What he heard next was a strike and another strike, and then yet another. Incredibly fast. They could be heard from far away, more bells, all ringing together. A symphony of bells ringing, calling each other, their sound getting louder and louder. Feeding off each other reverberation. The stone gaining power by the second.
The wolves scattered. The Wolf King screaming, being hit by the stone in the middle of the forehead, the stone had broken through its skull. It fell dead.
Seungho exhausted leaned against the wall and slid down. Sitting on the floor, he knew he was now safe.
Sanghyun-nim really knows his stuff.
"Now it is over, I made it."
He smiled.
.
Suddenly.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. ...
The points started coming in. The screen flashed. 62. 72. 102. 202. He stopped counting.
He got up in a jump full of energy, ecstatic, his pupils dilated.
He felt he could have knocked down the Wolf King if he had wanted.
.
[ TIME LEFT TO COMPLETION: 0 MINUTES ]
.
[ CONGRATULATIONS ]
[ BELL COURSE: COMPLETED ]
[ STROKE COUNT: 222 BELL ]
[ ECHO CHAIN: 17x ]
[ REWARD POINTS: 222 → 3 REMAINING ]
[ NEW ABILITY: ECHO MASTERY UNLOCKED ]
.
The room went dark, and a door opened.
As Seungho was walking out he thanked the fog. For the first time in his life, he felt it was his ally.
.
Something felt off. How come it was so easy to earn so many points?
Then yes, the Duke had crazy points, but the gap between her points and any trainee didn't seem so huge.
Plus, if he had earned 222 points but was left with 3 points to distribute in his stats…, where did they all go?
It occurred to him to ask the system about costs.
.
[ COST CHARTING ]
[ ENERGY REFILL COST: 99 POINTS ]
[ SELF-HEALING COST: 20 POINTS ]
[ ABILITY UPGRADE: SMELL | ECHO MASTERY ]
[ SMELL UPGRADE COST: 50 POINTS ]
[ ECHO MASTERY UPGRADE COST: 50 POINTS ]
.
[ CURRENT STATUS ]
[ ENERGY LEVEL: 100% ]
[ SMELL ABILITY: LEVEL 1 | SMELL RANGE: 20 METERS ]
[ ECHO MASTERY: LEVEL 2 | 17x ]
[ REWARD POINTS LEFT: 3 POINTS ]
.
[ Would you like to check your stats? ]
.
He dismissed the screen without answering.
The rest of the points went to keeping me alive, and the upgrades.
Smell ability upgrade was what hurt the most.
Fifty points and for what?? Smell more?
It seems upgrades are automatically performed.
"Hold future upgrades, please."
.
[ UPGRADE HOLD: UNAVAILABLE ]
[ ABILITY UPGRADES: COMPULSORY ]
[ AUTOMATIC PROCESSING UPON REACHING THRESHOLD ]
.
I can't choose abilities, and on top I can't choose whether to upgrade them or not. There are things the systems for itself, maybe? chose for me.
Never mind.
He hadn't hurt himself this time. Not significantly like hitting the side of a mountain during the climb. So only 20 points for basic healing made sense, but basic healing was always needed. He should remember 20 points was the baseline.
Then it hurt all over again.
Only 3 points!? After all that effort?
The Duke is going to kill me.
He laughed nervously.
But it seemed he had forgotten to ask himself what it meant for his growth as a hunter.
***
Seungho exited the simulation. Full of energy and surprisingly resolute to succeed in earning his place in the team.
I made it through. Maybe the other trainees do it better, but I am improving. I will be part of the team by the end of the week.
It was a promise to himself.
His mind focused, sharp.
Seungho put a hand on his chest to feel his heart still beating. He looked up and let his shoulders fall, enjoying that very moment, of being still alive.
I am not really sure how the other trainees manage to get out of these trainings so confidently.
It was strange. He should be sweating because of the risks for his life he had just gone through. And yet, the thrill was so great, he didn't care. Actually, he was kind of kin to go through it again.
Seungho realized he was in a particularly good mood.
It seems the self-repair doesn't just fix my body, but also my mood. Yes, why shouldn't it work this way?
And why shouldn't he feel positive? He had just defeated the Wolf King.
I should check my stats.
He looked around before opening his screen. The place was a desert. He moved close to the wall, just around the corner. Just in case.
The stats displayed the same values as before except the three meager points he had earned this round and had yet to allocate.
Still he felt satisfied. He skipped a step and went to take a shower before lunch. He had questions, he could ask his teammates.
He took a long shower. Shampooing his hair he went through all that had happened during the Bell Course.
He touched his arm. There was a spot on his forearm. Not a cut or a bruise. A thin line, precise but ragged. Like a crack.
From the Bell Course? Why didn't it heal?
I guess it will soon. Maybe it will take my last 3 points.
He laughed at his own joke, and continued soaping up.
The crazy number of bells he hit at the very end rang in his ears. Having earned three points felt a little unfair. He worried other trainees earned a lot more than he did. He didn't want to be at the bottom of the ladder.
He checked Minjun's stats.
I shouldn't, I know, but just this one more time.
He searched for his name in the catalog and gave the command to open it.
Buzz.
The screen couldn't open it.
He tried again.
Buzz.
And a third time.
Buzz.
He frowned.
Why isn't it working?
The file seemed locked.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide.
What if he checked his profile so often a restriction was put in place.
He blushed in frustration.
Did I check his profile that much?
He wanted to ask the system the exact number, but then felt embarrassed. He probably did check that too many times to prompt a block.
He waved the screen away, with a gesture in between annoyed and abashed.
I hope I don't cross Minjun-ssi anywhere.
He decided not to dry his hair, and instead chose to go straight to the cafeteria to check the food. The good thing there was the food did have a decent taste. He looked forward to it.
As he exited the locker, he heard a girl cry. A quiet cry, suppressing her desperation.
He stopped and turned to look what it was all about.
There she was, one of the trainees who had mocked him earlier that morning, pouring her soul out. Another female trainee was sitting next to her on the bench holding her by the shoulders. Her face twisted in anguish, she seemed inconsolable.
More trainees from the same group were standing in front of her. When they realized Seungho was watching, they stood closer together to prevent him from catching any more sight of her desperation.
One of them turned and glared at him with disdain.
He said loudly, wanting to be heard:
"Tsk, I bet he is rejoicing standing there, watching."
"Yeah, look at his face."
As if Seungho didn't have a right to complain about their attitude towards him.
I am not making any kind of face.
Was Seungho's only thought.
Others joined in, but quickly her crying reclaimed their attention.
Seungho moved along, expressionless. He put his hands in his pockets, wondering what had happened to that girl.
In the corridor, he came across two more trainees wearing the same emerald green tracksuits.
"Poor Arang-ssi, having to leave like this is horrible, not even defeated, not once," said one pulling the other closer to whisper the words.
"I don't know what I would do if I were kicked out because of points…" said the other shaking her head at the thought.
Seungho stopped. He needed a moment to digest what he had just heard.
So, you can get cut out because of points, even if undefeated? How many points do I need minimum?
Then it sank. All of a sudden.
She was cut. She had points. How many? Enough? Not enough? What's the number? What's the number, really?
Seungho wanted points. Not just to have them because he needed them. With points he could easily quantify how much effort and the kind of effort he needed to do to pass. Like he had done in school. He was good at that.
He opened his screen.
He scrutinized the information. Nowhere was there a limit set for points to pass. Nothing suggested there was such a number.
He simply asked his system.
Buzz.
.
[ EXPULSION THRESHOLD: NOT SPECIFIED ]
[ PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: DUKE'S TEAM ACCEPTANCE (PENDING) ]
.
Seungho worried. He had already been wrong with the Bell Course.
He held his chin with his fingers.
"Screen."
"Can someone set a minimum value in points to be..." he hesitated. "...to be expelled from Entre?"
.
[ YES. ]
[ VALUE: 0 POINTS IN ANY ONE STAT CATEGORY ]
.
He looked at his stats. Mana: 30. Synergy: 30.
One hit, one mistake could be enough to knock those values to zero. That's all it takes.
Seungho had been right. That was a possibility he would be kicked out if he didn't take into account his scores. It wasn't just about preserving the body of a hunter or winning against a monster. It all came down to two things: the Duke's approval and not losing points. He needed to follow orders, not to kickstart the points.
This meant he had to make sure he distributed his points differently, where it was needed.
He wanted to check for his stats again to make sure he had things in order. But it was already too late. The screen had been locked. Seungho panicked.