Pyramids Await: Applying for Excavation Practice
In a state of pure excitement, I immediately logged into the homepage of our school’s archaeology and excavation department.
As expected, a banner was flashing with ‘Tower Pyramid Excavation Practice’.
I read the detailed curriculum.
Seok Dong-mi’s words had been almost spot-on. Even the condition that all credits required for graduation would be processed as A0 was attached.
This meant that since I had earned almost no credits so far, my graduation GPA would leap over the 4.0 mark in an instant.
Heh. This is too good.
Thinking about it, a young student risking their life to climb a tower and do hard labor deserved every bit of this reward.
But from my perspective, this was honey on the table.
Digging with a shovel was just exercise.
At my level, I wasn’t going to die to some monster anyway.
Plus, from now on I could waltz into the tower without anyone suspecting a thing.
Okay.
I’d absolutely return to school and take this class.
I immediately submitted the readmission form on my phone and finished the application for ‘Tower Excavation Practice’.
All in one electronic signature, no messy paperwork at all.
Right after that, an interview time and location appeared.
Tomorrow, it seemed, at K University.
Haha. An in-demand class, they even have interviews to select applicants.
* * *
The next day, I left home to attend the interview.
Just in case, but as expected.
“It’s Horus-nim!”
“I believe in you! 138-nim! We believe in you!”
Or something like that…….
I hopped straight into a taxi and headed to K University.
The interview was held on construction land inside K University.
When I arrived, I was surprised by the unusually large number of applicants.
For a class that only picked thirty people, hundreds had applied.
Plus, it was a class only for hunters, so where did all these people even come from?
But when I thought about it, it was an opening class aimed at students from every related department across the country.
Archaeology, history, archaeology of art, anthropology, museology—everyone could apply.
When the simple practical test began, though, the fake applicants were quickly exposed.
Most of them showed their true colors with skills completely unrelated to excavation.
At that moment, one applicant drew everyone’s attention.
A graduate student at prestigious K University, tall and strikingly handsome.
“XX student number, Kim Jiseok. Nice to meet you.”
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakw-
“Wow. Already looks like he’s got serious strength.”
“His face is amazing!”
“That guy’s bachelor’s thesis was already published in an academic journal. If he just graduates with his master’s, he’ll probably be a full professor at K University for sure.”
“Professor in his twenties? He must be a total genius, right?”
He had a 50% bonus to shovel speed.
But even that was enough to crush all the other applicants.
I chuckled inwardly, but my face stayed calm on the outside.
“Next, XX University Archaeology Excavation Department, XX student number, Hwang Geumpa applicant. Please come forward.”
“Yes! XX student number, Hwang Geumpa here!”
The applicants whispered among themselves.
“That’s him… Horus-nim?”
“No idea.”
“He looks so ordinary.”
“No way. How could someone as great as picking 138 people be sitting at a regular university?”
When I stepped in front of the interviewers, a stir rose from the applicants who had been lining up to watch.
Unlike the Aphidman incident, no one had been trying to flirt with me on the street, but this Gate event had made Horus-138 famous enough that everyone knew the name.
“F-class, highest floor is 1. And before the army, your academic record was terrible. Also… the trait field is empty?”
One interviewer’s jab.
“Sorry, but I’ve been good at digging since I was little. I did a lot in the military too.”
“Good. Then let’s start with the digging. Over there, dig where the ground is marked.”
In tower excavations, an archaeologist’s own shovel work was extremely important.
No heavy machinery or laborers to lean on.
Plus, time was life in the towers.
Once the cooperating guild cleared the monsters near the site, you had to snatch the relic and escape before the respawn.
The same would be true for this pyramid excavation.
I looked at the shaped mark on the ground and began digging along the lines with my prepared shovel and pickaxe.
Kak- kak- kak-
Shukshukshuk-
Chwarak~ chwarak~
I took out the ordinary tools and dug downward as slowly as possible, even pretending to struggle with heavy breaths.
“Hah~ hah~ hah~”
A short while later, a sharp rectangular space formed underground.
The other applicants watching from outside all murmured in amazement.
“He’s digging well. He must have a skill related to shoveling.”
“Perfect right angles.”
“In pyramid excavation, skills that dig straight down are important. You have to avoid traps.”
At that moment, Seok Dong-mi, who had been watching the interview, spoke up.
“You’re digging excellently. But it’s interesting. You’re panting but not even sweating? And the speed when you first started digging is the same as now.”
“……”
“It seems like you’re not putting in full effort, Hwang Geumpa applicant?”
“A-ah, that’s not… true.”
“Anyway, good work. Next is……”
That was how the interview and practical test ended.
Was hiding my strength too obvious?
I tried to leave the interview room without looking back.
But when the next applicant’s name was called, I jumped in shock.
“…Next, XX University Archaeology Excavation Department, XX student number, Yoo Ji-min applicant. Please come forward.”
I turned my head.
Whoa? It’s really Yoo Ji-min?
Why is she here?
I thought she was preparing for a qualification exam unrelated to our major?
At that moment, the interviewer asked.
“Yoo Ji-min applicant… your trait is quite unusual. Bard of the Labor Song! Please explain it in detail from yourself.”
“Yes. I recently absorbed this Rune Stone by chance, and I applied thinking it might help with this class. As written on the application form, if I sing, everyone within the sound radius who works with a shovel, pickaxe, or similar tool will receive a 1 to 10 percent work speed buff.”
Yoo Ji-min spoke so politely, and the professors from the various universities who had been bluntly interviewing everyone nodded with fatherly smiles.
“This applicant absolutely must be selected. Right, Professor Kim?”
“Yeah. The trait is too good. Uh?”
The charm of ‘Yoo Ji-min from XX University’ seemed to transcend generations as always.
Damn.
That day on the rooftop, she had just handed me some random Rune Stone and called me Bard of the Labor Song.
Now that I thought about it, the Rune Stone I had been tossing aside because it was useless to me alone was extremely valuable to the original owner, Mr. Byeong’s brother, or groups like this pyramid excavation team.
After the interview, I appeared in front of Yoo Ji-min.
“Jimin-ah!”
“Ah, Geumpa!”
It was the first time we had met since I rescued her using the waypoint that day.
“Why weren’t you picking up my calls?”
“Well, I’ve been pretty busy.”
“I sent you a text, but I’ll say it properly this time. Thank you so much for saving my life that day! Sigh, how do I even repay this favor?”
“What do you mean repay? It’s fine.”
After a moment of silence, she asked.
“Did you read the letter I gave you that day?”
“Eh? Oh, right! I put it in my pocket and completely forgot until now! Hahaha. Ah, I’ll definitely read it when I get home today.”
Of course, that was a lie.
A week had passed since the day the Gate opened, so I had definitely read it by now.
Even if my heart didn’t flutter like before, I couldn’t help wondering what was inside.
But I didn’t want to talk about it.
What was I supposed to say now?
Yoo Ji-min looked a little hurt, then smiled brightly again.
“Yeah, take your time reading it. …If it bothers you too much, you can just throw it away.”
“No… Hey, why did you even apply to this class? You know how dangerous this is, right?”
Yoo Ji-min’s face turned slightly red.
“…I had no choice. I just had to break up with that guy.”
“What?”
“I borrowed some money from him. If this pyramid excavation goes well, I’ll use the performance bonus to pay it back and finally end this disgusting relationship. Oh, by the way, I owe you a good Rune Stone that day too. I’ll definitely pay it back later.”
At that moment, even more absurd words reached my ears.
“Next, XX University Archaeology Excavation Department, XX student number, Ki Ju-hye applicant. Please come forward!”
“Yes! XX student number, Ki Ju-hye here!”
Both me and Yoo Ji-min were shocked.
“J-Ju-hye?”
“T-Tower excavation practice?”
Ki Ju-hye had never taken practical classes in her first and second year, only theory.
She was the kind of character who would live her whole life without ever getting dirt on her hands.
Yet she was applying to ‘pyramid excavation’ class?
If someone else had heard this from me instead of seeing it, they would never have believed it.
But the even more surprising scene came next.
“Your trait is amazing! The Scent of Relics, right? A skill that can locate the position of relics?”
“Haha. This is a precious Rune Stone that even the professors researching tower archaeology couldn’t absorb… How did you end up with something this rare?”
At that, Ki Ju-hye said.
“I was supported. …By my boyfriend. If I’m going to keep being a tower archaeologist from now on, it’s basic to have a Rune Stone of this level.”
Me and Yoo Ji-min were even more confused.
Ki Ju-hye hadn’t had a boyfriend recently.
Suddenly receiving such an expensive Rune Stone from one was too weird.
One professor shook his head.
“After the tower rose, the world has become too unfair. With a trait like that, there’s no reason not to pick her……”
“Yeah. I should thank my boyfriend who gave me a multi-billion won Rune Stone.”
It was almost a passing grade notification.
A short while later, Ki Ju-hye walked over to us with a smile.
She first approached me, patted my shoulder, and said.
“Yo, Hwang Geumpa! Thank you so much that day. But why aren’t you picking up my calls? Did you get angry because I posted that SNS post after being blackmailed?”
“Haha. No. I’ve just been busy. I couldn’t even pick up Ji-min’s calls here.”
At that, Yoo Ji-min said.
“That’s a relief. The scars on your face healed completely, right? Not a single one left.”
Ki Ju-hye laughed.
“Yeah. I got healed a lot. …My new boyfriend is pretty rich, so he took good care of me. Well, since he fell in love, he can spend that much.”
Sure enough, Ki Ju-hye looked even more beautiful than before the accident.
Her already pretty face had gotten a little prettier, and her clothes, makeup, and overall style had changed to something much more elegant.
Yoo Ji-min said.
“I hope all three of us get accepted. Since only thirty spots, I might not make it.”
I nodded with a smile, but I felt completely awkward.
Aish.
Why do I keep getting dragged into these two all the time?
* * *
Clang-
The door opened and a beautiful young woman was escorted in by a man.
The room was filled with heat.
Jang Pomi was quietly staring at the glowing furnace.
The beautiful woman knelt on the floor and said.
“I, I’ve been confirmed to enter the pyramid excavation with Hwang Geumpa.”
Jang Pomi, wearing a mask, answered.
“Good. You’ve done well.”
“…So if I just follow your orders, you’ll cancel all my debts?”
“Of course. But if I fail even once, you should prepare yourself. I’ll add your face to my collection.”
The man standing beside her handed over an album.
The beautiful woman took it and opened it.
Each page had two ‘Before – After’ photos.
But they weren’t ordinary plastic surgery or diet results.
Before: mostly bright, beautiful smiles.
After: eyes gouged out, lips carved out, nose sliced off—utterly grotesque faces.
She had gone mad.
Did this woman really live like this?
The woman trembled with her hands.
At that moment, the man snatched the album from her hands and closed it with a thud.
At the same time, Jang Pomi spoke.
“Don’t worry. As long as you do exactly as I say, there won’t be any problems.”
She asked.
“W-won’t Hwang Geumpa… turn out like the people in the album?”
“Kkakkkk. AHAHAHA.”
Jang Pomi laughed wildly as if what she heard was ridiculous.
Then she held a belt in one hand and eight bracelets in the other, staring at the status window display.
[Worn has decayed due to Post-Gate Item Creation.]
[Storage Space: 40×40 → 40×20]
[Function: Strength +100 → Strength +50]
[Worn has decayed due to Post-Gate Item Creation.]
[Function: 8 sets Strength +128 → 4 sets Strength +8]
[To recover the items, retrieve Post-Gate Items and merge them.]
“That bastard isn’t going to end it there.”
Jang Pomi threw both the belt and the bracelets into the furnace.
“For him, metaphysical pain that cheap album images can never express will be inflicted. I look forward to enjoying every second of it.”