9 a.m.

Crystal Academy’s grand auditorium.

Instead of being in class or training, every hunter trainee—regardless of grade—was gathered there.

Hundreds of students sat in rows, staring up at the stage where a massive holographic projection floated.

The screen bore the PBC logo. It was showing Crystal Academy’s match against Ucheon.

[Waaaaaah!]

The hall erupted in cheers.

On the screen, Iris had activated her ability, Blade of the Conqueror, slicing a drill-armed golem in half before swiftly knocking down all four of Ucheon’s members.

“As expected of Iris!”

“She really is the strongest hunter trainee in history!”

“She’s overwhelming!”

The Crystal students were buzzing with excitement, shouting over one another.

No one tried to calm them.

Even the teachers in the front seats were watching in awe.

The president of Crystal Academy, Ahn Hocheol, had actually risen to his feet, applauding with a radiant smile.

The teachers and trainees quickly followed his lead, clapping along.

The auditorium filled with applause, and Hocheol’s smile deepened.

Yes. That’s Iris. I knew I could count on you.

The strongest hunter trainee ever. A talent unmatched in history.

That was how Hocheol had introduced Iris to his friend, Riyu.

And it wasn’t exaggeration—it was his honest belief.

With you here, this year’s HAUT grand prize will be Crystal’s. Both the individual and team titles.

Already, Hocheol’s mind was racing ahead, imagining the grand celebration that would greet Iris’s squad when they returned to the academy.

Meanwhile, Eleanor sat among the students, watching the hologram with a faint, bitter smile.

As always, big sister… you’re incredible.

“The greatest talent”—a phrase always tied to Iris.

Someone who carried the expectations of teachers and students alike without the slightest sign of pressure, as if it were only natural.

That was her sister.

But why… doesn’t she look happy?

Even after defeating all four members of Ucheon singlehandedly, Iris stood with lips pressed tight, her face blank.

As though she felt nothing at all.

Normally she’d at least sneer.

The screen shifted to the next team battle preparations.

“Dai versus Gwangcheon?”

“They’re both bottom-tier schools, aren’t they?”

“Dai will win for sure.”

“Well yeah, they’re fighting that trash academy.”

Laughter followed.

“Not necessarily… there could be an upset.”

“What are you talking about?”

“See that silver-haired boy and the green-haired girl?”

Eleanor immediately knew they meant Nam Yein and Lumina.

“They’re the ones who stopped Cosmos’s terrorist attack at Porter Department Store.”

“For real??”

“Now that you mention it, I think I saw something about that on the news…”

“Come on. Do you actually believe that fake news?”

At that, Eleanor’s ears perked.

“Fake news? What do you mean?”

“Think about it. How could a couple of trash kids stop terrorists over level 60?”

“But Mayor Cheon Jiwon gave them an award. That’s a fact—”

“The terrorists were all defeated by Mayor Cheon Jiwon himself. Those two just stalled for time until he arrived. They didn’t actually fight them.”

“Ohhh. That makes sense.”

“Exactly. If it were level 60, even Iris couldn’t handle that. I always thought it was weird.”

The students speaking suddenly turned their heads.

Their eyes landed on Eleanor.

“…Ah.”

She quickly turned her gaze back to the screen, muttering to herself.

She hadn’t realized until just now that she’d been glaring at them with sharp eyes.

Their talk had left a sour taste in her mouth.

They don’t know anything, yet they run their mouths so easily.

She bit her lip.

Level 60? Yein’s squad once took down a level 84 Craftsman Killer.

Her eyes shifted back to the hologram.

Onscreen, Yein was calmly watching his squad slot their skill gems.

The Dai versus Gwangcheon match began.

Seven seconds later—

[…]

The auditorium fell into stunned silence.

Every student sat frozen with mouths agape, speechless.

[Dai team eliminated! Victory goes to Gwangcheon Academy!]

Abel’s voice rang from the speakers installed throughout the hall.

“…What was that?”

Someone finally muttered.

That was all it took to break the silence. The hall erupted into murmurs.

“What did we just see?”

“The whole match lasted seven seconds…”

“Didn’t Dai’s HP indicators glitch or something? How could it end so fast?”

“After working fine this whole time, they suddenly break now?”

“No. The indicators turned red exactly when Gwangcheon’s attacks hit. The system wasn’t malfunctioning.”

“Then you’re saying Gwangcheon actually beat Dai on skill?”

“Maybe they bribed someone?”

“With what money? Those losers don’t have anything.”

The murmurs grew louder, swelling into a clamor.

“…Hah.”

Eleanor let out a hollow laugh.

Honestly, when I first heard they’d taken down Persilla, I couldn’t imagine how they managed it… But so this is Yein’s squad’s true strength.

She replayed the seven-second clip in her head.

Seo Yui charged first, shield bashing Dai’s melee dealer and staggering their tank with a stomp.

Then Lumina struck from stealth, taking out the tank immediately.

Meiling followed up, skewering the exposed melee dealer with a lightning spear.

Dai was down to two.

Their mage tried to activate his ability—but Yein’s thrown bomb canceled his casting.

Their ranged dealer aimed at Yein—only to be crushed by a pincer from Seo Yui and Lumina.

Lastly, the mage was felled by Meiling’s lightning spear.

Total time: seven seconds.

Not a single member of Gwangcheon had lost HP.

They hadn’t even been touched.

“…”

Ahn Hocheol’s face had gone pale as he stared at the projection.

Sweat beaded on his exposed forehead, and his hands trembled as they clenched the armrests of his chair.

Im Seongyeon… just what have you done?

His mind felt like it was about to burst.

The footage he had just seen made no sense from beginning to end.

They sent three first-years, so I figured they had just given up… But what is this? Those kids standing there—anyone can see they’re not level 30s.

What Hocheol saw in the Gwangcheon squad was a level far beyond that of any third-year hunter trainee.

At the very least, they fought like pro hunters with five years of dungeon experience.

Could they have hired actual pros and faked their ages? No. If they tried something like that, the HAUT committee would have caught them immediately. But… could they really be first- and second-years? Trainees from Gwangcheon, of all places—where kids get shoved into dungeons without support, where their lives barely matter?

He pressed his hand to his forehead.

I knew Im Seongyeon had been changing lately—kicking out useless teachers, expelling violent students. But I never imagined she’d have been raising kids like that. No… could something like that even be raised?

The very existence of Gwangcheon’s team defied reason, leaving him reeling.

If this is true… then…

Hocheol’s heart pounded.

A sticky dread, black as tar, crawled over him.

[Among the victorious teams—Martial God, Crystal, and Gwangcheon—the one with the most HP remaining is Gwangcheon. Therefore, Martial God and Crystal will battle next, and the winner will face Gwangcheon in the final match.]

Jang Jinseong’s voice boomed from the speakers.

[We will resume after a ten-minute break.]

As the feed cut to commercials, Crystal’s trainees kept chattering.

About Gwangcheon’s unbelievable strength.

About the upcoming Martial God versus Crystal match.

And if Crystal won, about who would triumph against Gwangcheon.

Everyone knew what the expected outcome should be. Yet no one dared to speak their predictions aloud.

Ten minutes later, Martial God and Crystal clashed.

Once again, Iris dominated.

She activated Blade of the Conqueror right from the start, cleaving through tank Lee Yeonmun despite his shield and armor. The 1,000% amplified, piercing strike cut him down instantly.

Next, she went for Jin Cheongryong.

Even with Dragon’s Authority unleashed, he couldn’t withstand her, and fell.

Ao tried to counter with Sword Wind, but Muimi’s stacking poison magic and Toby’s Flame Barrage kept him pinned down, unable to attack properly.

Jin Yooyeon attempted to exploit his speed to strike Crystal’s rear line—but Jo Inhoo, their tank, blocked him. In the end, Iris returned from finishing Cheongryong and defeated him as well.

The match ended there.

Crystal stood untouched once again, their opponents wiped out.

The investors applauded, but the sound was noticeably weaker than it had been after their victory over Ucheon.

Even after watching the duel, their minds weren’t on Crystal.

They were still filled with Gwangcheon.

“Five minutes until the final match between Crystal and Gwangcheon!”

Jang Jinseong stood at the center of the arena.

Potions could restore the trainees instantly—strictly speaking, there was no need for a break.

But the broadcasting station had requested pauses for commercial slots.

And this intermission served another purpose: Toby’s strategy time.

“You all saw it against Dai,” he said quietly to his team, gathered close.

“Gwangcheon is finally showing their true strength. They’ve been hiding it all along—through individual matches, even in the dungeon runs. They were holding back.”

A heavy air settled over Crystal’s squad.

Seven seconds. That was all it had taken for Gwangcheon to annihilate Dai.

Jo Inhoo and Muimi could only laugh hollowly in disbelief.

One thought kept circling in their heads: How do we beat that?

Neither could find an answer.

So they turned all their focus on Toby.

If anyone could find a way, it was him. The one who had always provided their solutions before.

They believed in him.

“First target is Meiling,” Toby began, drawing in a deep breath.

“She’s their strongest damage dealer. And her ability—Death Domain. We can’t let her use it. None of us can survive it, except Iris. And even if Iris breaks free with the Blade of the Conqueror, the rest of us will already be down. That’s a loss.”

Jo Inhoo and Muimi nodded grimly.

“But we can’t ignore the others. Lumina’s stealth strike—none of us can endure it. And Seo Yui, she’s a tank who even beat Jin Cheongryong. Her offensive power is no joke either. As for Nam Yein… he’s the wild card. With his items, I can’t predict what he’ll do.”

At that, Jo Inhoo and Muimi’s faces darkened further.

For Toby to say “I don’t know”—that was almost unheard of.

“My plan is this.”

Toby pulled out his tablet, marking the teams with his stylus.

“Iris, activate your ability at the start and go for Meiling. Muimi and I will target Lumina with spells before she can stealth. Her stealth is a status-change type, unlike Ao’s or Iris’s abilities—if she takes a hit, it should break. Then the cooldown will lock her out for a while.”

“Got it. Best to use area magic then?” Muimi asked.

Toby nodded, “Even if she stealths beforehand, area spells should catch her. And Inhoo—”

His gaze shifted to their tank.

“Your job is to keep Yein off us. He’ll try to cancel our casting with items.”

“Leave it to me.”

Inhoo thumped his chest with a fist.

“If we all strike at their dealers simultaneously, Seo Yui will only be able to protect one. In the last match, she stayed close to Lumina. If she follows that pattern, our chances rise. Iris can handle Meiling.”

Toby turned to Iris.

“Hm.”

She gave a vague hum, arms crossed, offering no clear agreement.

“If Seo Yui goes to cover Meiling, then no matter what, we bring Lumina down. That removes the stealth threat. Then Iris, join us after pretending to clash with Seo Yui.”

This time, all three nodded together.

“Once one of them is down, Inhoo and I will deal with Seo Yui. Iris, finish off either Meiling or Lumina. Muimi, you handle Yein.”

With that, Toby laid out the plan he believed gave them the highest chance of victory.

“Crystal and Gwangcheon teams, step forward!”

Abel’s voice rang out at that exact moment.

“Let’s go. Do your best.”

The three nodded again.

Toby nodded back, resting his hand on the small inventory pouch at his waist.

Moments later, Crystal and Gwangcheon faced one another across the arena.

“Final team match—begin!!” Abel’s booming voice echoed.

At once, Crystal moved exactly as Toby had directed.

Iris unleashed the Blade of the Conqueror.

Toby and Muimi began casting.

Jo Inhoo stood before them, eyes locked on Nam Yein.

“…Huh?”

His jaw dropped.

Yein was charging straight at him.

(End of Chapter)