Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Placement Test (1)
Translation: godtl
"What the fuck? Did you just curse at me?"
"Yeah, you fucking bastard. What else should I call you? A goddamn mutt? Huh?"
A short-haired man spat out curses with an overbearing attitude.
Kim Si-mun let out a hollow laugh.
'What the hell is this as soon as I arrive...?'
Getting cursed at the moment he entered the Arena?
Judging by the cooperative conditions, it seemed to be an Offense match.
Starting off with picking a fight right away—this was beyond hopeless.
The problem was.
-What the fuck? Who the hell does this roadkill-looking bastard think he is, calling me a fucker?
It wasn't just that guy picking a fight.
-Bro! Lift your finger right now!
A voice poured out from the center of his chest, accompanied by a rough ringing.
Though it was the voice of a somewhat delicate girl, the words she spat out were anything but.
-I'll tear that ugly bastard's face to shreds and fry it up—
'Hey, hey, calm down.'
Si-mun stroked his head soothingly.
Then gently rubbed his chest.
-Aww~! If you touch me so tenderly, what am I supposed to do?! Huh?!
Even though he had only rubbed his chest.
Why did it feel so nauseating?
'Sigh, if I'd known this would happen, I would've stopped the fusion with the Obsidian Tablet no matter what...'
The owner of that rough tone that didn't match the voice was none other than the Philosopher's Stone.
The fusion with the Obsidian Tablet hadn't just changed the Philosopher's Stone's grade and level.
[A small change occurs in the Philosopher's Stone.]
'Who knew such a small message could be so terrifying.'
That's right.
After fusing with the Obsidian Tablet, the Philosopher's Stone had gained the ability to speak.
-Hmm! The touch of a handsome man! Sooo nice!
In a somewhat... incomprehensible way.
But what could he do?
The deed was already done.
-Pant! More! Rub me more!!
The Philosopher's Stone's bizarre voice continued relentlessly.
Si-mun immediately withdrew his hand from his chest, closed his eyes briefly, and steadied his dizzied mind.
Perhaps interpreting this as fear?
"Look at this guy acting all high and mighty. Hey, scared much? Huh?"
Choi Gi-yeol blinked rapidly as he opened his eyes.
But seeing Si-mun still hadn't opened his.
"Gi-yeol, what's there to ask? He's clearly pissing his pants!"
"Pfft! Judging by his gear, he's probably not even in a guild!"
The party members behind Choi Gi-yeol chimed in one by one, sneering.
"You've been lucky enough to ride on the backs of weak pushovers so far, but let me tell you—Choi Gi-yeol here isn't some pushover!"
"Is that what this is about?"
Si-mun, who had opened his eyes at some point, looked at Choi Gi-yeol with a wavering gaze.
"If it's about my gear, that's a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"From the start, my gear—"
Boom.
A deafening explosion erupted, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
At Si-mun.
To be precise, at the spot where Si-mun had been standing—now crushed by a morning star, the dust rising from the impact.
"This bastard's really lost his mind."
Choi Gi-yeol, who had swung the morning star down, glared at Si-mun with cold eyes as he backstepped away.
"Talking about misunderstandings. Who the hell do you take me for?"
Choi Gi-yeol growled.
Si-mun stared at him for a moment before speaking.
"...Choi Gi-yeol, was it? You're amusing."
"You laughing at me? Some freeloading bastard who came to the Arena without even gearing up!"
Si-mun let out a stifled laugh.
"This bracket is usually Bronze, and even considering this event type, at best it's Silver level, isn't it?"
"What does that have to do with you being a freeloading leech without gear?"
"At this rank, Magic Class or Support Class players often don't have gear. You seem experienced in the Arena—don't you know that?"
"......"
Choi Gi-yeol had no response to Si-mun's words.
Because it was true.
Magic Class and Support Class gear was significantly more expensive compared to Combat Class.
Especially Magic Class, which boasted the lowest population ratio across all classes.
Naturally, Magic Class gear was rare.
For Magic Class players in this rank, obtaining gear was a dream beyond reach without substantial support.
Of course, even Choi Gi-yeol, who had been steadily advancing since the tutorial, knew this fact well.
However.
"Well."
Choi Gi-yeol curled the corner of his mouth upward, his glare unwavering.
"I wouldn't know about that."
"I see. My equipment was never even on your radar to begin with."
"Must be nice, huh? A no-gear bastard running his mouth in front of a carry."
Yet the reason he was being so aggressively fixated on equipment was obvious.
Si-mun watched as Choi Gi-yeol advanced threateningly.
'He's planning to monopolize the Arena rewards.'
This Arena mission was an Offense type that only appeared from Silver-rank onward, thanks to the high MMR.
Moreover, with a limit of 50 participants divided into 5-person teams.
That meant its difficulty was incomparable to standard Silver-rank Offense missions.
Conversely, it also meant the rewards upon clearing would be proportionally higher.
'He wants to eliminate me to reduce the number of teammates he has to split rewards with.'
One of the defining features of cooperative missions was that fewer surviving members meant higher individual rewards.
To be precise, the shares of eliminated members were redistributed among the survivors.
Of course, there were plenty of cases where larger survivor counts yielded greater total rewards.
But not this time.
'Tch. Annoying right off the bat.'
Si-mun's brow furrowed slightly.
Normally, Magic or Support classes were welcomed with open arms when matched as teammates.
Being rare classes, they drastically lowered the Arena's clear difficulty.
But there were also cases like this, where they were met with hostility.
'He's probably worried I'll sweep up all the kills.'
Unlike Domination missions.
Offense missions offered almost no contribution points outside of kills.
Choi Gi-yeol was wary of area magic in such a scenario.
Because it was the perfect tool to hoard kills.
'If he can see this far, he must've been around the Arena for a while...'
Si-mun's gaze, which had been sizing up Choi Gi-yeol, stopped at his armor.
"You're from the Scorpion Guild."
"Look at this. Now he's cutting his words short?"
"I'm not the kind of fool to extend courtesy all the way to something that isn't even human."
At those words, Choi Gi-yeol's face instantly stiffened.
So did the two guild members behind him.
"Th-this bastard, what did he just say?!"
"A fucking leech like you, how dare you run your mouth?!"
Si-mun frowned as he looked at the trio.
"Framing me as a leech to monopolize rewards—isn't that a bit too low-tier?"
"You fucking leech, talking shit—"
Before he knew it, Choi Gi-yeol had stepped forward, raising his morning star.
"Do it!"
Was his Agility quite high?
Contrary to the nature of blunt weapons.
Choi Gi-yeol's morning star aimed for Si-mun's head at remarkable speed.
At that moment, the Philosopher's Stone in Si-mun's chest chimed in.
-Oppa, you're not actually gonna take that hit, right?
'No way. Just get ready.'
-Hehe! Knew it. I was worried you might be as soft-hearted as you look!
Si-mun chuckled dryly at the Philosopher's Stone's cheekiness and shook his head.
If it were his overly kind younger brother, maybe.
'But not me.'
Si-mun's gaze locked onto the incoming morning star.
As did his right hand.
Then.
Snap.
The moment his left finger flicked.
Thud!
The morning star's body was caught in Si-mun's grip.
"Wh-what?!"
Choi Gi-yeol's eyes bulged.
It wasn't just that Si-mun, a Magic Class, had blocked his morning star bare-handed.
Though that alone was astonishing enough.
The real shock lay elsewhere.
'This can't be...'
Choi Gi-yeol stared at his morning star, trembling just like his eyes.
He had consistently ranked at the top since the Tutorial.
His A-rank Trait, Strength, had never once betrayed him until now.
'I'm... being overpowered in strength?'
For the first time, his A-rank Strength had betrayed him.
'By some scrawny bastard like this?!'
A Magic Class who hadn't even geared up yet.
Undoubtedly just some newbie who hadn't even played many Arenas.
That had to be it!
"Eek!"
Crack.
Veins bulged violently up Choi Gi-yeol's neck.
And not just his neck.
From the back of his hand to his arm, to his temples.
Every exposed part of his skin swelled as if the veins were about to burst.
His A-rank Strength and all the stats he had painstakingly accumulated were now being pushed to their absolute limit.
One.
"I thought your main stat was Agility because of your speed."
Like a child trying to push a boulder.
"Turns out Strength was your focus, huh? Or is it because of your trait?"
Kim Si-mun, gripping the morning star, didn't budge an inch.
In fact—
'This bastard isn't even flinching!'
Unlike Choi Gi-yeol, whose entire body trembled as he poured all his strength into the attack,
Si-mun didn't show the slightest hint of movement.
"G-Gi-yeol!"
"That bastard—!"
Perhaps sensing something was off,
the two guild members behind him tightened their grips on their weapons, eyes blazing.
Then—
Crunch!
A blade plunged into the neck of one who had rushed forward.
It was the sword of Kim Min-hyeong, the small-framed man who had been quietly observing from the rear.
"Sang-bin! You son of a bitch!"
Another guild member spun around, aiming for Min-hyeong, but—
Flick.
"Ghk—!"
A sound like fingers snapping, and the man's chest was pierced clean through.
While targeting Min-hyeong, he had left his back wide open to the earthen spike Si-mun had transmuted.
The guild members fell in an instant, but—
"You bastard!"
Choi Gi-yeol's attention didn't even reach that far.
Or rather, he couldn't afford to pay attention.
His A-rank Strength trait, his stat distribution focused on Strength and Agility, even his B-rank or higher equipment—
All of it was being held back by a single hand.
"How the hell are you this strong?!"
It was a situation where Choi Gi-yeol could do nothing but scream in frustration.
"Well..."
Si-mun, watching him, let the corner of his mouth twitch up slightly.
"I don't really know?"
"Wha...?"
Gi-yeol gaped.
The words felt oddly familiar.
Soon enough—
"You fucking bastard!!"
It didn't take him long to realize they were the exact same words he had just spat at Si-mun.
"Still got the energy to scream, huh?"
Crack.
The curve of Si-mun's lips mirrored the curve of the morning star.
"......"
Choi Gi-yeol couldn't speak.
He could only stare blankly at the morning star, now bent and broken like a snapped flower stem, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
"Now that's a face I like. Ah, don't look so wronged."
And then, the sight of Si-mun casually lifting it—
"You started this, after all."
Crunch!
That was the last scene the arena granted Choi Gi-yeol.
The heated atmosphere cooled in an instant.
How could it not?
The three who had been the source of the heat were now all dead.
"Hmm."
Si-mun glanced once at Choi Gi-yeol's corpse, the morning star embedded in his skull, then looked down at his own right arm.
A small information window popped up.
[Ogre's Body Tissue]
Completion: 15%
Transmuted Ogre's body tissue.
Capable of replicating an Ogre's physical abilities.
The description didn't match at all with the pale, somewhat scrawny arm it referred to.
Yet the power that had crumpled a thick morning star still lingered in that arm, along with the information window.
'And this is only 15%?'
-That's right!
A buzzing tinnitus resonated from the center of his chest.
-And besides, originally, your arm should've bulked up like an Ogre's! That's why I was so against you transmuting your body in the first place!
The Philosopher's Stone chattered excitedly, its voice brimming with glee.
-Not just because of the qualification risks, but if this fine arm turned into some Ogre-like monstrosity... Ugh! If the Obsidian Tablet hadn't offered the condition of maintaining your appearance, I wouldn't have even considered the fusion reque— Ghk!
The Philosopher's Stone's voice cut off abruptly.
But the frantic, guilty pounding of its pulse—like a child caught in a lie—reached Si-mun perfectly.
He chuckled softly and whispered back,
'It's fine. I like that part too.'
If only one part of his body had grotesquely mutated, it would've been troublesome for Si-mun as well.
Wouldn't he just be a patchwork chimera at that point?
The important thing was that, thanks to fusing the Obsidian Tablet with the Philosopher's Stone,
he didn't suffer any side effects from body transmutation.
"Starting to feel tired now."
Fatigue slowly seeped into his entire body.
It was the exhaustion of depleted Transmutation Power.
Si-mun cut off the Transmutation Power he had been continuously channeling into his right arm.
With a slight spasm, the [Ogre's Body Tissue] and status window that had been transmuted onto his right arm vanished.
'Huh, it feels awkward now that it's gone.'
It was like waking up from a nap—his arm felt sluggish and weak, as if he couldn't muster any strength.
Probably a side effect of having wielded an Ogre's Strength as a human.
With a reluctant sigh, Si-mun flexed his hand a few times before lifting his head.
"Huh?!"
The small-statured man in front of him flinched violently when their eyes met, shrinking back.
Si-mun let out a quiet chuckle.
"You're the last teammate, right?"
"Y-Yes! That's correct!"
The man nodded eagerly.
Si-mun studied him with calm eyes before asking,
"Before introductions, let me ask you one thing. Why did you help me?"
Judging by the situation before he crushed the morning star,
it would have been far wiser for this man to side with the three from the Scorpion Guild.
From equipment to numbers—
Choi Gi-yeol's group had the advantage in every aspect.
After a brief silence, Kim Min-hyeong cautiously spoke.
"Those bastards did the same thing to me before you showed up. The Scorpion Guild's pretty infamous, you know?"
"Ah, so you were in the same position as— Hm?"
Si-mun's gaze sharpened slightly as he scrutinized the man.
"But have we met before? You seem familiar."
The man fidgeted under Si-mun's stare, hesitating.
"Well, uh... during the... the Tutorial..."
"The Tutorial? Ah!"
Si-mun clapped his hands together, pointing at him.
"You're the one who fought me by the stream!"
"Y-Yes, that's right!"
Kim Min-hyeong bowed his head at a perfect 90-degree angle.
The exaggerated gesture left Si-mun momentarily taken aback, but only for a second.
Soon, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
'This guy's sharp.'
Now, Kim Min-hyeong's actions made sense.
If he had already encountered Si-mun during the Tutorial,
he wouldn't even consider siding with those three.
'Now that I think about it, he was pretty skilled too.'
The owner of a B-rank Trait, Quick Movement.
But even setting that aside,
Kim Min-hyeong's combat sense was among the best of those Si-mun had met in the Tutorial—second only to the teamer Kang Ho-yeong.
After all, none of the other participants had lasted even a single strike against him.
Kim Min-hyeong bowed deeply once more.
"I'm Kim Min-hyeong from the Seongsam Guild! Pleased to meet you!"
"The Seongsam Guild?"
Si-mun's eyes widened—not because of the guild's name.
'Seongsam... that's Yu-jeong's...'
Though he had only seen her at fifteen,
the image of a girl with an innocent beauty, adored not just by boys her age but also adults, surfaced in his mind.
Along with it—
the things she had done.
"Uh, um..."
Perhaps noticing the shadow crossing Si-mun's expression,
Kim Min-hyeong fidgeted nervously, watching his reaction.
"Did I... say something wrong...?"
"No. Just lost in thought for a moment."
Si-mun laughed it off and extended his hand.
"Since we're here, let's work well together."
"Huh? Just the two of us? But this event is a five-person team..."
"Those three died after matching, so the system won't replace them."
"Th-That can't be!"
Kim Min-hyeong looked horrified.
But as if indifferent—
[All participants have been matched.]
The system moved exactly as Si-mun predicted.
[The Arena will now begin.]
[Time limit: 30 minutes.]
The distinct humidity of the forest, the chirping of crickets, the rustling wind—all abruptly became tangible.
The surroundings had materialized into reality.
"Then let's get moving. We're already at a numbers disadvantage compared to other teams."
"Y-Yes..."
Si-mun immediately headed toward the marked objective,
while a somewhat deflated Kim Min-hyeong hurried after him.
Then—
[Constellation Zeus is watching you.]
[Constellation Black Goat expresses deep satisfaction with your actions.]
'Huh?'
Was it because the Arena had started?
Si-mun tilted his head at the sudden attention from the Constellations.
'Zeus is still watching me? And Black Goat too?'
From his past life's memories,
Constellations didn't always keep their eyes on even the players they sponsored.
So why were two Constellations showing interest in him—someone who wasn't even high-ranked, just taking a Placement Test?
But he wouldn't have to wonder for long.
[The target area is 'The Goblin Outpost of Corruption.']
[Break through the target area by any means within the time limit.]
[Time remaining: 29:59]
"Wait. An outpost?!"
It didn't take long for him to realize.