Chapter 127
Chapter 127. Rank 3 (7)
After experiencing an incident where a huge rock rolled towards them, Yoo Ji-han’s party quickly finished tidying up and continued moving forward.
There were no injuries, and thanks to their stamina, their speed didn’t slow down.
After about 2 hours and 10 minutes of movement…
“We’re almost there.”
They arrived at a place that seemed to be the exit out of the dungeon.
It was a door that looked almost identical to the one they entered.
Could this also be a trap?
Yoo Ji-han, maintaining his guard, opened the door.
“This is…”
“This is the place we were waiting in earlier.”
Behind the door was the area where they had waited before entering the dungeon.
It turned out the dungeon had the same location for both the entrance and the exit.
Kim Si-hu, looking around, spoke.
“There’s no one here.”
There were no heroes besides Yoo Ji-han’s party in this location.
Had they arrived at the wrong place, or had they already moved to another location?
Just as everyone had their doubts…
Ding-a-ling!
A notification sound, unlike any other he’d heard, rang out from Yoo Ji-han’s mobile phone.
It was a notification from the [Dungeon Simulator] set up before entering the dungeon.
[Dungeon Escape Completed]
[Elapsed Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 24 seconds]
[Rank: 1]
What appeared on the screen was a message informing them of the time taken to escape the dungeon and the party’s rank.
Yoo Ji-han’s party was ranked 1st.
In other words, they were the first ones to escape the dungeon.
The reason no one was present at the arrival location was because of that.
“We’re first?”
“It seems so.”
“Well! That’s nothing special!”
Kim Si-hu’s mouth curled up in a grin upon hearing their rank.
He felt joy in claiming the top spot among so many parties.
‘Lucky us.’
Yoo Ji-han sheathed his sword.
It seemed like there was some significance in not dodging that giant rock and smashing through it head-on.
“Ji-han!”
Just as they were relaxing and catching their breath…
A long vertical entrance formed in the previously blocked wall, and Yang Ji-cheol rushed out from within.
“Ji-cheol! You were here too.”
“Yes! Congratulations on escaping first!”
“Thank you.”
“I was watching everything outside with a camera.”
Yang Ji-cheol had seen everything that happened in the dungeon.
Yoo Ji-han slightly stiffened his expression and said, “I have a question.”
“Is it about that giant rock?”
“You’re aware of it.”
“Yes…”
Yang Ji-cheol grasped the gist of the question even without detailed explanation.
“I wasn’t informed beforehand that such things existed inside the dungeon.”
“I’m sorry. It seems to be a design miss on our side.”
“Was that something only we encountered?”
“Seems like it.”
Standing at attention, Yang Ji-cheol deeply bowed his head.
His statement acknowledged that the rock wasn’t planned in advance.
“We could’ve been seriously injured.”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“I’m fine, but it’s not easy to overlook the fact that my party member almost got hurt.”
Yoo Ji-han shot a slight glare at Yang Ji-cheol.
Given that the responsibility lay with the Hero Department, it was to demand some sort of recompense as the party leader.
Understanding his intent, Yang Ji-cheol lifted his head and spoke.
“I will definitely prepare a compensation plan regarding this incident.”
“What exactly will it be?”
“That’s not for me to decide, but it will likely be given as a damage compensation fund.”
“I see.”
The Hero Department intended to compensate them for the damage caused by the rock with money.
Yoo Ji-han, who had secretly hoped they would be promoted directly to Rank 3, felt a little disappointed.
“And that scene will likely be reflected in the evaluations later.”
“That’s not bad news.”
Yoo Ji-han nodded slightly.
Despite having gone through a big accident, they escaped the dungeon as rank 1, so he thought their party evaluation would improve for showcasing a good performance.
‘Is this what that fortune teller was talking about?’
Rewards come after overcoming crises.
That phrase fit perfectly with the current situation.
“Well then, I’ll see you later.”
Having said his piece, Yang Ji-cheol disappeared somewhere again.
Around that time, other parties began to exit the dungeon.
“It’s over!”
“Wow!”
The heroes who opened the door raised their hands high with joy.
However, upon making eye contact with the large Chilla, one hero exclaimed in surprise.
“Wait! Look over there.”
“…Is there a party that came out before us?!”
They buzzed, seeing Yoo Ji-han’s party, who had arrived before them.
Soon, a woman holding a long spear walked toward Min Yu-ri.
“Is this Yoo Ji-han’s party? The one from that movie…?”
“Oh, yes! That’s right.”
“Can I ask how long ago you arrived?”
“We got here 15 minutes ago.”
“15 minutes… Damn, got it.”
The woman sighed lightly and returned to her party members.
She was the leader of a rank 4 party with an average age of 35.
They had thoroughly prepared and challenged the exam this time.
To see younger heroes pass them was disheartening.
“Yay!”
“Passed!”
As the second exam surpassed 2 hours and 30 minutes, other successful candidates began to appear gradually.
Among them were some familiar faces to Yoo Ji-han.
James Kang’s party from Red Hole, who were his classmates from Hero Academy.
And Jung Young-wook’s party from Dice Guild.
“Young-wook!”
Kim Si-hu brightly greeted Jung Young-wook, who exited the door.
Jung Young-wook waved back at Kim Si-hu, but once he turned around, he bit his lower lip, scolding himself for coming out later than Kim Si-hu.
—Due to a larger number of successful candidates than expected, the exam will end in 20 minutes.
An announcement from the Hero Department declared they would wrap up the exam early.
Parties in a rush sprinted toward the exit.
Just a minute before the deadline.
“Guhhh!”
“It’s over! It’s really over!”
Heroes covered in sticky goo burst through the door at the last moment.
Surprisingly, they were also Min Ju-yong’s party, which was composed of Yoo Ji-han’s classmates from Hero Academy.
“Juyong?”
“Y-Yu-ri…”
Min Ju-yong smiled weakly when he spotted Min Yu-ri.
*
Time flew quickly after the second exam ended, and the break was granted.
The third exam for the parties that had passed the dungeon was announced.
—The third exam is Sparring.
“Sparring!”
“It’s finally here.”
Sparring, which is a staple of every promotion exam.
Heroes preparing for the exam were all in high spirits.
Some were already stretching to warm up.
Then suddenly—
Shhhh!
White glowing numbers appeared on one side of the long wall.
—The names called should line up in a single row at number 1.
The Hero Department unexpectedly announced they would line up.
The heroes whispered among themselves while following the voice from the speaker.
—Kim On-tae’s party, Lee Ho-dong.
—Yoo Ji-han’s party, Kim Si-hu.
—Park Sang-cheol’s party, Park Sang-cheol.
…….
…….
—From now on, those called should line up in a single row at number 2.
As names were called one by one, several lines began to form.
Yoo Ji-han, separated from his party in line 7, waited for the explanations to finish.
—Temporary party assignment completed.
—The third exam will be conducted not with your own party, but with those currently standing in the same line.
“……What did you just say?”
“Seriously?!”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“There’s no way this is legal!”
They were to spar not with their party members, who had been together for months or even years, but with total strangers!
Furthermore, they wouldn’t be sparring with the examiner but were expected to fight against other applicants for the promotion exam.
The heroes panicked at the shocking news.
—During the sparring, experts will measure each individual’s skills in real time.
—The results of the sparring will not count as evaluation factors.
—Parties with more than half of their members falling below the standard will fail the exam.
—The sparring will commence in 30 minutes.
While the heroes voiced their complaints toward the announcing voice…
Time kept flowing without relent.
‘They’re going to evaluate not only our firepower as a party but also our individual skill levels.’
Yoo Ji-han realized the promotion criteria for Rank 3 had become far stricter than he initially thought.
Caught up in his thoughts for a moment, he turned to look at the temporary party members standing behind him in a line.
“We’re doomed, doomed…!”
One male hero, clearly anxious without his party members, gripped a long staff like a hiking stick.
“Um, um…”
Behind him was a visibly nervous female mage.
Unable to hide her nervousness, her small staff trembled slightly in her hands.
“…….”
And at the very back was Jung Young-wook, a mage who was a friend of Kim Si-hu.
So, aside from Yoo Ji-han, there were three mages.
‘This party doesn’t seem to have great synergy.’
The balance of the party was severely lacking right from the start.
Yoo Ji-han turned his gaze toward Jung Young-wook, who was looking back at him.
‘Of all these people, he’s the most reliable.’
While the two mages were fidgeting, Jung Young-wook remained calm.
Yoo Ji-han gathered the mages to one side and said, “Everyone understands the situation, right?”
“……Yes.”
“They said winning and losing in the sparring isn’t important, so let’s give it our all.”
“B-but what if that’s a lie?”
The mage who questioned him had a very serious expression.
Even after hearing the explanation that the results would not factor into the evaluation, they still couldn’t shake their worries.
“Worrying won’t change anything. Let’s discuss how we’ll fight.”
Yoo Ji-han first introduced himself briefly, then listened to the specialties and abilities of the other members.
He was assessing the strengths of the temporary party ahead of the sparring.
It was a structure where the only warrior, Yoo Ji-han, would bear a burden, as the members concentrated on mages.
They needed to set clear roles for the mages as quickly as possible.
“I’ll shoot offensive magic from the back!”
“Me too! Please leave it to me!”
The female mage and the male mage both declared that they would take on the role of damage dealers for the party.
They couldn’t imagine stepping away from the roles they had taken on in their original parties.
“Then I’ll focus on defense and support Ji-han.”
“Is that possible?”
“Just leave it to me.”
On the other hand, Jung Young-wook declared he would take on a defensive role in the sparring, letting the attack be handled by the others.
This might actually become the toughest role among them, but…
Having sparred with him once, Yoo Ji-han nodded.
*
“I’ll keep an eye on you, Yu-ri!”
“A, okay…”
Min Yu-ri met Min Ju-yong from party number 5.
He was in such a good mood that despite the minutes passing, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
Being in the same party as Min Yu-ri!
He had temporarily achieved that goal.
‘For an impromptu setup, this isn’t bad.’
With two warriors, an archer, and a tanker named Chilla included, the party had quite a nice balance for a randomly assigned team.
Moreover, one of the warriors in this group was an experienced hero with over four years of battle experience.
He could even be sure of winning in the sparring.
‘Ji-han is going to have a hard time.’
Min Yu-ri turned her gaze to see Yoo Ji-han.
He wore a deeply contemplative expression.
The party he was assigned to, number 7, was heavily skewed toward mages, with three mages.
Among the randomly assigned teams, their member composition looked the most troublesome.
‘As long as two pass, we’re good.’
In a party of four, at least three must meet the standard, but…
In a party of three, they could still pass the exam even if one didn’t meet the standard.
As long as Min Yu-ri and Kim Si-hu pass, there wouldn’t be an issue even without Yoo Ji-han.
But why?
No matter how she thought about it, the conditions on her side seemed much better for passing the sparring.
‘……I want to go over there.’
Min Yu-ri envied the spot in party number 7, where Yoo Ji-han was.
If they were to swap places with those mages right now…
She could do it without a moment’s hesitation.
‘Even just a duo with Ji-han would be fine.’
Min Yu-ri would even be satisfied with just a two-person party with Yoo Ji-han, without anyone else.
To her, Yoo Ji-han was recognized as such a reliable colleague.
“Click.”
“Are you feeling the same way?”
Chilla, staring intensely at Yoo Ji-han, seemed to share similar thoughts.
“Just trust me, Yu-ri!”
“…….”
“Hahaha—!!”
Perhaps it was because Min Ju-yong was boasting right next to her.
Min Yu-ri felt the absence of Yoo Ji-han acutely.
