Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Stage 1
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Delaila’s hologram room.
The atmosphere there was markedly different from before.
First off, the number of people had changed.
Where it had just been Delaila and Luca before, now...
“No way, Delaila! A team name like [Dragon Slayers]? But back in our cohort, you named us [Mudskippers]!”
“Mudskippers? You mean those mudskippers? Kahaha. Come to think of it, your face does kinda look like one! Your classmates too?”
“What did you say?!”
It was noisy.
Nine examiners, excluding Luca, had fully settled in.
“Ooh, this team name’s pretty solid, though? Cool and makes sense.”
“Ugh, this cohort’s definitely breaking records, right?”
“I’ll bet on ‘yes.’”
“I’ll bet on ‘no’! I’ll give ‘em that this group’s special, but Theme 3 is a whole different beast from anything before.”
Some traded jokes with each other.
Others speculated on what was to come.
One thing was clear.
They were all buzzing with excitement they could barely contain.
They were thrilled at the prospect of watching the [Dragon Slayers] team in action with their own eyes.
“Delaila.”
Luca approached her side. She stood in the center, arms crossed, staring at the massive hologram.
“Yes, Luca. What is it?”
“Are you alright?”
Even the examiners watching the spectacle were excited.
But truthfully, the one who’d been most thrilled during the dragon hunt was Delaila.
- They’re really taking down a dragon? That thing?
- No way. Summoning one’s already insane, but actually killing it? What’s wrong with that guy?
- Luca... did you see? He transplanted the dragon’s bones into his skeleton! Is that even possible?
- Oh my god! The dragon’s down! And what’s with that fire?!
Her mouth had hung open.
She hadn’t taken her eyes off a single moment.
Sure, as a senior examiner, she’d participated in a few trials and observed.
But Delaila had been raising hunters for over ten years, ever since her shadowy days.
‘Not sure why she sacrifices so much to train hunters, though.’
Luca gazed at her quietly.
Her cheeks were still flushed—the afterglow of her excitement lingered.
That was how unbelievable this cohort was.
“Am I alright? Yes, perfectly fine.”
Delaila chuckled happily.
“I can say without a doubt, this is the most fun and thrilling moment of my entire hunter career, Luca.”
“Is that so?”
“Look at this.”
She pointed to the hologram on the right.
Wooong!
It zoomed in immediately.
There, the team names and scores of past cohorts who’d tackled the trial were listed in order.
[1st: ‘Crazy’, 73:05:32 (Stage 4)]
[2nd: ‘Rider’, 70:45:05 (Stage 3)]
[3rd: ‘Lions’, 68:50:40 (Stage 3)]
[4th: ‘Mudskippers’, 66:23:10 (Stage 3)]
[5th: ‘Swordmaster’, 65:23:10 (Stage 3)]
....
The all-time top was the ‘Crazy’ team.
They’d lasted over 73 hours in Theme 3.
The only ones to reach Stage 4.
“You know what? When the current Berserker, Jang Dae-woong, broke that record... I was over the moon.”
Delaila stroked her chin.
“But this is on another level. Hmm, how should I put it? I just feel like one of the audience now. Makes it even more exciting.”
“You think Joo Dong-hoon can make it to Stage 4...?”
Luca had experienced Theme 3 himself.
His record was all-time 5th.
Unlike the others, he’d gone solo.
Hence the plain team name: Swordmaster.
“For me, Stage 3 was insanely tough. The mere fact that Stage 4 exists was a shock.”
Stage 3 alone offered solid rewards.
That was how grueling its difficulty was.
“That’s exactly why I’m looking forward to it.”
Delaila stared at the hologram records again and smiled.
“He’s unpredictable, after all.”
Even Delaila, the trial’s host, looked no different from the other spectators.
* * *
Swish, swish!
I kept scanning all around.
I’d swapped my dedicated weapon for a simple bracelet and focused.
Pong! Pong! Pow!
No need to duck or twist my waist.
I just predicted the approach and sidestepped with my gait.
One per step.
I kept my body relaxed, moving fluidly.
No point wasting energy on something that could drag on forever.
“Damn it.”
Vladimir shouted.
“How long do we have to keep this up? Dodging these damn orbs is child’s play, but still.”
Maybe because it was still Stage 1.
The ‘orbs’ were incredibly slow.
The problem was the boredom.
Over an hour in, and it was just the same mindless repetition.
“Truth is, this eats up your concentration like crazy. Lose focus for a second, and you’re out.”
He was right.
Maintaining focus was harder than dodging.
Blink and doze off, and an orb hits you square.
“Hmm.”
I glanced around.
To my right, centered on me: the Judgment Window, Vladimir, and Maxie.
To my left: Kapu, Olena, and Mew One.
My eyes met Olena’s.
“We’re still good!”
She called out.
The women, relatively weaker in physical stats, had set their staves aside and were dodging while sweating.
‘Honestly.’
The trial felt a bit unfair.
Everyone had different strengths.
Some excelled in physical prowess, others in skills.
Wasn’t this ‘bullet-dodging’ game biased toward the physically gifted?
“Don’t stress too much.”
I muttered.
“Even if just one survives to the end, the whole team gets the rewards, right?”
Would the Judgment Window, Maxie, and I have to carry?
‘There might be more to it.’
For now, dodge hard with that in mind.
Pong! Pow! Pong!
The ‘orbs’ kept coming.
Kapu’s item confirmed it was some mechanism, but no deeper info.
Time passed like that.
Pong! Pow!
One hour, two, three.
It dragged on.
“Huff, huff!”
The once-silent space grew humid.
Panting breaths echoed.
The endless cardio was draining stamina.
Pow! Pong!
“Ha, damn it.”
Vladimir cursed.
“Getting tired now. Someone tell a fun story.”
Pong! Pow!
“The girls look beat, so keep focusing. Anyway, we’re comrades now, right? How about deeper self-intros? Any objections?”
Pong! Pong! Pong!
Everyone moved silently.
Vladimir glanced at me; I nodded.
Not a bad idea.
Cuts the boredom.
Learn about teammates too.
“Alright, consensus then?”
Vladimir grinned in satisfaction and continued.
“As I said before, I’m ex-Russian mafia. Yeah, mafia has a bad rep, but don’t judge. Even that psycho Chang Wei over there stays quiet, and he judges all the evil bastards.”
“True.”
The Judgment Window nodded.
“You don’t feel like your average killer. No random murders lately.”
“Of course.”
He laughed.
“Fact is, I was anti-mafia mafia. Lost my parents to those scum as a kid. Made it my life’s goal.”
“...”
“Funny part? The deeper I dug, the crazier it got. Mafia’s the country, country’s the mafia vibe? Turns out the top brass were all linked. Sickening. Society’s trash heaps. Once I’m a Ranker, I’ll clean ‘em out first.”
And so Vladimir’s intro time began.
Past incidents.
How he grew using spatial magic.
How he networked with Rankers.
“Oh, some folks ask if I’m from an elite family? Foreigners especially. ‘Vladimir sounds high-class.’ But fuck, it’s a super common name back home. Even the neighbor’s mutt was named Vladimir.”
Hmm.
Like Cheolsu or Younghee in our country?
His mouth didn’t stop.
Curses mixed with chit-chat, nonstop.
“Our group’s called ‘Outlaws’. ‘Outlaws’. Heard of it? Nah. I’m the boss, not even a Ranker yet. But wait. We’ll shake the world someday.”
Pong! Pow! Pong!
Thanks to him, dodging got easier.
His talk wasn’t boring at all.
Something kept you hooked.
‘That’s a skill too.’
Who in the world could yap about themselves for over ten hours?
Pong! Pong!
Yeah.
Time flowed on.
Nearly a full day now.
Muscles ached a bit; sweat beaded on my forehead for the first time.
But no drowsiness.
I’d steadily circulated the Azure Purity Heart Method while moving to shake off fatigue.
‘Honestly.’
Compared to weapon-making marathons, this was manageable.
Then, at some point.
“Huh?”
Something off caught my eye.
I’d been silently staring at the ‘orbs’.
“What is it, Team Leader? Something up?”
“Hold on.”
I focused my eyes.
Examined each orb’s path.
‘They’re definitely faster.’
The orbs’ speed had changed from the start.
Not drastically noticeable, but they’d been accelerating slowly, beyond our perception.
‘And.’
The speed varied per person.
In short.
The orb heading for Mew One was slower than the one coming at me.
Every single one.
‘What?’
Why the difference?
I checked the others closely.
Same story.
Orbs to Olena, Kapu, Mew One: slower than ours.
To me, Judgment Window: above average, faster.
“No way...”
I muttered.
“Could the orbs’ speed vary by person?”
“What’re you talking about? Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Only then did the others’ brows rise.
Unseen before knowing.
Obvious once you did.
“For real?”
“Damn, the ones coming at me are faster too.”
Ah.
So that’s it?
If orb speed scaled relative to the hunter...
“Yeah, makes sense now.”
I nodded and said it; Vladimir tilted his head.
“What does?”
“This dungeon. Luca said it’d train us from here on.”
- If the previous themes selected Ranker candidates, what follows is forging actual Rankers.
“What if this dungeon’s training us right now? Ramping up speed to each person’s limit.”
Delaila, out to cultivate Rankers, wasn’t an idiot.
Build a grueling dungeon just for bullet hell?
Pointless waste.
“To each limit?”
“Yeah. Set so anyone can endure with effort, find the answer.”
If Olena finds it, she outlasts Judgment Window.
Mew One finds it, outlasts me.
So, what was the answer?
Evasion? Reaction time? Endurance? Focus?
As I frowned.
Clank!
The walls suddenly rotated all at once.
[24 hours have passed.]
[Switching to Stage 2.]