Chapter 16

“You need to control your strength inside. You’re currently C-Rank, and if you’re discovered, who knows what could happen.”

“I was thinking about that too.”

“Yeah, right. Don’t even think about going wild.”

“How wild can a tank go, anyway?”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

Nara felt a sense of relief. She shouldn’t have, but she let her guard down at those words. Nara would later realize, too late, that she should never let her guard down for a moment when next to a person like Cho-i Hyeon.

“I’m looking forward to the trial day.”

Nara Shim would deeply regret these words later. She wished she had stopped him more. Wished she had nagged him until her ears went numb.

***

Cho-i gave up going to lower-rank dungeons for the remaining month. To be exact, she went a couple more times and took Nara Shim with her. It was because she was bored to death. And after seeing Nara Shim also going crazy from boredom, she chuckled and chose to just sleep at home. The good thing was that she realized rolling around was more productive than going to those lower-rank dungeons, and the bad thing was that her frustrations accumulated, and her stress reached its peak.

“Hey, be quiet.”

“I just breathed, didn’t I?”

“Don’t breathe.”

“Just kill me.”

“Want me to kill you?”

“I’ll be quiet, sister.”

But her accommodating nature was short-lived. Seeing how sensitive she had become, Nara Shim told her to go back into a lower-rank dungeon, or rather, practically told her to get lost in a lower-rank dungeon, but Cho-i just closed her eyes without getting out of bed. While she slept, Cho-i had a dream.

Crunch, crack, gnash.

A dream of when she was frantically catching Mantises. A smile never left her face as she used all her strength to split the heads of the Entities in two, cut their waists, and break their legs. She unconsciously let out a laugh. But despite that, she kept feeling hungry.

“Ah.”

She woke up just before crushing the last Mantis’s head. And with a maddening hunger, she got up disheveled and headed to the refrigerator.

“I’m hungry, so hungry.”

To be precise, it wasn’t enough. Without even realizing what was lacking, she got out of bed and headed to the refrigerator in the living room. It had been a long time since she had gone grocery shopping, so there wasn’t much in the fridge, but she grabbed anything and shoved it into her mouth. Chomping. She chewed on old bread, carrots, and cucumbers without caring. Even though the sensation of it going down her throat was clear, she didn’t feel full.

“Ah…”

She dropped the Entity from her hand, closed the refrigerator door, and squatted in front of it for a moment.

“It’s not enough, it’s really not enough.”

It’s not here, it’s not here. It’s not here. Cho-i began to mutter. She sat there for a long time, then lay down right there. To dream that dream again. So that even a false hunger might be somewhat satisfied.

***

Time passed like that, and the day of the trial arrived.

“You’re really okay, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s see where the trial ground is. It’s the outskirts of Gyeongseo District.”

The C-Rank trial grounds were like that. They still didn’t have a car, so they traveled by taxi. And as they got closer to the trial grounds, they started seeing Hunters openly running. Most of them seemed to be Hunters with flight skills.

“Wow, so skills like that really existed?”

Nara Shim’s mouth hung open as she watched the Hunters floating in the air, then she slapped her own cheek to snap herself out of it.

“No, don’t get discouraged, let’s focus. Cho-i, you too…”

I wanted to tell her not to be discouraged, but Cho-i Hyeon was just growling, eager to enter the upcoming dungeon. Nara Shim kept her mouth shut to avoid provoking her as much as possible.

When they arrived at the trial grounds, quite a large crowd had gathered. I knew that A-rank, B-rank, and C-rank groups gathered in different places, but there seemed to be hundreds of people.

“Wow, there are so many people?”

“Of course, there are, it’s Paehyeok, isn’t it?”

People were gathered at a distance from the dungeon barricade. And on the platform in front of it, an A-Rank hunter, who appeared to be a guild member, was testing a microphone. There were only 2 minutes left until the trial began. Numerous people were buzzing and chatting with each other. There were those who seemed to have come together, and those who seemed to have participated alone. Some even seemed to be meeting and introducing themselves for the first time, which seemed quite bold.

“Ah, ah.”

At that moment, a voice came through the speaker. Everyone stopped their conversations and looked forward. A Guild Member of Paehyeok had opened his mouth to start the trial. I checked the time, and it was exactly 10 o’clock. 10 AM.

“I’ll get straight to the point. We will form groups and distribute number tags, so please check your number tag and date, then return here on the assigned date.”

“Those who are not included in a group today will be automatically disqualified.”

No one objected to this absurd method because of the ‘Inspect’ skill. Those of higher rank could check all the skills of those of lower rank.

Everyone stood there, tense.

“All right, everyone please stand to my right. Those we point to as we walk around should go to the left.”

And with those words, several more guild members appeared. Cho-i tried to Inspect them all, but couldn’t see anything. They all seemed to be A-Ranks, equal to her.

“Hey, what should I do? I’m so nervous.”

“Be quiet.”

Nara whispered beside her, and Cho-i coldly cut her off. She didn’t have the luxury of joking around with her as usual.

‘If it’s not Dungeon Number One, I’ll just overturn it.’

She was even thinking such thoughts. So the Guild Members of Paehyeok mingled among the people. And slowly, they began to pick people one by one and send them to the left.

“Go to the left.”

“Thank you!”

When the first successful applicant appeared, everyone looked at him with envious eyes. One by one, people began to be selected. Some people would slump to the ground if an examiner passed them by. Cho-i and Nara were standing a bit further back, so their turn was delayed. And when they came in front of Cho-i…

“…?”

“…”

Two guild members stood in front of Cho-i and frowned. The reason was obvious. They wouldn’t be able to see her information.

“Do you have any items equipped?”

“Yes.”

“Could you take them off for a moment?”

“No. That would be difficult.”

Cho-i frowned. If she took off her items here, her A-Rank status would be revealed. Because even if she took off her items, nothing would be visible. So Cho-i shook her head.

“This is difficult.”

“Then just…”

“It’s Choi Hyeon.”

So Choi said her name. At that, the two flinched and looked at her. It was clear they had been tipped off by Dongju and Yeonhan. She smiled, hands behind her back. Let’s see if you can ignore an S-Rank’s words. It was close to that meaning. A few seconds passed between the three. One person whispered something to another. The other person went forward again and brought something. It was the test application form she had submitted a few days ago. Her past stats and skills were listed there side by side. Those who read The Entity nodded and spoke to Choi.

“Go to the left.”

“Yes.”

She headed left with a smile. Other C-Ranks frowned at the seemingly unfair situation. They grumbled loudly as if to express their dissatisfaction. Someone bravely raised a hand.

“Isn’t wearing an item that hides stats a reason for disqualification?”

“There’s no such content in the trial rules.”

The murmuring of dissatisfaction quickly subsided when the judges looked around once. This was the Paehyeok testing ground, and everything was decided by the judges’ judgment.

While the murmuring died down, Choi stood on the left and looked at Nara Shim. Nara Shim was stiff, fidgeting with her fingers, unable to keep them still, as if she was nervous. And a guild member walked past her. Nara’s eyes widened. Her hands were trembling, visible even from here.

‘That’s strange.’

She probably wasn’t the only one who had been tipped off. The guild members finished observing everyone and began to return to the front. And after looking at Nara Shim again, they spoke to her.

“Go to the left.”

“Th-thank you! Thank you!”

She was almost sobbing. And she ran and hugged Choi. Choi instinctively accepted her hug.

“Hey! I passed!”

“It’s embarrassing. Be quiet.”

Choi was still supporting her, nose wrinkled. She bounced around so much it was as if she had springs on the soles of her feet. In total, fifty-eight people were chosen. Considering there were at least two hundred people here, it was only a quarter. This was probably because the number of C-Ranks among the trial applicants was the highest. This is because most B-Ranks and A-Ranks usually have positions in other guilds. Those who were not chosen slumped their shoulders. No one protested to the guild members. How could a C-Rank possibly challenge an A-Rank in the first place?

“No, it doesn’t make sense that I wasn’t chosen?!”

Well, in fact, there are always idiots everywhere. A man as big as a mountain, Deoksu Lee, puffed out his chest and shouted proudly.

“Where is there anyone as good as me here, and you left me out? Look, didn’t you make a mistake?”

“No. Please return quietly.”

“No, I’m not convinced, I’m not convinced.”

He said that and looked around. He saw two small girls. Compared to him, they were three heads shorter. Deoksu Lee pointed at them.

“How can those kids pass right away, but I can’t?”

At the tip of his pointing finger were Nara Shim and Choi. Nara Shim immediately frowned fiercely. Choi, for some reason, smiled. Her unfocused eyes gleamed.