The association had deceived us. They said it was virtual reality, but when I opened my eyes, all I saw was a pitch-black space dotted with lights for visibility, like stars. It felt as though I had been thrown into a galaxy.
I had expected a space with some structures like the first monthly evaluation at Supreme High, but this was on the level of being trapped in a room of time and mind. Disappointed with what was less than expected, I soon understood the association's situation.
If they had built a detailed and standardized space, there would surely be strategy guides floating around. If they weren't planning to exhaust labor and costs by creating new virtual realities for each test, then providing just the space as they did now might have been the wise choice.
Putting my disappointment aside, I summoned the familiar white staff I always carried.
As I meticulously recalled every little detail, the staff materialized in my palm, and at the same time, a blue notification window popped up.
[The test will start in 3 seconds.]
"That's quick."
There was no reason to give a long preparation time, but this was too short. I only had 3 seconds to mentally prepare and be on guard. I would have been flustered and panicked before, but thanks to my experience in supporting the rifts, my adaptability had increased, allowing me to remain calm in sudden situations.
After 3 seconds, a beep, resembling tinnitus, spread throughout the space. Then, dozens of Irregulars began to materialize about 10 meters away from me.
It had been a very long time since I saw an Irregular.
"Kieeek!"
The newly formed creatures screamed realistically. The antennae on their heads twitched with their cries.
Wormman.
It was the first time I saw them since the placement test.
"Is this a regular at such evaluations?"
The first time I saw them was during the placement test, and now we meet again during the grade test. It seemed they were regularly used Irregulars for assessing abilities. Remembering them brought back memories, despite their grotesque appearance, and one of the Wormmen charged at me.
That signaled the beginning of the fight.
Thud!
"Kieek!"
Gone were the days of cowering helplessly behind a shield. Swinging the staff as a blunt weapon and striking at the Wormmen's weak spot, their heads, I utilized both the jeweled part of the staff and its pointed end effectively, managing to knock them down without the need for skills. Conserving mana, I dealt with them purely through physical force and finished off the last of the forty-odd Wormmen.
"Kruruk..."
The creature foamed at the mouth and collapsed. I wiped off the splatter on my face with disgust and surveyed the area. Dozens of Irregulars lay dead or broken.
The daily duels with Haewoon at Supreme High had paid off here.
Ssssst.
A mechanical buzzing sound followed, and the bodies of the Wormmen disappeared. Simultaneously, the cuts and piercings on my body began to heal.
I had refrained from using healing skills on purpose, believing the wounds could be endured without treatment. After the last Irregular was defeated, my injuries healed cleanly, and I gripped the staff tightly.
[The battle will begin. 3, 2, 1….]
There was no long rest or leisure time. As soon as I recovered, the next wave of Irregulars started to appear.
Silver-furred warning-level Irregulars.
Werewolves.
Upon being hit once, they transform from wolves into werewolves, showing much stronger attack power, making them slightly below sub-hazard level in terms of danger.
About twenty summoned creatures had a number displayed above their heads.
‘1/2’
It seemed that after dealing with this many, another twenty werewolves would be summoned in the same manner.
"So, it's really starting now."
It was indeed a monster wave. I stretched, preparing myself, and infused the staff with mana. Still at stage two, it was crucial to avoid using too much mana to prevent depletion of mental strength.
I must finish quickly.
From the beginning to the end, that was all I aimed for.
As I infused about 30% of my mana, the jewel on the staff turned blue. I dodged the beasts' charge and ascended into the air. It was a shield platform.
Having used it several times, it had now specialized into a skill I could apply. Lacking flight abilities, the werewolves howled and circled below where I had ascended, all in wolf form.
"This scene feels familiar."
The shadow world came to mind, making me dizzy.
I couldn't give them a chance to transform into werewolves. Right now, they were mere beasts, but as werewolves, they could easily leap to the platform I was on.
Woom, woom.
The blue-changed staff vibrated.
Drawing a deep breath, my clear eyes flashed.
Dozens of water droplets appeared in the air, sharply freezing into ice fragments. Precisely twenty ice shards transformed and suspended in the air, ready to be directed at the closely packed werewolves below.
One by one, the shards resembling a person's torso poured down on the wolves, sounding like a hailstorm. The werewolves' cries filled the space.
Thump, thump, thump!
The homemade ice shards cleanly pierced the wolves' hearts. Watching the silver fur turn red from above the shield platform, I ensured no creature was stirring before recalling the fragments. To save mana, I needed to use the already summoned shards for the second round.
As the shards were withdrawn, the dead wolves twitched and rose again, their wounds healing, ready to fight anew. I was shocked but then noticed the blue number change.
‘2/2’
It was the start of the second round.
***
[The battle begins. 3, 2, 1….]
"It's ridiculously tough…."
Logically, as the rank goes up, the number of entities should decrease, but I don't understand why there are more instead. After finishing the werewolf fight and engaging in a near-danger class battle with the centaurs, a total of four waves struck. I thought it would proceed to the second round just like in the warning class, where all summoned centaurs died in the first, but after only hitting three, fifteen more were summoned, marking the joint start of the first and second rounds. For Kang Sihyun, it was death incarnate by then.
Thus, seventy centaurs were killed over four rounds. There were forty wormmen and forty werewolves, so there should have been forty centaurs too, but suddenly their numbers had inexplicably jumped. Unlike during the werewolf fight, where a constant number of entities appeared, the numbers showing up in the third and fourth rounds of centaurs were different.
Thanks to this, Kang Sihyun, who had to use mana evenly for attack and healing, sensed that his concentration had dropped from the beginning. Mana was automatically recovered after the battle, but mental strength was not. That was why he fought the battle with as little mana usage as possible.
Despite finishing the battle with just under 60% of his mana, his eyes were sore. Even if his physical condition recovered, the accumulated psychological fatigue made him feel sluggish. Kang Sihyun forced his unwilling body to move and straightened up. This was the last test.
An unexpected Irregular materialized in the virtual space as he waited for the creature to be summoned at the danger level.
A body as big as a house and six legs. An enormous body with surprisingly agile speed to boot.
Danger-level Irregular, Dusk Spider.
It was the creature he had faced alongside Baek Geonu in the first end-of-month evaluation.
"...This is going to be tough."
It seemed a bit too much to handle even one, but three Dusk Spiders were summoned. The gap between near-danger and danger levels was as vast as heaven and earth. Just as Kraken and Titan had shown an overwhelming difference. Hence, this time, although a massive number of Irregulars did not pour out, the problem was the number floating above the Dusk Spiders' heads.
'1/6'
It was as if it said, "Try fighting a danger-level opponent and die."
Until now, Kang Sihyun had somewhat underestimated A-grade Awakened affiliated with the association. Facing the test, he realized that reaching A-grade was not something easily attainable. He had thought their level was low because they were of no help and only suffered, but it seemed the level of Titan and the Shadow World was just excessively high.
- Sssssh!
The summoned creatures quickly surrounded Kang Sihyun. Being encircled by three huge Irregulars, large enough to easily surpass a house, was immensely intimidating. Swallowing his saliva due to the instinctive fear of being crushed to death, Kang Sihyun gathered all his depleted mental strength and focused on the battle.
He had to bring out every trick in the book. Deciding to use mana without sparing any, Kang Sihyun swung his staff.
In the current situation, he had to show the most effective and powerful attack. As he poured mana into his staff, water gushed out, soaking the Dusk Spiders. It was still not enough.
Needing more water, Kang Sihyun, who had copied the flight buff, lifted his body into the air. From there, he created a barrier towards the ground, limiting the space where the Dusk Spiders could roam. Enclosing them in a square space, Kang Sihyun used 40% of his mana to fill that space with water.
The area, slightly less than 30 pyeong, brimmed over with blue water.
Ssssshh!
The angry Dusk Spiders climbed the walls. Anticipating this, Kang Sihyun carefully watched their movements and struck each of their legs with ice shards as they attempted to climb.
Despite being hit with fairly large shards, the legs of the Dusk Spiders did not break. They faltered for a moment but then attempted to climb again with persistence. Kang Sihyun consistently poured out shards. It was when the water had filled half of the space inside the barrier.
"Now."
Kang Sihyun snapped his fingers after gathering his mana.
Rumble.
A chilling thunder sound echoed in the cloudless space. Caught off guard, Kang Sihyun froze the walls of the barrier. The Dusk Spiders slipped several times due to the moisture as they tried to climb.
Splash, splash.
The moment the three creatures attempted to climb and fell into the water simultaneously. Kang Sihyun seized this brief opportunity and flicked his wrist.
The sky roared, and a
blinding light flashed, forcing him to close his eyes.
The lightning of Zeus.
Using water attribute ability along with it had no better synergy.
Ssssshh!
The screams of the Dusk Spiders became a funeral song for their dying comrades.
The subsequent battles proceeded in a similar manner. Though it was a method that drastically drained mana, it was the fastest and most overwhelming way to end the battles, so Kang Sihyun did not spare his mana usage in the second and third rounds with the Dusk Spiders. Thus, there were moments when he ran out of mana, but he used his last copy to replicate Haewoon's mana recovery buff, allowing him to enjoy infinite time and avert crisis for 10 minutes.
Then, Kang Sihyun realized anew that the copy skill was a game-changer. Being able to use a skill without mana consumption and without being bound by the cooldown of the copied skill was definitely rare.
Each battle took roughly 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Fighting with the mindset that it was the last battle, he didn't mind the consumption of mental strength, so the battles ended quicker than with the centaurs.
After the copy time of Zeus's lightning ended, Kang Sihyun barely finished the battle and saw the last Dusk Spider shiver and then stop moving, collapsing onto the spot.
"I'm going to die…."
His breath was so ragged that even his groans were intermittently cut off.
His mana was completely depleted. So were his physical and mental strength.
Sitting on the ground and catching his breath, a blue window popped up.
[The test has ended.]
[Total time used: 00:59:55]
He barely did not exceed 1 hour. Considering he had killed a total of 168 Irregulars, it was a fast record. Thinking he might beat Haewoon and even receive an A-grade, he was smiling when the last notification filled his vision.
[The grade evaluation has been completed.]
[Kang Sihyun's awakening grade is ‘B+’.]
"...What?"
A dumbfounded voice leaked out. This was unexpected.
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