The Blessing of Tranquility.
Kim Ra-hee, the female student with gray hair, only knew how to use this one blessing. She couldn't even use the strength enhancement blessing that even three-year-old children could handle.
Therefore, she refined the blessing of tranquility to its limits. After relentless effort, she finally became able to handle the advanced blessing of tranquility.
Except for Seong Ha-yeon who possessed the 'Blood of Purification', there was no one who could maintain their sanity after being hit by Kim Ra-hee's blessing.
All those who were hit by her blessing collapsed on the spot without exception. There were no exceptions.
However, now an exception had emerged.
"Huff, huff...!"
Kim Ra-hee looked at Do Seon-woo who was breathing roughly.
He had driven away the drowsiness through deep breathing and ultimately did not fall asleep. Do Seon-woo was the first to maintain his sanity after taking a direct hit from the advanced blessing of tranquility.
'Did he endure it with mental strength? Is he crazy?'
When hit by the advanced blessing of tranquility, drowsiness so strong that it cannot be endured by will alone comes crashing down. Literally drowsiness that 'cannot be endured by will'.
To endure that, one must have extremely strong mental strength. Or be suffering from mental disorders so serious that they absolutely cannot fall asleep.
Either way, the fact that he was a dangerous human was clear.
Kim Ra-hee suddenly felt fear toward the man standing before her.
* * *
The gray-haired female student who cast the advanced blessing of tranquility. Her name was Kim Ra-hee. I could tell because there was a name tag attached to her left chest.
Anyway, the power of the blessing Kim Ra-hee used was tremendous. The drowsiness brought by the advanced blessing of tranquility was too powerful and at the same time sweet.
I too almost lost consciousness and fell asleep at first. It was not something that could be endured by will or mental strength alone.
However, at some point I suddenly woke up. My dazed consciousness also became clear when I regulated my breathing.
I couldn't understand the reason. It was a phenomenon I couldn't comprehend even myself.
[The blessing that woman uses is closer to a curse than a blessing. Therefore, I absorbed her blessing.]
Eventually, Legba explained the reason.
[As you know, Loa who handle curses also dwell in your body. Absorbing blessings or curses is nothing at all. Well, it seems I couldn't absorb it perfectly because there's no altar.]
I wanted to express my gratitude to Legba right away, but Kim Ra-hee and Seong Ha-yeon were still in front of me. It wasn't time to leisurely express gratitude.
They were 'attackers' who came to destroy the cart and eliminate us. I had to protect the cart from them.
Fortunately, there was a way. The method of driving them away by force using a low-grade strength enhancement blessing circle or using Bosu's power.
I could use Bosu's power for only a very brief moment, but that would be enough to drive them away. If that didn't work, I could just carry the cart and run away.
First, I drew a low-grade strength enhancement blessing circle. Soon light poured out from the blessing circle and enveloped my body. I could feel that my strength had clearly become stronger than before.
In that state, when I walked trudgingly toward Kim Ra-hee and Seong Ha-yeon, Kim Ra-hee hurriedly stepped backward.
"Wa-wait. Wait! Don't come. I said don't come!"
Thud.
Kim Ra-hee, who had been stepping backward with a face full of fear, tripped over tree roots and fell. She sat down and opened her mouth with a dazed face.
"Could you just let us go...?"
She looked up at me with sparkling eyes. She seemed to be trying to buy sympathy, but no matter how I looked at it, it was acting.
To me, a master of lies and acting, Kim Ra-hee's intentions were obvious.
"Why. So you can come back with friends?"
I said while taking a step toward Kim Ra-hee. Unfortunately, I had no intention of just letting them go.
If I let them go and they came back with friends saying they'd take revenge, there would be no greater disaster. I had luckily overcome the crisis now, but there was no guarantee I'd be as lucky then as now.
Therefore, I would subdue them. By tying them up with nearby tree branches or something like that.
Normally this would be impossible, but for some reason Kim Ra-hee was afraid of me. If it was subduing an opponent who had lost their fighting spirit rather than one who was resisting, it was entirely possible.
"Th-th-that's right. Cooperation. How about cooperation?"
Then, Kim Ra-hee, cornered, made an unexpected statement.
"Cooperation?"
"That's right, cooperation. Honestly, you guys are a Kim Jin-seo one-man team, right? That Go Jun-min or piss-min guy is still sleeping over there. You guys definitely can't get first place like this. How about it? Don't you want to try for first place? Florence practical first place. How amazing is that, huh?"
Thinking about it, Kim Ra-hee's words had some merit.
Moreover, I absolutely had to become a high-ranking cleric. If I took first place in this practical, I could get one step closer to my goal.
"So if we cooperate, we can get first place?"
"Of course! If we're lucky, first place, at least third place. I can guarantee it. I have a really good plan."
Looking at her expression, she didn't seem to be lying. The part about having a plan seemed to be true.
If Kim Ra-hee's words about at least third place were true, it was a very appealing proposal for me too.
"But how can we trust each other?"
However, there was something I needed to confirm before cooperating.
Trust.
Until it became clear that they couldn't betray us, I couldn't rashly agree to cooperation.
"I'll give you a core. Would this be enough for you to trust us?"
Then, a familiar voice came from behind my head.
It was Seong Ha-yeon's voice.
Her tone was haughty and at the same time arrogant. It was no different from middle school. If anything, it was consistent.
"You'll give us a core? To us?"
"If you just agree to cooperation, I can gladly give it to you."
A core was one of the victory conditions for this practical. Since she said she'd hand it over to us, there was no longer any reason to suspect them.
I showed them a smile. The most innocent and stupid-looking smile possible.
"Then tell us the plan first. I'll decide whether to cooperate or not after that."
"Whew. Okay, got it."
Kim Ra-hee got up from her spot, brushing off the dirt and fallen leaves on her uniform.
She then began explaining the plan. I silently listened to Kim Ra-hee's plan.
"How about it. The plan isn't bad, right?"
I nodded.
"Good. I'll cooperate."
"Then, from now on Team 100 and Team 32 are in a cooperative relationship. We won't betray or suspect each other. From now on, we're in the same boat."
Kim Ra-hee said with a serious expression. When I nodded, Kim Ra-hee took out a core from her pocket and handed it to me.
I put it into our team's cart.
"Wait 5 minutes. We'll bring our team's cart and come back here."
Kim Ra-hee and Seong Ha-yeon left with those words. I quietly watched their retreating figures while pondering Kim Ra-hee's plan.
Kim Ra-hee's plan was theoretically perfect. If the situation flowed according to plan, getting first place in the practical wouldn't be difficult. Even if variables occurred, it was certain we could receive high scores.
However, that plan had a very huge flaw. Whether it was a mistake or whether even this was intentional, I couldn't tell yet.
Time would naturally reveal it.
* * *
A point about 500m from the finish line.
There, Seong Ha-yeon and Do Seon-woo were pulling the cart. The two had no conversation at all and just silently performed their assigned roles.
Kim Ra-hee's plan was very simple.
First, Do Seon-woo and Seong Ha-yeon pull the cart and place it in front of the finish line. The remaining three people except Kim Jin-seo find cores by any means necessary. The more they find, the better.
When the promised time comes, the three return and put the cores they obtained into the cart. Then they pull the cart across the finish line. The goal of the plan was for Team 32 and Team 100 to jointly take first place.
The core of this plan was using the advantage of numbers. Because there were more people, they could protect the cart more safely and obtain more cores.
Not only that. Through division of labor using numbers, they could create very efficient routes. Thanks to this, they could reach the finish line incomparably faster than other teams.
"We can wait here."
Right in front of the finish line, in a place thick with bushes. A hiding place to conceal the cart and a waiting area for the group.
Seong Ha-yeon, who arrived there, said crookedly and bluntly. Though unintended, Seong Ha-yeon unconsciously used such a tone.
"Do I just wait here?"
"Yes. Rest or sleep, do whatever you want."
Seong Ha-yeon answered halfheartedly to Do Seon-woo's question.
Do Seon-woo just quietly nodded. With an eerily perfect expressionless face.
There was no sign of suspicion or wariness.
Time flowed endlessly like that.
1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes.
Seong Ha-yeon checked her watch and waited for the time to come.
Finally, 13 minutes 30 seconds.
Black and murky fog rode the wind and struck Do Seon-woo and Seong Ha-yeon. The smoke had an acrid ash smell and fishy metallic scent.
It was fog containing magical energy.
There was something So Do-jin forgot to mention in this practical. At regular intervals, at certain locations, fog containing magical energy would blow in.
Of course, it wasn't real magical energy. It was fake magical energy created by Florence for training.
However, even if it was fake created for training, magical energy was magical energy. Those who inhaled this would fall into weakness and eventually lose consciousness and collapse.
However, Seong Ha-yeon, who possessed the 'Blood of Purification', was immune to magical energy. In other words, when inhaling the fog, only Do Seon-woo would lose consciousness.
"What is this. What kind of fog suddenly, huh?"
Do Seon-woo's flustered voice could be heard from beyond the thick fog. Seong Ha-yeon covered her mouth and smiled quietly.
The joint first place between Team 32 and Team 100 was a fake plan.
The real plan was to pretend cooperation to gain benefits, then lure Do Seon-woo to the fog zone to eliminate Team 100 and have only Team 32 take first place.
Though she had spoken grandly about cooperation and being in the same boat, the truth was that it had been decided from the beginning to betray.
"I'm sorry. I need to do well on this practical."
Seong Ha-yeon muttered in the fog. It wasn't said for him to hear. Do Seon-woo would have already inhaled the fog and lost consciousness. It was just a soliloquy to lessen her guilt.
With this, Seong Ha-yeon had finished her work. Now she just had to wait until Kim Ra-hee came.
Seong Ha-yeon leaned against the cart and calmly waited for the fog to clear.
Soon the fog began to lift. At the same time, Seong Ha-yeon felt a gaze.
Between the dispersing black fog, someone was crouching and looking at her.
"I wondered why you brought me here, but as expected."
The fog gradually lost density and scattered. The more the fog cleared, the more clearly and definitively the man revealed himself.
Those eyes had no depth, and there was no expression on his face. Even the expression 'eerie' was insufficient.
Her spine chilled ominously. Her vision darkened.
"You planned to betray from the beginning."
"Ah, hic..."
Surprise, fear. Various negative emotions mixed together and disrupted Seong Ha-yeon's brea
thing. The tangled breathing and pulse sent her mind to distant places.
Soon Seong Ha-yeon's eyes slowly closed. Between her narrowing eyelids, she caught a glimpse of Do Seon-woo smiling coldly.
Thud.
Eventually, her memory was cut off.