The Hero Returns

When Su-hyeun entered the building and began to move separately for reexamination, everyone who waiting for Su-hyeun lost their purpose. Kim Seok-jin just smoked a cigar since there was nothing he could do.

"Working as an independent..."

"It's surprising," his attendant said.

In response to the attendant, Kim Seok-jin shook his head. "No. This makes more sense for him."

"Yes?"

"He is the guy who hasn't shown his face in two years. It would be a funny thing if he wanted to join the guild now. Many S-Rank awakeners are actually working as mercenaries or focusing on climbing the tower."

It was the same for their guild master, Park Ji-yeon. She only had a title but devoted most of her time to climbing the tower, except when completing dungeon attacks. Not only her but also other S-rank awakeners were similar. People could not reach S-Rank without climbing the tower with such hard work.

"I am sure he is the same."

"Then why is he taking the rank reexamination?" the attendant asked.

"Well. There are many benefits... Money can be one of the reasons..."

"So, it means you don't know exactly?"

"In fact, yes." Kim Seok-jin nodded and took the phone out of his pocket. But it was that time.

The phone started to ring, and a familiar name popped on the screen. Kim Seok-jin thought the situation was funny. He smirked a little. Soon, he picked up the phone.

"Yes, Guild Master."

***

Su-hyeun came to the basement of the Authority building for the reexamination. The basement was made of special materials that prevented magic from leaking outward. More exactly, it would prevent the impact of the underground from spreading upward.

There were a total of five examiners who followed Su-hyeun and his party. As they set up various devices throughout the void of the basement, the examiner who looked the highest among them opened his mouth.

"First of all, let me explain the agreement you will make after you pass the S-Rank examination. First, S-rank awakeners receive a certain amount of money on the 1st of every month. Additionally, they regularly take turns with other S-rank awakeners and engage in a special dungeon attack..."

Su-hyeun was familiar with that agreement. He did not pay attention to the explanation and just watched the devices.

<<I guess I know what kinds of the test they are.>>

There was more than one test. S-Rank awakeners were tested for not only the factor and level of the magic but also overall stats as well as other qualities related to other battles. Only the ones who passed all of that could be S-Rank awakeners.

"...about the rights are in this document, so please read it later."

The examiner said so and handed a document to Suhyun. The cover of the document was colorfully embroidered in gold. There were several rights that S-rank awakeners received. Su-hyeun glanced over the contents and signed below.

"Well. Let's take the test quickly," Su-hyeun said.

"We are preparing now. Please wait for a moment."

After a moment, all the devices were ready. There were some small platforms, a magic tester, and some devices to verify physical performances.

"First, we will check your magic level and factor. Second, we will check your magic control ability. Third, we will check your overall physical ability. What do you usually use for a weapon?"

"I use a sword and spear." Su-hyeun showed his sword at his waist area and the spear on his back.

"The sword and spear...All right. Close combat tactics and long-distance throwing statics. What about your unique skill?"

"For the skill..."

Several questions followed, and when all questions were answered, the examiner nodded. In fact, just listening to those questions could not give them anything special. Most skills were to be evaluated during the exam.

"Please walk in front of the platform. The first test will be taken under an illusion."

"What are the detailed rules?" Su-hyeun asked.

"You have to figure it out yourself. Just keep in your mind that the time limit is key."

They didn't explain the rules but expected him to realize the rules on his own.

<<This is similar to the Tower of Trials.>>

In the case of advanced rank screening, most countries had a system like the Tower of Trials. This method was quite discriminatory, so the people who were more than A-Rank got their grade after such an examination.

"Please step on the platform."

Su-hyeun stepped on the round-shaped platform as the examiner said. The devices were made of several intermediate Ether stones and one higher Ether stone. The stones also had a role.

<<It is a hallucination-type magic circle.>>

There was a man named Johnny Brad. He was one of the highest-ranked awakeners and he was known for his hallucination skills. His work was high-quality and used in world-wide awakeners' agencies. This device was also one of his works. Of course, it was not as powerful as what he could use in person. It might have worked better for regular people, but it was impossible to show hallucinations that were threatening enough to S-Rank awakeners.

"Don't reject the magic from the device. If you accept the magic, the test will start soon."

Su-hyeun nodded at the examiner's advice. If he wanted to resist, he was able to do that. To him, it was possible not to hallucinate in the first place.

Whirl, whirl—

Soon, the device was activated, and a lot of magic power was released from the Ether stone. That magic was sucked into Su-hyeun's head in a moment. He did not resist it and closed his eyes. Then, he could feel a cool breeze with his skin. When he opened his eyes, there was a completely different landscape.

Caw, caw, caw—!

He could hear something sounding like loud crows. There were black spears on the ground, hundreds of and thousands of them. Above, he could see a black sky. No, it merely looked like a black sky. Birds that looked like crows filled the sky.

"They don't look like crows... Are they Blackbirds?"

A Blackbird was a monster that looked like a giant crow. There was nothing, in particular, that said it was a monster. Blackbirds had a strong desire for survival rather than fighting. So, it usually was not threatening. Those were the Blackbirds that Su-hyeun knew.

<<The problem is since they have a strong desire for survival, their viability is quite strong, too.>>

It was not difficult to figure out what the subject of the test was.

<<I guess they want me to clean up the blackbirds.>>

He recalled the hint that the examiner said. He said the time limit was key. So, that meant they were testing how fast he could handle the birds above the sky. There were many spears on the ground and many birds in the sky.

As he looked roughly, it looked like space was blocked within a certain distance to prevent Blackbirds from running away. The space was large, but it was not infinite.

"It's perfect for hunting."

He grabbed the spear. He could easily finish if he used the Leap and Flame skills, but he didn't use those because this test was not for checking his magic ability. The weapons he used were swords and spears. And this test was a gateway to examine his spear-throwing ability. It was a pretty difficult test.

<<How long will it take to drop them down?>>

The Blackbirds were fast, and they would not let him drop them down easily, of course.

"30 minutes."

He grabbed the spear he picked up from the ground tightly. He threw it as hard as he could.

Swish—

Bam—

The spear that Su-hyeun had thrown penetrated three blackbirds. At the same time, he grabbed two spears in each hand immediately after that.

"One, two—"

Swish—

"Three."

The four spears flew towards the blackbirds that roaming the sky.

"I guess it will take 30 minutes at most."

***

"How much time has passed?" Kim Hyun-soo, the general examiner asked.

The deputy examiner checked the time and answered, "It's been about 15 minutes."

"About 45 minutes left."

"I will tell you every five minutes."

"Tell me every ten minutes. When an hour is over, it means he failed. Then clean all the things here."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and tell the last of the examiners to set up the next devices when 20 minutes have passed. If he passes the exam, we can proceed immediately that way."

"Yes."

Kim Hyun-soo crossed his arms and watched Su-hyeun on the device. He was the one who was responsible for the examination of five S-rank awakeners of Korea. He also conducted the S-rank examination more than ten times. About one in four people who applied reexamination passed and became S-Rank. Three of the four had been eliminated were eliminated from this first test.

<<The guy who took the longest time was... about 8 hours?>> he thought but he could not remember exactly.

He took so long, and he was not capable of escaping from the hallucinations by himself. In the end, he had to pass the test to escape from hallucinations.

"And the fastest one was... Park Ji-yeon. She only took 40 minutes."

Park Ji-yeon was the youngest S-Rank awakener in Korea. She had passed the reexamination faster than anyone else since she had shown an outstanding talent for a long time.

Since this hallucination test gave each examinee a different mission, it was difficult to say that somebody would be better than the other exactly. However, the content of the test itself was recorded. Kim Hyun-soo flipped the papers and looked through the records of the S-Rank awakeners.

"After Park Ji-yeon, Gwon Jae-hoon took 43 minutes. Next was Jung Yoon-ho. He took 48 minutes. And next..."

Zap—

While he was checking the records, the device suddenly started responding. Kim Hyun-soo, who was startled, covered the file and raised his head.

"What is going on?"

"I think... the built-in skill of the device is being unraveled."

"A built-in skill. You mean hallucinations?"

"Yes, sir."

In response to the deputy examiner, Kim Hyun-soo opened his eyes wide. Was time passing by while he was thinking about something else?

"What about time? How much time passed?"

"19 minutes, sir."

"19 minutes?"

It was less than 20 minutes. He had a lot on his mind. Kim Hyun-soo had been seeing the same phenomenon several times. And immediately after the device's built-in skills began to break, the test would end.

<<How did he finish already?>> he thought.

Other S-rank awakeners did not differ so much in the Clear Time. It was only about five minutes apart. But suddenly, this man passed it in 20 minutes. It was a really overwhelming record.

The ether stone in the device flashed for a moment. That phenomenon meant that the device stopped working.

"Phew—"

Su-hyeun, who was staring at one spot vacantly, all of a sudden took a big breath. Su-hyeun turned his body and looked at the examiners, including Kim Hyun-soo.

"How long has it been?"

"Uh...Well..." The deputy examiner checked the time again. "You took 19 minutes 58 seconds…"

"So about 20 minutes," Su-hyeun said as if it was insignificant.

Su-hyeun did not know about the shock of examiner Kim Hyun-soo.

"Let's do the next one quickly. You guys are ready, right?"

He had finished so quickly that the preparations for the next test were not even done yet.