“Oh, who’s this?”
It was the third day of the physical evaluation. Jung-min Ryu had come to find new talent, but ended up encountering an unexpected person midway.
“Guild Master of Venus Guild, what brings you here?”
He was a man in his late 30s. Black leather jacket, bright blue jeans, and stylish sunglasses perched on his face.
The guild master of Venus Guild, one of Korea’s top five guilds, Park Won-hyeok casually raised his hand with a bright smile.
“Chao!”
“So you’ve been to Italy recently?”
“Oui!”
“That’s French, you idiot.”
“Ah.”
Park Won-hyeok quickly removed his sunglasses. He looked young enough to pass for his early 30s.
Not as young as Jung-min Ryu, but still.
“School? This is unusual. Surely you’re not here to deliver jajangmyeon.”
“…”
The word “jajangmyeon” made Park Won-hyeok’s eyebrows twitch. It was as if someone had struck a nerve with him.
“Kick, kick… How can your guild’s name be Venus Guild… It doesn’t sound like a Chinese restaurant…”
Hahahaha!
Finally, Ryu Jung-min couldn’t contain his laughter and burst out. He held his stomach and laughed for a long time in front of Park Won-hyeok.
“Jung-min Ryu…”
Now he was getting reprimanded by a rival guild. This was a matter of pride that couldn’t be left alone.
Won-hyeok Park decided to retaliate immediately.
“Watch out, you. You never know when your bladder might explode laughing.”
“Hahaha… Wha…”
Suddenly, Jung-min Ryu stopped laughing. His face turned bright red as he questioned Won-hyeok.
“Hey, where did you hear that from…! How do you even know…!”
“Of course it was Instructor Kim Dong-hak who told me. Unlike you, I’m actually close with the instructor.”
“Ugh… That grumpy old man Kim Dong-hak!”
He explicitly told people not to spread that around. And now he went and told it to a rival guild?
The next time they meet, he’ll give that guy a good kick to the shin.
“Ebebebebebe. Little bed-wetter they say. How embarrassing.”
“Seriously…!”
In response to the continued provocation, Jung-min Ryu pulled out a small cane from inside his coat. It was his weapon.
“Shut it before I destroy all your crowns…! Now!”
“These aren’t crowns, they’re implants!”
Won-hyeok flashed a grin, revealing perfectly white teeth that almost hurt to look at.
“You should just die already…!”
“Ooh, so you’re challenging me now? Let’s go!”
Won-hyeok took off his black leather jacket without backing down and wiggled his fingers.
“Let’s relive our school days for a bit… Kheuk!”
Crack!
But before it went any further, someone struck down on the excited Won-hyeok.
It was Technical Division Instructor Kim Dong-hak.
“Forty-year-old’s behaving like children? And you’re the leaders of your respective guilds no less.”
“Ins, Instructor…!”
The sudden appearance of Kim Dong-hak startled Park Won-hyeok. He hurriedly bowed at a 90 degree angle.
“Please forgive me! I was out of line!”
He immediately asked for forgiveness. He couldn’t help it. Kim Dong-hak was a rare and precious mentor to Park Won-hyeok.
This was a fact that wouldn’t change no matter how much time passed or how old he got.
“Jung-min Ryu.”
“…”
Now Kim Dong-hak was looking at Jung-min Ryu. Unlike Won-hyeok, Jung-min seemed reluctant to admit his wrongdoing, avoiding eye contact instead.
But the fact that he caused a disturbance was undeniable. It was certainly inappropriate behavior for someone 38 years old, and eventually Jung-min Ryu spoke.
“Sorry…”
*
The third day of the physical evaluation was the day to measure each student’s combat ability.
Now they were finally into the main event. While the first two days were for evaluating simple physical abilities, today was the day to assess the students’ true skills through combat.
No matter how great a student’s physical condition might be, if there’s no combat ability to match, they’ll just be an empty shell.
Conversely, even if their physical stats are a bit lacking, if they can perform exceptionally well in combat, that student has potential.
To witness this potential, many guild officials had gathered in the indoor training center today. There were even more people than the first two days.
“Wow, these seats even have heating pads? We didn’t have these back in our days, right?”
The Venus Guild Guild Master Park Won-hyeok had come to the school in person to check out the student’s combat abilities.
“But why are you sitting next to me? Aren’t there plenty of other seats available?”
Jung-min Ryu frowned and looked at the person beside him.
Won-hyeok answered with his mouth full of ginseng crackers he had brought as a snack.
“Instructor told us to play nice, remember?”
“Is there anything you don’t follow when Kim Dong-hak says it? Would you die if he told you to?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“How infuriating.”
What a weirdo. The body of an adult but he acted exactly like a child. How could someone like that be the leader of a guild?
There was no authority whatsoever to be felt.
“Want some?”
“No thanks. You eat it yourself.”
Won-hyeok offered the ginseng crackers but Jung-min shook his head in refusal.
How anyone could find that tasty, continually munching on it like that, was beyond him. His strange eating habits were the same as ever.
Whirr~
While waiting aimlessly for the next round, a new name appeared on the display board.
[Group 13: Combat Division 2nd Year Sang-hoon Lee, Combat Division 1st Year Rashid Belkalem]
Mock battles are conducted in pairs, inside the Sync Room. There, they will be given a simple scenario and face a training monster.
“Oh, isn’t that Rashid Belkalem? Good luck for us.”
Even Won-hyeok, who was busy munching on his snacks, sat up straight in his seat upon seeing a named player appear. He leaned forward eagerly.
Bang! Bang!
Soon, two male students entered the training center. The one holding a bow was Sang-hoon Lee, and the large figure wearing a helmet was Rashid Belkalem.
“Wow. Perfect physical score. Straight A’s.”
Not just Won-hyeok, but the surrounding guild officials all admired the imposing figure of Rashid.
Come to think of it, he’s probably the second most attention-grabbing individual in this physical evaluation after Arna.
“How was his physical ability evaluation when he took it?”
“What do you mean ‘how’? He broke records in every single category.”
“Wait, really? Even when using magical power?”
“All of them.”
Just yesterday during the physical evaluation that relied on magical power, his performance was unforgettable.
Who would have expected someone to reach 8 meters in a standing vertical jump? And that without a running start. Even with the use of magical power, it was an absurd record.
Rashid was probably someone who would survive even if dropped into the Jurassic era. Physically speaking, he could probably crush dinosaurs like they were nothing.
“Saying that makes me look forward to it even more. It’s going to be an entertaining watch.”
People of this kind usually excel not just in physical ability, but in combat skills as well. Rashid isn’t just some flashy fruit.
He’s an awakened individual of great worth. That’s what Jung-min Ryu’s intuition told him.
That said, no matter how much he praised Rashid, it wouldn’t change the fact that his number one pick was Yoon-seong Shin.
-Er… Now we’re about to start the evaluation for group 13…
“Hm?”
While the instructor was giving instructions through the microphone, Won-hyeok tilted his head as if sensing something strange.
“Hey Jung-min. Look at that.”
Won-hyeok then pointed a finger at the instructor’s booth. There was a thin man standing there, currently giving the introduction over the PA system.
“Isn’t that Yoomin Han?”
“Yoomin Han? Who’s that?”
Jung-min squinted his eyes several times, not recognizing the name. He looked to be about the same age as them.
Could he be a fellow classmate?
“Isn’t that the kid who transferred from the combat division to the technical division because he couldn’t adapt?”
“Ah, you mean that scrawny one?”
It was an event more than 10 years ago that he had completely forgotten about. There was a kid who cried and complained during every training session. That’s right, now he remembered.
Back then, they used to call Han Yoomin a failure.
“Is he now an instructor? Wow…”
“Looks like it. For that scrawny one to become an instructor. That’s amusing.”
Judging by the looks of it, he wasn’t a combat instructor. It seemed he managed to find a position in the technical division.
Not a full instructor like Kim Dong-hak, probably just an assistant instructor of some sort.
-Situation A-4… Time limit is 5 minutes…
His body was so thin that his skin seemed to be attached directly to his bones. With heavy dark circles under his eyes, he exuded an eerie atmosphere.
And now he was stammering…
“That guy’s not going to last long, huh?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“There’s something about him.”
Beep!
The start signal sounded immediately after, and a giant monster appeared inside the Sync Room. A ferocious beast flaring its lion-like mane.
Roarrrr!
“What? Situation A-4? Why did that one pop up?”
“What do you mean?”
The moment the battle started, Won-hyeok furrowed his eyebrows. Jung-min looked quizzically at Won-hyeok, wondering what the fuss was about.
“That’s a Code 5 Marbas. It’s supposed to appear in situation C-6, not here.”
“Wow. You know that?”
The types of monsters that appear according to the situation number are quite specific. Normally, only technical division people would know this.
Meaning that Park Won-hyeok, coming from a combat division background, shouldn’t.
“Who do you think I am? A proud student of Master Instructor Kim Dong-hak, of course. This is basic knowledge.”
“Right. You’re so knowledgeable.”
Looks like he took technical courses back in his student days. Quite impressive. He wasn’t just wearing the Guild Master title for show.
“In any case, Yoomin Han messed up. He’s summoned the wrong monster.”
“An instructor making mistakes? That’s amusing indeed.”
If things continued like this, the two male students would be the ones taking the damage. After all, the Marbas that appeared was an A-Rank monster. There was no way two people alone could handle it.
They were setting themselves up for public humiliation.
-Hold on for a moment, please.
That’s when a student entered the Sync Room, requesting to halt this mock battle.
It was Jung-min Ryu’s targeted talent, second-year combat student Shin Yoon-seong.
-W-W-What? Don’t you see that an evaluation is in progress right now…?
At Shin Yoon-seong’s sudden appearance, instructor Han Yoomin shouted in outrage. The guild officials observing also showed clear signs of confusion.
But Shin Yoon-seong disregarded it and decided to point out the truth.
-That setup is incorrect.
-Set, setup…?
-Yes. I believe the monster that’s supposed to appear in situation A-4 is Code 52 Alrocen, not Code 5 Marbas.
Shin Yoon-seong pointed at the majestic lion-like figure standing far away.
-Ar, really? There’s no way… Give me a moment…
Han Yoomin hastily flipped through the guidebook to verify the facts, sweating nervously.
And then…
-R-Really… A-4 is Alrocen…
When Han Yoomin admitted his mistake, murmurs began to spread throughout the training center.
Won-hyeok Park, seated among the audience, stared at Shin Yoon-seong with wide eyes.
“Who’s that kid? He looks like a combat student, but how did he know that?”
“Hmph…”
Jung-min Ryu’s mouth curved into an amused smile. He placed his hands on his hips and stood tall with pride.
“That child is the pride of Yeonwol, our number one pick.”
