Chapter 46: Promotion Exam (3)
〚Dungeon Quest: Faith Village of the Green Foliage
Grade: Common
Rank: B-
Type: Extermination
Description: In the forest, famed for its beauty and filled with green light, there exists a tribe that has hidden itself from the eyes of all. They worship their god and kill those who enter the forest, using them as food. Exterminate those who believe in the wicked god.
Objective: Annihilate the goblin tribe that worships the god (0/127)
Success: Rewards vary according to performance
Failure: Death〛
As we entered the dungeon, the world flipped, and the forest filled with the scent of nature unfolded before our eyes.
The type of the dungeon was extermination, one of the most common forms. It required us to kill all the monsters within the dungeon.
It was not too difficult, but not too easy either—an ordinary type of dungeon. As soon as we entered, we quickly assumed the formation we had discussed beforehand.
As planned before entering, Ma Dong-won and I took the vanguard, Kim Woo-rim took the middle, and Lee Ji-ah and Seok Woon were at the rear.
A 2-1-2 formation. It was somewhat traditional, but still a standard formation.
However, it was not a suitable formation for this dungeon. It was effective for raids against strong enemies but acted as a penalty when dealing with numerous opponents.
“It’s an extermination type. Let’s change the formation. Ma Dong-won and Shin Juha will stay at the vanguard, Lee Ji-ah will move to the center, and Kim Woo-rim and I will cover the rear. The vanguard and rear should be mindful of the flanks as needed.”
Honestly, I knew nothing about formations. I had never once set one up in my life. How many times could someone like me, who had only hunted goblins alone in the tutorial, have fought in a team?
Therefore, without question, I followed the instructions of Seok Woon, the most experienced among us.
There is a rule that says if five people gather, one of them must be a troll. Luckily, there seemed to be no trolls among our team.
‘I’m lucky.’
Everyone seemed competent enough.
Lee Ji-ah, as a buffer, was already more than capable. Kim Woo-rim, though arrogant, had an aura of madness that suggested he wasn’t weak.
Ma Dong-won looked reliable just by his appearance, and Seok Woon, who had cleared countless dungeons as a government employee, was a veteran.
As for me, being already beyond E- rank, I naturally posed no issue.
With the sense that this would be an easy exam, we moved forward.
The forest was eerily quiet. The absence of bird songs or the rustling of the wind only heightened our tension.
Not knowing when or where the enemy would appear, we all began to grow tense… and then, after about ten minutes of walking—
Rustle.
Finally, the enemy appeared.
“Left. About five or more.”
Seok Woon, the archer, quickly detected the sound and readied himself. A few seconds later, the bushes indeed shook, and six goblins appeared.
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 17: A fanatical goblin crazed by corrupt faith has appeared!〛
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 14: A goblin crazed by faith has appeared!〛
.
.
.
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 15: A goblin crazed by faith has appeared!〛
“Everyone, attack!”
I immediately charged forward, drawing out Manbyun, which had already transformed into a sword, and cut down the enemies.
Although the Flame Sword had broken while fighting the Ganggwi, thanks to the ownership level reaching 14%, I could project items up to high-grade B-rank with Manbyun, so it was not an issue.
In fact, I projected a sword even better than the Flame Sword, so I no longer felt its loss.
When Ma Dong-won and I broke out and faced the goblins, I could hear Lee Ji-ah’s murmuring behind me, followed by the effects of a buff.
〚Skill: The effects of Ceremony of Courage have increased all physical stats by +3!〛
〚Unique Ability: Altruistic Devotion [Rare-A-] has amplified all buff effects by 1.5 times!〛
This raised the stats by approximately 4.5 points. Compared to the buffs used by Min Chorong, a candidate for the Saintess, this was only a drop in the ocean, but I knew that for rookie hunters, this was already a significant buff.
Typically, raising one stat by around 5 points was considered substantial. But since this buff increased all physical stats, it was at least a rare-grade skill.
It was only because her level was still low that the increase wasn’t higher.
‘Lee Ji-ah, seems like she’s well-supported.’
I thought something was different about her when she challenged the three-stage promotion… but I didn’t expect her to possess a buff skill of this caliber.
Only promising recruits from renowned guilds would receive such skill support.
Anyway, with the buff boosting me, I moved my body. Goblins, monsters I had killed endlessly before regression.
Of course, these goblins were vastly different in grade and level compared to those from the tutorial, but they were still the same species.
“Come at me!!!”
With Ma Dong-won’s taunting skill activated, all six goblins turned their eyes red and rushed at him.
It was a skill that drew wide-area aggro and even applied debuffs.
‘Even the tank has a good skill?’
What’s going on? Are they all elites?
Typically, novice hunters don’t possess proper skills other than their unique abilities.
This was expected. Even skills from low-grade, low-tier skill books were expensive, and the skills obtained through repetitive actions were generally of low grade and tier.
Ordinary F-rank tankers usually only learned basic taunt skills that targeted a single enemy… Did I luck out with this team?
“Alright! Shin Juha, let’s finish this!”
Kim Woo-rim, who had been holding the rear, charged at the goblins with his spear. His eyes glistened with excitement and joy.
“Leave the rear to me! It seems there are no more goblins around!”
Seok Woon shouted as he used a skill that shot three arrows imbued with faint lightning, killing the goblin charging at Ma Dong-won in the front.
I ran forward, impressed. Now, if Kim Woo-rim showed his skill, it meant that everyone on the team had at least one high-grade skill.
Sure enough, Kim Woo-rim’s spear moved fluidly, piercing a goblin’s head in one strike.
A martial arts-type skill!
‘What is this?’
At this point, my sense of accomplishment felt off. How could a team with so many novice hunters, over half of whom were not supported by guilds, all possess impressive skills?
Of course, it was unclear whether these skills were of high-grade or tier.
At best, they were probably rare-grade skills. However, even rare-grade skills cost at least several billion won.
For F-rank hunters, who barely made enough to get by day-to-day, such skills were out of reach.
‘They must have gotten lucky and found skill books.’
It was certainly a possibility that couldn’t be ruled out.
I glanced at the goblin approaching me, setting aside my doubts for now and began killing the goblins.
I didn’t use the power of the Sun. Goblins at this level could be handled with just my physical abilities.
As a goblin’s dagger flew toward my neck, the skill Flowing Water Transformation activated, diverting the dagger’s trajectory and allowing me to slash the goblin’s neck.
With a single blow, the goblin died without a scream, and after killing another, all six goblins were taken care of.
Kim Woo-rim killed two, Seok Woon killed two, and I killed two. The dealers had evenly shared the kills.
“Phew~ This is good. The dealers are all above expectations. Especially Kim Woo-rim’s spear technique~ that’s something else. That’s a martial arts skill, right? Wow~~ This is like being on a free ride! Haha!”
Kim Woo-rim started boasting as if he had been waiting for the chance the moment it came.
“You noticed, sir! This is called Flowing Water Spear Technique, a skill classified as rare-grade with a C-rank rating! I worked so hard to obtain it. It’s a spear technique that focuses on smooth movements, hence the name ‘Flowing Water.’”
I silently observed Kim Woo-rim and the rest of the team. They expressed surprise and joy, joining in with Kim Woo-rim’s boasting.
There was no sense of alienation. Everyone seemed genuinely amazed as if they were seeing such skills for the first time.
‘Have I been overreacting because of recent misfortunes?’
I tilted my head, still unable to shake off the lingering discomfort. As I got to know the abilities of my team members, I naturally relaxed, and with Kim Woo-rim’s skill explanation sparking a round of boasting, excitement filled the air.
Everyone took turns showing off their skills, and finally, their attention turned to me.
“Hmm… Shin Juha, you don’t seem to have any skills.”
“Right, I haven’t seen you use any skills.”
“Oh! But you handle the sword brilliantly. Is that a skill? That move where you deflected the enemy’s attack!”
“Oh! I think I saw that too. You deflected a dagger with your sword!”
I nodded silently. Revealing Flowing Water Transformation was no big deal. I hadn’t expected them not to notice it anyway.
Again, they marveled as if it were their own skill, chatting animatedly. Their chatter didn’t stop until Seok Woon, who was the first to regain composure, resumed giving orders.
“Alright! How about we wrap this up quickly and celebrate? I know a place with amazing grilled pork belly and soju! Eating meat there after exercise is just… perfect!”
“Oh! Great idea, bro!”
“I’m in. It looks like we all have E- rank promotions in the bag, so let’s bond over a meal! We’re all going to be fellow hunters, after all!”
“Alright, alright. Celebrations are nice and all, but let’s focus now.”
Naturally, the friendly atmosphere didn’t disappear. As expected, the tension inversely dissipated to nothing.
And so, we started moving forward again to continue our strategy.
***
With all team members inside the dungeon, only three safety officers remained outside to respond in case of any unforeseen incidents.
When two of them, who were acquainted, made an excuse to slack off and headed to the restroom, the last remaining safety officer raised his head.
“Heh heh heh.”
With a sinister chuckle, he turned and looked at the entrance to the dungeon.
The dungeon that Shin Juha had entered. Staring at the black, swirling entrance, the man, Moon Kang-un, smirked as he pulled something from his coat.
“You bastard.”
He gritted his teeth as he recalled Shin Juha’s face. The face of the one who destroyed all the power, strength, and connections he had built over a lifetime.
Tearing him apart with his own hands wouldn’t be enough, but he, not being an Awakened, knew entering the dungeon directly would be dangerous.
So he had prepared another method. Using Changseong’s influence, he had meddled with the exam, ensuring Shin Juha and Seo Mina wouldn’t be on the same team.
He wasn’t about to repeat the same mistake.
Next, he bribed one of the part-time safety officers and donned a mask that mimicked the man’s face, pretending to be him while waiting for the right opportunity.
Now, for the final piece of his revenge.
Moon Kang-un’s eyes shone as he looked at the jet-black stone in his hand.
Item: Berserk Stone [Rare-SS]: When used on a dungeon, it illegally increases the dungeon’s grade and rank randomly.
For someone fallen like him, it was hard to find or purchase such an item, but thanks to support from Changseong’s young master and the last of his connections, he had managed it.
This marked the climax of his plan.
Without hesitation, Moon Kang-un threw the Berserk Stone into the dungeon Shin Juha had entered.
Crash!
The dungeon began to shake wildly, growing unstable and berserk. With that, Moon Kang-un left the association.
—
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