Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Let's Go on a Trip
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Han Min-gi panicked and checked the device settings.
…….
Everything was normal.
“Th-this is weird. A-rank? Well, damn.”
Shin Noda was just as flustered.
He had tried to hold back his power somewhat, but it had jumped straight to A-rank.
Considering his original pure stats were already A-rank, this came out quite high.
He hadn’t intended it, but it ended up being one of those rare cases where the measurement exceeded reality.
‘I need to dial back the agility as much as possible.’
He spoke casually, as he had originally planned.
“A-rank is correct. I ate a lot of Orbs of Growth for strength.”
‘Orbs of Growth’ came in two types: ones that raised a fixed stat and ones that raised a random one.
Han Min-gi was still dumbfounded but accepted it.
He had no choice but to revise his thinking.
‘I thought he was just bluffing… but he’s the real deal?!’
He prepared for the next test with a polite attitude.
“For agility, please go into that wide area!”
A separated space like an indoor skating rink.
The ceiling was hung with tons of rod-like things resembling sandbags.
Han Min-gi flipped the switch, and a guidance voice sounded.
【Beginning C-rank.】
The rods started moving around.
“Once you go in, those rods will chase after you. Just dodge them.”
“Yes.”
Shin Noda entered and dodged the rods chasing him while thinking.
‘Since strength came out A-rank, I need to aim for around C-rank for agility.’
He had originally planned for B-rank strength and B-rank agility, but things had gone a bit off.
Still, as long as the average worked out, it wasn’t a big issue.
【Beginning B-rank.】
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The much faster rods cut through the air as they pursued Shin Noda.
He panted, pretending to struggle.
“Hoo.”
Shin Noda dodged once or twice.
Then he deliberately tangled his steps and fell.
Han Min-gi and Lee Sang-hyeon noticed something off due to his clumsy acting.
‘It feels like he fell on purpose…’
But common sense told them that couldn’t be, so they dismissed the suspicion.
Beep.
The test ended as Shin Noda got hit by a rod.
“C-rank. Congratulations.”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to test intelligence too?”
Shin Noda shook his head.
There was no need to go that far.
The reason he was getting remeasured was to avoid suspicion down the line while acting as ‘Shin Noda’—questions like ‘How can a D-rank pull off that performance? Seems like he’s hiding his stats. Why hide them?’
“I have skills too. Magic Engraving and Scale Formation.”
“Ma… Magic Engraving?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard there are a few success cases overseas, but I didn’t expect to see one in Korea. You don’t need to test that. It’s not really a skill—just a kind of tattoo. At best, we’d count it as a weapon.”
Laura had registered it as a skill for Shin Noda’s convenience, but originally, it wasn’t one.
He nodded and slightly manifested scales on his arm to show Han Min-gi.
“Ooh. Could I test the composition of these scales? They’re not ordinary scales. So large and beautiful.”
“Do I have to?”
“It’s optional…”
“Then no.”
Han Min-gi looked disappointed.
Getting his hands on something that unique would have been great for his record.
Shin Noda turned and said,
“Please update my rank.”
“Yes, yes. Sorry for speaking carelessly earlier. I guess I misunderstood because there are some people like that. Your registration card will be sent to your address by registered mail.”
“Yes. Alright.”
Shin Noda left the management office with Lee Sang-hyeon.
Lee Sang-hyeon watched Shin Noda’s back as he walked ahead and felt it.
‘He could jump right into active duty…’
As a hero fanatic, he knew roughly what level was needed for proper hero work.
‘Shin Noda’s the real hero material. Maybe I’m witnessing the early days of a hero who’ll capture everyone’s attention.’
Shin Noda’s talent.
It was terrifying.
And he didn’t skimp on effort.
‘Effort enough to raise his rank without even entering dungeons…’
Lee Sang-hyeon couldn’t even imagine it.
Even in club activities, Shin Noda had outshone him as president in leadership.
His passion for heroes (otaku level) was no joke.
His personal abilities went without saying.
He felt the gap between them.
If he was a mere foot soldier, Shin Noda was a general.
Before he knew it, admiration for Shin Noda welled up.
Age or grade didn’t matter here.
***
A fun holiday break.
We boarded a bus heading to some mountain in Gyeonggi Province.
I bought all the camping gear with my own money.
In exchange, Lee Sang-hyeon and Isia prepared the food.
Rattle, rattle.
The bus’s vibrations made the swords tied to the students’ waists clink.
Not a single one had forgotten their weapons.
Good thing I’d insisted they bring them just in case.
My weapon was a folding spear.
Durability was a bit low, but function and appearance matched a regular spear.
Regular spears were inconvenient to carry, so most awakeners who used them went with folding ones.
I strongly recommended Park Ha-yeon use a spear too, but she refused, saying her sword had a story behind it.
‘Spears are the strongest, after all.’
I understood.
Her sword was a memento from the hero who saved her as a child.
The story of how she got it was pretty tear-jerking.
I couldn’t tell human Park Ha-yeon, who wasn’t just a efficiency-obsessed player, to ditch it.
“But that mountain didn’t seem to have a campsite. You think it’ll be okay?”
Lee Sang-hyeon asked cautiously.
“That’s what makes it thrilling. Besides, there’s a village not far down, so no worries about getting lost.”
I answered nonchalantly.
No need to worry.
We were actually camping inside a dungeon, and there were plenty of good spots inside.
That aside, the club members and Park Ha-yeon still felt a bit awkward with each other.
Laura didn’t care either way.
I broke the ice.
“Seniors, what food did you bring?”
Lee Sang-hyeon answered proudly.
“Camping means barbecue, right? You said you had the gear, so I bought tons of meat. And…”
He pulled a green glass bottle from his bag and grinned.
“Plenty of booze too!”
Perfect.
If we weren’t heading to a dungeon…
I grabbed his hand and pretended to be impressed.
“Senior! I knew I could count on you! You know what’s up! Haha!”
“R-right? Took some effort to get them. Haha.”
I pulled Park Ha-yeon in.
“Ha-yeon! Meat!”
“What kind?”
“Pork belly!”
Park Ha-yeon grinned and chimed in.
“I love pork belly too. Hehe.”
“Nyaang!”
Isia wrote on her tablet and showed it.
[Me too! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و]
Park Ha-yeon soon started chatting with the club folks and warmed up quickly.
We arrived at our destination while talking.
We got off the bus and headed to the mountain trail entrance.
At the base of the mountain.
The path was overgrown with grass, untouched by humans for a while.
An older sedan was parked there.
Two burly men got out of the car.
They stopped us.
“Hold up. Who are you? Why the weapons?”
The one who spoke pulled out a police badge.
‘Routine check?’
We showed our student IDs to prove our identities.
“We’re Hero Academy students, all awakeners.”
The academy was for elites among awakeners.
The plainclothes cop hesitated and backed off.
“Ah, I see. What brings you here?”
“Camping. It’s a holiday.”
“Hm… You know there was a murder here about a week ago?”
Everyone except Laura was startled.
I tapped the spear at my waist and said boldly.
“They can’t touch us.”
“True, if you’re academy students.”
The cop looked convinced.
That was the public view of academy students.
They could take on truckloads of normals without breaking a sweat, and sometimes even caught villains.
Most villains were small fry who couldn’t even get into the academy.
People like Yoon Mi-so, who had talent but gave up the guaranteed hero path, were rare.
We entered the mountain.
I took the lead, saying I knew a good camping spot.
I asked Laura in my mind.
‘Laura, feel any gate reactions nearby?’
[I do. Is that why you came here?]
‘Yes. Guide me there.’
Laura trotted ahead.
“Huff. Huff.”
“Nya… Nyaang.”
“Noda, you’re not tired?”
We’d reached about midway up the mountain.
Since it wasn’t a well-maintained trail, everyone looked worn out.
Soon, an ominous energy began to emanate.
Pushing through the thick bushes revealed the source.
A hole like a black hole.
A gate leading to a dungeon.
It was emitting black energy.
“What the…?”
But there were people next to the gate.
Two in red robes.
They were reaching toward the gate, infusing it with strange energy.
One spotted us and clicked his tongue.
“Tch. Heroes? A-rank. Retreat now.”
“How’d they find out?”
They pulled scrolls from their robes and tore them.
The scrolls emitted bright light.
Their bodies vanished like illusions.
‘Laura, why didn’t you use Dispel…’