Chapter 4: The Evaluation
I walked back through the dark stone hallways and retraced my steps toward the massive cavern where I first fell.
The silence was actually comforting now since I knew I was the strongest thing left in this underground ruin.
I reached the crumbling altar room and looked up at the massive hole in the ceiling where the sunlight was rapidly fading.
Climbing out normally was completely impossible since the dirt walls were way too steep and slick with wet moss.
I didn't need to climb anymore because I finally had a mana pool and an E-Rank movement skill to get me out of here.
"Shadow Step," I said while focusing my eyes on a thick tree root sticking out near the top of the hole.
The shadows wrapped around my body and ripped me straight upward through the air in a dark blur.
I landed heavily on the edge of the sinkhole and grabbed the muddy ground to pull myself completely out of the trap.
I laid on my back in the dead leaves for a second just to appreciate the fresh air of the Whisperwoods.
Checking my system panel showed that single jump completely drained my ten mana points down to zero.
It didn't matter right now since I just needed to walk back to the academy gates before Instructor Baek failed me.
I dusted off my ruined uniform and started jogging through the forest while the sky turned a dark orange color.
My newly increased agility made the run incredibly easy, and I didn't even break a sweat by the time I saw the high stone walls.
The rest of the fifty students were already gathered in the courtyard waiting for their official evaluations.
I stayed near the back of the crowd and kept my red hair pulled down low so nobody would notice me right away.
Instructor Baek stood at the front with a glowing magical tablet to record everyone's final scores.
Tae-Hyung was standing right next to him while proudly holding a massive blue core that belonged to a D-Rank Frost Bear.
"An incredible achievement for a first-year student," Baek nodded approvingly while logging the high score. "The Seraph Guild trained you well."
Tae-Hyung smirked arrogantly and flipped his perfect golden hair while the rest of the students clapped loudly.
"Is there anyone else who hasn't submitted their hunt results?" Baek asked while scanning the remaining students.
"Jin is missing, Instructor," a random girl laughed from the front row. "He probably got eaten by a scavenger lizard."
The entire courtyard erupted into laughter again because making fun of the unawakened extra was their absolute favorite hobby.
I stepped out from behind a large oak tree and walked calmly right into the middle of the group.
"I'm right here," I said loud enough for everyone to hear.
The laughter died instantly as fifty pairs of eyes turned to stare at my torn uniform and blood-stained hands.
Tae-Hyung frowned slightly because he obviously expected me to die in the woods like a good little background character.
"You look like trash, Jin," Tae-Hyung sneered while crossing his arms. "Did you spend the whole hunt hiding in a mud puddle?"
I completely ignored him and walked straight up to Instructor Baek's table.
Baek looked at me with his usual heavy disappointment and sighed loudly.
"Did you manage to harvest a core, Jin?" Baek asked like he already knew the answer was definitely no.
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the small white core from the first scavenger lizard I killed.
I placed it gently on the wooden table so Baek could scan it with his tablet.
"F-Rank Scavenger Lizard," Baek announced with a slightly surprised tone. "You officially pass the Mid-Cycle Hunt."
The students started whispering to each other because nobody actually expected an unawakened to kill a real monster.
"A single F-Rank core?" Tae-Hyung laughed loudly to regain the crowd's attention. "You barely passed by fighting the absolute weakest trash in the forest."
I looked at Tae-Hyung's arrogant face and decided I was completely done playing the role of a weak extra.
"I wasn't finished," I said while reaching back into my pocket.
I pulled out the three glowing green cores I ripped from the shadow goblins and dropped them heavily onto the table.
The glowing green light illuminated Instructor Baek's shocked face as he stared at the high-level loot.
"Three E-Rank Shadow Goblins," Baek muttered quietly in absolute disbelief.
The entire courtyard went dead silent because hunting E-Rank monsters was supposed to be completely impossible for anyone without a combat class.
Before the students could even process what they were seeing, a familiar blue screen popped up directly in my line of sight.
[Reputation increased. Minor deviation from original novel plot detected.]
[Bonus Reward: +50 System Points]
I closed the screen mentally and shoved my hands deep into my pockets so nobody would see the Ring of the Glutton resting on my finger.
I looked right at Tae-Hyung's pale face and smiled coldly.
"Like I said, I was really good at surviving."