The announcement of all evaluations for the cadet corps had concluded.
32 dead.
78 seriously injured.
Numerous minor injuries.
Among all the cadet corps, only seven units had passed the evaluation, and of those, only five had successfully completed their missions.
Both inside and outside the cadet corps, negative public opinion regarding the harshness of this quarter's evaluation had grown fierce. However, as the main family responded firmly, the controversy gradually subsided.
"…Thus, since the contract originally included a clause on relinquishing personal rights, there were no legal issues under special law."
"What about follow-up measures for the casualties in this evaluation?"
"We are handling them as generously as possible. Full medical expenses are being covered for the seriously injured, and those who have suffered irreparable aftereffects are being compensated in accordance with the standards for combat casualties."
Lee Taeshin received the documents from Chief Butler Choi and gave a slight nod.
"What about the honors for the deceased?"
"A joint funeral service has been arranged, with mandatory attendance from all deputy commanders of the family's martial divisions and at least twenty warriors. A request for cooperation has also been sent to the council of elders."
"Keep me updated on the process. Good work."
Chief Butler Choi bowed respectfully.
"And… these are the reports on the dungeons involved this time."
Choi turned on the projector connected to the office. At the same time, several additional files were placed on Lee Taeshin's desk.
"There is definitely an effect."
Lee Taeshin murmured cryptic words as he observed the figures on the screen.
To others, the vast amount of data might have seemed unremarkable, but to him, it carried a certain significance.
"The Forest of Faceless Beings… That's in a danger zone, isn't it?"
"Yes. It's located at the northernmost edge of Gangwon Province."
Lee Taeshin's gaze settled on the central video on the screen.
A recording taken by the youngest, Lee Cheol.
It was a very short clip.
The footage showed a recording device being activated inside a cocoon, followed by an image of an egg, and then a monster emerging from it.
"It's brief."
"The official report claims that this is all that could be recovered, but it's likely an edited version. There must have been combat."
Choi cautiously observed Lee Taeshin's reaction.
Lee Taeshin took a sip of the tea Choi had prepared and spoke in a low voice.
"He's an interesting one."
His tone remained as indifferent as ever.
However, having served him for a long time, Choi could discern the deep intrigue hidden beneath his expression.
"What do you think?"
"It was certainly an excessively bold plan, but in the end, he overcame an arduous task with ingenuity. That is remarkable."
Choi continued with a concerned look.
"However… I worry that the young master has been neglecting standard tactics and strategies since his naming ceremony."
It was a valid concern.
Standard doctrines and manuals were not mere rigid guidelines but the accumulated wisdom of predecessors.
Yet, Lee Cheol had always displayed unconventional, unorthodox tactics.
Tricks and unorthodox moves tended to lose against solid fundamentals.
Those who became enamored with unpredictability from a young age were often crushed by well-established strategies.
"So even you see it that way."
"…Pardon?"
Choi blinked.
Lee Taeshin shook his head.
"Unorthodox, unconventional—those things merely highlight his boldness. Everything has been moving according to his plan. He wields unorthodox methods because he understands the fundamentals."
Lee Taeshin pushed the documents aside.
"The fact that not only the cadets but even the instructors followed such a radical plan without resistance proves his leadership. There was no information leak, and the plan succeeded flawlessly."
Of course, it was frustrating that he succeeded in the mission without considering the aftermath.
Still, he was an entertaining one to watch.
"Increase both the frequency and difficulty of evaluations across the board. They need to accumulate real combat experience as quickly as possible."
"Yes, I will handle it accordingly."
Lee Taeshin turned his gaze back to the screen.
Chief Butler Choi stood quietly by his side.
"The others will start paying attention to him soon."
"Given his well-known relationship with the eldest young master, they won't approach him directly."
"…We'll see about that."
Lee Taeshin gazed out the window with a meaningful glint in his eyes.
From afar, the sound of wind chimes echoed softly.
***
Time flew like an arrow in the aftermath of the shocking quarterly evaluation.
The joint funeral and the newly revised cadet corps evaluation system.
The harsher training and the intensified education schedules.
Many cadets dropped out, were held back, or fell behind.
But not all cadets in the class were the same.
"…Young master. You know we returned after finishing our final evaluation yesterday, right?"
Kim Han asked in a reluctant voice.
As the end of the year approached, most of the scheduled training, education, and quarterly evaluations for first-year cadets had been completed.
"Yeah. That's why I let you rest yesterday, didn't I?"
"No, what I mean is…"
Kim Han let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Never mind. I expected this."
Kim Han and the other cadets gave bitter smiles as they stood up.
"Now that the final evaluation for the year is over, you might want to rest a little, but don't forget—there's still the promotion test left."
As the year drew to a close, a strange sense of tension began to fill the cadet corps.
That was because the final test for advancing to the next grade—the promotion exam—was still ahead.
"I don't want to see anyone in my class fail. Got it?"
"Yes! Understood!"
Kim Han shouted, his eyes gleaming.
"You say that, but didn't you seem to experience mana depletion in the last evaluation? Kim Han, spend today memorizing incantations."
"Wh-what?!"
As always, the cadets of Class 5 were gathered in the training grounds.
Even though there were no regular classes or training sessions after the evaluation, they voluntarily continued their practice.
'They've toughened up.'
It had already been nearly a year since their life at the cadet corps began.
While many had left, Class 5 had managed to retain all but the very first students who dropped out.
They were still lacking in some areas.
Even Kim Han, Choi In-ha, and Kim Bo-seong, who trained the hardest and showed the most progress, still fell slightly short compared to the cadets of Class 1.
Kim Han lacked proficiency in mana techniques, Choi In-ha had insufficient mana reserves, and Kim Bo-seong had lower overall combat skills.
But they had grown stronger.
Not just physically, but mentally as well.
Rather than despairing over their weaknesses, they had learned how to overcome them.
"Young master, here you are."
At that moment, Lee Jeong-ho, the instructor for Class 5, approached me.
"What is it?"
"There's an announcement. It's about the promotion exams."
"Understood. I'll be there now."
I glanced at the cadets training before following Lee Jeong-ho.
***
In the cadet corps' conference room, instructors and the class leaders from each year and section were gathered.
As I walked over to where the first-year class leaders sat, Lee Seo-hyun, who was sitting in the front row, called out to me.
"You're here? Sit here for a sec—I have something to say."
She patted the seat next to her, crossing her legs.
Considering she was practically a noble lady, her behavior was somewhat regrettable.
"You did pretty well on the evaluation."
"Yeah, I heard Class 1 did great too."
"Ahem, w-well, yeah? Anyway."
Unusually, Lee Seo-hyun had a reluctant expression as she fiddled with the neatly tied hair at the back of her head.
"Why are you acting so unlike yourself?"
"Sigh… I'm debating whether to say this or not. I'm scared of what my mother will say if I keep resisting like this."
Shaking her head, she finally spoke with a firm expression.
"…You're going to have a tough time in this promotion exam."
"What?"
"My younger aunt and uncle… I mean, my sixth sister and seventh brother, were recently called to my mother's room. After that, rumors spread that they've been meeting with second-year cadets and first-year cadets alike."
I understood what she was trying to say.
I smirked.
"What, are they trying to make me fail the promotion exam?"
That was impossible.
I had already achieved too much in the cadet corps, and my grades were overwhelmingly high, almost on par with Lee Seo-hyun's.
Even if some kind of mishap occurred during the promotion exam, my advancement was guaranteed.
"Of course, that wouldn't work, but you never know what kind of tricks they'll try. You might not feel it because you're a bit of an oddball, but both my sixth sister and seventh brother are really terrifying."
I knew that very well.
Once, I was afraid of them too.
"If you're going to warn me, you're a little late."
"Huh?"
"I've already been dealing with nuisances ever since the first evaluation."
I leaned back deeply against my chair.
I appreciated Lee Seohyun for telling me, but this was something I had already expected and was currently experiencing.
Class 5 had been facing minor interference ever since the first quarterly evaluation.
During the evaluation, we were given subpar equipment, and outside of training hours, we often found ourselves entangled in petty disputes.
In extreme cases, the instructors deliberately omitted educational content or treated us differently compared to other classes.
'Not long ago, someone even approached Boseong.'
Kim Boseong had told me quietly.
A mysterious figure had approached him, trying to bribe him into sabotaging Class 5's evaluation.
There was only one reason for these repeated incidents.
It was to suppress the success of the underdogs.
No one would simply stand by and watch as a second-generation heir of a powerless family surpassed the offspring of influential forces.
'Especially since I'm in this Class 5.'
Right now, they were still testing the waters.
They were intentionally provoking us with childish tactics to gauge our reactions.
They wanted to see how much they could get away with, how far they could push the interference.
And rather than watching for my reaction, they were likely watching for my father's.
"This won't be like before. They've directly contacted cadets."
"I get it, so don't worry."
And since Lee Seohyun had brought it up, it was safe to assume that their probing phase was over.
"I've already given our classmates a heads-up in my own way… You know, right?"
"Yeah, I know. Class 1 is a complicated class."
"I appreciate that you understand. I'll say this again—I intend to defeat you fair and square. I've warned you, so please don't get caught up in anything weird. This time, I'm going to take first place and make you call me 'noona' for sure."
Lee Seohyun's eyes burned with determination.
"Yeah, right. That's not going to happen. And why are you so obsessed with that title?"
As we talked, the second-year class leaders and instructors arrived, and the cadet commander entered the conference room.
"The reason I called you here today is simple. With the quarterly evaluations concluded, I will now announce details regarding the cadet corps' promotion assessments and schedule."
The promotion exam.
It was the test that determined whether cadets in the corps advanced to the next academic year.
Throughout the year, performance scores from repeated evaluations were combined with the results of this promotion exam to decide whether cadets would advance or be held back.
'This year's promotion exam will be different.'
Even without Lee Seohyun's warning, everyone already thought so.
The situation had changed starting with the quarterly evaluations. If the promotion exam remained the same, that would be even stranger.
"This year's promotion exam will take place in a fixed gate—Gate Y-7, located about 3 kilometers north of Gaeseong."
The cadet commander spoke with an indifferent expression.
'A gate?'
A fixed gate referred to a gate that, for some reason, remained intact even after stabilization was completed.
Since no monsters or anomalies occurred within fixed gates, they were essentially just isolated patches of land.
"The first- and second-year cadets will take their promotion exams there. The duration will be three days. Inside the gate, hexagonal wooden nameplates marked with the word 'Sungmu' will be placed. Every cadet will also possess one such nameplate. If you lose yours, you will be considered 'dead' and must leave the area."
The cadet commander held up a thin, hexagonal wooden nameplate for the class leaders to see.
"There are no additional rules. Secure as many nameplates as possible. You may form teams, or you may act alone."
Teaming up might seem like the obvious choice, but that wasn't necessarily true.
If you formed a team, you would have to share any nameplates you collected, which meant each individual would end up with fewer.
"In short, these nameplates are the objective of the promotion exam. Calling it a 'battle for survival' would be more accurate."
A stir spread through the conference room.
"I have a question."
The class leader of Second Year, Class 1.
I couldn't recall his exact name, but I knew he was a talented individual from a branch family.
"Speak."
"There is an unavoidable gap between first- and second-year cadets. How can we properly evaluate ourselves when we're competing against those in a lower grade?"
Until last year, the cadet corps' curriculum had followed a structured progression.
First-years focused on basic training and combat preparedness.
Second-years were trained for actual deployment and practical applications.
Third-years either entered the 'Six Gates' for advanced studies or joined the Warrior Corps as apprentices to gain real-world experience.
Naturally, there was a significant difference in skill levels between the grades.
"That's a valid point. In terms of combat, the advantage is clear. However, this test isn't just about fighting skills. I trust you understand why?"
The cadet commander smiled knowingly.
I smirked as I looked at him.
"So, this is how they're playing it?"
The nameplate in the commander's hand gleamed under the light.
I leaned back against my chair, watching the unsettled expressions of the cadets.
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