Chapter 67: Interview (1)
The exam had ended.
In an instant, the scenery flipped around.
Before they knew it, the two of them were back inside the hospital room.
The pair, who had been staring at each other, asked simultaneously.
“Where did you…”
“The archer skillbook…”
The silence didn't last long. Seo Yerim nodded and spoke up.
“I got it. SSS-grade. Where did you go, Mr. Kim?”
“I took a bit of an exam too. It wasn't the kind that changes your job, but it seems there's a separate way to take those exams.”
“An exam?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you take it? Did that angel help you or something?”
“Something like that. They gave me something like a sponsorship certificate. It felt like you needed that to even take the exam.”
“Oh… Then I probably can't take it.”
She nodded with a disappointed look on her face.
It was an understandable reaction.
Now that she was an archer, what she wanted was to grow strong quickly and earn her grandfather's recognition.
“There might be a way.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But it seems like we'd have to wait a few months.”
The Heavenly Realm city teleport scroll he had obtained this time.
It looked like you could take the trainee exam there. Maybe he could get more teleport scrolls or sponsorship certificates in that place.
But to go there, he needed to hit level 300, which would take some time.
‘I should help if I can.’
From the Sword Sage who gave him the ancient dragon's corpse and byproducts last time, to Sword Seal risking his life to help in the gate.
He owed the Sword Sea Pavilion a lot.
So he planned to help if possible.
Of course, he needed to get something out of it first.
“Ms. Seo.”
“Yes?”
“Don't you want to get even stronger?”
“If it's possible?”
“Then join our guild.”
“Uh… the Lavish Guild?”
“Yeah. It's an elite guild that only takes in talent destined to become world rankers. And you don't have a guild, right?”
“That's true, but…”
“Then come on over. I'll take good care of you.”
An SSS-grade archer.
Her value was only going to skyrocket from here. And as she rose, so would the guild's reputation.
Having her as a guild member would be perfect for pumping in more investment funds.
Sword Sage Seo Yerim.
That was a name with weight not just in Korea, but worldwide.
So he had to snag her first.
“Would I have to do guild activities or something?”
“Nah. I'm too lazy for that kind of stuff.”
Necromancer was a solo class by design. He didn't plan on party play unless it was a special case.
Seo Yerim tilted her head at that.
“If the guild doesn't do group activities, what's the point…?”
He turned on his phone.
Tapped a few times, then showed her the group chat.
[Park Siwoo]
—Bro, thank goodness you came back alive from the gate! I was seriously scared for a second. You okay?
(Emoji sweating bullets and biting thumb)
[1 hour ago]
[Kim Minwoo]
—Yeah. All good.
[1 second ago]
“It's like a community. If someone's having a tough time, we talk about it and help each other out. That's something we can do, right?”
“I guess so…”
“And the benefits are top-notch.”
“Benefits?”
“I just changed your job for you this time. Think that'll only happen once?”
“Now that you mention it, I was curious…”
“Long story short, I have something like a shop. You buy stuff with resources other than money.”
“Something like that exists?”
“Yeah. That's how I got it for you. So, wanna join?”
“Okay. I'll join.”
He grinned and offered a handshake.
“Welcome to our guild.”
“Please take care of me.”
They shook hands.
“Join the guild group chat too. Oh, and you should learn that skillbook while we're at it.”
“Yeah, I should.”
She pulled the skillbook from her inventory.
Soon after.
Flash!
● The fate of one of the main characters, 'Seo Yerim,' begins to twist dramatically!
● Achievement points awarded!
● You possess the Achievement Vending Machine! Double points awarded!
A brilliant light filled the room.
He checked the achievement shop.
From zero points before.
‘…100 points?’
Hold on.
This was double points?
‘That's too low.’
That meant only 50 base points.
He got 200 for making her practice archery.
But actually turning her into an archer only gave 100?
The math didn't add up.
Together, it was 300 points.
Exactly the same as when he awakened Park Siwoo.
‘What is this?’
No point dwelling on points already earned.
He looked at Seo Yerim.
“What popped up?”
“This.”
[Seo Yerim shares her skill window!]
[Divine Bow Iferin (SSS)]
[Effect 1. Summons the Divine Bow. The Divine Bow grows with its owner.]
[Effect 2. Gain powerful bonuses when wielding the Divine Bow.]
[Effect 3. Fire arrows using mana. Mana arrows contain random attributes.]
[Effect 4. Declare a 'Kill Zone' in a designated area.]
Soon, a bow materialized above her hand.
It seemed like the same type of skill as Park Siwoo's holy sword.
‘Is there some connection?’
Or just coincidence?
He couldn't tell yet.
“Do you happen to know it?”
“My weapon?”
“Yeah.”
She blinked.
She glanced back and forth between the bow and Kim Minwoo for a moment.
“… What's a Death Lord?”
“Cedric.”
Cedric popped out with a tilt of his head.
—What is it?
“You know anything about that weapon?”
Cedric stared at Seo Yerim's bow and nodded.
—… I think I do. Divine Bow Iferin?
Seo Yerim's eyes widened.
“How do you know my skill name?”
Cedric stared at Kim Minwoo. When he nodded, Cedric turned to her and spoke.
—Because someone in the master's guild has a similar weapon.
“A similar weapon?”
—It was a holy sword. That holy sword targeted the Death Lord, my former master. Iferin is similar.
“Why would my bow and that holy sword target your former master?”
—Because they were one party.
“A party…?”
—Hero party. Something like that.
“A hero party?”
—Yeah. My former master was an incredible undead. They formed a party to stop him. They failed in the end.
Kim Minwoo listened with great interest.
‘A hero party.’
Park Siwoo and Seo Yerim.
Was it pure coincidence that they got weapons from a hero party that fought the Death Lord?
‘Doesn't seem like it.’
No matter how he looked at it, no.
It screamed interference.
But who could interfere in something like this?
“Cedric.”
—You called?
“About the Lord's arrangements. Could that apply here too?”
—… Probably not. Even the Lord couldn't manipulate hero party weapons that easily.
So if not the Lord, some other entity interfered.
‘… The existence that Angel Jiphrael mentioned?’
The one too burdensome to even name.
It seemed plausible.
Skills from the same achievement rank were all different.
Yet two SSS-grade skillbooks produced weapons like that.
To rig odds like that, it had to be some major existence.
The question was.
‘Why?’
Why attach hero party weapons to him?
‘To screw me over?’
Too many things didn't fit that theory.
Just this time alone proved it.
Job change ticket 99% discount.
Getting sucked into the re-exam together.
Even mid-tier angel Jiphrael's sponsorship.
Was all that coincidence? It felt like that great existence was helping him.
‘Any reason to backstab here?’
None.
At least from what he'd seen so far.
‘Then maybe they think it's beneficial for me?’
What did they gain from giving the Death Lord's successor hero party weapons?
Some synergy?
He still didn't know.
“Cedric. How many in the hero party?”
—Swordsman, archer, mage, assassin. Four total.
‘Perfect match.’
Sword genius Park Siwoo.
Magic genius Han Sia.
Archery genius Seo Yerim.
And the last one, Namgung Min.
‘Born with assassin talent.’
Four main characters gathered in the stage 6 difficulty.
And a four-man hero party.
‘To get achievement points, I need to approach Namgung Min and Han Sia too.’
They'd probably end up with similar weapons somehow.
This reeked of someone setting up a big board.
‘Great existence. The great existence I met…’
A thought suddenly struck him.
Right after dueling the Sword Sage for achievements.
When he passed out, those existences he saw.
[Warning!]
[The existences behind the curtain have sensed something off!]
That message.
Afterward, he saw the message about opening the horizon.
‘And that led to the achievement shop.’
The shop made him approach the main characters, and thus they got hero party weapons.
‘1, 2, 3, 4.’
Four existences, each numbered.
Number 1 stood out.
The bracket symbol in the message was different first.
It matched the message right before starting stage 6.
Also.
[1. He has shown potential. Should we raise humanity's growth limit?]
First to voice an opinion among the four.
[1. No time for chit-chat. We need to settle this agenda before he wakes. I'm in favor.]
Most aggressively in favor.
‘Number 1. Highest chance they set this up. Maybe the one who brought me here?’
One more inference.
From Jiphrael's words, 1 might be a high angel. Not confirmed, of course. Just not enough info.
‘… Then the 200 and 100 points. Doesn't feel like coincidence either.’
Making Seo Yerim an archer.
Assuming that totaled 300 points, normally it'd be 100 then 200.
But reversed.
‘To match exactly the job change price?’
Or maybe that was the only time for the discount?
Either way, not all bad.
Seo Yerim became a top archer, and he got a reliable achievement vending machine.
‘For now…’
He decided to keep farming achievement points. The shop was too tempting. Even if there was some scheme, he'd roll with it.
“Done thinking?”
“More or less.”
“Your face was so serious I couldn't even talk to you.”
“… Too complicated to explain now. Later.”
“Fine. But clear up one of my curiosities. Is the Death Lord related to you?”
“Think of me as the successor.”
“Popo said there's stuff above SSS. So you're…”
“Yep.”
He admitted it cleanly.
The Death Lord that even a full hero party couldn't beat.
Of course she'd assume SSS-plus. Anyway, she'd hear it from her talking bow eventually.
“Wow… That explains why you didn't feel S-grade at all…”
Just then.
A knock came from the hospital room door. Soon, a bodyguard cautiously opened it and entered.
“Y-Young Master. Seems the reporters caught on that you're awake. Shall we slip out quietly?”
“Nah. Time for interviews.”
Hiding it desperately wouldn't work forever. He'd already decided to shake up the world.
Now was the time to properly show his value.
He looked at Seo Yerim.
“Let's go. Interviews.”
“… How much do I say?”
“Might as well go big since you're an archer now. Announcing the guild join makes it even better.”
“Grandpa's gonna be shocked…”
“I'll go with you, so no worries. Let's head out.”
He left the room with her.
Right after.
A barrage of camera flashes poured down.
“Mr. Kim! The public is dying to know about the gate clear! Just a word…”
He grabbed the mic.
And spoke.
“The inside was wuxia-style, and I handled 50% of the clear.”
“Pardon? Fifty percent? What does that…”
That meant he cleared on equal footing with Sword Seal.
Was that even possible?
As reporters buzzed in disbelief.
Seo Yerim beside him spoke up.
“Mr. Kim's words are absolute fact. Sword Seal guarantees it. Oh, wait, not Sword Seal anymore.”
She raised her bow and declared.
“I'm not a swordsman anymore. I'm an archer now. I've also joined the guild whose guildmaster is standing next to me. A lot has changed, but my core hasn't. I'll keep working hard. Thank you.”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
The barrage of bombshells left the reporters utterly speechless.