157. SKY Cooperative Test (2)
The holiday passed quickly.
Monday morning, 9 a.m.
Whoooosh!
With the cool spring breeze blowing, the remaining 50 interns were already gathered at the training ground.
There was not a single latecomer.
They were the ones who had passed Yoo Jia's Mind-Reading Eagle and even made it through the grueling physical training.
These 50 people here, each and every one of them, were outstanding talents who could easily be recruited by any group!
There was no one foolish enough to treat an important test so lightly that they would show up late.
Just as everyone was steadying themselves with resolute expressions.
Creak!
The door inside the training ground opened, and the judges walked out.
At the very front stood the head judge, Hong Ari!
"Did you all get a good rest?"
Her voice was gentle, but it carried more than enough force within it.
Hong Ari knew as well.
That the road they had taken to get here had by no means been easy.
Just standing here right now would surely become an impressive achievement in itself.
But.
SKY was not simply looking for impressive people. It wanted only players worthy of the world's greatest guild.
"The second round of training is a team mission."
And.
Teamwork was also an important factor.
Because in dungeons or preliminary rounds, coordination that clicked perfectly created synergy far beyond a simple sum of parts.
"From this moment, I'll give you 10 minutes. Form your teams freely. Each team will have 5 members. We'll make 10 teams."
At Hong Ari's declaration, the interns stirred.
* * *
"Hoo."
Jeong Siu exhaled and pushed up his glasses.
'As expected.'
So it was a team battle.
The corners of Jeong Siu's mouth curled upward.
It was just as he had predicted.
To begin with, two people were too few to evaluate teamwork, while three or four could not divide 50 interns evenly.
Then?
'I figured the highest probability was that they'd form teams of five or ten.'
If team formation had been random, there would have been nothing he could do, but Hong Ari had clearly said it.
Form teams freely.
That was fortunate.
Why?
Because he had already formed a team in advance.
"Wow, how did you know?"
Someone said as they walked over near Jeong Siu.
It was Han Yuna.
"And it's exactly five people too? At this point, aren't you basically an insider?"
Jeong Siu had appeared on her stream yesterday, and in return, he had suggested that if there was any team activity, they should work together.
Naturally, Han Yuna had no reason to refuse.
Jeong Siu was ranked 11th in Korea, after all.
"Truly impressive! So they call you the Data Machine. Did you accurately read the intentions of the test setter?"
Step, step.
Another person approached.
A towering height of 190 cm.
Bulging muscles.
'Kang Daehyuk.'
Yesterday, Jeong Siu had recruited four players in advance.
He thought recruiting more than that would be inefficient, and if a team mission came up, the idea was that they would cooperate with one another.
Naturally, he had chosen the people who looked the most capable based on the data.
And one of them was Kang Daehyuk.
'Second place in physical training.'
His personality seemed like the type to push through things a little stupidly with brute force, but when it came to physical ability alone, he was outstanding.
And then.
"I'm here too."
Another figure arrived.
'First place in physical training, Seo Yiyoon.'
Uniquely enough, she was a woman, yet she ranked first in physical training.
Honestly, it had shocked him a lot.
No matter how much she trained, he had never imagined she would beat even Kang Daehyuk.
She was not an ordinary woman in any regard.
That was why, yesterday, he had hurriedly stopped her after she finished eating in the cafeteria and was leaving, and had recruited her in a similar way.
And the last one.
"Big bro, big sis! This is the place, right?"
Age 23.
Kim Daebok.
In truth, it was not because he seemed especially remarkable that Jeong Siu picked him.
Surprisingly, there were not many players wandering around outside, and among them, his name looked the most auspicious.
Daebok.
In other words, he had chosen him with the thought, Wouldn't some fortune come if I picked him?
Anyway.
Now that it came together like this, it felt like he had assembled quite an impressive lineup.
1. Jeong Siu (30) - Team Leader
2. Han Yuna (24)
3. Kang Daehyuk (33)
4. Seo Yiyoon (28)
5. Kim Daebok (23)
Jeong Siu immediately compiled the list and went to the judges to form the team.
It was the first team to be submitted, the fastest among all 50 people.
* * *
"Oh."
As Hwang Juwon checked the team list, a curious light appeared in his eyes.
"Look at this."
He held out Team 1's list to Hong Ari.
"All the major ones we said looked promising yesterday, they're all in here."
"That's a little interesting."
Except for the last one, Kim Daebok.
Every single one of them had been designated as people to watch closely.
People they hoped would not get eliminated in the second round if at all possible!
"Then I guess we can cut a lot more people this test, huh?"
Actually.
A team battle also involved an element of luck.
No matter how outstanding an individual's abilities were, if their team was bad, they could still get eliminated.
That was why, originally, they had planned to pass six teams out of the ten.
To prevent the important prospects from getting eliminated as much as possible.
But?
If it turned out like this, there was no need to pass that many.
"Hmm."
Hong Ari mulled over Hwang Juwon's words for a moment.
It was not a bad idea.
If they eliminated a lot right here, then in the third test they could conduct an even more detailed evaluation.
"All right. Anyway, we also need to make it clear to them that the SKY test is this intense and this cold."
She nodded.
"Exactly four teams."
At the same time, her gaze grew firm.
"This week, let's select only four teams."
* * *
The teams had been decided.
The formed teams were Team 1 through Team 10!
They stood lined up in their assigned places.
And Hong Ari announced it.
"This mission is a capture battle."
A capture battle?
A commotion began to spread among the interns.
But Hong Ari continued speaking without a care.
"There are two peaks within Geomdansan. The summit peak at 657 meters above sea level, and Gitdaebong at 606 meters above sea level. The distance between the two is about 1.5 kilometers, which is far for ordinary people, but for us, you could say it's fairly close."
At her explanation, the commotion subsided.
If they missed the explanation because they were talking needlessly?
That would be their own loss.
Everyone stared intently at Hong Ari's lips, eyes sharpened.
"From now on, you must occupy one of the two peaks for over an hour. If even a single team member stands on the marked circular line for more than an hour without another team approaching, then that team passes."
Ooh.
The interns' eyes lit up.
Because they immediately understood what kind of test this was.
But.
If it ended there, it would not be any fun!
"For reference, there will be no rest for one week. Day or night. Even at dawn, if a team captures it, they pass."
Dungeons and towers did not take sleeping time into consideration.
Training should be like the real thing!
And the test was like the real thing as well.
Swoosh.
Hong Ari looked around at the surroundings, examining the interns' expressions.
Some were nervous, and some were steeling themselves, but.
Not a single one of them showed dissatisfaction with this policy.
'This batch is in good shape.'
She had been planning to eliminate anyone on the spot if they let out even a hint of complaint.
Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Hong Ari continued.
"And one more thing."
The corner of her mouth curled up.
"There is also a way to pass even faster than through occupation."
…!
At those words, the interns' eyes shone even brighter.
Was there something else?
"Judges will be moving around all over Geomdansan. If you subdue one of them, you pass immediately."
What?
Wait a second.
If they were judges…
That meant they were SKY guild members.
Most of them were top domestic rankers and even world rankers.
How were they supposed to subdue them?
"However, the judges may use only a single one of their summons. And only B-rank or lower. On the other hand, all of you may use every summon you have."
Ah.
Only then did the interns nod.
'This actually sounds doable.'
'No matter how strong a ranker is, just one summon is a bit…'
'Unless it's something like Baek Jinwoo's HunGyo, wouldn't handling 25 summons at once be impossible?'
'Rather than wasting time on the occupation battle, it'd be faster to hunt down a judge. With Song Yeonhee or Hwang Jiwoo.'
Clenching their fists, they indulged in hollow fantasies.
They still did not know.
What kind of results a difference in fundamentals could produce in terms of control.
If the SKY members had not met Baek Jinwoo, they would have gone their whole lives without knowing either.
This was a trap in its own way.
Hong Ari grinned.
If they were idiots who did not even know their own level?
Then passing would only become more distant.
Because she had already instructed the judges to go all out.
"Only the first four teams to do so will pass. The remaining six teams will automatically fail."
The tension among the interns sharply escalated, and then, slowly.
Hong Ari raised the starting pistol.
"Then everyone, get ready."
After a brief silence.
Bang!
The gunshot thundered across the mountain, and at the same time, the teams began sprinting into the forest in all directions.
* * *
Swoooosh!
There was a man flying through the sky on a wyvern.
And tucked against his abdomen, a fairy let out a long yawn.
—Hwaaaam, I'm getting airsick. Jinwoo, when are we getting there already?
"Hoo, seriously."
A deep sigh escaped Baek Jinwoo's mouth.
Had it been about two weeks by his senses?
The continent was absurdly vast.
No matter how far he went, there was no end to it.
"Just wait a little longer. We crossed the mountain range and the river too, so according to the map, it should show up soon."
As he traveled, he passed countless cities and villages.
Of course, they were ruined cities. The continent was devastated.
The continent, just before the descent of the Great Demon, Asmodeus, had been left with nothing but scars from terrible destruction.
For all that time, he had not seen a single living person, only a few wild beasts and monsters.
It was strange.
These were things he had not seen in the game, which began with only fragmented scenes.
What was the Tower of Trials trying to show them?
Why was it doing this through humanity?
He had not really thought about it while training intensely outside, but now that he was trapped in here, all kinds of thoughts came to him.
—Oh, J-J-J-Jinwoo!
It was then that Lamba suddenly jerked up her head.
"Hm?"
—Look over there! Waaaaah!
Lamba began cheering.
—I can see ittttt! That's it, right? The Holy Kingdom, Lumentia! It looks seriously freaking awesome!
"Yeah."
It really was!
Far in the distance, beneath the clouds, Lumentia was slowly coming into view.
'Oooh.'
The sight of the Holy Kingdom from afar was magnificent in its own way.
It truly was a natural mountain fortress!
Ancient walls, forming a massive ring, enclosed both the city and the mountain range itself.
Their height was so overwhelming that it made one wonder how humans could possibly have built something like that.
'A fortress like that is probably the reason it managed to survive on this ruined continent until now.'
Inside the walls rose a great cathedral with a golden dome that radiated a sacred aura, and the ancient buildings surrounding it were all majestic.
And that was not all.
Tall towers rose in every direction, and at the tip of each one stood pure white statues carved in the image of archangels.
Yes.
This was the 54th floor of the Tower.
And the mission?
To meet the supreme ruler of that place, the sacred king.
Holy King Arkelion!
Of course, the process to get there was brutally hard enough to make you want to puke.
—Kirururururururu!
The Celestial Wyvern stopped flying and turned back.
Now that they had confirmed the location, they needed to go bring Rachel and the main force.
Once again.
The time for the true climb had arrived.