Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Promotion Exam (2)
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Beep. Beep. Beep.
The shrill alarm blared through the spacious mansion, jolting me awake. Yawning, I glanced at the notification on my screen—the announcement for the Hunter exam—and hurriedly began getting ready.
About ten days had passed since the Dungeon Black Hole incident. In that time, I'd tidied up my Myth-class stats now that I was F-rank and taken some personal downtime.
Naturally, I'd received plenty of rewards from Miracle Guild as well.
I pulled a black wing from my inventory. It was still sealed, stuck at a mere [Common-F] item rank.
'Gotta swing by the Black Market again.'
Just as I'd unsealed the first holy wing, unlocking this demonic wing's seal would require an item infused with demonic energy.
Holy power and demonic power—rare attributes at opposite ends of the mana spectrum.
Someone might scoff that a supreme god constellation only wielded rare-grade demonic power, but the real magic happened when those two wings came together.
'The two stats combine with the Authority of Pride to birth a brand-new stat.'
It went without saying it'd be Myth-class. I didn't know exactly what kind of energy it would produce, but the invader from my previous life—who wielded three wings—had unleashed an overwhelming gray mana. That had to be the result.
I stowed the wing back in my inventory and headed out. I grabbed a taxi straight to the promotion exam venue, where—as expected for exam day—the place was swarming with people.
Since it was the lowest tier, for [F- ~ F+]-rank Hunters, the crowd seemed a bit thinner than at my initial license exam.
Still, there were plenty of them; that much was undeniable.
I'd just barely pushed through the throng into the association lobby when the crowd parted like the Red Sea before three incoming vehicles.
I let out a hollow chuckle and shook my head at the sight of those exact same cars I'd seen once before.
"When'd you sign up?"
As if this were the most natural thing in the world, her bodyguards opened the center car's door, and out stepped Seo Mi-na.
The princess of Seo Hwa Group strode haughtily through the masses into the lobby, then spotted me watching and hurried over with sparkling eyes.
"You're here?"
"What? When did you sign up? You kept it from me on purpose."
In response to my question, Seo Mi-na shrugged proudly, like she'd pulled off some grand feat.
This isn't praise, you little... I couldn't exactly say that out loud, so I just nodded and turned to head inside.
Thankfully, the Dungeon Black Hole had drained a ton of my Curse of Misfortune's power, so I figured there wouldn't be any major issues this time. On the flip side, my Fortune couldn't activate either.
'I've always had rotten luck anyway. What's the worst that could happen?'
Barring some absurd impossibility like a Dungeon Black Hole suddenly spawning inside the association, nothing should go wrong.
With that in mind, I calmly made my way to the exam hall.
"Yes. Number 444. Shin Juha confirmed."
444? Assigned this ominous number?
I shook off the unease, reminded myself my misfortune was tapped out, and took my seat.
The promotion exam was straightforward.
First test: Measure basic stats. Surpass the threshold, and you pass.
Second: Spar an association-appointed examiner and earn their approval to pass.
Final third: Form a random five-man team and clear a dungeon managed by the association.
Dead simple. It was designed for [F]-alphabet Hunters, after all—and aside from allowing prospects like me up to three-step promotions, it wasn't any different from higher-rank exams.
As the top prospect, I was taking the three-step route straight from [F-] to [E-].
'Most prospects go straight for three steps.'
They'd joined guilds, gotten massive backing, and grown fast. It was only natural.
I activated Sun Eye on Seo Mi-na. Her status window filled my vision.
Name: Seo Mi-na
Titles: Incarnation of the Thunder Spirit Tree [Myth-S+], World Destroyer [Legend-SSS]
Remaining Points: 0
Unique Ability: [Thunder Spirit Tree - Sapling (Myth) LV 1]
Skills: [Lightning Step (Unique) LV 4] [Thunderfall Spear Art (Ancient) LV 2] ...
I couldn't help but be impressed. Talk about money making the world go round.
'This is insane.'
Even without ridiculous abilities or future knowledge like mine, she had stats and skills like that. It really hit home that she was Seo Hwa Group's sheltered princess.
How many elixirs and skillbooks were lined up for her?
Not that I was jealous. I had even more elixirs and weapons at my disposal.
'The Tower of Gold's third floor is probably for learning skills.'
After items and armaments came skills, right?
I had no clue how it'd work—maybe pick what you want like the first floor, or use a catalyst like the second.
One thing was sure: I'd find out once I unlocked the third.
'Cleared that Dungeon Black Hole and got a bunch of spare points too. Ownership's climbed a fair bit.'
Still under 15%, but it'd go up as I kept grinding. That thought sustained me as the examiners arrived, ushering the F-rank Hunters underground.
A vast measurement chamber greeted us first. The examiners split us up with practiced ease and began the tests.
It didn't take long. I played it modest, faking just promising enough stats, and wrapped up.
'Perfect.'
The results showed exactly the level you'd expect from a prospect. Seo Mi-na eyed my sheet and me suspiciously by turns, but the measurement was done.
'Quiet and uneventful—bliss!'
I grinned inwardly, satisfied, and headed to the next venue. The sparring match was a breeze too; I eked out a passing score without much trouble.
This time, I put in a bit of effort to win against the examiner. A prospect should beat a washed-up [E-]-rank without sacrificing growth, so I paced myself carefully.
'At my current level, I could probably take a D-rank Hunter.'
All thanks to the Heart of the Giant God doing its job splendidly. What skill was more broken than one that leveled up my Infinite stat and boosted my Sun stat in tandem?
Time flew. After finishing the second exam and grabbing a meal, we faced the final hurdle—the real test, the third exam.
"We'll now announce the teams for each exam tier! Those matching the conditions on the signs up front, form up quick!"
F-rank promotion group. F+-rank promotion group. E--rank promotion group.
We split into three lines by tier, Seo Mi-na and I lining up in our spots.
A total of fourteen entrants for this E--rank promotion exam: eight doing one-step from F+, three doing two-step from F, and three—like me—doing three-step from F-.
'All unfamiliar faces.'
My batch had Seo Ha-na plus one two-stepper and three one-steppers. So the rest were from earlier batches.
The next license exam for my successors hadn't happened yet.
It'd probably kick off right after promotions wrapped. That's how the association usually scheduled things.
Come to think of it, it'd been nearly a month since I became a Hunter.
I was savoring the sentiment alone when the examiner started calling teams.
"...Lee Ji-ah, Kim Woo-rim, Ma Dong-won, Shin Juha, and one instructor—Team 3. Assuming no one's too dumb to have missed that, enter now. Your dungeon is a Common B-rank."
Hearing the dungeon's grade and rank, my very first thought—absurdly—was that this would be an easy clear.
'Am I nuts?'
Soloing that Unique D+ dungeon must've gone to my head.
But I could say for sure: If luck hadn't favored me and I'd faced any other monster, I would've died without putting up a real fight.
The Strong Giant wasn't just a power-focused brute with low agility, no magic, and glaring weaknesses. Without Flowing Water, I'd have been the corpse.
A Unique D+ dungeon demanded at least a B-rank-plus party.
The fact that a scrub like me cleared it solo was a miracle. Without Equivalent Exchange and my Myth-class stats, I couldn't have taken down even a Strong Giant scout.
Lucky break amid the misfortune. Any other Unique-grade monster, and I'd be crossing the River Styx by now.
'Dungeons demand caution on top of caution.'
That's when Seo Mi-na sidled up, whining endlessly about not being on my team with a face full of regret—until the examiner urged teams to assemble, and she finally peeled off.
I joined my teammates.
They were a colorful bunch, all from other batches since I knew none of them.
"Hello! I'm Lee Ji-ah, here for the promotion exam! I'm a supporter—I can provide buffs and debuffs! Thank you!"
The lone woman, Lee Ji-ah, took the lead in brightening the mood. A rare buffer and, like me, gunning for three-step promotion as a prospect.
She looked like she'd licensed out from a previous batch.
"Nice to meet ya. Kim Woo-rim here. Spear's my main weapon."
Next was a blond punk with tattoos blanketing both arms and piercings everywhere. He gestured to the spear on his back for his curt intro.
His tone was as rude as his looks.
"Glad to team up. I'm Ma Dong-won! Main weapon's a tower shield. I'll tank. With me around, no worries about taking hits! I can sub as DPS too, though I'm no pro. Looking forward to it!"
Then came a mountain of a man rivaling an army in bulk alone. He thumped his chest heartily, looking reliable as hell.
Next, our assigned instructor.
"Name's Seok Un. Archer. Nice working with you. Let's please not cause any incidents."
He looked utterly drained, like an overworked office drone.
Finally, my turn. Everyone eyed me.
"Shin Juha. I wield pretty much any weapon. Think of me as a dealer. Pleasure."
And so my final third exam began—never dreaming it was a trap laid to kill me.