Chapter 10: Rating Test (3)

Alex Ichi.
A 3-star Lightning attribute dealer and a B-rank Awakened.
To sum up Alex in one word, he was a lesser version of the character Baek Soso; his skill composition and combat style were very similar.

However, in the system of Legend of Academy, being a lesser version didn’t mean a character was never used in a party.
LoA used a ‘cost’ system for party composition, and the higher a character’s cost, the more rapidly their fatigue increased.
Once it passed a certain threshold, a ‘Fatigue’ debuff would appear, preventing them from performing properly, which naturally led to the recruitment of lower-cost characters.

Being a lesser version of the 5-star character Baek Soso, in other words, meant that Alex had a very excellent skill set.
Therefore, Alex was one of the first characters that came to mind when a cost-efficient Lightning attribute dealer was needed.

‘Yeah, looking at him only as a ‘game character’, he’s a really useful guy.’

“What are you?”

Right after introducing Alex, Joo Siyoung left, saying she had something to do.
As soon as she was out of sight, Alex dragged me to a corner of the testing area, spat on the floor, and asked me.

“I’m Lee Sihyuk.”
“I wasn’t asking for your name. Are you the son of someone important? Maybe a director’s son?”
“No.”

‘I’m an orphan.’

“Got a lot of money?”
“No.”

‘I’m relying on others for all three of my meals because I don’t even have money for food.’

“What? Then how can a loser like you ask Joo Siyoung for a favor?”
“…”

Alex suddenly rested his chin on his hand and started muttering, pondering something.

‘He’s just as I remembered.’
‘As a ‘game character’, Alex is a great card with excellent cost and performance, but as a ‘student’, he’s the worst.’
‘Due to his hot-tempered personality, he was constantly in and out of juvenile detention, and he was probably out now because of a deal with Joo Siyoung.’
‘He frequented the back alleys and was hardened by fights, so his skills in one-on-one combat were certainly reliable.’
‘Later, when the ‘back-end’ story of the Academy progresses, Alex will be an excellent guide.’

“I heard you’re D-rank, so you can’t be… in the Special Division. Hey, are you maybe this to that Joo Siyoung b*tch?”

Alex snickered, raising his pinky finger.
‘Why on earth would a character who’s supposed to be from Russia know that expression?’

“Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of relationship. And I plan on entering the Special Division soon.”
“You?”

When I nodded, Alex looked even more confused.

“There’s one S-rank, quite a few A-ranks, and B-ranks like me are a dime a dozen. And they’re putting you in there? What are you?”
“Like I said, I’m Lee Sihyuk.”

I answered honestly, but unfortunately, my sincerity didn’t seem to get through, as Alex let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh, since you’re the guy Joo Siyoung introduced, I can’t just beat the answer out of you.”
“Could you even hit me in the first place?”
“What do you take me for, you punk!”

Alex growled, looking like he was about to hit me at any moment.
But instead of dodging, I calmly pointed to the item around Alex’s neck.

“That’s gonna hurt.”
“…You knew?”

‘The Necklace of Obedience.’
‘In Legend of Academy, there are three categories of items, A, B, and C, each numbered from 1 to 99.’
‘A is for attack-type items, B for defense-type, and finally, C for special-type items.’
‘The lower the number, the harder the item was to obtain and the more unique its effect. The necklace on Alex’s neck was numbered C-68.’

‘The effect is simple.’
‘It constantly monitors the user’s status and, if they disobey a ‘teacher’s’ command, it stimulates the pain receptors, instantly causing excruciating pain throughout the body.’

‘It was mainly used to correct characters who caused trouble, but it wasn’t a commonly used item.’
‘This was because it lowered a character’s growth potential and always kept their relationship with the teacher in the ‘worst’ state.’
‘It actually appeared more often in those books than in the actual game.’

‘They’d make an arrogant character who defies the teacher at every turn wear the ‘Necklace of Obedience’, and then the teacher would relentlessly…… Ahem.. ahem..’

“We’re both being dragged around by Joo Siyoung. Let’s try to get along.”
“You too?”

When I said that, Alex looked at me with pity.

“That crazy b*tch. I’m gonna fck her up someday.”
“…Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
“You hang in there too, man.”

‘What on earth does Joo Siyoung usually go around doing? No matter how much of a gullible idiot Alex is, quick to throw a punch, I never expected him to change 180 degrees like this.’
‘Then again, a proper teacher wouldn’t make a student wear something like the Necklace of Obedience.’

After complaining for a while about their shared suffering—which I wasn’t feeling—Alex seemed to remember something and asked me.

“So, what am I supposed to do today?”
“Help me with my ability test.”
“Must be a support-type ability. But if you go to the Central Testing Center, there are agents waiting to officially help with tests. Why bother doing it here?”
“There’s a story behind it.”

‘The method Joo Siyoung mentioned to the examiner was an ‘informal test’. A system to temporarily identify which type of ability a student has in a testing area without official equipment.’
‘Apparently, it means less paperwork for the supervisor and less responsibility to bear than sending a student directly to the Central Testing Center.’

‘Of course, I didn’t even know such a system existed. I thought I had mostly mastered everything about LoA, but it seems there’s more and more I don’t know.’
‘Well, how could I, a former player, know the minor details that weren’t even in the setting guide?’

‘Anyway, only two things were needed for this informal test.’

‘1. The Awakened being tested.’
‘2. One Awakened who has shown a consistent output in tests for over two years.’

‘The first is obvious since it’s the person in question, and the second is a condition needed to prevent result manipulation. An Awakened who can’t control their own output, whose ability is simply ON or OFF.’
‘The Awakened who met this second condition was Alex, who was apparently one of the rarest types within the Academy.’

“I’m counting on you.”

I offered Alex a handshake with a friendly smile.
Regardless of his rotten personality, I owed this guy a lot from the early days of LoA.
‘There were countless dungeons I couldn’t have cleared without Alex. This was a token of that gratitude.’

“Yeah!”

Alex looked puzzled for a moment, then vigorously grabbed my hand and shook it.
‘He really is a simple guy.’

“Alright, Mr. Lee Sihyuk, are you ready?”

The supervisor spoke in a business-like tone.
His voice, transmitted through the office microphone, reached a room with pristine white walls and floor.
It was a test room made of a special material on all sides.

–Yes.

The boy standing in a corner of the room with his arms crossed, Lee Sihyuk, nodded his head.
Seeing his calm face through the installed camera, the supervisor couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

‘He’s not nervous at all. Seeing as someone so important came in person, there must be something special about that boy.’

‘It’s not something I need to worry about.’
‘The secret to working at the Academy for a long, long time is to not get interested in unnecessary things. It was a phrase the supervisor reminded himself of every time he came to work.’

“Since you requested a temporary test, Mr. Alex will first measure his Awakened rank. Then, with Mr. Lee Sihyuk’s ability in use, Mr. Alex will measure his rank again. If there is a significant change in the value, we will schedule a reservation for you at the Central Ability Testing Center. Any questions?”

Lee Sihyuk shook his head.
‘If there are no questions, then it’s time to begin the test.’

“Then, Mr. Lee Sihyuk, please step back for a moment. Yes, that’s far enough. Now, Mr. Alex, please begin.”

–Hey, I can’t go easy, you know?
–There’s no need to go easy. You’ll have to hit it with all your strength to properly show my ability.

‘I like the sound of that.’
In the camera feed, Alex chuckled and loosened his shoulders.
To the supervisor’s eyes, it just looked like he was stretching his muscles, but Lee Sihyuk thought differently.

‘Bone Stretching. Alex’s self-buff skill that increases attack power by a certain percentage.’

“Uryaaaaah!!!”

With a powerful shout, the air crackled with sparks.
Sparks enveloped Alex’s right arm.
He bent his waist, set his fist—and then threw it forward.

Lightning – Smash
“Lightning – Smash!”

‘Unlike Suisei’s, it was a skill with a simple name. The skill names of 3-star characters were usually named uncreatively like this.’
‘However, the destructive power shown by Alex’s fist was anything but uncreative.’

The moment Alex’s fist touched the white wall, the camera was blinded by a pure white light.
A moment later, when the screen returned, Alex’s fist was buried deep within the white wall.

“He’s B-rank. The value is 19874. At this level, he’s almost at the top of the B-rank.”

The supervisor muttered into the microphone in admiration.

“Alright Mr. Sihyuk, please get ready.”

–Ah, I don’t need to prepare.

“Hm?”

Lee Sihyuk stretched one hand high up so it was clearly visible to the camera.
A small, gray cube appeared above his empty palm.
The Colorless Element.
Lee Sihyuk’s ability.

–Here, take it.
–What’s this tiny thing?
–Hold it in your fist and try again.

Alex looked puzzled, but then he tightly clenched the Colorless Element in his fist and loosened his shoulders again.

–I have no idea what’s changed, but…

“Lightning – Smash!” Alex shouted as he swung his fist.

With a massive BOOM, the office shook and the screen went dead.

“What, an earthquake?”

But there was no way an earthquake could happen on the artificial island of the Academy.
Then did an accident occur?
A few possibilities crossed the supervisor’s mind, but he hurriedly moved toward the test room.
The students’ safety was the first priority.

And the moment the supervisor opened the door.

“……What in the world.”

One wall of the test room was completely demolished.
The speakers and cameras were smashed to pieces, and black scorch marks were everywhere.
And in the middle of it all stood Lee Sihyuk, sweating profusely and looking troubled.

“Um, supervisor.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Mr. Lee Sihyuk.”

Lee Sihyuk asked the supervisor with a desperate expression.

“This is covered by insurance, right?”