Chapter 125
Chapter 125: Rank 3 (5)
Kim Si-hu was closely watching Yoo Ji-han as he approached the barrier.
If he had any trouble crossing the barrier, he was ready to help him, even if it meant using magic.
‘There wasn’t any warning against using magic.’
The Hero Department had only instructed them to endure inside the barrier.
There were no other special restrictions imposed.
It seemed that the heroes charging toward the barrier with their bare bodies weren’t considering the rebound force.
Here, utilizing mana was permitted.
If that’s the case, it was entirely plausible for mages to assist their fellow party members.
But the moment Yoo Ji-han’s body made contact with the barrier…
Kim Si-hu frowned.
‘What’s going on?’
The resistance felt from the barrier touching Yoo Ji-han’s skin was almost nonexistent.
It was significantly weaker than when Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri entered moments ago.
Meanwhile, a few Rank 4 warriors a bit further away were still causing a ruckus outside the barrier.
Yoo Ji-han entered the barrier with an expression of complete calm.
‘What in the world…’
Kim Si-hu felt a little confused.
Yoo Ji-han’s entry was far more stable than that of a mage like himself.
‘It wasn’t like this before.’
Kim Si-hu had once crossed the barrier with Yoo Ji-han during the Giant Dandelion Monster incident at the golf course.
The resistance he felt back then was pretty normal.
But now, Yoo Ji-han was showing a level of stability against a thoroughly improved barrier.
“Not much, huh?”
Yoo Ji-han clenched and relaxed his hands a few times.
Before long, he was even jogging in place.
There were no issues crossing the barrier nor moving around inside it.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Kim Si-hu approached Yoo Ji-han and grabbed his arm.
Yoo Ji-han’s arm was toned from consistent training and combat.
He felt an intangible mana enveloping it.
‘This is…!’
The mana was thin to the point of being hard to perceive.
Yet it was an aura Kim Si-hu was all too familiar with.
It was none other than the mana of a Sylph.
“Hyung! Did you summon a Sylph just now?”
“No.”
There was no Sylph visible in Yoo Ji-han’s pockets or sleeves.
Yet here he was, using the mana of a spirit without summoning one!
That would be a feat difficult for anyone but an experienced Spirit Master.
“When did you wrap mana around yourself?”
“Did I use mana?”
“……!”
Yoo Ji-han wore an expression as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
He was completely unaware that he had used mana.
It indicated that this was not a result he was aiming for.
‘What’s going on?’
Kim Si-hu’s mind raced.
Two hypotheses popped into his head.
1. Yoo Ji-han unconsciously tapped into the mana of the Sylph.
2. The Sylph, sensing a threat, used mana autonomously to protect its contractor.
At the previous ecological park incident, the Sylph hadn’t followed Yoo Ji-han’s orders but had acted independently to prevent long-range sniping.
Given that, it was more likely that the latter was true…
Regardless of the right answer, the performance displayed was hard to believe for a novice spirit master.
*
About 25 minutes after Yoo Ji-han entered the barrier.
Checking the time on his mobile phone, Yoo Ji-han looked outside the barrier.
He could still see heroes struggling to get in.
‘About half of them.’
More than half of the heroes who had arrived at this location were still outside.
From their faces, most looked quite young.
They were a group that had recently reached Rank 4 and were attempting to level up to Rank 3.
They likely sought quick promotions, but this barrier served as a filter for the inexperienced heroes.
‘What a struggle.’
Yoo Ji-han’s party was undoubtedly the last of the assembled groups to reach Rank 4 in this gathering.
Considering that, he should have been struggling outside as well.
But having already entered the barrier, he felt bored waiting as time passed.
Min Yu-ri and Kim Si-hu were dozing off against Chilla…
What an ironic situation.
—In a moment, we will be concluding the 1st Exam.
“Ah, no!”
“Just five more minutes! Give us five more minutes!”
—1st Exam concluded.
—A disqualification message will be sent to any party that has not had all members enter the barrier.
—Parties receiving this message are to completely leave their positions.
“Gah…”
“Damn, we failed.”
Some of the heroes who had been inside the barrier were now leaving.
It was because a party member hadn’t yet entered.
A party containing both passers and failures.
They would likely either double down on their training from today or experience some strain in their relationships.
—There exists a party that has been inside the barrier for less than 20 minutes.
—Separate messages will be sent to the leaders of the parties that passed the exam first.
Roar!
Yoo Ji-han checked his phone for the message that had arrived.
[Please download the application from the link below.]
[https://www.hero.go.kr/app/…….]
The message sent from the Hero Department’s official number included a link to download a mobile app.
Yoo Ji-han clicked the link, downloaded the app, and ran it.
Soon a message appeared on the screen, stating they would begin the 2nd Exam shortly.
And about five minutes later…
—We will now begin the 2nd Exam.
With the announcement of the 2nd Exam, the barrier covering the sky disappeared.
Rumble—!
The ground shook heavily, and the flooring around them slowly opened up, revealing a long staircase leading down.
—All heroes in position, please descend the stairs into the basement.
Heroes, who had been glancing around cautiously, began descending the stairs one by one.
The staircase descended deeper than expected.
Thanks to the mana lights embedded in the walls, the underground wasn’t dark but rather bright.
‘They really prepared a lot.’
Besides the unexpected barrier, Yoo Ji-han could see that significant effort had gone into this exam.
“We’re here.”
Finally arriving at the bottom of the staircase, the heroes reached a flat floor.
In front of them stood a colossal door.
Then, a voice flowed from the speaker mounted on the wall.
—The 2nd Exam is a Dungeon Breakthrough.
“A dungeon?”
“Like in a game?”
As soon as the heroes voiced their confusion at the mention of the dungeon,
The phones of the party leaders vibrated.
Soon, a message popped up on their screens…
[Dungeon Simulator]
—The 2nd Exam’s objective is to escape from a virtual dungeon formed by Space Distortion magic.
—The first party to escape the dungeon will pass, and it is expected that over half of the parties that passed the 1st Exam will fail.
—The applications installed on the party leaders’ phones are programs designed to assist with dungeon navigation. For more details, please check the guide.
—We will begin admitting parties ten minutes from now.
“Whoa…”
“The scale of this exam is quite large.”
“Guys! Gather over here!”
The 2nd Exam was proceeding in a completely different manner than merely crossing a barrier.
The party leaders quickly summoned their members to their sides.
Yoo Ji-han was no exception.
“If it’s a dungeon… That means it’s like a game, right?”
“Probably.”
Yoo Ji-han and his party checked the dungeon guide.
It truly resembled the descriptions from some game.
As the speaker had said, the ultimate goal was to escape from the dungeon.
[The dungeon is prepared with various traps and obstacles to stop your advancement.]
[Don’t worry if you incur injuries! Click the ‘Give Up’ button to declare a mid-way disqualification, and a medical team will assist you.]
The Hero Department would only provide treatment if one declared a disqualification, suggesting that if they wanted to pass the exam, they should be prepared for at least minor injuries.
“Ah, I feel terrible right now.”
“Me too…”
The heroes who had struggled through the barrier of the 1st Exam clutched their throbbing heads.
The side effects from the enhanced barrier still lingered in their bodies.
The situation made them anxious about taking on the 2nd Exam in less than ideal condition.
“I want to get in quickly…!”
In contrast, Kim Si-hu appeared to be brimming with anticipation for the dungeon.
Space Distortion was a magic only suitable for certain mage heroes.
Not merely extending space, it seemed to have created a maze, so clearly, someone with an interest in magic like him couldn’t help but feel excited.
*
—We will now enter the dungeon.
—Parties called should enter through the door.
At the scheduled time, the Rank 4 parties gathered moved one by one beyond the door, following the guiding voice.
—Jung Young-wook’s party.
Among the first parties to enter was Jung Young-wook’s party.
The moment Kim Si-hu spotted Jung Young-wook, he looked at him, but
Jung Young-wook merely glanced at Kim Si-hu before passing by silently.
—Next, Yoo Ji-han’s party.
When it was their turn, Yoo Ji-han’s party opened the door and entered.
Even with Light Magic active, visibility was poor in the darkness surrounding them.
Yoo Ji-han remained on guard, ready to swing his sword at any moment.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, the surroundings brightened, revealing the landscape.
The ceiling and walls were entirely stone, resembling a cave, with a long space extending forward.
When Yoo Ji-han turned to look back, the door they had just opened was nowhere to be found.
“Whoa!”
Upon entering the dungeon, Kim Si-hu approached the candles mounted on the stone walls.
This space was created using magic, not machines.
Admiring the rough-hewn stone, he marveled at the craftsmanship.
“There’s no way they’d permit individuals or guilds to create a space distortion of this scale…”
“It’s fine since it’s a project by the country.”
“That’s a bit unfair.”
On Yoo Ji-han’s phone screen, the dungeon’s layout was shown based on his current location.
According to the guide, they could wirelessly recharge their phone batteries in the dungeon, and indeed, the battery was charging even without any action taken.
There was no risk of phones running out of battery.
“Chilla, come to my side.”
“Click!”
“Let’s maintain this formation.”
Yoo Ji-han, as usual, led the group forward.
At that moment, Kim Si-hu spoke.
“Shall we run?”
“No. Let’s keep a brisk walk, slightly faster than a stroll.”
Yoo Ji-han rejected his suggestion.
They couldn’t just dash blindly without knowing what might appear in front of them.
If this dungeon was a place where one could easily escape simply by running,
Then the very premise of the Hero Department presenting such a task as a promotion exam would be completely misguided.
‘Though I do trust my hyung…’
‘Isn’t it better to go faster?’
At the same time, while other parties were diligently running forth, they moved with caution.
In the seemingly endless dungeon, even Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri were becoming impatient.
But Yoo Ji-han absolutely refused to act haphazardly.
For good reason…
“There’s a fork in the road up ahead!”
“Let’s go right.”
“…You’re thinking it over and making a decision, right?”
“Of course.”
<—Following this path, the probability of escaping the dungeon is>
<14%>
In such situations, there was a particular ability that came in handy.
