Black Badger - Chapter 444



Only Krnovel

444. 63rd Promotion Exam (3)

What’s under the water?

I was lost in thought for a moment when I raised my head at the sound of people’s chatter.

But in the dark sea, all that was visible were the juniors. The 63rd class swimming along the path created by the fluorescent buoys floating on the sea.

Their silhouettes were illuminated by the light shot from drones in the sky.

I wasn’t too worried about the ocean swimming part.

Kairos was good at swimming even though he was from the plains. I heard that he wasn’t good at it from the beginning, but he got good at it after following monsters.

The reason I was not sure was because I did not know much about Kairos during the Imperial era. I knew the accidents he had committed, but I did not know exactly what kind of person he was.

Anyway, I remember that one day, when aquatic monsters flowed into the river of the empire, he jumped into the river and took care of the situation.

You swam flawlessly.

So, I was watching with peace of mind, thinking that I would naturally pass.

“What? I can’t see it?”

“No, I think I saw something….”

“What is the opinion?”

“No, something huge… What is it? Did I see something wrong?”

“Isn’t that the shadow of the drone floating above?”

Whispering seniors.

I couldn’t find anything either.

The location where the promotion test is held is too far from here, so monster detection is not possible.

But if it was a monster, wouldn’t Kairos have noticed it first?

Kairos on the screen was peacefully cutting through the night sea.

I was swimming in almost the same position as Luke.

Nana has come a long way.

It’s not that Nana can’t swim, but the other two were particularly fast. There seemed to be a difference in their stamina as well.

Now that I think about it, Hesi used to brag about how her younger brother was much better than her.

He’s not the type of guy who rarely brags about things, but now that I see it, it makes sense. Luke Lyle definitely has a talent that’s hard to ignore.

Ricardo, who was resting his chin on his hand, also said something.

“He’s good~.”

“yes.”

Ricardo, who knew that Kairos was full of experience, was not impressed by the minister’s skills unlike the other seniors.

Instead, I looked at Luke, who nodded and agreed with his senior’s assessment.

“You have good skills and a great fighting spirit. I will become a good soldier.”

Even now, it seems like he doesn’t want to lose to Kairos.

Kairos would surely know of Luke’s competitive spirit. And he would be happy about it. He loved to feel the raw competitiveness that people showed him.

I like it so much that I’m going crazy.

“Oh, the distance keeps growing.”

“Still, it is a stable qualification.”

“Oh my, he’s having a hard time too. It’s not that he can’t do it, but the other two are so good.”

“You already seem to have a lot of worries, but you must be a bit worried because you fell behind in both rock climbing and swimming.”

“Just get through it. Night swimming isn’t easy.”

“Cheer up! We’re almost there!”

I could hear the seniors talking.

Even those who used to cheer for Blackjack now looked at Nana rather than Kairos, either because they were full of energy or because they were holding back.

Cheer up, Nana.

I also hummed words of encouragement that could not be conveyed to others.

The other two are so great, but you’re doing well enough.

“You need to be lucky to make it past 50.”

Yoon said something from the backseat.

I quickly turned my head and glared at Yoon.

“Oh really. Please don’t say things like that.”

“You know I didn’t say anything wrong, so why are you doing that?”

“I’ll tell Yehyun and Ami.”

As he spoke, Yoon closed his mouth.

Then he snorted and leaned back in his chair even more lazily.

I looked up at the ceiling like Ricardo, who was rolling his eyes silently beside me, and then looked at the shooter again.

“But you said everything you wanted to tell me while eating dinner, so why are you still here? Don’t you usually not see things like this?”

“The scene I’m about to see is scheduled to take place after the promotion exam is over.”

This time, Ricardo snorted at the shooter’s dry answer.

I looked at the fat, cold, and neat facial features.

Then he spoke softly.

“Thank you for telling me. I will definitely come back.”

Yoon’s pitch-black eyes rolled toward me.

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something.

But at that moment, applause erupted.

“You passed!”

“Wow, Blackjack is awesome!”

“Hey, that’s fast!”

“Blackjack! What the hell am I supposed to do if I can swim well too! What am I supposed to do!”

“Thank you for your hard work! Oh my, you all did a great job this time too!”

Kairos and Luke came up to the shore as if competing.

Instructors running to them and handing them towels.

The seniors congratulating the shooters with applause. It was a pleasant sight. I thought I understood why Ami comes to observe the promotion exam every year.

Adrienne Wood and Amy saying thank you.

Lee Ho still hasn’t taken his eyes off the screen.

The screen split in two to show Nana Dol. People stopped clapping and started cheering for Nana fervently.

She still had more swimming to do.

But it was a passing grade. At this rate, as long as she didn’t get tired, she would definitely pass. She was slow, but she didn’t look tired, and her face, which occasionally appeared above the water, was filled with relief that the test would soon be over.

“uh?”

Something surged behind that young face.

“What is that?”

A huge shadow appears behind her.

It was not the darkness of the night sea.

It was so black.

A creepy darkness, invisible to Yunseul, rose up through the water.

Choaaaak!

It’s a mouth hole.

The teeth, neatly lined up in the darkness, glowed white.

“It’s a creature!”

People stood up.

I was no exception. I instinctively sat up and watched her approaching me at a frightening speed.

“shark?!”

“No! It’s a creature!”

It’s not a monster.

A chill ran down my spine as I realized the horrifying truth.

“There’s nothing more tricky than a fucking ocean creature!”

That’s a monster that fell from another dimension, something that Kairos can’t handle.

“Shoot! Shoot the drone!”

“Instructor!”

“damage!”

Paaang!

It hit Nana Stone with a crashing sound.

[Aaah!]

A shrill scream.

Blood burst out.

“What the fuck!”

“Pull him out!”

My body tensed up, and Ricardo also got up from his seat.

The sound of gasping for breath can be heard everywhere.

Nana and the unknown creature began to thrash about in the water.

The terrified seniors shouted.

“Support! Air support! Support me!”

“What are you doing, Jet Ski!”

“Don’t let me get dragged in! Drowning is not the answer!”

“What the hell, didn’t you check the ocean before the test started?!”

“It’s the sea.”

Someone’s frightened voice was heard.

“There’s a reason we avoid the sea. No matter how much we search, we can’t confirm everything!”

Kairos!

I clenched my fist and shouted the names of my people.

Save Nana by defeating other underwater monsters!

No matter how fast a human swims, there’s no way they can swim as fast as an aquatic creature.

So, it is necessary to bring a demon that is somewhere… .

Tada dadadang!

[Nana!!]

The drone started shooting bullets.

Amid the sharp sound of gunfire, two men from the 63rd platoon simultaneously called out their comrade’s name.

They seem to be moving quickly.

Luke jumped into the water.

Kairos quickly grabbed the knife stuck in the instructor’s waist and ran into the sea.

[Take it!]

He threw a jackknife.

[It’s a knife!]

The knife’s silver blade reflects light.

It drew a pretty parabola. It crossed the night sea where the fluorescent buoy was bouncing around, and fell beautifully towards Nana, who was held by the creature whose silhouette and sharp teeth were all that could be seen.

Nana, eaten by a creature below the knees.

She reached out and snatched the knife.

“Stab!”

Lee Ho’s sharp cry resonated in the media room.

“Stab it and get out!”

Choaaaak!

Instead of stabbing, she tore.

Her arms moved gracefully. I leaned my body toward the screen and watched her swordsmanship absentmindedly.

Rough and crude, yet there was a dizzying talent there. A trajectory without waste. A sword blade with precisely focused power.

The short day passed in a straight line across the creature’s nose.

Blood spurted out in parabolic spheres, covering Nana’s face, but her hands did not stop.

The creature opened its mouth in agony, and at that moment Nana’s sword pierced the roof of its mouth.

Phew!

If you hold a sword, you lose your mind.

I watched my junior’s swordsmanship as if I was being sucked in.

There are people like that.

Those who are born with dazzling talent.

Beings who forget everything around them when they are focused on a well-sharpened iron handle.

Before the war, when I was training elite soldiers from each country, including Lee Seung-hyun, I didn’t chase after those who left on the second training day.

If the task was to turn one ordinary article into a clean article, the ones who ran away would have been caught and brought back.

But at the time, I was looking for someone who could imitate my swordsmanship, even if only for a little while.

To do so, in addition to the hard work, one more thing was required.

A talent that separates a Sword Expert from a Sword Master.

The sense of being able to handle a sharp iron handle as if it were part of one’s own body.

I could quickly tell who had it.

Choaack!

Blood and seawater scatter along the sword’s trajectory.

The jackknife in Nana’s hand sliced ​​the creature’s mouth lid in half.

This is so funny…

A giant creature sank with a strange noise.

“Wow!”

The seniors cheered.

“Eww!”

“Wow! Wow! What is that?!”

“Great new recruit!!”

“This is so cool!”

“Is it done?”

Amidst the cheering and waving hands, someone whispered.

“Did you kill him?”

Killed.

I saw the life form die. Nana was dragged into the water with it, sinking helplessly to the bottom of the sea.

Luke swam towards her like crazy and grabbed Nana’s shoulder and pulled her out.

Kairos, on the other hand, dived into the sea.

He must have swum in to chase away the monsters that were rushing in after smelling the blood of the dead creature.

Now that he’s in, there will be no further attacks.

The 63rd promotion exam is really not easy.

I clicked my tongue inwardly as I recalled my promotion exam, which had no particular problems.

Black Badger will find out later whether this is an artificial phenomenon or not.

Anyway, I’m glad that there’s no harm done to his life.

And it was so great to see Nana’s swordsmanship.

It’s a talent that makes your heart beat.

If we just polish that shining gemstone just a little… .

“I’m half out of my mind~….”

I flinched at Ricardo’s voice.

I had momentarily forgotten that there was a senior next to me.

“Are you that good?”

I turned my head diagonally and saw Ricardo and Yoon looking at me with curious eyes.

I nodded, meeting the gazes of my seniors.

“yes.”

I understand very well why Lee Ho asked me to take care of her.

Even in these situations, I managed to suppress the impulse that suddenly arose in me to teach the newbies.

“If you teach him, he has the potential to become a sword master.”

“okay?”

It was Yoon who asked back.

The shooter spoke emotionlessly, looking at the huge screen with his arms crossed.

“Then it seems I saw things wrong.”

“That’s right, Yoon. Nana will live much longer than 50.”

“I’ve never seen you so focused and alert before~.”

Ricardo said with a chuckle.

“You don’t even play games that hard….”

“…what a dazzling talent.”

I know this well because I have read numerous articles about it.

It was truly rare to find someone with that level of talent.

If you teach them well, they will open their eyes to the path of the sword.

Given the circumstances, I guess I’ll have to leave the pleasure of leading talented people to Ye-Hyeon.

“Oh, I’m swimming alone!”

Someone shouted.

I looked at the screen again.

The successor with the black curly hair was seen shaking off Luke’s hand and swimming towards the shore.

There’s still some time left.

Even if you exceed the time limit, you will definitely be considered to have passed.

Nana gritted her teeth and waved her arms.

“Why are you swimming so hard? You’re going to pass anyway!”

“I don’t know. Even the creatures seem to think of it as part of the test.”

“You could swim until the end.”

“Hey, I’ll still get there on time!”

The seniors shouted as they looked at the time remaining, the speed at which they were swimming, and the distance remaining.

“Just try a little harder!”

Nana quickly parted the sea.

“10.”

And when there were 10 seconds left, people started counting down.

“nine.”

“eight.”

“seven!”

“six!”

“oh!”

“buy….”

ah.

They all came.

“Samuaaaa!”

“Pass! Pass! Aaaah!”

“Wow!”

A cheer erupted.

It was a cheer that shook the media room. Lee Ho jumped up from his seat, and Ami also soared into the air.

“Okay!! Okay!”

“Nana is cool!”

Ami shouted as she ran and hugged Lee Ho, who was swinging his fists wildly.

“That’s cool! That’s really cool!”

“Wow, congratulations!”

The seniors applauded loudly and shouted.

“Congratulations on becoming an official Badger, Class 63!!”

thank god.

I also applauded along with the seniors and sincerely congratulated the juniors on their passing. I also snickered as I watched Richard Green nod in satisfaction.

Those who had previously cheered for Jack Black were now shouting Nana’s name in loud voices.

I thought about it earlier, but I really understand why you came to see me.

Ricardo, who came to see this for the first time last year, was amazed.

It’s been a while since the atmosphere has been this good, but I hope the CIS side will be mindful and keep any unpleasant incidents outside the media room…

As I savored the excitement, I briefly thought about that.

***

“Did you enjoy the show?”

Of course, that was a vain thought.

Before the people soaking in the afterglow could even leave the media room, a group of men in suits came up to me and stood next to me.

“We will now take Mr. Taleb away.”

The noise subsides in an instant.

People who suddenly stop moving.

I was sitting on the chair, and I looked up at the agents and smiled broadly.