Chapter 23: 23

A woman walked into the room and saw Ji-Cheok and La-Du standing in the center.

“Hello, rookies. I see that all the examinees are just teeming with energy. My name is Yoon Ru-Mi, and since I’m from the Political-Military Affairs Division, I don’t expect you to know who I am.’”

Murmurs in the crowd suddenly grew louder.

The Political-Military Affairs Division[1] was a division of the military that worked directly under the President. Even though little was ever revealed about this department, no one dared question its authority. People who worked there didn’t clear out dungeons. Instead, Ji-Cheok had heard these people specialized in killing and torturing human beings, specifically people with abilities. There was also one other thing…

“The face you see and the name I have just told you aren’t real, so don’t think too much about it. It’s killing me that I have to help mere novices today.” Everyone in this room seemed to have such strong personalities.

Among the crowd of Hunters, someone raised their hand.

“Sure, novice wearing the glasses. Speak,” Ru-Mi called out.

“Aren’t we supposed to be tested by a regular Hunter examiner?

“Yes, you’re right. But this time we’ve heard that two rookies are taking part today, and my supervisors are very interested,” she responded professionally and continued.

“We’ll start with passing these papers around and having you sign your names. It’s a memorandum of understanding that the government is not responsible if you die during your examination. There seem to be a lot of Hunters who are ridiculously conceited, so please be aware that once you sign this, you’ll no longer be an ordinary citizen of this country, but a soldier protecting and serving it. If that’s not what you want, then this is your chance to leave. Do what you want. “

Everyone stared at one person, La-Du.

“What are you looking at, fuckers?!”

His loud remark startled the people in the room, and their gazes quickly shifted away from him.

Then Ru-Mi responded, “Fuck..?! Fucker?! I dare you to say that again, novice with red hair.”

La-Du mumbled at the examiner’s words.

“I feel like shit right now. If both rookies weren’t taking the exam today, there would have been no need for me to come. At least one person is nicer than I expected, so I’m not enduring all this for nothing…”

She looked straight at Ji-Cheok, and he quickly averted eye contact.

“Ah, I see why that unnie[2] was so obsessed about your photos. I want to start saving your photos, too.”

Ji-Cheok didn’t know who she was talking about. In the meantime, he and everyone else signed the documents.

“Looks like everyone has agreed to the memorandum. You’ve all come so far, it wouldn’t make sense to turn back now. Alright, should I inform you of the basic rules next? You will enter the dungeon and hunt monsters. We will then grade you according to the rules. All of your actions will be recorded. Well, you can use your own self-recording skills if you have them.”

‘This is pretty cool.’

Ru-Mi carried on, “You can take selfies with the monsters. However, you can’t access any of your social media. All communication will be cut off anyway, so it won’t even be possible.”

Ru-Mi couldn’t be bothered to check if they understood, as she quickly muttered some of the exam details.

“Finally, the examiner you’re looking at is the most ruthless person in the history of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. No one will care whether you live or die, so please take care of your own life. I’m going to ask you again. Is there anyone that wants to leave?”

All the Hunter’s eyes widened, but amid all this, no one was turning back. Since they had all signed their memorandums, maybe her question about leaving was all part of the test.

“Make sure to blame the random draw for causing you problems.” Ru-Mi laughed as everyone put on their blindfolds, then escorted them off.

* * *

As Ji-Cheok put on the blindfold, he could not see anything. Usually, one could still look straight down and see the floor through that tiny opening, but this time, Ji-Cheok could see absolutely nothing.

Ring-

[Your senses are limited.]

It seemed like the special blindfold was enchanted to prevent him from seeing anything.

After a while, Ji-Cheok felt something brush past his body and his feet detected a faint buzzing. He knew this sensation all too well from when he was a Hunter Assistant. These were the vibrations that one would feel when crossing a gate.

After they passed through the gate, they continued forward to their destination.

All Ji-Cheok could do was to keep holding onto the shoulders of a stranger in front of him and follow along.

Then, he heard a voice coming from the blindfold.

[We have arrived…Crackle… Do not remove your blindfolds yet…Crackle… Please focus on my voice. I mean, I guess you can take off your blindfold now if you want to die. It’s your life…Crackle…]

There was a lot of static noise. The sound quality made his head hurt, it was terrible compared to the earphones Ji-Cheok’s company provided.

‘Wow, where the hell are they spending my taxes?’

Crackle-

[We have separated you into groups of five and placed you at each corner of the dungeon…Crackle…The groups were all randomly drawn, so you cannot complain if you’re teamed up with …Crackle… you don’t like. You may kill the monsters around you and make your way toward the crystal ball in the center of the dungeon. The test will end when the crystal ball is shattered.]

Crackle- 

After a long silence, the voice came up again.

[Holy crap…Crackle!... Call the administrator!...Crackle!... They definitely said that this would be a safe dungeon..Crackle!...This looks like an irregular dungeon!...Crackle… Seal the dungeon!]

Ji-Cheok heard nothing else after those words.

‘What’s happening? Is the concept of these exams like this nowadays?’

He took off his blindfold and immediately locked eyes with that punk, Yum La-Du.

“Fuck me,” La-Du cursed.

The moment Ji-Cheok moved his hand toward his sheathed sword, La-Du took one step back.

‘Hah, he’s scared.’ Ji-Cheok thought to himself.

He looked around and noticed that they were in an old stone chamber. A torch was hanging on the wall and hieroglyphics were etched in rows beside it. Ji-Cheok had no clue what the letters meant.

In the middle of the stone chamber, there was a door. When Ji-Cheok opened it, the test seemed to begin.

A Hunter wearing glasses opened her mouth, “I… have no idea what is going on… uh…are we overrunning a dungeon?[3] Are we actually starting the test with an overrun dungeon?

“I’ve heard this happened in a previous exam. Maybe they arranged a special exam for me because I’m just naturally stronger?” La-Du arrogantly said.

Clang!

La-Du smashed his two fists together, and his gloves made a metallic ‘clang!’ sound.

He was very full of himself and would not stop speaking.

“Pro-Hunters need to show their actual abilities during dangerous situations. You’ll get killed if you become scared and hesitate. Yeah, you, Um Ji-Cheok, you’ll be the first to die.”

The punk that had been so frightened of Ji-Cheok moments ago was now running his mouth.

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'Agh, he does have a point.’

Did that mean that Ru-Mi’s panicked voice coming from his blindfold had been all acting? If it had been truly an act, then she deserved to be an actor. It had felt way too real.

Of all the places, Ru-Mi was from the State Department, and there was nothing she couldn't do as a member of the national counterintelligence agency. As Ji-Cheok was deeply absorbed in his thoughts, the Hunter wearing glasses approached and offered her hand for a handshake.

“My name is Bang Jin-Ah. That was pretty amazing, what you did earlier. I’m sorry I didn’t help you then.”

She was referring to the moment where some Hunters were laughing at the employee harassed by La-Du. There had been other Hunters watching who didn’t have the courage to step up, and Jin-Ah was one of them.

Ring-

[Hunter Trainee A has sent you 1 Like.]

“I am Bang Jin-Woo, and the two of us are twins.” Next to Jin-Ah was another Hunter, and he also offered Ji-Cheok a handshake. He and Jin-Ah appeared to be identical twins, the only difference being that he didn’t wear glasses.

Ring- 

[Hunter Trainee B has sent you 1 Like.]

“My name is Um Ji-Cheok. As you probably know, I unintentionally made a commotion.”

He brazenly ignored La-Du, and La-Du’s face turned bright red in anger.

‘This guy has no social skills.’

It was painfully obvious that La-Du’s prestigious family had raised him to boss people around. His parents must have made him study Hunter skills and abilities, but it didn’t seem like he got any lessons on personality or morality.

La-Du shouted, “Hey, Yum-Ma!”

“Yes, hyung-nim![4].”

At the command of La-Du, the remaining Hunter promptly stood up. He was also part of the Yum family, but he didn’t have red hair. It meant he was a relative from a family branch, and Ji-Cheok remembered that he had been in the crowd that was laughing while La-Du harassed the employee.

At least one person ought to pass the exam in this group of five.

‘Huh, seems like he just called that guy ‘Yum-Ma’. [5]. Are there that many people who believe that Jung Man-Deuk’s grandchildren have become so successful because of the way he named them? Well, they ARE pretty popular.’

As La-Du was about to open the stone chamber doors, Jin-Woo shouted, “Hold on a second! Who knows what’s behind this door?”

“It’s better than being stuck in the same room as you bastards.”

From the start, teamwork seemed to have been thrown out the window.

As they opened the door, the stench of a monster entered the chamber.

A humanoid lizard was waiting for them outside. It was a lizardman.

Jin-Ah spoke, “A lizardman? This is ridiculous. It’s not remotely on the same level as a goblin. Even veteran Hunters would struggle to fight this monster.”

Ji-Cheok agreed.

Compared to a goblin, a lizardman was two times stronger and four times faster. Because it could perceive the surroundings through its skin, a lizardman was also eight times faster in dark caves with limited visibility.

‘I can’t believe they’re using this monster to test us, those crazy bastards.’

Roaaaaaaaar!

The lizardman rushed toward them.

“Very well! Come at me! Bring it on!” La-Du shouted.

Clang!

The cave erupted into flames as the two Yum family members blasted out their flames. At the same time, Ji-Cheok pulled out his dual blades and activated a skill to prevent the flames from touching him and the twins.

Slaaaaam!

* * *

‘A Dungeon Expansion?!’ Ji-Han thought to himself as he looked at the display in astonishment. The screen repeatedly made static noise and presented the situation in flickering black and white.

Just as hunters, monsters, and gods evolved, dungeons had been found to evolve as well. Existing monsters were relocated and were replaced by stronger ones. Maps grew more complicated, and better rewards were prepared to lure more explorers. For instance, beginner-level dungeons that accepted a lot of explorers and expanded into intermediate-level ones were more challenging and had better rewards compared to the dungeons that started off as intermediate. This phenomenon was later called ‘Dungeon Expansion’.

Well, humans in this day and age would not know about this phenomenon—except for Ji-Han.

The dungeon that Ji-Cheok had entered expanded straight away.

‘How am I supposed to make sense of this?’ Ji-Han pondered, and quickly scanned his distant memories. He still found no answer.

While the dungeon was in the process of expanding, the gate closed, and no one was able to enter from the outside.

‘It’s impossible to stop the exam.’

To survive, the Hunter Trainees would have no choice but to run away until the expansion ended or to destroy its core.

‘But is it possible for Um Ji-Cheok to do this?’

Ji-Cheok had never properly told Ji-Han his skills. On the surface, it looked like the younger brother with a horrible personality, Um Mu-Cheok, was protecting Ji-Cheok. But maybe Ji-Cheok was more scrupulous than Mu-Cheok.

‘Um Ji-Cheok is special and unique. He could be the key to the future…’ Ji-Han was right in thinking this. However, there was no guarantee that he would grow to be better, just like there was no guarantee that the dungeon expansion would turn out well either.

Ji-Han clenched his fists.

‘Please survive… if not…’

His nails dug so deep into his skin that they drew blood. He couldn’t afford to think about the pain, though, as he had a decision to make.

It was whether he wanted to stay and watch this distantly chaotic game board or go back again.

Until he got the answer he wanted, Ji-Han was going to stay ‘halted’ in his seat. It didn’t matter how much time passed, or how far the world moved forward.

He was going to wait until he reached the sole ending where humanity would survive.

1. 政武部: 정 (政) means government/ political affairs, 무 (武) means military, 부 (部) means division. ☜

2. Casual form of address used by a younger female for an older female ☜

3. 폭주 means to bombard an area in full force and refers to games similar to tower defense, where the player’s objective is to defeat the wave of monsters and then occupy the area. ☜

4. Means essentially the same as hyung, but more formal and respectful. ☜

5. Yum-Ma is a king who judges the good and evil of people who fall into hell. ☜

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