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Chapter 05
Bang!!!
The moment Woo-hyun kicked off the ground, a sound like a bullet being fired rang out.
His speed as he dashed toward the goblin surpassed even the limits of the stats shown on his status window.
Ability.
The magic manipulation technique invented by Yoo Se-rin, future member of Korea’s Ten Greats and a genius without equal.
Ability was divided into three main stages:
Condense, Release, Manifest.
Stage 1 – Condense.
The secret art of Condense gathered mana into the body, amplifying human physical abilities.
Tat-tatatat!!!
Just by condensing mana into his legs, Woo-hyun could run at twice the speed of what his agility stat should have allowed.
Stage 2 – Release.
The secret art of Release allowed one to fire mana from the soles of their feet, letting them leap off the sky, the ground, the sea—anywhere at all.
Whoosh!!!
At point-blank range with the goblin, Woo-hyun used the technique. His body soared into the air.
Ki-reuk?
The goblin hurriedly lifted its head, trying to follow Woo-hyun’s sudden movement.
Stage 3 – Manifest.
The secret art of Manifest turned intangible mana into solid form.
Fwoooom—
In that instant, Woo-hyun’s longsword began to glow faintly with a crimson light.
(Is this my limit from mana depletion…)
Slash!!!
Thump—
When Woo-hyun spun once in the air and landed on the ground—
Thud—roll roll—
The goblin’s head had been cleanly severed and rolled across the floor.
“Haa…”
[Clear!]
<Some time later, in the waiting room>
Having passed the second stage of the individual practical exam, Woo-hyun rested in the waiting room.
(Now all that’s left is finding decent teammates…)
After clearing the individual stage, what remained was the group practical.
Once every player’s solo stage was complete, the waiting room was no different from a wilderness.
Who would be the most helpful?
Who would be dead weight?
That was the only thing filling the examinees’ minds. Woo-hyun’s thoughts were no exception.
(A 2-man match has less risk than a 4-man one.)
Woo-hyun was confident in his own skill.
The reason was simple.
In the group practical, there was no risk of sudden mana depletion events.
Which meant Woo-hyun could fight at 100% capacity—and frankly, that made it possible for him to solo-carry.
So instead of seeking someone to help him, he aimed to avoid anyone who would drag him down.
His mindset was simple: just avoid useless teammates. That was why Woo-hyun decided to choose the 2-man group battle over the 4-man one.
The chances of ending up with a trash teammate were lower that way.
And even if he did, at least it would only be one person—something he could manage somehow.
The 30-minute break before the group practical was also the time given to form teams.
So everyone wandered the waiting room, advertising themselves and forming groups here and there.
Woo-hyun was about to join in that flow when—
Tap tap—
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, only to be utterly shocked.
(What the hell are you doing here…?)
The one who had tapped him was none other than Yoo Se-rin, the future member of Korea’s Ten Greats and peerless mana genius.
Compared to the rookies Woo-hyun had met in the first round at Okasio’s Dungeon, Se-rin was on a completely different level.
If Yoo Se-rin had ascended to the rank of Ten Greats within just a few years of her debut, then those three idiots from the first round weren’t even worthy of being called rookies.
(I knew Se-rin debuted around this time… but I didn’t expect her to be in the same batch as me.)
While Woo-hyun was still reeling from the sight of her, Se-rin spoke first.
“Teach me that thing you just did.”
Though she said it bluntly, Woo-hyun immediately knew what “that thing” was.
(So she recognized Ability, huh? As expected of a genius.)
He figured someone called the genius of mana wouldn’t have trouble identifying it. After all, Ability was something she herself would create and distribute in the first round.
Others probably assumed the technique Woo-hyun used was a Gift and didn’t care. But Se-rin was different—she had recognized it for what it was.
“And you are…?”
When Woo-hyun replied, Se-rin realized belatedly that she hadn’t introduced herself.
“Yoo Se-rin.”
Of course, Woo-hyun already knew her name, but he couldn’t reveal that, so he asked formally and gave his own answer.
“I’m Cheon Woo-hyun. But suddenly asking me to teach you—teach you what, exactly?”
Feigning ignorance, Woo-hyun made her clarify.
“The mana techniques you used earlier. All three of them.”
(She figured out all three stages of Ability? She really is a monster. Even those who’ve trained in it often can’t tell if it’s Ability or a Gift…)
Woo-hyun was honestly shocked by her insight.
In the first round, he’d only ever heard rumors of her monstrous talent. But now, seeing her in person in the second round, he could feel it firsthand.
“Why should I? That’s a technique I created myself.”
And so, Woo-hyun shamelessly lied—to the very creator of Ability.
His bold words made Se-rin flinch, then purse her lips in confusion.
(So the rumors about her lacking social skills were true…)
Se-rin was a stunning beauty, a genius of frightening talent, and came from an extraordinary background.
After all, she was the only daughter of Daehyun Group’s chairman.
But she didn’t have everything—most notably, she lacked social skills.
Normally, if you wanted something from someone, you’d offer something in return and try to persuade them.
But Se-rin had barged in without offering anything, simply demanding he teach her.
(What, you thought you could just take the Ability I worked so hard to make? Not happening, not even over my dead body!)
There’s a saying: to deceive your enemies, you must first deceive yourself.
Woo-hyun dove headfirst into self-delusion, convincing even himself that he was the creator of Ability.
And at that moment, Se-rin asked, “Then what do you want in exchange?”
Woo-hyun boldly pointed a finger at her.
“You.”
Se-rin blinked, tilting her head, before finally seeming to realize—she crossed her arms over her chest and muttered softly:
“Pervert.”
But her expression didn’t look like she was accusing him of being one. It was more like the mechanical reaction of a trained robot.
Woo-hyun sighed and clarified, “Not like that. I mean, let’s team up for the group stage.”
“Team?”
Seeing her interest spark, Woo-hyun explained:
“You recognized the Ability, which means you definitely have talent. So let’s team up for the 2-man third stage. Since you’ve seen me use Ability, you know I’m not dead weight. It’s not a bad offer.”
Se-rin nodded slightly, seeming to agree.
“If we team up, you’ll teach me that Ability, right?”
“I can’t teach you everything, but I’ll show you the core principles. That should be enough, don’t you think?”
“Fine. If I know the principles, I can figure out the rest quickly anyway.”
Woo-hyun was floored again—what had taken him three years to master, she claimed she could reconstruct just from the core ideas. Truly, she was a once-in-a-generation talent.
“Let’s do well together, Miss Yoo Se-rin.”
He extended his hand. She grasped it firmly.
“Alright. Mr. Cheon Woo-hyun.”
<Some time later, in the arena>
When their turn came, Woo-hyun and Se-rin stepped onto the stage.
(My body feels light. The difference mana makes is huge.)
He loosened up with a few stretches while Se-rin looked up at the scoreboard.
Clatter—
When both of them signaled their readiness to the staff, the employee pressed a button and the roulette began spinning.
It stopped on—“Boss Spawn.”
“Ah…”
Seeing it, Se-rin couldn’t help but sigh.
Boss Spawn, which appeared only 5% of the time, meant an E-rank monster would appear.
Players and monsters were ranked from F to S, seven tiers in total. The gap between each rank was enormous.
Player rank was based on the world ranking system, which judged their overall ability.
F-rank players were those ranked between 10 millionth and 1,000,001st place.
E-rank players were between 1,000,000th and 100,001st place.
Each tier increased by powers of ten, making the gaps vast. Monster ranks corresponded 1-to-1 with player ranks.
Simply put, an E-rank monster equaled an E-rank player in power.
For examinees who had just awakened and were basically F-rank bottom-tier, being told to fight and defeat an E-rank monster was nearly impossible.
Examinees were clearly somewhere near 10 millionth place. An E-rank monster would be at least 1 millionth place or higher.
That meant the enemy before them was theoretically ten times stronger.
So even Yoo Se-rin, genius of geniuses, could only sigh in despair.
Boss Spawn was practically designed to be unbeatable—which was why its appearance rate was only 5%.
And yet, Woo-hyun and Se-rin’s team had just hit that 5%.
