“I guess it had to come to this.”
I heaved a deep sigh and said in resignation.
“You’re right. The only reason I wasted my life preparing for public servant exams was to disguise my identity. At that time, I…….”
“Bullshit.”
“Lies.”
“Son, don’t lie to me.”
My face reddened when all three of my family said that to me. Well, I guess that didn’t work out.
Having no choice left, I explained to them that I was somehow introduced to a job after saving a Jinsung Group director and that somehow I ended up working on a joint project by the Korean, Danish governments and the Jinsung Group.
It was quite a lot easier to convince them since I could use the excuse that ‘any more is an industrial secret’.
“Well, mom’s relieved to hear that you are getting married.”
Mom looked at sister and Hyunji before heaving a sigh.
“If only these two would do the same…….”
Sister and Hyunji lowered their heads in shame.
Oh, and by the way, the online shopping mall that Hyunji was running was always in the red.
“Hyunji, I might be able to introduce you to Jinsung Group. Are you interested?”
“Really?”
Her eyes widened when I said that.
“Well, my word can probably get you to some subsidiary company.”
President Park Jinsung would probably not decline such a trivial favor.
“Yes, yes!”
“You’re done with your shopping mall?”
“Yup. I’m never using my own money to start a business. My brain may as well be a brick.”
Well, she seemed to have learned some restraint after seeing all that unsold stockpile in the cargo.
Since we were at it, I decided to call President Park.
-What is it? I did hear that the Arena is in a mess recently.
“So you heard that. I might have to come to an important decision regarding that. But right now, I want to ask you for a trivial favor.”
-And what would that be?
“Employing my sister.”
-…….
“She’s a bit of an idiot and lazy, but she can read the mood. Is that okay?”
-You damn brat. Do you take me for a neighborhood grandpa? Did you call me for just that?
“Sure. It’s a deciding factor in life for a certain someone.”
-I’ll tell my secretary about it.
“Thanks. Oh, and please, give her a job that’s not too well paying or too tough. She hates having to do a lot of work.”
-I’m hanging up then!
And he hung up.
I nodded my head and spoke to Hyunji.
“That’s that done. They’ll ask you to come to an interview soon.”
“Wow, really? I’m going to commute to Jinsung Group?”
“That’s right, girlie. And it won’t be such a tough one either.”
“Nice! Thanks so much, brother!”
Hyunji was about to fly to the moon.
“Son, she’s employed now?”
“That’s right, mom.”
“My word looks like you are in a high position, son, being able to help others get employed like that. And it’s Hyunji we’re talking about too.”
“That’s what’s on my mind too. Well, as long as she isn’t drunk on her interview, she’ll probably get in.”
“Wow, that’s great. Now, if only Hyunjoo could get married.”
“I, I will, soon enough…… I mean, some time in the future.”
Sister sounded very dejected. It seemed that the news of my soon-coming marriage was a shock for her. Now that makes me feel awkward.
I could ask President Park for a man that could match my sister, but if I called like that for a second time, he may never answer me again, so I did not. Though, that does sound fun.
But at that time, Jihye, who was quiet the whole time, spoke.
“Are you fine with military personnel?”
“Eek?”
“You know someone?”
Hyunji and I were shocked.
“Well, we don’t call each other much, but I had some subordinates while I was still a soldier.”
She continued.
“There are a lot of men that didn’t get married since women don’t seem to like soldiers.”
“I’m good with them.”
My sister immediately answered.
“There’s a problem that they are paid low and they don’t have much free time…….”
“I’m completely fine with it. As long as he’s manly.”
“They’re elites belonging to special forces. I can guarantee ‘manliness’.”
Yes, only a man like that could handle my big sister.
Jihye struck the iron while hot, and took out her phone to call someone.
“Yes, it’s been a while. Let’s skip the formalities and get straight to the point. Are you interested in being introduced to a girl…… I guess I needn’t ask. Okay, text me the dates of your next holiday.”
After that, Jihye spoke to my sister.
“He’s more than rearing.”
“You didn’t say anything about me though?”
“That’s not necessary.”
Well, somehow, it seemed that the problems of all my siblings were going to be taken care of right here.
Mom was very happy, and my big sister’s dejection was alleviated a bit.
Hyunji was already texting to her friends that she was going to get employed by the company that everyone knew about.
Like that, our marriage was permitted with blessings.
Since everyone was in cheerful moods, we decided to drink ourselves to dawn.
Every once in a while, Cha Jihye got calls, well, complaints, from other subordinates she knew, since they wanted to be introduced to meeting girls as well.
She usually had contact with absolutely nobody, so this was a rare sight for her as well.
She also seemed a little alleviated of her loneliness.
That day, I was even more convinced of my decision – that I want to put an end to the missions; that I want to return to my everyday life and live happily with my family.
***
After I came back, I joyfully looked at the karma rewards.
-Name: Kim Hyunho
-Class: 46
-Karma: +15,750
-Mission: Take a final rest
-Time limit: 88 days 11 hours
The last mission gave me a lot of Karma points even though it wasn’t all that difficult.
This proved that I had prepared well in the war against the Aman Empire.
Well, the one that ruled the fief was Cha Jihye, but making the elves join us as allies was my contribution, so my grading was very high.
It was good that Jihye also received 9,500 points.
In any case, it was very likely that this was the last Karma reward.
Since I was confronting the final trial, I had to use my points very wisely.
“Show me all the skills I have.”
-Listing all skills acquired by examinee Kim Hyunho
-Main skill: Elementalism (High Lv 5)
-Sub skill: Health adjustment (Mid Lv 5), Pathfinder (Beginner Lv 1), Instantaneous movement (Mid Lv1), Sight adjustment (Beginner Lv 1), Animal Training (Mastered)
-Special skill: Skill fusion.
-Fusion skill: Guardian of Wind (Mastered), Guardian of Fire (Mastered), Athleticism(Mastered), Fire of Life (Mid Lv 4), Penetration (Mastered), Pseudospace (Mastered), Sharpshooting (Beginner Lv 1), Ammo adjustment (Mastered), Reload, Dynamic Vision (Mastered), Trajectory Detection, Growth Boost (Mastered), Animal tracing, Call, Claw Wind (Beginner Lv 5), Claw reinforcement (Mid Lv 1).
-Remaining Karma: +15,750
Elementalism leveled up in the last trial.
I fed Sylph and Kasa a single ball of fire of life each every day, and that finally bore fruit.
Feeding them that for every day for two years in the trial before was definitely worthwhile.
I would need 4,800 karma points to raise it from High Lv 4 to High Lv 5, and 4,800 points was not pocket change.
Now then, 15,750 points…….
It’s not high nor low.
Even if I invest all of them in my main skill, elementalism, I can only raise it by two levels. High Lv 6 requires 5,100, Lv 7 5,400, and Lv 8 5,700, for a total of 16,200, but I am lacking a little behind. It also didn’t seem like two more levels would make a dramatic change.
Rather than that, my eyes glanced at the Claw Wind and Claw Reinforcement I forgot about for a while.
-Claw Wind(Fusion skill): Attack the enemy using sharp wind projected from the claws. Only applies to bird-type pets submitted to you through the Animal Training (Sub skill).
*Beginner Lv 5: Cooltime 1 minute
-Claw Reinforcement(Fusion Skill): Claws become harder and sharper. Only applies to pets submitted to you through the Animal Training (Sub skill).
*Mid Lv 1: The claws become as hard as diamonds.
I was thinking of raising the power of the claw-footed eagles by raising these two skills to the max.
I spoke to the tablet.
“Show me the effects of mastering these two skills.”
The letters on the tablet started squirming.
-Showing the effects of mastered Claw Wind (Fusion skill) and Claw Reinforcement (Fusion skill)
-Claw Wind (Fusion skill)
*Mastered: Unlimited (-4500)
-Claw Reinforcement (Fusion skill)
*Mastered: Claws become as hard as Aura (-4100)
-Remaining Karma: +15,750
‘That… looks really good!’
Unlimited Claw Winds!
If ten rake eagles in a line spammed Claw Winds, then it may as well be a bombardment.
I felt like it would be hugely effective in the war against the Aman Empire.
Claw Reinforcement was the same.
Comparable to Aura? That meant that he practically had ten Aura Expert-tier knights by his side. Of course, their worth was dozens of times more than ordinary knights, since they could spam Claw Winds while flying.
‘Good, I’ve decided now.’
I mastered those two skills.
-Remaining Karma: +7,150
Now then, where do I use the remaining points?
‘Should I level up elementalism?’
But I shook my head. Isn’t there a more sure-fire way?
Then, I suddenly became curious about Jihye’s rewards.
“How are you going to spend those karma points?”
“I’m planning to raise Aura Control.”
“How far can you raise it?”
“With the amount I have, I can raise it to Mid Lv 10.”
What a pity.
Just one more level, and she would be High Lv 1, the realm of masters.
I asked just in case.
“How much do you need to raise it to High Lv 1?”
After calculating for a bit, she answered.
“I’m lacking 3,400.”
“Oh!”
I finally found out where I should use my points to bring out the most effect.
“I can give you 3,500 points. So become an Aura Master using that.”
“Isn’t it too inefficient for you to give your points to me?”
“I don’t really have any more skills to level. So rather than me. You becoming Aura Master would become a bigger help in the final trial.”
“…….”
Cha Jihye hesitated. It seemed that she didn’t want me to lose out.
I smiled while patting her head.
“The next trial would be the final one anyway. What good is any remaining skill or Karma?”
“You’re right, but why are you suddenly patting my head?”
“A force of habit.”
“Then please stop.”
“I can’t stop because it’s a habit. What scary things habits are.”
“…….”
My shamelessness against her was leveling up by the day.
In any case, I bought 7 item bags for 1,000 karma points each and gave them to Jihye.
She refunded those bags for half the price and gained 3,500 points, and with that, she raised her skill to High Lv 1.
She had also become an Aura Master. This was faster than the growth rate of even Odin, who claimed to have never failed a single mission.
Head Researcher Lim Chulho from Arena Research Facility of Korea called me.
-The government has come to a decision regarding the rewards for the examinees.
“What’s the result?”
-First, they will be waived of tax, rewarded with a status of 1st-degree national merit, as well as other social benefits. This will be rewarded to all the remaining examinees before the next exam.
“Is that all?”
-They have also decided to provide prize money of between 100 million to 1 billion according to contribution in the next exam.
“I’m not sure such a sum would mean anything to the people that have come this far.”
-You say that, but this is the best the government can do. And this was only possible due to the funding of a few colossal companies that invested in the Arena Research Facility.
The Head Researcher sighed before continuing.
-Once the country collapses, these benefits mean nothing. A world without social infrastructure is not a good one even for the examinees, is it?
I thought about it when he said that.
Actually, I didn’t care about what my country wanted to do for me. After all, I already had a huge sum.
I only thought that there were measures necessary in order for the other examinees to not get distracted during the exam.
‘The people with power should have a lot of riches as well, while the poor ones should be rejoicing about it, right?’
There was one more thing.
Even if the exam ended in failure, the exams would still come to an end.
There was no guarantee that the skills given to the examinees would remain. After all, the baby angel never said such a thing.
No one could say for sure that the Earth fused with the world of Arena was beneficial for the examinees.
-They have also decided to erase any and all kinds of criminal records until now. This was done in order to attract the examinees that have done or maybe currently doing bad things.
“That doesn’t sound too bad in my opinion. Well, I’m just one of the examinees, so I can’t say so for the others.”
-Yes, I am aware of that. In any case, we wish you great luck with the next exam, as we are doing our best on our side as well.
“I’ll try my best.”
-And about the next exam…….
“?”
What else?
He elaborated.
-The Arena-related organizations across the globe decided to hold a conference to come up with countermeasures.
“Are we talking about a potential World Arena Organization here?”
-No, it’s an unofficial group. A few of the organizations were excluded, for example, the Chinese one, since they are lead by the corrupt examinees.
That was saying, that only the organizations that aimed to clear the exams, for example, the Nordic Exam Group, was participating.
“And so?”
-The conference will be meaningless without the examinees themselves. With that being the case, each organization decided to let one or two examinees participate that would represent their organization. For us, that would naturally be……
Me. I’m representing the Korean Arena Exam Group.
Well, who else other than me, globally ranked 7th, would be fit for it?
“Jihye can participate with me, right?”
-Of course. She is a member of your team, and is also from the Research Facility, so she’s more than qualified.
And although unmentioned, she also stepped into the realm of masters not too long ago. She had nothing to be afraid of.
“I got it then. When is it?”
-Copenhagen, in three days.
“In Denmark?”
-Yes, this is because the Nordics are believed to be the most trustable group, and Odin is believed to be the main role in clearing the next exam. This is why Copenhagen, where he lives, was chosen.
“Very well, then. I’ll see you in three days.”
***
Just as promised, we headed to Denmark in three days. The Arena Research Facility of Korea sent us a car to our house, so the trip was comfortable.
Even at the airport, we were able to board the private jet lent to us by President Park Jinsung.
There was one thing though.
It was about stewardess Lee Soohyun.
Seeing me, then having a glance at Cha Jihye next to me, she made a smirk. She was obviously enjoying this awkwardness.
After going through customs at Copenhagen International Airport, we took a taxi to the hotel.
The hotel was almost empty without many people in sight.
I had already learned that the entire hotel was rented out for this conference.
I received a key after stating my name at the front desk.
“Then, see you in the evening.”
Head Researcher Lim went off somewhere with another key in his hand.
Cha Jihye went into meditation as soon as she arrived at the hotel room. She was training herself to adapt to controlling the High Lv 1 Aura Control.
I naturally became bored and called out Sylph and Kasa to play.
At that moment.
*Ziiin*
My smartphone started ringing. It was Odin.
-You’re here?
“Yes, I’m at the hotel.”
-That’s good, we are also in Copenhagen.
“Are you with Marie?”
-Bella’s here as well.
Ooh, Bella!
I remembered Odin’s incredibly cute and adorable daughter.
I woke Cha Jihye from her meditation and sought them out.
“Hyunho!”
Marie jumped into my arms.
Seeing that, a blond little girl also did the same.
“Hino!” (Mispronouncing his name)
Bella also jumped into my arms, well, she wasn’t tall enough, so she ran into my legs, and I had to lift her up. She giggled.
I asked Odin.
“Are you alright now?”
“I get her check ups regularly, but I think she is completely cured since nothing has happened now. Though, I can’t say for sure.”
“That’s good.”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
While we were greeting each other, Cha Jihye was staring at me.
Well, to be exact, she should be staring at Bella in my arms. I know that she likes cute things.
I put down Bella and put her in Jihye’s arms.
“Here, this is Bella. Bella, this is Cha Jihye. JI-HYE.”
“Jiye?”
“JI-HYE.”
“Jiye?”
“Hm, let’s just go with Jiye.”
Bella, who ended up in Jihye’s arms, smiled adorably.
Jihye looked at Bella completely still as though she just had a heart attack. Ah, she’s completely done for.
“Let’s grab something to eat, then. Bella wanted to eat something delicious.”
Odin sounded very cheerful when he said that.
After all, being hungry was a sign of good health.
“Okay then.”
We were starting to move, but I just had to comment something out to Jihye.
“Uh, hello? You should put her down already.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Only then did she put Bella down in a flurry.
I didn’t imagine there would come a day where I could use the word ‘flurry’ to describe her actions.
‘we’ll get married and have some kids as soon as the exams are over.’
“I want a child once we get married.”
“Whoa?”
That shocked me. She put the word right out of my mouth. I momentarily thought that she read my mind like the baby angel.
“Okay. I would like a daughter like you, Jihye.”
“I think a son like you would be cute too.”
“No way. It would be a big problem if he’s unintelligent like me.”
“I can make him study.”
I suddenly got the shivers. As a former soldier, Cha Jihye should definitely be able to make a son like me diligent.
I’m so glad that she isn’t my mother.
“You look like you’re having fun. What are you talking about?”
Odin asked since he didn’t understand as we were talking in Korean.
I told him that we were getting married soon.
Odin gave us his blessings.
“Congratulations. I hope you have wonderful children. Though, no one would be as cute as my Bella.”
He was lovestruck with his daughter as he always was.
“Congratulations Hyunho.”
Thankfully, Marie didn’t cause an uproar even after hearing about the two of us getting married. She only gave us her blessings.
I felt a little frustrated though because I remembered the days when she clung onto me acting cute and doing all sorts of things – even the fact that she declared in a loud voice that she was my wife in front of my family.
That little child had grown up so much.
I wished her a safe exam, and to meet a fine man after all this was over
***
We were having a great meal until some people appeared and took Bella away. They seemed to be some people that Odin had hired. Bella waved her hands and departed.
“Let’s get going then.”
“We should indeed.”
We went back to the hotel.
Even though the entire hotel was rented out, and should have no people here, there was a sea of people in the lobby.
They were the people from the organizations relating to Arena across the globe.
After we set foot in, those people had a look at us before whispering to themselves. Amongst them, we could also hear the Arena language.
“It’s Odin, and Marie Johanna too.”
“Who’s the Asian couple with them?”
“The man is Kim Hyunho from Korea. We got intel that he’s close friends with Odin.”
“Oho, so that’s the rank 7 that appeared out of nowhere?”
“We also have intel that he has a close relationship with the Maglun family as well as Dana Ritalin.”
“He might just turn out to be the MVP of the next mission and not Odin.”
It was very surprising that people were recognizing me out of pure context. Well, perhaps this is what it felt like to be famous.
Odin tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“Now then, if you’d please excuse me. See you later.”
“Yes.”
Odin went off first.
A while later, Some familiar people – belonging to the Nordic Group – showed us to a large hall.
The hall was prepared into a luxurious party that appeared in movies.
Servers going around with wine and champagne, as well as various people that were conversing with each other with a glass in their hands – I spectated around this new scenery with curiosity.
Just in time, though, Head Researcher Lim Chulho found us.
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
“It looks like it’s starting soon.”
A while later, Odin, dressed in a tuxedo, appeared on the platform.
So that’s why he went off first.
Odin spoke into the mic.
“Ladies and gentlemen. I am Odin from the Nordic Examinee Group. You have my greetings.”
He greeted the audience very politely.
People applauded.
The whispers that could be heard here and there showed his fame.
“All of us here have experienced supernatural phenomena that can’t be explained by common sense. For some, it was torture, and for others, it was an opportunity. And finally…….”
He continued.
“We have gathered here in order to put an end to it. Yes, we must accomplish the last exam that God has given us; in order to protect our world and our family. We are about to discuss that very matter.”
People applauded again.
The ones that had serious expressions amongst the people here were probably the examinees like me.
“Some of you here, though the majority of you aren’t in this category, should have aimed for the riches.”
This was aimed at the capitalists and examinees that saw the exams as a way to make money.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s in human nature to strive for a better living. However, that better living is founded on top of peace.”
He continued.
“I have a very high social status in the world of Arena, that is, a Count in the Kingdom of Arrend. I am in possession of a large fief, as well as an army. Even the King, Alphonse III consults me when it comes to important matters.”
Everyone awed at his achievements.
“If you ask me I am happy with it, then I will answer that it doesn’t make me happy at all. In a world where there is drastic discrimination of sexes, as well as extreme gaps between the haves and the have-nots, I do not feel happy at all to stand out amongst the others.”
He pointed towards his chest.
“The time I’m most happy is when I spend time with my daughter in real life. Going out together to eat, to watch a movie, or playing with her in the playground. Those moments make me the happiest.”
He then concluded.
“Let’s protect this precious world. I can guarantee that such a world is better than the world we’re currently living in.”
Applauses erupted out again.
My eyes teared up.
Although it was an obvious story, Odin’s theory on happiness really touched my heart at the core after experiencing all sorts of things in Arena.
I wanted to return to my everyday life after all of this was over.
I am no longer alone now.
Odin spoke again.
“Then I shall introduce you to an examinee who has in his possession important information. All of you should know him well.”
When he said that, a man appeared on the platform.
A black-haired handsome man.
It was none other than Dana Ritalin.
“Dana Ritalin here.”
“Wow!”
“Ritalin!”
“Rank 1!”
Everyone was surprised to see him here.
Dana started telling everyone the truths that he had learned while he was undercover in the Order of the Advent: What kind of being the revived Kazaad Vun Aman was, as well as what kind of monster he had become due to the side-effects of the revival ceremony.
The people started to feel nervous after listening to that story.
“Their so-called ‘Great Empire’ is very far from what we think it is. After all, Arena does not have the concept of human rights or civil rights. Their description of greatness refers to unshakable, everlasting power. And considering his personality, he will probably not let supporters like Lee Chang-wee alive after all this is over. The Sultans and the Great Priests alike were thinking of them as throw-away cards after all.”
He was warning the Examinees again.
A combined world of Earth and Arena.
That kind of chaos with the people and monsters of another world pouring onto Earth was nothing good – was what he was trying to say.
What mattered was the will of the examinees.
He then continued on to show a slideshow.
It was a report on the powers of the Aman Empire and their recent movements.
This was a report that combined the intel from both Odin, a core member of the Arrend Kingdom, and Dana, who was a Great Priest at the Order.
A total of 500 thousand men.
An uncountable number of knights and mages.
“How are we supposed to win against that?”
“Maybe all the other countries combined could match that.”
“Numbers don’t win the war.”
“Speaking from a financial viewpoint, the Aman Empire has already wasted a lot in the annihilation of the Seyran Kingdom.”
“Yes, they must be on running on fumes now.”
The Examinees were whispering to each other.
After putting the numbers up on the slide show, Dana added.
“However, we cannot be distracted by the enormous number that is the power of the Aman Empire. The key point lies elsewhere.”
Then, the slideshow changed to show a portrait of another man.
“This is Kazaad Vun Aman.”
This was the montage of Kazaad Vun Aman that Dana had witnessed through the Orb of Abyss.
Everyone quietened down in nervousness.
The source of everything was on that slide.
“Our ‘final rest’ exam was given to us immediately after he was revived. In other words, the next exam is likely NOT battling the soldiers of the Aman Empire, but to slay Kazaad Vun Aman himself.”
At that time, one of the audience, an examinee, raised his hand to speak.
“Please speak.”
“Thank you. I am Nakai Shuhei from Japan.”
“Nakai Shuhei?”
“From Japan’s Arena?”
Some of them whispered.
Cha Jihye reminded me.
“He’s officially ranked 11 in the world.”
“Oh…….”
I nodded. So it was a big-shot after all.
Shuhei spoke.
“You told us that we are not battling the empire, but that we have to slay him, but I believe that these two are similar goals. How are we supposed to kill him when he is in the basement of the Aman Imperial Palace?”
“I’ve never mentioned the word ‘basement’, but you are already aware of it?”
Dana asked.
Shuhei shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve infiltrated the basement due to a previous exam. I’ve accomplished my objective, but then found out that there was a huge empty space below the palace. Though, I’ve not infiltrated there.”
Some of the Examinees were awed again.
Dana nodded with a smile.
“You’ve done well not to. That basement, unless permitted, cannot be penetrated even by a million-strong army.”
“You’ve taken my point. If that’s the case, shouldn’t we focus on how to bring the war with the Aman Empire to victory first?”
“You are entirely correct, but it would be a different story if Kazaad leaves that place by himself, right?”
“Do you mean to say that he will personally command the battlefield?”
“I’m not sure about ‘commanding’, but I can predict his aim.”
The next slide was a map. The region shown was the Brown Mountain Range and its surroundings. Odin and My fiefs could be seen there.
“After conversing with him through the Orb of Abyss, he was hit with side-effects due to the lack of soul energy during the revival ceremony, and desired the Tree of Life of the elves.”
“So you mean to say that Kazaad will show up there?”
A dark-skinned examinee suddenly interjected
Dana nodded his head.
“Yes.”
“You cannot guarantee that. He may order his subordinates to do it.”
“If he desires the soul energy so much, then it is very likely that he will show up in the Brown Mountains. I believe that we should gather all the examinees there and prepare ourselves to fight. We will be betting on something that’s more probable.”
“If it’s just killing one Kazaad Vun Aman, then I don’t believe that we will need so many examinees.”
Shuhei voiced out his opinion.
He said he had ‘infiltrated’ the palace before, so I predicted that he was of the assassin class like Marie.
Dana shook his head.
“That’s not the case at all. First off, Kazaad Vun Aman is the strongest necromancer since Arenan history. Second, it is likely that not only his army but Lee Chang-wee and the other corrupt examinees will be with him as well.
“Ah, so there was Lee Chang-wee too.”
Shuhei groaned.
“I believe that all the remaining examinees should gather here and have the final showdown.”
“That’s nonsense! What if the Empire decides to concentrate its forces elsewhere?”
The dark-skinned examinee objected again.
Since this was an obvious point, a lot of the other examinees agreed.
What if Kazaad, the necromancers, as well as the corrupt examinees predict that we are waiting for them at the Brown Mountains and go off to other battlefields, resulting in their victory?
It would be useless to turn the situation around at that time.
No matter how strong the examinees are, it would be extremely difficult to turn around the flow of a war that consisted of hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting.
‘Wait……?’
At that moment, Something rose in my head.
‘But that goes for our opponents too!’
I shivered in excitement.
If things went well, we could bring this battle to victory.
Superior communication.
Superior mobility.
We had an advantage, a very strong one at that, that Lee Chang-wee didn’t even know about.
‘If we use this to our advantage….’
I felt excited.
At that moment, my hand suddenly became warm with the warmth of another.
Cha Jihye had grabbed my hand.
“Did you think of something?”
How strange. It seems that it wasn’t only me that had become more able to read her better.
“Yes, I did.”
“This happened all the time. You always intuitively found yourself the answer to clearing the exams.”
She grabbed my hand even tighter.
“Please tell everyone; the solution to the last exam.”
I nodded my head.
Thanks to her, my nervousness lessened even though I had to speak in front of all these people.
I raised my hand up quietly and waited for my turn.
Dana then had a look at me before his eyes changed as though he was expecting something of me.
“Yes, please speak. Mr. Kim Hyunho.”
“Kim Hyunho?”
“The Korean ranker that popped out of nowhere.”
“So that fella was Kim Hyunho after all.”
“A big-shot enough to attend this conference that we don’t even know his face, there can only be him.”
The examinees as well as other people all whispered amongst themselves.
The non-examinees caught up a beat slow because the conference was held in Arenan tongue and they had to have translators interpreting the whole meeting.
I calmly spoke.
“The problem that was raised just now, I think that goes for our enemies as well.”
“Can you be more specific?”
Dana urged.
“What if we, that is, the core members, are put into the most intense part of the battlefield? Even if Kazaad desires the Tree of Life, I believe that he is not foolish enough to disregard the entire war for it.”
“That’s true.”
“Foolish? Far from it. He’s scarily smart, that guy.”
“He even planned his revival several centuries after his death.”
“But so what?”
The examinees waited for me to speak again.
So I spoke.
“He will probably send Lee Chang-wee and the other corrupt examinees as well as the necromancers to the battlefield to counteract us. While he himself would head to the Tree of Life.”
“If so, then we would be unable to stop Kazaad from taking the Tree of Life as we are busy fighting the corrupt examinees and the necromancers.”
Dana spoke.
I then replied with a smirk.
“Putting it in another way, we can separate Kazaad from the corrupt examinees and the necromancers.”
Dana also seemed to have realized what I was intending to say. What a smart guy.
Yes.
I had a plan to lead the final exam to victory. That is – using the Pseudospace skill.
‘I can probably fit around 20 to 30 examinees in there no problem.’
Pseudospace was 10 meters wide, 10 meters long, and 10 meters tall.
It could host 10 of those massive rake eagles, so I could probably squeeze 100 people in there if I tried.
First, the core members of the examinees ranked high in the world rankings will participate in the essential battlefields.
Then, the Aman Empire would send their necromancers as well as the corrupt examinees in order to not lose the war.
And taking this opportunity, Kazaad Vun Aman would most definitely head to the Brown Mountain Range. He desired the Tree of Life after all.
Once we receive the intel that he’s headed to the mountain range, we would immediately depart for the mountain range – very secretly so that Lee Chang-wee and the necromancers don’t notice.
The method is to put the examinees into my pseudospace, then I would fly to the mountains on a rake eagle. Even if the other party does notice, they would not be able to catch up to me on an eagle.
If I take all the examinees out after I find Kazaad, then the final battle would be Kazaad VS everyone present.
No matter how freakishly strong Kazaad is, surely we can defeat him with all the people there.
‘But I feel it would be a little insecure if I explained that here.’
Even though the participants of this conference were screened beforehand, there were still too many people here. It was a little insecure to leak the final plan here.
So I spoke.
“I have a great plan that requires around 30 to 40 people high in the rankings. As for the specifics, I would rather talk to the people involved for security.”
Odin nodded his head.
“You are right. There should be things that researchers should be discussing with researchers and examinees with examinees.”
“Very well.”
“It would be unwise to reveal such an important plan here.”
Like that, day one was over at the conference.
The next day, the researchers and the examinees would go their separate ways.
***
The next day, I briefed the examinees representing their countries of my plan and asked for agreement.
“I fully agree.”
“I am very surprised that such a skill existed.”
“That might possibly be the best plan we can come up with if we had that in our possession.”
After discussing, we decided to meet up in Arrend Kingdom in the next exam.
With all the events having taken place, we flew back to Korea.
Inside the private jet, we conversed with Head Researcher Lim.
He, representing Korea, discussed the measures that each country had taken or should take.
“For now, we all came to the agreement that the final exam must end in success.”
“That’s good, I thought there maybe a country that would risk it to get more magic essence crystals.”
“From the government’s standpoint, nothing is scarier than the collapse of social order.”
“And what did they plan to support the examinees with?”
“We first talked about the rewards that the examinees would get, and most of the countries seemed to have come to the same conclusion as us.”
“Is there anything that may directly help us in clearing the exam?”
“There was one thing.”
“And what would that be?”
“It’s something you know very well. Mr. Kim. It’s the surveillance satellite that you’ve requested from the Nordics.”
“Oh yeah!”
There was that too.
I had completely forgotten because for me, that was years ago.
“It was about developing a small surveillance satellite that would fit your pseudospace, and the Maglan Research has decided to provide us with it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Maglan Research had already tried shooting a surveillance satellite in Arena, so they have the technology to create a small-scale satellite that can be built quite simply.”
“How long would that take?”
“They planned to collaborate with the Nordic Group’s researchers, so we’re probably looking at around one to two months.”
“That’s good. There would be nothing to worry about with the satellite.”
What would we have to fear if we could watch our enemies’ every move through the satellite? The war was as good as won once the surveillance satellite was in orbit.
The problem, as always, came down to Kazaad.
After all, the ultimate objective of the exams was to slay this freak.
Perhaps one may think that it was just man, no matter how strong of a necromancer he was.
However, he was the greatest conqueror of Arena that had once put all of the world’s population beneath his feet.
A fiend freakish enough for the Great Law and the angels to call upon other world’s people to put a stop to. We could not be entirely sure about his prowess until we met him.
‘But we’ll still do it.’
The angels wouldn’t give us impossible exams, only ones that are within our capabilities.
We returned to Korea and spent our remaining days in leisure.
We booked a ceremonial hall, and even planned for our honeymoon. Although we were busy, they were all worth it.
We decided to hold a small-scale wedding with just a few of our acquaintances. This was done because Cha Jihye barely knew anyone.
She, despite being a girl, didn’t seem to care much about the marriage.
Even while trying on wedding dresses, she seemed to have pretty much no opinion at all.
And here I am, clapping and jumping around because the wedding dresses she tried were so pretty. Really, this girl probably had all of her romantic genes devolve into nothingness.
It wasn’t just me and Jihye that were doing well. The rest of my family were doing well as well.
For Hyunji, Chief Secretary Lee Jungsik of the 3rd Secretarial Office of Jinsung group had employed her to a decent job at a subsidiary company, and it seemed that she was doing well. Though, that probably had to do with the fact that I promised her to buy her a Lamborghini if she commuted without trouble for 3 years.
As for my big sister, she hit off well with the soldier that Cha Jihye introduced her to. She said that she liked his straightforwardness or something.
She wanted a dude that wouldn’t shy down from her scary glares, so that guy probably worked out.
With all three of her kids doing well, my mom decided to sell the fried chicken store without regrets. Apparently, the competition was fierce because the sales were good. It seemed that her future would be very stable even without our help.
Mom planned to journey overseas for travel, which she wasn’t able to do until now because of her job.
She originally planned to follow me and Cha Jihye to our honeymoon, but due to my nagging, she changed it to a tour around Europe.
With everything going well, time ticked away.
One week before the exam, the Nordics called me.
-It’s done.
The surveillance satellite was completed.
Jihye and I flew to Copenhagen to see the finished product.
Arriving at the Nordic Exam Group Headquarters, we were guided to the underground lab where the satellite lay.
There was a satellite of about 5m tall.
“Is this it?”
“Yes. It is incredibly small compared to what it’s capable of.”
Chief Researcher Wilhelm Heinz boasted.
The official name was “Earth III”.
They told me that they were able to finish just in time thanks to being provided with the technology to micro-control the satellite not using electric signals but magic energy signals from Maglan Research.
“Am I capable of launching this?”
“That was the biggest problem, but we’ve taken that into a calculation as well.
Wilhelm explained.
“According to the data on Arenan geology and astronomy that the examinees have given us, we’ve designed it so that the satellite will drive itself into orbit once you launch it from exactly this place.”
The location he pointed to was the outer perimeter of Count Wolfenburg’s fief.
“That’s rather close. But is this place fine? Don’t you need like, some complex calculations? It’s a satellite after all.”
“The minute adjustments in orbit will be handled through magic. The biggest advantage is that it can move freely in space without having to consider physical force. Though, the shortcoming is that there’s no proper satellite control center and that the energy inside the crystals will run out in 2 to 3 years.”
“That doesn’t matter. We won’t be using it for that long.”
We wouldn’t use it again once we finish the final exam. It’s not like someone could recover that thing from outer space.
Also, the control of the satellite was done through a laptop.
I tried putting this satellite, named Earth III, into my pseudospace.
However, it didn’t work because it was too big. My pseudospace was already filled with 10 rake eagles, the supercar MSM-2, as well as other things.
“I guess I can’t help it.”
I took out the MSM-2 from pseudospace
I tried again, and this time, the satellite was put inside the pseudospace with no issues.
I consoled Cha Jihye, who liked to ride.
“Sorry, I guess we have to leave this one out.”
“It’s fine.”
“You know you are disappointed.”
“I’m completely fine. The priorities are clear here.”
“I know you are disappointed.”
I poked her sides. She glanced at me before she sighed.
“Are we at it again? Let’s just say that I’m disappointed.”
“Since you are disappointed, I’ll pat your head.”
Then I started patting her hair and she facepalmed.
In the afternoon, we met up with Neilson as well.
As a gunsmith, he gave me a lot of ammo.
“Take it. It’s the bullets I created in the last exam.”
“Are these handcrafted?”
The 12 boxes of ammo were filled with 20mm bullets that I could use with the Neilson R8.
I asked again.
“Are these explosive?”
“No, they are just for sniping. It has enhanced bullet speed and penetrative power.”
“Thank you.”
“Nah, it’s from my exams.”
With that, Neilson extended out his hand.
“What is it?”
“Let’s shake hands.”
As he requested, I shook hands.
“I guess we will not be meeting anymore about the exams.”
“We can meet for other personal matters.”
“I’m not that free.”
I shrugged.
“You are coming to my wedding, right?”
“Take those as my wedding gift.”
He continued with a heavy voice.
“Please put an end to these exams.”
His voice contained a deep yearning within
It was the wish of a man who had to spend too long of a time in Arena.
“Yes. Please leave it to me. I will slay Kazaad with the weapons you have given me.”
After that we went back to Korea.
Amidst the constantly flowing time, the examinees around the world were preparing for the final trial.
According to rumors, even Lee Chang-wee was going around calling people to join his cause of the corrupt examinees. He seemed to have come to the conclusion that it was too late to turn back.
With that, the rest was over.
One day before our wedding, we were called to the final exam.
So began the final battle.
When I came to, I was in a world of nothingness.
Nothing, no grass, no trees, no color at all existed. Both the sky and the ground were pure white. The endless horizon was also just blank.
Just as though, the entire world was drained of color.
“Just like a dream, isn’t it?”
The baby angel spoke.
The angel laughed like an idiot as he continued.
“If you are so unsure if this is a dream or reality, then you may go ahead and clarify by smashing your head on the ground.”
So he’s referring to my first day here.
Instead of a reply, I gave the angel my middle finger. The angel kept giggling.
Cha Jihye appeared as well just in time.
We summoned the tablet and confirmed the contents of our exam.
– Name: Kim Hyunho
– Class: 45
– Karma: +150
– Mission: Slay Kazaad Vun Aman.
– Time limit: ???
“What’s wrong with the time limit?”
I asked.
The baby angel spoke with a giggle.
“Should I make an exception and tell you about it, examinee Kim Hyunho?”
“Pray tell.”
The baby angel pointed at me with the little finger he had.
“It’s until you, examinee Kim Hyunho, dies.”
“What?”
“To make the time limit infinite, some examinees may as well live a new life here in Arena, and to set on a time limit, Kazaad may as well hide until the exam is over after hearing about it from the corrupt examinees.”
“So it’s until my death?”
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you already? That you are our final stand?”
“You did, but still…….”
“Oh, just to let you know, this is a secret that no examinees know about. Kazaad and the corrupt examinees may aim for you if they found out after all.”
Hence the question marks.
I then asked.
“What if I decide to live my second life in Arena?”
“Go ahead and try. If you can, that is.”
The baby angel was still giggling.
Of course, I would hate to do that.
‘Tomorrow’ would be the day of my marriage with Jihye. I’ve booked an extremely expensive and luxurious wedding hall for it too. We’ve even done the rehearsal!
I should end this quick and marry her already.
“Open the door already.”
“Sure, sure.”
The baby angel flicked his fingers. The door to the exam appeared before us. We opened the door and stepped inside.
At that moment, I heard the baby angel’s voice behind me.
“Examinee Kim Hyunho.”
“What now?”
“You know that I liked you quite a bit, right?”
“F*ck off.”
The baby angel’s giggle was still ringing in my ears.
That damned bastard. But then, I ended up smiling.
A bright light shone from the gaps of the door. We grabbed each other’s hands and headed towards that light.
***
As soon as I arrived in Arena, I took out the communication device to call Odin.
“Hello?”
-So you’re here. The exam was just as we expected.
“Yes, killing Kazaad Vun Aman.”
-The time limit was written as question marks though, is it the same for your side?
“Yes.”
I couldn’t mention that it was until my death even to Odin. A secret was better off shared with as little people as possible.
-Then for now, please come to this place. Let’s hand out the artificial muscle fiber suit and the communication device to the other examinees and also launch the surveillance satellite.
“Okay, I’ll head there first thing tomorrow morning.”
For that one day, Jihye and I spent our time in leisure.
The next day, we left our fief matters to our head officer Edward and headed off towards Count Wolfenburg’s territory.
It wasn’t just her and me. Dana, who was also at our fief, also joined us.
Thanks to riding the eagle nonstop, we were able to arrive at Count Wolfenburg’s mansion in one day.
“Welcome.”
“For now, we’ll give you the artificial muscle fiber suit and the comms device.”
“If you’d please. I’ll store it safely in my vault.”
I took out the muscle suits and the communication device.
These were intended to be used by the other examinees, the higher-ranked ones, to help out in the final battle.
“Then let’s try launching the satellite.”
“We should.”
Then, we headed to the launch point of the satellite.
The launch device of the satellite was created through magic, so it was designed so that even we could launch it easily.
I took out the satellite from my pseudospace and put it on the exact specified launch position.
I also took out the laptop that would control the satellite.
Odin and Dana prepared to launch while discussing some things about it. The two seemed to have been educated beforehand from the Nordic researchers on how to launch this thing.
“We can launch it now.”
Dana spoke as he pressed the power button on the satellite, activating it.
“Don’t we need to step back a little?”
“That’s not necessary. The projectile works through flight magic, so there will be no counterforce during the launch.”
After adjusting the launch angle with the laptop, Dana pressed some keys on the laptop before pressing enter. Then,
*Ziiin*
The large satellite started levitating in the air.
After reaching a certain height, it started accelerating upwards.
After a certain moment, it accelerated abruptly and disappeared from our sight.
“Is it done now?”
“Yes, we just have to check if it’s working properly.”
Dana typed on the keyboard and had a look at the current status of the satellite.
The orbit of the satellite was drawn on the screen on a 3 dimensional map.
The red dot, that was the satellite, soon turned green.
Dana spoke with a smile.
“Annnnd we’re in orbit. Success!”
Yes!
Clenching my fist in joy, I spoke to Dana.
“Try if we can survey the area.”
“Okay. First, we’ll have a look at the Aman Imperial Palace.”
Dana adjusted the super-high resolution camera on the satellite with the laptop.
When he did, the entire Aman imperial palace could be seen from a bird’s eye view.
It was quite a clear picture too.
“Wow!”
I exclaimed.
Dana zoomed in on the dome of the palace.
“I escaped through the hole I made on this very dome. You can see that it’s under reconstruction, right?”
Just as he said, some construction workers were fixing the hole on the dome.
“Can we have a look at the Aman imperial army as well?”
“It will take too much time to have a look at all of them one by one. I need to know the exact location.”
“Right now, they should be at the border.”
“Please wait a moment then.”
Dana controlled the laptop again.
After a brief while, an image of a large number of soldiers could be seen on the screen.
It was the Aman Empire soldiers.
“It works!”
Odin Rejoiced.
As someone who had experience in commanding a war, he knew what kind of advantages this satellite would bring.
“I’m done now. With that, the war is as good as won.”
“So we only have to succeed with Mr. Kim’s plan now.”
“Indeed. I’ll have to ask you for your help with this Mr. Ritalin. Not only do we need to watch over the army’s movements, but we also have to keep track of Kazaad Vun Aman as well. Both the Arrend Royal Palace and the examinees with the communication devices are checking in on him, so we should be able to achieve complete victory in information warfare.’
“Understood.”
Things were starting off well.
The biggest problem, the satellite, had gone according to plan.
There was just one problem left.
‘Will Kazaad Vun Aman really move according to our expectations and appear in the Brown Mountain Range?’
If he doesn’t and decides to lock himself up under the palace, then the exam would become much harder than predicted.
At that point, we would have to fight until the Aman Imperial Army retreated.
We stayed in Count Wolfenburg’s fief for quite a while.
Dana checked up on our enemies every day, and we also waited for other examinees to recon here.
There were a total of 33 people participating in the plan to slay Kazaad Vun Aman.
Most of them were strong people that were within the top 50 of the official world rankings.
Among the people I know, there were Odin, Marie Johanna, Dana Ritalin, and Cha Jihye.
In Jihye’s case, her ranking was quite low as she had never revealed the total karma points she had, but as she had achieved Aura Control High Lv1, and stepped into the realm of masters, she was more than qualified to participate in the plan.
In any case, the five of us were in Count Wolfenburg’s territory right now.
After about a week, the examinees participating in my plan started arriving one by one.
The first one to arrive was Nakai Shuhei from Japan.
Although he had a small stature, around 170cm tall and very thin, he looked very serious and careful.
“Welcome to this place.”
“So we meet again. Please take care of me.”
We exchanged greetings and got to know each other.
Apparently, he was High Lv 2 for Aura Control.
Although this didn’t seem to differ much from Cha Jihye’s own skill, his way of battle centered around a sub-skill called Darkshadow Steps.
The effects allowed him to erase any sound from his footsteps once he achieved a certain speed, and could hide in bright daylight if he stood still. This was the skill behind the greatest assassin character.
“For now, please take this artificial muscle fiber suit and the communication device. You will have to familiarize yourself with the suit quite quickly.”
Odin took out the two items and provided them to Shuhei.
Shuhei was surprised to find that his own muscular strength was enhanced through the suit, and started training himself to adapt to the suit in the training court inside the mansion.
Apparently, he was the dojo master of a famous kendo dojo before he became an examinee, and indeed, he was quite diligent.
He spent his time training and sparring with Odin, Cha Jihye and the others.
Examinees other than Shuhei started arriving one after the other, and the mansion started being filled with people.
Soon, Odin’s personal training court was filled with examinees trying to adapt themselves to their new power.
***
Palace underground.
There was a golden throne, prepared for the conqueror that returned from death.
The throne that shined in a luxurious gold color was currently occupied by the rightful owner.
Even the current monarch of the Aman Empire, Sultan Sarlock, had to stand on the right side.
The rightful master of the golden throne, Kazaad Vun Aman, arrogantly looked down upon the black-haired man beneath him.
“Lee Chang-wee was it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Lee Chang-wee’s voice contained a hint of nervousness.
Even he, who was at ease when confronting Sultan Sarlock, could not do the same in front of Kazaad.
“You say this is the last exam?”
“Yes, the contents of the exam is to slay Your Majesty, and the time limit is written with question marks, which is peculiar.”
“Question marks, you say. Do you mean to say that there is no time limit?”
“No. If that was the case, it would say ‘unlimited’, not a vague expression like this.”
“So there is some secret behind it. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Kazaad laughed.
“After all, I shall soon become the first monarch in history to rule over two worlds!”
The curtain to the final exam rose.