Cheonmu Academy's personnel showed up just a short while after we'd taken down the Owl Bear.
They must have spotted an uncontrollable monster that wasn't one of the ones they'd released and hurriedly launched a search. There was no way the academy staff wouldn't notice the sudden emergence of an Owl Bear.
More importantly, the goblins and orcs already roaming the dungeon were genetically engineered creatures created by Cheonmu Academy, monsters that could be controlled at any time in a crisis.
Even the top hunter academy in Korea couldn't get away unscathed with the insane act of herding examinees into a real dungeon. They'd deliberately withheld information about material collection from wild monsters to test that exact ability.
'If the examinees hadn't taken down the Owl Bear in time among themselves, probably several officials would have been fired.'
So, the expressions on the academy staff's faces when they found us were quite the sight.
My injuries were visibly severe enough to confirm at a glance, and we'd come perilously close to a death during the practical exam if they'd been even a little later.
They quickly masked their momentary panic and got things under control, true to their Cheonmu Academy professionalism.
"…Did you examinees really take down this thing?"
"Yes."
"…Understood. The practical exam is about to end anyway, so we'll settle your scores here."
"Pardon?"
"I-I still have one material slot left, so…"
"...."
"Ah, I misspoke. Since this monster was the boss for the first round of our Cheonmu Academy practical exam, all students involved in defeating it will pass. Also, as this was a secret test monster prepared by the academy, you must never mention it to other students."
"Yes…?"
"P-Pass…."
"...."
They spouted that ready-made excuse without batting an eye. As expected, even the staff at Cheonmu Academy excelled in crisis response.
…Of course, there were bound to be people unhappy with such an impromptu justification and ready to argue.
"Is it okay to make examinees take down such a dangerous monster in a mere practical exam?! We got lucky there was a Recovery Department student; otherwise, this guy almost died for real…."
"It's fine, Han Sora."
"Hey, Lee Seon-ho. You're the one who barely survived…."
"I said it's fine. Getting into the academy is all I need. Surviving death to enter Cheonmu Academy is a bargain."
"...."
Admission to Cheonmu Hunter Academy was precious. Once in hand, it was something you absolutely couldn't let slip away.
Especially coming from me, someone from the support departments who couldn't get in on personal merit alone. No matter how much Han Sora wanted to protest, she had to realize pushing further wasn't helping me.
"I-I… If Seon-ho says so, I don't mind…."
"…M-Me too."
"Haa, seriously. What am I supposed to do if you say that…."
"…So, we can assume all parties have no objections?"
"Yes."
"Y-Yes!"
"...Yes."
-Nod.
Finally, Han Sora nodded quietly, a bit begrudgingly.
Her perfectly reasonable protest had been cut short by me, forcing her dissatisfaction down, so of course she wasn't thrilled. As the one who'd suffered most, I said it was fine, leaving her no choice but to swallow it reluctantly.
"Han Sora."
"...What."
"Thanks for worrying about me."
"...Yeah."
That's why I didn't forget to thank her. With her personality, that alone would be more than enough to smooth things over.
"Then, examinees Kim Isabel, Seo Woo-jin, Lee Seon-ho, Cha Eun-ju, and Han Sora pass the Cheonmu Hunter Academy practical exam…."
"W-Wait a second!!"
"…What now, Han Sora?"
"That guy didn't participate in the fight at all—he ran off alone the moment the monster appeared! Why is he passing?!"
"Pardon? Aren't you in the same group as Seo Woo-jin?"
"Group or not, he didn't join the battle at all! He abandoned us, which is why Lee Seon-ho got hurt like this—it's ridiculous for him to pass!"
The academy staff turned to Seo Woo-jin with a hardened expression upon hearing Han Sora.
She immediately asked him the same to verify the facts.
"Is that true, Seo Woo-jin?"
"...."
"Seo Woo-jin, I'm asking if Han Sora's claim is true."
"I-I didn't do nothing exactly… Ah, no, that's not it…."
"What?! Are you kidding…."
"Please be quiet, Han Sora. I'm questioning Seo Woo-jin right now."
"...."
He hadn't contributed to taking down the Owl Bear, but he still wanted to pass for the academy's sake.
I understood that completely. What aspiring hunter would toss away a chance to enter Cheonmu Academy?
Especially a free ride with zero effort—it was too tempting to pass up.
"...Haa."
"Uh...."
"...."
Of course, the heroines' gazes toward Seo Woo-jin weren't kind. Even Kim Isabel's contemptuous glare was palpable through her veil.
"I-I was collecting materials when that boss monster interrupted me. If not for it, I would've finished gathering them…."
"...."
"S-Since I was also a victim of the boss monster, shouldn't I just pass too…?"
"...."
Seo Woo-jin left everyone, including the heroines and even the academy staff, speechless with dumbfounded stares.
Maybe his real ability wasn't growing stronger with affection but freezing everyone around him solid. Otherwise, this icy atmosphere made no sense.
Of course, openly failing him would put the academy in a bind too. They needed to admit all involved examinees to keep the Owl Bear info from leaking.
I could sense the staffer's panic as her prepared excuse fell through, but I couldn't very well say, 'Just pass Seo Woo-jin with us.'
After building up their favor, that would tank it instantly. With Han Sora who couldn't tolerate injustice, or Kim Isabel harboring some resentment toward the deserter.
"…We'll discuss it separately with Seo Woo-jin."
In this atmosphere, even the staff couldn't bring themselves to push for his inclusion right away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Cheonmu Academy practical exam. The next day.
I'd received the absurd diagnosis of compound fractures and full-body muscle tears, and was admitted to the church inside Cheonmu Hunter Academy.
With an overt role like 'Recovery hunter,' medical technology in this world was mostly supplanted by those with awakening abilities.
Conventional medicine existed, of course. The public lumped practitioners of those fields and church folk together as 'Recovery hunters.'
Basically, what hospitals did in my original world was split between hospitals and churches here. Note that churches weren't the dime-a-dozen Korean supermarkets of faith but proper facilities for patient care in this world.
There'd been a brief debate on whether to send my compound fractures and muscle tears to the academy's 'hospital' or 'church,' but thanks to Kim Isabel's bold statement, I was receiving treatment at the church.
'L-Lee Seon-ho should receive treatment with m-my holy power…. I-I think it's b-best if I continue treating him here at the church rather than elsewhere….'
It was truly touching. A girl with androphobia insisting on taking responsibility for me to the end and admitting me to the church.
Thanks to that, I was lying in a church bed under treatment. To keep me from moving until my broken bones and torn muscles fully healed, all limbs except my right arm were restrained.
Not the full-body mummy wrap from cartoons, but bound by restraints of holy magic light. Still couldn't move, same as ever.
'If we're doing bondage play, I'd rather be the one tying than tied.'
Should I be grateful at least one arm worked? It let me stroke Cha Eun-ju's head as she slept slumped by my bed.
-Stroke, stroke.
"Huu, huuu…."
…Man, she was really cute.
Cha Eun-ju had worried the most when I got hurt and when I had to be hospitalized here. She'd even used the guardian cot to sleep in my room with me, insisting nothing could go wrong.
Part of it was that she was the only one I'd properly started pursuing, but even accounting for that, her devotion was sincere.
My planned date with her after the practical exam event got delayed, but sharing the room like this counted as a date strictly speaking—not bad at all.
The one gripe was making my girl sleep on that uncomfortable cot. I wanted to invite her into my bed, but in my condition, that was impossible.
-Stroke, stroke.
"Euuun, mm…?"
"...."
-Stroke, stroke.
"…Kuul, kuuul…."
She woke briefly to the sensation of her head being stroked, realized it, and cautiously closed her eyes again, pretending to sleep.
It felt so deliberate, like today's oblivious seduction, that my lower half stiffened unnecessarily.
'Even in this situation, the lower body's working fine.'
Once my body healed, I'd find a way to advance things with Cha Eun-ju.
With a month until the entrance ceremony, we'd manage our first time at least.
Once I fully made her mine, I could add the others one by one.