ALL NOVEL Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Rank 4 (3)
Out of the blue, asking about Yoo Ji-han.
How did that name come out of this person’s mouth?
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Park Joong-seob was a bit confused.
“Well, of course I know him. He’s a hero who was with Keroes for a long time but recently left the guild. But why is he suddenly…?”
—It seems he joined another guild recently, and now a rank-up application for Rank 4 has come through from them.
“……!”
Yoo Ji-han applied for a rank-up?
Wait, how long has it been since he left Keroes?
Could he even handle that?
“……”
But what mattered right now wasn’t that.
Park Joong-seob swallowed all the questions bubbling up inside him.
Revealing personal curiosity in this situation wouldn’t be wise.
‘Yeah. He wouldn’t have just been playing around in the party.’
He must have learned something during his time in Keroes, so it made sense that he could move up to Rank 4.
Though it did feel a bit too soon.
“Oh! That’s something to congratulate him on!”
He feigned a slightly excited tone.
He wanted to maintain the image of being a magnanimous person sending congratulations to a hero who left the guild.
—But when I looked up this person’s information, strangely, his activity records are blank. The only thing filled in is the recent entry for entering the MA, but there’s no record at all for the previous seven years. What’s going on with that?
“Oh, that friend didn’t belong to a specific party and worked freely. So, there’s no separate record of his activity. This is per our internal policy, and he agreed to it, so it’s not a problem.”
—We don’t take the deep internal affairs of the guild into consideration… I understand for now.
The unofficial party member system was vaguely outlined in the contract Yoo Ji-han signed with Keroes.
Since it was carefully crafted with legal advice, the likelihood of future legal issues was low, but it was better to keep it entirely hidden just in case.
Yoo Ji-han, if he had any sense, wouldn’t disclose the terms of the contract.
—Could you tell me a bit about what kind of hero Yoo Ji-han was in Keroes? Any helpful info would be used as a reference for the evaluation.
“Ah… well…”
Park Joong-seob paused for a moment before speaking.
“He has been with me since the early days of the guild, but… to be honest, he doesn’t stand out much. Every time Ji-han entered a battle, the other party members showed minor to major dissatisfaction. That’s one of the reasons he wasn’t promoted to a formal party member in Keroes.”
—He’s been active for seven years and that’s how you describe him?
“If my eyes, which lead Keroes, haven’t rusted over, then yes. Therefore, I’m a bit worried about this rank-up evaluation. If he succeeds in the rank-up due to luck rather than skill, it could put Ji-han in danger later.”
—Hmm…
“So please, for the sake of that friend’s safety, I ask for a very ‘thorough’ evaluation.”
Park Joong-seob emphasized a specific word.
When someone from the previous guild brings that up, the Hero Department would surely have to consider it.
“And I haven’t received any contacts, but what’s the name of the guild Ji-han is in now?”
—It’s the Sweet Fun Guild.
Sweet Fun…
Upon hearing the guild name, Park Joong-seob chuckled.
‘No deep meaning, very cheap name.’
Looks like that guild suits you perfectly, Yoo Ji-han.
*
On the day of the Rank 4 evaluation.
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu visited the Hero Department’s Seoul Branch.
‘Nothing has changed.’
As Yoo Ji-han raised his head at the front gate, he recalled the last time he visited the Seoul branch.
The Hero Department’s logo was fluttering in the wind atop a tall flagpole.
Though there was the main office in Sejong City, it was quite far to go down there, so Sweet Fun was having the rank-up evaluation at the Seoul branch.
Upon entering, a staff member approached them.
“Welcome. How can I assist you?”
“We’ve come for the Rank 4 evaluation scheduled for 2 PM today.”
“Please tell me your guild name.”
“Sweet Fun.”
They followed the staff member as they ascended the stairs.
Upon reaching the third floor of the building, the staff member led them to a specific door.
Yoo Ji-han opened the door that said ‘Break Room 2’.
‘There are quite a few people.’
People glancing curiously at the opened door.
There were several heroes sitting on the sofas of the break room.
Groups of four or five sat together, having come for the rank-up evaluations from different guilds, just like Sweet Fun.
And there wasn’t a single party among them with fewer members than Sweet Fun.
“Do you think we can do well this time?”
“Of course!”
While waiting briefly like the other parties, Yoo Ji-han overheard snippets of conversation around him.
“This is our fourth attempt, right? I searched online and it said the Hero Department usually approves rank-ups after about four attempts.”
“But a party with my friend passed in just two attempts.”
“Don’t you remember how shaky you were during the last interview? Honestly, we probably failed the second and third evaluations because of that.”
“W-What are you talking about! I wasn’t shaky at all!”
“Just don’t shake this time, okay? I’ll be watching you closely.”
The conversations belonged to a party retrying for their rank-up.
Having already failed the rank-up evaluation three times, they had come to the Hero Department for their fourth attempt today.
Since the evaluation involves interviews with all party members, it was possible for a party to fail the rank-up if just one member presented poorly.
According to rumors, it was common to fail the Rank 4 evaluation about three times.
Perhaps feeling the pressure of the interviews, among the parties gathered today, some members wore notably expensive black suits.
‘Kim Hyun-tae’s party has never failed the evaluation, right?’
In contrast, Kim Hyun-tae’s party had never once failed a rank-up evaluation.
And naturally…
Yoo Ji-han had never participated in the evaluation process from Rank 5 down to Rank 2 even once.
‘I felt really empty about that back then.’
In the past, he waited at home alone when he heard there would be a rank-up evaluation for Kim Hyun-tae’s party.
And when it was announced that they successfully ranked up to Rank 4 after gathering, Kim Hyun-tae and Hwang Joon-ho celebrated with a high-five…
Yoo Ji-han awkwardly smiled beside them.
Because he hadn’t done anything for the rank-up.
The applause he joined in with the surrounding excited atmosphere felt as if it were for another party, not his own.
It wouldn’t be wrong to describe it as a sense of alienation.
Bang!
The break room’s entrance swung open, and someone stepped inside.
“Is there a party from the Sweet Fun Guild here?”
“That’s us?”
Kim Si-hu raised his hand and replied quietly.
“Kim Si-hu, and next to me is Yoo Ji-han. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Now we will begin the rank-up evaluation. Please follow me.”
Sweet Fun was designated as the first party to evaluate.
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu stood up and followed behind him.
The elevator took them down to Basement Level 2.
[Basement Level 2.]
Once the elevator doors opened, a spacious area revealed itself.
“Here we are!”
“Both of you, come this way.”
Inside, a man holding a wooden sword called them over.
With a short haircut and a strict impression, he appeared to be in his 40s.
He bowed his head slightly and spoke.
“I am Bang Yoon-sik, a hero belonging to the Hero Department.”
A hero directly affiliated with the Hero Department.
He was treated like a civil servant.
Heroes engaged in national matters rarely enter the MA and are considered a stable profession.
They also serve as representative models when the Hero Department creates promotional posters or the like.
“Now, we will start the sparring for your Rank 4 evaluation. You can only use non-edged weapons, and if you don’t have any, feel free to choose anything from here.”
Bang Yoon-sik pointed to the weapon display.
Most of the weapons were training tools made of wood, lacking any destructive power.
‘A wooden sword should be fine.’
While browsing the display, Yoo Ji-han picked the same wooden sword as Bang Yoon-sik.
Kim Si-hu pulled out his wand from his inner pocket.
“The medical team will be on standby in case of any unforeseen incidents. Please let me know when you’re ready.”
Bang Yoon-sik distanced himself from them a bit.
It was to give them preparation time before starting the sparring.
‘Only two people, huh.’
Bang Yoon-sik scanned Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu as they chatted.
From what he was told, the entire party consisted of just two members, and this was their first rank-up evaluation.
And recklessly, they submitted their rank-up application only two weeks after entering the MA.
‘They need to be taught a lesson.’
Crack—
He stretched and loosened his body lightly.
There are two possible ways to pass the evaluation that includes sparring.
One is to earn the approval of the sparring examiner, and the other is to completely defeat the sparring examiner.
And almost all parties pass through the former, not the latter.
The examiner’s level is set higher than the rank of the party applying for the evaluation.
‘Let’s end this quickly and move on to the next party.’
Today, Bang Yoon-sik had no intention of recognizing those two.
It was his role to block parties lacking in skill from rising up.
“We’re ready!”
“You can attack first! And as you know, area-wide magic that covers the entire sparring arena is not allowed. Everything else is fine, so don’t hold back like it’s practice, even the mage in the back.”
“Okay!”
Bang Yoon-sik generously gave Sweet Fun the first strike.
Yoo Ji-han exchanged glances with Kim Si-hu for a moment.
“I’m going in!”
With that, Yoo Ji-han dashed powerfully toward Bang Yoon-sik, who stood at the opposite end.
‘Pretty fast!’
Bang Yoon-sik, observing Yoo Ji-han, recalled the party that passed during the last evaluation.
Yoo Ji-han seemed just a tad faster than the hero who attempted a surprise attack in that party.
The relaxed Bang Yoon-sik quickly adjusted his posture.
Thud!
The wooden swords wielded by Yoo Ji-han and Bang Yoon-sik clashed.
Screech—
Bang Yoon-sik’s expression slightly crinkled as he blocked the attack.
The impact he felt through the wooden sword was greater than expected.
Yoo Ji-han was a hero with considerable strength, despite his appearance.
Thud! Tap! Thud! Thud!
Yoo Ji-han, leading with the first attack, swung his wooden sword at Bang Yoon-sik non-stop.
Head, shoulder, arm, waist, and more.
Without fixating on one area, he relentlessly pursued Bang Yoon-sik, who was retreating.
Each time the wooden swords clashed, a refreshing sound echoed throughout the sparring arena.
“……?!”
Bang Yoon-sik, being pushed back step by step, became greatly flustered.
The opponent was definitely a Rank 5 hero…
While there wasn’t a significant skill gap, he had scarcely an opportunity to counterattack.
Thud!
As he was being pushed back, he managed to force a counterattack while looking into Yoo Ji-han’s eyes.
And then he jumped in surprise.
‘What?!’
Yoo Ji-han’s rapidly moving gaze swept over not only Bang Yoon-sik’s wooden sword and arm but also his face, legs, and feet, almost observing his entire body in turn.
From just the attacks he was unleashing, it seemed he was solely focused on doing damage, but in truth, he was observing his opponent very carefully.
Contrary to the burning action he displayed through his body, his eyes were unsettlingly cold!
The dissonance from that gave Bang Yoon-sik a slight shiver down his spine.