After the transmission of information was completed, the detailed instructions were delivered to the instructors of each class.
Lee Jung-ho cautiously approached me and spoke.
"Young master, I assume you already know, but this exam…"
"I know. Someone must have interfered."
The Gate is an isolated space where electronic devices do not function properly.
In other words, it's the perfect place to act without leaving evidence.
"You've noticed the trap in the exam as well, haven't you?"
"To some extent."
The rules of the promotion test are simple.
Obtain nameplates, steal them, and survive.
If a cadet loses their nameplate, they are considered 'dead' and must leave. The promotion score is determined by the number of nameplates they possess.
'Elimination… that's the trap.'
Although the rule states that losing a nameplate means elimination, it is essentially meaningless.
Outside the Gate, no one can verify whether a cadet has lost their nameplate.
A cadet without a nameplate can continue to act, steal another's nameplate, or find a hidden one.
The cadet commander called this a battle for supremacy, but in reality, it was closer to a survival game.
'And second-years are participating as well, plus it's an individual competition.'
The exam location, the survival aspect, the joint test with second-years, the increasing scrutiny toward Class 5, and what Lee Seo-hyun mentioned recently—
There was nothing that wasn't suspicious.
'Still, as long as my father is watching, they wouldn't go as far as to take my life.'
I slowly left the conference room.
A promotion test conducted within the Gate, isolated from the outside world.
No evidence would remain, no matter what happened to a despised illegitimate child.
'That's what they must have thought.'
But the same applies to me as well.
***
The seventh son of the Soongmu family, Lee Jae-hak, adjusted his glasses with a frown.
"What are you doing?"
A mysterious woman was grinning as she leaned over the partition of his desk, which was buried under piles of documents.
"Just watching my cute little brother work his butt off."
"You crazy woman."
Resting her chin on the partition with a smirk was the sixth child, Lee Seol-ah.
"Crazy? Wow, this brat has no filter when talking to his older sister. You wanna die?"
Lee Jae-hak ignored her and continued signing documents.
Despite his young age, Lee Jae-hak was known for his exceptional administrative skills and business acumen, rivaling even his combat prowess.
Because of this, he was always busy.
Unlike his siblings, who were engrossed in training and battles, he was of a completely different breed.
"Sigh, you really remind me of second brother. Isn't that kind of stuff boring?"
"Everything you say is utterly meaningless."
A faint crease formed between Lee Jae-hak's brows.
"Oh, this brat keeps talking back to his older sister… Ugh, honestly, the eighth one is way cuter than you. That kid's like a little rabbit… Makes me wanna wring his neck."
Lee Seol-ah licked her lips with her tongue.
Lee Jae-hak scoffed and continued signing documents.
Seeing this, Lee Seol-ah, seemingly bored, picked up one of the papers from his desk and pretended to read it.
"Hey, what do you think about it?"
"About what?"
"Mother's orders."
"...."
Lee Jae-hak put down his pen.
"What do you think about illegitimate children?"
"I don't think about them at all."
To Lee Jae-hak, people were categorized into two groups:
Those who were useful.
And those who were not.
Whether someone was legitimate or illegitimate didn't matter.
By that standard, the youngest illegitimate child, Lee Cheol, was still useless.
"Still, I figured it was about time to assess him."
"You really find everything to be a hassle, don't you?"
Lee Seol-ah swiftly tossed the documents into the air. Lee Jae-hak's expression twisted sharply as he looked at the scattered papers.
"I don't like it. A bastard wearing a direct descendant's name tag, acting above his station."
Lee Seol-ah smirked coldly.
"That's why I'm going to teach him his place."
Under the light, Lee Seol-ah's eyes darkened slightly, appearing almost as if they glowed red.
"Keep it under control. Now that he's in the cadet corps, if you push too far, not even Father will let it slide."
"If I get caught, I'll just get scolded. When have I ever cared about that?"
"Well, that's true. You never did."
Lee Seol-ah sneered.
"That little fox hiding behind our soft-hearted eldest brother actually thinks he's a tiger. This is the perfect chance to teach him a lesson."
Watching his sister, who was getting increasingly fired up, Lee Jae-hak thought to himself.
Unlike him, who wasn't particularly eager to follow their mother's orders, his seventh sister seemed more than willing to take action.
'Borrowing the tiger's authority… Is that really all there is to it?'
Lee Jae-hak almost corrected her choice of words but decided against it.
She had likened the situation to an old idiom, but there was no way that monstrous eldest brother of theirs would maintain a connection with the youngest simply out of familial affection.
Lee Jae-hak suddenly became curious about how their youngest sibling would respond to all of this.
***
Until the promotion exams, the cadets were given personal time with no specific training or lessons.
Some instructors guided their students individually, but that didn't apply to me.
'I have plenty of weapons at my disposal right now.'
I stood in the middle of the training grounds.
Imagining an opponent before me, I pictured a monster I had encountered earlier this year—the Queen of the Human-Faced Spiders.
A shrill screech echoed in my mind.
I carefully went through my arsenal, facing the queen in my mind.
'First, Mujin.'
A weapon that could transform freely.
Mujin was the strongest tool I had at my disposal to complement my combat style.
However, I wouldn't be able to use it in the upcoming exam.
'Next, Cheokma and Manbyeon.'
If Cheokma was my ultimate finishing move, Manbyeon was the foundation of my movements.
I drew Mujin and slowly moved my body.
Seven Star Sword—Lightning Strike.
Thousand Spear Rakshasa.
Shindo First-Class—Radiant Force.
The techniques I had gained through the Black Aura seamlessly connected through Manbyeon.
Though they were originally different martial arts techniques, they flowed together as if they were one.
'Now, magic arts.'
Wooong—!
As mana infused my movements, the attacks, once clean and controlled, transformed into something overwhelmingly destructive—something no child's body should be capable of executing.
Both precise and bold.
The surging mana carried the force of a raging storm.
'Finally… the Mystic Eye.'
The moment mana concentrated in my eyes, a sharp pain struck my head, and my light brown irises took on the hue of a burning sunset.
The world appeared different.
I could see the shape of airborne dust, the flow of air, the direction of force—things I had never noticed before.
Throb—
The pressure on my eyes tightened.
I could only maintain this vision for a few minutes, and I still couldn't filter what I wanted to see.
But even with those limitations, it was an extraordinary ability.
'Ugh!'
The queen before me was now fully mastering her body and power.
No matter how fast I retreated, she closed the distance. If I got too close, she spewed acid and poisonous mist.
She constantly shot webs to restrain my limbs and even employed psychic attacks, which she had used at the last moment in our previous encounter.
"Haaahp!"
Following the path revealed by my Mystic Eye, I tightened my grip on Mujin.
Qi-infused power, lightning crackled along its blade.
I swung without holding back.
KWAHHHH!
A fierce aftershock swept across the ground as if a shell had exploded.
I imagined the queen taking the hit from this attack.
— Kieeeek!
The Queen of the Insect-Men shrieked and writhed in agony.
But she wouldn't die.
She had taken significant damage, yet she would still have enough strength to charge at me unwaveringly.
This wasn't enough to completely defeat the queen I had faced.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
"What a shame."
My magic, my physical strength, and even my unique ability, the Mystic Eye—
If only my body had grown a little more, things might have been different. But I was still lacking.
"No need to be impatient. I just need to steadily do what I can for now."
I spun Mujin once, transforming it back into a ring and slipping it on my finger.
After a brief pause to regulate my breathing, I pulled out a training steel sword.
I envisioned a new opponent.
Before me stood countless cadets, each wielding their own weapons.
Hoo!
Exhaling briefly, I resumed swinging my sword.
***
As time passed, the promotion exams drew closer.
When I arrived at the cadet training grounds after a long time, I saw the cadets continuing their training.
No one was pushing themselves to the point of injury, but neither was anyone slacking off.
Among them, one boy sat in meditation, his face slightly more tense than the others.
I approached him.
"Nervous?"
"…You've arrived, Young Master."
The meditating boy, Choi In-ha, slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
He let out a bitter smile.
"You already know about me, don't you?"
A former student of Soongmu Hope Academy.
Repeatedly held back for years.
A life lived through compromise and resignation.
But the once powerless-looking Choi In-ha now had a glint in his eyes.
"That's why I'm looking forward to this."
He was nervous, but it was a different kind of nervousness.
And that was enough.
"Gather the cadets. Even the ones who aren't in the training grounds."
"Understood."
Choi In-ha brought Kim Han and assembled all the cadets of Class 5.
Each of them came out, holding either a tablet PC or a smartphone.
I spoke.
"Let's begin."
"Yes. If you check the file I sent, you'll see that a total of 23 first-year cadets and 34 second-year cadets have messed with us so far. Including external forces that have pressured us in some way, the total comes to…"
Choi In-ha calmly began his report.
Class 5 cadets hadn't just been sitting around foolishly.
They had been enduring and preparing for the right moment.
"Well organized. Now, let's refine this further. Our main threats are Sera Noona and Jaehak Hyung. Identifying the factions linked to them is relatively simple. If we trace the cadets connected to them… this is what we get."
I swiftly scrolled through the list, highlighting key figures.
Sera Noona's network was easy to identify.
Due to her personality, she had strong support from younger people, but her faction's overall skill level tended to be a bit lower.
On the other hand, Jaehak Hyung's faction—excluding its hidden aspects—was mostly connected through business ventures, making it relatively easy to track. In other words, we didn't even need to conduct a deep investigation to gather intel.
"So, narrowing it down, that leaves 13 first-years and 21 second-years. Among them, three are class leaders…"
"No, Jaehak Hyung might not use the direct heirs of his faction for this. We need to include cadets from groups that have had recent internal issues. He could have made a deal to push certain cadets into the fray."
One by one—
The cadets' personal experiences, various assumptions, intel gathered through my nanny, and stories I obtained through my aunt all started forming a clear picture.
Sitting still and taking a hit is something only idiots do.
It was clear that the enemy was targeting me, and they were underestimating me.
Waiting for their attack just to counter wasn't my style.
I would strike first—before they could.
That was my way.
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