Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: I Am Qualified
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[This is the location for ‘Theme 5.’]
Flash!
With a burst of light, I opened my eyes, and yet another new space appeared.
It was a similar landscape to last time.
An artificially created white expanse.
“Mm.”
My eyes, still reluctant to open from the sudden light, forced themselves apart.
Rustle! Rustle rustle!
One by one, my companions began to appear around me.
“Huff, cough huff!”
“Ugh! Is it over? What the hell was that last guy?”
“That guy? What, you saw him?”
“Nope, not at all.”
My companions were all panting, clutching their hearts.
As if they’d been stabbed by something.
“Phew, but you all felt it, right?”
Vladimir let out a deep sigh from the depths of his chest as he spoke.
“It pierced right through my heart in an instant. Damn, that’s a sensation I never wanted to feel again after Aranbalon.”
Rough breaths.
Sweat still pouring down.
Just looking at their flushed faces told me how hard they’d fought.
While I’d handled a handful of executives.
They’d been dealing with the endless waves of mid- and low-tier Shepherds.
“But.”
At that moment, Olena furrowed her brow.
“You all saw it, right? That score skyrocketing exponentially at the end. What was that? It went up so much it made everything we fought for feel pointless…….”
“Look over there.”
The middle-aged Maximilian pointed to the electronic scoreboard floating in the air.
Everyone’s gazes turned that way.
[☆★Cong★☆☆★rat★☆ulations★☆]
[Congratulations on updating the all-time #1 ranking!]
“……Hah.”
Olena let out a wordless exclamation of awe.
I wasn’t great at reading expressions, but I could tell that much for sure.
“Again?”
Her face looked just like a soccer coach stunned by a miraculous comeback goal.
“This is…….”
“Insane, huh?”
“Crazy, right? I’ve seen it happen occasionally, but I never thought it’d climb that high……!”
The rest of the team members gaped, sticking out their tongues in disbelief.
And me too.
“…….”
Honestly, I was shocked.
[1st ‘Dragon Slayer’, 500,000 points.]
[2nd ‘Crazy’, 120,500 points.]
[3rd ‘Magic Swordsman’, 100,300 points.]
[4th ‘Rider’, 96,000 points.]
[5th ‘Lions’, 95,500 points.]
…….
I hadn’t realized the gap with 2nd place was this wide.
‘Insane.’
Even if it was a contract……
Even if there were some tricks involved……
‘At this point, don’t I actually have talent?’
Honestly, I even felt a little bad.
The rankers who’d cleared below 2nd place.
They were powerhouses with incredible skills back on Earth.
If they saw my score now, how crushed would they feel?
‘In reality.’
With my current power, I couldn’t match the rankers.
Maybe low-tier ones, but…… without borrowing special powers like ‘Essence’ or ‘Poison Fog,’ I couldn’t even compete with the top tiers.
And yet, me.
I’d cleaned house with ‘Essence.’
I’d made a world’s absolute being misunderstand, and profited from it.
Honestly, I hadn’t even intended it, but that’s how it turned out.
Isn’t this what true theme luck is?
“This has to be Hoon’s doing again, right?”
“What’s there to say…… Of course it is. By the way, where’s the team leader? Did he pass out in some corner and flop over…….”
Vladimir, craning his neck around, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Because his eyes met mine, as I watched from a distance.
“Huh?”
The Russian mafia guy’s eyes went wide.
Why did he look so cute like that?
I chuckled.
‘Well, yeah.’
Whenever we met after a trial ended, I was never in my right mind.
When we caught Poison Fog.
When I took Fire’s Essence into my body to deal with the dragon.
When I received Theme 3’s stage 5.
My body was always uncomfortable somewhere, or I’d fainted.
“This is the first time I’ve come out in one piece like this, haha. Though feeling like I’m about to die from exhaustion is the same as always…….”
As I smiled and spoke.
“Whoa, Team Leaaader!”
“Hoon!”
“You’re in one piece this time!”
“What happened? The score? You went into some weird space where no one could see you, like Kapu said?!”
My companions rushed over.
I slowly exchanged greetings with them.
[This is the location for ‘Theme 5.’]
[Please wait a moment.]
[Calculating rewards.]
As always.
While the system calculated appropriate rewards, I shared the afterglow of Theme’s end with them.
“Whoa, so you took out all those Shepherds by yourself?”
“That last one that showed up was the King? But no one even saw it. How did you……?”
I gave a rough explanation of what happened.
Everything except the ‘old man’ and the ‘Essence.’
From the existence of the Shadow Shepherds, to what I’d learned from them.
What kind of lives they’d lived, and what kind of relationship I’d formed with them.
My team members nodded intently, like kids listening to a fairy tale from their mom.
And after some time passed.
[The team’s contribution is ‘SS Grade.’]
Now it was time to reap the sweet fruits.
[The entire team receives the same reward.]
[The appropriate reward for you is ‘SS-Grade Gift Box.’]
[The Gift Box bestows the item most needed by you, matched to the grade.]
“Oh, rewards!”
“Gift boxes again this time?”
“Damn, SS-grade rewards thanks to the team leader again? How can we ever repay this grace…….”
“Let’s talk later and grab the rewards first? Before the next Theme starts?”
“Sounds good.”
The team members scattered to corners.
Why?
[If you select the appropriate reward, acquisition probability is 100%.]
[However, you may expend probability to acquire a reward up to 2 grades higher.]
[Please choose carefully.]
[100% probability acquisition - SS-Grade Gift Box]
[30% probability acquisition - SSS-Grade Gift Box]
[1% probability acquisition - ???-Grade Gift Box]
[If you fail to acquire a higher-grade reward, you receive no reward.]
Because the system was pulling its usual probability nonsense, giving plenty to think about.
“…….”
I moved to a corner too.
Thump thump thump!
Leaving my accelerating heartbeat behind.
‘Heh heh…….’
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
I hadn’t told the team members, but.
Another message was floating before my eyes.
[Ring!]
[Error occurred!]
[The narrative weight you’ve accumulated exceeds the current reward.]
‘As expected.’
I muttered to myself.
The system was saying it outright.
That I qualified for a higher reward.
On top of the team’s SS-grade score, what I’d done was worth far more.
[You emulated the realm of ‘No Sound.’]
[You touched the traces of the ‘Apostle of Abandoned Light.’]
[Furthermore, you saved an entire race from the pit of despair.]
As if it absolutely could not tolerate otherwise.
It was etched into the air in a firm tone.
‘Of course.’
Otherwise, I would’ve felt a bit slighted this time?
It wasn’t as tough as before, but I’d put in real effort.
[Recalculating reward.]
The system remeasured my reward.
Just like back in the ‘VIP Shop’ when I’d spent 1 million Trial Points.
Amplifying the reward probability that way.
[Sets acquisition probability for any target reward to 100%.]
[‘???-Grade Gift Box’ acquisition probability adjusted to 100%.]
As if it were only natural, it granted the bonus.
That’s how much narrative weight I’d stacked up, I guess.
“Kuuh!”
An exclamation burst out before I knew it.
My body heated up with excitement.
I had to turn my head to hide my twitching cheek.
It was good.
So damn good.
Because no one knew better than me what that ??? meant.
I worked to calm my boiling emotions.
[100% probability acquisition - ???-Grade Gift Box]
Slowly.
Without mistake.
I clicked the message.
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, biting my lip.
After about 3 seconds.
[Selecting reward.]
[Congratulations!]
[★☆Big To the 박☆★]
[Acquired ‘???-Grade Gift Box.’]
Woooong!
In my hands.
A box emitting a mysterious glow appeared.
‘Fucking solid.’
Thumbs up.
* * *
Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Apgujeong-dong.
「Demir Workshop」
A sign with black background and gold lettering.
On the terrace of the building sporting that stylish sign, a woman sat with her legs crossed, letting out a deep sigh.
In her hand was a tall beer can.
“Phew. So this is what they mean by ‘chilling like a cigarette break.’”
The sullen woman’s name was Kim Jin-ah.
She was the vice-master of Demir Workshop.
Approaching 30, in the flower of her late 20s.
A top graduate from Harvard’s Economics Department, still getting scouted by countless companies and guilds—a woman of immense talent—yet here she was, slumped over. The reason was simple.
“No, seriously, why the hell does he up and vanish on ‘vacation’ and not show up?!”
He’d started as a customer.
Then became Dong-hoon oppa.
Now the workshop master.
Joo Dong-hoon had gone radio silent.
“It’s been a whole month already! You think I turned down all those great offers to come here for this?!”
Because Joo Dong-hoon had ghosted them.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it…….”
She chugged the beer.
Everything else was fine.
The workshop ran smoothly even without him.
Having been entrusted with everything as master, she’d expanded Demir Workshop in a flash.
For Kim Jin-ah, that was child’s play.
She’d mapped out the big-picture strategy, and handled sudden issues swiftly herself.
Plus, company-owned branches were already under construction in five locations, including Gotermol.
And that wasn’t all?
She’d subtly lobbied key players in the local market, smoothing over all sorts of regulatory hurdles.
She’d effectively reduced non-systemic risks to near zero through sheer effort.
Truth be told.
With master blacksmith Demir mass-producing top-grade items, she hadn’t even considered failure.
It just kept growing, smooth as flowing water.
“Ahem, ahem.”
That’s when a lone skeleton, Demir, stepped out onto the terrace.
“Why art thou moping again? Thou runneth about diligently by day, and yet.”
Even as total manager.
Kim Jin-ah occasionally showed up at the main branch to handle customers.
For oversight.
With all staff being skeletons, unexpected issues could arise.
Things they might miss.
That’s right.
She poured that much passion into it.
“Phew, you come in and the first thing is ‘moping.’”
“Is not thy endless sighing called moping?”
“Arrrgh, it’s the first time in my life I’ve bet everything on something. The first boss I decided to properly serve. And now it feels like it might all go down the drain…….”
“The master liveth well.”
“Of course he’s living well! He’s made some money now. Probably off sipping a mojito in the Maldives or something!”
“Heh heh, did I not say? The master is growing stronger even now. I can feel it clearly.”
“Phew, whether he’s playing or growing, fine. But why hasn’t he shown up yet? Without a word.”
Honestly, that hurt Kim Jin-ah the most.
If he was dungeoning, at least say so before going.
Or contact midway.
But a whole month had passed without a peep.
“And day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve! New Year’s Eve! You know there’s tons of events then, right?”
“New Year’s Eve……? What be that?”
“Ugh, what is this…….”
Kim Jin-ah shook her head with a short sigh.
‘Am I seriously talking about this with a skeleton?’
Then she shrugged and stood up.
Demir chuckled.
“Moping done, art thou heading in?”
“Yeah, the wind’s cold. You should come in too, Demir. Don’t worry about me too much. Gotta work tomorrow too.”
Toss!
She chucked the crumpled beer can into the trash and headed inside.
Today.
The winter wind felt especially biting to her.
* * *
“…….”
At that moment.
On the building’s rooftop.
A woman watched Kim Jin-ah go inside.
Empress of Darkness.
Top assassin.
Dark Emperor Gi So-yul.
“…….”
The reason neither she nor Joo Dong-hoon could explain to Kim Jin-ah was simple.
[Revealing information to non-rankers will bar you from future ‘Dungeon Maker’ content!]
The prohibition set by the world’s #5 ranker.
‘It’ll be soon.’
She knew.
‘Within two days, he’ll come out.’
Delaila’s trials happened twice a year.
Once from early June to end of June.
Once from early December to end of December.
Though time inside her created dungeon warped space-time, differing from reality.
It always stuck exactly to one real-world month.
‘He would’ve cleared it for sure.’
She already had a rough sense of who’d failed.
The rankers who entered had connections; they’d identified those bounced out.
Of course, deaths inside couldn’t be tracked……
But she had faith.
Absolute certainty that Joo Dong-hoon wouldn’t die.
With that monster who toyed with her like a child as his master—would he fall that easily?
‘Indeed.’
A flicker of excitement stirred in her nearly expressionless eyes.
Those who passed Delaila’s trials became rankers without fail.
So Joo Dong-hoon?
Ranker for sure.
The question was.
How much stronger he’d return.
His fellow necromancer classmate, Dark Lord Kim Hyeok-seon, was #948.
Higher than that, surely?
Or maybe.
Like the Berserker Jang Dae-woong, who shocked the world by landing #450 right out the gate?
“…….”
The world ranking board updated at year’s end.
Meaning she’d know soon.
Gi So-yul sank into thought, unmoving even in the biting cold wind.