CH 16

‘In particular, Extreme Difficulty has a slightly higher death rate than Normal Difficulty due to the risk that you can’t re-enter once you give up.’

It wasn’t that Jin Yu Ri’s worries were very incomprehensible.

Choi Yu Seong also wants to enter Extreme Difficulty and get the best results.

“You seriously know that, right?”

“Trust me. I’m someone who values my own life the most.”

“That’s not something that Oppa should say as someone who had thrown his life away many times.”

What happened in the past was all acting and a show.

To say that he never intended to throw his life recklessly, Jin Yu Ri’s expression was not an atmosphere to believe with her arms folded in a stiff posture.

“Ukhm…”

Therefore, Choi Yu Seong, who covered up the situation with a dry cough, quietly looks elsewhere.

“That’s too bad. Do Yun Oppa hasn’t been home for days because he’s about to reach the promotion level. If he was here, he would also have said something harsh together.”

“Even though I don’t overdo it.”

Lightly glared at Choi Yu Seong’s determined words, Jin Yu Ri unfolded her arms and said.

“Actually, even if I say this… I will believe in Oppa. And I’m rooting for you. In fact, there’s nothing else I can do besides this.”

“Thanks.”

“Ah, and the important thing is, Yoo Jin Hyuk that Oppa mentioned before.”

Choi Yu Seong’s head, which was spewing tantrums, snapped and turned toward Jin Yu Ri.

“Found him?”

Along with Chae Ye Ryeong, the Magic Beast Master1 Yoo Jin Hyuk is a very important figure in Choi Yu Seong’s future plan.

The ability to summon, tame, and handle Magic Beast from another world is rare and highly versatile, but Yoo Jin Hyuk even had the rare ability of a Barrier Master.

He appears as a Villain and faces a tragic death in the original novel, but he is truly rare among rare, a unique grade talent if he can keep him by his side.

“Yes. As Oppa said, he was reported as dead.”

In a way, it can be heard as discouraging words, but Choi Yu Seong was not very discouraged.

“That’s not the end, right?”

“Yeah. He was reported dead with both parents, but the peculiar thing is that his older brother is alive. His name is Yoo Jin Hwan…”

“That’s Yoo Jin Hyuk.”

“It seems you’re really sure?”

“Huh. You know, I have the Skill.”

In fact, he knows from the original novel.

Villain Yoo Jin Hyuk uses a pseudonym, Yoo Jin Hwan, in the early scenes of his appearance.

He didn’t know they were brothers, but it was enough to put the puzzle together in Choi Yu Seong’s head anyway.

“Anyway, please investigate where Yoo Jin Hyuk, no, Yoo Jin Hwan is at the moment. If possible, I’d like to ask you to investigate everything including what kind of accident happened. I’m going to visit there right after the Promotion Evaluation. As soon as possible…”

“Do not worry. It is already in progress.”

“As expected. Jin Yu Ri. The ace of this house.”

“Don’t just say empty words and give me a reward vacation soon. I feel like I’m the only one falling behind because Do Yun Oppa is working hard to level up by himself.”

“If you go on a dungeon hunt on vacation, doesn’t the reward mean nothing?”

“It depends on what you think. My morning report is over and Oppa training is also over, right?”

“Huh. That’s all for today. I’m going to wash up, eat lightly, and go straight to the Promotion Evaluation.”

“Eat well and go. Because there are people who can’t come out for a month once they enter the evaluation site.”

“That won’t be me. I’m lucky in this kind of thing, you know.”

Choi Yu Seong answered lightly, and he resented the flag he had set up exactly three hours later.

***

《Awakener Choi Yu Seong, E-Rank MAX Level.

Entering D-Rank Promotion Evaluation, Extreme Difficulty.

Wishing you good luck.》

As soon as he accepted the Promotion Evaluation, Choi Yu Seong’s vision was covered in darkness with a short message and a damp sensation wrapped around his whole body.

For a moment he felt anxious as if he was being swallowed by a large whale.

With a flash of light in front of Choi Yu Seong, a rabbit who looked 190cm tall with longer legs than most human adults went ‘ta da-!’ and appeared in a tuxedo.

Literally, ta-da.

“Ta da-! Nice to meet you. Awakener Choi Yu Seong ssi. I am Mr. Nice Guy who served as your evaluator. You can shorten it and call me Mister Guy.”

In fact, the appearance itself is a form of cliché that he has seen a lot somewhere, but for some reason, the expression of smiling broadly with arms wide open and tone when appearing are unfamiliar.

‘Isn’t that kind of doll in a tuxedo supposed to hold some weight or something2.’

Or get a head start by showing great magic tricks with the hat or the black cane in his hand. Choi Yu Seong’s eyes twinkled for a while in anticipation of that, but Mr. Nice Guy, so-called Mister Guy, made the mistake of dropping his hat while returning from doing ta-da with his arms wide open to an attentive posture.

“Aikko-! This is a new hat I bought. So precious, what do I do.”

Mister Guy, who picked up the hat that fell in a hurry, looked embarrassed as he saw Choi Yu Seong and lightly swept his long mustache.

For some reason, the area around the white fur is flushing red.

“Hong hong! It seems you are someone who doesn’t talk much. Usually, those who come here for the first time show a lot of curiosity.”

“Because I roughly knew about it.”

Upon entering the Promotion Evaluation, you will meet the evaluator assigned to the individual.

This evaluator assignment is like the Promotion Evaluation, so there are no special rules or information.

Literally, a random draw.

The direction of the Promotion Evaluation varies depending on the personality of the evaluator, but he couldn’t even guess what kind of style Mister Guy in front of him would be like.

“From Awakener people I’ve met so far, usually they still ask even though they knew it… Uhm, Choi Yu Seong ssi is a very interesting person. For example, don’t you have a question like this. The curiosity of where I came from, who made the system, and why this happened to Earth? Don’t you have it?”

There is no way he doesn’t.

Choi Yu Seong smiled inwardly and shook his head.

The existence of the evaluator is, in a way, conclusive evidence that an absolute being intervened and artificially created the Awakener System.

Therefore, people who encounter the evaluator for the first time will ask even trivial questions regardless of who they are.

It’s a question with the expectations of probability, but there’s no answer coming back.

“Let me tell you in advance, I don’t know anything. There’s just a very, very, very high person up there, and I’m just doing what a slightly higher person who’s far below him ordered a long time ago. Hong hong hong!”

Mister Guy answered his own question.

Thanks to this, Choi Yu Seong knew one thing for sure.

‘I wondered what that hong hong thing was, so it was a laugh.’

It seems he met a quite manic judge.

“What is my promotion test?”

With that thought, Choi Yu Seong asked the first question. The face of Mister Guy, who was talking excitedly alone, turned subtle at that.

There is no sound of hong hong laughter, but a clear smile.

“That is a very good and wonderful question. Awakener Choi Yu Seong. However, it is impossible to believe even with a hundred words! Rather than hearing it, please see it with your own eyes and experience it.”

Leaving behind the impression of Choi Yu Seong who felt that appearance was somewhat creepy for some reason, Mister Guy once again stretched out his arms.

Then, the darkness of this space, which seemed to be full of darkness except for the surroundings of Mister Guy and Choi Yu Seong, slowly receded as if rolling a tent and spewing out a splendid light.

Choi Yu Seong somehow felt quite dizzy when he saw the light.

Inside the sensation as if hypnotized, his mind calmed down and everything reflected in his eyes was becoming very distant.

“Choi Yu Seong ssi. When you wake up from sleep, a very bad thief would have stolen something very precious to you. What does this mean? Yeah. That is right. The first Promotion Evaluation of Awakener Choi Yu Seong is… Du du dung! It is thief catching-!

Mister Guy’s hallucinations-like voice was engraved into the mind, and Choi Yu Seong’s body relaxed and his eyes began to close.

“Ah right, Awakener Choi Yu Seong’s Promotion Evaluation is very special! I put a lot of effort into it as much as Prankster Who Likes Jokes God asked to pay attention and requested support. I hope you get good results.”

If Prankster Who Likes Jokes God then it is none other than Loki.

‘Suddenly?’

In fact, it was not surprising as Gods, who are interested in Awakeners they sponsored, intervening in the Promotion Evaluation was mentioned several times in the original novel.

However, if that happens, the difficulty will increase by one grade.

Therefore, even the original novel protagonist Kim Do Jin encountered this kind of situation in the Promotion Evaluation after D-Rank.

Of course, the reward gets better that much.

‘Still, isn’t this too fast?’

His complaint could not escape from the mouth because his consciousness was blown away at the same time.

***

When he opened his eyes again, Choi Yu Seong felt that his body was quite heavy.

A feeling as if a heavy bear was sitting on the shoulder, or as if someone had full sandbags on both arms and legs.

Thanks to that, it took a considerable amount of time to get up after opening his eyes.

“Whoo… It’s bullshit that I’m lucky in this kind of thing. Playing with me from the start, huh. Damned Loki guy.”

Forcibly raised his body by giving strength to his legs with a deep sigh, Choi Yu Seong regretted the flag he had uttered and at the same time poured out complaints that he could not do before losing consciousness.

-Prankster Who Likes Jokes laughs mischievously. He wished you good luck.

“Such a really bad guy.”

Well, come to think of it, the character Loki was unpredictable and difficult to say that he had a good personality even in Norse mythology.

‘There’s no answer to what’s already happened… Let’s figure out the situation first.’

Choi Yu Seong was standing alone in a room with a rather bright atmosphere.

However, it was not that cramped even to call it a room. It was a square shape and felt like it was over 50 pyeong based on Earth standards.

In particular, the ceiling was quite high and it is so large even at a glance that there is no problem even if a dozen male adults are put vertically.

The answer to why such a high ceiling is needed was given by the huge doors on the front, left, and right of Choi Yu Seong who was in the center of the room.

‘The height of the door alone must be at least 30m high.’

The width is barely caught with around five or six adult men with their arms stretched wide.

Anyway, it’s huge.

If he had to pick something more peculiar here, it was the engraving on each door.

‘Star on the left, sun on the center, and moon on the right.’

Smirking, Choi Yu Seong recited to himself.

“I can call them Star Room, Sun Room, and Moon Room then.”

The second thing to do after grasping the surroundings was to understand his own condition.

《Awakener Choi Yu Seong is currently in the process of Extreme Difficulty+ Promotion Evaluation.

As a result, you will receive a reduced ability penalty.

Mana is extremely decreased.

Stamina and strength are extremely decreased.

Movement becomes sluggish.

Awakener Choi Yu Seong can declare ‘renounce’ Promotion Evaluation at any time.》

Turning on the system message window and checking the current state, Choi Yu Seong spat out a high praise unknowingly.