Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Promotion Exam (3)
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Jeong Do-jin and Heo Ji-tae passed the remaining stamina tests one by one, just a single spot apart in the rankings.
“This is~~!! All the cheering I can give you~~!!”
No, a correction was in order.
It wasn’t Jeong Do-jin who had passed. It was El Ayla.
“Shall we pick up the pace? You can run a bit faster!”
Even when Heo Ji-tae had to sprint at full speed just to stay alive.
“Yes, that’s it! Dazzling!”
Even when dodging incoming tennis balls for five straight minutes.
“Abs guard! Perfect! You’re the best!”
Even when advancing ten meters while blocking gale-force winds with a shield.
While El Ayla shattered record after record, that damn lazy summoner bastard just sat in the back, tossing out a cheer or two for her now and then.
‘Should I kill him? No, hold back. My inner assassin.’
‘I just want to pretend my hand slipped and smack him once.’
‘If I don’t spam hate comments on Yeo-guy’s channel when I get home, I’m not human.’
The examinees’ eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
For exactly ten seconds.
‘Ah, but El-jang is insanely pretty.’
‘She’s a ghost, so why does she smell like flowers when she brushes past?’
‘Yeo-guy, I’ll let it slide because of El-jang.’
Whip and carrot had nothing on this—the rage toward Jeong Do-jin was matched only by the rising fondness for El Ayla.
Of course, Jeong Do-jin wasn’t exactly at ease either.
‘Mana’s draining fast. Have I kept the summon up too long?’
El Ayla was a powerful summon.
Maintaining her for hours without potions was tough.
Fortunately, the test scores had already cleared the passing threshold.
So, wasn’t it fine to swap out the player now?
“Time for a sub. Call Carnival Zombie Platoon!”
“Ughhhh…”
The zombies were pre-registered summons too.
Swapping them in wasn’t against the rules.
‘If this is banned, then other hunters would have to take the test using just one skill, right?’
Summons were ultimately part of a summoner’s abilities.
However.
To the examinees, it was an act of blue-sky betrayal.
“Gyaeeeeek!! El-jang turned into a zombie!!”
“Aob?”
El Ayla had bolstered their spirits through grueling tests, squeezing out strength they didn’t even know they had.
She’d been the test site’s idol, and now with one blink, she’d swapped into scrawny zombies. Of course they freaked out.
“Yeoto, you personality-wrecking bastard!!”
“Why is this cheese bread bear so damn cutesy!!”
“Guwaaaaa!!”
“Ayob~ Guwaaak~ Ob~.”
Examinees fleeing from the zombie subs.
No, they weren’t even that rotten. Why were they acting like this?
Jeong Do-jin sighed and grumbled.
“Sigh, getting hate just for being a summoner again. So unfair.”
This time it really pissed him off.
Even Heo Ji-tae and Yeoto’s fans had nearly lost it to murderous rage.
“This concludes the stamina test.”
After hours of morning trials.
The examiner addressed the sweat-soaked hunters.
“We’ll move to the strategy test after lunch, so please rest up, shower, and return here by the designated time. That is all.”
The examinees scattered to pursue their own agendas.
Jeong Do-jin headed to the cafeteria for some water.
‘Easy. No worries about the strategy test at this rate.’
During the tests, Jeong Do-jin had set three new records.
E-grade records, sure, but still.
No one at his level could compare.
His passing was 99% a done deal.
But praise always breeds envy.
“...Tch. What a show-off prick.”
Some examinees watched his retreating back from afar, faces twisted in genuine spite.
“Just hit the minimum and be done with it, but no, he’s gotta grandstand.”
“That desperate for attention? Pathetic.”
They ignored that promotion exams were meant to prove your skills.
They also skipped mentioning their own failed attempts to catch scouts’ eyes with desperate efforts.
Envy came first; reasons were just excuses.
That’s why words could never convince them.
And so.
“Doesn’t that piss you off? That bastard’s antics.”
“Huh? Who the hell are you?”
Someone targeted them, approaching with intent.
“Does who I am matter? Look at that shameless prick. He’s wrecking the test just to pass himself. Cocky as hell, right?”
The shady-faced man lowered his voice.
“I saw your scores. Stamina’s whatever, but strategy? You might not hit the bar Yeoto set.”
“...Who the fuck are you? You picking a fight?”
“Hey, don’t get mad, just listen.”
-Tap tap. The man knocked on his own head.
“If Yeoto keeps showboating, top scores go that high. Normally knee-deep is passing, but chest-high? Fail city.”
-Thud thud. Then he thumped his chest.
The vivid gestures made the examinees swallow hard.
“That attention-whore crap turns you into fails out of nowhere. Make sense?”
But in truth, promotion exams didn’t work that way.
Such scoring would render the test meaningless.
Passing would hinge on luck per trial.
Human-made tests weren’t perfect, but the Association’s weren’t that unfair.
“Damn. So what do you want us to do?”
But the examinees didn’t know that.
Grading criteria were top Association secrets.
And the man had no intention of telling them.
He grinned ear to ear.
“Name’s Bok Beom-ho. I rub shoulders with some big shots, real deal.”
“...Big shots?”
“I like making friends. Already got a few like-minded ones here.”
Praise and cheers always draw envy.
But people overlook one thing.
Those with much aren’t immune to jealousy.
“If you’re game, join us for a little job.”
Regular envy festers darkly.
The haves’ envy strikes viciously.
Backroom schemes to ruin the disliked.
Promotion exam observation came in two flavors.
‘Watch in a big hall with other guilds’ reps, or private room with guildmates.’
Natu Guild usually went communal.
Easier to network.
‘But not this time.’
Shin Seung-ah glanced at Jeong So-won, who fiddled with the remote beside her.
“Why book a private room this time?”
“Perk for A-rank-plus guilds. Gotta use it sometimes.”
“...Obvious excuse, but whatever. I’ll let it slide.”
Instead of answering, Shin Seung-ah eyed Jeong So-won’s head.
Why? To keep an eye on someone’s screw-ups.
‘Staring at the TV before it even starts.’
Clueless or playing dumb?
Shin Seung-ah wiped sweat from her brow in relief.
“Stamina test wrapped up ages ago.”
The highlight was the gate strategy test.
Stamina was just basic checks.
Gate strategy test.
A mission-based raid competition inside the gate.
“Examinees should be at the gate by now. Starting soon.”
“I know. I saw the message too.”
“Meaning you can put the remote down.”
“...I know.”
Jeong So-won meekly set it aside.
Grinning Shin Seung-ah grabbed the guidebook.
“Anyway, where’s this test site?”
“Hang on… Here. Boiled Dog Altar.”
Boiled Dog Altar.
A gate as safe as its silly name.
“Oh, this was mine for promotion too.”
Shin Seung-ah reminisced briefly.
Over fifteen years ago for her.
“Yeah? Got nabbed as kobold chow?”
“As if. Took first easy. You’re not sulking ’cause I tease you lately, right?”
“...No.”
Monsters here: kobolds!
E-grade dog-like bipeds.
Pangu (): ‘boiled dog.’
Sinister meaning behind the funny sound.
That was the gate’s gimmick and goal.
Boss: ‘Kobold Shaman.’
Shin Seung-ah shook her head distastefully.
“Boil intruders alive as offerings? Creepy in hindsight.”
“Monsters gonna monster. But that makes it paradoxically ‘safest gate.’ They anesthetize and nab hunters—no harm.”
“Till dungeon break.”
Two key features.
One: city-sized dungeon.
Two: monsters don’t kill intruders.
‘These kobolds won’t scratch offerings even if it kills them.’
Even if allies die attacking, sacrifice lives.
Locked healthy in cages.
So, lose to monsters? No death.
Meals are bug cuisine, though.
‘Weapons: tranq guns and wooden clubs only.’
Perfect promotion test site.
Examinees can botch hard—no deaths or injuries from monsters.
‘Only tripping mid-fight, maybe.’
Trip and hurt? Still too scared?
Quit hunting then.
‘Era changes, but hunters protect people from monsters. Scared of scrapes? Laughable.’
Shin Seung-ah nodded to herself, then asked.
“Guild Master, they don’t touch sacrifices till break, right?”
She’d cleared it but knew little.
Her talent shot her up fast.
Promoted before repeats.
“Yeah. Gate’s huge—months to break. Why?”
“...After break?”
“Use sacrifices to summon monsters.”
Jeong So-won, gate expert, answered promptly.
“Like D-rank ‘Slaughterhouse.’ Sacrifice-type. Summons stronger than gate rank on conditions.”
“Eugh… Safe, but caged? Nightmare.”
What else could ‘use sacrifice’ mean?
Caged hunter: instant chills.
Like a live pig in the fridge.
Examinees needn’t worry much.
“Five months till break here. Association rescues post-test.”
Dungeon breaks: absolute no-gos.
Association prevents rigorously.
“All good then. Hollywood hunter wannabes get a wake-up today.”
“They should retire. Stay? They’re future post-Charlotte idiots.”
The A-rank duo judged harshly.
But as seniors, it was tough love.
Hunters fight deadly monsters.
Can’t force grit on misfits.
“Gate raids ain’t games.”
Humanity built on tech.
Electricity still kills.
Monsters too.
They exist beyond screens.
“...Except one guy.”
Jeong So-won smiled unwittingly.
Necromancer examiner’s gate feed.
Jeong Do-jin appeared in frame.