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The Taoist Girl, who had collapsed, regained consciousness.

Only Jeong Gyeoul was standing unscathed on the island.

Everyone was taken down by Jeong Gyeoul, who was imitating a grizzly bear.

It happened exactly 21 seconds after she let out a roar.

No Awakened One could stand against the gray bear Jeong Gyeoul to stop her, or rather, it.

“Are you awake?”

“What on earth is this…?”

With still an hour left on the time limit.

The only Awakened One standing was herself.

She realized that clearing the scenario was a lost cause from the start.

“Wasn’t this impossible from the beginning…?”

“Exactly. It was impossible.”

“…Isn’t the program’s design flawed? There’s no way to beat an S-Class Hero.”

“Nobody said you had to win. The Goblin Team’s mission was to prevent the goblin kidnapping.”

The Taoist Girl slammed the floor in frustration.

“That’s saying it’s impossible!”

“Right, just like it’s impossible to escape from a grizzly, it was impossible to stop me from the start.”

“…?”

The Taoist Girl, who had been unconscious and missed the grizzly talk, couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation.

Jeong Gyeoul quickly continued, realizing her mistake.

She tried to rebuild her image by bringing up a story befitting an S-Class Hero and a senior in the industry.

“The goal is to evaluate the process, not the result. It’s not just about skill. If only skilled Awakened Ones were needed, we could just gather them all in one place, pour magic power, and be done with it. Personality, potential, qualities, etc. We’re not selecting completed heroes; we’re selecting Awakened Ones who can grow.”

“…Regardless, since we failed to complete the given mission, we’re out, right?”

Jeong Gyeoul chuckled and approached the Taoist Girl.

“Do I have a goblin in my hand now?”

“…Don’t torture me with false hope, just end it.”

The voice of the Taoist Girl, who had given up.

She wasn’t just saying it; she had genuinely tried to beat Jeong Gyeoul.

The sense of defeat was only greater.

“Frustrating, right? Feeling empty? Embarrassed to be beaten by a mere 15-year-old middle school girl? Wondering what talent is, how unfair heaven is. Why wasn’t I born like that? The world is just annoying, right?”

“…Are you mocking me?”

“Yes. I’m mocking you. Your talent surpasses mine. Even at the entry level of A-Class, you have a talent that can rival S-Class. What are you doing with that? Instead of feeling inferior, you should feel competitive and think about surpassing.”

“Nonsense! I haven’t rested a single moment since my Awakening. I’ve put in so much effort that I can beat almost any Awakened One of my level.”

Jeong Gyeoul felt sorry for the Taoist Girl, who was defining her own limits.

It wasn’t just the Taoist Girl.

How many among all these Awakened Ones have tried to push beyond their limits?

“Effort that makes you spit blood is good. But… have you really spat blood?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Do you know what happens when you spar with Ha-yul? First, full-body fractures. Even in the pain of bones piercing through our bodies, we don’t stop punching. Hayan knows, right? It’s the same with her. Even when magic pierces holes in our bodies, we continue sparring with a smile. She and I are both 15. Middle schoolers, yet we do that.”

The Taoist Girl couldn’t respond.

‘That’s no longer sparring…’

Jeong Gyeoul, smiling while talking, no longer felt like the same person.

Even if it was before seeing her skills, now it was impossible to dismiss all those words as lies.

That expression, that ease.

It felt like everything coming from Jeong Gyeoul’s mouth was true.

“Enough with the masochistic talk… Anyway, got it? Don’t just work hard enough to spit blood. Actually spit blood. If you still resent the heavens after that, come find me. I’ll make you capable of breaking even that resentful sky.”

Even that arrogant statement about breaking the sky didn’t feel like bluster.

She felt in her entire body that it wasn’t a lie.

An indescribable feeling swept through her body.

It felt like electricity was running from her tailbone to the top of her head.

Her figure walking away looked incredibly large.

‘That’s the Demon King…’

***

Why is she suddenly like that… is she scared?

She suddenly shivered in the middle of the conversation.

Is she getting scared in real-time?

The Elf Girl pretended not to notice, so I’ll pretend not to notice the Taoist Girl getting scared too.

I turned my back and moved as if checking on the others.

‘First time seeing someone get scared just from hearing about someone else’s workout…’

Maybe I planted too strong an image in the fresh Awakened One from the countryside.

What if she gets too scared to train later?

“Hey!”

“…?”

As if she had finished her business, the Taoist Girl called me.

“Will… will I get another chance?”

“Of course. I haven’t caught the goblin yet.”

To be precise, I chose not to catch it.

The Taoist Girl and the Elf Girl alone are worth passing the Goblin Team.

Three teams from Group A, three teams from Group B.

I don’t know how many will pass out of the six teams…

But the Taoist Girl and the Elf Girl could probably rise to the top even competing against them.

“What we need now isn’t a single hero, but leadership that can unite everyone. Not ‘Follow me! Kill Jeong Gyeoul!’ but someone who can hold hands and say ‘Let’s go together.'”

I don’t even know what I’m saying.

Can the Taoist Girl understand what I’m trying to say?

The core is one.

Struggling alone is useless, so gather the kids and gang up.

But I can’t really say that.

If things go according to plan, the Taoist Girl will be the Awakened One who goes to the end with me.

I need to act cool from now on.

“When the Elf Archer was struggling against me, you came right away, right? Did you think about the others then? They were probably lying in ambush according to their plan… but their ambush became useless.”

“P-please don’t call me Taoist Girl…”

“No. It rolls off the tongue nicely. Anyway, even if everyone united to face me, it wouldn’t be enough. They didn’t even try to coordinate… Do you understand why this result happened?”

“…”

The Taoist Girl seemed to have a lot to say.

Even I think there’s a lot to say.

Even if you devise the best strategy and display near-perfect teamwork.

The gray bear Jeong Gyeoul tears people apart.

Honestly, this was a mission with a predetermined outcome.

If I want to save them, I save them.

If I want to drop them all, I drop them all.

But I’ll give the Taoist Girl a chance.

Not just that, I’ll put her in the top ten at least.

Not just the Taoist Girl, but I also have some expectations for the Elf Archer and that guy from earlier.

Even if other Awakened Ones or viewers watching this program say it’s unfair, I don’t care.

Life is unfair.

If you don’t like it, come fight me?

The gray bear Jeong Gyeoul tears people apart.

“Anyway… I believe you understand. I’ll give you another chance, so I hope for a different result this time.”

“…Thank you.”

Doesn’t sound like gratitude.

Is that a nod supposed to be thanks?

I’m not a petty old-timer who’ll scold you for not bowing 90 degrees.

But if someone teaches you this passionately, shouldn’t you bow 120 degrees?

Kids these days. Tsk.

“Ah, I’m excluding that shuriken guy we left on the beach. He’s just out.”

“…Why?”

“He has the face of someone who’d abandon a hostage and run.”

“…?”

“Everything I’ve said so far doesn’t apply to that guy, so just keep that in mind.”

***

The Goblin Team eventually succeeded in stopping Jeong Gyeoul within the time limit.

To be precise, Jeong Gyeoul let them stop her.

‘If we didn’t do it this way, no one would pass. PD Choi knew that, so he didn’t impose any restrictions.’

The restriction to only use super abilities was just a precaution in case the Association found fault.

In fact, it didn’t matter if we tied arms, legs, blinded, or restricted magic power.

Because Jeong Gyeoul could kidnap the goblin even with just her body.

The other judges are the same.

The title of S-Class isn’t just the next level after A-Class.

‘We need the restriction of prior preparation… but a Taoist Girl who can go toe-to-toe with such an S-Class is a jackpot.’

If nurtured well, she could reach S-Class within ten years and hold her own against the Demon Realm’s lords.

Of course, that’s assuming she doesn’t know about talismans and spells, so it’s just a one-time thing.

But if she wins that first fight, it doesn’t matter.

Jeong Gyeoul brought the Goblin Team back to the studio.

“Is winter here?”

“…Already over? What’s the result?”

Thinking she’d be the fastest since she faced the fewest opponents.

But Park Seol-hwa was already sitting in the judge’s seat.

The Fox Team, with Lionel Medeiros from the Clock Tower.

“All failed.”

“What? Why?”

150 to 1.

The news that the team, which seemed the most likely to clear comfortably, had all failed, couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Did the Fox Team tease you about being an old maid?”

“…You’re the worst.”

“…Then what? Why did they all fail?”

“There’s something like that. I’ll tell you when the President arrives and the recording starts.”

About thirty minutes later, the Tiger Team, the group following Hwang Bo-seung from the Hwangbo family, returned.

“…Why are they like that?”

Their clothes were all torn or melted, and their skin was torn in places.

They walked in covered in blood like defeated soldiers.

Only Kim Yu-shin looked somewhat refreshed.

“…He did it.”

“…Has the President been stressed lately?”

Jeong Gyeoul and Park Seol-hwa could immediately tell what had happened.

‘Seol-hwa failing all 150, or Master beating them all… there are many problems. I’m the only sane one.’

‘To think I went on a Demon Realm expedition with people like this. It’s a miracle I’m still alive.’

 

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