Testing Grounds (3)

Stats fixed at 100.

'That means I won't get any title bonuses, either.'

I looked at Idric.

[The Law of Victory activates!]

[All stats increase by 30%.]

[All damage increases by 30%!]

'A level gap of roughly 300, then.'

That meant Idric was at least in the level 400 range. I checked my status window. Sure enough, despite the stat increase messages, all my stats remained fixed at 100.

'Three minutes, huh.'

It wasn't impossible to last that long. Hadn't I fought an enemy with an even greater stat advantage before? Mutakta, whom I'd faced at level 1. That bastard had been a real monster, but I'd survived. And my stats now were higher than they'd been then.

'I can do this.'

Just then, Idric began approaching.

[Time Remaining: 03:00]

[Curse of Fatigue applied!]

[Curse of Endurance applied!]

An unpleasant itch spread throughout my body. That wasn't the only problem. My vision swam as though I'd come down with a nasty cold, and my sword felt much heavier.

I saw pitch-black energy envelop Idric's sword. Even at a glance, it looked like a distinguished old weapon. Mine, by comparison, was a basic sword handed out to newbies.

'Can't meet that head-on.'

Strength, speed, and even weapon quality. I had to deflect every blow to disperse its force. Otherwise, my sword would shatter before we could properly exchange even a single strike.

Idric closed the distance in an instant and thrust his sword at my face. I twisted my neck out of the way. His blade immediately swept high, and I ducked low. Then it slashed straight down. I rolled across the ground to evade it, but even as I rolled, Idric's sword was already right before my eyes.

'Can't dodge this one.'

Normally, I could have. The curses afflicting me were the problem. They slowed my reactions. The delay was a hairbreadth, but as it accumulated, there would inevitably come a moment when I couldn't dodge even if I anticipated the enemy's move.

Like right now.

I angled the flat of my blade to deflect Idric's sword.

SKREE!

My sword gave a series of ominous creaks after a single clash. The skin of my palm split, blood streaming from it.

'Ten hits?'

I instinctively calculated its limit. No matter how well I deflected, my sword would probably shatter after about ten clashes. That was why I'd kept dodging.

'No choice.'

I'd get nowhere by only taking attacks.

I turned my wrist and swung low. Idric chose to counterattack, sending his sword toward my head. Superior stats meant he could land his blow first. He must have been confident he would cut me before I cut him.

'Knew you'd do that.'

I bent sharply backward. The ink-black blade skimmed over my head, then plunged straight down like lightning. Still arched backward, I planted my heel and spun like a top.

SLASH!

Blood spurted from Idric's waist. Clutching his side, he retreated two steps. Behind his mask, his eyes were narrowed deeply in incomprehension.

'That's one bit of good news.'

The Black Knight had a high level, high stats, and plenty of skills to throw around.

'But his technique's pretty lacking.'

At best, he was on par with a fairly prominent knight in some city. If he'd possessed the skill of a knight commander, I would have had to sacrifice at least one body part in that exchange.

'And... he's inexperienced, too.'

His mind couldn't keep up with his body's capabilities, as though this were his first time having his stats inflated.

That made things easy.

I'd been prepared for the worst: losing all four limbs and putting on a desperate fucking survival show with Indomitable Soul. But that exchange had given me a rough idea of how this would go.

'I'll only have to give up both arms.'

My sword would break eventually anyway. There would inevitably be moments when I had to deflect. Once it broke, my arms wouldn't be particularly useful when all I had to do was survive.

Two minutes and forty-five seconds remained.

Idric's hesitation bought me only about two seconds. Then he charged again, his expression savage.

[01:45]

Cracks began forming in my sword.

[01:00]

It looked like I could block exactly three more blows.

[00:30]

I sacrificed my left arm. In exchange, I kept my neck. A fantastic trade.

[0:15]

My sword shattered.

[0:02]

I gave up my other arm while dodging. I'd meant to hold on to it until the one-second mark, but those damned curses got in the way.

[0:01]

When I dodged the slash at my neck, the sword came for my heart. I twisted my torso slightly to avoid instant death.

The moment the sword pierced me—

[The Beginner - Murderous test has ended.]

[Your body is fully restored!]

[Calculating results.]

Time stopped.

[Attempted Difficulty: Murderous]

[Rating Achieved: Highest]

[You have acquired the title, Monster Among Beginners!]

[You have passed the Beginner test!]

[Your level is insufficient! You cannot attempt the Trainee test! (Minimum Required Level: 300)]

[You have acquired a Heavenly City Travel Ticket.]

[A new entry has been added to The Beginning of a Legend – Part One!]

[Murderous difficulty. You receive a special reward.]

[You have acquired an Achievement Vending Machine.]

"...?"

An Achievement Vending Machine?

Something resembling a tiny toy vending machine rested in my newly regenerated hand. I inspected its information.

[Achievement Vending Machine]

[Grade: Special]

[A cute vending machine.]

[Effect: Doubles any Achievement Points you earn.]

"...?"

I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

'It duplicates my Achievement Points?'

What could Achievement Points do? They were a resource that could do countless things, from raising level caps to purchasing skill books and equipment. A resource hundreds of times more precious than money.

And this item doubled them? It wasn't even single-use.

'This is insane.'

Kim Minwoo tucked the cute vending machine into his inventory, then took out the Heavenly City Travel Ticket to inspect it.

[Heavenly City Travel Ticket]

[Grade: Special]

[An item awarded to those who pass the Beginner test. Allows travel to the Heavenly City to take tests. Can be activated once every six months.]

[Effect 1. Transports you to the Heavenly City upon use.]

[Effect 2. Each visit grants one month of available activity time.]

'The Heavenly City, huh...'

He pictured Ziphael. Was it a city inhabited by angels like her?

* * *

Seo Yerim was taking a test of her own. When Popo snapped its fingers, a bow materialized in her hands.

"We will now begin your reassessment. There is one event: balloon shooting."

"Where are the balloons?"

The moment she asked, balloons began filling the pure-white space like bubbles forming in boiling water. Even at a glance, there seemed to be tens of thousands floating all around her.

"Do you see the balloons ahead?"

"Yes."

Seo Yerim narrowed her eyes. Red balloons were the most numerous, followed by orange, then green, yellow, blue, and so on...

'A rainbow?'

The array of colors reminded her of a rainbow.

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Of those, there are only five violet balloons. Two hundred indigo. One thousand blue. And so on. Naturally, red is the most numerous."

"And?"

"You will be given five arrows. Hit the balloons. Preferably the rarer colors."

[Reassessment: Rainbow Balloons begins!]

[Your average stat value is fixed at 10!]

[You cannot use skills!]

[You cannot move beyond a 10 m radius!]

WHOOOOSH...!

Along with the messages came a wind so strong that her hair streamed wildly. The countless balloons swayed and mingled, constantly shifting.

[The rules are as follows.]

[You begin with 100 points.]

[You must use all five arrows provided to pop balloons.]

[Popping any balloon other than a violet balloon deducts points.]

[Lower-tier balloons incur larger point deductions.]

[If an arrow misses without popping a balloon, a very large number of points will be deducted!]

Seo Yerim read the messages with narrowed eyes and nodded. She had a rough idea of what the test entailed.

"So if I pop only the five violet balloons with my five shots, I get a perfect score?"

"Correct. However, that is no easy feat. In the thousand years I've observed this test, not a single archer has earned a perfect score."

She could see why. Finding the violet balloons among tens of thousands was a problem in itself. Even if she found them, the wind constantly made the balloons overlap or shift positions. Even a successful shot at a violet balloon stood a high chance of popping other balloons along its path.

'And I have to account for the wind, too...'

It was an extremely demanding test.

"Then what's the highest score anyone has gotten?"

"Ninety-nine. Most regrettably, they popped an indigo balloon along with a violet one. That cost them one point."

"What achievement grade did they get?"

"SS-rank, if I recall correctly."

"... There are ranks above S?"

"The world is vast, and there are many ranks. SS, SSS... I've even heard there are ranks above those."

"... Even higher?"

"Yes. I've never seen one myself... but my senior, Ziphael, said so, so it's probably true."

'... I really was a frog in a well.'

She had suspected there might be ranks above S. After all, Kim Minwoo's strength in the last gate had exceeded anything she'd imagined. But she hadn't been certain. Now she'd effectively received confirmation.

There was a world beyond what she knew.

Perhaps it wasn't just her. Perhaps all of Earth's awakeners were frogs in a well. They wouldn't have imagined achievements beyond S-rank existed.

'This isn't just some ordinary other world. It's on an entirely different plane...'

How on earth had Kim Minwoo established a connection to a place like this? He really was like an onion, with layer after layer to uncover.

"Popo."

"Yes?"

"If I pop all of these, could I get something above SSS?"

"I've heard that to aim higher, you must accomplish a feat capable of transforming the world. Even the Testing Grounds cannot provide a stage for that."

Popo was a stuffed bear who took pride in its position. If even it said this was impossible, it must truly be impossible. She was disappointed, but there was nothing she could do. Nodding, she looked at the balloons.

"There's no time limit, right?"

"Correct."

Seo Yerim studied the balloons.

'... So that's why they popped an indigo balloon along with it.'

The setup was vicious.

The red balloons were large. The violet balloons, on the other hand, were tiny—roughly the size of tangerines. Indigo balloons clung thickly to them like tumors. There were only the slightest gaps. She had to shoot through those gaps to hit the violet balloons.

Having located all five violet balloons, she closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Whew."

Her stats were fixed at 10. She couldn't use skills, either. All she could rely on was her own talent.

'I can do this.'

A realm she'd been unable to reach with a sword. With a bow...

WHOOSH!

An arrow flew, threading its way between countless balloons.

POP!

One balloon burst. Without even taking a breath, she fired three more arrows. Three balloons popped.

'One left.'

The balloon with the most indigo balloons clinging to it.

["The way I see it, you're destined for greatness with a bow."]

Suddenly, she remembered their conversation in the hospital room.

'That's right. I'm... destined for greatness with a bow.'

The final arrow flew.

POP!

Once again, only a single balloon burst. Popo, who had been watching with a nervous gulp, clapped its paws together like a seal.

"W-wow! One hundred points! Congratulations!"

[The evaluation has ended.]

[Your score is 100 points.]

[You receive an SSS-rank archer skill book!]

'SSS-rank...'

Seo Yerim clenched her fists. Kim Minwoo had been right.

She had been destined to wield a bow.