The Game of the Greatest Black Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 48

Kim Chegeon tilted her head, having missed what he said for a moment.

The Sword and Shield Warrior, as if it were nothing, changed the subject.

"My name is Jinwoo, and I'll be in charge of the interview today."

"Ah! Nice to meet you! I look forward to working with you today."

"Ahem, well, it seems Seonghyun is not here yet, so let's wait a little longer."

"Oh! Is Seonghyun coming too?"

"Ah, you must not have heard."

Indeed, Kim Chegeon had only been told to come here for the interview at 10 AM.

She hadn't heard that Seonghyun would be participating as well.

Since Rapid Guild had informed them, there was no need to mention who would be participating.

It wasn't relevant to the interview anyway.

The Sword and Shield Warrior, no, Jinwoo, scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward.

'It's a bit embarrassing to see it this way now, but...'

He must have figured it out after seeing the skill book.

With that thought, Jinwoo breathed a sigh of relief, and...

Kim Chegeon, seemingly excited by the news that Seonghyun was coming, muttered,

"This is a good opportunity to test how my skills measure up to Seonghyun's."

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

Kim Chegeon looked at Jinwoo, who was surprised.

Was there something strange?

On the contrary, Jinwoo was also surprised looking at Kim Chegeon.

Usually, people with such eccentric concepts didn't acknowledge the skills of others.

It was unexpected to see her hold Seonghyun in such high regard.

If she had partied with Seonghyun before, it would be understandable.

It was Seonghyun, after all.

He wasn't called the best rookie for nothing.

But for Kim Chegeon, with her eccentric concept, to immediately acknowledge Seonghyun...

Perhaps her personality was better than her appearance suggested.

'I should check this as well.'

Jinwoo thought to himself and replied,

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just impressed that you hold Seonghyun in such high regard."

"Hmph, although I call myself JoseonBestSwordsman, I don't belittle the skills of others."

"Hmm..."

Jinwoo scratched his cheek as he watched Kim Chegeon, who continued to call herself JoseonBestSwordsman.

She clearly had the face of a Western beauty.

And yet, she called herself JoseonBestSwordsman.

There was already someone in the community who was called that.

"Is the reason you want to join Rapid Guild perhaps because of Yuna, no, Miss Yuna?"

"Hmph, why bother asking? My goal is only her."

"Ah... I see."

Jinwoo replied, shaking his head inwardly.

It was good to have a big goal, but...

It was probably impossible.

As Jinwoo was thinking this,

Someone with a familiar outfit was walking towards them from afar.

It was exactly one minute before 10 AM.

Jinwoo watched in disbelief as someone approached.

It wasn't just that the person arrived precisely on time.

Gulp.

Jinwoo wasn't the only one staring at him.

Beside him, Kim Chegeon also held her breath, watching in awe as the person approached.

The way he walked leisurely towards them was truly overwhelming.

He exuded an aura that made the surroundings slightly distorted, as if heat haze was rising.

It was Seonghyun.

He was definitely different from before.

'...I definitely saw him yesterday, but his atmosphere is somehow...'

'Oh my, as expected of Seonghyun.'

It had only been a day since they last saw Seonghyun.

How could he have changed so much?

They didn't know, but it was one of the effects of summoning the Demon Knight.

Unconsciously overwhelmed by Seonghyun's presence, they… couldn't help but take a step back as he approached.

Seeing them step back slightly, Seonghyun tilted his head in confusion and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, ah, ahaha. It's nothing, uh, it's nice to see you again, Seonghyun."

Jinwoo awkwardly greeted him, naturally changing the subject.

Seonghyun also seemed a bit surprised and nodded.

He had thought it might be someone from Rapid Guild, but...

He didn't expect them to be skilled enough to be an interviewer.

Jinwoo's character didn't have any guild emblems or indications of belonging to a guild.

It seemed like it was an alt account.

Thinking that far, Seonghyun replied,

"Hmm, I see. I had a hunch, but..."

"Ahem, it's nice to see you too."

"It's nice to see you too."

Their greetings were brief.

They already knew each other's faces.

Then, Jinwoo immediately explained the schedule.

They weren't here to play around.

"Ahem, now that Seonghyun is here, I'll explain today's schedule. You've probably heard of the Fortress of the Past, but to briefly explain, it's a 3-player record-type dungeon. The three of us will enter simultaneously and deal with monsters that come from three different directions in waves."

Seonghyun listened silently, as he already knew this information.

"Here, since I'm on an alt account, I'll declare forfeit from the first wave and, ahem, observe how far JoseonBestSwordsmanKimChegeon progresses through the waves. Seonghyun, since this isn't an interview for you, you can take it easy, but since it's a dungeon you can only enter once, it's best to do your best and go as far as you can."

"Understood."

"Ahem, no problem."

Both of them nodded at Jinwoo's briefing.

Seeing this, Jinwoo said,

"Then let's go in."

The briefing was over.

There was no need to delay.

Both of them nodded in agreement.

There was no need to wait.

It was convenient and nice.

And Seonghyun thought to himself,

'I guess I'll be able to see Balthar and the Shadow Transference effect in action.'

Helena had said that Balthar, the underwear thief, was strong, after all.

Let's see what he could do.

3.

In the deepest part of the Rapid Guild, the safest place in the guild, the Guild Master Rapid's office.

Even though this was the safest place in the naturally fortified Rapid Guild base,

Today was an unusual day.

Because of one person.

Rapid sighed as she saw Yuna sitting on the sofa with a sulky expression and her lips pouted.

"Sigh..."

Yuna glared at Rapid in response to her sigh,

But she didn't say anything.

She just spoke curtly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to level up?"

"...I will."

"Then go to a hunting ground."

"..."

Although she wasn't throwing a tantrum after being scolded by Seonghyun,

To think she was expressing her sulkiness with her whole body...

This was a different side of Yuna, who always showed a cold and rational demeanor.

However, Rapid, who was not only a guild member but also a friend in real life, knew this side of her well.

Whenever it was related to Seonghyun, Yuna always acted like this.

"Sigh. This is troublesome. I have no choice but to tell Seonghyun."

“Ugh..”

Yuna finally got up when Seonghyun was mentioned.

It seemed that she was indeed dissatisfied with him being placed in Luna's 1st rookie team.

But what could she do?

That was the team that lacked members and had the best skills.

It was only natural to assign him to Luna's team.

The team members were all unique.

No, actually, it was putting it nicely to call them unique. They were practically a bunch of goofballs.

Anyway, as Yuna stood up to leave Rapid's office,

Rapid casually brought up a topic.

"Phew, by the way, it's almost time."

"Time for what?"

"For Seonghyun to enter the Fortress of the Past."

"Ah?"

Yuna tilted her head as if she didn't know.

On the contrary, Rapid's eyes widened as she looked at Yuna.

Did she really not know?

She wondered if she shouldn't have brought it up, but...

Yuna spoke nonchalantly,

"Well, it is about time for him to enter."

"Right, it's usual to enter before level 50."

Then, Rapid suddenly asked curiously,

"So, how many waves do you think Seonghyun will clear?"

At Rapid's question, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle.

As if she had asked something too obvious.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Then, Yuna stood up and left Rapid's office, saying,

"Of course, he'll go further than me."

As Yuna walked out, Rapid was slightly dumbfounded.

Then, Rapid checked the Fortress of the Past rankings, which were visible to everyone.

[1st Place 『Yuna』 - wave 35 (1:37:58)]

[2nd Place 『Dark』 - wave 32 (1:29:32)]

.......

.......

(Omitted)

She chuckled as she saw Yuna's overwhelming record.

"A new 1st place will be born?"

No way.

She must have said that out of love for her brother.

Rapid tried to brush it off.

No matter how outstanding a rookie Seonghyun was, he couldn't possibly surpass Yuna's record.

If he did,

'It would cause a huge stir.'

But would that really happen?

Still, Seonghyun would at least make it into the top 10, right?

He was an Almighty class, after all.

'I'm curious to see how far he'll climb.'

Still, Rapid didn't think Seonghyun would surpass Yuna's record, not even for a moment.

4.

As the name Fortress of the Past suggested, it was quite a dilapidated fortress.

Perhaps because it had been untouched by human hands, ivy clung to the walls, and moss was visible in some places.

The inside of the fortress was a ruin where it seemed impossible for anyone to live.

The fortress, which felt devoid of any human presence or warmth, had walls facing three different directions.

And each of those walls had a wide-open gate.

The objective of this dungeon was to protect the front of those gates.

The interesting thing was,

It wasn't a format where you failed if even one of the three defenses was breached.

Even if one place was breached, it didn't affect the other defenses at all.

Also, it only recorded individual records.

There was no better place to check individual skills for those under level 50.

There was also the Special Class Academy, but...

Since it was for level 10, it was considered a bit lower in rank than the Fortress of the Past.

The Fortress of the Past was held in higher regard.

This was also the reason why Rapid Guild conducted interviews here.

'If you can't prove yourself here, you're nothing special.'

No matter how high your class rank was, even Unique or above, it didn't matter if you couldn't perform.

On the contrary, they would even accept someone with an Epic rank if their Fortress of the Past record was high.

That's how important skill was to Rapid Guild.

As long as you were skilled, you were accepted.

'That's why a lot of unique people gather here...'

But that wasn't Jinwoo's concern.

He had already given up on his own test and climbed onto the wall, observing from a position where he could see the two of them.

He was curious to see how far Seonghyun, whose skills had already been proven, would go, and...

As for Kim Chegeon, who was having the interview,

'She's a talent recommended by Seonghyun, so she must be quite skilled.'

He didn't have high expectations.

He just thought she would be somewhat capable since she came with a recommendation.

Judging from her personality, she was a bit unique, but that wasn't a factor in selection.

As Jinwoo was thinking these things,

A system message appeared in the sky.

A large system message that everyone could see.

[The waves that once raged in the forgotten Fortress of the Past are raging once again.]

[『Wave 1』 begins.]

At the message, familiar to Jinwoo but unfamiliar to the other two, Kim Chegeon began to prepare for battle.

She held her sword, drew it, and held it in a low stance with her right foot back.

Even at a glance, she seemed to be quite skilled with the sword.

Jinwoo, who had also learned swordsmanship, couldn't help but admire her extraordinary form.

"Oh?"

It was a full-fledged stance, suitable for effectively wielding a sword while charging.

Moreover, there was no awkwardness or hesitation in her stance.

Taking a swordsmanship stance at the right time meant she was proficient in swordsmanship.

Above all, the tip of her sword didn't waver.

Jinwoo, realized that Kim Chegeon wasn't just bragging when she called herself JoseonBestSwordsman.

She was clearly skilled in swordsmanship.

Briefly admiring Kim Chegeon's form, he felt that he didn't have to worry too much and turned to look at Seonghyun.

He wasn't making any preparations.

'Hmm?'

Even with the Necromancer's ability to summon undead at any time,

Wasn't he being too relaxed?

Had he already become arrogant and complacent?

Or was he trying to conserve mana and summon later?

Jinwoo's expression wasn't very good.

Either way, he should be preparing for battle.

At the very least, he should draw his sword, which he was good at, and be ready. That way, he could prepare when the monsters arrived.

But to not make any preparations...

'He's being too complacent...'

With Seonghyun's skills, it was understandable to be confident.

Even Jinwoo himself wouldn't be confident in winning against Seonghyun at the same level.

However, it was troublesome if he was already this arrogant.

What to do.

With that thought, Jinwoo ruffled his hair in distress.

It was his habit when complicated thoughts arose.

Look at the horde of monsters approaching from afar.

Although it was a group of Goblins and low-level monsters charging, it was unimpressive and insignificant.

It was still only Wave 1, after all.

But how far could one go with that kind of attitude?

'I'll just watch this time and give him some feedback.'

It might be a good idea to let him learn a harsh lesson here to bring him back to his senses.

After all, Jinwoo knew Seonghyun's skills well.

Just as Jinwoo was about to brush it off,

When the wave of monsters, which had been quite far away, finally reached close proximity,

A teal portal opened behind Seonghyun.

As the connection to the Netherworld was established,

Jinwoo thought that the Wraith would appear from there.

But he was mistaken.

Splish. Splash.

A sound like walking through a waterlogged marsh echoed.

From within the teal portal,

He could clearly feel the presence of a being with a physical body approaching.

How long did that sound last?

Splish, splash.

Creak.

A figure emerged from the teal portal with a dignified gait, its skin a dark red.

A knight clad in sturdy armor that seemed capable of blocking any attack, its five horns, clearly visible despite the helmet, rising menacingly towards the sky.

As the knight appeared, dark clouds began to spread across the sky.

As if to obscure the heavens, the sky quickly darkened with the arrival of this extraordinary being, and a bloody whirlwind began to swirl around the knight.

As the knight stretched out his hand, the whirlwind materialized into a sharp sword.

Seeing this being, Jinwoo felt all his thoughts come to a standstill.

A Demon Knight.

There were no other words to describe it.

As Jinwoo's mind went blank,

The Blood-Red Demon Knight swung his sword.

Whoosh!

Although they had reached close proximity, the distance between them and the monsters was still at least 50 meters.

However, the sharp, red sword swung by the Blood-Red Demon Knight created a deep crimson crescent-shaped blade that spread wide and shot forward.

Slash!

There was no monster in Wave 1 that could block that attack.

The monsters were all simultaneously split in half with a single strike, and a message appeared before Seonghyun.

[You have perfectly blocked 『Wave 1』.]

[Recording.]

[Accumulating a large amount of experience points.]

[All experience points will be acquired after the final record.]

Jinwoo also saw the message and thought,

'W-what did I just see????'

As Jinwoo was in shock, unable to believe his eyes,

Only Kim Chegeon's cheerful voice could be heard, as she hadn't seen it from the other defense point.

"Hmph! It's time to show my true skills!"

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]