Chapter 16 - Rating Test (1)
[ Entering the ‘Mysterious Forest’. ]
[ Welcome, Conqueror. ]
As soon as I stepped into the area's entrance, a blue light flowed out from the Conqueror Token like a hologram, forming letters.
‘The performance is good.’
A bright halo of light followed my feet wherever I stepped, and Demonic Beasts would either bow their heads or hesitantly move away upon seeing me.
These were scenes that implicitly showed that I was the most formidable being here, for anyone to see.
‘Guys crazy for power would have their eyes flipped…’
The most potent drug in the world was the feeling of being superior to others.
The actual benefits were one thing, but there was a setting that quite a few people would grind their teeth to collect Conqueror Tokens just to feel this sense of superiority.
Well, but that wasn’t my purpose for coming here now.
“Show me the terrain-related settings.”
[ Confirmed. ]
A control window with various figures was then displayed.
Since I hadn't touched anything inside the floor yet, all resources were overflowing in abundance.
From among them, I gathered a large amount of the mana circulating inside the Tower and concentrated it in a specific location.
“I want to plant something here.”
I didn't know how to command it, so I just ordered the token like that.
It was a crude explanation, but would you understand?
[ Confirmed. Selecting suitable resources for the requested task. Will you temporarily delegate control authority for automatic work? ]
“Yeah. Please.”
[ Confirmed. ]
As soon as that conversation ended, dozens of mole-like Demonic Beasts popped out from the surroundings in an instant.
They then plowed the ground at a mind-boggling speed.
“Oh.”
They work so well.
As I was admiring them, one of the mole Demonic Beasts crawled over to me with a squeak.
Its posture, with its hands politely extended and head bowed, was as if it was waiting to receive something.
‘…Is it asking for something to plant?’
Thinking that might be it, I took out the Mandrake’s root and handed it over.
Soon, the mole Demonic Beast made a ‘Beep!’ sound, saluted, and disappeared.
For a mole, its posture was as sharp as a knife.
“…”
The details in useless places are good.
As I thought that with a smirk, it didn't even take a few minutes for all the roots to be densely planted in the ground.
Hmm, now I just need to insert the Fairy's Core here.
“Now, I want to plant this too.”
[ Confirmed. Confirmed. Selecting suitable resources for the requested task. ]
[ … ]
[ … ]
[ Notification. ]
[ The expected result for performing this task has been calculated. ]
[ A detailed confirmation is recommended. ]
Huh.
What’s going on for a message like this to suddenly pop up.
I scratched my head and opened the window that appeared.
“…”
I was immediately at a loss for words.
As one could guess from the name ‘Mysterious Forest’, this place had a very beneficial environment for growing plants.
There were various functions provided by the area itself.
Things like accelerating the growing speed, or granting various effects with a certain probability.
And as one of those functions, there was also a system that predicted what this would become when it grew.
So, it meant I could know in advance even if a strange situation like this occurred.
[ Gnosis's Heart (Incomplete) / Grade: Special ]
[ A rare living tissue that can produce mana on its own. It is not in a complete state as it has not yet sufficiently grown.
Upon consumption, Mana stat +20 ]
[ Arcane Burst / Unique Active Skill
Recovers 3% of total mana every second for 1 minute. ]
“…Are you crazy? This came out?”
I had thought that being influenced by the Tower’s mana, there would definitely be a chance of getting a better item than the original combination formula, but I didn't expect a special item to pop up just like that.
Special grade items were items that could only be obtained by clearing quests related to specific organizations.
They were absolutely unobtainable through normal methods, but because of their unique abilities that differentiated them from other items, it was usually best to get them if possible.
That was clear just by reading the effects on this item.
It basically meant that just by holding this, I could pump mana almost infinitely for a certain period.
‘If it’s Gnosis’s Heart…’
As I recalled, it was an item that could only be obtained much later.
I had thought about getting it someday, but I hadn’t even dared to touch it for now.
That was because the quest that needed to be cleared to obtain it was an event that ranked among the highest difficulty in the entire game.
‘The guys involved had to be unusually dangerous…’
Instead.
In return for the complex and dangerous acquisition conditions.
The merit to be gained upon ‘completing’ this item was, truly, absolute.
‘So...’
Consuming such an item right away would be a tremendous waste, so for now, I could only use one active skill, but.
One immediate use came to mind.
It would take about… 3 days until I could use it.
“Perfect timing.”
Well.
A smile bloomed on my face as I saw that it perfectly matched the day I had been thinking of.
***
A day off from work after a long time.
A heavy silence hung over the newly gathered rookies of Renegade who had been suddenly called together.
It could be said to be a giant leap forward that they were all gathered around a shabby but properly equipped desk instead of the box chairs they had used before.
Seo Ah-in’s expression was extremely uncomfortable because I had received a compliment that ‘this was all thanks to you’.
“You always finish your work haphazardly and then sneak off!”
She grumbled, but she couldn’t protest too much as she knew the amount of Harvest Work I handled every day was several times her own.
So, Mr. Lee Seong-jin probably didn't waste much time on that topic and was now getting to the main point of why he had suddenly called us.
“…A formal rating test?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Lee Seong-jin answered Seo Ah-in’s question.
And as soon as I heard it, a smirk escaped me.
It was an event that perfectly matched what I had expected to happen around now.
“You know what that is, right? The test that issues a pro Climber license. The schedule is set for a little while from now.”
“I know what it is, but we haven't even been in the guild for a few months, have we? Isn't it too soon?”
When Yoo Ho-jun replied, Mr. Lee Seong-jin scratched his chin with a troubled expression.
Well, it wasn't strange for that guy to raise an objection like that.
The regular test administered by the Climber Central Association was held once every half-year, but it was notorious for its dreadful pass rate.
In the first place, even cadets who could comfortably pass into a decent mid-sized guild would usually only gain experience in their first regular test attempt.
Large guilds that could afford to meticulously train each newcomer individually would somehow train them to death to meet the passing line before the test.
But we were people whose only job since coming to the guild was tearing things off Demonic Beast corpses.
“Well, it’s not mandatory. But I thought that if Ah-in or Gyu-sik took the test this time, they could easily get an F-grade.”
That was certainly true.
Putting me aside for a moment, Seo Ah-in was already at a level where she could easily acquire a D-grade if she went to take the test right now.
‘From the guild’s perspective, a pro Climber is much better than a cadet…’
Once you get an official license, you get support funds from the association, and the scope of your activities widens considerably.
You can participate in Tower subjugation teams, the range of dungeons you can enter widens, and you can also use the Climber-exclusive facilities provided by the association.
In other words, it meant the ‘money you can earn’ also increased a lot.
“Then I think it’s better for me not to go. The participation fee is no joke, right?”
“If we can’t even cover that, we can’t call ourselves a guild. You can go and see if you want. As I said before, it’s not mandatory. If you don’t go, the participation fee will be paid as an additional allowance.”
It took less than a few seconds for blind loyalty to appear in Yoo Ho-jun’s eyes upon hearing those words.
…He’s such an easy guy to handle.
Leaving Yoo Ho-jun, who was probably mulling over his vow to bury his bones in Renegade, I first asked the most important question.
“Who is the test-sponsoring organization?”
“Huh? That’s obviously the Association.”
“No. There must be a co-sponsoring organization.”
Of course, they all pretended it was a test run by the Association.
But even the Association felt pressure when dealing with super-large guilds and would somehow get involved with them.
Usually, interference came in the form of ‘sponsorship’ to proceed in a way that was beneficial to them.
What I just asked was who was breathing down the Association’s neck this time.
Indeed, upon hearing that, Mr. Lee Seong-jin’s eyes narrowed for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
“You know a lot, you do.”
It was implied that it was to a suspicious degree, but anyway, Mr. Lee Seong-jin silently shuffled through some documents.
“This time… it’s the Hunting Alliance.”
Jackpot.
As my lips twisted, Seo Ah-in’s expression hardened upon hearing that name.
***
In a magnificent office.
A man in a uniform opened his mouth with a stiff voice.
“From here to here are the venues that will be provided for the event. Please confirm.”
As Kim Jae-han said that and handed over the documents, the other party looked at them with a blank expression.
In fact, these were things Kim Jae-han could handle on his own, but it was better to handle everything with certainty.
Especially these days, when the ‘factional strife’ within the Hunting Alliance was becoming extreme.
“Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader Kim Jae-han.”
The other party simply offered words of gratitude without any other comment and returned the documents.
In a way, it was a half-hearted response, but Kim Jae-han had no intention of arguing.
The other party was surely suffering from a workload even greater than his own.
“How was this ‘job’, Director Seo Hye-in.”
The woman whose name was called let out a sigh.
She looked as if she had just returned from a battlefield, her entire body covered in blood, but he could guarantee that none of it was Seo Hye-in’s own.
Seo Hye-in, brushing off the blood clots stuck to her pure white hair, looked back at Kim Jae-han.
Her eyes were so peaceful it was hard to believe she had just killed a bunch of high-grade Climbers.
“It was a bit troublesome… but it was better than the job I took in Europe before. At most, there were only A-grade to B-grade ones.”
There weren’t many people in the world who could evaluate A-grade to B-grade as ‘at most’.
Kim Jae-han once again had no particular impression of that.
The person opposite him was ‘that’ Seo Hye-in. She was more than qualified to say such things.
“So, is that all you have to report?”
At those words, Kim Jae-han swallowed a sigh.
Seo Hye-in was an extremely busy person, as she was treated as a top priority force even within the Hunting Alliance.
So, he didn't want to distract her with other matters if possible.
But this matter was unavoidable.
“Would you like to check?”
Seo Hye-in’s eyes narrowed for a moment as she opened the documents he handed her.
“Lady Ah-in will be coming to take the regular test this time. If you wish to speak with her, I can arrange a meeting-”
“Team Leader Kim Jae-han.”
Seo Hye-in, who called his name without answering, faced him.
They were eyes devoid of any emotion, but Kim Jae-han could clearly read the intention to drop the unnecessary meddling.
As expected, this time too.
These sisters had a similar atmosphere now as they did in the past.
“I understand.”
As Kim Jae-han replied, swallowing a sigh, Seo Hye-in nodded back.
She soon tilted her head as if in question, seeing Kim Jae-han not leaving immediately.
“Is there something else?”
“Would you check the back of the document.”
Kim Jae-han answered.
“There’s a rather interesting person.”
“…”
For this stoic man to say someone was interesting.
‘What kind of person is he?’
Thinking that, Seo Hye-in immediately flipped over the document.
And she couldn’t help but frown.
A person she had never seen before was listed there.
[ Kim Gyu-sik ]
[ Affiliation: Renegade Guild ]
[ Application Grade: F-grade Climber Qualification ]
[ Application Category: All categories ]
She didn’t know about the other things, but applying for all categories was something that couldn’t help but catch Seo Hye-in’s eye.
Did he think he was someone special?
“Who is this?”
“As I said earlier.”
Kim Jae-han said with a faint smile.
“A rather interesting person.”
His voice held the conviction that she would surely think so too after hearing the story.