On the day of the practical exam, I took a short detour to visit the research lab before the test began.
I had come to meet Yoo Ji-woo.
“I’d like you to slightly lower the sensitivity on this.”
“Eh? Sensitivity?”
The purpose of the visit was to repair a spoon, so I extended the spoon I’d been carrying toward Yoo Ji-woo. It was a stainless steel spoon, the kind you’d commonly find in cafeterias.
At least, that’s what it looked like on the surface.
“It’s set a little too high compared to the sensitivity I’ve been using.”
Overall, its performance was almost the same as the spoon I’d used before.
Except when using telekinetic abilities. Even applying a little force made the spoon want to fly far away, making delicate control impossible.
“Is that doable?”
“Well, it’s not like I can’t. Hand it over.”
Yoo Ji-woo set aside the Pringles can he’d been snacking on and walked over to the experimental equipment. There were computers and various other unnamed devices scattered around.
“Besides sensitivity, anything else? Is there anything else that needs adjusting?”
“No, the rest is fine.”
“Okay.”
Thwack!
Yoo Ji-woo placed the spoon inside the testing device, prompting a window to appear on the connected monitor.
It was the program to adjust the spoon’s specifications.
Yoo Ji-woo continued working quickly, typing away on the keyboard.
“By the way, hey…”
In the middle of this…
Apparently, something occurred to Yoo Ji-woo, who looked over with narrowed eyes.
“What’s that giant over there?”
“Giant? Oh, you mean Rashid?”
Apart from Yoo Ji-woo and me, another visitor was present in the lab – Rashid.
“You don’t need to worry about Rashid. He’s just here to watch.”
“No, even so, this isn’t right. He’s too big. This place is already cramped enough as it is.”
The addition of another person made the lab feel unusually cramped—this was all because of Rashid’s massive size. Even standing still, he radiated an enormous presence. From Yoo Ji-woo’s perspective, this enormous figure was bound to be quite the distraction.
“Alright.”
I turned to Rashid, struck by a sudden idea.
“Seeing as you’ve come this far, why don’t you hand something over to be fixed? He may look small, but he’s a fairly competent engineer.”
“Competent… engineer…”
Rashid paused briefly, then pulled out the old helmet he’d brought along.
“I… need to fix this.”
The helmet showed clear signs of long-term use—black stains all over it, plenty of scratches, and it looked like it could crack at any moment.
“What? You want me to fix this old thing?”
But Yoo Ji-woo, clearly unimpressed by the idea of fixing a helmet, frowned.
“What do you people take me for? Do you think I use this lab just to fix garbage like that?”
“I’ll make sure the payment is satisfactory.”
“Just give me that helmet. I’ll make you a brand-new one instead.”
Even a genius engineer couldn’t resist the lure of money. Smirking faintly, Yoo Ji-woo quickly snatched Rashid’s helmet.
But only for a brief second.
“Yikes!”
Yoo Ji-woo let out a loud scream, the biggest I’d ever heard from them.
Then they pinched their nose.
“What’s this smell? Did this helmet fall into a sewer or something?”
“That’s never happened.”
“But why does it smell so bad?”
“That’s… my… hair.”
Rashid gestured toward his scalp. After years of constant use, a helmet naturally absorbs its owner’s scent.
Most likely, it wasn’t just sweat—it was emitting a strong, rank odor.
“You need to change your shampoo before the helmet…”
Bang!
Yoo Ji-woo flung the helmet to the far corner of the lab, then promptly returned to typing on the keyboard.
“Ugh, my nose still tingles like crazy…”
Speaking of which, Yoo Ji-woo wasn’t in a place to talk. Yoo Ji-woo’s lab already boasted its fair share of unpleasant odors.
The smell of oil, gunpowder, and faint traces of food all lingered in the air. An ordinary person might not last an hour in this environment.
Of course, I’d grown accustomed to it long ago.
“We’ve still got some time before the exam. I might take a nap.”
Plop!
I decided to take a rest for condition adjustment and dropped myself onto the couch often used by Yoo Ji-woo.
“Hey! That’s my spot!”
“Just borrowing it for a bit.”
“Well, at least take off your shoes before you lie down!”
Now I understood why Yoo Ji-woo slept in such a place—the couch was oddly comfortable. Despite being dusty, it was far cushier than most beds.
“Rashid, you should rest too.”
“Okay.”
Rashid nodded and promptly lay down on the floor, using the scattered trash as an improvised mat.
It was typical of someone with a street background to be able to fall asleep anywhere without regard for the location.
“Hey! What’re you guys even doing here!”
Yoo Ji-woo couldn’t sit quietly while two men casually commandeered their lab.
Yoo Ji-woo grabbed Rashid’s collar and pulled with all their might.
“Do you think this is a club house? Go away, you’re disturbing me! Leave already!”
But Rashid didn’t budge an inch. Of course not. How could such a small person possibly move Rashid’s massive frame?
“Hey!”
Pang! Pang!
In the end, Yoo Ji-woo even resorted to kicking in an effort to evict Rashid.
“….”
Still, Rashid showed no reaction, drifting off to sleep right there.
And so did I.
Ding!
The signal for the end of the mock battle echoed through the Sync Room, and the monsters spread throughout disappeared without a trace.
“Hoo…”
Finally, the practical exam was over. Arna wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Arna! Good job!”
Following this, Baek Joo-hee quickly ran over to Arna. Unlike Arna, Baek Joo-hee looked fresh and energetic. Not a single drop of sweat graced her face.
“As expected of someone at the S rank! Taking out that many foes by yourself is impressive!”
In truth, Baek Joo-hee had hardly done anything during this practical exam. The only thing she accomplished was cleaning up a few lesser monsters that had wandered off.
The rest was entirely Arna’s work.
“Well… anyway, are you okay, Ms. Baek Joo-hee?”
“Me?”
Though the exam was conducted in pairs, individual evaluations determined the final scores. The amount of participation in the combat influenced the ratings.
“I’ve told you before, I’m not that invested in the scores. I’ll just be happy if I manage to scrape by the cut-off line.”
“Ah…”
“Besides!”
Afterward, Baek Joo-hee linked arms with Arna.
“Now that the test is over, let’s grab some food as an afterparty. It’s on me!”
“F-Food…?”
Students who finished the exam were free to exit the indoor Training Center without further waiting. Since Arna had just completed her evaluation, there was no reason to stay any longer.
“…”
But Arna hesitated. Her eyes were drawn to the training center’s entrance, not the exit.
“Umm… I seem to have left something behind… Let’s eat later, shall we?”
“Huh? Something you left? Should I wait here…?”
“No, no! Not at all!”
Arna quickly disengaged from Baek Joo-hee’s arm.
“You go ahead… I might take a while…”
Leaving Baek Joo-hee standing there, Arna quickly dashed to the audience seating.
The reason Arna didn’t leave the training center was that Shin Yoon-seong’s turn was next.
“…”
Why Arna had come all the way to the spectators’ seats just to watch Shin Yoon-seong, she herself could hardly explain. When she snapped back to reality, her body had already brought her here.
“Next, Group 8: Shin Yoon-seong, Rashid Belkalem.”
Recently, interactions between Arna and Shin Yoon-seong had diminished rather dramatically.
To Arna, this should have been excellent news. After all, the bothersome Shin Yoon-seong was finally out of the way.
“Uh…”
But for some reason, her chest felt tight. Something indescribable weighed heavily on her heart, as if a giant boulder had just settled there.
If anything similar had to be found, it would likely be something close to sadness.
This emotion stemmed from a sense of loneliness.
“This is ridiculous! Why should I…!”
There was no way such a thing would happen. Shaking her head wildly, Arna tried to negate her own feelings, but that didn’t make Shin Yoon-seong any less present.
Rather, his image only grew clearer in her mind instead of fading.
“I don’t understand it… Why am I feeling this way….”
Shin Yoon-seong was nothing more than a villain. A very unpleasant villain who always made Arna’s life difficult. And yet, for reasons she couldn’t explain, why were her eyes drawn to him despite all this?
The more she thought about it, the more jumbled her thoughts became. Like an attempt to untangle a knot that only grew more twisted with each tug.
Bang! Bang!
At that moment, two men entered the Sync Room. As expected, Shin Yoon-seong and Rashid.
Arna involuntarily held her breath.
“Wait! Shin Yoon-seong student!”
Just before the exam began, the TA leading the assessment barked sharply.
“What are you doing? Riding piggyback right now?”
As soon as Shin Yoon-seong entered the Sync Room, he hopped onto Rashid’s back, who in turn naturally held onto Shin Yoon-seong’s legs to support him.
It was a move they’d clearly practiced.
“Do you think this exam is a game? Get down immediately!”
But Shin Yoon-seong showed no intention of getting down. His behavior indicated that he planned to proceed with the test as is.
With a soft whoosh, the testing environment appeared within the Sync Room. Also summoned were the objective creatures—monsters and lesser monsters.
Shin Yoon-seong spoke up.
“Do you see them over there? I’ll handle the ones far away. Please take care of the rest.”
“Right.”
The moment the briefing ended, Rashid charged forward fiercely with Shin Yoon-seong still on his back, diving headfirst into combat.
Even without using his arms, Rashid didn’t hesitate. Being equipped with his legs, Rashid could crush his enemies with powerful strikes and finish foes by slamming them with his head.
Clang!
Meanwhile, Shin Yoon-seong dealt with the smaller foes lingering near the edge of the field using his trusty spoon.
Although it might seem comedic, the duo’s cooperation was quite effective. They moved together seamlessly, as if they were one unified entity, executing their actions efficiently with no unnecessary steps.
But…
“Ugh… The kimithe just dropped. We need to retreat for a bit. If this keeps up, I’ll get motion sickness… Urgh…!”
“…”
For all that, Shin Yoon-seong was still Shin Yoon-seong.
And that pathetic side of him remained unchanged.
