Chapter 129
Chapter 129: Rank 3 (9)
“Yu-ri! Just trust me!”
“…”
The sparring of Party Number 5, which included Min Yu-ri.
Even Chilla was at the forefront with the warriors, but Min Ju-yong stubbornly insisted on protecting Min Yu-ri.
‘That was an easy win.’
Min Yu-ri, who hadn’t faced even a single threat from the enemy in the rear.
Thanks to her contributions during the sparring, victory went to Party Number 5.
If the Hero Department had been watching, they would have had to give her a passing score.
Meanwhile, Jung Young-wook, waiting by Yoo Ji-han’s side, mumbled.
“It seems you can’t match with party members you’re in the same group with.”
“Yeah, right.”
The parties that matched up in the sparring were not composed of any party members from their own groups.
Perhaps this was to prevent any favoritism or manipulation of the tests.
“Prepare for the sparring between Party Number 7 and Party Number 11.”
Soon, Yoo Ji-han’s second sparring was coming up.
Before the sparring, he advised the two mages who were responsible for dealing damage to conserve as much mana as possible.
Boom!
Boom!
But despite his advice, the mages unleashed their spells recklessly.
Thanks to that, they quickly secured a win in the sparring.
“Sigh…”
“It’s tough…”
The mages, who hadn’t had much mana to begin with, exhausted most of it and collapsed.
What he had been worried about from the start had come true.
“Can you still use magic?”
“I’m out of mana.”
“Oh, can you at least use small spells about three times…?”
The female mage indicated she could cast magic about three times.
The only one remaining in decent condition was Jung Young-wook, who had been managing his stamina.
‘If I win just one more time, it’ll be a three-win streak.’
Yoo Ji-han didn’t want to let even one win slip away.
At that moment, Jung Young-wook approached.
“What should we do?”
Jung Young-wook asked for Yoo Ji-han’s opinion first.
Although he was the captain of his party, the decision-making power in this temporary party had somehow shifted to Yoo Ji-han.
“I have an idea in mind.”
Yoo Ji-han looked down at the resting mages.
Soon, four people quietly discussed amongst themselves.
A few minutes later, their final sparring was set.
“Hmm!”
The two mages had determined expressions.
Knowing that Party Number 7 was on a winning streak, the opposing side appeared somewhat anxious.
“Start!”
Even with the signal from the referee, neither party moved.
In a standoff, they aimed their weapons at each other, engaged in a brief battle of nerves.
Then it happened.
“Charge!”
At Yoo Ji-han’s signal,
All members of Party Number 7 charged towards the opposition.
“…?!”
The sudden charge from not just the warriors but also the mages took the opposing team by surprise.
They geared up for defense, leading with the tanker clad in plate armor.
[Ice Bolt]
[Fiery Touch]
…
…
Magic flew in from close range.
At the moment the tanker raised his shield to deflect it—
“Ahhh!”
The male mage, drained of mana, stuck to the tanker’s shield.
A mage engaging in melee combat?!
The tanker desperately tried to shake him off, but the female mage stepped in to bind the man’s movements.
——If there’s a tanker on the opposing side, the two of you make sure to restrain the tanker’s feet.
The two acted according to Yoo Ji-han’s request.
“Damn it!”
Although the opposing heroes tried to help their tanker, they had to first prevent Yoo Ji-han and Jung Young-wook, who had already infiltrated deep within.
[Ice Field]
Jung Young-wook spread ice all over the ground and polished it to make it as slippery as possible.
Then the opposing mage attempted to break the ice or use fire magic to melt it.
However, thanks to Jung Young-wook pouring mana relentlessly into it, the ice persisted.
The warriors had no choice but to struggle to maintain their balance on the frozen ground.
“Ugh!”
In that situation, Yoo Ji-han attacked the warriors with ease.
How was that possible?
It was all thanks to the sharp spikes he had requested Jung Young-wook to attach to the soles of his shoes.
Jung Young-wook had maintained that magic with multi-casting since before the sparring began.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thanks to the spikes, his shoes prevented slipping, firmly supporting Yoo Ji-han’s movements on the ice.
The opposing side was thrown into chaos by his follow-up attacks.
“Ichi-yoon is out!”
The mages, who were clinging to the tanker, were eliminated one by one.
However, the number of heroes on the opposing side who had already been incapacitated was increasing.
“Victory for Party Number 7!”
Ultimately, Yoo Ji-han, having knocked down all opponents, finished the trial with a clean sweep.
“We did it!”
“Well done!”
Clap!
Jung Young-wook, with a very delighted face, high-fived Yoo Ji-han.
He hadn’t expected to achieve a clean sweep with a makeshift party.
‘This guy, I really envy him.’
The true hero of victory was unquestionably Yoo Ji-han.
Not only fulfilling the basic role of a warrior, but also actively serving as the center of his party.
Jung Young-wook had felt this in the previous battles, but today it solidified in his mind even more.
“Hyung!”
Kim Si-hu, who had finished sparring first, ran over.
Jung Young-wook glanced at him, thinking.
‘To think a hero like this is in the same party as Kim Si-hu…’
If only he had been with me, we could have created an even more amazing party!
As he looked at Yoo Ji-han, Jung Young-wook licked his lips in desire.
*
At the magic treatment room of a university hospital.
Moon Kyung-jin from the Knife Guild was in the midst of rehabilitation training there.
“One more roundhouse kick!”
“Phew!”
Thanks to the blessed condition of being a hero, the speed of physical recovery was abnormally fast.
However, equipped with artificial limbs to replace his lost leg and fingers, he required regular maintenance.
“Good work.”
An employee from the Knife Guild assisting Moon Kyung-jin brought a cold wet towel.
However, as Moon Kyung-jin touched the towel, he contorted his face in displeasure.
“Hey! This is way too cold!”
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
“Bring me something else immediately.”
Smack!
Moon Kyung-jin threw the wet towel at the employee’s face, voicing his complaints.
As the bent-over employee hurriedly exited the treatment room,
A friend watching the rehabilitation from a distance chimed in.
“Is it okay to treat a Guild member like that?”
“What’s he gonna do about it? The one paying the bills is my brother.”
Moon Kyung-jin, not understanding what the problem was.
The Guild Master of Knife, Moon Kyung-gu, was his brother by blood.
Thus, he acted as if he were the Guild Master himself within the guild.
“If he promises me a bonus, he won’t complain at all.”
“Money is indeed nice.”
The mid-tier guild Knife owned several blacksmith brands.
Due to the substantial overall sales of equipment, their cash reserves ranked among the top even among guilds of the same level.
The wages of the employees were also not shabby compared to large guilds, so there were rarely instances of disgruntled employees resigning.
“How’s the leg?”
“Ah, I’m liking it more and more.”
Moon Kyung-jin’s leg was subtly different in color above and below the knee.
When he first had the prosthetic limb attached, he felt so uncomfortable he thought he might die.
Now, however, that discomfort had significantly diminished.
In fact, it was sturdier than his real body, and thanks to improved mana control, Moon Kyung-jin felt very satisfied.
“Should I replace all my body parts with artificial ones?”
“No, that might be a bit…”
“In any case, I’m going to crush that jerk soon.”
That jerk referred to Yoo Ji-han, who had done this to him.
His friend, knowing Moon Kyung-jin’s situation, wore a mischievous smile.
“What are you gonna do afterward?”
“Hey, now I have some sense. I won’t make it obvious.”
“Then?”
“There’ll be opportunities to fight with my classmates at Hero Academy. I’ll show him then.”
He vowed to take down Yoo Ji-han through real skill.
Losing on the apartment stairs was just a coincidence.
If they fought properly, he was confident he could win.
“Have they seen that movie?”
“Why would I waste my time watching a video of hunting slugs?”
“…”
Moon Kyung-jin didn’t understand why Yoo Ji-han’s party’s movie was a hit.
He thought it was silly to brag about just catching slugs.
His friend, who had watched the movie from beginning to end, wore a subtle expression but refrained from commenting.
“I heard that guy is trying to level up.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
“But he probably won’t be able to.”
Moon Kyung-jin was certain that Yoo Ji-han’s party wouldn’t make it to Rank 3.
His friend tilted his head in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“I got my brother to pull some strings.”
“Really? Is that possible?”
“Our guild has some connections with high-ranking officials in the Hero Department.”
“Wow…”
His friend was surprised anew by the considerable influence of the Knife Guild.
Having often benefited from being close to Moon Kyung-jin, he thought to grow closer to him.
*
“Joo-yong, thank you for your hard work.”
“Ugh! Don’t go, Yu-ri…”
The 3rd Exam for Rank 3 had concluded.
The temporary party formed for it was disbanded, and all heroes returned to their respective places.
—I will now announce the parties that passed.
Yoo Ji-han’s party, which had all received passing scores, survived the 3rd Exam.
Jung Young-wook’s party, which had briefly worked alongside him, passed as well.
“This is unbelievable!”
Unfortunately, the Min Ju-yong party did not make it onto the list of successful parties.
More than half of the members in the party did not meet the passing criteria.
“Please reassess us!”
—The eliminated parties please exit.
“No way!”
Min Ju-yong, who seemed about to throw a tantrum after being eliminated, was dragged out of the exam room by his party members who held onto his limbs.
Even as he was being pulled away, his gaze on Min Yu-ri made Yoo Ji-han think of the word obsession.
—The final interview assessment will take place tomorrow at 1 PM.
The remaining step towards Rank 3 was now just the interview.
Once the exam had concluded, Yoo Ji-han’s party returned to their office, preparing for the interview until late into the night, waiting for the next day.
Then the next day.
As Yang Ji-cheol arrived at the Hero Department to participate in the interview assessment…
He received new news from his superior.
“Are you telling me the hero scheduled to attend the Rank 3 interview can’t make it?!”
“He’s having a scheduling conflict with an overseas business trip, so he can’t make it.”
“No, then why didn’t he say so yesterday…”
“It’s an important schedule that was changed on short notice, so he says he can’t attend. For now, we’ve decided to impose penalties on that guild.”
To not attend despite the penalties for the guild?
Yang Ji-cheol grumbled, thinking of the hero who broke his promise.
‘Damn that custom!’
It was precisely because the Rank-Up Test for a hero included an interview and that an external hero, rather than a civil servant, could be a part of it.
All of this was regulatory since the establishment of the Hero Department during the chaotic times.
A lot of time has passed since that confusing period.
The average level of heroes has risen compared to the past, and even ordinary civil servants know as much about heroes as the heroes themselves…
However, the regulations established in the past have persisted for decades without change.
No matter how much they claim to prioritize fairness, the heroes participating as interviewers had too much authority.
Calls for reform have arisen, yet due to the old customs solidifying, immediate signs of change were absent.
‘I’ve heard there’s some lobbying happening for the guild.’
External interviewers are usually directly recommended and appointed by high-ranking officials in the Hero Department.
And during that process, rumors suggested that specific guilds would pay insiders money or artifacts, among other rewards to lobby.
The high-ranking officials in the Hero Department, who rarely change even when regimes shift.
The resistance to changes in regulations might well be due to them.
“Another hero has arrived to substitute, so Ji-cheol, please guide him.”
“Another hero?”
“Over there.”
Yang Ji-cheol turned around and looked back.
A man with a grim look and a black mustache was walking towards him.
“…!”
Yang Ji-cheol recognized his face and widened his eyes.
The man who approached with a bright smile said,
“Ah ha! I’m Ji Gang-seok, dispatched here today!”
Ji Gang-seok.
As a Rank 2 Hero, he was the warrior representing Knife and was known as the right-hand man of the Guild Master, Moon Kyung-gu.
‘Why is a hero from Knife here…’
As Ji Gang-seok requested a handshake from Yang Ji-cheol,
Accepting the handshake, Yang Ji-cheol awkwardly smiled at the memory of the dispute he had mediated between Knife and Sweet Fun in the past.
