Chapter 42: C-grade Holder Promotion (1)
“Did you fail again?”
A voice as cold as ice enveloped the room.
There was no particular change in Cha Soo-yeon’s expression.
Her emotions were inscrutable from her expression.
It made the atmosphere in the room even heavier.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Yoon-jae.”
“Yes, Director.”
“That’s not the kind of answer I want to hear.”
“……”
Yoon-jae’s body tensed up as he knelt down.
Once again, it felt like Cha Soo-yeon’s runic magic was about to strike him.
But this time, there was only a quiet silence.
Just like the <Villain> Clan that moved according to their moods.
Today is Yoon-jae…
Luckily, he wouldn’t receive any punishment.
“After all the effort I put into reshuffling the professor lineup through the personnel department, what will happen if you can’t kill even one of them?”
“I apologize. There were unexpected variables.”
“Hmm… that kid, Do Jae-hyun, right?”
Do Jae-hyun.
The variable that was most annoying during this operation.
If it weren’t for him, the Holder named Kim Chae-eun would have faced death, and news of the professor’s daughter’s death would have thrown the Academy into tremendous chaos.
But now, there was only blame and speculation about the incompetent professors and <Villain>’s involvement.
Although they managed to create confusion in the Academy somehow…
It was only a half-successful operation.
Yoon-jae nodded his head and replied, “Yes. He was initially assigned to the temporary lower class when he entered the school, but he’s a promising Holder likely to be promoted to the upper class next semester. He’s also shown significant growth, and when it seemed like Ha Do-kwon was about to make a move, he quickly handled the situation as if he had been waiting for it. There are many suspicious points.”
“Hmm…”
Cha Soo-yeon tapped the table a few times with her long finger.
Finally, a smile crept onto her expressionless face.
“He’s an interesting kid.”
Shiver-
Cha Soo-yeon slowly poured wine into her glass.
Naviole, aged for at least 7 years.
Its beautiful color and subtle fragrance filled the surroundings.
At this hour, she always enjoyed red wine.
“How about you go up against him?”
“I will undoubtedly win.”
“Pfft-“
Cha Soo-yeon burst into laughter that seemed harder to control this time.
“If you think you might lose, are you going to use the berserker Potion like Ha Do-kwon?”
“That’s…”
The berserker Potion was an illegal potion circulated within the <Villain> that instantly amplifies a Holder’s abilities twice over.
However, contrary to what is commonly known, it’s not an all-purpose solution.
The buff is limited only to physical abilities, and using it makes it nearly impossible to maintain rationality, so it can only be perceived conceptually at the moment of usage.
Moreover, there’s a strong possibility of losing the Holder’s power altogether.
The stronger the Holder, the more the ‘Berserker Potion’ should be avoided.
But Ha Do-kwon was the type who couldn’t control his anger, so he acted without thinking.
“I hope Yoon-jae doesn’t use that~ It’s too wasteful at your promising age to use something like that.”
“If our clan isn’t in a dire situation, I have no intention of using it.”
“Heh. To think you have that much loyalty to this clan. Just move selfishly. Do what you want. But listen to me, okay?”
“…Yes.”
The <Villain> Clan, Is where all sorts of psychos are gathered.
But ironically enough, there was still a hierarchy inside.
“Yoon-jae, you will also take my Director position soon, right?”
Saying that, Cha Soo-yeon laughed again.
Once again, she tapped the table a few times with her finger.
“Anyway, keep an eye on the variables you mentioned. If you find out something about our clan, report it immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, it seems like you’re going to join a circle. It would be nice if you do”
“A circle… you mean?”
“Hmm… You’re joining a club in your second semester, right? Before the next operation orders come in, Do Jae-hyun, make some connections with that kid.”
After taking a sip of wine, Cha Soo-yeon continued speaking.
“So that we can kill him anytime if necessary.”
The highest mountain in Seoul, Bukhansan.
Bukhansan is one of the few ‘fields outside the boundary’ areas that remain in Seoul. It’s an area where the Holders’ [Magic Barriers] serve as the most basic defense against monsters, and it has been a considerable amount of time since monsters were pushed out beyond this boundary.
Large-scale mountains like Bukhansan are typically designated as ‘fields’ where magic barriers are not applied. It is quite well-known in Korea as one such field. There are numerous monsters roaming from the beginning . And there are many publicly accessible dungeons within the Bukhansan area. The ownership of the dungeons inside Bukhansan is divided among various clans, but the field ownership itself is under the jurisdiction of the Holders Association.
‘It’s only used for work purposes anyway.’
A member of the Korean Holders Association, Holder Lee Ji-hye, was present in Bukhansan for a specific task. Her current assignment was a promotion test. It was a promotion request test for a fledgling Holder who had never renewed his grade since registering as an F-grade Holder, aiming for a three-grade promotion, all the way from F-grade to C-grade.
‘Sigh. I should have just rejected this…’
The applicant had already passed the ability test. The evaluation from the measuring instrument showed that the person had the appropriate abilities for a C-grade, and during the subsequent rune test, he demonstrated quite decent skills. Especially as a ‘Multi-Holder’, which was quite trendy these days, he showed adeptness in wielding both a sword and a dagger.
‘But that’s one thing, and this is another.’
The ability test and the performance test were conceptually different. Even if someone had good abilities and high rune utilization, there were many Holders who crumbled in the face of real-life variables, and many who couldn’t find composure when facing grotesque monsters. One couldn’t truly gauge a person until they experienced fighting against a monster firsthand. If the applicant had gradually built up his career in the Association, it might be understandable, but if he is a Holder who rashly requested a three-grade promotion, the sense of incongruity would be even more pronounced.
‘That’s why Academy students don’t want to accept them.’
Typically, Academy students who lacked practical experience made such unreasonable demands. Ji-hye had seen far too many applicants of this kind during her time in the Association. These student Holders would apply for promotion with unbridled optimism despite having no experience whatsoever. Naturally, the results were all failures. C-grade Holder was not an easily attainable grade.
“Excuse me, wouldn’t it be better to draw your sword in advance? We don’t know when monsters will appear.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Ji-hye offered a word of advice to the applicant as he trudged up the mountain without any preparation. Watching his exasperating figure… she couldn’t help but intervene. Originally, she didn’t care about the applicant at all, but he seemed to have a lot of careless traits.
“It’s okay. I can draw it when they appear; it won’t be too late.”
“You’ll be late if you wait for that… sigh, never mind. Do as you please. I won’t help you even if you get hurt.”
“Haha, sure. And, at the entrance of Bukhansan, only E-grade and D-grade monsters come out, so it’s not that dangerous.”
“…What?”
Did he know that? Despite being a fledgling who had only dealt with runes in the Academy, he surprisingly knew a lot about the field. It was true that only E-grade and D-grade monsters appeared at the entrance of Bukhansan. The creatures that frequented the area were the E-grade goblins and D-grade imps, creatures that liked mountains and forests.
For an Holder with a reasonable level of ability, dealing with these creatures alone would be relatively easy; they were monsters that could be easily dealt with. However, this applicant who seemed to have no countermeasures… knew this fact unexpectedly well. Ji-hye was slightly surprised and blinked her eyes.
“…Have you been to Bukhansan Field before?”
“No, it’s my first time.”
“But you know so much about it?”
“I studied a lot.”
-Ki-rik, Ki-rik.
-Ki-ri-rik!
And then, as if the conversation was cut off, monsters appeared. Goblins were crawling around in various places among the trees, and Imps were flying above.
Two types of monsters welcomed them at the entrance of Bukhansan Field. Goblins, perched on trees throughout the mountain, and Imps flying in the air. Imps, like airborne monsters, had the freedom to attack from any direction. Ji-hye was momentarily taken aback by the sight. The applicant, who was requesting a promotion, didn’t assume any combat posture even after seeing the flying Imps. No, shouldn’t he draw his weapon by now? He seemed like he’s about to allow the attack and get hurt.
“Be careful…!!”
She wanted to warn him, but she didn’t need to finish her sentence. Along with a thud, three flying Imps were all knocked out with a single punch. It was as if they were simultaneously struck. It was a swift series of three consecutive fist attacks, a derived skill of the [Combat] rune called [Combo]. Ji-hye, who had no way of recognizing them, needed to doubt her eyes. ‘What is this…?’
They had said this person was a Multi-Holder, skilled in both the sword and the dagger, but he defeated a D-grade monster, the Imp, with a punch. It was not just a light attack that relied solely on physical strength. It appeared to be a skilled and dimensional attack, seemingly utilizing runes and skills. “What…?”
But it didn’t end there. The applicant drew a dagger from his waist and threw it at the remaining Imps in the air. His throwing accuracy was like that of a skilled professional. The flying daggers hit all the Imps, causing them to fall to the ground, the ones that were in the midst of preparing aerial attacks.
His [Dagger] skill, which had been confirmed during the measurement phase, was put to use again. ‘But how did he do it so cleanly?’ During training and practice, everyone showed their best side. For Holders, their abilities and runes were their strength. However, when facing variables in the field or dungeons, it was not easy to demonstrate their true strength. Especially when it was their first hunt.
If this applicant had been gradually building up his career in the Association, Ji-hye might not find it surprising. However, he didn’t show any sign of that. Instead, he demonstrated a composure and calmness that even Ji-hye herself lacked. He had displayed a combat sense reminiscent of high-grade Holders, using the necessary amount of power in the right places.
It was like a higher-grade Holder’s fighting sense.
“… Judge?”
“yes, yes?”
The applicant Do Jae-hyun had already taken care of the goblins and finished organizing the surroundings when Ji-hye regained her senses.
He held a rugged sword in his hand. With the [Sword], he caught the goblin without even looking at it.
He doesn’t seem to be struggling very much with it.
“…E-grade and D-grade monsters don’t count as promotion achievements, right?”
“Oh, no. E-grade monsters aren’t counted as achievements, but D-grade monsters are. It counts as one achievement for each set of ten D-grade monsters to achieve one C-grade monster.”
“Okay. So, we can ignore the E-grade ones. I’ll go ahead; follow me!”
“Wait a moment!”
As soon as Do Jae-hyun finished speaking, he suddenly started running. He moved at such a fast speed that he was already far away from her sight. Even considering his C-grade level of speed, it was too fast.
“What’s that…? Does he have a Charge-type rune?”
While watching his disappearing figure, Ji-hye muttered to herself.
Because the speed itself is fast, it seems like he has a charge-type rune, and not a foot rune.
Charge-type Rune is a rune possessed by ‘cavalry class’, which is classified as a completely special class among the warrior class.
It is also strange to use both [Sword] and [Dagger] skillfully, but from battle runes [Combat] to charge-type runes?
What the hell are you doing?
She was almost bewitched by all the hearsay-like stories that kept coming up.
Moreover, he didn’t even bother to take the monster magic stones. Even D-grade magic stones were worth about 2 million won… Was he a wealthy unknown person?
“He must be in a hurry to finish the test.”
Even so, it would take quite some time. For a Holder who had never shown any field or dungeon conquest achievements, this test would be a long-term evaluation, taking at least more than a week. Of course, Ji-hye would only measure his performance today, and the rest would be evaluated through reports and accomplishments, but even if he accomplished it alone, it would still take a considerable amount of time.
Lost in thought, Ji-hye quickly regained her composure. She didn’t have time to continue such frivolous thoughts. At this rate, she might really miss the applicant’s presence.
“Hey, let’s go together!”
Though she regretted leaving behind the magic stones, she had to hold back her tears and follow Do Jae-hyun. Unfortunately, she was currently on official duty.
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