Chapter 42

EP.42 C-Class Holder Promotion (1)

"Did you fail again?"

A voice as cold as ice filled the room.

Cha Soo-yeon's expression remained unchanged.

Her emotions, unreadable from her face, made the atmosphere in the room even heavier.

"...I'm sorry."

"Yunjae."

"Yes, Branch Manager."

"The words I want to hear are not those."

"......"

Yunjae, kneeling on the floor, was filled with tension.

It felt as if another round of Cha Soo-yeon's rune magic was about to hit him.

But this time, there was only a calm silence.

True to the nature of the <Villain> clan, which moves according to mood.

Today, Yunjae...

Fortunately, did not receive any punishment.

"I went through all the trouble of changing the faculty assignments, and if you can't kill even one person, what will you do?"

"I'm sorry. There was an unexpected variable."

"Hmm— You mean that Do Jae-hyun kid?"

Do Jae-hyun.

The most annoying variable in this operation.

If it weren't for him, the holder Kim Chae-eun would have died, and the news of the professor's daughter's death would have plunged the academy into chaos.

But now, it's just the criticism and speculation about the incompetent faculty and the <Villain> clan.

While he managed to plunge the academy into chaos to some extent...

It was only a half-successful operation.

Yunjae nodded and replied.

"Yes. He was selected for a temporary lower class at the time of enrollment, but he is a likely candidate for promotion to the upper class next semester. His growth rate is quite fast, and he quickly responded when the Andoquan clan member tried to act. There are many suspicious points."

"Hmm—"

Cha Soo-yeon tapped the table a few times with her long fingers.

A smile finally appeared on her previously expressionless face.

"What an interesting kid."

Clank—

Cha Soo-yeon slowly poured wine into a glass.

Nebbiolo, aged for at least seven years.

The beautiful color and subtle aroma filled the air.

At this hour, she always enjoyed red wine.

"What if you fight him?"

"I will definitely win."

"Puh—"

Cha Soo-yeon burst out laughing, as if it was hard to hold back.

"If you think you might lose, will you use the berserk potion like Doquan did?"

"That's..."

The berserk potion is an illegal potion circulated by the <Villain> clan.

A potion that instantly doubles a holder's stats.

However, contrary to popular belief, it is not a universal solution.

While the increase in stats is significant, it only boosts physical abilities, and the user can hardly maintain rationality, only feeling the purpose of the action conceptually.

Additionally, there is a strong side effect of potentially losing the holder's power.

The higher the level of power a holder has, the more they should avoid using the 'berserk potion.'

However, Andoquan, being a type who can't control his anger, couldn't make rational judgments.

"Yunjae, I hope you don't use that. It's too precious to use at your young age."

"I won't use it unless the clan is in a critical situation."

"Hey, what kind of loyalty is that to such a clan? Just act selfishly. Do what you want, but listen to me. Got it?"

"...Yes."

The <Villain> clan, a gathering of all kinds of psychopaths.

But ironically,

There is a hierarchy within it.

"Yunjae should take my branch manager position soon, right?"

Saying that, Cha Soo-yeon laughed and tapped the table a few more times.

"Anyway, keep an eye on the variable you mentioned. If he knows something about our clan, report it immediately."

"Yes."

"Oh, it would be good to join a circle together."

"A circle...?"

"Hmm— You'll join a circle in the second semester, right? Before the next operation order, create a connection with Do Jae-hyun. That kid."

Cha Soo-yeon took a sip of wine and continued.

"Make sure you can kill him at any time if things go wrong."

* * *

Mount Bukhan, the highest mountain in Seoul.

Mount Bukhan is one of the few 'fields outside the barrier' left in Seoul.

The [Magic Barrier] created by holders is the most basic method to block monsters, and it has been quite some time since monsters were driven out beyond this barrier.

Thus, large mountains like this are generally designated as 'fields' where the barrier does not apply.

Mount Bukhan is a well-known field in Korea.

Monsters swarm from the beginning, and there are many public dungeons.

The ownership of the dungeons within Mount Bukhan is divided among various clans, but the ownership of the field itself belongs to the Holder Association.

'But it's only used for official purposes.'

A C-class holder affiliated with the Korean Holder Association, Lee Ji-hye, was here on official business.

Her current task was a promotion test.

A request for a promotion test from a holder who has never updated their rank since registration.

From F-class to C-class.

A request for a three-level promotion.

'Sigh. I should have just turned him away...'

The holder had already passed the ability test.

The measuring device evaluated his abilities as suitable for C-class, and he showed considerable skill in the rune test.

Especially, he demonstrated the abilities of a 'multi-holder,' which is currently popular, by skillfully handling both a sword and a dagger.

'But that's one thing, and this is another.'

The ability test and the performance test are fundamentally different.

No matter how good the abilities and rune usage are, many holders collapse in the face of real-world variables, and many cannot maintain composure in battles with monstrous monsters.

One cannot experience this until they fight a monster directly.

If the applicant had slowly built up experience over time, it might be different, but for a holder who rashly requests a three-level promotion, the gap would be even more significant.

'That's why academy students don't want to take it.'

Generally, academy students who lack real-world experience make such unrealistic requests.

Lee Ji-hye, who has been in the association for a long time,

Has seen too many such applicants.

Students who apply for promotion boldly, claiming they are different despite having no experience.

Naturally, the results are always failures.

C-class is not a rank that can be easily promoted to.

"Hey, why don't you draw your sword in advance? You never know when a monster might appear."

Lee Ji-hye couldn't help but say a word.

At the entrance of Mount Bukhan.

The applicant was climbing the mountain without any preparation.

Seeing his frustrating appearance...

She couldn't help but give advice.

She usually doesn't care about applicants, but this one was particularly sloppy.

It wasn't that she was interested in him.

"It's fine. I can draw it when I see them."

"When you see them, it will be too late... Ah, never mind. Do as you please. I won't help you if you get hurt."

"Haha, yes. And at the entrance of Mount Bukhan, only D-class monsters appear, so it's not that dangerous."

"...What?"

You know that?

She thought he was a beginner who only handled runes in the academy and knew nothing, but he surprisingly had a good grasp of field information.

As he said, only E-class and D-class monsters appear at the entrance of Mount Bukhan.

The main monsters are E-class Goblins and D-class Imps.

They like mountains and forests, so they gathered in the Mount Bukhan field.

For a moderately skilled holder,

These monsters can be easily handled alone.

The applicant, who seemed to have no plan,

Surprisingly knew this fact well.

Lee Ji-hye blinked in surprise.

"Have you been to the Mount Bukhan field before?"

"No, it's my first time."

"But you know so much?"

"I studied a lot."

-Kirik, kirik.

-Kirrik!

And then,

Monsters appeared, cutting off their conversation.

Goblins perched on trees throughout the mountain,

And Imps flying above them.

Two types of monsters welcomed the entrance to the Mount Bukhan field.

-Kirrik...!!

Immediately, the Imps attacked.

As flying monsters, their attack direction is free.

Lee Ji-hye was momentarily taken aback by the scene.

The applicant, who was in front of her, did not take any stance even when the Imps flew towards him.

Shouldn't he draw his weapon by now?

He looked like he would allow the attack and get hurt at any moment.

"Be careful...!!"

She tried to warn him,

But there was no need to finish her sentence.

Thud—

With a punch,

The three flying Imps were all critically injured and fell.

It seemed like a simultaneous strike.

Three quick punches in rapid succession.

It was the [Rapid Strike] skill derived from the [Combat] rune.

Lee Ji-hye, who couldn't recognize it,

Had to doubt her eyes.

'What, that...?'

When she received the report from the association, it clearly stated that he was a multi-holder who used a sword and a dagger, yet he was killing D-class Imps with his fists.

It wasn't a light attack focused on strength.

It looked like he was using runes and skills...

A professional and three-dimensional attack.

"Uh...?"

It didn't end there.

The applicant then drew a dagger from his waist and

Threw it at the remaining Imps in the sky.

Accurate throwing skills.

The thrown daggers hit all the Imps, bringing down the ones preparing for an aerial attack.

It was the [Dagger] skill she had already confirmed during the measurement stage.

'But so neatly?'

Everyone shows their best during practice and training.

For holders, their abilities and runes are their entire strength.

But in fields or dungeons with many variables,

It's not easy to show their true abilities when facing monsters directly.

Especially if it's their first hunt.

Holders tend to be more nervous and unable to use their strength.

But this applicant showed no such signs.

He handled the monsters calmly and neatly,

Using only the necessary strength where needed.

It was like the combat sense of a high-level holder.

"...Examiner?"

"Yes, yes?"

When she came to her senses, the applicant, Do Jae-hyun, had already finished dealing with the Goblins and tidied up the surroundings.

He now held a crude sword in his hand.

He had killed the Goblins with a sword while she wasn't looking.

He didn't seem to have exerted much effort,

And asked in a steady posture.

"Are E-class or D-class monsters not counted as achievements for promotion?"

"No, D-class monsters are counted as achievements. Ten D-class monsters count as one C-class monster."

"Okay. Then I'll just roughly avoid the E-class. I'll go first. Follow me!"

"Wait, just a moment!"

Do Jae-hyun started running after finishing his sentence.

He was moving away from her field of vision at a fierce speed.

Even considering the speed of a C-class holder, it was too fast.

"Is he... Does he have a charge-type rune?"

Looking at his retreating back,

Lee Ji-hye muttered to herself.

The speed itself was fast, so it seemed he had a charge-type rune rather than a movement-type rune.

Charge-type runes are runes possessed by 'cavalry-type' classes, which are classified as a completely special category among warrior classes.

It was already surprising that he could skillfully use both [Sword] and [Dagger], but he also had a combat rune that looked like [Combat] and a charge-type rune?

What kind of person is he?

All kinds of rumors and stories come to mind.

Moreover,

"Why is he in such a hurry?"

That person.

Why is he in such a hurry that he didn't even collect the monsters' mana stones?

D-class mana stones are worth about 2 million won each...

Is he some unknown rich person somewhere?

"Does he want to finish the test quickly?"

Even so, it would take a lot of time.

For a holder who had no field or dungeon achievements, this test would take at least a week or more.

Of course, Lee Ji-hye would only measure for one day and then evaluate the rest through reports and achievements, but it would still take a considerable amount of time to achieve results alone.

Lee Ji-hye, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality.

She couldn't keep daydreaming.

She might really lose track of the applicant.

"Hey, let's go together!"

Although the dropped mana stones were a pity, she had to follow Do Jae-hyun with a heavy heart.

Unfortunately, she was on official duty now.