As the clock struck the hour, the students entered the underground Training Center through the designated gate. The midterm exam had begun.
During this time, I visited the situation room with Kim Dong-hak. As planned, we were assigned to monitor the CCTV cameras and supervise the field to ensure there were no major accidents.
“Uh, Instructor. Could you take a look at CCTV No. 16 over there?”
Among the numerous CCTV screens in the situation room, one was singled out. It revealed two students who had just come into view.
“Those kids are punching and fighting each other.”
“Leave them be. That’s the nature of this test.”
This exam was essentially about finding hidden brooches in the simulated dungeon. Finding the brooch would result in passing the test. There was no real need for them to exert so much effort in fighting each other.
“Seizing someone else’s brooch also counts as passing the test.”
“Ah.”
Apparently, taking someone else’s brooch also counted as passing. This inevitably meant conflicts would arise. These students really seemed to enjoy picking fights with each other.
“Now that the exam has started, how about removing that cumbersome neck brace for a while?”
“Sure.”
Clunk—!
I loosened the neck brace that had been tightly fixed. It wasn’t because my neck hurt; I only wore it for the show, much like the wheelchair, which was also prepared for effect.
By the way, I borrowed this neck brace from Choi Soo-eun. As expected, having contacts in the medical field comes in handy at times like this.
“Instructor.”
“What is it?”
“What happens if a student doesn’t find the brooch within three hours?”
I was curious. Would they immediately fail, or would they receive some points even if they submitted the result late?
“They’re immediately disqualified. It’s an automatic zero on the midterm exam.”
“…”
Truly, this old man showed no mercy. I started to feel like bringing the wheelchair was a great idea after all.
“Ho ho. Still impressive.”
Meanwhile, Kim Dong-hak was watching intently with wide eyes, clearly impressed. As I wondered what he was looking at, I saw that he was observing Arna on one of the CCTV screens.
In the video, Arna was fighting a monster all on her own, without any help.
“But capturing monsters won’t result in passing.”
Kim Dong-hak was right. Catching monsters and passing the test were two entirely different things. No matter how many monsters Arna caught, if she didn’t find the brooch, she would receive a zero.
Somehow, Arna would have to find the brooch eventually.
By the way—
─── Quest ───
: The Sole Villain
: Prove to Arna that you are the one and only villain.
Time Remaining Until Quest Start: 01:14:00
───
What could this quest mean? There was no clear goal, just the passage of time. This was the first time I had seen something like this.
I had no idea what it meant to “prove” anything. This quest just appeared out of nowhere the moment I arrived.
I decided to wait until it started…
“Hmm?”
Then Kim Dong-hak tilted his head, and I followed his gaze to one of the CCTV screens in the corner.
“That’s Baek Joo-hee, right? Did she get injured?”
The video showed Baek Joo-hee sitting on the ground, fussing with her ankle. It seemed like she twisted it during the exam.
“What should we do? Should we go and help her?”
“Wait.”
Kim Dong-hak raised his hand to keep observing the situation.
Soon, a female student entered the room where Baek Joo-hee had taken refuge. It was Arna, who had just defeated a monster. Upon spotting Baek Joo-hee, Arna reacted with evident surprise.
“Indeed…”
Kim Dong-hak focused intently on the CCTV, waiting to see what Arna would do next.
To Arna, Baek Joo-hee was merely a competitor. Ignoring her wouldn’t have been a big deal.
“Oh.”
Without hesitation, Arna ran over to Baek Joo-hee, asking if she was okay. Then Arna extended a shoulder to help her up, choosing to continue the exam together with Baek Joo-hee.
“Truly, isn’t that what a hero is? Someone who doesn’t turn away when help is needed.”
Kim Dong-hak secretly sighed, a bit disappointed at the predictability.
However…
“…!”
“…!”
Suddenly, Baek Joo-hee struck Arna on the back of the head, jabbing something into her shoulder. It looked like she used a syringe.
Arna immediately lost her strength and fell to the floor. She reached out but couldn’t touch Baek Joo-hee.
Baek Joo-hee calmly stood there, looking down at Arna with a smug expression. Incidentally, her supposedly injured ankle was perfectly fine.
“Ho ho, Baek Joo-hee is no slouch either, setting up that whole trap.”
“Shouldn’t we stop her? What if something happens?”
“No. The exam continues. This action doesn’t jeopardize her life, so it’s treated as part of the battle situation. If it gets dangerous, we’ll step in.”
However…
For some reason, I felt like I shouldn’t leave this alone. I didn’t want to just sit here and watch Arna suffer.
In this school, the only person who should make Arna miserable should be me.
I don’t need any competition when it comes to being the villain.
I instinctively knew it was my turn to take action.
“Instructor.”
“Speak.”
Kim Dong-hak was still focused on the CCTV.
I asked him,
“Can I still enter the exam area?”
“What…?”
Kim Dong-hak immediately turned his gaze from the CCTV to me, his ears perked up.
“Are you saying you want to take the exam now?”
“Yes. I’d like to take the midterm, even though I’m late.”
“With this body?”
I got up from the wheelchair right in front of him. My back had healed long ago, and I could definitely handle light exercise.
“Hmm. Was all that whining earlier just an act?”
“You already knew it was all part of the act, didn’t you?”
“Now you’re not even making excuses. You are such a headache of a student.”
Kim Dong-hak’s face was filled with a strange sort of pleasure, as if he was looking forward to some mischief from me.
“I won’t give you extra time. You’ll have to take on the consequences of joining mid-exam.”
There was about an hour and a half left. Honestly, I didn’t really care about the test scores. If I ended up with zero, I could just retake the test later.
What was important to me now was Arna, not the exam.
I headed straight to the underground Training Center.
At the same moment, Baek Joo-hee looked at the syringe in her hand. It was an adrenaline auto-injector, a product that even untrained civilians could easily use.
I never expected such things to exist in the market…
“Big companies really are different, aren’t they?”
“Ghh…”
Meanwhile, Arna struggled on the floor, trying desperately to get up, but the drug rendered her body immobile.
“Why… would you do… this?”
Arna couldn’t understand why Baek Joo-hee attacked her. If it was to seize the brooch, it would make some sense, but Arna didn’t have it in her possession.
Moreover, Baek Joo-hee didn’t seem to have any intention of finding the brooch in the first place.
“For once, understand my position. My client wishes for you, Arna, to fail desperately, you see?”
“Client…?”
Was this Baek Joo-hee’s solo operation? Who could that person be? Could it be Kang Tae-hoon?
“Don’t pry too deeply. Since things have come to this, wouldn’t it be better if you just took a little break?”
“No, I can’t…”
I can’t just waste this time. Failing this exam could jeopardize my position as the top student.
Arna tried to rise once more.
“It’s useless, you know. Why don’t you just rest? Why are you so desperate over some measly top rank?”
“I am… a hero… a hero must always… Ugh…!”
Slump—!
She barely managed to lift her knees off the floor before collapsing again. Was she going to be powerless against this?
“It’s alright. I added a bit of sleep effect to that drug, so you’ll be out for a while.”
Indeed, the drug was starting to make her eyelids heavy. Her head felt muffled, and yawns were creeping in.
“You’ll feel refreshed after a short nap, but, of course, your test is over.”
Ho ho ho—!
Baek Joo-hee started giggling. With that smirk on her face, Arna couldn’t do anything but lie there helplessly.
This was too careless. She should have been more suspicious right from the start. She had acted instinctively upon seeing someone injured.
To fall for such a shallow trap… it was unworthy of a hero. A hero should be perfect in everything.
“You were too kind for your own good, Arna. That kindness of yours ended up tripping you.”
“…”
“I’ll be going now. Maybe in your dreams, a prince on a white horse can save you.”
Baek Joo-hee whispered softly, like soothing a child, then turned to leave.
─Who brought a rag-like person into the exam area? The smell of that rag is wafting down this hallway.
“…”
Then, a male voice echoed from afar. Someone was approaching the room.
“Thought it smelled like a rag. It’s you, isn’t it, Baek Joo-hee.”
“You… Shin Yoon-seong…”
Baek Joo-hee was startled. Finding someone here in such an isolated place was unexpected, and to think it was Shin Yoon-seong himself! The memory of the last time she confronted him during training surfaced.
Tuk-tuk-tuk…
Shin Yoon-seong walked past Baek Joo-hee and headed towards Arna, intending to check her condition.
“Hey, girlie-monster. Are you alright?”
“You…”
Arna was just as surprised. She had heard Shin Yoon-seong didn’t take the exam due to back injuries, yet here he was.
Why was he here?
“I’ve come to rescue you.”
“How… why…?”
To say he had come to save her…
Shin Yoon-seong had no reason to do this. In fact, he usually just annoyed her. She thought he would never do anything like this.
The mystery only deepened.
“Do you remember our last training session?”
“Training session…?”
“Yeah. I’m here to pay you back for that day.”
During their training, exactly on the 4th day of that training, it was Arna who had come to Shin Yoon-seong’s rescue when he was in grave danger.
Shin Yoon-seong hadn’t forgotten that day and had come here, doing exactly as she had done for him—saving Arna.
“You can leave this to me.”
Shin Yoon-seong turned his back to Arna, leaving her with those words.
Arna smiled faintly as she watched his broad back.
“Mm… though you’re wearing a hospital gown… saying things like that… doesn’t make you look cool at all…”
Her eyelids began to close. She was reaching her limit. If this continued, she would soon fall into sleep, and the exam would be over for her.
But it was okay. Shin Yoon-seong would surely handle things from here on out.
She trusted him to protect her.
“Alright… I’ll leave it to you…”
Never had she encountered such a villain. Who would have thought there would come a time when she would rely on a villain for help?
Even though he constantly bullied her, persisted relentlessly, and even harassed her verbally and physically,
still…
For Arna, Shin Yoon-seong was…
the one and only villain in this world.
Her personally exclusive villain.
