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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 13: D-Rank Promotion (2)
The 6th D-Rank Promotion Test.
Field 3 in the Korea region.
100 awakened participants selected per field.
Whoooosh.
Inside an orange, translucent shield, my entire body is glowing red.
I’m free-falling straight from the sky to the ground.
On the livestreams I’ve seen on YouTube, this would look like a meteor.
All 100 awakened participants fall from the sky like meteors, crashing into the ground.
The landing locations are random.
But the area is confined.
Inside the walls of the Rayark Mountain Fortress.
[If you’re reading this, you must have reached level 25. First of all, respect. Achieving level 25 as a total F- NOVICE wasn’t easy, was it?]
I recall the words from the guidebook.
The long-awaited guidebook update.
[But the hardest challenge remains. The promotion exam. The difficulty is nearly impossible. However, on May 1st, the rules change. Novices will compete against other novices in the promotion exam.]
When I read that line, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
If the promotion exam is among novices, I might actually have a shot at first place.
But May 1st?
That’s way too far off.
It’s September 1st now, which means I’d have to stay stuck at level 25 for eight months?
I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting that long.
So, I decided to give it a shot and kept reading the guidebook.
[Even if it’s a novice battle among beginners, don’t let your guard down. Battles between weaklings are always the fiercest. Plus, people who reach level 25 as novices usually have big ambitions and base stats of F+ or higher. No matter how much solo training I’ve done, it won’t be easy.]
Exactly.
And since I’ve distributed my stats evenly, even in a novice-only battle, my stats would be on the lower side.
If I still had just one status window...
Thud!
I land on the ground.
There’s no impact.
As soon as I set foot on the ground, I open my mouth.
“Mini-map.”
A map appeared before my eyes.
A new ability gained during the ranking exams.
It’s like a game, with a radar-like mini-map showing the terrain.
At the top, it says, “Survivors: 100.”
On the mini-map, I see I’ve landed in the eastern part of the southern wall area.
Rayark Mountain Fortress is a fortress nestled in a canyon.
A southern wall and a northern wall.
It’s a canyon fortress that only needs those two walls to be defended.
However, the southern and northern walls are on the verge of being overrun by the orc army.
The human soldiers are panicking and fleeing, while the orc horde advances through the broken walls, surrounding everything.
In this battlefield, the objectives for awakened participants are twofold:
Be among the last 20 survivors.
Score 5 kill points.
Achieving either one guarantees a promotion.
Kill points are awarded as follows:
Killing another awakened participant: 1 point.
Killing a human or an orc: 0.01 points.
In short, it’s a game designed for awakened participants to fight each other.
Could I survive by hiding instead of fighting?
Not likely, since the locations of awakened participants are visible on the mini-map.
Plus, a white light shining down from the sky highlights each awakened participant like a spotlight.
There’s no environment conducive to hiding.
But the guidebook told a different story.
[As it was later revealed, there are points where you can hide. The locations are…]
Northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest.
Participants are scattered across these four regions.
The guidebook detailed hiding spots in each of these regions.
In the southeast, there’s only one such spot: an old, dry well.
If you head a little further inside the southern wall, you’ll find a well.
Inside, there’s a hidden tunnel that orcs don’t enter.
[Awakened participants will know you’re there because of the light, but since the orc horde will soon occupy the area, they won’t be able to come after you even if they know. If you’ve landed in the southeast, get to the well and hide. After an hour or two, things will settle down, and you can secure your promotion.]
The guidebook also warned that as this information spreads, it’s best to take the promotion exam as soon as possible.
[If you manage to score 5 kills and rank in the top 20, you’ll earn 3 bonus stat points. But honestly, it’s best to give up on that idea.]
If I hadn’t read this part, I might have done just that.
But now that I’ve read it, I have another option.
I draw the bow slung across my back and notch an arrow.
My target is a hunter illuminated by light ahead.
They haven’t noticed me yet.
Whizz!
“Guh!”
The arrow pierces their neck with precision.
The awakened participant grabs at the arrow in shock and collapses.
Should I confirm the kill?
I watched closely, but...
[You have gained 1 kill point. - Current Kill Points: 1]
It seemed they were dead.
Their body dissolved into light and disappeared.
Maybe they were a mage and not a warrior?
I didn’t expect them to die in one shot.
It was my first time killing someone, but knowing they’ll come back to life after the exam ends kept me from feeling too shaken.
I reopen the map, which now read, “Survivors: 91.”
In that short time, nine people have already died.
On the northern side, several small red dots are clustered together, while to my south, two red dots have disappeared simultaneously.
Since two dots vanished at once, they were likely wiped out by the orc horde.
If one of them had won the fight, only one would have disappeared.
Let’s head up for now.
I kept the mini-map minimized but visible in my field of view.
I needed to track the enemy's positions, so I left it up and ran at full speed.
Now, I’ve reached a speed far beyond human capability.
My goal: five kills and then head to the fountain.
Four kills left.
A burning citadel.
Human and orc corpses were scattered everywhere.
The battlefield was filled with the sounds of surviving human units clashing with the vanguard of the orc forces.
But none of that mattered to me.
Why waste time killing 100 enemies just to earn one point?
My only goal was the spot where two red dots were colliding.
Soon, I arrived at the location where two Awakened were fighting.
“Shield Charge!”
The warrior with a sword and shield shouted the skill name, and his shield expanded as it lunged toward his opponent.
Just before the shield struck, the other side called out a skill too.
“Shadow Strike!”
A woman’s voice.
She wore leather armor and dual-wielded daggers—clearly an assassin class.
Boom!
The assassin was sent flying after taking the Shield Charge head-on.
But the warrior wasn’t unharmed either.
The shadow beneath him suddenly rose and stabbed his back.
So that’s what the assassin skill, Shadow Strike, does.
“Guh…!”
Ha.
This is such a great opportunity.
Talk about luck.
I fired an arrow at the fallen assassin and rushed toward the temporarily grounded warrior.
“Fireball.”
“What… what the hell!”
Boom!
The warrior raised his shield again, but it was too late.
The Fireball had already hit the ground and exploded.
When the smoke cleared, his lower body was charred black, and his entire body was engulfed in flames.
“AAAAHHH!!”
There’s no way he’s surviving that.
Instead of wasting time ensuring his death, I ran toward the assassin to finish her off.
The arrow I had shot earlier had unfortunately only hit her arm.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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She was clutching her injured right arm, groaning.
“Agh… It hurts…”
“Ice Arrow.”
I launched a quick Ice Arrow at her.
But she deflected it with her uninjured left hand, wielding her dagger.
Looks like she hasn’t lost all her skills, despite reaching level 25.
Fine.
I’ll finish it with my sword.
I charged forward with my greatsword.
As I parried her dagger and moved in for the stab, she suddenly removed her mask.
A fairly attractive woman hurriedly spoke.
“Jiho, wait! It’s me. Jihyun.”
Who’s Jihyun?
Oh.
Could it be the girl I saw on the bus at the very beginning?
And so what?
I didn’t respond and drove my sword into her.
Stab!
“W-we could have worked together…”
Teamwork, my ass.
My vision briefly turned red, and I felt a stinging sensation on the back of my neck.
It was the signal from my Danger Detection skill.
If I had hesitated, I might’ve been hit by her Shadow Strike skill.
Jihyun fell, glaring at me with resentment as her body disappeared.
[You have earned 1 Kill Point. Current Kill Points: 2]
[You have earned 1 Kill Point. Current Kill Points: 3]
When I looked back, the warrior’s burning corpse had also vanished.
Did they die around the same time?
Come to think of it, she was in the same batch as me.
How did she qualify for her promotion trial so soon?
I hit level 25 twenty days ago because of double experience and soloing here and there… but she didn’t have any of that.
I thought she’d just leech off a capable guy, but turns out she was pretty determined.
The number of survivors on the map had dropped to 79.
Not even a few minutes had passed, and already 21 people were dead.
For now, there were no other Awakened in my vicinity on the mini-map.
I’d reach the fountain soon…
If I gathered two more kills in the central area and came back, the fountain would likely be crawling with orcs.
I thought about just hiding safely for now, but I couldn’t pass up three stat points.
For someone like me, those are doubled.
At level 20, stat points are only given once every two levels.
Three points are equivalent to leveling up six times.
I can’t miss out.
I recalled the strategy guide.
[If you drop near the center and can’t get to the recommended points, heading to the magical watchtower in the central area gives you the best chance of survival. The tower’s entrance is locked with a magical seal. The code is 6976.]
The magical watchtower…
I saw it in a live broadcast before.
A 10-meter-tall stone watchtower with a view of the southern wall.
It was locked with a magical seal, and one Awakened tried to break it open but failed and got killed by an orc horde.
[Once you’re in the tower, stay completely silent. If you start firing arrows or anything, the orc shamans will destroy it with magic. Close the door again, and the magical lock will automatically re-engage. Just stay hidden inside, preferably below.]
So, if I kill two more Awakened on the way and enter the watchtower, I’ll be set.
I carefully examined the map and kept running.
As my body shot forward like a dart—
My vision turned blood-red, and my chest burned right in the center.
Damn it.
Mid-leap, too.
“Shield.”
I cast a defensive spell and ready my two-handed sword.
I see a spear flying toward me.
The force cutting through the wind is intense.
An Awakened’s throwing spear!
Clang!
The upgraded second-circle shield shattered as it collided with the spear and my sword.
The upgraded shield held up pretty well, blocking the attack.
But I had no choice but to stop my charge.
At least I landed without a major shock—that’s a relief, I guess.
Looking at the radar, I spotted a red dot that wasn’t there just moments ago.
Was he hiding?
He avoided the radar—does he have some kind of item?
“You’re a crafty one.”
A male warrior suddenly appeared, holding a long spear.
His armor looked similar to what Kang Shia used to wear.
I can catch a glimpse of an elf uniform underneath.
On his back, five throwing spears were strapped.
Wow.
I can smell the stench of money.
“Lightning Bolt!”
I fire a second-circle lightning spell.
Before it even reached his body, the spell is absorbed into one part of his armor.
What the hell?
That’s broken.
“Fireball.”
As he slowly closes the distance, I cast another spell.
The strongest offensive spell I can use.
But this one, too, is absorbed into a gem on his armor, breaking into strands of flames.
He hesitates, about to swing his spear to block the Fireball, then quickly regains his composure.
“Looks like my money was well spent.”
“Wow, pay-to-win.”
“In a capitalist society, of course. Lance Charge!”
The distant enemy’s figure zooms into focus.
A spear thrust coming straight at me.
Close combat already?
I cast Shield and dodge his skill.
At the same time, I swing my two-handed sword downward.
But does Lance Charge also boost agility?
As he rockets forward like a bullet, he twists his body and blocks my attack with his spear.
Bang!
The sound of sword and spear colliding is like an explosion.
“This bastard. I thought you were a mage?!”
The enemy quickly created distance.
I moved to close the gap before he could get his spear into position.
In an instant, we exchange ten moves.
“Whew…”
“You’re pretty good.”
Taking a brief moment to catch our breath, we close the gap again.
He tries to widen the distance, but I keep charging in.
Our attacks grazed each other, but my strikes couldn’t penetrate his armor, and his were stopped by my Shield.
Dozens of exchanges, but no effective hits.
“Lance Charge!”
“Shield.”
A skill launched at point-blank range.
The spear expanded rapidly before my eyes.
But the Shield held long enough for me to evade!
Screech!
Fast.
My cheek was torn, and blood sprayed out.
Tsk. F
irst blood since I got here.
But my sword wasn’t idle either.
“Urgh!”
My blade grazed his right forearm.
With normal weapons, his armor would have stopped the attack.
But this expensive two-hander did its job.
“Tch. Who the hell are you?!”
The warrior glares at me as he retreats again.
Just as I’m about to close the gap once more…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The drumbeats of the orc army’s warband echo in the distance.
“Wait. Let’s stop.”
He sung his spear widely and backed off.
I remained standing with my sword in hand.
We both understood.
If we kept fighting, we wouldn’t settle this before the orc army arrived.
“We’d die to the orc army before we finish this fight.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s part ways and go our separate paths. Anyway, you or I will probably make it to the top twenty.”
“Fine. I’m heading that way.”
I pointed toward the watchtower, and he nodded.
“Then I’ll go this way. By the way, that sword—where did you get it?”
“I was given it.”
“By who?”
“A pretty woman.”
At my answer, he glared at me briefly, then turned away.
“Got it. No time for this now, I’ll ask later.”
With that, the warrior leapt away, each stride like he was flying.
He seemed suspicious, recognizing the sword…
Maybe he saw it at some high-end market for rich folks.
Still on alert, I made my way toward the watchtower.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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