Is This Really a Test?
Was this really supposed to be a test? Maeng Seong-yong stood with his upper body completely exposed just like last time. His massive frame, well over two meters tall, still radiated pure threat. His impressively bald head gleamed under the examination room lights, shining so brightly that I half-suspected the angles had been deliberately adjusted just to mess with my vision.
“Kwaaaahaha—! Long time no see—well, I guess I can’t actually say that!! Coming back this fast? Isn’t this a new record, Deputy Ha?”
It is a new record, sir. This exam has someone’s entire life riding on it. Please take it seriously.
“Kwa ha hat—! If I got serious, would this examination room even still be standing, you fool?”
......
They hadn’t exchanged many words, yet it was painfully obvious that Deputy Ha’s work life was anything but smooth. He had suffered last time too, and their dynamic clearly hadn’t changed one bit.
“I’ve got a lot I want to say, but let’s start by greeting each other with our bodies. Intimately.”
Please refrain from comments like that toward female hunters. What kind of world do we live in these days…
“Saying such mood-killing crap in a situation like this! Your Friday time-off request is denied! Denied!”
...... Excuse me? Where is that even allowed!
‘...... Was the Association a black company all along?’
Maeng Seong-yong had been huffing and puffing, loosening up his entire body from the moment we stepped into the examination room. The instant Deputy Ha finished shouting, he charged straight at us.
BOOM—!
The spot where he planted his foot for the leap caved in deeply, forming a small crater.
“Come on!”
Yeonhee opened with the same provocation that had worked so well last time.
- Kiiiyaaaaaaaak!!
- Chiiiiiiirrrrr!!
Jeombaki and Ddaktaki, who always carried out their duties in silent dedication. The moment their skills activated and I sharpened my senses to detect any change in Maeng Seong-yong under the effects of the provocation—
For some reason, his stance remained completely unbroken. That meant the provocation hadn’t affected him at all.
He pulled something from his ears and waved it toward us with a grin.
“Kahaha hat!! During the Gu Chang-ro Dungeon Break, some people were using these! I don’t know who came up with it, but it’s pretty damn useful. Kha hat!”
‘Those are earplugs made from mole cricket fur…’
It was an idea I had spread using knowledge from the future, yet having it turned against me left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Tsk— Come out, Wanggwi!!”
Yeonhee summoned every new addition to her roster at once. Watching the dire wolves appear, I thought to myself.
‘I need to be clear about the purpose of this test.’
On our way to the Association we had talked about many things. Since our promotion was already a foregone conclusion, we had discussed what we could actually gain from this exam.
‘First, confirm the abilities of the new summons and check the coordination between the existing ones.’
Whether Yeonhee could properly manage the vastly increased number of summons was another crucial factor.
She had recently mentioned feeling a strange tingling sensation, saying it felt like something would click if she pushed just a little further. I knew that feeling all too well—it was the sign right before an awakening—so I deliberately kept quiet.
If we pressured Maeng Seong-yong hard enough to draw out even a fraction of his real power, it would serve as the perfect catalyst to push Yeonhee into that awakening.
“Grrrrrr──!!”
“Awooooo──!!”
At Yeonhee’s command the two dire wolves named Wanggwi spread out to opposite sides and began sprinting. The were-raven Heukjo and Harpy No. 2 fanned out left and right, soaring high before raining down razor-sharp feathers like a storm to keep Maeng Seong-yong in check.
TING-TING-TING-TING—!
Yet Maeng Seong-yong didn’t even blink. It was as if he had muscles in his eyeballs too. He took the feather barrage head-on without flinching. Even the were-raven’s vortex debuff struck him directly and still failed to disturb him in the slightest.
“......The new kids.”
Yeonhee looked slightly flustered. The scene she had hoped for wasn’t unfolding.
‘The matchup is bad. If he were a dealer instead of a tanker, even an A-rank hunter, the situation would be completely different.’
The gap between C-rank summons and an A-rank tanker was painfully obvious.
‘Still, he shouldn’t be completely unfazed. Just how high is his resistance? He doesn’t even seem to be wearing any artifacts.’
Warriors were usually vulnerable to mental attacks, yet this monster appeared to have no such weakness. And this was still less than seventy percent of his true strength. He might actually be more troublesome to face than the Chaos Residue.
Maeng Seong-yong flexed his massive pectorals and flashed a set of white teeth that looked strangely out of place on him.
‘His body got even tougher in the meantime.’
If last time had felt like he was just playing around with the kids, this time he was much closer to serious mode. That was the only silver lining I could find.
“Geomryong-i!!”
The moment the shadow drake was summoned, I charged Maeng Seong-yong as well.
‘I’ll buy some time.’
It took Yeonhee a little while to merge the lizardmen, so I needed to keep his attention fixed on me.
The instant I kicked off the ground, light exploded from the horns that had sprouted on the two dire wolves.
CRACKLE—!
“Kuuuuum!! Your summon composition has gotten really colorful since last time! Good! Very good!”
Even after taking the dire wolves’ powerful lightning blast, only a little smoke rose from Maeng Seong-yong’s body. In that brief window I slipped in and swung—
CLANG—!
He casually blocked my attack with the knuckle covering his fist.
‘Have you ever seen such a crazy monster? Blocking a greatsword with knuckles?’
At the same rank, that was a defensive technique that would normally cost him fingers. But Maeng Seong-yong clearly hadn’t expected Flame Chain to trigger at the same time as my thrust. His feet were bound by the restraint magic for the briefest instant.
Flame Chain
In that opening, the shadow drake that had flown into the air unleashed a vast surge of pitch-black energy from its maw. The darkness swallowed Maeng Seong-yong whole.
KWAGWAGWAGAGAGA—!
“Kuhuuuuk!!”
‘Is that a breath-type skill? Incredible…’
It was an attack of terrifying destructive power that actually managed to pierce that sturdy defense and draw blood.
‘That must be Geomryong-i’s trump card. Still, its battle sense is solid.’
Stalling for time against an opponent this strong was reckless. When an opportunity appeared, you had to unload your strongest attacks without hesitation. Geomryong-i already understood that principle.
Special Strong Acid
SPLAT—!
The instant Maeng Seong-yong focused on raising his arms in a cross guard to block the drake’s attack, I dumped the strong acid I had been using most effectively lately. The moment it touched his shoulder, it began devouring a fist-sized chunk of flesh in the blink of an eye.
“Kra— hahaha hat!! This! This is the real deal!! An attack that breaks through my barrier and hits at the same time?!”
‘He really is a maniac.’
Even as his own shoulder melted away, the man laughed heartily. The sight sent a slight chill down my spine.
WHOOSH—!
‘He’s gone—’
Phantom Dash
Lightning Step
CRACK—!
His relaxed attitude clearly wasn’t just an act. He had already vanished from my sight and delivered a massive straight punch.
I quickly raised my guard and activated my movement skills to deflect the blow, but—
SLAAAAASH—!
I was sent skidding across the ground, flames erupting in my wake. From a single strike, the armor fused to my arm had completely shattered, exposing bone. A huge fist imprint remained in the center of my flame armor, yet I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
‘Puhuhu… Last time that one hit cracked my skull open.’
This time I had taken enough damage to drain my stamina, but somehow I had endured it!
“Hoo— Looking at the flow of mana, you’re that skeleton from last time. The one who used the fireball and left those strange marks, right? What happened in the meantime that let you withstand my attack? Is it thanks to that armor? Where did you get it? What materials were used? Which workshop produced it?”
Maeng Seong-yong had been laughing boldly, but it seemed he was finally starting to get worked up. He apparently wanted to believe that my blocking his attack was purely due to equipment.
HIIIIIIISSS—
He tilted his head while staring at his still-melting shoulder.
“Recovery from an acid ball hit isn’t easy, huh? And it even has adhesive properties like glue… Just what the hell are you?”
He sliced off the entire affected section of his shoulder with a hand-blade and hurled it into the distance.
‘Crazy… He cut off his own shoulder? He must have a way to regenerate it.’
I slipped back into stealth and moved away. He followed my direction and continued speaking.
“Wait a second. You had two movement skills that could redirect attacks backward, plus the Flame Chain, right? Just how many skills do you have?! You monstrous bastard!! Guahaha ha hat!!”
Maeng Seong-yong laughed so hard it looked like his stomach would burst. He wiggled his finger, provoking us once more.
“Show me more. Any abilities you use during a promotion test won’t be recorded. So go ahead—show me everything you can do.”
He pounded his chest with his fist, reminding us that this battle was still just a test.
‘Aigoo, mister. There’s no way it won’t be recorded…’
Maeng Seong-yong was treating us like naïve rookies with that obvious lie. Still, if it meant that the recorded footage of our fight wouldn’t be easily accessible to just anyone, the statement was somewhat understandable.
“Number One, show them something!”
At my nod, Yeonhee deployed the summon she had prepared.
THUD—!
THUMP—!
“Hehe— So it’s the one that kept getting bigger earlier. Don’t tell me… you combined your summons?!”
At that moment goosebumps erupted across Maeng Seong-yong’s entire body. He fell into a thrill he hadn’t tasted in a long time.
‘Just what kind of combat power does a hunter who’s about to reach C-rank possess?’
Maeng Seong-yong had always held Lee Yeonhee’s potential in high regard, but he had evaluated her ability as one that excelled against multiple enemies. After watching her fight today, he realized it was an all-weather capability.
‘Especially that skeleton bastard. It keeps hovering around my movement path, restricting my actions. And the way it retreats right after attacking is downright eerie. Is its agility abnormally high?’
As he observed the summons encircling him, a shadow suddenly fell over his head. He looked up.
It was a rare experience for the two-meter-tall Maeng Seong-yong to have to crane his neck all the way back just to see his opponent’s face. The giant monster with a lizardman’s head drove its fist straight into his guard.
KWAAAAAANG—!
“Whew—! Now this has some real flavor!!”
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!!
The merged Lizard No. 1’s fists and tail slammed down like a raging storm against Maeng Seong-yong’s solid guard, driving him into a corner.
And then—
Flame Slash
SWISH—!
“Kuk! You bastard!”
‘What, you didn’t seriously think I’d fight fair and square one-on-one, did you?’
My Flame Slash struck the opening, leaving a mark on Maeng Seong-yong’s shoulder. But astonishingly, it wasn’t just one mark.
‘Huh? Two of them? Don’t tell me the one that landed during the last test is still there?!’
If so, that meant the flame mark was almost permanently engraved on the target. That was truly a special ability. Many stacking skills existed in the world, but most of them dissipated after a certain amount of time. No wonder I was shocked.
‘I was half in doubt because I obtained it so early, but this might rival the skills of the very first awakeners.’