matter how strong Kim Seyun was, she was just a pitiful victim in front of these dirty rules. There was not even a grain of rice’s worth of reason for her to be so confident.
“Let go! You trash!”
Byun Kiyoung next to her was almost chased out. Kim Seyun wouldn’t be much different.
“Let’s go!”
“Pushhhhh!”
Half-terrified trainees finally rushed towards Kim Seyun. Kim Seyun, with one hand on her waist, leisurely waited for the crowd.
The waves surged!
Among the jumping of the trainees, the gazes of Park Jinsung and Kim Seyun crossed. Although it was coincidental, it was evidence that Kim Seyun had been paying attention to this side all along.
“D-deputy? Why aren’t you running away? With deputy…”
“Recover your points, man.”
Kim Seyun’s cherry-like lips twitched slightly.
“Hehe. It would be troublesome if our Sergeant Kim Seyun were to be eliminated like this. Hmmmph.”
The principal watched with satisfaction and took a deep breath to shout loudly.
“Hmph. To think that such is our highest superior. It won’t go as you wish.”
Kim Seyun deliberately pretended to trip over her legs before the trainees could pile on her. It was quite a performance, as the trainees were completely fooled.
“Kim Seyun made a mistake! Now’s our chance!”
“As of this moment, the battalion commander broadcasts!! From now on, the use of Edeya is authorized!!”
Boom!
As the trainees collided with Kim Seyun,
Crack.
Kim Seyun’s bracelet broke.
Kim Seyun felt her body flying out of the pool and retrieved the horn from within her forehead.
“[White Jade Goblin…!]”
“Let go! You trash! How dare you touch me, mere filth?!”
“Stop struggling and just come out, squad leader.”
“Ki, Kim Seyun?! Eek! You trashy woman, you wouldn’t dare!”
The white jade goblin chose to gather companions among the people instead of regaining composure.
Flash, crack!
The goblin’s horn reinforced Kim Seyun’s body with a flash, pouring all the remaining backup power into her arms alone.
There wasn’t a spot where veins didn’t bulge, and even a menacing sound came from her tightly clenched fists.
[White Jade Goblin]
World Soul Grade System (Edeya): A
Manifests the White Jade Goblin on the caster’s body.
Current Generation Goblin: Sword Expert Intermediate
Overall Combat Ability: B⁺ (A↓)
Snap!
While flying out of the arena, Kim Seyun grabbed Byun Kiyoung’s neck.
“Let go! You witch!”
“Shut up.”
“Aaaaaaah! You trashy bastards!”
Kim Seyun swung Byun Kiyoung around to attack the nearby trainees.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Aaah! A person is swinging another person!”
“Everyone, run! Kim Seyun is attacking with Byun Kiyoung!!”
“Ugh. Let go of me… you’re really like a dog….”
Byun Kiyoung, with blood rushing to his head, fainted without even realizing his bracelet had broken. Kim Seyun had swung him around enough to knock him out in that short span of time.
Up until the white jade goblin fell out of the pool, a total of 30 individuals were eliminated. There were no trainees left on either side of the direction Kim Seyun flew in.
“Crazy…, it was good to attack the aces first….”
“If we had let Kim Seyun loose.”
It was significant that Kim Seyun had initially been in the center of the pool. The distance she flew allowed her to take many more trainees with her.
“Everyone, snap out of it…!”
“This is just the beginning!”
The momentarily distracted trainees regained their composure.
It’s not time to let down their guard yet.
There’s still one dying ace left.
“Tch.”
The weakest but paradoxically the most powerful ace.
Just yesterday, the F-class who had been the top of the overall rankings was left exhausted.
“Oh no. This is troublesome.”
Park Jinsung checked his hands and feet, still trembling.
He can’t just crush them with overwhelming physical strength as before. Nor can he just pull out an Edeya with his right hand.
Pulling it out in his exhausted state could lead to a disaster.
If the trainees get hurt by mistake, it’s over. That would be exactly what the principal would gleefully welcome.
‘This is really troublesome. What should I do?’
At this moment, he had truly become the bottom-of-the-barrel F-class. He had to face so many trainees with just a single dagger.
‘Oh my. What on earth are the officers trying to do.’
Not only failing to make it into the top 50 but becoming the absolute last. Far from being promoted to Sergeant, it would be lucky not to be transferred.
‘Should I give up…?’
This time, even Park Jinsung had to consider giving up.
Giving up on recovering his grades and just focusing on protecting the zombie squad until the end seemed like the right choice.
“Sigh. [Dagger.]”
[Dagger]
World Soul Grade System: F
Overall Combat Ability: F
The Edeyas drawn by the trainees appeared truly splendid.
“…Ugh.”
Even though the dagger was like a limb to him, now even his limbs felt heavy. It was uncertain if he could make even one person a companion like Kim Seyun did.
The trainees started to close in on the zombie squad. Even the gentle ripples made by the trainees felt as heavy as a thousand pounds to Park Jinsung.
As Park Jinsung enjoyed his monologue, the pressure from the trainees neared.
“Heheh. Sorry, squad leader. It seems like recovering points is a bit.”
“Kukuku. Who would have thought we’d be hunting down an F-class? Take it as an honor, bug.”
“Right. But… but isn’t it really shameful? Heheh. Couldn’t you at least attack in turns if you’re embarrassed?”
“There’s no such variable until you walk out of here on your own. Everyone, attackkkkkkkk!”
“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard the word ‘attack’ today. Was this word always this unpleasant?”
Park Jinsung forced himself to maintain composure and lowered his stance towards the approaching enemies.
That’s when it happened.
“Move aside, captain.”
“Uh…?”
Fierce figures stepped forward in front of Park Jinsung.
“Yeah. Just move aside, captain.”
“You see, we’re just, captain,”
“Haha… What’s that supposed to mean…”
“Protect the captainnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!”
“The last part really didn’t need ‘captain’ attached to it, did it…”
The zombie squad, which had been conserving their energy, fervently ignited their last spark. It was to protect their bible from the scoundrels.
Splash splash splash!
“Move aside! You lowlifes! If you want points, you should dunk your captain first!”
“Ughhhh.”
“Crazy. These guys have already lost half their minds, haven’t they?”
The 5th squad finally lived up to the title of a mad zombie squad.
Of course, in a not-so-positive way.
Ughhhh!
The floundering figures seemed like they would sink on their own if left untouched.
In fact, the trainees barely touched the zombie squad.
“Move aside! You zombie.”
Just a light push was enough for an out.
They automatically plunged their heads into the muddy water the moment they tangled with each other.
“……”
Park Jinsung couldn’t bring himself to scold the zombie squad.
The reason the zombie squad could grow so rapidly was precisely because they were inherently strong.
Their Edeya grades were low, so they unknowingly toughened their bodies.
‘Ah… no…’
The result of running around to compensate for weak souls.
This was why Park Jinsung had chosen them.
It wasn’t because they didn’t believe in themselves that they were weak; their physical capabilities were already among the best in the company.
‘You were always strong! You just utterly lacked confidence! Go…! Please show those damned ones the power you possess!’
Ahn Sungho, Kim Seyun, and Park Jinsung knew.
These three believed that the soul could grow and that the Edeya was not the absolute standard.
The 5th squad might think of it as Park Jinsung’s magic, but as they knew, Park Jinsung hadn’t really done much for them.
‘If only we had received timely stamina recovery…!’
Park Jinsung clenched his fist.
His fingernails dug into his palm, causing shallow streams of blood to flow.
Regrettably, in zombie movies, zombies are merely extras.
They are destined to be mercilessly eliminated by armed survivors.
“Captain…”
“We must protect the captain. Then someday we too.”
“Ughhhhh!!”
“Why would you throw yourselves in harm’s way for someone like me! Don’t you desire points? Don’t you want to be promoted? Care about your own scores for a change, survive a bit longer! It’s you who have come this far, not me! So…!”
The zombie squad perfectly mimicked Park Jinsung’s actions, trying to protect themselves. To Park Jinsung, the zombie squad was no longer mere extras.
Bubbling, bubbling.
The number of zombies who had flipped their boats or those whose backs were floating increased.
Despite being a zombie movie, it was oddly short on running time, already looking to bring down the curtain.
“Please, show your strength…! Ah… ugh.”
Park Jinsung’s mouth, which had been fervently shouting, slowly closed.
“Huff, huff. Crazy… Are they really zombies?”
“Exactly. They cling on with no strength but never let go.”
“Ha. But we’ve dealt with them all.”
All 30 members of the mad zombie squad were eliminated.
No injuries among the trainees who fought the zombie squad.
No trainees were eliminated.
‘…Damn it.’
No one on the trainees’ side had their morale broken.
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