Chapter 87: Im Sol's Laboratory (1)

Chapter 87: Im Sol's Laboratory (1)

Im Sols Laboratory (1)

Piece of cake.

Honestly, those written exams werent much of a hassle, although my hand did cramp a bit. The morning mage written exam? Smooth sailing. Its not graded yet, but unless I goofed up big time in my textbooks and research papers, I should be acing it.

Hey, lets compare answers.

Usually, folks who say lets compare answers didnt do well.

No, I totally aced it.

That test was really tough.

No kidding. It looks like most of us will be waving goodbye to high scores.

After the exam, the classroom buzzed with the lively banter of students.

Ugh, Im sure the professor explained this, but I got it wrong

Dont sweat it, Lucy. Next time, youll get it right.

The twins were also chatting about the exam.

Hey, anyone up for some grub? Im starving.

I, on the other hand, have no appetite for that.

Hoyeon, didnt you practically breeze through the last test? You look so relaxed.

Eh, more or less.

Why brag when well all see the scores when theyre out? We decided to hit the student cafeteria for lunch.

Mmm, this is tasty. Why dont more people eat the cafeterias steak?

Yeah, steaks the best.

Lucy and I were busy cutting into our steaks, while Lumi devoured her omelet rice.

Um, yeah

Lumi, why do you seem so tired?

Well, you see people are staring at us a bit too much

True

Guess this is what being famous feels like.

Everyone in the student cafeteria kept sneaking glances our way. Or maybe they were just gawking at me. Ive become quite the name lately. Fewer people are looking for a fight, which is nice, but the extra attention can be a tad awkward.

Dont sweat it. Theyre just curious.

Yeah, I know, but

Click! I even caught the sound of a camera somewhere. I tried to look in the direction of the noise, but with so many people around, it was tough to pinpoint who it was.

This is insane. Is this what Moon Soorin deals with all the time? I can kinda understand but she probably has it worse.

Ugh, its kinda creepy.

Whats creepy?

Ah, forget it.

I wolfed down the rest of my meal to make a quick exit from the student cafeteria.

***

The afternoon written exam zipped by. The questions were seriously tough, and it felt like the students were struggling to keep up. As I was about to exit the classroom post-exam, the smartwatches of about half the students in the room chimed in.

[Victoria Academy 1v1 Duel Preliminaries Group A Team 3, Lee Hoyeon. Please report to Arena A by 4:30 PM.]

Its a prelim notification.

I got one for Arena B.

I didnt get anything

No wonder the written exam finished a bit early. Well, Ive got to hit the arena, so see you tomorrow.

Bye-bye! Lumi, lets head to Arena B!

Sure.

I waved goodbye to the twins and dashed over to Arena A. A decent-sized crowd had already gathered there. Not just Class A, but students from other classes too. It looked like a tournament where they randomly picked participants from the entire first year.

Next up! Team 2, step on up!

A professor on the arena platform was directing the fresh faces. The deal here was both duelists had to hop onto the platform to find out who their opponent was.

This is all about luck, huh? What if the heavy hitters face off right from the prelims?

Get ready, start!

I couldnt care less about the duel between those two men, so I kept an eye on my upcoming match via my smartwatch.

The winner! Jeon Yeongju!

Until yesterday, such an individual had never been seen around Lee Hoyeon.

Ive been exposed, just as I suspected.

It was a valid assumption that Lee Hoyeon had detected his presence and hired a capable bodyguard. The fact that someone of this caliber could be recruited within a single day spoke volumes about Lee Hoyeons significance.

I dont know who the person trailing behind is, but theyre at least on par with Miss Alice.

In this situation, revealing his identity was out of the question. The Iris Guild always operated in silence, and any exposure would result in their defeat. Sebastian, swallowing hard, began to retreat.

***

The right-hand person to the director of the Korean Hunter Association had a crucial role. To uncover the connection between Baek Ahyeong and the academy, he had gathered one piece of information by personally investigating.

There is indeed an academy student who is very close to Baek Ahyeong.

Today, he had infiltrated Victoria Academy to investigate this particular student. Even in investigating the student, he had done his best. He moved cautiously to avoid detection and left no trace behind.

But then

Someone is here.

Someone was hiding on the opposite side, completely out of his view. Their actions seemed as if they were protecting Lee Hoyeon. Moreover, their level was far from ordinary.

At this level, they must be among the top A-class hunters This is a situation where contact should be avoided.

Someone was watching over Lee Hoyeon from behind. If the right-hand person noticed them, it was likely that they had also noticed the right-hand person, he thought.

As soon as he made his judgment, he quickly retreated. Simultaneously, the presence from the opposite side vanished. They probably felt it would be too much of a burden to directly confront the right-hand person.

Lee Hoyeon Who on earth is behind you? The right-hand person wiped cold sweat and began writing a report.

***

Hmm?

Whats up, Professor?

Im Sol, having wrapped up her work and now sipping coffee across from me, furrowed her brow. I had this odd feeling that something outside was making noise, but it disappeared in an instant. Must have been my imagination.

?

Why is she acting so strangely all of a sudden?

Speaking of which, did you do well on the exams?

Yes.

I could say that with confidence. After all, Im on track to be the top scorer.

Wow, even though the mages written exam wasnt a breeze this time?

Wanna bet on it? Ill wager that I aced every question.

Not interested.

Too bad. I couldve squeezed something out of her.

Heh, Im not really into betting either. Sorry.

Im Sol chuckled and took a sip of her coffee before bringing up, By the way, did Min Yeji get in touch with you?

Why is Min Yejis name suddenly popping up in our conversation? Well, she did contact me, so I cant deny it.

How did you know? She invited me to join the guild, but I declined, and she suggested we start a business together.

You turned down joining the guild? Shes from the Iron Blood Guild, you know.

Well, I dont have any particular desire to join any group right now. I still have plenty of time until I graduate from the academy.

As long as there are heroines in this world, I absolutely need to graduate from the academy. When the time comes, my market value will be even higher, and theres no rush to decide now, especially given my complicated relationships with women.

Ahem Its your choice, so I wont say much. Anyway, I wouldnt recommend getting involved in whatever business shes proposing.

Why not?

Is it some kind of pyramid scheme?

Well, I got curious once and received a business report from her before Sigh, forget it. Just steer clear if I advise against it.

Heroine Status Window

[Im Sol]

[Affection: 50]

[Lust: 25]

[Appetite: 30]

[Fatigue: 40]

Current Status: Shes so driven by money that shed even make a male student wear a bikini

Why on earth would I need to wear a bikini?

Gulp. I found myself thinking about Min Yeji again.