Chapter 162

Shwaaa! Shwaaa!

Chirp! Chirp chirp!

The sound of crashing waves and chirping birds was refreshingly clear.

The beach of a mysterious island in western India.

“Swoooosh!”

I took a long, deep breath.

“Hwoooo!”

And exhaled with all my might.

The fresh air cleansed my lungs before scattering into the void.

‘Ah, how sweet.’

I’d been to countless Dungeons.

Among them were rainforests and forests where elves lived.

But there was no place like Earth.

“Keuh.”

How could I forget this taste?

After going through countless Dungeons, you learn that even air has a taste.

“Hooah!”

I let out a breath, a mix of relief and regret.

Ah!

I shouted inwardly.

It’s finally over!

Back when there was a draft, was this how sergeants felt upon completing their service?

I savored the feeling of relief with my entire body.

Hyungs and Noonims of the Five Stars of Seoul!

This Joo Donghoon has finally done it.

I promised, didn’t I?

That I would do it, no matter what.

Not only did I do it, but I finished with excellent results!

Just as I was indulging in self-praise.

“Hoon!”

“Team leader!”

From far away.

My teammates came running.

Seeing them all gathered, it seemed they had been waiting for me to come out.

“Whoa, Hoon! Seeing as you’re the last one out, does that mean…! You filled up all five hours?”

Olena, who was the first to reach me, playfully narrowed her eyes.

“Wouldn’t he have? You know what kind of person our team leader is.”

“That’s right. We might be anywhere from Stage 1 to Stage 3. But the team leader at Stage 3? That would be a bit awkward, wouldn’t it?”

Maximilian and Myoi Hana, who arrived next, agreed.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

It was then that Vladimir’s brow furrowed.

“What do you take our team leader for? Only Stage 5? Nonsense! Don’t you dare judge our team leader’s limits! He’s someone who shatters those molds! Do you think he’s the type to clear only Stage 5 just because it’s the end?”

“Hey, that might be true, but I heard you were eliminated at Stage 3, Vladimir?”

“That’s me! The team leader is the team leader! Right, Team leader?”

He stared at me with fervent eyes.

The other team members also looked at me with an expectant gaze.

“Ha, haha.”

I scratched my head.

These people.

Even Stage 5 was an unbelievable score, yet they were acting as if I were some kind of ‘god.’

‘But.’

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

In fact, it was quite nice.

Their actions went beyond just acknowledging me.

It was the kind of behavior that could only come from looking up to someone.

Hunters are, by nature, bundles of pride.

It gets even worse the higher up the ranks you go.

Even just at A-rank.

That was a level an ordinary person could never reach.

Besides, they weren’t just any hunters.

They were all ranker candidates who had been acknowledged by the five rankers.

Judgment Spear Zhang Wei, in particular, was the Spear King’s disciple.

And Olena was the top student from Oxford.

People who had lived diligently.

People who had lived lives without shame in their respective fields.

For such people to be looking up to me, of course it felt good.

“Whoa!”

Olena exclaimed.

“Look at that arrogant head scratch! And he’s not even denying it! This is real! This is real, everyone! I think Vladimir was right!”

“Really?”

“See, right? What did I tell you! That’s our team leader! Hey, Team leader! So what’s above Stage 5! Stage 10? Or Stage 20?”

Right.

Let’s admit it.

That I’m an amazing guy.

As long as I’m the team leader of our class.

And as long as my teammates are amazing.

I just need to become an even greater being.

That’s the path for them, too.

“Haha, what are you talking about? I just held on as best I could. Well, anyway, everyone.”

I said.

“You all worked hard. I mean it.”

At that, they all dropped their playful expressions.

And smiled at the same time.

“That’s right, we worked hard.”

Judgment Spear Zhang Wei nodded his head, pleased.

“You worked hard.”

I had beaten 50 other candidates.

And achieved the number one record in the history of the trials.

‘I did.’

The one who was a perennial E-rank hunter, this Joo Donghoon.

Everyone had looked down on me.

I lived by doing odd jobs for a low-tier mercenary guild.

Even when I went out to an empty lot to train, the guild officials thought I was just a man living with a futile dream.

But not anymore.

Now, I can proudly tell the world.

That I truly worked hard.

That this result was earned through real pain and real hardship.

“We’ll all be rankers now, right?”

Olena smiled brightly.

“Did you know? Everyone, check your phones. In American time, it’ll be the new year soon.”

The new year.

A festival for hunters.

The day those who shed their minor status and become adults receive a new ‘Unique Ability.’

And.

The day the World Ranking Board undergoes a massive change.

“You all know, right? The board. Normally, it changes for a moment whenever someone dies, and skill levels are reflected a little at the beginning of the month… but at the start of the year, it gets completely overturned.”

“Of course, I know. The new year’s change is a total cataclysm.”

“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it. A ranker! Me, a ranker…!”

My comrades’ faces flushed red.

Thump-thump.

My own heart was pounding.

A ranker.

My dream, which I had cherished in my heart for three years.

“Hehe, I should get going.”

The middle-aged Maximilian said.

“The end of the year should be spent with family. My daughter is waiting.”

“Wow, Uncle Maximilian. You have a daughter?”

Vladimir’s eyes shot up in surprise.

“Did I not mention it? I have two.”

“Well, your face does look like you’d have about two daughters?”

“Hahaha, you’re joking.”

“I’m not joking. Anyway, I should get going too. My gang members might be crying their eyes out without their boss.”

Vladimir glanced at me.

“Anyway, let’s definitely meet again if we get the chance. Especially you, Team leader. Okay?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

And so, one by one.

Promising to meet again, they left.

Maximilian, Vladimir, Capu, and Myoi Hana used spatial magic to move beyond the island.

Only Olena, Judgment Spear Zhang Wei, and I remained on the island.

‘I should.’

Go back, too.

I had to look after the Dmir Workshop, which I hadn’t been able to pay attention to.

I also had to sort out the things I hadn’t had a chance to look back on while only focusing on growing stronger.

Bone Eight, who had been unsealed but whom I hadn’t paid attention to.

Kayden and Dana, who had awakened this time.

New skills.

And training with the Elder.

And so on, and so on.

There was a mountain of things to organize.

Just as I was calculating things in my head.

Swish!

I felt someone’s presence behind me.

“Heup!”

I unknowingly gasped.

An absolutely overwhelming presence.

‘Who is it?’

Was an examiner waiting or something?

Both Olena and I.

Sensing the presence, we were turning around with tense expressions when.

“Master.”

Judgment Spear Zhang Wei respectfully clasped his fist in his palm.

“How did you come all this way?”

Huh.

If it’s Judgment Spear Zhang Wei’s master?

My eyes widened as I watched the being slowly walking over.

The black-haired elder holding a spear was as mysterious as an immortal.

“My god, that person is…!”

Olena exclaimed in shock.

“The leader of the Immortal Society and the world’s 10th-ranked Spear King, Chen Ziyi?”

That was right.

Known to the entire world.

One of the ten strongest people on Earth.

“……”

I marveled inwardly.

Was it true that you see as much as you know?

In the past, all rankers seemed amazing.

Having finally grown, I realized how ridiculous that judgment was.

Like an ant looking at a lantern and the sun, unable to judge which was brighter.

I truly knew nothing.

‘Indeed, an incredible person.’

His every movement was flawless.

And the energy he contained was so immense that it was enough to take my breath away.

“Hmm?”

Did he sense me?

The Spear King’s brow furrowed.

“A ranker I’ve not seen before. Who might you be?”

He asked me.

…Excuse me?

A ranker?

They were just words from the Spear King, but why was my heart fluttering so much?

“Are you perhaps here to find a disciple as well? Or are you one of the examiners Delilah sometimes hires?”

That’s right.

The great Spear King didn’t think of me as a candidate.

He was seeing me as an equal to the examiners.

“Master! That’s not it, he is a new friend I’ve made! He was a candidate from the same class as me.”

“…A candidate? Not an examiner, but a ranker candidate, you say?”

The Spear King’s brow furrowed even more.

Hmm.

From what I could tell.

That look was a bit similar to my Ten Thousand Arts Elder.

A gaze hungry for talent.

No, going even further.

Was it a feeling mixed with a hint of jealousy?

“That is correct, Master. He was truly a formidable man. This disciple…! I have much to tell you when we return.”

“To think that you, with your reserved nature, would acknowledge him to such an extent…?”

Chen Ziyi’s mysterious eyes scanned me.

Unlike Judgment Spear Zhang Wei, who judged murderers and hated evil.

His master’s eyes were somewhat reminiscent of a snake.

A slightly creepy feeling?

“That is correct. My friend also uses a spear, and while it was quite different from our Pear Blossom Spear, it was certainly strong. There was much to learn.”

“Hoh?”

The corners of the Spear King’s mouth twisted in interest.

Shwooooosh!

He raised his spear.

A golden spear that looked extremely expensive.

“I’m curious.”

Kugoong!

In an instant, an incredible aura erupted from his body.

“Master?”

Judgment Spear Zhang Wei was slightly flustered.

“Hmm.”

I, too, frowned.

It was all well and good, but this was too sudden.

Appearing out of nowhere and pointing a spear at me?

No matter how world-famous a ranker he was.

Isn’t this too rude?

“Master. What is this…!”

“Be quiet.”

“Pardon?”

“The Pear Blossom Spear is the strongest spear art on the continent. However, the spear art you have learned has not yet properly matured… Shouldn’t we correct that before moving on?”

The words were difficult, but the conclusion was simple.

Our Pear Blossom Spear is the best.

So come at me again.

I’ll make you realize the difference in our levels.

Isn’t that what he was saying?

“Hoo…”

I let out a shallow breath.

No matter how strong the opponent, things were different now.

I wouldn’t avoid a challenge.

Just as I was about to raise my spear.

Thududududu….

The sound of propellers echoed in the sky.

“Oh, oh? Look over there!”

Olena, who had been watching, pointed at the sky.

The helicopter in the sky had the ‘Baekdon’ mark on it.

And a figure was jumping down from it.

“Kuhahahahaha!”

With a broad grin.

“That old skewer man must have gone crazy in his old age!”

Swhooooosh!

A fancy gauntlet was fitted onto the fist of the man who was plummeting faster than the speed of gravity.

“You’re ranked 10th in the world, and what is this disgraceful behavior? Leave the kids alone and fight me!”

KWAAAAANG!

His fist slammed into the ground.

Dudududu….

Just from that, the ground shook as if there were an earthquake, and dust billowed up.

“Crazy…”

Olena was horrified.

“What the… a crater formed.”

A large hole, 20 meters in diameter, had formed where he landed.

“That person is…”

“I’ve mentioned him before, right? He’s the Berserker. It seems he came to pick me up.”

I scratched my head.

Honestly, I was surprised.

I was grateful enough that he had recommended me, but for him to come all this way to pick me up.

“Berserker.”

World Rank 20.

Berserker Jang Daewoong.

Looking at the man, the Spear King muttered.

“Yo, Elder Chen Ziyi. Nice to see you?”

“You’re as rude as ever.”

“The old geezer is the ruder one. Pointing a weapon at another country’s ranker in a foreign land out of the blue. Don’t you know that’s grounds for an international dispute?”

“Hmph, is that child your disciple?”

“Disciple, my ass. He’s just a younger brother.”

“Younger brother…”

“Anyway!”

KWAANG!

The Berserker slammed his fist into the ground once more.

“You know I don’t back down, no matter how strong you are, elder, right? If you want to fight, fight me! The new year is just around the corner, so this is perfect. Let’s shock the world with a huge ranking shift!”

“……”

The Spear King wrinkled his brow.

Somehow.

It wasn’t that he was lacking in skill.

It was more of a look that said he wanted to avoid a crazy person.

“Kuhahahahaha! What’s with that face! You scared? Are you scared!”

“……”

I stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

Hey, Daewoong Hyung.

You told me you couldn’t even beat rank 19, so why are you acting like this?

“Those words…”

It was then that the Spear King’s gaze turned icy cold.

“Do you mean it?”

Shwooooosh.

He raised his spear.

At the same time, he muttered.

“That statement. I can take that as a declaration of war against the Immortal Society, correct?”

“……”

I sighed inwardly.

What is this?

Why are things turning out like this again as soon as I get outside?