Chapter 20
The virtual Zeruth, now fully generated, began unleashing fierce attacks.
Whoosh! Boom!
But Junhyuk, having already predicted every incoming attack, dodged them with effortless ease.
Thud! Crash!
Evading Zeruth's assaults with minimal movement, Junhyuk immediately executed a Shield Attack.
“Shield Attack!”
Clang!
Perhaps due to heightened aggro levels, Zeruth’s eyes grew even more ferocious.
GROOOOAR!
The roaring Zeruth intensified its attacks with terrifying momentum. Though merely a virtual monster devoid of real presence, its expression alone was chilling enough.
Whoosh! Boom!
Thud! Crash!
Of course, Zeruth’s attacks only succeeded in pulverizing the unfortunate ground beneath them.
‘Definitely trickier than True Decker. Well, still manageable.’
For pure tanking purposes, Zeruth was indeed more challenging than True Decker. Despite its lower defense and HP, its attack speed and power were superior. Yet it posed no real threat to Junhyuk wielding his super senses.
‘Opening!’
Spotting a gap in the monster’s movements, Junhyuk instantly closed in and unleashed rapid strikes.
Wham! Bam! Pow! Whack!
‘Disengage!’
After delivering a quick combo, he swiftly retreated. Attack boldly when opportunities arise; withdraw without hesitation when needed. Junhyuk executed what many know but few can perform with such natural ease.
Thus continued his textbook-perfect tanking—drawing aggro by alternating between precise evasion and well-timed counters before Zeruth could retaliate.
About 30 minutes into Junhyuk’s tanking evaluation, the judges watching from the observation room wore expressions of utter disbelief.
“What… what am I seeing right now?”
“This is tanking from someone who awakened just two days ago? Unbelievable.”
Initially impressive enough, but after 10…20…30 minutes elapsed, they could only mutter exclamations of awe. He avoided 90% of attacks outright, using his shield merely to deflect rather than block. Most remarkably, he maintained perfect aggro throughout—something even top evasion-focused tanks typically struggle with.
“Only 3% HP depletion after 30 minutes… At this rate, he wouldn’t lose 10% even if completing the full hour.”
Against Zeruth—whose average hunt time was four hours—maintaining this performance meant potentially taking down two without healers. The judges (all elite tankers leading major guilds) could only describe Junhyuk’s display as “insanely perfect.”
“More importantly,” noted one judge, “he sustains aggro while flawlessly dodging. See? Exploits openings instantly, then disengages at precisely the right moments. I couldn’t replicate this myself.”
Another added: “With such control, aggro barely fluctuates. Imagine if he adds Overwhelm—that national tank skill…”
While male judges praised his decisive aggression, a female tanker interjected: “His movement economy is more impressive. How does he evade Zeruth’s attacks with such minimal motion? Almost like predicting each strike beforehand—yet even then, such precision seems impossible.”
Indeed, while super senses enabled prediction, actual evasion remained a separate challenge most humans would fumble in panic. But Junhyuk’s movements stayed ruthlessly efficient—enabling better crisis response and rock-solid tanking stability (a blend of super senses and past-life experience unknown to observers).
Finally, a judge declared: “No need to continue watching. I’m awarding full marks.” What remained to see from someone performing so perfectly it bordered on boring? Others immediately concurred:
“Likewise. Anyone withholding perfect scores must have rotten pollock eyes for vision. Could they even attempt mimicking this?”
As they unanimously agreed, one female judge suddenly excused herself for urgent bathroom needs—though others noticed her hastily pulling out a phone upon exiting.
‘That sly fox! No time to waste!’
Soon, others fabricated similar excuses until only the supervisor remained, sighing at their transparent guild recruitment attempts.
“Test concluded,” announced the supervisor despite technicians’ protests about premature termination after just 37 minutes (with judges already granting perfect scores unanimously).
Meanwhile, in the arena:
Junhyuk blinked as Zeruth abruptly froze mid-attack before dissolving alongside the virtual cityscape. The staff explained via speakers:
“Judges deemed further testing unnecessary after awarding unanimous perfect scores at the 30-minute mark. Congratulations.”
While expecting high marks, Junhyuk hadn’t anticipated such abrupt completion for his first lifetime’s official test—leaving him oddly unfulfilled despite achieving his goal efficiently.
Registration now complete after three phases (final being tanking assessment), Junhyuk bowed slightly to the empty arena before heading downstairs—officially embarking on his hunter career proper.
