Episode 9: Placement Exam (Part 1)
"What the fuck? Did you just swear at me?"
"Yeah, you fucking bastard. What else should I call you? A fucking mutt? Huh?"
The short-haired man kept spewing curses in an intimidating manner.
Kim Si-moon responded with a hollow laugh.
'What fresh hell is this as soon as I arrive...'
Getting cursed at immediately upon entering the Arena?
Judging by the cooperative Offense conditions, this matchup was doomed from the start with them picking fights right away.
The real problem:
This wasn't just that man's provocation.
"Oppa! Show me your fingers right now!"
A rough voice echoed from the center of his chest, its tone incongruously delicate yet laced with venom:
"I'll tear that ugly face to shreds and deep-fry the pieces..."
'Calm down now.'
Si-moon stroked his chest as if soothing a head.
"Aww~! If you keep touching me so tenderly, what am I supposed to do? Hmph?!"
Though clearly just caressing his own chest,
Why did this feel so viscerally disgusting?
'Haa... Had I known this would happen, I would've blocked the Obsidian Tablet fusion at all costs...'
The owner of this crass speech pattern was none other than the Philosopher's Stone.
The changes from fusing with the Obsidian Tablet weren't limited to just its grade and level.
[The Philosopher's Stone undergoes a minor change.]
'Who knew that tiny notification could be so terrifying.'
Indeed - the stone had gained speech capabilities through fusion.
In a rather... unconventional manner:
"Hnnng! Oppa's touch! Sooo good!"
But what could be done?
The deed was already irreversible.
"Huff! More! Touch me more!!"
The stone's bizarre demands kept coming.
Si-moon immediately withdrew his hand, closing his eyes to gather his scattered thoughts.
Did they mistake this for fear?
"Look who's pretending to know his place. Hey, shitting yourself?"
Choi Ki-yeol's eyelids fluttered rapidly.
Seeing Si-moon still refusing to open his eyes:
"Ki-yeol, why bother asking? He's clearly pissing his pants!"
"Pfft! Look at his gear - total guildless trash!"
Ki-yeol's party members added their jeers from behind.
"Maybe you've been getting carried by soft-hearted suckers without proper gear,
but Choi Ki-yeol here isn't some pushover, got it?"
"Is that the reason?"
Si-moon's eyes snapped open,
his unsteady gaze locking onto Ki-yeol. "If this is about equipment, that's a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"From the beginning, my gear..."
THUD!
A cloud of dust erupted where Si-moon had stood,
created by the morning star embedded in the ground.
"This bastard's actually crazy."
Ki-yeol glared with bloodshot eyes at Si-moon who'd backstepped away,
the spiked flail still quivering in the crater.
"You call this a misunderstanding? Who do you take me for, you psycho?!"
As Ki-yeol growled,
Si-moon studied him briefly before remarking:
"...Choi Ki-yeol, was it? You're quite entertaining."
"Laughing? Some gearless leech dares mock me in the Arena!"
Si-moon chuckled softly.
"This bracket's typically Bronze tier. Even considering the event type, Silver at best, no?"
"What's that got to do with you being a freeloader?"
"Mages and support classes often lack gear in this rank. You've done Arenas before - shouldn't you know that?"
......
Ki-yeol remained silent.
The truth stung - magic and support gear cost exponentially more than combat equipment.
With mages being the rarest class population-wise,
their gear remained unattainable dreams for most in this bracket without substantial backing.
A fact even Ki-yeol, who'd dominated since tutorial days, knew well.
Yet.
"Not sure."
Ki-yeol's lips twisted in a sneer.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"Expected. My gear was never your real concern."
"Living in fantasyland? A gearless runt yapping at a carry?"
The true reason for this aggression was obvious.
Si-moon watched Ki-yeol's threatening approach.
'They want to monopolize the Arena rewards.'
This high-MMR Offense event required 5-member cooperation against 50 enemies.
The difficulty surpassed standard Silver rank matches,
meaning correspondingly higher rewards.
'Eliminate me to reduce reward-sharing participants.'
Co-op events redistributed eliminated members' rewards to survivors.
While larger survivor groups sometimes offered greater rewards,
this wasn't one of those cases.
'Tch. Trouble from the moment I entered.'
Si-moon's brow furrowed slightly.
Most teams would welcome rare mage/support classes with open arms.
Yet here they were, being antagonized.
'They fear my area spells stealing all kills.'
Unlike Domination matches,
Offense events offered minimal contribution points beyond kills.
Ki-yeol feared exactly this -
wide magic being perfect for kill-securing.
'If he understands this much, he's Arena-seasoned...'
Si-moon's gaze paused on Ki-yeol's armor.
"You're from Scorpion Guild."
"Look at this! Now he's getting curt?"
"I don't waste manners on non-humans."
Ki-yeol's face hardened instantly.
His two guildmates mirrored the reaction.
"This bastard! How dare he?!"
"Gearless trash running his mouth?!"
Observing the trio, Si-moon frowned.
"Framing me as deadweight to hog rewards? How crude."
"You fucking leech..."
Ki-yeol lunged forward, morning star raised high.
"Die!"
Contrary to bludgeoning weapons' usual sluggishness,
the spiked ball flew at Si-moon's head with alarming speed.
A voice resonated from Si-moon's chest:
"Oppa! You're not taking this hit, right?"
'Of course not. Prep complete.'
"Hehe! Knew it! I almost worried you'd gone soft!"
Si-moon shook his head at the stone's cheekiness.
Unlike some naive little sister,
'That's not me.'
His right hand moved in tandem with his gaze tracking the incoming weapon.
Snap
As left fingers flicked,
CRUNCH!
The morning star's chain froze mid-air,
its spiked head caught in Si-moon's palm.
"Wh-what?!"
Ki-yeol's eyes bulged.
Not because a mage blocked his strike bare-handed -
though that was shocking enough -
'The real issue...'
Ki-yeol stared at his trembling morning star.
His A-rank Strength stat had never failed him since tutorial days.
'Am I... losing in raw power?!'
His S-tier Strength stat betrayed him for the first time.
To some scrawny, gearless mage?
A newbie who couldn't have run many Arenas!
"Grrrk!"
Veins bulged across Ki-yeol's neck,
hands to temples swelling with exertion.
His Strength stat and combat enhancements pushed to maximum.
Yet.
"Thought your Agility was high from the speed."
Like a child pushing against a boulder,
"Strength main stat? Or your trait?"
Si-moon stood immobile,
the captured morning star steady in his grip.
'This bastard's not even budging!'
While Ki-yeol's entire body shook with effort,
Si-moon remained perfectly still.
"Ki-Ki-yeol!"
"That bastard!"
Sensing danger,
the two guildmates readied their weapons.
SCHLICK!
A blade embedded itself in one attacker's throat -
Kim Min-hyung's dagger from the shadows.
"Hyung-bin! You son of a-!"
The remaining guildmate turned toward Min-hyung,
Snap
"Ghk!"
A stone spike pierced his chest -
Si-moon's conjured earth magic striking his exposed back.
Though allies fell instantly,
Ki-yeol remained fixated on his impossible struggle.
"How... are you... this strong?!!"
Si-moon's lips quirked upward.
"Honestly..."
He echoed Ki-yeol's earlier words:
"I really couldn't say."
"Y-you...?!"
Recognition flashed across Ki-yeol's face.
His own mockery thrown back at him.
"Still have energy to shout?"
CRACK!
The morning star's chain snapped like a flower stem,
its broken form dangling pitifully.
"Now that's a better expression. Don't feel too bitter."
Si-moon hefted the wrecked weapon casually.
"You started this."
CRUNCH!
The morning star's remnants cratered into Ki-yeol's skull -
his final Arena scene.
The tense atmosphere dissolved instantly.
With the three instigators dead,
"Hmm."
Si-moon examined Ki-yeol's corpse,
then inspected his right arm.
[Ogre's Flesh]
Completion: 15%
Synthetic ogre tissue granting physical prowess -
grotesquely mismatched with his slender, pale arm.
Yet the power that crumpled a morning star remained evident.
'This is just 15%?'
Told you!
The stone's buzzing voice vibrated through his chest.
Your arm should've bulged like a real ogre's! I objected so much during the synthesis!
The Philosopher's Stone chattered excitedly before cutting off with a gasp,
its guilty heartbeat echoing through Si-moon's consciousness.
'Relax. I prefer this outcome too.'
Partial body mutation would've made him a chimera.
Thanks to the Obsidian Tablet fusion,
he avoided such side effects entirely.
"Getting tired..."
Fatigue seeped into his muscles -
synthesis energy depletion.
Si-moon severed the flow to his right arm,
the [Ogre's Flesh] interface disappearing with minor spasms.
'Feels awkward without it.'
Post-ogre strength left his arm leaden.
Flexing his fingers regretfully, Si-moon looked up.
"Huh?!"
A petite man flinched under his gaze.
"You're our last member?"
"Y-yes sir!"
The man nodded vigorously.
Si-moon's eyes narrowed.
"Before introductions - why help me?"
Logically, siding with the better-equipped Scorpion trio made sense.
After hesitation, Kim Min-hyung admitted:
"They did the same to me before you came. Scorpion Guild's... notorious."
"Ah, so we're fellow victims... Wait."
Si-moon's gaze sharpened.
"Have we met? You seem familiar."
"At... at the tutorial..."
"Tutorial? Ah!"
Si-moon snapped his fingers.
"You're the riverside combatant."
"Correct!"
Min-hyung bowed deeply.
Si-moon chuckled at the exaggerated gesture.
'Sharp instincts.'
Now he understood Min-hyung's choice -
having witnessed Si-moon's power during the tutorial.
"Kim Min-hyung of Seongsam Guild! Pleasure to work with you!"
"Seongsam Guild?"
Not the name itself, but...
'Seongsam... Yoo-jeong's...'
Memories surfaced of a girl beloved by all at fifteen,
and the atrocities she committed.
"Um... Did I offend...?"
"Just reminiscing."
Si-moon extended his hand.
"Let's make this work as a duo."
"Duo?! But this is a 5-player event..."
"The system won't replace eliminated post-match players."
[All participants matched.]
[Arena commencing.]
[Time limit: 30:00]
Forest humidity and cricket chirps materialized around them.
"Let's move. We're already outnumbered."
As they hurried toward the marked objective:
[Constellation Zeus observes you.]
[Constellation Black Goat expresses deep satisfaction.]
'Zeus still watching? And Black Goat?'
Constellations rarely monitored placement exams.
Before Si-moon could ponder further:
[Objective: Breach the Corrupted Goblin Foothold.]
"Wait. Foothold?!"
The realization struck instantly.
