Saved a Heroine From the Brink of Death

98. Practical 3rd, Gate Strategy (2)

#98. Practical 3rd, Gate Strategy (2)

Cynthia was sitting in the waiting room, staring blankly into space.

“I’m bored, I’m bored… .”

You can’t do anything while the test is in progress.

At least until the exams are over.

“Why did it have to be Article 23… Ugh.”

To ensure fairness between the advance and retreat groups, all individuals taking the test will be isolated until the test begins. This is to prevent group members from getting together and making plans.

It would be unfair if the advance team went straight in while only the retreating team got information and made plans before going in.

In that respect, not only are the latecomers isolated, they are also unable to contact the outside world.

Of course, electronic devices such as smartphones must be returned in advance.

What happens if you don’t?

Of course, you get 0 points and even get suspended.

If it was a mistake, there would be room for leniency, but if it was found to be intentional, there would be no mercy. In any case, in that regard, Cynthia was just staring blankly into space in the waiting room with nothing to do.

-There is no consideration for the examinees at all.

“That’s right… I didn’t realize it would be this boring when I went in right away last time. Ugh… .”

After sitting for about two hours doing nothing, Cynthia started to feel like she was going crazy.

I didn’t know that staring into space for hours would be this hard. I’d rather practice, but I was worried that my physical strength would decrease and my condition would deteriorate.

It might be okay to do stretching, but it wasn’t a good idea to practice before attacking the gate.

-But wouldn’t it be possible to go outside for a bit during lunch time?

Since Illien had been attached to Cynthia’s symbol this year, she had no idea what had happened last year.

So, Illien guessed that maybe they could have a little more freedom during lunch.

‘I heard that you’re locked in here even during lunchtime? I was released after taking the test, but… I heard that’s what it is. In short, you have to stay in here and wait for the test, and then you get to eat the food they give you… .’

-It’s a total zoo.

‘That’s what it is.’

It was such inhumane treatment that it made you wonder if it was really the 21st century, but there really wasn’t any other way. Cynthia thought so too.

“I’ll just sleep… Wake me up later, Illien.”

Cynthia gave up thinking.

.

.

.

.

.

-…me!

-Work… Me!

I felt something tickling my ear.

Cynthia tried to ignore the drowsiness that was creeping up on her, covered her head with her arms, and fell into a deep sleep again.

“Umm… Hmm… .”

-Get up!

As Cynthia tried to fall back asleep, Illian shouted in her ear. Cynthia jumped up.

“Hyaa! What, what is it!”

Cynthia got up in surprise and looked around, shouting. Then everyone’s eyes turned to Cynthia.

“Ahem… Cadet Cynthia. It’s Group 23’s turn, so come out.”

“ah….”

Cynthia’s face turned red in an instant.

But I couldn’t really say anything else. I had nothing to say.

“…yes.”

All she could do was walk quietly into the gate.

“Then, take positions 21 to 25.”

The time to take the exam has finally arrived.

***

▷ Article 23

1. Cynthia (6th) / Close range dealer

2. Na Hye-ji (31st) / Meiji

3. Moon Kyung-jin (106th) / Healer

4. Yoon Joo-dong (202nd) / Tanker

Cynthia looked at the crew members’ information on her watch again.

Cynthia, who was looking at the names and positions of the crew members, suddenly felt a sense of wonder.

‘…? Why am I a close range dealer? I’m an archer?’

-Have you seen the position now?

‘That… I just saw who Jo Won was earlier. But why am I nearby? Why??’

Cynthia wanted to go to the examiner who set the position and ask him, but he was already inside the gate. There was a communication device that could be used in an emergency, but it was only for emergencies. If she used it now, she would only get cursed at and her test score would be penalized, so it was difficult to use it.

-That must be because you’ve been treating your bow like a club lately. You haven’t shot an arrow lately, have you?

‘Was it like that…?’

-Ever since you learned the art of archery, you’ve only ever swung your bow like a melee weapon, right? You know how few times you’ve used a bow like a bow, you can count on one hand, right?

‘That, that’s true… but still, a lot of arrows were fired!’

Cynthia couldn’t bring herself to say that she shot arrows with a bow.

Moreover, after obtaining the paradox of light, I couldn’t even remember when I last shot an arrow.

-Don’t make excuses to me… Anyway. Look ahead. The crew members are starting to look at you with strange eyes.

‘Oh, right. I was taking a test… .’

Cynthia came to her senses and cleared her throat.

“Ah. Sorry guys. I was just thinking about how to attack the gate for a moment.”

Without blinking an eye, Cynthia joked.

But the other three people there seemed to believe that lie without a doubt.

“As expected, 6th place is 6th place. No… Should I say provisional 1st place? There’s no one among your peers who can match you.”

In the case of Yoon Joo-dong, who was ranked 202nd, not only did he believe the lie, he went one step further and even painted Cynthia’s face with gold.

“Well, since you’ve thought about it, you must have made some kind of plan… Can I hear it?”

Na Hye-ji, who plays the role of Mayji, asked Cynthia.

“Plan. Yeah. Plan is important. So what is a plan…?”

Cynthia wasted time repeating the same words, and at the same time asked Illien.

‘Hey, Illien! What should I say about the plan?!’

-… Ugh. If you do that, then that’s true.

Illien sighed and thought that Cynthia had done it again. Every time she asked for help like this, she couldn’t help it.

-Listen carefully. Say exactly what I say.

‘okay!’

Cynthia heard what Illian said and followed suit, speaking to the rest of the crew.

“You all know that the Citadel of Regret is a replica based on an S-class gate, right? It’s a special gate with different difficulty levels depending on the target of the attack.”

Everyone nodded.

At the same time, my complexion gradually worsened.

The reason was none other than Cynthia.

Because everyone knew that her level was overwhelmingly higher than anyone else here.

He is the one who destroyed a battle doll with the power of a high-level hero, and sent a real high-level hero to the emergency room by cutting open his stomach.

Although they didn’t know, the other cadets guessed that his skills were far beyond those of a cadet.

And if the difficulty of conquering this gate increases in proportion to one’s skill level… it will be difficult for the average cadet to handle.

“The difficulty of conquering this gate has increased significantly due to my presence. However… this is also an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?”

“Oh, opportunity. Think about it. The level of the monsters coming out of the gate could be at least C-class, or even B-class.”

Although it is an E-class gate, the monsters that appear will have been strengthened due to Cynthia’s presence.

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Illien judged that it was at least C-class, and maybe even B-class or higher.

“In other groups, we have to deal with more difficult and stronger monsters while dealing with D-class monsters.”

“Why is that a plan? Isn’t it more like a simple statement of facts?”

“Let’s listen more. It seems like we haven’t heard anything important yet.”

When Na Hye-ji expressed her dissatisfaction, Yoon Joo-dong intervened.

“I’m running out of time, so I’ll just get to the point. The judges aren’t stupid, right? They’ll evaluate you while taking into account that you won’t be able to do your best against such a strong monster. However… .”

Cynthia paused to catch her breath and continued.

“What if you perform beyond the judges’ expectations?”

No matter how much you want to do in a place where D-class monsters appear, there are limits to how much you can do.

But, it was different here.

All my colleagues were able to show off their skills to the best of their ability.

Everyone’s eyes lit up at Cynthia’s last words.

Naheji, who was expressing her discontent, was the same. She looked like she was on fire, ready to fire magic at any moment.

Cynthia looked at them and said one last thing.

“I’m going to go all out from start to finish. Not just me, but all of you. This is the plan I’ve laid out.”

Speed ​​run.

That was the plan that Illien presented to Cynthia and her crew.

It was also the best plan with the highest probability of all crew members getting high scores.