LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 104
Chapter 104: S-Rank Promotion Test! 1
– People’s Republic of China, Provincial Capital City of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an –
Once referred to as Guanzhong or Guanseo, this land through which the Yellow River flowed was known for its richness.
It also served as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, connecting the East and the West.
For over 1300 years, it had been the capital of various Chinese dynasties, including the Yin, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang.
Now, it was home to the largest guild in the world, the Mountain Guild, located in central China.
Although geographically a part of China and the Tang Dynasty, this guild had grown so powerful that it was treated like a separate nation, enjoying extraterritorial privileges.
It was true that the guild had been established with support from the Chinese government and the Tang, but it had since grown into the largest hunter guild in the world.
With the most awakened individuals under its control, it was more like a massive military force, and its guild master was even nicknamed the “Emperor of Shaanxi.”
“I’m sorry to report, but the northwestern gate has failed.”
A group of people was talking inside a red-colored room adorned with expensive-looking ceramic decorations.
At the researcher’s report, silence descended on the conference room.
The silence was broken five minutes later, when someone finally spoke.
“All of them? Then, are the deployed support personnel now unusable?”
“Yes, it seems the support personnel couldn’t resist the contamination starting from the gate’s entrance due to their generally low abilities.”
“Sigh, this time as well, huh…”
Jin Seo-cheon, a Mountain Guild executive and the leader of the frontline hunter group, Yonggak Ho-do, let out a sigh as if he had expected this outcome.
The other executives also showed signs that they hadn’t expected much in the first place.
“Didn’t we just sacrifice the support personnel we recruited not too long ago, with no results again?”
“We aren’t pouring money into the research team just to see this kind of outcome.”
“Ha, how many were there this time? I remember it being over 120…”
“None survived? Really?”
“…There are 13 survivors, but their bodies aren’t intact…”
“I’ll let everything else slide, but we’ve been bringing in pathetic low-level bugs we don’t even want to see from other countries. Yet, you’ve wasted high-class personnel seven times now without any results. Exactly how much success is needed to show progress?”
“…”
At the words of the muscular, hulking Bai Weixin, the researcher shut his mouth.
Unlike Jin Seo-cheon, another leader of the frontline hunter unit, Bai Weixin, though appearing unrefined, usually respected the researchers more than other executives.
However, his temper was much shorter than others, and when it flared, he was difficult to handle.
Sensing that Bai Weixin was about to explode this time as well, the researcher tried to calm him down by putting on the friendliest expression he could muster.
“I apologize, Hunter Bai Weixin. But please, just a little more time, and there will be progress. If you could wait a bit lo—”
“Progress, you say? I’m sick of hearing ‘wait a little more.’ How long must we wait? Will it finally be completed when my beard turns completely white!?”
“I’m sorry…”
From the researcher’s perspective, it was infuriating to the point of madness.
They hadn’t even finished studying the gate and monsters yet. To ask them to research an even greater unknown from an unknown world, starting from scratch, was an agonizing process.
These ignorant fools had no idea how nauseating it was to try and grasp something out of nothing repeatedly.
“Hunter Bai Weixin, research is, by nature, something that often involves hundreds of failures before a single success. Please don’t push too hard.”
“Sigh, Jin Seo-cheon. Aren’t you angry!?”
“Of course, I’m angry. But it’s not the researcher’s fault. It’s just that the low-level support personnel turned out to be even more useless than we thought…”
In the midst of the commotion, a black-haired woman with an eyepatch sat silently in the center, sipping green tea with her eyes closed.
Gulp.
The tea tastes good today.
“I can’t take this anymore! We, the Baiyun Battalion, will step forward. If we go in ourselves, we can extract the shards or whatever they are! Perhaps we’ll even find a suitable candidate…”
“Hmph, that would be a terrible idea. Who knows who might die?”
At the firm response from a woman with her white hair tied up, Bai Weixin glared at her.
They had both been part of the guild since early on and were executives, but Bai Weixin and Wang Soyeong could never get along due to their opposite combat styles, temperaments, and personalities.
“Hey, Wang Soyeong, are you scared? I suppose those who hide sneakily in the shadows are worried they might not be suitable, huh?”
“Of course not. I’m more worried about brainless fools like you dying. Frankly, we don’t need you, but if the children of the Mountain Castle in the rear support suffer from the absence of meat shields, that would be a big problem.”
“What did you say…!”
“Calm down. We can’t just throw our troops into such a dangerous situation, can we? The internal test for suitable candidates in the guild is nearly finished anyway. While it might have some effect if we deploy high-level hunters, it’s too wasteful to lose valuable personnel when we haven’t even figured out the level of contamination in the shards…”
“Nonsense! Are you saying our guild members are on the same level as those lowly, useless ones? Our Baiyun Battalion is the proud shield of the Mountain Castle—!”
“Yes, yes, the shield, or meat shield. I got it.”
“You… It seems today you’re looking for a fight, huh?”
“Heh, and you’re a brainless pig who doesn’t know his place…”
“Enough.”
The woman with the eyepatch, who had finally finished her tea, spoke up, and the noisy room fell silent.
As the room quieted down and the attention shifted toward her, the woman smiled faintly and looked around at the executives.
“There’s an old saying, ‘磨斧作針—mafuzuochen (If you grind an ax, you can make a needle). No matter how difficult or exhausting it is, if you persist, you will succeed.’ The situation we’re in is not easy. The demands from the Tang in Beijing are also becoming more pressing, so this is not the time to be fighting.”
Her name was Cheon Dana.
She was the leader of the world’s largest guild, the Mountain Guild, and the woman nicknamed the Emperor of Shaanxi after inheriting the title from her father.
With her fox-like eyes, Cheon Dana glanced at Bai Weixin.
“Bai Weixin, I understand why you’re in a hurry. But everything has its time. A castle built on sand will soon collapse, and it’s your role to reinforce and stabilize it.”
“…I apologize.”
“Wang Soyeong, we are family, brothers, and sisters. Who would want bloodshed among family members? Knowing when to stop is the key to not being defeated.”
“I’ll take your words to heart, Leader.”
“Good. As the head of the research center said, it seems that the support personnel weren’t of much use this time either. But that’s fine. Patience brings sweeter results in the end. All executives, go and gather new seeds.”
“””Yes, ma’am.”””
“And Bai Weixin and Wang Soyeong, you two will head to Korea.”
“Korea, ma’am? I thought we were supposed to be contacting the German guild this quarter…”
“This is an order from the Tang. They said the promotion ceremony will begin in Korea.”
“The promotion ceremony, you say?!”
“If it’s a direct order from the Tang…we have no choice.”
While they weren’t entirely without complaints, this was actually a good thing.
They could treat it like a vacation to a nearby place.
Moreover, for the Mountain Guild, thirsty for external talent and personnel, the S-Rank promotion ceremony was akin to a giant fishing ground.
They didn’t know what they might catch, but sometimes they could reel in a gem worth more than gold.
Even if not, they could always use the participants as “support personnel.”
“Bai Weixin and Wang Soyeong, you two will be visiting Korea as friendly hunters representing the Tang and the Mountain Guild. There will be many other hunters there, so don’t make any mistakes in official settings.”
“…Understood.”
“I will heed your words, Leader.”
“Oh, and the Korean promotion ceremony is something our Mountain Guild should pay close attention to. Although no new S-Rank hunters have emerged for quite some time, we have good reason to be interested with the appearance of Yeonseo, the Silver Knight. Furthermore, there’s new news this time.”
“New news?”
“Yes, I stumbled upon it while browsing the internet. There’s an interesting returnee.”
Both Bai Weixin and Wang Soyeong were well aware of returnees.
Their strength varied greatly, and each had their own circumstances and worlds, but they possessed special powers or abilities.
As such, they were one of the top talents the Mountain Guild prioritized for recruitment.
“I’ll have my people send you the detailed information later. Prepare for your departure immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Well then… There’s nothing more to discuss today. Everyone, get back to work. Working hard is good, but make sure to rest. ‘水淸無魚 (Too clear water holds no fish).’ If you’re too harsh, you’ll end up losing the fish, just as one loses human relationships.
Sometimes, a good leader leaves gaps for those around them, including their subordinates.”
“””Understood, Leader.”””
With that, the executives in the Mountain Guild’s conference room all left.
“And you, head researcher?”
“Yes! What are your orders, Leader?”
“It’s unfortunate that all the support personnel were exhausted. I’ll arrange for new ones, so focus on your research.”
“Yes, then… what about the 12 survivors…”
“Director?”
“Yes?”
“I heard there were no survivors. Why are you saying something strange?”
“…………”
At Cheon Dana’s words, the research director closed his mouth.
“Y-yes! Thank you! There were no survivors, so I appreciate your generosity in providing new support personnel!”
“Yes, yes. Make sure you focus on your research without stress. If you get too stressed, you might lose what little hair you have left, and that would be a big problem, wouldn’t it?”
As Cheon Dana smiled at him as if she genuinely cared, the director broke out into a cold sweat.
This crazy woman…
●●●●
ㄴ[Stand tall, Jangbung! Where has your pride as a malicious keyboard warrior gone?]
[To be honest, the standards for S-rank have become so ridiculously strict, but given how high the level of hunters is now, many of them would have been S-rank during the First Great Rift.]
[To be blunt, some of the current A-rank hunters are stronger than those who became S-rank a long time ago, right?]
ㄴ[For real?]
[My brother is applying for S-rank this time, too.]
ㄴ[Who’s your brother, you weeb? Are you dragging in some random streamer and calling him your brother? Lol.]
ㄴ[He’s my actual brother, you bastard.]
ㄴ[Sorry…]
ㄴ[Lololol, “tallul” moment.]
ㄴ[If you’re not careful, you’ll be a damn bastard in a heartbeat!]
[Why it’s obvious that the gallery master Shia will get S-rank this time (Post 3314)]
ㄴRecommendations: 1,119
『First, I’m a certified member of the Dead Titty Squad.
I didn’t start watching during the first broadcast where she ate fried centipede, but during her unofficial first broadcast where she made wyvern jerky in the Kurutalla Mountains.
My nickname is ‘KawaiiHorned’.
I’ve probably donated the most money to the gallery master so far.
Because of my family’s circumstances and my job, I can watch the gallery master’s broadcasts frequently. I’ll list some of the notable things she’s done that I remember.
1. In her unofficial first broadcast, she turned a flock of B to A-rank wyverns in the Kurutalla Mountains into a chicken farm.
2. She took down an S-rank centipede dragon in 10 seconds, then fried and ate it.
3. She chased down orcs who stole her pork belly. The orcs were pushovers, but this showed that the gallery master had excellent sensory and tracking abilities.
4. She successfully raided a dungeon, though the Association didn’t release the video, so I can’t say much about it.
5. She did something in the Great Elven Forest that earned her a commendation from the Association, though I’m not sure what exactly.
6. She taught a stalker a lesson and fried a crazy red chicken for some chicken meat while she was at it.
There are tons of other monsters the gallery master has eaten.
I haven’t seen all her broadcasts, but these are the things she’s done in less than half a year since becoming a hunter.
But look at the gallery master.
She’s super pretty and has a large chest.
She’s tall, strong.
She has many tentacles.
She’s a saintess of the ultra-rare healing, buff, and debuff type, but her physical and offensive abilities are at an unbelievable level, and she still hasn’t shown us everything.
I still can’t forget the saintess aura she showed during the stalker broadcast the other day.
Even when someone was being such a jerk, she had an amazing level of tolerance as a true saintess.
Among the hunters with known faces in the Hunter Gallery, Shia is the first to have risen to the position of gallery master this quickly.
To put it mildly, apart from Lady Yeonseo, she’s the highest-level hunter the gallery has ever seen, according to most opinions.
Of course, the gallery master’s erratic behavior is real.
Some of the gallery members often call her the “Antics Saintess” to bring her down.
And when she still can’t tell the difference between soy sauce and soy sauce for soup, she’s called the “Clueless Saintess.”
Sometimes, she just eats without thinking, like a mindless pig, I’ll admit that.
But there’s no way that such a gallery master won’t become S-rank this time.』
[Oh my god, I was into it, then lolololol.]
[Better watch your back, lol.]
[Is this guy complimenting or insulting her, lol.]
[He’s beating her with a shield, lol.]
[This guy’s been a hardcore fan since her early broadcasts, lol.]
ㄴ[He seems to donate over a million won every time she streams.]
ㄴ[For real?]
ㄴ[Even beef broth doesn’t get boiled this much.]
ㄴ[True soup fan.]
[But seriously, what do you do? You’re always donating, are you an incel? Lol.]
ㄴ[I can’t talk about my job. I’m not short on money.]
[I’ll hold my breath until the gallery master becomes S-rank. Hup!]
ㄴ[This guy will show up in the news soon for dying alone.]
ㄴ[How did you know I live alone, damn it?]
ㄴ[Who here at this time of day is an incel doing this stuff with friends or roommates, lol.]
ㄴ[Why are you hitting me, damn it?]
ㄴ[Ahhhhhh!]
ㄴ[I’m sorry, Mom! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!]
●●●●
A week had passed since the first meeting with Yoon-jung.
Shia had more time for walks lately.
Was it because of matters with her family and Yoon-jung?
Even though she wanted to forget, she wished to rebuild their relationship from the start, now that they were practically strangers again. But things in life are never as easy as you think.
No matter how much she tried to control and manage her feelings… even after 60 years, this was still something she struggled with.
This is why she understood why Teresa teased her all the time, Shia muttered to herself.
Shia spent more time eating meals each day than she did walking, but recently, she couldn’t find food enjoyable at all. Her frequency of streaming had also decreased significantly.
Normally, if Shia stopped streaming, countless trolls and netizens would have jumped at the chance to drag her down on the Hunter Gallery, but strangely, even they had been quiet lately, almost as if they were respecting Shia’s low spirits.
“Welcome!”
“Are you dining alone?”
“Oh my, you eat a lot.”
“Unnie, 10 special bone soups here!”
Sometimes, she walked the same streets as always. If she saw something that looked delicious, she would go in and have a meal.
Though, given that her appetite had diminished, she couldn’t even finish 10 servings.
The restaurant owner might have been surprised, but normally, Shia would have eaten 50 servings and gone for a second round.
It was clear that one’s mood could affect their appetite.
Occasionally, as she wandered aimlessly or entered crowded restaurants, people recognized her.
“Wow! You’re Shia, right?”
“Unnie, can I get your autograph?”
“Me too! On my chest, please!”
“…Sure.”
It felt awkward for so many people to crowd around her, even though she wasn’t a celebrity.
Then again, in her previous world, as a war hero and the empire’s only saintess, even more people had flocked to her, so this wasn’t much of an issue.
But seriously, what kind of weird culture is this, asking for autographs on their chest?
“Hey, noona. You’re going for the S-rank promotion, right?”
“…S-rank?”
What’s S-rank?
“Hey, she’s a returnee, she wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“The announcement for the S-rank promotion came out recently. You’re entering that, right, unnie?”
“…Ah.”
Right, that’s true.
She had been so out of it recently that she had even forgotten what Yeonseo had told her.
“Yeah, I’ll be going for the S-rank promotion.”
“Wow! As expected!”
“Rocket up! Rocket up! Rocket up!”
“Dude, calm down.”
At Shia’s words, the people who seemed like fans cheered with excitement.
Yeah, come to think of it, I should mention in a broadcast that I’m entering the S-rank promotion.
From what the other fans were saying, other hunter streamers had already announced their participation, so it seemed I should turn on a stream soon and make it official.
“I’ll make an official announcement on stream later.”
“Good luck, unnie!”
“You’ll make S-rank for sure!”
“If you don’t make S-rank, I’ll hold my breath and die.”
“Pfft, what’s that?”
The trends and memes of netizens sometimes left Shia, who was over 80 years old, struggling to keep up.
After the short encounter with her fans, Shia resumed walking.
“……”
At this rate, I won’t be able to do well in the S-rank promotion or anything.
Normally, she would have wanted to meet with Yeonhwa, but…
Feeling melancholy and restless, Shia continued walking down the street.
She let herself be guided unconsciously, heading toward where someone she wanted to meet was.
Fortunately, the pendant she had left behind was always by her side.
Since it was a pendant she had made with her own holy power, tracking its location was a simple task. Shia soon found herself at the place where the pendant’s presence was felt.
‘A cafe, huh…’
Well, Yoon-jung could be enjoying coffee and relaxing too.
At least that’s a relief.
I thought she might be living a poor and busy life as a hunter with no time to enjoy coffee, but she’s not suffering as much as I thought…
What the hell are those?
Now that I looked closely, everyone inside the cafe was wearing identical red clothing.
There were almost no other customers, so it seemed like these people had rented out the cafe or something.
Or maybe the cafe was originally their building…
“I’m not interested.”
“Hey, we’re just looking out for you, Yoon-jung…!”
And as soon as Shia subconsciously heightened her senses to catch a bit of Yoon-jung’s voice, her vision darkened with rage.
“If you keep acting this way, Yoon-jung, it’s going to be difficult for us. Do you think we want to do this?”
“That’s right. There’s an easy way. Why do you keep choosing the hard one?”
“All it takes is one signature, and once you leave here, you’ll be in a much better…”
Who are you?
What the hell?
Who do you think you are to be spouting that nonsense?
Where do you think you’re going?
Taking her where?
No, calm down.
Calm down.
I listened to what Yeonseo Unnie warned me about.
It’s not good to immediately assume the worst.
Let’s not lose it and break down the door.
Those people haven’t technically done anything wrong yet, have they?
As a saintess, I can’t resort to violence without reason.
But despite her inner resolve, Shia’s face remained hard as she strode toward the building that appeared to be a cafe.
Click, click.
…To be honest, I’m not calm at all.