In the Name of God - Chapter 25.1
“What is this? Even though I am wearing a temperature-regulating coat, why do I feel cold?”
I had been sitting quietly in the waiting room until my number was called, when a sudden chill made me rub my arms. Fortunately, the unsettling cold sensation quickly disappeared.
I stared steadily at the screen displayed on the waiting room monitor.
The vast exam hall had been divided into four zones, with hard tiles laid out broadly. In each square-shaped area, translucent barriers were now being erected. This was to prevent the aftermath of battles inside the barriers from spilling outward, and to stop outside interference from entering.
As I watched one examinee each with numbers 1 through 4 enter the four zones, Lee Sunho, who was sitting close beside me, spoke up.
“Wasn’t it noisy in the spectator seats earlier?”
“Yes, well….”
I already knew the reason it had been so loud.
“With the way he was staring so sharply, there was no way I would miss it.”
The news that Horizon’s vice clan leader had come to watch a lower promotion exam was probably spreading through all kinds of articles by now.
‘I get why he came.’
To watch Seong Do-yoon’s abilities?
No. That was not it.
He wanted Seong Do-yoon to give up the exam.
That was the answer.
‘Just the fact that he allowed Seong Do-yoon to apply shows that he never thought I would pass.’
Seong Do-wan knew very well about Seong Do-yoon’s weak mentality and frail body. If it were me, and it was the pre-possession Seong Do-yoon, I would have thought that just having the courage to apply was impressive enough, let alone passing.
‘And yet he deliberately showed himself openly. That was probably to pressure Seong Do-yoon.’
If it were the Seong Do-yoon that Seong Do-wan knew, just knowing that his older brother was sitting openly in the stands, glaring at him, would already have made him shrink back.
Even without hearing words like “Do not disgrace the family name” or “Know your place and get lost,” he would have interpreted Seong Do-wan’s gaze that way. That was surely what Seong Do-wan intended.
Once that kind of trauma took root, it would be extremely difficult for Seong Do-yoon to muster the courage to apply for the exam again. He might even end up not only remaining stuck at Grade 9 forever, but hiding the fact that he was an Awakener altogether.
But Seong Do-wan had overlooked one thing.
I was Seong Do-yoon, but I was not Seong Do-yoon.
“Who do you think gets to decide whether I give up the exam?”
Whether Seong Do-wan appeared or not, I fully intended to pass the exam with confidence.
Without getting injured anywhere, with overwhelming skill, in a way no one could dare look down on.
I sneered inwardly at Seong Do-wan and focused my gaze. Beyond the camera filming the exam hall, I briefly caught sight of Seong Do-wan.
“You are not in a position to be worrying about your younger brother’s exam right now. You should be worried about being used by me.”
Having a personality that was not particularly kind, I decided to give Seong Do-wan a small taste of humiliation for showing up at the exam hall just as I expected. Along with that, I began laying out one useful plan after another to exploit him in the future.
Time passed quickly.
“Examinee number 198, please enter Barrier D.”
When my number was called, I glanced down at the tag labeled “198” pinned to my chest and stood up. Lee Sunho, number 211, who had been sitting quietly beside me, broke into a bright smile.
“Go on ahead and wait.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Once you pass the individual match, you move straight to the team match waiting room. If I passed here, I would not be able to return to this place where Lee Sunho was, so we agreed to meet again in the next waiting room.
I took a few steps forward, then looked back at Lee Sunho. When our eyes met, he smiled warmly.
There was not even a trace of tension or worry on his face.
“You do not think I will fail?”
“No. Not at all.”
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