Chapter 122
Chapter 122. Rank 3 (2)
“Yoo Ji-cheol, take a look at this.”
“Sure, hand it here.”
Yoo Ji-cheol from the Hero Department and his senior colleague were busy with work as the next advancement season approached.
The two were important figures involved in the final evaluation of promotions within the Hero Department.
While rifling through a stack of white papers, a colleague spoke up.
“This month, there are unusually many parties aiming for Rank 3.”
“Standards are gradually rising, you know.”
The criteria for evaluating promotions in the Hero Department had been becoming increasingly stringent each year.
If one were to compare the parties that attained Rank 3 just three years ago to those that achieved it just a few months ago—
Generally, the latter possessed better activities and qualifications.
Knock.
At that moment, someone opened the closed office door and entered.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Hmm?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Kwang Sung-wook, the secretary to the Vice Minister.”
The person who came in first handed over a business card. He was the secretary to the Vice Minister of the Hero Department.
Though part of the same department, they rarely crossed paths.
“What brings you here?”
“I have a request from the Vice Minister to relay.”
“A request, you say…?”
“Are you aware of the Rank 4 party that appeared in this movie recently?”
Yoo Ji-cheol’s eyes widened as he looked at the screen of the mobile phone being held out.
The party that filmed the movie was Yoo Ji-han’s party.
It was impossible for him to be unaware since he had actively encouraged their promotion.
“Yes, I’m well aware.”
“The Vice Minister instructed me to consider their promotion.”
“…The Vice Minister himself?”
Yoo Ji-cheol could hardly believe what the secretary had said.
Yoo Ji-han’s party had passed the Hero Academy, and the superhero movie was enjoying a brief surge in popularity, but—
They were ultimately just one of many common Rank 4 parties worldwide.
It was not a position that warranted mention by an official at the level of Vice Minister.
“Could you tell me more about the reasoning behind this?”
“Well…”
“While there is an internal recommendation system in the Hero Department, as you know, promotions to Rank 3 and above are not something we can decide lightly.”
The system for hero parties operates on an absolute ranking system.
Among them, Rank 3 is a coveted goal sought after by many heroes.
In reality, we could say that more than half of active heroes end up at Rank 3 parties.
To climb beyond that requires something exceptional that transcends mere adequacy.
‘It’s too soon for Yoo Ji-han’s party to reach Rank 3.’
Yoo Ji-cheol understood why Yoo Ji-han’s party was drawing attention.
At the time they were Rank 5, he had even recommended them personally.
But the circumstances were different now that they were seeking Rank 3 status.
They would need to deal with Rank 3 monsters, not to mention that they had to do more than just possess magical power!
While Yoo Ji-han’s party might have performed feats surpassing their rank, lifting them to Rank 3 less than a year after debuting felt inherently risky.
“The Vice Minister apparently watched the movie upon the recommendation of his child and then sought out that department store’s footage separately.”
“…Are you talking about the security level C footage?”
“Yes.”
The footage from the department store where Yoo Ji-han’s party defeated the Barbarians.
The Vice Minister had directly confirmed the unedited video from that time.
While there were restrictions on viewing it outside of authorized personnel in the Hero Department’s database, it would have been accessible to the Vice Minister.
“The performance displayed by Yoo Ji-han’s party in the department store was evaluated as very impressive.”
“That’s true, but… what they demonstrated was a power they claim they stumbled upon. It’s not something they could easily reproduce.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party showcasing their prowess while restraining the Barbarians in Bucheon would certainly warrant recognition as heroes above Rank 3.
In fact, it would be embarrassing to treat them merely as Rank 4.
The staff responsible for editing the footage insisted on whether it was manipulated, but all that was confirmed was that it was unaltered.
However, the powers shown at that time were not freely wielded by them.
The explosive magic performance seen in the footage did not reflect their capabilities on average.
“Anyway, I’m just here to relay the Vice Minister’s words.”
“…Understood.”
The secretary, having conveyed all the Vice Minister’s opinions, exited the office.
Yoo Ji-cheol’s colleague resumed working.
Yet, Yoo Ji-cheol found himself deep in thought as he stared down at the desk.
‘It seems it’s not an outright demand.’
This wasn’t an order from higher-ups demanding Yoo Ji-han’s party transition to Rank 3.
It was merely a request to assess whether they were deserving.
‘If Yoo Ji-han’s party achieves Rank 3, it will effectively be the fastest promotion ever.’
There had been nearly no cases of 0-year parties reaching Rank 3 in Korea.
Even those that had were mostly heroes with sufficient experience and skill forming new parties after leaving existing ones.
While there had been no attempts, parties under the standard were weeded out during the evaluation process.
But if it’s Yoo Ji-han’s party being called for evaluation?
How would the promotion evaluators assess them?
Yoo Ji-cheol himself couldn’t easily anticipate that.
*
Today was the day for Yoon Do-ha’s special training at Dice.
Having simply packed a bag, Yoo Ji-han stepped out of the guild office.
The other party members had already left for their respective training sessions.
“Yoo Ji-han.”
“…?”
At that moment, someone in a suit approached and spoke to him.
Though his name was called, it was a face Yoo Ji-han had never seen before.
“Are you Yoo Ji-han from Sweet Fun Guild?”
“Yes, that’s me, but who are you?”
“Allow me to introduce myself.”
He handed over a business card with his name on it.
[Happy Time]
– Sin Jae Woo
– Junior Employee, HR Team
– Jung-gu, Seoul…
“Happy Time?”
“Yes, I’m Sin Jae Woo from the HR team.”
He was an employee belonging to the HR team of the Happy Time Guild, part of the top ten guilds.
‘What is this?’
Yoo Ji-han had no past connections with Happy Time whatsoever.
At most, he had encountered parties from that guild a few times in a specific Rank 2 Monster Area.
Even then, he had disguised his identity completely.
“What’s this about?”
“I’d like to have a brief chat.”
“Just say it here.”
“Could we not change locations?”
“I have a schedule, so it’s difficult. If it’s a long conversation, please come back another time.”
“Um…”
In the open hallway, Sin Jae Woo, eyeing the passing people, finally spoke bluntly.
“Then I’ll be direct.”
“Sure.”
“Would you be interested in joining our Happy Time Guild?”
“What?”
Caught off guard, Yoo Ji-han frowned.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’d like to inquire if you have the intention to leave your current guild and join Happy Time.”
This was a request from an HR employee to leave his current guild and join a new one.
“Are you… proposing a job transfer?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t hearing things.
Sin Jae Woo was genuinely proposing a job transfer to Yoo Ji-han.
Yoo Ji-han wore a befuddled expression.
A hero’s job transfer held a different weight and significance than that of an ordinary office worker.
“I’m the master of one party.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you making such a proposal? Besides, don’t you know that if an academy student changes guilds, they are automatically disqualified from support programs?”
“We’re aware of that. We’ll provide you with sufficient compensation separate from your salary for that.”
“…”
A declaration that he’d receive a sum equivalent to what he would lose from being disqualified at the academy.
For an employee from HR to come and say such meant that some sort of internal discussions had been concluded.
It wasn’t a statement made lightly.
‘What utter nonsense…’
Yoo Ji-han almost hastily rejected only to pause.
As much as Happy Time was a guild with considerable influence, he wanted to at least hear why they sought him.
“Why do you want to bring me on board?”
“Well…”
“Is this because of the movie that just released?”
“I won’t deny that.”
It seemed Happy Time Guild had been greatly impressed by that movie.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”
“You don’t need to give an answer right away. Take your time to consider the terms…”
“No! Even if I take more time, my decision won’t change. I’m sorry.”
“Still…”
Yoo Ji-han firmly expressed his rejection of the job transfer offer and left.
Sin Jae Woo wore a disappointed expression but didn’t cling to him any longer as he was busy.
After getting into the vehicle heading to Dice, Yoo Ji-han leaned back comfortably in his seat.
He closed his eyes and thought.
‘That I received a job transfer offer from a major guild.’
Just a little while ago, Yoo Ji-han had fled from Keroes in a hurry.
Given his lack of properly documented experience and only his age, it was a mystery which guild would want to take him in.
He had worried about being overlooked even in mid-sized or small guilds.
Yet now, a major guild wanted to bring him on board.
‘How ridiculous.’
Yoo Ji-han internally laughed at the stark irony.
“Ji-han, did something good happen?”
“Oh, well…”
Even upon reaching the training center of Dice, the excitement didn’t leave him.
Yoon Do-ha, sensing the change in Yoo Ji-han’s mood, asked about it.
“…So, Happy Time proposed a job transfer to you?”
“Of course, I turned them down.”
Yoo Ji-han replied with a hint of swagger.
However, Yoon Do-ha’s expression, having heard the brief story, looked less than pleased.
“Were they seriously trying to take a hero that even I couldn’t bring in?”
“Excuse me?”
“How dare they?”
A small wrinkle appeared on Yoon Do-ha’s forehead.
The audacity to attempt recruiting a Spirit Master who had not been brought into Dice was infuriating for him.
Dududududu—
Yoo Ji-han felt the ground shake lightly.
It wasn’t quite enough to be called an earthquake.
A bit taken aback, he adjusted his posture slightly.
‘Could it be…’
The earth spirit, Yoon Do-ha.
Could his emotional shifts be causing the ground to tremble?
“That Happy Time guild master really is a brat.”
“…”
Maybe it’s not so strange that there would be few who could outright call a guild master of a major guild a brat—but Yoon Do-ha was certainly among them.
With a count on his fingers, one could probably identify only a handful of those bold enough.
And Yoon Do-ha was evidently among them.
“I’ll have to give them a piece of my mind later.”
Yoon Do-ha relaxed his face.
As the frown on his forehead vanished, so did the shaking of the ground.
It turned out that it had indeed been a phenomenon brought on by him.
‘Did I speak too freely?’
Yoo Ji-han gulped, while observing the calm ground.
Yoon Do-ha had previously attempted to take over Sweet Fun but failed.
He resolved in his mind not to casually share any related news.
‘By the way, what power…’
The ability to influence his surroundings merely through fleeting changes in emotion was tremendous.
If this was truly the power of a high-level spirit master,
then someday, Yoo Ji-han too would surely have to reach that level.
*
“Whew…”
After finishing training, Kim Si-hu sat down on a chair to rest.
His arms and legs trembled.
Today, being a mage also meant physical training throughout the training sessions.
Just then, Jung Young-wook approached and handed him a cold canned drink.
“Oh, I’ll enjoy this!”
“Si-hu, I watched the movie you guys filmed.”
“You saw it too?”
Jung Young-wook had heard the rumors around and watched the movie from Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Initially having no expectations, he couldn’t deny that it turned out to be quite entertaining.
“During the sparring match we had before, Yoo Ji-han really fought well.”
“Really? He’s got to be good, right?”
“The magic he used in the video… that was definitely magic?”
“Right.”
“A warrior using magic, honestly speaking, it’s good enough to be envious.”
Kim Si-hu smiled as he received praises for his party member.
He was genuinely happy as if it were his own accomplishments.
But Kim Si-hu was oblivious of one thing.
‘To be honest, isn’t he above you?’
There was a thought that Jung Young-wook kept to himself.
“Oops! Did I mention that?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s likely my party will be promoted to Rank 3 soon.”
Jung Young-wook’s party was preparing to challenge for promotion to Rank 3.
They weren’t too far into their first year, but they were confident.
There were Rank 3 parties that had been active for over a year that would have to tip their hats to them.
“That’s a pretty fast rise.”
“It’s more like it was delayed because of academy activities.”
“Hope it goes well.”
“Well, I don’t think it’ll be too difficult. The guild is giving a lot of support.”
They were practicing sparring matches with higher-ranked parties in Dice to prepare for the promotion examination.
Additionally, the support from previously promoted Rank 3 parties was plentiful.
Dice Guild was sparing no effort to support Jung Young-wook’s party, which had high chances for promotion.
Buzzz—
At that moment, Kim Si-hu’s mobile phone rang.
It was a call from Yoo Ji-cheol in the Hero Department.
