Chapter 63: 63

When Su-hyeun entered the building and began to move separately for reexamination, everyone who waiting for Su-hyeun lost their purpose . Kim Seok-jin just smoked a cigar since there was nothing he could do .

“Working as an independent…”

“It’s surprising,” his attendant said .

In response to the attendant, Kim Seok-jin shook his head . “No . This makes more sense for him . ”

“Yes?”

“He is the guy who hasn’t shown his face in two years . It would be a funny thing if he wanted to join the guild now . Many S-Rank awakeners are actually working as mercenaries or focusing on climbing the tower . ”

It was the same for their guild master, Park Ji-yeon . She only had a title but devoted most of her time to climbing the tower, except when completing dungeon attacks . Not only her but also other S-rank awakeners were similar . People could not reach S-Rank without climbing the tower with such hard work .

“I am sure he is the same . ”

“Then why is he taking the rank reexamination?” the attendant asked .

“Well . There are many benefits… Money can be one of the reasons…”

“So, it means you don’t know exactly?”

“In fact, yes . ” Kim Seok-jin nodded and took the phone out of his pocket . But it was that time .

The phone started to ring, and a familiar name popped on the screen . Kim Seok-jin thought the situation was funny . He smirked a little . Soon, he picked up the phone .

“Yes, Guild Master . ”

***

Su-hyeun came to the basement of the Authority building for the reexamination . The basement was made of special materials that prevented magic from leaking outward . More exactly, it would prevent the impact of the underground from spreading upward .

There were a total of five examiners who followed Su-hyeun and his party . As they set up various devices throughout the void of the basement, the examiner who looked the highest among them opened his mouth .

“First of all, let me explain the agreement you will make after you pass the S-Rank examination . First, S-rank awakeners receive a certain amount of money on the 1st of every month . Additionally, they regularly take turns with other S-rank awakeners and engage in a special dungeon attack…”

Su-hyeun was familiar with that agreement . He did not pay attention to the explanation and just watched the devices .

There was more than one test . S-Rank awakeners were tested for not only the factor and level of the magic but also overall stats as well as other qualities related to other battles . Only the ones who passed all of that could be S-Rank awakeners .

“…about the rights are in this document, so please read it later . ”

The examiner said so and handed a document to Suhyun . The cover of the document was colorfully embroidered in gold . There were several rights that S-rank awakeners received . Su-hyeun glanced over the contents and signed below .

“Well . Let’s take the test quickly,” Su-hyeun said .

“We are preparing now . Please wait for a moment . ”

After a moment, all the devices were ready . There were some small platforms, a magic tester, and some devices to verify physical performances .

“First, we will check your magic level and factor . Second, we will check your magic control ability . Third, we will check your overall physical ability . What do you usually use for a weapon?”

“I use a sword and spear . ” Su-hyeun showed his sword at his waist area and the spear on his back .

“The sword and spear…All right . Close combat tactics and long-distance throwing statics . What about your unique skill?”

“For the skill…”

Several questions followed, and when all questions were answered, the examiner nodded . In fact, just listening to those questions could not give them anything special . Most skills were to be evaluated during the exam .

“Please walk in front of the platform . The first test will be taken under an illusion . ”

“What are the detailed rules?” Su-hyeun asked .

“You have to figure it out yourself . Just keep in your mind that the time limit is key . ”

They didn’t explain the rules but expected him to realize the rules on his own .

In the case of advanced rank screening, most countries had a system like the Tower of Trials . This method was quite discriminatory, so the people who were more than A-Rank got their grade after such an examination .

“Please step on the platform . ”

Su-hyeun stepped on the round-shaped platform as the examiner said . The devices were made of several intermediate Ether stones and one higher Ether stone . The stones also had a role .

There was a man named Johnny Brad . He was one of the highest-ranked awakeners and he was known for his hallucination skills . His work was high-quality and used in world-wide awakeners’ agencies . This device was also one of his works . Of course, it was not as powerful as what he could use in person . It might have worked better for regular people, but it was impossible to show hallucinations that were threatening enough to S-Rank awakeners .

“Don’t reject the magic from the device . If you accept the magic, the test will start soon . ”

Su-hyeun nodded at the examiner’s advice . If he wanted to resist, he was able to do that . To him, it was possible not to hallucinate in the first place .

Whirl, whirl—

Soon, the device was activated, and a lot of magic power was released from the Ether stone . That magic was sucked into Su-hyeun’s head in a moment . He did not resist it and closed his eyes . Then, he could feel a cool breeze with his skin . When he opened his eyes, there was a completely different landscape .

Caw, caw, caw—!

He could hear something sounding like loud crows . There were black spears on the ground, hundreds of and thousands of them . Above, he could see a black sky . No, it merely looked like a black sky . Birds that looked like crows filled the sky .

“They don’t look like crows… Are they Blackbirds?”

A Blackbird was a monster that looked like a giant crow . There was nothing, in particular, that said it was a monster . Blackbirds had a strong desire for survival rather than fighting . So, it usually was not threatening . Those were the Blackbirds that Su-hyeun knew .

It was not difficult to figure out what the subject of the test was .

He recalled the hint that the examiner said . He said the time limit was key . So, that meant they were testing how fast he could handle the birds above the sky . There were many spears on the ground and many birds in the sky .

As he looked roughly, it looked like space was blocked within a certain distance to prevent Blackbirds from running away . The space was large, but it was not infinite .

“It’s perfect for hunting . ”

He grabbed the spear . He could easily finish if he used the Leap and Flame skills, but he didn’t use those because this test was not for checking his magic ability . The weapons he used were swords and spears . And this test was a gateway to examine his spear-throwing ability . It was a pretty difficult test .

The Blackbirds were fast, and they would not let him drop them down easily, of course .

“30 minutes . ”

He grabbed the spear he picked up from the ground tightly . He threw it as hard as he could .

Swish—

Bam—

The spear that Su-hyeun had thrown penetrated three blackbirds . At the same time, he grabbed two spears in each hand immediately after that .

“One, two—”

Swish—

“Three . ”

The four spears flew towards the blackbirds that roaming the sky .

“I guess it will take 30 minutes at most . ”

***

“How much time has passed?” Kim Hyun-soo, the general examiner asked .

The deputy examiner checked the time and answered, “It’s been about 15 minutes . ”

“About 45 minutes left . ”

“I will tell you every five minutes . ”

“Tell me every ten minutes . When an hour is over, it means he failed . Then clean all the things here . ”

“Yes, sir . ”

“Oh, and tell the last of the examiners to set up the next devices when 20 minutes have passed . If he passes the exam, we can proceed immediately that way . ”

“Yes . ”

Kim Hyun-soo crossed his arms and watched Su-hyeun on the device . He was the one who was responsible for the examination of five S-rank awakeners of Korea . He also conducted the S-rank examination more than ten times . About one in four people who applied reexamination passed and became S-Rank . Three of the four had been eliminated were eliminated from this first test .

he thought but he could not remember exactly .

He took so long, and he was not capable of escaping from the hallucinations by himself . In the end, he had to pass the test to escape from hallucinations .

“And the fastest one was… Park Ji-yeon . She only took 40 minutes . ”

Park Ji-yeon was the youngest S-Rank awakener in Korea . She had passed the reexamination faster than anyone else since she had shown an outstanding talent for a long time .

Since this hallucination test gave each examinee a different mission, it was difficult to say that somebody would be better than the other exactly . However, the content of the test itself was recorded . Kim Hyun-soo flipped the papers and looked through the records of the S-Rank awakeners .

“After Park Ji-yeon, Gwon Jae-hoon took 43 minutes . Next was Jung Yoon-ho . He took 48 minutes . And next…”

Zap—

While he was checking the records, the device suddenly started responding . Kim Hyun-soo, who was startled, covered the file and raised his head .

“What is going on?”

“I think… the built-in skill of the device is being unraveled . ”

“A built-in skill . You mean hallucinations?”

“Yes, sir . ”

In response to the deputy examiner, Kim Hyun-soo opened his eyes wide . Was time passing by while he was thinking about something else?

“What about time? How much time passed?”

“19 minutes, sir . ”

“19 minutes?”

It was less than 20 minutes . He had a lot on his mind . Kim Hyun-soo had been seeing the same phenomenon several times . And immediately after the device’s built-in skills began to break, the test would end .

he thought .

Other S-rank awakeners did not differ so much in the Clear Time . It was only about five minutes apart . But suddenly, this man passed it in 20 minutes . It was a really overwhelming record .

The ether stone in the device flashed for a moment . That phenomenon meant that the device stopped working .

“Phew—”

Su-hyeun, who was staring at one spot vacantly, all of a sudden took a big breath . Su-hyeun turned his body and looked at the examiners, including Kim Hyun-soo .

“How long has it been?”

“Uh…Well…” The deputy examiner checked the time again . “You took 19 minutes 58 seconds…”

“So about 20 minutes,” Su-hyeun said as if it was insignificant .

Su-hyeun did not know about the shock of examiner Kim Hyun-soo .

“Let’s do the next one quickly . You guys are ready, right?”

He had finished so quickly that the preparations for the next test were not even done yet .