Gems in the Rough and the IV-Grade Mission
IV-Grade Mission
What mattered most to Baek Ya-seong assassins—at least in my opinion—was individual skill. Teamwork was important too, sure, but you could learn that after joining Baek Ya-seong. That's why, seeing the assassins who'd come in with prior connections, I laid out the conditions for the second test right from the start. Taking down two or more targets as a group wouldn't score as high as doing it solo. It was a setup to turn the second test into a perfect individual battle.
What I needed to evaluate wasn't anything else—it was each person's raw ability. A killer's mindset was great, but assassins lacking standout personal prowess had no place in Baek Ya-seong, let alone with Jin Yeon-ah. Baek Ya-seong was Korea's top assassin corporation. The ones serving my lady Jin Yeon-ah had to be at least reliably competent.
Sure, they were expendables with high odds of dying on missions, but you couldn't use total pushovers, right? Plus, this test would let me gauge not just their current skills, but their potential too. More precisely, whether they had room to grow or not. And if there were any rough gems among them with the spark to become real jewels... well, I could pick them out and raise them into capable talents, not just cannon fodder like the four Back World guys I'd brought along.
Hmm... The one I'm most looking forward to is that kid, no doubt.
My gaze drifted toward her as I mulled over unearthing those gems. There stood Choi Do-ah, scanning her surroundings with a wry smile. During the 10-minute break earlier, I'd skimmed her resume. She was the standout from the first test, so I wanted to check for any unique details.
And when I read Choi Do-ah's file? I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
A total diamond in the rough.
Baek Ya-seong's document standards were sky-high. Unless you were an exception like me, they demanded basic assassin certifications, physical specs, mock mission records—just the basics took serious vetting. On average, it took four years just to snag those certs: daggers, firearms, bombs, poisons, and a few extras. All practical exams, so four years was the norm.
But according to her resume, Choi Do-ah had come up from Daejeon and bagged them all in just one year. And her physicals? How does a body like that pack that kind of power?
She looked like she had a nicely pretty figure, but her strength outclassed top male powerlifters. And despite that raw power, her agility and dynamic vision were top-tier too—no slouch there. Her mock mission record screamed natural combat sense.
She got enhancement procedures, obviously, but that compatibility rate is rare as hell.
With specs like that, she'd naturally undergone enhancements, but wielding that power fully was all her. In other words, Choi Do-ah was born talented. At this level, maybe I wasn't the freak bio-engineered monster Jin Yeon-ah and Kwon Ji-yul half-jokingly called me—Choi Do-ah was. Though from their view, my bare-body strength probably looked more monstrous.
Anyway, that made her the most promising applicant here. I figured she'd make a fine blade for Jin Yeon-ah to wield.
"Not quite on my level, though."
Obviously, she wouldn't surpass me, but still. I snapped out of the flashback, grabbed the mic, and raised my voice.
"Alright, second test starts now. Everyone, find your positions!"
The assassins scattered at my shout, hurriedly claiming cover one by one. Even the ones who'd been laughing and chatting moments ago split up and ducked behind obstacles. Perfect—exactly as I'd hoped.
Once everyone was set, I bellowed again.
"Test... begins!"
The test kicked off, and a new timer appeared on the scoreboard, ticking down. Ten minutes for the second test—a generous window compared to the first's 30 seconds. The assassins took their time, methodically targeting the assassin bots.
Clang—!
"Damn, how are they that tough?!"
Picking them off from afar with just pistols wasn't efficient. The bots' main material was steel—not soft like human flesh, so handgun rounds didn't punch through easily. To drop one at range, you'd need a full mag dumped in. Faster? Close in and stab the power core with a dagger.
But botch it, and a bullet hail could end your interview right there. So they hesitated, unwilling to rush—except for one figure weaving freely through the bots.
Shwick—!
A thrown dagger nailed the bot's rear power core dead-on. It crumpled. The thrower, Choi Do-ah, retrieved her blade and slipped behind cover.
Tat-tat-tat—!!
The instant she ducked, bullets poured onto her spot.
"Hoo..."
The bots' fire was brutal enough to spook anyone, but after a steadying breath, she popped out the second the barrage paused. They unloaded on her, of course, but she dodged flawlessly, hugging cover while sprinting. Two more bots dropped to her handiwork.
The hiding assassins watched in dismay.
"Shit... She's gonna hog all the points."
"How's she dodging all those bullets...?"
"Should I go out there...?"
Dancing through gunfire, dropping bots flawlessly—it lit a fire under them. The bold ones (or the prideful) started moving.
They leaped up.
"Screw it—better try than hide and fail!"
"If that chick can, so can I!"
"Outta the way! I get hit 'cause you're in the way, that's on you!!"
About 30 followed Choi Do-ah's lead, lunging out for points. With that many stirring the pot, the bots' attention splintered every which way. No longer zeroed on pop-up targets—it was chaos now.
Latecomers clocked the shift and joined the melee.
"Nice, let's go!"
"Scatter, you bastards!!"
"What the hell's this guy doing?! Back off—that one's mine!!!"
Soon, nearly everyone was out, turning it into a total shitshow. Non-lethal rounds flew everywhere; hit assassins screamed, but the frenzy let others snipe bots. Amid the brawl, the second test wrapped early—before the 10 minutes were up.
"Test over! Everyone, back to your spots and freeze!"
Three hundred assassin bots in the arena—all down in eight minutes. I grabbed the mic and yelled. They holstered weapons and stood still.
I checked the test results on the podium pad.
"Let's see..."
The pad logged which bot each downed, or who they tagged with shots—since I couldn't watch everyone.
A few taps, and results popped up. I grinned. The top spot went to the one I'd hoped for, just as wished.
After scanning the top 50, I looked up.
"Alright, time to call the final passers."
Tension, hope, desperation, fear—they stared at me, eyes swirling with it all. I began.
"First passer..."
Baek Ya-seong's interview—short or long, depending—had reached its end.
Meanwhile, as I handled the interviewees and ran the tests, Jin Yeon-ah paused mid-paperwork in her office, eyes catching a standout mission file.
"What's this?"
A new mission type. Well, not entirely—she knew Baek Ya-seong's admin inside out. But she hadn't expected this grade so soon.
"Why's an IV-grade mission here already...?"
Central's missions to Baek Ya-seong came in five ranks by difficulty and priority: I, II, III, IV, V.
Jin Yeon-ah's highest so far? II-grade. She'd been active briefly, with no major rep yet. But now, with solid achievements reported and reviewed, this was her first IV-grade.
She muttered softly.
"This one's... gotta send Se-rin."
The IV-grade dispatch: eliminate a target hiding in China. Meaning, send her best—Baek Se-rin. No choice.