Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 13

EP.13 Unrealistic Luck

The exam evaluation period had arrived. In terms of high school, it was a large-scale exam period combining midterms and finals. For the Swordsmanship Department, this was the period where the highest weighted exams, aside from sparring scores, would be conducted.

‘To put it simply, if I messed this up, I would fail the quest.’

Jeong-hyeon sighed as he looked at the schedule indicating that the exam period would last three days. While exams were important, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to train properly during this time.

‘If I could just train one more time during that period, my stats would increase by 1.’

He couldn’t understand why they didn’t see the benefit of that. Clicking his tongue in frustration, he expressed his dissatisfaction, which Mertan noticed and addressed sternly.

“This evaluation will take place in the maze dungeon within the academy, so make sure you’re well-prepared.”

The mention of the maze dungeon caused a stir among the students. Jeong-hyeon wanted to ask the student next to him what it was, but both students on his left and right turned away in fear.

‘What did I do?’

All he had done was deal with that pig of a student and beat up Erie when she tried to intervene.

‘This is unfair.’

He hadn’t picked any fights, except for that incident with the First Princess yesterday. He closed his mouth, realizing that while he had intended to avoid trouble, it was true that he had been the one to start it.

‘There’s nothing I can say.’

As he brooded over the world’s unfairness, Mertan tapped the podium and continued.

“As you know, the maze dungeon is vast. If something happens deep inside, we won’t be able to assist you. So, be cautious as you go deeper.”

Jeong-hyeon propped his arm on the desk, lost in thought. In games, when someone made such ominous statements, it usually meant something significant was going to happen.

‘Something will happen deep inside.’

He didn’t know what it would be, but it was best to be careful. Deciding to prepare for the unexpected, he determined to engage in more intense training.

***

“… Jeonghyeon, what should I do? I’ve been avoiding Bishop Lea at the academy and helping you after school, so I haven’t studied at all.”

Lucia’s dejected voice interrupted his training.

Jeong-hyeon wondered why she was worried. With her abilities, she should easily score well in exams without much study.

‘With her healing magic alone, she should outshine the others. What’s the problem?’

As he looked at her with a puzzled expression, Lucia pulled out a dozen books from her bag and spoke.

“This is all the material for the exams… When am I supposed to get through all this?”

Jeong-hyeon frowned at the sight of the books. Was there even a theoretical exam in this school?

Seeing his bewildered expression, Lucia blinked and asked in a concerned voice.

“Did you study, Jeong-hyeon?”

“… Why would I?”

“Um… I heard first-year Swordsmanship students also have to take it.”

That couldn’t be right. He had never attended a single theory class since joining the academy. He was about to deny it when he recalled seeing other students carrying thick books.

‘… No way.’

He tried to deny it, but the evidence pointed to the contrary. The possibility that he might be facing the worst-case scenario crossed his mind, making his head throb.

“Are you okay?”

“… I’m fine.”

Except for the fact that he was probably doomed. He laughed bitterly and decided to finish his training first.

***

Lucia explained that on the first day of the exam evaluation period, the theory classes would be conducted quickly. Following that, students would be assigned to groups based on their grades to continue the classes. Therefore, the first thing to prepare for was the theory exam. She added that it would be better to reduce training and focus on studying for the exam for a while.

“It’s actually a good thing. You’ve been training so hard that you need some time to heal your internal injuries. So why not take this opportunity to rest a bit and study?”

Jeong-hyeon gritted his teeth at her suggestion. He couldn’t afford to waste time on meaningless studying. As he pondered over a solution, he suddenly remembered one of his traits.

[Unrealistic Luck]

A level of luck higher than that of the Golden King Marco.

Thinking about it, he wondered if he could leverage this trait to easily pass the theory exam.

‘The only problem is figuring out how to apply this unrealistic luck.’

While he had experienced some fortunate events, it was hard to say they were directly influenced by this trait.

‘There’s no choice but to experiment.’

He decided to spend his spare time figuring out how to use this luck and where it could be applied. If he succeeded, passing the theory exam would be a breeze.

“Jeong-hyeon, I’m sorry to say this, but you looked like a really bad person just now…!”

As he was smiling to himself, Lucia, who was watching, said something in awe. However, it didn’t seem important, so he deliberately ignored it and pretended not to hear.

***

Time flew by in a whirlwind of activities, and the first day of the evaluation exams arrived. When he heard that Lea had asked Lucia if a priest had visited, he had initially thought, ‘I might get caught.’ However, he had managed to avoid detection.

‘Whether it was just luck or Lea deliberately leaving me alone, I don’t know.’

One thing was certain: during the joint exams, Lea would inevitably discover him. As an instructor, Lea would be there to oversee the exams, and naturally, she would see Jeong-hyeon participating.

‘This is so complicated it’s driving me crazy, but I need to focus on the exam now.’

If he got distracted and ended up scoring low on the exam, everything would be for nothing. So, he decided to concentrate as he looked at the test paper handed out to him.

[Choose the name of the first head of the Asiris family, who established the theory of swordsmanship.]

Jeong-hyeon slowly took out a hexagonal pencil and rolled it gently.

[3]

The number at the top.

Seeing it, he immediately wrote the answer on the answer sheet.

“……”

Jeong-hyeon relied solely on his [Unrealistic Luck] trait as he moved forward. Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him. Looking up, he saw a magic instructor in a typical mage’s robe and pointed hat, staring at him with a bewildered expression that seemed to say, ‘What on earth is this kid doing?’

‘I get it.’

It must have been like watching someone guess answers by rolling a pencil during the college entrance exams back in Korea. Acknowledging the instructor’s confusion, he gave a slight nod and continued to roll his pencil.

[3]

The same answer as the first question. Despite feeling an odd sense of unease, he decided to trust his luck and continued using the same method for the next question.

[3]

Once again, the same answer appeared. Jeong-hyeon closed his eyes, wondering if this was the end of his life.

***

To cut to the chase, Jeong-hyeon ended up scoring a perfect 100.

[1st Place – Lee Jeong-hyeon 100 points]

He achieved perfect scores on all questions.

‘Well, it’s expected.’

Having tested his method multiple times before the exam, he was confident he would get a good score, if not perfect.

‘And most importantly, the test being 100% multiple-choice helped a lot.’

While it didn’t make sense in reality, consi dering the original world was a game, he speculated that the limitations of game development might have led to such straightforward exam questions. Although he couldn’t be certain, he believed his theory was plausible unless someone had intentionally designed the test this way.

‘Unless someone deliberately made all the questions multiple-choice to boost the average theory test scores.’

This idea was merely a conspiracy theory without evidence, so Jeong-hyeon dismissed it and prepared for the next day’s exam. As he was about to leave, the magic instructor he had seen earlier stared at him in shock.

‘This must be what Munch’s The Scream feels like.’

Just then, a shocked voice came from beside him.

“Jeong-hyeon, why are you studying so well? Weren’t we on the same level?”

Lucia looked at him with a face full of betrayal. Jeong-hyeon responded briefly.

“We’re on the same level, I think.”

“Don’t lie…!”

“No, really, it’s just that I got lucky.”

Despite his honest words, Lucia didn’t believe him and looked like she was about to cry.

“I thought you weren’t studying, so I didn’t study at all… Now I might have to take remedial classes.”

That would be a problem. Jeong-hyeon didn’t like the idea of losing his free healer. As he pondered this, Lucia sighed and spoke.

“I’m not talking to you for a while, traitor…”

With that, she hung her head and trudged away. Jeong-hyeon watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to his own concerns.

‘Anyway, Lucia isn’t the priority right now.’

The joint exam tomorrow was what mattered. Heading to his usual training ground, he began to strategize his approach.

***

As soon as Erie returned to her dark room, devoid of even a speck of light, she carefully retrieved the “Dungeon Amplifier” she had hidden under her bed. The amplifier glowed with a sinister red light, and her lips trembled as she looked at it. Using this would undoubtedly lead to Lee Jeong-hyeon’s death.

‘Even though I dislike him.’

That wasn’t a good enough reason to kill him. She had asked Regina again if there was another way besides killing him.

– Erie, as I said, unless you eliminate the root of the problem, it will continue to haunt you. So, take any opportunity to get rid of it.

Regina had reiterated that there was no other way but elimination. Along with that, she added a warning.

– As you know, I despise anything that diminishes my value. So, if something tries to lower my worth… Hmm, never mind. Do well, Erie.

The implied threat was clear: if Erie failed, Regina would eliminate her. Faced with this ultimatum, Erie found herself at a crossroads.

She could either kill Lee Jeong-hyeon or do nothing and be killed by Regina. After much deliberation, she tucked the Dungeon Amplifier into her bosom.

‘I can’t die like this.’

She had worked tirelessly to make her way into the central political arena. She couldn’t let all that effort go to waste without even seeing it come to fruition. Determined, she decided to sacrifice Lee Jeong-hyeon and headed towards the dungeon where the joint exam would take place.

“Hmm… That’s quite an interesting item you have there.”

A woman’s voice, tinged with amusement, stopped Erie in her tracks.

“May I take a look at it?”

The woman who stopped her was smiling brightly as she reached out her hand to Erie.