Chapter 8

Hanajima Sumire.

Even amongst F Class, she was the student with the worst grades in the student rankings. Pale skin and bangs hid her face. Her gloomy appearance and personality, however, drew attention.

"U-um, e-excuse… S-sorry… A-a moment…"

Sumire approached the notice board while constantly apologizing and dodging between the students.

"Ohh, I'm in the same party as a member of the Seven Numbers!"

"Lucky! If you're in A Class, it's Kim EunAh? Talk about a totally different level!"

"Ugh, why are they making us take the exam with partners? It's so unfair!"

"Why, why? Who'd you get?"

The students all had different reactions.

Even if they were from the same class, their skill levels and teamwork synchronization skills were incredibly varied. Gaon Academy implemented partners in some of its exams in an effort to teach teamwork, but there were a lot of mixed feelings when partners were announced for the exams due to this.

'My partner is…'

Sumire carefully scanned the list with her index finger to find her partner. It wasn't easy to do since students were pushing her around left and right.

'…Your partner is someone from the same class. Their skills should even yours out.'

This was how partners were widely known to be chosen in Gaon. The problem was that—even knowing this—no one could guarantee which partner would be assigned to who until the list was released.

Sumire was laid flat on the wall because of the wave of students shoving her against it, but she pushed through it to find her partner.

[Rank 209 – Hanajima Sumire]

"208, 209… Ah, found it…"

Sumire happily tried to read the name of her partner.

"Hey, how much time are you gonna take just for yourself? Move it!"

Right then, a female student shoved Sumire away.

"Ah, uuu… I-I'm sorry!"

Sumire, who had ended up sitting on the ground, carefully stood up while being mindful of those around her. She wanted to raise her student ranking more than anyone else.

'My partner is…'

To Sumire, this exam was life or death. Even while being shoved around here and there, Sumire leaned against the wall and checked the name of her partner.

[Partner – Shin YuSung]

She had hit the jackpot.

* * * *

Inside the Gaon Academy forest.

Lee SiWoo ran at an amazing speed towards Shin YuSung, who had been in the middle of training.

"YuSung-ah! YuSung-ah! Huff, huff!"

He had ran so much that he was struggling to breathe. After quickly catching his breath, Lee SiWoo asked:

"YuSung-ah! Did you check who your partner was?"

"Nope."

"Your partner is Sumire! Hanajima Sumire!"

At those words, Shin YuSung opened his eyes from his meditation. He slowly stood up and looked at Lee SiWoo.

"…Sumire?"

Shin YuSung did not remember who Sumire was, especially because she didn't perform very well—even among the F Class students. Lee SiWoo explained it to Shin YuSung with a serious face.

"For real, her Trait is Necromancer, but she can only summon one skeleton! She loses to rank 1 monsters in the Image Room! She's last place in the student rankings! The weakest student in our school!"

Lee SiWoo said these things because he was worried for Shin YuSung in his own way. But in actuality, the subject in question was composed.

"It doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Your partner is super important for your exam!" Lee SiWoo shot back.

"Is Sumire the one with her bangs lowered?" Shin YuSung asked with a calm expression.

"Oh, you remember! Yeah, yeah! You can feel a gloomy aura just by looking at her…"

At Lee SiWoo's words, Shin YuSung shook his head and pointed behind him.

"…Um, it's not that I remembered her, but that she's standing right behind you."

Gulp.

Lee SiWoo swallowed and turned around. Predictably, a tearful Sumire was looking at Shin YuSung and Lee SiWoo.

Sob.

"uuu, uuu… I'm sorry! I can only summon one skeleton… and I can't even defeat one rank 1 monster even though I'm a hunter… uuu… I'm sorry I'm your partner!"

As Sumire repeatedly bowed her head and apologized, Lee SiWoo started sweating, then ran away.

"I'm sorry!"

As a result, Shin YuSung ended up being the one having to deal with Sumire.

"Uuu… to think someone like me… b-became the partner of Fist King's disciple… just to drag him down…"

Sumire's self-confidence was digging a hole and burrowing underneath the ground. Shin YuSung had no choice but to comfort her.

"…Um, please calm down for now, Sumire."

"Uuu… "

The two sat on a tree stump.

* * *

After some time, Sumire managed to regain control of herself. She started to talk about her story with a calmer voice than before.

"…I didn't think I would be this weak from the start, either. I was still average in the academy I went to in Japan."

"…Er, I see."

Shin YuSung's expression showed that he had no interest in Sumire's backstory, but it seemed like just talking about it was enough to comfort her.

"I'm not very skilled, and the students in Gaon are so much stronger than the ones in Japan…"

Sumire could endure being ignored by her peers or living in a dormitory that sometimes had rats. However, her biggest problem was her grant.

As a prestigious academy, Gaon received grants from a number of corporations. Grants were distributed according to the students' grades. It was chump change to those from a chaebol family, but to a student who wasn't very well off like Sumire, it was a large sum of money.

"Even though I need to raise my student rankings… my Trait is F-rank, and I'm this weak…"

Shin YuSung was interested when the topic of her Trait came up.

"Hm, what is your Trait, exactly?"

To get high grades for the exam, he needed to show Sumire some care.

"Um, my ability? Ah, i-it's nothing much… I can use a hair or a fingernail… to summon a skeleton… "

As Sumire started to explain it while stuttering, Shin YuSung quickly cut her off.

"I'd like to see it instead of an explanation."

After twiddling her fingers for a while, Sumire stood up as if determined. She pulled out one of her hairs and sprinkled it on the ground.

R-riiip!

From the earth, a grotesque skeleton crawled out. But the skeleton's posture was a little weird.

Its embarrassed pose, despite it being nothing more than a bunch of bones, was exactly like Sumire's.

"S-skeleton, there! That tree… no, attack… the tree!"

"…Clack, clack clack!"

At her command, the skeleton ran towards the tree and threw a punch.

Clack! Rattle rattle.

As soon as it hit the tree, the skeleton broke into pieces.

"My god…"

Shin YuSung couldn't say anything to that.

Sumire sat back down on the tree stump, depressed. She started lamenting her circumstances.

"I think… the skeletons I make resemble the owner of the hair I use… and without my summoning powers, I'm clumsy and can't fight…"

She mumbled and started burrowing her self-confidence again. Shin YuSung offered one of his hairs that had happened to fall on the ground to her.

"Do you want to try making one with my hair?"

"I-is that okay with you? Everyone else told me that they… feel grossed out by the idea… They can't help but feel bad about the idea of their hair turning into a skeleton…"

When she started rambling again, Shin YuSung interjected another time.

"Go ahead."

Sumire nodded and sprinkled Shin YuSung's hair on the ground. Like last time, a skeleton crawled out. But the shape of its bones were completely different from the previous skeleton.

"Clack, clack!"

The skeleton confidently hit its jawbone and got into Shin YuSung's fighting stance.

"H-huh?"

Sensing something was different, Sumire dubiously gave a command to the skeleton.

"…A-attack the tree!"

Boom!

The skeleton hit the tree energetically.

Sumire's skeletons could replicate about three-tenths of the physical capabilities of the owner of the hair. Of course, with a skeleton created using Sumire's hair, someone who was physically weak would produce a weak skeleton as well.

And now.

The skeleton was newly reborn through Shin YuSung's hair.

Bam! Snap!

As the skeleton hit the tree with a bony fist, the tree made a large sound and started to lean in one direction.

Boom!

The tree created a gust of wind as it fell down. Sumire, who had been watching all of this with a gobsmacked expression, suddenly stood up."

"うそ! (No way!)"

She was so shocked that she reverted back to her mother tongue. She looked from the skeleton to Shin YuSung, then back.

"That's not bad at all?"

The reaction from the owner of the hair, Shin YuSung, was light. While staring at the skeleton, Sumire thought:

'I-if I'm paired up with this person…'

If she was paired up with Shin YuSung, Sumire's dream to raise her student rankings wasn't a dream anymore. As luck would have it, Sumire was Shin YuSung's partner for the exam.

'I can do this!'

Sumire, excited by her own power, uncharacteristically grabbed both of Shin YuSung's hands. Her eyes were sparkling.

"I-if you don't mind? I'm sorry, but can I have about 10 of your hairs!?"

Shin YuSung had been paired with an oddball from his first exam.

* * * *

At around the same time, the A Class student who had been watching Sumire from the 3rd floor of the main building ran towards their classroom with a surprised expression on their face.

"Hey, everyone! Breaking news!"

But they were unlucky.

Kim EunAh, who had returned from her extracurricular activities, was sitting on a desk instead of a chair and posturing.

"…So loud. What are you making a racket about in the morning?"

Kim EunAh was as touchy as always. Even among the A Class students, who were strong in their own right, she had a history of having a bad reputation. She had an electricity Trait that was impossible to deal with, and she was 2nd place in the student rankings. The students in A Class never took a break from trying to stay on her good side.

"Ah, it's Shin YuSung…"

"…Shin YuSung? Who's that?"

Because she had not been at school for three days due to her extracurriculars, Kim EunAh didn't know about the existence of Shin YuSung. As she frowned, the student next to her quickly explained it.

"Um, he's a new student who enrolled in F Class. He's the disciple of the Fist King…"

"Hah?"

Kim Eun-ah snorted and swung her legs. It was interesting enough that the Fist King's disciple enrolled in the Academy, but his Trait was F-rank, as well?

Hop.

Kim Eun-ah, who had jumped off the desk, summoned electricity on top of her palm.

Zzt! Zzzt!

"Good timing. Tomorrow's the exam, right?"

And she gave a playful smile.

It seemed like Kim EunAh had gotten properly interested in Shin YuSung.