How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 12. The Race

“Karla Arlen.”

At the sudden call of her name, Karla Arlen flinched, turning her body with a start.

‘…Kim Do-jin?’

It was one thing to be sought after, but to find that it was Kim Do-jin was truly perplexing.

‘Why is this person looking for me?’

Karla Arlen stared at Kim Do-jin with wide, astonished eyes, while he, oblivious to her expression, spoke directly to the matter at hand.

“What do you think about helping each other in this exam?”

An unexpected proposal from an unexpected person.

“……”

Karla Arlen, silent, scrutinized Kim Do-jin’s face before asking again.

“Just the two of us?”

“Yeah.”

“…How would that work?”

Kim Do-jin gestured subtly toward a distant, towering cliff, his eyes glinting with purpose.

“My superpower is rock manipulation. As you can see, most of the obstacles are made of stone, and I can twist them at will.”

Indeed, with Kim Do-jin’s assistance, it seemed they could significantly shorten their completion time.

But cooperation meant a mutual exchange of aid.

“……”

After a moment of contemplation, Karla Arlen showed interest and inquired.

“So, what do I need to do?”

Kim Do-jin nodded, as if pleased with her question, and replied.

“The course is long-distance. With the magic power of high schoolers like us, it’s clearly impossible to traverse without rest. So, we’ll need to recharge our mana along the way, and if you help me, we can cut down that time, right?”

Karla Arlen possessed another superpower: ‘Energy Recharge’ and ‘Energy Transfer.’

Her abilities, like others, consumed mana to activate, meaning they couldn’t be used indefinitely, but Karla Arlen was an exception.

Her ‘Energy Recharge’ ability allowed her mana to replenish at a pace far quicker than others.

Thanks to this, her ‘Mana Heart’ was always brimming, like a battery plugged into a charger.

It was also why she could remain in a state of invisibility 24/7, 365 days a year.

And her other ability, ‘Energy Transfer,’ allowed her to share her overflowing mana with others.

In essence, to her companions, Karla Arlen was akin to an everlasting auxiliary battery.

“I’ll help you break through obstacles, and you’ll recharge my mana… There’s really no reason not to cooperate, is there?”

“…….”

Karla Arlen, after a brief moment of contemplation, ultimately accepted Kim Do-jin’s proposal.

Yet.

“Alright. Then it is cooperation.”

There was something slightly off about the words.

“…….”

In truth, Karla Arlen was still clumsy with the Korean language.

Thanks to the remarkable Awakened, led by Cheon Sang-seok, South Korea had risen to become one of the world’s great powers, and the number of people learning Korean had surged exponentially.

Moreover, as a student of ‘Arc,’ everyone was expected to learn Korean to a level nearly equivalent to their mother tongue, yet Karla Arlen still occasionally stumbled over her words.

“As long as the meaning gets across, right?”

Kim Do-jin chose not to point out Karla Arlen’s verbal missteps, and the two began to prepare for the impending test.

“It will start soon.”

As Kim Do-jin checked the sword and equipment strapped to his waist one last time.

[10, 9, 8…….]

At last, the countdown began.

[…3, 2, 1, beep!]

With a piercing mechanical sound, the barrier that had been raised before them crashed down to the ground with a clang.

And in that moment, nearly a thousand students surged forward in unison.

– Thud thud thud thud thud!

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and a whirlwind of sand rose in the chaos, while Kim Do-jin and Karla Arlen also sprinted ahead with fervor.

But then.

– Bang!

As if to mock the 999 students racing ahead, a man suddenly leapt upward, kicking off the ground with force.

And soon after.

– Flap!

With enormous wings unfurled, the man soared into the vast sky—none other than David Yelinek.

A German exchange student from Class 1-4, he was regarded as one of the leading candidates for top of the year, much like Lee Jin-ryul.

‘First place is out of reach now.’

David Yelinek’s physical transformation ability, the ‘White Feather Wings,’ was superior to any other student’s power for this test, a privilege he was rightfully entitled to.

“Ha… isn’t that cheating?”

Of course, the 999 students felt their resolve wane in the face of that unfair supernatural ability, yet the battle for second place was far from over.

“Second place is good enough, right? This isn’t the only test we have.”

Kim Do-jin swallowed his lingering disappointment and ran with all his might, soon enough, the real obstacles began to reveal themselves.

A swamp stretching over 50 meters and thorny thickets scattered about were just that.

“Urrrgh!”

The students leaped as far as they could, then either pushed through the swamp with sheer strength or utilized their own powers to overcome the barriers.

“What will you do?”

Of course, Kim Do-jin was one to use his powers.

“Come here.”

He called Carla Arlen to a corner of the swampy area.

– Shwaaarak!

He sent the flat stones around him flying one by one, creating stepping stones.

“Go ahead. I’ll follow right after.”

Carla Arlen nodded and leaped without hesitation.

– Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Kim Do-jin watched as she stepped lightly on the stones, then followed closely behind.

“Oh! I’ll come too!”

But someone else trailed behind Kim Do-jin.

– Whoosh!

There was no way he would let that happen.

“Ahh!”

– Thud!

Kim Do-jin, remembering to clear the stepping stones he had already crossed, leaped forward and finally cleared the swamp.

– Thump!

With a soft landing, Kim Do-jin and Carla Arlen dashed forward side by side.

Time passed, and after overcoming six more obstacles, a cliff finally loomed ahead.

“Up close, it’s much larger than I thought.”

The sheer, towering rock face was so steep that the unawakened dared not even consider climbing it.

This, too, was one of the obstacles in this trial.

“Where shall we go?”

Once again, Carla Arlen asked, and Kim Do-jin twirled the leather gloves on his hands as he replied.

“Of course, we must head to the cliff.”

Here, the students had two choices.

Would they scale the steep cliff to save time?

Or would they take the longer, safer detour?

Unless one was indifferent to rankings, it was clear that high risk meant high reward in this place.

“Is there a good way?”

In response to Carla Arlen’s question, Kim Do-jin did not explain but instead shattered a section of the cliff with his psychic power.

– Crack!

A boulder the size of a fist broke free, and it was evident that now they could easily secure their hands and feet.

“Follow me.”

This time, Kim Do-jin took the lead.

– Crack!

As he continued to create cracks while climbing, Carla Arlen closely pursued him.

– Flap! Crack!

Time passed once more.

“Ha…”

Even with a body enhanced by mana, climbing a vertical incline for minutes on end was no easy feat.

So he paused for a moment, glancing down.

“Ugh…!”

To his surprise, Carla Arlen was lagging behind.

‘As a psychic specialized in support, her physical abilities seem rather lacking…’

Kim Do-jin leisurely looked down, waiting for her to catch up, while Carla Arlen diligently continued her ascent.

But then, in that moment…

“Uh?”

Carla Arlen, distracted for an instant, lost her footing and began to topple.

“Ahh!”

She flailed desperately to regain her balance, but ultimately let out a scream as she began to fall.