Skill Book My Way - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Wondering just what kind of equipment this was, the workshop owner thrust a monocle at me without warning.
“Try it on.”
I put the monocle over my right eye.
Then, a white aura appeared around the workshop owner’s body.
*What is this?*
Still wearing the monocle, I looked back and forth between Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri. Both of them were emitting orange auras of roughly similar intensity.
“That’s a pair of glasses made by processing ore that comes from dungeons. It reacts to the opponent’s stats. The higher the total stats, the redder the aura color becomes.”
*I see. So that’s why the workshop owner is white.*
But I wondered why he was giving me such equipment.
“The leader of this party is Hwajin, right?”
Wondering if I was the leader, I turned to look at Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri, and they both nodded.
“One of a leader’s virtues is the courage to gauge the enemy’s strength and know when to pull back when it’s dangerous. That monocle is for that. Especially from five-star dungeons onward, elite monsters appear mixed in with normal ones.”
“……I see.”
I got some good information.
“Now then, shall we settle the bill for the equipment?”
The workshop owner said with a grin.
“An axe that raises your Sense stat, a striking staff that uses mana, and the stat-measuring glasses. Altogether, that comes to 580 million.”
I, as well as Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri, froze with our mouths hanging open.
My mind raced.
Those two spent every cent they earned buying mana stones, so they had absolutely no spare money right now.
I had some money saved up, but 500 million was out of the question.
“I’m kidding. What’s with the long faces?”
The workshop owner burst into laughter.
“Just take them. The Guild Master told me to give these to you if you happened to come by.”
“The Guild Master?”
It was someone I’d never even thought of, so I was bewildered.
“He said the three of you seem to be diligently preparing for something grand these days.”
*That old man…….*
We hadn’t met much lately, yet it seemed he had figured out everything we were doing without even seeing us directly.
“Of course, passing the S-rank exam goes without saying. And if good materials come out of high-rank dungeons later, you must sell them to our workshop, got it?”
We thanked the workshop owner and stepped outside.
“It seems the Guild Master knew everything.”
“Seems so.”
Ms. Hyeri and Ajusshi murmured.
“Well, if that’s how it is, we’ve absolutely got to pass that S-rank exam.”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Ajusshi’s words.
***
On the day of the S-Rank Hunter Exam, we gathered in front of the city hall, just like when we took the A-rank exam.
Many hunters who seemed to be here for the S-rank exam were already at the city hall.
“One, two……. There must be around fifty of them.”
Ajusshi said, looking around.
“The S-rank Hunter pass rate is about ten percent, so only about five of us here will pass.”
Ms. Hyeri said that with an anxious expression.
“It’s fine. That ten percent is just an average, and didn’t the Vice Guild Master say that the evaluation itself only requires passing the given tasks?”
Since the Vice Guild Master had offered to help, I had asked him various things about the S-rank exam.
The Vice Guild Master had told me all sorts of helpful things, including stories from when he took the S-rank exam.
“Huh? You guys are…….”
A woman’s voice called out, and I turned my head to see someone who looked familiar.
The woman was wearing a uniform, apparently a civil servant in charge of exam administration. On her chest, a name tag bore the name “Ha Jeongyeon.”
“Oh my. You’ve already come to take the S-rank exam?”
The woman couldn’t hide her surprised expression.
*Now I remember.*
Ha Jeongyeon.
She was the one who had been in charge when I went to take the A-rank Hunter Exam.
“Ah, so you’re the young lady from that time.”
“Hello.”
Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri also greeted her, perhaps remembering her as well.
“It usually takes over a year to accumulate S-rank level stats, but it’s been less than half a year and you already…….”
Unable to reveal that we had inflated our stats through mana stone refinement, we just smiled awkwardly.
“Are you also in charge of the S-rank exam, Ms. Jeongyeon?”
I asked in an attempt to change the subject, and Ms. Jeongyeon answered affirmatively.
“Almost all the exam administrators are called in for the S-rank exam. One has to be attached to each team, and they’re testing everyone all at once like this. Ah, look at me. This isn’t the time to be chatting.”
Holding an armful of documents to her chest, she left.
“She seems awfully busy?”
“She must be very busy.”
Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri said, watching Ms. Jeongyeon’s retreating figure.
Shortly after, we boarded a bus prepared by the city hall.
The Vice Guild Master had told us that the S-rank Hunter Exam would take place in a total of three dungeons, all located outside Seoul.
An hour later, I opened my eyes thanks to Ms. Hyeri waking me up; I had fallen asleep before I knew it.
The hunters were getting off the bus.
The bus had arrived at the outskirts where both rice paddies and the city were visible at once.
“We will now divide into teams! Those who have pre-registered as a team, please go to the left; those who have not, please come to the right to confirm your teams!”
One of the administrators spoke into a loudspeaker.
We had applied for the exam as a party in advance, so we went to the left and stood there.
“The first test is clearing a five-star dungeon.”
The administrator holding the loudspeaker began the explanation.
“You must clear the dungeon within the time limit. Even if you clear the dungeon, exceeding the time limit results in failure. The time limit is ten minutes.”
Just as the Vice Guild Master had said, the first exam was a time attack.
The Vice Guild Master had said that the S-rank exam, unlike the A-rank exam, did not measure stats or skills. Passing the assigned tasks was all that was needed.
We were the third team to enter the dungeon.
“It seems fate has bound us together after all.”
The one who approached saying that was Ms. Jeongyeon. She said she had been assigned to us once again.
Shortly after, our turn came.
“Before you enter, I will explain the rules once more in detail.”
Ms. Jeongyeon stood in front of the portal and said.
“The time limit is ten minutes. You must clear the dungeon within that time. Time begins the moment you enter, and the instant you exceed the limit, the entire team fails. Even if you clear it within the time limit, if you are in a combat-ineffective state or not present at the exact moment the boss goes down, you fail.”
“So what you’re saying is, even if we lag behind, we have to be together when the boss is killed.”
Ms. Hyeri said as if analyzing it.
“That’s not really a condition that applies to us, right?”
I agreed with Ajusshi’s words.
It was probably a rule to prevent hunters from waiting in a safe place until the boss was defeated, but that had nothing to do with us.
“Then, please enter.”
We followed Ms. Jeongyeon into the dungeon.
***
Inside, the dungeon was a corridor seemingly made of concrete on all sides.
This five-star dungeon’s nickname was One Way.
True to its name, it was a very simple dungeon composed of a single path from the entrance all the way to the boss.
There was good reason it was used for time attacks.
“Well then, shall we get going?”
Ajusshi pulled an axe from his inventory.
I also drew my spear and activated the Lightning Spear skill.
Ms. Hyeri took out her staff and cast a Strength Enhancement skill on the two of us.
We formed a formation. I was at the front, Ms. Hyeri in the middle, and Ajusshi at the rear.
“Supervisor, make sure you keep up.”
Ajusshi said, looking at Ms. Jeongyeon.
“Yes?”
“Go!”
With my shout, we dashed forward.
“Huh!? W-wait a moment!”
We heard Ms. Jeongyeon shouting from behind, but we didn’t stop.
*!*
Monsters were arrayed in a formation up ahead.
“Hup!”
As I swung my spear, monsters enveloped in electric current collapsed or froze stiff, emitting the smell of burnt flesh.
“The red-scaled one!”
I pointed out a monster that was in relatively good shape. Its aura reflected in the monocle was the reddest.
“Got it!”
*Thwack!*
From behind, I heard Ajusshi’s shout and the sound of his axe swinging. I could tell he had taken down the elite without even looking.
We ran without stopping.
While I reduced the number of normal monsters with the electric current of my Lightning Spear and identified the elite, Ajusshi split the paralyzed elite monsters apart with his axe.
Ms. Hyeri, sandwiched in the middle, buffed us with Strength Enhancement, Mana Recovery Enhancement, and the like.
On top of that, she used an enhanced Slow skill to stop the movements of any elite that might not have succumbed to paralysis.
Not long ago, after learning the exam contents from the Vice Guild Master, we had asked him to accompany us to a five-star dungeon.
A-rank hunters couldn’t enter five-star dungeons together, but it was possible to enter with an S-rank hunter.
There, we confirmed how effective each of our skills was.
This strategy was established based on those results.
There was no need to defeat every single monster. To clear the dungeon, we only had to kill the boss and the elites.
How long had we been running without rest?
Far ahead, a dead end came into view, and at the same time, monsters appeared.
Among the four-armed gorillas, a massive gorilla wreathed in blazing flames was visible.
Its aura color was a very deep orange.
“Boss spotted! Proceeding as planned!”
“Okay!”
“Got it!”
Hearing Ajusshi’s and Ms. Hyeri’s replies, I gripped my spear.
*Charge!*
Using the skill, I soared over the elites’ heads, and all the gorillas looked up at me.
But my target was only one.
Only the boss.
*Single Flash!*
*Kwaaaaang!*
Light spread in all directions.
[You have acquired 320 EXP.]
After landing on the ground, I looked back to find the gorilla blazing with flames was gone without a trace.
“Great! Leave the rest to me! Bisection Slash!”
Ajusshi cut down the gorillas with great momentum.
But I couldn’t just stand still. Time was ticking even now.
“Fatal Strike!”
I stabbed the elites’ vital points, eliminating them one by one with a single blow.
Once I had taken down three and Ajusshi five, no monsters remained nearby.
We looked at Ms. Jeongyeon.
“…….”
She couldn’t say a word, merely standing there with her mouth agape.
“Ms. Jeongyeon, the time.”
When I spoke, pointing at my wrist, she, who had been frozen for a good while, shrieked, “Oh, right!”
“C-clear time: 3 minutes 25 seconds. All of you have passed the first exam.”
We high-fived each other in turn. Ajusshi and Ms. Hyeri grinned broadly, so I smiled too.
After exiting the dungeon, we had to wait for a while.
It was because we couldn’t move to the next location until all the other teams had finished their tests.
After waiting about twenty minutes, an administrator with a loudspeaker gathered the people.
“I will now announce the results. Those who passed, please board the bus on the left; those who failed, please board the bus on the right.”
Of the fifty hunters, twenty-three had passed.
More than half had been eliminated in the first exam.
The failed hunters and the supervisors who had been assigned to them seemed to be returning to Seoul City Hall by bus.
“Congratulations on passing the first round.”
The administrator holding the loudspeaker said in front of the bus.
“We will now move to the six-star dungeon where the second exam will take place.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the bus began to move.