An Exorcist Magical Girl! Chapter 91

“This is the site for the 8-hour practical evaluation on June 8. We’ve chartered a bus as instructed last time, and we’ll travel as a group. We will leave tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., so please gather in front of the training center by 2:30 p.m. at the latest.”

 

At Mr. Kang’s words, everyone took out their cell phones and took a picture of the announcement on the screen in front of the training room.

 

“The evaluation will start at 18:30. That means it will be 2:30 a.m. when we are done.”

 

“Wow, that’s going to be awfully tiring.”

 

“Where is this place, Greener Phytoncide Island? What’s the name of the island?”

 

“Greener P…, what?”

 

“Oh, I looked it up, it’s a campground in the woods. It went under last year.”

 

“Huh? Wasn’t it the site of a high school assessment last September?”

 

“Yes. That’s right. It’s the same place again.”

 

“It’s not where we went, so what does it matter? The questions would have been different anyway.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

Eight-hour practical evaluation.

 

A ranking system that assigns points to ghosts hunted in a given area for eight hours.

 

The June, September, and November assessments were practical assessments in which all branch training centers participated, and the results became official records.

 

And unlike the March, April, July, and October assessments, the June, September, and November practical assessments were unique in that they were conducted separately for high school seniors and juniors.

 

“In June, there are no high school seniors, so the first place will probably be a bust, right?”

 

“Of course. In March, when the odd and even chapters were judged separately, Yin Charang came in first, even with the high school. Someone from the first or second grade beat him.”

 

“March? What about April?”

 

“In April, didn’t we have 1st to 4th, 5th to 8th, and so on?”

 

“Then the first place must have been won by the brother from the first branch.”

 

“And you weren’t there in April.”

 

“Oh, right. I was.”

 

There were two ways to earn points in the 8-hour practical evaluation

 

One could either catch a random ghost in the assessment area or solve an exorcism problem prepared by the association.

 

At the April assessment, I only did the former.

 

One can use amulets to attract ghosts near the assessment site, or the association releases out-of-date ghosts to the assessment site to meet the required number of points.

 

And as I said, there was a limit to the number of points that could be filled with such ghosts.

 

So, we had to focus on the more difficult exorcism questions that the Association had set.

 

Unlike the random ghosts scattered throughout the examination hall, the curses, ghosts, and demons that made up the advanced exorcism questions were all “fake”.

 

They set up a fictitious situation and ran a simulation.

 

I was told this was due to supply and demand issues and student safety.

 

Magical Girl was tested with simulations for similar reasons.

 

However, the practical assessment for aspiring exorcists is very different from Magical Girl in that they have to deal with real ghosts.

 

If the score from catching real ghosts in the evaluation center did not exceed 60, the score would not be counted. Just like the SAT, if you fail the Korean history test, your entire score will be invalidated.

 

“This time, I’ll make sure to fill in the ghost points as soon as I enter the test center.”

 

“Please, please, please do it. Please. Huh? In April, I swear, wow… I got dizzy watching you. To think that you made me run around scared. Ugh.”

 

Thanks to this, I often hear conversations like this.

 

“No, but I’m usually able to catch one or two fish by the end of the day and get to 60 points. Who knew there was only a 30-pounder nearby with 10 minutes to go…”

 

“Well, yes. There were some “variables” that day.”

 

I could feel the two grumblers staring at me.

 

Yes, it was my fault. It was my fault, I’d gotten 681.03 points that day from the ghost alone, so the ghost count was way down.

 

But what can I do? If I keep staring like this, I’ll get 1000 points this time by catching only weak ghosts.

 

Myeong Yeonji and Chaeyoon Lim.

 

They always looked down on me.

 

The last time he said this to me in a loud voice, I couldn’t believe it.

 

“Hey, isn’t it possible for our chapter to be ranked first and second this time? We have two S-class masters.”

 

“Huh? I guess that’s true, but how can “she” be second? Isn’t talent enough?”

 

“Right? Even when I told you, I thought it was impossible. Even if you’re an S⁺ level, it’s hard to become second in less than three months unless someone helps you like last time.”

 

“In three months, your skill total will still be in the double digits, and you’ll be well on your way to the top. Do you agree?”

 

“Dude, you don’t even have to go all the way to the top, you’re done in C class. Second place is nothing. It’ll be a miracle if you even make it to the top 20.”

 

I didn’t feel too bad because my skill total wasn’t in double digits. My current skill total is 126.

 

And first of all, the skill total is not an objective indicator of a person’s skill.

 

It’s just a way of quantifying things like the time, learning, and experience an individual has put into honing their talent.

 

While it’s true that the higher the skill total, the more fundamentally sound and experienced a person is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone with a high skill total will produce great results, or vice versa.

 

Just because someone had a low skill total didn’t mean they couldn’t perform. 

 

So there was no reason for me to feel intimidated or offended by comments that tried to put me down.

 

To be honest, I was thrilled to be called that because I had never been criticized before.

 

Was it an ego scratch? I didn’t feel anything like that.

 

I think it actually boosted my self-esteem. I mean, it’s obviously my story, but it was as funny as anybody else’s.

 

Well, a woman walking by thought otherwise. 

 

“Damn. There are so many wonderful things in the back, even 20th place. Damn it.” 

 

When Yeo Seon-yeo gave them a straight face, Myeong Yeonji and Lim Chaeyoon said, “It’s not even about you, so why are you making a big deal out of it?” and walked away.

 

“Wow, you’re so powerful. You’re so awesome! You’re so supportive!”

 

Apparently not satisfied with my gratitude, she turned to me. 

 

“Shut up. Baek Iri, if you don’t make the top 20 in June, I’ll kill you.”

 

“What? Why are you yelling at me all of a sudden?”

 

“You really need to get out of my line. You will die in my hands, I’m not kidding.”

 

“So, if they’re the ones who are getting screwed up, why am I getting screwed up?”

 

“I don’t know. I’m going to kill them.”

 

“Uhhh, yeah… I’ll try not to die at your hands…”

 

 

***

 

 

Three days ago my heart was pounding with the most intense cheering I’ve ever experienced in my life.

 

Today is the second Friday in June. Tomorrow is Saturday, the day of the 8-hour practical exam on June 8.

 

“I’m going to finish early today, so take care of yourself. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then dismissed.”

 

“Waaaah!”

 

It was the day before the exam, so Mr. Kang ended the class earlier than usual.

 

“You’re free! I’ll go to sleep as soon as I leave. I’ll stay up late, no one can stop me!”

 

Hanju shouted as he ran out of the classroom.

 

“I have to get up late tomorrow too, like ten o’clock?”

 

“Ah, Charang… When I said “late”, I meant sleeping in until one o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

 

“How is that possible, human? If you sleep like that, aren’t you a bear?”

 

“Hey, you’re not treating me like a human because I sleep so much, and that’s not much sleep, is it?”

 

Hwang Hanju and Yin Charang looked at each other in disbelief.

 

It was Yin Charang who spoke again.

 

“Who wants to meet early tomorrow and have lunch together?”

 

“Wow… Yin Charang, you are so jingling. Let me out.”

 

Hwang Hanju made a face of annoyance and hurried down the stairs.

 

“He’ll call me tomorrow and ask me to wear it too.”

 

Seon-yeo shook her head and pressed the elevator button.

 

“Hey, Seon-yeo. How about 12:00?”

 

“You want me to meet you that early? You know we leave at 3. That’s way too early.”

 

“But we have to eat right after we get there, which is probably around five.”

 

“No, but 12:00 is still too early. I can’t make it.”

 

“Oh, well, let’s just have a quick snack at 1:30.”

 

“Okay. That’ll work. Lunch is just a snack and then lunch at 5:00. Hey, did you hear that?”

 

Yeo Seon-yeo and Yin Charang confirmed their plans among themselves and then threw me and Seo Jun into the mix.

 

“Huh? Are we going too?”

 

“Wow, Baek Iri. Are you trying to make me feel bad all of a sudden?” 

 

Seon-yeo gave me a look of betrayal.

 

I don’t think she would look like that even if she got slapped.

 

Seo Jun joined in.

 

“Baek Iri, you don’t like to eat lunch with the kids, do you?”

 

“No, why would you say that? I love it. I want to eat with all three of you.”

 

“Then why did you say, ‘We’ll go too’?”

 

“Because I’m so happy, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hear something wrong, like, “Huh, you really want to have dinner with me? I’m so happy, I can’t believe it, I feel like…”

 

“I’ll try.”

 

 And with that, the pre-evaluation lunch was confirmed. 

 

“Hey, guys, speaking of lunch, I just remembered something.”

 

As we walked out of the training center and scattered to our respective subway and bus stops, I suddenly had a question.

 

“Huh? What is it?”

 

“Well, aren’t we allowed to bring food and drink into the assessment center?”

 

“Uh, no, we’re allowed to, unless you’re barbecuing pork belly over a charcoal fire.”

 

Yin Charang replies, looking as if I’m asking the obvious.

 

“Oh, can I bring some snacks? I’m going to be so hungry if I eat dinner at 5 p.m. and don’t eat anything until 2 a.m.”

 

“Snacks? Of course you should bring snacks. If you don’t eat in between, you’ll collapse from lack of energy. Didn’t anyone tell you that you have to bring your own snacks?”

 

Yeo Seon-yeo asked with an annoyed look on her face.

 

“Don’t forget to bring something to drink as well.”

 

“Uh-oh.”

 

“Anything else you want to know?”

 

“Is there a bathroom in the evaluation area?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Oh, and can you drive me home?”

 

“Yes, I can take you to the training center.”

 

“Uh, okay, thanks.”

 

“I’m so glad you asked.”

 

Seon-yeo breathes a sigh of relief. She reminded me to send her a message if I had any more questions and then she and Charang walked to the bus stop. 

 

I didn’t even realize that I didn’t know because I wasn’t paying attention to her, but this was more important than points and association questions.

 

Really, I’m glad I’m at least curious now, like she said.

 

“We should go.”

 

As we walked to the subway station, Seo Jun, who hadn’t said much so far, spoke up.

 

“Do you know how to contact me if you get hurt or in danger?”

 

“Oh, of course I do, it’s on my ring. You gave me a ring and I’ve practiced.”

 

“Good. I know.”

 

Seo Jun nodded slightly, relieved, and led the way to the station.