Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 33
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[Part 2 Chapter 33]
§ Busan Hysis Gate Illitihia-G13
Lee Yoo-hyun headed straight to the dungeon as soon as she woke up in the morning to check its status.
She had been worried it might bolt like at dawn, but fortunately, the dungeon wasn't avoiding her.
"No, this old man... Stop chasing me around. Don't you have anything better to do?"
"It's a break time. Anyway, can't you tell me now? What happened?"
The dungeon pressed his fingers to his temple, coming up with a suitable excuse.
"I was just shocked by how insanely powerful your ability is. I tend to get a bit emotional in my reactions."
"Don't lie."
Lee Yoo-hyun narrowed her eyes. It shouldn't overlap with Lee Sae-byeok, but their way of making excuses was exactly the same.
"I swear it's true. My tear ducts are a little glitchy, so I cry when I get too excited. I went straight to my room and spent the whole time agonizing over how to make use of it."
"What kind of ability was it?"
"It's a secret."
Lee Yoo-hyun eyed the dungeon suspiciously. He kept all sorts of secrets to himself and never shared them.
"Forget about otherworldly folks and just focus on your guild master duties."
Abyss management, guild affairs, looking after Ra-hee unnie.
Even for someone who handled things well, it had to be mentally draining.
If he had to worry about her on top of that, he'd definitely slip up.
And she'd probably end up cleaning up the mess.
She wanted to avoid that hassle.
"Oh, right. Do you happen to know where Pyo Sang-hoon lives?"
She needed to meet B-Class's Pyo Sang-hoon anyway, so she asked Lee Yoo-hyun, who likely had personal info on the Abyss kids.
"Pyo Sang-hoon?"
Lee Yoo-hyun blinked in surprise, her eyes widening at the unexpected name from the dungeon's mouth.
"May I ask why you're looking for that kid?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Well... I made a promise with him in a game."
"Haha, Sang-hoon would faint if he saw you here. Don't tease him too much."
Convinced, Lee Yoo-hyun pulled out her phone and looked up the address where the Abyss-origin B-Class hunters were staying.
After moving to the second headquarters, B to D-Class had lived there until Kim Woo-sung's death, then recently relocated to more comfortable lodgings.
Some kids got mentally worn out just being near headquarters, so they'd assigned dorms a bit farther from the guild building.
Lee Yoo-hyun was about to give the dungeon the dorm location but considered they might miss each other, so she messaged Sang-hoon directly.
She asked where he was, and a reply came back soon.
[Heading to headquarters for rank re-evaluation today.]
"Perfect timing. He says he's coming up to headquarters for his rank review this time."
"Today?"
"Yeah."
No wonder there were more people around the guild building than usual. Today must be re-evaluation day.
At least she didn't have to bother tracking him down. He'd be here soon, so she just needed to wait near the testing area.
'Pyo Sang-hoon came for re-evaluation...'
Sang-hoon from his memories was roughly B1-rank. But that was the grown version, not his current rank.
He vaguely recalled a well-balanced build overall, so before growth, maybe around C2-rank.
The dungeon headed toward the testing area with various guesses in mind.
* * *
"That buzzcut kid—he doesn't seem like typical Abyss stock, does he? But his vibe screams Abyss."
"Who?"
Hunter Association rank testing hall.
People buzzed, staring at one guy who stood out with his distinct aura.
Closely cropped hair, fierce eyes, a scar at the end of his eyebrow.
His sturdy body, honed through relentless training to become a hunter, was covered in scars.
Abyss origins generally had a rough, edgy vibe.
Deep scars that wouldn't heal even with potions gave off a dangerous aura overall.
Lately, public opinion painted them as mostly kind and innocent, but facing them still made people a bit nervous.
"Oh, I think I know who that is."
"Who?"
"Pyo Sang-hoon. Abyss origin, yeah, but he's a B-Class scrub. Like, bottom of B-Class. E-rank hunter."
"How do you know so well?"
"He came for rank review last time too... Everyone expected big things from an Abyss kid, but he got E-rank. Don't most Abyss hunters start at least at C? Still, his origins showed—aced the basic physicals like a flying squirrel."
Someone pushed through the murmuring crowd.
A girl with light brown hair, hat pulled low, mask on.
"Huh? Buzzcut's still E-rank? Not even C?"
"Yeah... Definitely E3 last time. Who knows this round."
The dungeon, who had been eavesdropping from the crowd, crossed his arms and stared hard at Pyo Sang-hoon.
He clearly remembered the kid having solid combat skills back in the Abyss Project days. Why E3?
Mana stats at E made sense, but GAL Rank 3 was weird.
Abyss B-Class usually hit 2-3 baseline, but from what he'd seen of Sang-hoon's fundamentals, he should've gotten 1.
'No way he's still not over monster panic?'
He handled moving dummies or targets fine, but froze up once he registered them as monsters.
[GAL Test commencing.]
The announcement blared.
Standard order: GAL Rank first, then mana rank.
Mana output wasn't constant, so they ranked on minimum output.
To measure minimum precisely, body half-exhausted—hence after GAL eval.
[Test One: Physical Ability Assessment.]
The chime rang again, starting basic physicals.
Sang-hoon, warming up for the eval, followed the tester's lead into physical tests.
'Doing solidly as expected.'
The dungeon watched Sang-hoon lead the pack.
Not just running—excelling everywhere. Records way above the other participants.
Physicals wrapped smoothly.
[Test Two: Gate Simulation.]
Sang-hoon, wiping sweat and resting, stiffened at the second announcement.
"Come on over~"
The rank tester guided participants to the next area.
Hunter capsules lined the sim room.
Walls plastered with screens broadcasting participants' sim footage live.
Sang-hoon entered a capsule, tense.
His image popped up on the nearest screen to his pod.
The dungeon watched him draw his weapon and rev up, then spotted something odd in the provided dungeon for the test.
'Whoa, they modded a Cheiler Dungeon to mimic gate format even closer?'
Cheiler Dungeons, similar to this world's open gates.
Recently discovered new structure with Prim.
Originally for closing random dungeons, now preset with gate-environment monsters.
He'd heard Prim networked a lot with adventurers—looks like Cheiler info spread already.
Somehow heartening.
'If it's gate-like, might trigger monster panic easier.'
Curious, the dungeon scanned the interior layout via screen, then refocused on Sang-hoon.
Ice-mage monsters in a Cheiler Dungeon? Large sections frozen.
Without warning, sharp ice spikes flew from all sides.
Sang-hoon drew his dagger, wrapped his body in mana, and swiftly batted them away. Spikes studded the walls.
He clasped hands for the incoming monster assault.
"Lightning Web."
Yellow sparks crackled from his palms.
'No way this guy's getting low rank with that skillset.'
Right—he was an electric-affinity magic warrior.
Electric warriors needed C+ mana to even manifest.
Sang-hoon coated his dagger in yellow electric aura and charged.
Ice monsters poured out ahead—Snowdogs, blanketed in thick white fur.
Snowdogs rushed with ice-shard spears.
One slash toward a Snowdog pack sent the dagger's lightning webbing into the cluster.
Zzzap!
Frontline Snowdogs paralyzed by shock.
Sang-hoon dropped low, stabbed through the nearest's chest multiple times.
Blood gushed from the Snowdog.
Early game, handling monsters smoothly.
But post-initial assault, Sang-hoon suddenly staggered, eyes squeezing shut.
Swinging blindly with eyes closed, lightning surging from his body to hit Snowdogs—but flailing arms into empty air.
While Sang-hoon fumbled dumbly, Snowdogs reformed ranks and attacked in sync.
Ice spears rained down.
He deflected a couple before collapsing, frozen stiff.
'If monster panic's still a thing, why bother hunter life instead of civilian?'
The dungeon clicked his tongue watching Sang-hoon's pace shatter, flailing attacks.
Time expired, shifted dungeon types. Panic repeated.
Gate sim ended; Sang-hoon bolted from the capsule.
Collapsed on the floor, deep breaths regulating his racing lungs.
Post-sim minor tests (rescue, crisis response) all botched, he got GAL 3-rank, dragged himself mana-tested exhausted.
Powerless body, mental limits hit.
[Pyo Sang-hoon - E3-rank]
Final: E3. 3 was generous.
Without early GAL physicals, would've been 6.
The dungeon perched on a railing, watching deflated Sang-hoon stare at his rank.
"So, what rank'd he get this time? See?"
"E3, apparently."
"Even Abyss kids flop. I got D5."
"Don't jealousy-rage at a hard worker, it's ugly."
People whispered about Sang-hoon.
The dungeon, catching his final rank from the side chatter, walked toward him packing up.
Fierce buzzcut Sang-hoon scrubbed sweat from face and head with a towel.
Then draped it over his head, shadowing his face, head drooped.
Tears spotting the floor—he was crying.
"Hey."
The dungeon plopped down opposite Sang-hoon and spoke.