Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Entrance Exam (3)
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While Chairman Han Chang was locked in battle with a stack of documents...
Noah, left alone after Rachel departed, was now facing yet another problem.
"What the heck is this?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【Welcome, Player!】 The message window, filling her vision with its bizarre shape, was written in bold, emphasized letters that clearly conveyed a message of welcome.
"Seriously, what is it?"
Was it a hallucination, maybe?
"It won't even go away."
She waved her arms around or rubbed her eyes.
She tried every method that came to mind, but the message stubbornly lingered in the corner of her vision, floating in mid-air.
"How did this even happen?"
Things had been fine right up until she'd been talking with Rachel.
'Was it touching that golden exclamation mark?'
The golden exclamation mark that had naturally occupied one corner of her vision had instinctively compelled her to click it.
Noah, who had an innate curiosity that ran strong, had gazed at it with eager eyes and pressed it—and as a result...
"This is a problem."
Now, thirty minutes in, she was locked in a staring contest with the system.
'Some kind of curse?'
Or maybe a spell?
"But if it were, I wouldn't sense nothing through introspection."
Closing her eyes and scanning her body, she found no particular abnormalities.
In fact, after receiving treatment from top-notch physicians, her condition was better than usual!
"The doctors said they saw no unusual signs either."
Given their oddly deferential reactions, they probably hadn't even checked thoroughly, which meant it truly wasn't anything harmful to her.
Mental illness was a possibility, but there was no immediate fix for that.
'It doesn't seem harmful to my body, so maybe I just have to watch it for a while.'
In the end, she was left with a short-term cohabitation with this suspicious system.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ 【♚♚ Scenario☆Navigator ♚♚ Use Now $$ EXP Coupon ☜☜ 100% Bonus※ ♜Beginner Starter Pack♜ FREE￥ ♚♚ Main Quest Progress ♚♚ Special Class Change ☜☜ Heavenly Sky✮Hero Guaranteed♝♝ New User ♝♝ Special Perks ★☆★ Heavenly Sky Holy Sword ★☆★ Acquisition Chance ➵➵✉ Accept Now ٩(♡ε♡ )۶】 "It's making me dizzy."
What kind of nonsensical sentence was this?
Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore it to the end, Noah barely held onto her reeling mind as the message shifted into something even more provocative.
It was the kind of message that drained her sanity just by looking at it, but unfamiliar bits of information were scattered between the lines, making it hard to simply dismiss.
'Scenario Navigator?'
The first thing that caught her eye was the term "Scenario Navigator."
'Scenario means a specific story, right? Navigator would mean it guides you through it?'
As it increasingly felt like a scam, Noah made a dubious face.
'Starter... pack? No idea what that means. Hero sounds like the ones I know. But holy sword? What nonsense.'
Examining the message, Noah let out a light scoff at the ridiculous phrasing.
'Holy swords are possessed only by a tiny fraction of chosen heroes to begin with.'
No matter how many heroes there were, if every tom, dick, and harry carried one around, would it really be a holy relic?
Holy swords were so rare that even battle-hardened top-tier heroes seldom possessed them.
Holy swords, forged solely by the goddess's power, were mostly enshrined in the Holy Empire, save for a scant few scattered across the continent.
She'd never even heard of a "Heavenly Sky Holy Sword" before, and even if it existed, an unknown holy sword from the Holy Empire would mean it was a special one that hadn't appeared on the continent yet.
Of course, holy swords varied in performance, so it couldn't compare to legendary ones like the Light Holy Sword that vanquished the previous Demon King or the Radiant Holy Sword used by great heroes—relics designated as divine treasures.
Even so, the awakening of a single dormant holy sword on the continent would be enough to shake the entire world.
As objects proving the goddess's existence and symbols of heroes, countless heroes vied for them, so the Holy Empire meticulously tracked their whereabouts and carefully selected their wielders.
Moreover, holy swords imbued with the goddess's power would naturally vanish once a hero fulfilled their duty—even if the hero died, they couldn't be looted, and the same went for those who completed their demon king subjugation.
Those vanished swords would return to the Holy Empire under the goddess's guidance or, in some cases, seek out suitable new owners.
Among the myriad heroes, being chosen by a holy sword was so rare it was truly the will of the heavens, no exaggeration.
That was the treasure known as the holy sword.
For Noah, a mere prospective student, it was far too burdensome an item.
'Yeah, it's probably a lie.'
So Noah ignored the message's claims.
It was wiser to trust her common sense over this highly suspicious message—a natural conclusion, really.
But she couldn't just keep staring at it forever.
Frowning at the message, she eventually realized there was no other option and pressed it.
──♪
A fanfare burst forth.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【Player authentication confirmed!】 【Status window unlocked!】 【Achievement Unlocked: 『Solo Leveling』!】 【Skill window unlocked!】 【Achievement Unlocked: 『Skill Collector』!】 【Quest window unlocked!】 【Achievement Unlocked: 『Main Quests to Subs』!】 【Favorability system unlocked!】 【Achievement Unlocked: 『I Can See Your Favorability!』!】 【Ongoing scenario detected!】 【Would you like to begin scenario guidance?】 "───!?"
The sudden barrage of text flooding her vision left Noah in a fluster, staring wide-eyed at empty space.
"───?!!"
At the same time, she sensed a fundamental change in her body and let out a gasp.
Her face paling, she frantically patted herself down to check for issues, but finding none, she collapsed onto the bed, breaking into a cold sweat.
'Something definitely changed.'
As the text overwhelmed her vision, her body had transformed at its core.
She didn't know why.
But something had changed.
Faced with this result without process, Noah's expression hardened like never before.
That was when it happened.
The auto-displayed text vanished in an instant, replaced by a yellow exclamation mark in the corner of her vision.
As if the so-called "scenario" had turned into that mark.
'What the hell is going on? What's happening...'
That was when it happened.
As if reading her thoughts, the now-clear vision filled with a single message.
"Guide system?"
What was this?
Was it going to explain what had taken root inside her?
But as Noah hesitated to touch it, perhaps growing impatient, the message opened on its own and revealed its contents.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【The player is a hero chosen by the goddess.】 【As the continent's savior, please vanquish the demons threatening peace.】 【This system is the goddess's arrangement to more efficiently confront the Demon King.】 【This AI, the Scenario Navigator, will assist the player in overcoming the many trials ahead more efficiently and effectively.】 "The goddess's... huh?"
Before she knew it, the light faded from Noah's eyes at the out-of-left-field statement, but the merciless system sent the next message.
⚙ SYSTEM GUIDE ⚙ 【The system the player has obtained is divided into three main categories.】 【Status System: View detailed stats of individuals.】 【Quest System: For the ultimate goal of Demon King subjugation.】 【Reward System: Dramatically shortens the path to Demon King subjugation.】 'Status system? Quests? Rewards—what...'
⚙ DETAILED EXPLANATION ⚙ 【The Status System lets you view detailed stats of individuals.】 【Key features include the 'Status Window' for stats and levels, and the 'Skill Window' for abilities. You can view your own or others'.】 【Note: Large level gaps may impair functionality.】
【The Quest System divides into 'Main' quests (directly tied to the continent's fate) and 'Sub' quests (with indirect ripple effects).】 【The Reward System aids player growth. Completing them grants helpful items and rewards.】 【It splits into Favorability and Achievement Systems, both offering generous rewards.】 【Favorability especially impacts Main Quests—proceed with care.】
Reading the messages in a daze, Noah sluggishly summoned her status window.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 『Name: Noah Premier』 『Level: 1』 ⚡ Strength: 10 💨 Agility: 10 ✨ Magic Power: 10 💪 Stamina: 10 🍀 Luck: 10 🛡️ Endurance: 10 ⚔ Aura: 10 ⭐ Divine Power: 10 HP: 1000/1000 | MP: 100/100 Achievements: 'I Can See Your Favorability!' and 3 others Class: (None) | Title: (None) | Reputation: 100 Clean numbers, neatly at exact tens, filled her view.
'This seems pretty good, right?'
Seeing her long-accumulated abilities quantified brought a secret swell of pride.
'Level 1 is just because it's my first time using it.'
She'd never used a system before now.
Maybe EXP hadn't applied yet.
'Wait, then how do others measure levels?'
If she, who had no system until recently, was still Level 1, wouldn't everyone else show as Level 1 too?
But such worries were unfounded.
The archer and brawler she'd met in the same hospital were all in the teens.
Their stats were overwhelmingly higher too.
'If we'd fought head-on, I really would've lost.'
Unlike them, it seemed she was measured on a different scale.
Otherwise, a mere Level 1 like her would be on par with that kid passing by.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly and put those two behind me.
Having roughly grasped the most important part, it was time to check what had been nagging at me next.
Favorability, which I'd spotted while looking around the system.
It had to be that—how others viewed me, what they thought of me.
Gulp—
Tension twisting my gut, I swallowed hard.
I was dying to know how he felt about me.
Did he perhaps feel the same as I did?
Clutching my chest full of anticipation, she opened the favorability window—and───
💖 FAVORABILITY 💖 【Yeon Je-seong: 98 (Trust)】 【He holds strong trust toward you. He might believe in you more than your own parents. No matter what you do or how you act, he will embrace and accept it all. If you need his help, just say the word. He will grant any request, anytime.】 "……?"
She froze at the unbelievable number.