An Exorcist Magical Girl! Chapter 103

“The assessment is over, please check your status to see how you did.”

 

It’s 2:30 a.m.

 

The first formal eight-hour assessment is finally over.

 

❰Would you like to see the results of the 8-hour on-the-job assessment? ❱

❰▶Yes◀/No❱

 

Name: Baek Iri

Institution: Branch 4

Final Score: 2742.12 points

Final Rank: 9/265

 

I ranked 9th out of 265 students in the first and second grades of 8 chapters.

 

To use a school test analogy, it was like barely getting a first grade.

 

It was a significant achievement.

 

I don’t think I could have achieved such a good result in such a short time if I hadn’t gone through all kinds of things at Mukgyeong Girls’ High School.

 

When I thought about it, I was filled with a feeling that I don’t know whether it was fear or anxiety rather than pure joy.

 

‘Was it really just for the sake of “fast growth” that they sent me to an all-girls high school?’

 

‘How much fame can I get with this talent?’

 

Doubts that had always been faintly felt, far from the center of my consciousness, were now in full force.

 

But something much closer to home was haunting me.

 

Seo Jun had betrayed me.

 

And me?

 

I had never properly explained to Seo Jun how I came to be an exorcist with S⁺-rank talent, how I came to be at Mukgyeong Girls’ High School, or anything else.

 

Not just Seo Jun but also Seon-yeo, Hanju and Yin Charang.

 

‘Should I feel guilty?’

 

“Hey, Baek Iri!”

 

I snapped out of my daydream at the sound of Seon-yeo calling out.

 

“The advanced problem points were nice. It was worth all the hard work!”

 

Despite being tired and exhausted, my face was bright with satisfaction.

 

“We’re the only ones who solved question 13 perfectly. Thanks to you, I got to experience all of this.”

 

She smiled broadly and patted me on the back.

 

“You can take credit for this.”

 

“Assholishly humble.”

 

I felt like I was overestimating her, but she seemed very pleased with herself, so I didn’t say anything more.

 

At that moment, Hanju, who had been wandering around, came up to us and shouted.

 

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s not ask each other’s numbers. Be loyal. Okay?”

 

“Yeah, nobody wants to know yours anyway.”

 

As soon as I nodded my agreement, he threw up his hands in frustration. “I need to know.”

 

“Know what?”

 

“Your total score.” Hanju said.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, just tell me! Just once, just once, just once!” He pleaded.

 

“There, I’m at a loss.” I said, giving up.

 

Hanju turned around and shouted, “Reveal!” as he looked for help.

 

Seon-yeo interrupted. “What are you doing? Let’s not even talk about our rank.” 

 

“Ai, your number is different. There’s no harm in revealing your rank.” Hanju explained.

 

“What the hell?”

 

As it turned out, he was right.

 

Noticing the subtle change in my expression, Seon-yeo grabbed me and pretended to sag.

 

She literally “pretended” to do so. Her gaze was not on me, but diagonally behind me.

 

This had an impure purpose, didn’t it?

 

I looked over and saw Myeong Yeonji and Chaeyoon Lim. They were the ones who said before the evaluation that I would be sorted out in the female line and end up in the C- class line.

 

They were still gossiping among themselves, but it must have been about me.

 

I asked the question, “Why?” and she nodded seriously.

 

“Whisper it to my ear.”

 

I whispered the number into her ear and she gave me a look that seemed to ask for permission one last time.

 

I blinked at her to indicate that she could do as she pleased, and she stormed past me.

 

“Hey, you two. She got ninth place, so why don’t you give her a piece of your mind?”

 

Oh.

 

I was expecting her to scream, “Oh my God, our proud Baek Iri got ninth place! Oh my God, the neighbors!” I didn’t expect her to smash the counter in their face.

 

“Dude, did you just do that?”

 

“I was pissed at them even before they came in. They keep talking like they’re important.”

 

Seon-yeo’s face softened.

 

Well, I’m not sure why she seems so proud of herself, although this method of aggression is intuitively pleasing.

 

“If you were in a lower class than me, I would have really scared you.” Seon-yeo said.

 

“Are you saying you’re sorry you didn’t?”

 

“You think? Ha…”

 

Hanju interrupted, leaving Yeo Seon-yeo at a loss for words. “If you’ve broken a man’s pride, you should step on all of them out of fairness.”

 

“…What? I didn’t know that.”

 

Meanwhile, Seon-yeo nods without explaining.

 

“I think it’s more like “I don’t want to see a lifesaver ignored!”.“ Hanju adds.

 

Hanju’s words only gave me a rough idea.

 

Seon-yeo thinks she’s lower than me.

 

I’m sure she thought she was higher than me at first, but she changed her mind after the incident at Banho Shopping Center. 

 

I’m surprised that this change of mind didn’t translate into hostility toward me.

 

Anyway, what I just said was a gesture of appreciation from Seon-yeo.

 

It’s like a hero’s disease. She’s a little bit like me.

 

But that doesn’t mean that we are similar people. 

 

One of the biggest differences is that she’s not obsessed, and I’m obsessed like crazy.

 

Heroism and obsession.

 

The problem that I put aside for a while has resurfaced.

 

‘What should I say to …… or Seo Jun?’

 

I honestly don’t even know how I feel about myself.

 

“Yay, yay, yay, yay, did you hear that?!”

 

Yin Charang rushes over and interrupts my train of thought with a shout. 

 

I couldn’t tell if he was yelling or whispering. 

 

Usually, when I have urgent news to share and I’m not sure if it’s okay to say it out loud, but I still want to be polite and pretend it’s a secret, I use this kind of ambiguous volume.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“It’s all over! A first year student from Branch 6 stole a second year’s points.”

 

Without even asking what was going on, Yin Charang gave a perfect one-line summary.

 

But it sounded so suspicious that I couldn’t help but ask what was going on.

 

“The first year is… and the second year is…?”

 

“Didn’t you say it backwards?”

 

“No, I said it right, I can’t believe it too, they’re both in the same branch, and they’re getting screwed in real time, and I saw the branch 6 prefect grab them by the back of their head, and I thought of you, so I came running.”

 

“Holy shit. The best things always happen in other branches, it’s not fair!”

 

I couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness such an unusual sight, so I rushed out of the room.

 

Well… If it was our chapter, would I have made such a casual remark?

 

I started to say that it was funny because it happened in someone else’s chapter, but I lost my timing and continued.

 

Seon-yeo seemed to want to say the same thing, but she also lost her timing and shook her head.

 

“Then why is the sophomore being punished with him? You said that the sophomore lost points. Isn’t he the victim?”

 

“Actually, I heard about it from the middle, so I don’t know.”

 

Seon-yeo shook her head in disbelief. 

 

But the answer to her question quickly became clear. Her friends, like Hwang Hanju, had heard the details and spread the word.

 

From what I could gather, the sophomore first tried to trick the freshman into teaming up with him and stealing points, but the freshman caught on to the ruse and turned the tables by force.

 

“Hey, freshman, I heard you used to box in middle school.”

 

“Oh, right. He said he got hurt and turned to exorcism.”

 

“Wow, the sophomore had to take on a kid like that… I don’t know if he’s crazy or stupid.”

 

“Maybe he knew.”

 

“This sucks. I can’t believe we’re in the same business.”

 

“So who’s to blame?”

 

“Both…”

 

“So they’re both bakers?”

 

“Of course they are. They deserve discipline.”

 

“But isn’t it self-defense for a first year? Seems a little unfair…”

 

“Eh? He didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

Of course, with 265 sensitive students in the room right after the evaluation results came out, rumors spread like wildfire. One useless comment after another was added.

 

Whether the two from Branch 6 were disciplined or not, and who did the bigger wrong was none of my business, I didn’t pay attention to the details.

 

However, today’s point extortion incident sent a shiver down my spine. The word itself.

 

Point extortion.

 

That’s what I had to do to pass the mission on April’s evaluation day.

 

I didn’t know anything about exorcisms, and I was halfway through the evaluation before I was asked to put my name in the top scorers. In retrospect, the only way to pass the mission was to steal points from others. 

 

I did that. I’m convinced now. Stealing points was what the mission was asking me to do that day.

 

Maybe that was what I needed to prove in the “mission: Prove it” wasn’t whether I could show the “genius side” of my talent.

 

How far I would go to be mean and dirty to keep that gift from being taken away.

 

This was the kind of “proof” that was required of me the day I switched to the Exorcist talent.

 

“If Seo Jun hadn’t given me the points…”

 

It was a moment that reminded me of this fact.

 

❰An additional mission has been created❱

 

A familiar message popped up in front of me.

 

❰Additional Mission: Bystander❱

❰Successful completion of this mission will double your current defense progress❱

 

Double.

 

My excitement is tempered by the fact that I received a similar mission not too long ago.

 

A holographic window appeared with a message about an additional mission.

 

❰Stay out of what you’re about to encounter. Never interfere. Look the other way.❱

 

Holy shit. I can’t believe they even bothered to write that shit as a description.

 

On the surface, it seems like a gimmicky way to automatically fulfill mission requirements, but I’m not stupid enough not to pick up on the ominous nuances of those sentences.

 

❰Are you sure you want to accept the mission? ❱

❰Yes/▶No◀❱

 

I didn’t hesitate to choose “no” when asked to accept the mission.

 

Accepting a mission without knowing exactly what this “bystander” mission was about would be the ultimate foolishness.

 

I had just become convinced of what the first mission “proof” wanted me to do that I didn’t want to do.

 

I promise not to do anything without knowing what the hell the “things you’ll face in the future” are that I’m told I should never get involved in.

 

I’ll never accept such a mission again. No matter what the reward.

 

I flicked the holographic status window away from my eyes in annoyance.

 

Where’s Seo Jun? She should be here now that the evaluation is complete, but I can’t see her.

 

“My purpose is to open the portal.”

 

Seo Jun, who once said that her purpose was to close the door to the portal, now had a completely opposite purpose.

 

Moreover, there is a mysterious entity in the otherworldly space that ordered the kidnapping of Koo Young-chun and Eom Jingyu, murdered them, and now possesses their souls.

 

What is the connection between Seo Jun and the cult?

 

Desperate to hear something, I searched high and low for Seo Jun.

 

Seon-yeo gave me a questioning look.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, I just wonder where Seo Jun is.”

 

That was it.

 

❰Additional missions have been replayed❱

❰Additional Mission: Bystander❱