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The set was much quieter than when everyone first gathered, with less than half remaining.

Fox Team. The fastest to be completely eliminated.

Tiger Team. Managed to eliminate a few, but most passed.

Goblin Team. All passed except for one.

With 163 people gone, it was natural for things to feel empty.

“Stand by, please! Recording will start in 5 minutes!”

The association’s paramedics and healing heroes tended to the injured.

Everyone had lunch with the lunch boxes prepared by the production team.

They prepared 600 lunch boxes, thinking ahead…

But with a high ratio of Physical Category Awakened Ones and their rough handling of their bodies, they managed to devour them all.

Jeong Gyeoul was assigned 20 lunch boxes.

It was an open secret that she devoured all 20 lunch boxes on the spot.

After about an hour of rest,

the recording began.

“Awakened Ones who survived the second round, congratulations.”

Clap, clap, clap—

The sound of half-hearted applause filled the air.

The Goblin Team seemed deep in thought.

The Tiger Team looked too tired to clap.

“First, we heard the shocking news that the Fox Team was completely eliminated. Judge Park Seol-hwa?”

“Yes.”

“Could you explain what happened?”

Park Seol-hwa picked up the microphone on the table.

“The Fox Team’s mission was to rescue the Fox Monster from me. I was in the villain position, kidnapping civilians, and the Fox Team was in the hero position, rescuing them. Other teams had similar missions, right?”

Geum Yu-na nodded enthusiastically, holding her cue card.

“All scenarios in the second round were hero vs. villain setups. Either protecting or rescuing hostages.”

“Rescuing hostages. Literally, rescuing civilians kidnapped by villains… but they attacked me right from the start.”

Jeong Gyeoul and Kim Yu-shin, who had been listening intently, let out a hollow laugh, seemingly baffled.

The Fox Monster rescue scenario.

The Fox Team, assigned the opposite mission of the Goblin Team.

Led by Lionel Medeiros, they immediately launched an attack on Park Seol-hwa.

After the ranged attackers finished their cycle, the melee attackers followed.

But nowhere was there any concern for the Fox Monster’s safety.

“I even warned them nicely. Your mission isn’t to kill me but to rescue the Fox Monster. But the Fox Team kept attacking as if it didn’t matter.”

The scenario’s goal was to rescue civilians from villain Park Seol-hwa.

But it looked more like Park Seol-hwa was protecting the civilians while the Awakened Ones played the villains.

“I even held the Fox Monster in my arms, thinking they might hesitate, but they still attacked. If even one person had hesitated, I might have let it continue… but I had to subdue and eliminate them all.”

“That’s quite the story, Hero Park Seol-hwa. What should the Fox Team have done in that situation?”

It wasn’t written on the cue card.

An ad-lib in the right situation.

The PD and writers watching Geum Yu-na smiled contentedly.

“First, they should have negotiated with me.”

“Negotiating with the Guild Leader… what if the negotiation failed?”

“Judging the situation comes first. Retreat, gather information, make a plan. Only move when you’re confident. Not just attack recklessly.”

“…But in any situation, wouldn’t rescuing hostages from Guild Leader Park Seol-hwa be an impossible mission?”

Geum Yu-na’s question echoed what the Taoist Girl had said to Jeong Gyeoul.

Many people seemed to think the same.

“Originally, no team could beat the judges. Whether it’s the three teams in A or B, it’s the same. No matter how well the participants perform or what amazing abilities they show. We just pass or fail them as we see fit. You might think there’s a problem with the program’s design… but S-Class heroes are beyond the norm. From the moment we were invited as judges, the program couldn’t run normally.”

“R-really?”

Geum Yu-na seemed flustered by the deeper-than-expected discussion.

She had expected a simple explanation like, “We did this and that, so we passed them.”

But the conversation had turned to the program’s planning.

Worried she had made things awkward, she glanced at PD Choi, who actually seemed pleased.

They needed to understand why the judges were judges.

And why one judge could handle one team.

This scenario wasn’t designed to beat the judges.

It was about catching their interest.

And standing out in their eyes.

That was all.

Park Seol-hwa had perfectly nailed the intent of the second round, and there was no reason to dislike that.

“So… instead of trying to beat us, it was about how well you solved the given scenario. Judge Jeong Gyeoul, could you briefly explain how you passed 49 participants?”

“…Well, it seemed like no one understood the scenario’s purpose, so I explained that the goal was to evaluate the process, not the result, after knocking everyone out.”

Jeong Gyeoul calmly answered the sudden question and put down the microphone.

“As you heard, even a 15-year-old middle schooler understood the second round’s intent. You might think we were briefed beforehand… but we only found out what the second round was about when we arrived on set. We hardly had time to talk.”

This made anyone saying otherwise seem out of place.

By involving Jeong Gyeoul, they preemptively blocked any nonsense about the intent being too obscure or how anyone was supposed to actively judge in an audition.

“Then, how did the Tiger Team’s results come about?”

Kim Yu-shin, who had been quietly listening, picked up the microphone.

Park Seol-hwa glanced at him with a slightly uneasy look.

‘He looks like he just came to relieve stress…’

After diligently shielding the program and minimizing unnecessary talk,

if Kim Yu-shin said, “I didn’t know about that,” everything said so far would lose meaning.

“The process was more important than the result. I agree a hundred times. Saying more would just be repeating what the two before me said. So I’ll stop here. Watch the broadcast to see how the Tiger Team passed.”

“…An answer that already shows a mind for broadcasting. Now, the judges will hold a meeting to select the finalists. Participants, please rest in the provided waiting room.”

Only 50 finalists from the Goblin and Tiger Teams combined.

Now, it was time for the judges’ war.

“Our team’s participants are quite good. About 40 should go to the Goblin Team?”

“What nonsense, the Tiger Team has true warriors. Even if all 50 were from the Tiger Team, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“The Taoist Girl you made such a fuss about being unique is on our team?”

“Being unique alone doesn’t make a hero.”

“The Taoist Girl can teleport, though? There are some restrictions.”

“…That is quite unique.”

The conversation devolved into chaos, and Park Seol-hwa couldn’t hold back.

“Let’s just pick 25 from each team. Stop this irrational, illogical talk.”

“…How is that fair? The Tiger Team has 100 members. Even after eliminating some, it’s nearly double the Goblin Team.”

Kim Yu-shin looked like he wouldn’t back down.

“…Gyeoul takes 20, President takes 30. Let’s end it there.”

“No, at least 40 from the Tiger Team.”

“The Goblin Team should have 40. Why should we have 20? I can’t accept that. Let’s settle this with a sparring match. The winner takes all.”

“Hey, you ate 15 lunch boxes and lost your conscience too? You want to beat up an old man to feel better?”

This time, even Park Seol-hwa had to side with Kim Yu-shin.

“Right, Gyeoul… even if you can’t respect the elderly, you shouldn’t attack them.”

“…Are you really on my side? Feels like you’re taking advantage.”

“How did you notice? You must still be sharp.”

“Stuck in your room playing with potions, you don’t even know if I’m sharp, you hikikomori.”

“What? Do you know what would happen to the world without my potions? Should I hold a press conference and say it’s all because of Korea’s S-Class hero Kim Yu-shin?”

The dignified demeanor they showed while mentoring their teams was gone.

This meeting was full of children.

In the end, PD Choi and Writer Wang stepped in to mediate,

and they agreed to pick 25 from each team.

***

The rest period before the finals.

With the association’s support, everyone healed completely,

prepared their minds, and trained.

A week flew by.

The judges from Teams A and B all gathered,

and all 100 participants were in place.

The finals had begun.

 

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