Genius Swordsman In Reverse Game

Yoo-ri's aggro skill enveloped the entire student body, and their gazes were fixed on one spot.

The scene that unfolded before them was Yoo-ri, together with Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee. They were aware that Do-hee and Se-hee had joined forces, but as Se-hee had not engaged Yoo-ri and was instead facing Do-hee in a one-on-one situation, the students had focused on their own battles, trusting in their leader.

"The chief is in danger! Do-hee and Se-hee are ganging up on her, 2 against 1!"

Lee Min-young, in the midst of her own intense battle, had only just realized the situation and shouted out a command. But her words were sharply cut off by Se-hee's voice.

"Everyone, please stop fighting for a moment and listen to me."

Se-hee bowed deeply to the students, a surprising action that immediately caused an uproar.

"Huh?"

"What's she doing?"

"Is she surrendering?"

"Se-hee-nim! What are you doing?!"

Se-hee kept her eyes on the battlefield, her expression calm as she caught her breath.

'…For now, I've succeeded in getting their attention.'

She recalled what Jin Yuha had asked of her earlier.

-You need to unite the students.

-Me? Unite them?

-Yes, if we're attacked by dangerous outsiders while we're fighting each other, they'll take advantage of the chaos.

-They'll exploit that…

– Yes, that's right. We should be uniting, not fighting among ourselves. If we don't, we'll just be easy prey for any dangers that come our way. So let's stop this fighting and come together as one."

'…Does this man truly understand the request he's making?'

These students had been fighting fiercely, brandishing blades at each other.

Of course, they knew that death in this battlefield didn't lead to actual death, and they weren't strangers to each other, so when the battle first started, there was a light-hearted atmosphere with humor sprinkled throughout.

-Look at these clowns. This is hilarious.

-And what are you supposed to be, a medieval knight?

-Have you seen a bronze mirror lately?

But as the hours ticked by…

The battle raged on, and the students became increasingly desperate, as if they were fighting a real war.

-Die!!! You half-baked beastly brats!!!

-Grr, you lackeys of capitalism…!

While death wasn't permanent, the pain was very real, and the blood that was shed fueled madness. If they didn't receive treatment in time, wounds would leave scars.

In this situation, if one group had been overwhelmingly dominant, perhaps things would've been different. But with the battle evenly matched, the students became deeply immersed in their roles, and the madness grew into a wave larger than expected.

It was concerning enough that they'd have to worry about factions forming among the students after the test.

'Unite these people… during the battle, no less. Not after it's over… This is a tall order.'

-I know it's a difficult request. But this is something only you can do.

As Jin Yuha said this, his eyes shone with trust. Faced with that gaze, she couldn't bring herself to refuse, no matter how challenging the task seemed.

'He always makes such unreasonable requests…'

Pfft-

Se-hee let out a light laugh and then scanned the students before her.

'What happens from now on is crucial. Now we need to persuade them and unite them. Use what you're best at, what you're confident in. That is, a lie mixed with truth.'

Shin Se-hee spoke in a small but clear voice. "Everyone must be confused, but first, look around you."

The cadets frowned and looked around. kang Do-hee and Lee Yoo-ri, who were standing next to her, also looked around at the other cadets.

"What are we supposed to be looking at…? Wha-what is this…?"

Lee Yoo-ri's eyes widened in shock. Kang Do-hee also looked startled, although she didn't make a sound.

"When… when did the number of people decrease like this?"

Lee Yoo-ri's voice echoed their sentiments. The cadets looked around in confusion, realizing the situation belatedly.

It was inevitable. Initially, there had been almost a full-scale battle with a large number of people, but now only about a third of the cadets remained. It was impossible not to feel something was amiss.

As if proving the saying, "an assassination is only an assassination if it's not discovered," Jin Yuha had stealthily infiltrated the group of cadets and sent back to the airship those who had seen him, without anyone else noticing!

Shin Se-hee decided to exploit this very point. She was certain that the others hadn't realized what she herself had only noticed when she briefly stepped away from the battlefield to catch her breath.

What an incredible person.

She paused, admiring Jin Yuha inwardly, before continuing.

"Isn't it odd that so many people have disappeared from this place, and no one noticed?"

"Huh? What… what's going on? Did you guys capture them all or something?"

Lee Yoo-ri asked, her face filled with confusion. Shin Se-hee slowly shook her head.

"No, if that were the case, there would have been a dramatic change in the number of coins we hold. With nearly two-thirds of the people gone, the number of coins should have increased proportionally, don't you think?"

The cadets checked their coins and those of their peers. While the remaining cadets' coins had increased slightly, it wasn't a dramatic change. Confusion spread across their faces as they realized this.

Shin Se-hee gave them a moment to process the current situation before continuing.

"We didn't realize the true purpose of this test at all."

"…"

"This midterm evaluation was never meant for us to fight amongst ourselves. Rather, it was meant for us to face an external enemy other than ourselves."

Clack

Shin Se-hee took a step forward.

"In other words, the fights between us cadets were merely bait."

Shin Se-hee's clear voice hit the cadets like a slap to the back of their heads. The dazed cadets soon snapped out of their stupor, their faces filled with bewilderment.

"You mean… so what have we been doing all this time…?"

"Have we been… taking the test wrong…?"

"Then, who the hell have we been fighting…?"

A sense of emptiness began to spread among the cadets, who had been sweating and bleeding during the test.

However, there were some who couldn't just accept this at face value.

"This is a joke… a joke!!! It's a trick! Chief Lee Yoo-ri! Don't fall for the slick tongue of that wicked snake!!!!"

The voice belonged to Lee Min-young, who had been claiming to be Lee Yoo-ri's right-hand person.

'Hmm, as expected… they won't let it slide just like that.'

Shin Se-hee had anticipated this reaction and smiled.

"Then I will prove it. I swear there is not a single lie in what I just said."

"...How, how can you prove something that doesn't exist!"

Shin Se-hee slowly turned his head to look at Lee Yoo-ri, who was standing there with a confused expression on his face.

"I admit that I have led the students astray, and I will give up all the coins I have here."

.

.

.

Shock.

There was no other word to describe the situation.

Cheonhwa, the most likely winner of the mid-term evaluation and the one with the most coins.

He had just declared that she would withdraw from the game.

Everyone was so confused that they forgot they were in the middle of a fight and started talking to each other.

"...Did I just hear what I think I heard?"

"She's giving up his coins?"

"Huh? Can she do that…?"

"...I have no idea."

Shin Se-hee was one of the people who had delved deepest into the "coin system" in this mid-term evaluation.

She had figured out whether it was possible for students to exchange coins with each other.

She had also discovered the limits of what could be bought and sold at the store, and whether purchased items could be resold.

She had even figured out how to exponentially increase the number of coins.

It was only when the homunculus, who looked exactly like the Chairman, begged her to leave that Shin Se-hee was able to find a few loopholes.

'...Hmph, I never thought I'd use this in such a way.'

And in a way that was so unlike her.

Although it would have been a greater proof if she had died at Lee Yoo-ri's hands at this moment.

Somehow, she didn't want that.

Shin Se-hee shot a large fireball not at someone, but into the empty air.

Shuuuuu–

The fireball flew vertically, cutting through the empty air. Everyone's gaze followed the trail of the fire.

Since her magic didn't hit anything, it simply disappeared into the distance as a tiny dot.

"Kkeuk!"

As her mana amount instantly dropped to 0, a painful backlash scraped through her blood vessels.

Terrible pain assaulted her.

With trembling hands, Shin Se-hee quickly drank a mana potion.

Gulp–

Woong–!

In an instant, her body became blurry and then clear again.

And on her chest, there remained only

[0 coins]

Her coins had been reset.

Shin Se-hee wiped the blood that had flowed out of the corner of her mouth with the cloth that Jin Yuha had tied for her, looking at the dazed students.

"Has my sincerity been proven now?"

It was a cool smile, as if it had been drawn in a picture.