The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 3 - Graduation Ceremony (2)

The exam was conducted by splitting the cadets into groups of several dozen, each led by an instructor.

I glanced around, checking for familiar faces.

Yoo Ho-jun was in my group, and Seo Ah-in was here too.

An empty space stretched out in front of the area where the cadets were lined up, and far off in the seats of honor, scouters from the guilds sat in chairs, holding evaluation sheets.

"Cadets of the 23rd class. A pleasure to meet you."

It was a stiff voice.

Stiff enough to let you guess what kind of person he was without even seeing his face.

Of course, the face nestled under the angular hat possessed a stiffness that surpassed even that voice. He was a man with a particularly noticeable scar running across his entire face.

Ah, this was a familiar face too.

I was sure he was one of the stronger characters. I remembered his name was a bit strange.

"This instructor, in charge of this exam, is named Gang Sa-ja."

I barely managed to kick down the laugh that was about to erupt from my throat.

"Hey, Ho-jun."

"Hmm?"

"How can a person's name be Lion?"

At my whisper, I saw the corners of Yoo Ho-jun's mouth twitch slightly.

He was clearly in the middle of extreme laugh-suppression.

It was obvious that if the instructor had heard, we would have made a meaningful memory before graduation, but thankfully, he seemed busy managing the cadets.

"Then we will begin the exam now. The overall process is not much different from what you have done so far, so cadets, do not be nervous and just show what you have practiced."

At Gang Sa-ja's guidance, Yoo Ho-jun, standing next to me, glanced in my direction.

"That's what he said."

"What's what he said."

"I mean, your regular evaluation scores were trash-level, weren't they? You've never once gotten off the bottom with me, so how are you going to do well on the exam?"

Anyone would get such scores with these stats.

Ever since I had confidently declared a little while ago that I would do well on the exam, this guy had been sending me worried looks like this.

But, now that I thought about it, it was a bit annoying.

As far as I knew, Yoo Ho-jun's initial stats were only slightly better than mine.

"How well did you do to call me trash?"

"My friend, I know my level, so I don't run my mouth carelessly like you."

That was true too.

As I chuckled, Yoo Ho-jun continued with a displeased look.

"Is that funny? Did you get some weird, baseless idea in your head?“

"What baseless idea? I'm just saying I'll do well on the exam."

"Until now, you were the type to just do everything in moderation, weren't you?"

I was.

The 'original' Kim Gyu-sik was like that.

In fact, according to the original story, he was supposed to just blend into the lower ranks in this graduation exam as well.

“Ho-jun. The world is a very dangerous place.”

“What?”

“It means you have to cling desperately to suck up everything you can just to barely survive.”

In the original game, the enemies that appeared in the latter half became rapidly more vicious.

It meant that with garbage stats like these, I had to get everything I could just to barely ensure my safety.

So, what was the easiest method I could try right now?

‘I have to clear the quest.’

Within Conqueror, there were achievements that gave various rewards upon completion.

For example, something like this.

[ Main Quest ]

[ Get an excellent score on the graduation exam! ]

[ EX Rank Clear Condition: Graduate in 1st place!

S Rank Clear Condition: Graduate within the top 5!

A Rank Clear Condition: Graduate within the top 10!

B Rank Clear Condition: Graduate within the top 50! ]

Well, as the clear ranks were divided, it was natural for the rewards to differ accordingly.

And according to what I had set up.

If I cleared the main quest with an EX rank, the rewards I would receive were, without exception, all items that would make my eyes pop out.

‘The EX rank reward for this quest is…’

The ‘Guardian Angel’ buff.

A buff that ‘revives’ a character just once.

For me, who wouldn't be surprised to get caught up in some accident and die a violent death at any moment, it was an absolute essential.

“…”

And to graduate in 1st place.

Naturally, the one I would be up against was the class representative.

‘Well, still…’

For me, this was a quest with a reward I absolutely could not give up on.

Even if my opponent was the prospective top graduate, I had no intention of avoiding her.

I stealthily turned my gaze towards Seo Ah-in.

“Why are you suddenly looking over there?”

“That girl. I wonder if she’ll get mad if she loses to someone in the exam?”

“Who’s going to lose? She’s the top student.”

When I looked back at Yoo Ho-jun without a word, he narrowed his eyes and met my gaze.

“…Don't tell me you're saying you're going to beat Seo Ah-in in the exam right now?”

Nod, nod.

“Are you really out of your mind?”

Yoo Ho-jun chided me with an incredulous voice, but I just smirked and ignored him.

‘A normal character would never be able to win, but…’

Seo Ah-in was one of the main characters that existed in this game.

A main character referred to one of the few characters designed for the player to control directly.

They were cheat keys that grew tens of times faster than others.

Among them, if we were talking simply about the ‘combat’ aspect, she was a character with the potential to compete for the top spot.

However, If she was a main character, then I was a bug character that broke the existing system altogether.

What did that mean?

‘If it's me, I'll win.’

And not just win, but completely crush her.

“Hey. Stop with the nonsense and think realistically…”

“I'll handle it myself, so drop it.”

When I lightly brushed him off like that, Yoo Ho-jun eventually smacked his lips a few times before turning his head away.

It was a gesture of genuine concern for a friend who was spouting baseless confidence.

In fact, if you thought about it, there was plenty of basis.

[ Remaining Skill Points: 5 ]

The 5 basic skill points automatically given when first creating a character in Conqueror.

It seemed that was maintained even after I was suddenly possessed by this guy.

‘Hmm.’

Actually, if I thought about it carefully, it wasn't that big of a merit.

Conqueror was a game where hundreds, even thousands of skills existed for just one job class.

It was reasonable to think, what could you do with just 5 points.

That was true.

If the one holding them wasn't me, who had access to ‘all skill trees’.

‘…Good.’

The skill trees in Conqueror were largely divided into three categories.

The vanguard class for combat within arm's reach, the rearguard class aiming to project firepower from a distance, and the support class that used other auxiliary buffs and debuffs.

They were divided by characteristics you could tell just by hearing the names.

‘For now.’

The skills I could learn right now were all just basic skills.

High-grade skills weren't something that ended with just learning them; they needed to be backed by conditions that allowed them to be used properly.

It meant that pouring skill points into them recklessly wouldn't be worth it.

Of course, even so.

It was more than enough to achieve a high score in this exam, at least.

Perhaps in this special environment called the 'graduation exam', I wouldn't be at much of a disadvantage either.

"Now, let's head straight into the exam. The format, as you all know, is a mock battle."

Gang Sa-ja said so and clapped his hands twice. Then, a blue light shimmered in the empty lot spreading out behind him, and the space distorted.

And in the very next moment, the desolate scenery of a ruined cityscape filled the vast, empty lot.

“Today, we have people from the guilds watching, so we received some equipment support from the Hunting Alliance. It'll feel different from the regular tests you're used to.”

The Hunting Alliance was the name that would pop up first if you were to name a representative guild of Korea.

His words about borrowing equipment from them didn't seem to be a lie, as the battlefield for the mock battle, just by looking at it, was no different from the real thing.

Indeed, irrepressible gasps of admiration could be heard from here and there among the cadets.

Of course.

I was only looking at Seo Ah-in, who flinched slightly as soon as the name Hunting Alliance was mentioned.

"This is what the 1st floor looked like, which was conquered 10 years ago. There's no need to explain the mock battle stage. As cadets, you must have studied it countless times as a representative case."

I never studied it.

I wanted to retort like that, but it wasn't the right atmosphere to say it out loud.

Not only the other people, but even Yoo Ho-jun, who was surely on a similar level as me in both written and practical exams, was nodding his head.

If this bastard knew, it meant everyone here knew…

"Gyu-sik. I don't know why, but the feeling I'm getting from you is a bit cheeky?"

"Nonsense."

His intuition was needlessly sharp.

"You all must have experienced mock battles to death during your cadet period. But now, you cadets are about to start your full-fledged lives as climbers. Therefore, this time, we will proceed with a higher intensity."

Gang Sa-ja said so and scanned the cadets. A slight smile hung on his lips.

And the words I had been waiting for followed.

"This mock battle will be conducted without the use of mana as much as possible. The moment I detect a trace of mana, you will be immediately penalized."

Yes. This was it.

While I suppressed my laughter inwardly, sighs erupted from all around.

If there was a restriction on mana usage, the number of abilities the other guys could use would also become extremely small.

In short, the difficulty of the exam had to be set according to such conditions from the beginning.

That meant that even for me, who could only use basic skills, an opportunity to shine would naturally arise.

"Of course, the total amount of mana also plays an important role in determining a climber's capabilities. However, you all need to remember that a climber's most precious asset is their own skill."

A reasonably persuasive explanation followed, but the majority of the cadets already wore worried expressions.

Mana was a resource like oxygen to a climber.

Because the source of the superhuman power wielded by a climber was mana itself.

In a way, it was like handing a wooden sword to someone who always used a real sword and telling them to show their skill.

Of course, this didn't apply to me, as I was forced to use a wooden sword anyway because my stats were garbage.

"Any volunteers who want to start the test first? There are no particular bonus points, but it's possible to rest early."

The instructor spoke in a playful tone, but no volunteer readily raised their hand first.

Taking a test in front of many people was a burden in itself, and it likely included the intention of getting a feel for it by watching others go first, rather than taking the test in an unfamiliar environment.

Ah, such understandable group psychology. My school days were also filled with such behavior.

Of course, not everyone in the world is the same.

A single cadet who strode forward while everyone else hesitated proved that.

A peculiar light glinted in Instructor Gang Sa-ja's eyes.

"Cadet Seo Ah-in. Will you go first?"

"…"

Seo Ah-in, who had been looking at the instructor without a response, gave a slight nod.

It was a response that was hard to see as polite, but perhaps valuing her initiative in stepping forward first, Gang Sa-ja grinned and led her into the mock battle stage.

"Well then, why don't you say a word about your resolve as the first participant."

"…"

When Gang Sa-ja added that remark, Seo Ah-in, who was still unresponsive, let out a small sigh.

A look of annoyance was evident on her face.

"I think this level of difficulty is a waste of time, so I'll finish it quickly and rest."

In a normal organization with a chain of command, it wouldn't be strange for a barrage of penalties to befall her just for being impudent.

But Gang Sa-ja still maintained a smiling face.

‘Those guys, really.’

I knew why that was.

The world of climbers was, in the end, a meritocracy. So there was no reason for him to argue about it.

Because in the end, the result would prove whether she had the right to say such things or not.

"Then, when you're ready, enter inside that boundary wall…"

Before the instructor could finish his words, Seo Ah-in strode into the blue barrier drawn in front of her.

Simultaneously, the scenery changed, and shelves and lockers full of equipment and weapons immediately surrounded her.

"Choose your weapon and equipment. Up to three are allowed."

"…"

After a quick look around, Seo Ah-in pulled out a well-maintained longsword without hesitation.

"Is that all? I'll say it again, up to three are possible."

"One is enough. More importantly, can I start right away?"

"If you're ready."

In a way, for both of them to be able to maintain such an attitude to the end was a feat in itself.

While I was thinking that, Seo Ah-in leaped into the ruined cityscape without hesitation.