Chapter 137
Silence hung heavy in the air.
Theme 3 had finally begun.
The first and second Themes had been no joke, so tension filled my comrades’ faces.
Zhang Wei and Capu looked serious and composed.
Myoi Hana and Olena clenched their fists, staring at Luka with nervous expressions.
Even the usually boisterous Maximilian and Vladimir stopped talking and stood beside me.
“……”
Tension slowly mounted in the silence.
‘Well, it’s understandable.’
Fifty people had participated in Theme 1.
Thirty passed.
And now, after Theme 2, only seven remained.
Only two of the six Themes presented by Delilah had ended, yet 86% of the participants had been eliminated.
Logically, it was an absurd level of difficulty.
“First.”
After a moment, Luka spoke.
“Before explaining Theme 3, I would like to personally express my respect to you all.”
Swish!
With his sword held respectfully at his waist, Luka bowed lightly.
“You are the greatest examinees in the history of trials. You are Dragon Slayers who have taken down dragons that most Rankers have never even seen, and in terms of achievements alone, it is no exaggeration to say that you have already reached the ranks of Rankers.”
Ranker.
Hearing that word made my heart race for some reason.
This wasn’t some ordinary hunter talking about Rankers.
This was recognition from a Ranker standing at the highest level.
A true Ranker, in every sense of the word.
“……”
Pride swelled inside me.
How much effort had I put in?
How much had I suffered?
The result of charging forward with a single goal—becoming a Ranker—was now visible right in front of me.
I was within arm’s reach.
“If you’re praising us as the greatest resource, it’s all thanks to Team leader.”
Myoi Hana spoke confidently.
“Honestly, we couldn’t have achieved this without Team leader. Everyone agrees, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I agree.”
“I agree. Hoon was the one who released the Great Demon Dragon. Hoon also contributed the most in the battles.”
“Well, it’s obvious. There’s no point in saying it.”
The silence broke.
Before I knew it, the tension on their faces had faded.
As they praised me—
as they recalled what we’d gone through—they shook off the creeping unease.
“Hey, don’t all do that.”
I smiled.
“Anyone would think I did it all by myself.”
It wasn’t humility.
Just as they relied on me, I had relied on them, too.
“Hey, that’s right. Come to think of it, why do we need to be scared?”
Vladimir laughed.
“Besides the fact that we took down that terrifying dragon, we already survived after getting our hearts pierced. Hahaha!”
With his laughter, the tense air gradually softened.
All the team members looked at one another and rekindled their enthusiasm.
“Hmm……”
Luka looked around at us, then gave a faint smile.
“That’s certainly an enviable friendship. That’s right. I admit it. There was emotion in your story. It was wonderful.”
For once, his expression wasn’t stiff. It was gentle.
He nodded.
“As a sunbae who has walked the path of trials before, I feel admiration and pride. Therefore—”
Sssst!
Luka returned the sword he had been holding respectfully to his side.
Whoosh!
Even that simple movement stirred the air around him.
“Hoping you will continue to show such an appearance, I will announce the following.”
“Announce?”
Vladimir echoed.
Luka nodded.
“First. From now on, you will be one team until all six Themes are over. Also, you cannot kill each other. In other words, the rule that allowed you to kill each other at the beginning is abolished.”
“We can’t kill each other even if we wanted to now……”
Olena muttered quietly.
“This means the competition system is completely eliminated. Also, if the Themes so far have been a process of selecting Ranker candidates, then from now on, it will be a full-fledged process of becoming a Ranker.”
Thud!
The sky rippled black.
It was Luka’s gesture.
Thud thud!
A black pit, like a black hole, began to open, swallowing the space.
Grip!
I instinctively clenched my fist.
Finally.
Was it really starting in earnest?
‘I thought about it earlier.’
That I would soon become a Ranker.
That I would soon achieve my dream.
‘But.’
Dreams get renewed. They change depending on the situation.
In the end, my dream had been adjusted upward.
[Rank 1, ???]
That place that existed as a question mark.
There’s a saying: if a man draws his sword, he should at least slice a radish.
The radish had already been sliced.
So do I just slice it and leave it?
No. I have to cook it into something delicious and sweet.
For me, that dish was Rank 1.
‘Yeah. I, Joo Donghoon, said it.’
There is no such thing as impossible in this world.
Come to think of it, I’d achieved everything people would’ve called impossible.
Unbeaten in all battles.
I didn’t avoid difficult paths. I challenged them, endured them, and won.
‘So from now on, too.’
I won’t back down.
I’ll challenge boldly.
And I’ll win.
Just as I was firming my resolve—
“You don’t have to worry too much. From now on, there won’t be any dangerous situations that could cost you your lives. Of course, that doesn’t mean the trials will be easy.”
Thud!
The space began to be rewoven.
The blackness writhed and shaped something new.
A floor formed, then walls, then a ceiling.
“It simply means that if you face a situation where your life is in danger, Delilah will take separate measures. Talents must be protected.”
Thud thud thud!
The new place was a secret room.
A white space of unknown origin.
“Then, I wish you good luck.”
Theme 3 began.
—
“Hmm.”
In the secret room, after Luka disappeared, silence settled.
The first to speak was Vladimir.
“This situation… it’s like Theme 1, right? The judges pretend to explain and then disappear. An unfriendly game with no messages or anything.”
“Hoo, I think you’ve got it exactly.”
Olena looked around and sighed deeply.
“Besides, this space is pretty cramped. It doesn’t look like there’s anything to investigate.”
Whirr!
She waved her staff, and water gushed out.
The stream spread and struck the walls, but nothing changed.
“It’s just an empty room. The size is roughly… a wide open space? I think the first floor of our Magic Tower is about this size……”
Tension began to circulate again.
Gulp.
I could hear people swallowing.
It’s usually more nerve-wracking to wait like this, not knowing anything, than to have a ferocious monster right in front of you.
“Hey? Isn’t your Magic Tower the best in the world? It’s that small?”
Vladimir spoke up.
It was small talk meant to ease the tension.
Olena looked slightly taken aback.
“Hey, this is at least fifty pyeong… That’s pretty big!”
“Hey, if a world-class Magic Tower is fifty pyeong… is that big…?”
“Uh-huh? Can you say that in front of our teacher?”
Just as Olena was about to put her hands on her hips—
“Wait.”
Capu interrupted.
Everyone’s eyes turned to him.
Ooh.
As expected of Capu.
His eyes were glowing green.
He must be using the SS-class artificial lenses he got this time.
“Why! Why! Do you see something?”
Olena asked.
“What’s going on?”
“Wow, Capu. Again? When there’s no answer, Capu always has the answers!”
Maximilian and Vladimir leaned in, too.
But Capu looked around with his green eyes, then frowned.
“Damn it.”
Urgency sharpened his voice.
“It’s a trap.”
An unexpected warning.
“Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“A trap? You’re saying it’s a trap when we haven’t even done anything?”
The members tilted their heads, confused.
I tensed and lowered my stance.
“It’s not a trap in the usual sense. It’s an activation device—something’s about to fire. Defenses up! Now!”
Capu shouted.
Everyone looked doubtful, but they followed his words.
Whirr!
Olena unfolded a Water Shield.
Thud! Thud thud thud!
I summoned Bone Four’s Legion and surrounded the group.
Everyone looked curious, but no one panicked.
By instinct, they did what they had to do.
“Capu.”
Standing at the center, I spoke.
“Preparations are done. Explain.”
“The device will activate in about ten seconds.”
“Ten seconds?”
“Damn it, you’ll see. It’s going to fire something, but I don’t know exactly. It’s too complicated and there’s too much!”
Hmm.
Ten seconds was too short.
I clicked my tongue.
“Then we respond on instinct. Move according to the situation.”
There was no other choice.
There wasn’t enough time to form a strategy.
At that moment—
[Ding!]
[The 7 participants have become one team.]
[Team Name – ‘Dragon Slayer’]
[This is the team name set by Delilah for this batch.]
“Team name?”
“Hoo, I don’t know what it is. But I’ve got a feeling we’ll have to cooperate again this time.”
[Mission is arriving.]
[Stage: Field of Avoidance.]
[From now on, the ‘Dragon Slayer’ team must cooperate with each other and endure in this space as much as possible.]
[When the game starts, various ‘objects’ will be fired.]
[The moment the body touches the fired ‘object’, that person is eliminated.]
[If everyone is eliminated, the game ends. Team contribution is calculated according to the score.]
[Rewards are obtained according to contribution.]
“What is this again.”
“So… hmm. Is it basically a bullet-dodging game?”
I muttered.
Bullet-dodging game.
A game that had been briefly popular in Korea when I was a minor.
It was also called a dodge game.
Since you had to dodge bullets using only physical ability in a blocked space, it was known to be extremely difficult.
“Bullet-dodging game? What is that!”
“There is such a thing. Um, anyway… wait. Everyone, be careful!”
Clang!
A section of the wall in the white room flipped open.
[Stage 1 begins.]
At the same time—
Thwoom! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thwoom! Thump!
Slow-moving spheres fired out from the wall.
“Oh, oh oh?”
Olena panicked and shifted her shield.
But the shield didn’t block the spheres.
They passed through it, drifting forward, and headed straight for her.
“Kyaa!”
Flustered, Olena fell backward.
“Get a grip!”
I shouted.
“Everyone, don’t use skills! Don’t try to hit them! Dodge with your physical skills as much as possible, got it?”
“Just dodge with physical skills?”
“Everyone, spread out! You’ll trip each other up if you bunch together! While Stage 1 is manageable, secure your positions!”
“No, I… what kind of trial is this.”
The team members followed my lead.
Compared to everything we’d faced so far, it might have felt absurd.
‘But what can I do?’
If they tell you to do it, you do it.
We were participants. Delilah decided the trial.
“First, find a spot. We’ll think while we dodge.”
I found a place nearby.
I had already reverse-summoned Bone Four Legion.
“What’s the best way to handle this from here on out?”