Practical Evaluation (3)
“No, are we lost again? Look ahead and walk!”
“The ground looks all the same, how would I know…”
A large screen filled one side of the wall.
The screens showed different views from the cameras installed inside the test site.
Prof. Lim Sung-Hyun and Instructor Park Hyun-Suk, who were in charge of scoring the actual evaluation, were looking at the students and sighing.
“… We were expecting much from cadet Kim Hyun-Cheol, but he is very disappointing.”
“He hasn’t even noticed that the rear has been empty for more than ten minutes.”
Penalties were piling up relentlessly under Kim Hyun-Cheol’s name on the scorecard.
“Besides, he acts as if he understands the structure of the black swamp, but he’s heading for nothing. If it was a real situation, he’d die, surrounded by monsters.”
That was true.
And finally, a red line was drawn on Kim Hyun-Cheol’s name.
What it meant was simple.
If you can’t prove yourself, you’re paid.
And even after being paid, if you repeat, you will never graduate.
It was a stigma.
“Only Yoo Ji-Yeon and Jung Si-woo can be pitied. Yoo Ji-Yeon can’t be tested properly since they don’t have a tanker, and cadet Jung Si-woo missed the opportunity to show his reawakening characteristics.”
Park Hyun-suk put the list down and turned his attention to Lim Seong-Hyun.
“I believed you and assigned Jung Si-woo to the center… Well, I have no reason to go back on it.”
“…”
“Professor? Why are you silent?”
Seong-Hyun Lim was not interested in Park’s words. He did not take his eyes off the screen.
Park Hyun-suk also turned to look at what happened.
“… Guys, what are you doing?”
His face scrunched up.
“Are they going to finish the exam together? What are they talking about? If the rear is isolated, it is normal to wait first.”
“… Not only the rear is isolated, but also the central position. In such a situation, it will be dangerous to be surrounded by monsters, so it is better to keep moving and finding an exit.”
“That is so even if the hunter knows the exact structure of the cracks. It holds true even for hunters with a level 2 or higher position.”
Lim Seong-Hyun was smiling lightly before he spoke admiringly.
“Since Jung Si-woo led the way, he has not walked the wrong way or stepped into a dangerous area. No, not just that. He’s heading to the destination in exactly the shortest distance.”
“…”
“I don’t know if you’re good at positioning, but…as a hunter, there seems to be no item to be deducted from the score corresponding to ‘tracking’.”
“It’s great. By the way…”
Park Hyun-suk replied sharply.
“Whether you go the shortest distance or not, monsters await you at the end. Without tanker, can we just consider them as a pair of two, center and rear?”
“…”
“I’m not going to penalize their judgments yet. It’s true that if they don’t have the power to catch the monster, given that they’re isolated, this just suicide. Crawling toward death when you could live by waiting for rescue could be the worst judgment ever made.”
“… That sounds right.”
Lim Seong-Hyun continued without hesitation.
“But isn’t it the best judgment if you catch a monster?”
If the result was good, it was a sound judgment, no matter what the variables were.
“We’ll have to wait till the end to see whether Jeong Si-woo’s judgment was the worst or the best.”
* * *
It was easier to walk now.
The swampy terrain changed within five minutes since I took the lead.
Finding the way was so easy, as there were experiences in numerous swamps and even internal structures included in the Akashic records.
“… It would have been better for you to just take the lead from the beginning.”
Yoo Ji-Yeon, said as she walked alongside me.
“But can you really catch the monster the way you said? I’m a little worried about that …”
“You said there would be a goblin shaman? Previously, Kim Hyun-Cheol said that a liquid parasite will appear in the swamp …”
“It’s a ridiculous guess. There are definitely monsters in the swamp inside the crack. But it doesn’t suit the monster that will be at the end.”
“… Why?”
I carefully replied to her anxious question.
“Most of the swampy edges are full of bushes reaching the knees. The ground is not sticky, nor is it full of moisture.”
“Ah…”
“There’s no way you could have placed a liquid monster in such a place, and even if you did, it would die in less than ten minutes. It’s more likely that there’s a goblin or worm-type monster. In fact, many goblins inhabit the ‘core’ of swamp cracks. …”
I went on to a lengthy explanation.
Only after a detailed explanation did Yoo Ji-Yeon consider me with a little trust.
As I led the way correctly, she might learn to trust me more.
Yu Ji-Yeon was looking at me like a child, with a smile on her face.
She still seemed a different person from my memory.
“How long did we walk?”
“Well, over there…”
“Shh.”
As the swamp was coming to an end, there was something squat between the lush bushes.
A creature with green skin was holding on to a long wooden stick.
Every sign was pointing to the fact that it was a ‘goblin shaman’.
“Don’t make a sound… Remember what I said? Just do it.”
“Yea, I got it. I’ve never used magic like that …but I believe you.”
You believe what you see.
I don’t know Yujiyeon’s current level of magic, but I knew that it won’t be ordinary.
T-ring!
[The bond with Yoo Ji-Yeon has increased.]
[If you have enough ties, you can ‘Link’ with Yu Ji-Yeon.]
And now, I have the power to take and use those talents at will.
Although still weak.
In the future, it will become so great that it cannot be overpowered even by all the five heroes.
[‘Link’ is activated.]
[Search for beings that match the skill level among ‘beings with a certain level of ties’.]
Of course, I haven’t grown enough to draw on the power of those.
In the memory of the user ‘Jung Si Woo’, I found an existence that met the conditions.
[Link succeeded.]
This should be enough for now.
『Green monsters are disgusting from the first sight.』
[Goblin Slayer]
[Rating: F]
Three sentences.
The words on the transparent notification window were visible, and my body began to overflow.
[“Finally, you’re taking out that great weapon.”]
Along with that, I prepared a ‘training sword’.
Now, it’s a bit too strong to be called a training sword, and I slowly pulled it out.
* * *
Making weapons for the awakened is very difficult.
For ordinary people, it would be simple to be equipped with a firearm. Yet, the awakened people had the potential to be different.
They use harder materials that are incomparable to ordinary equipment. They consider the characteristics and make the weapon in various structures to accommodate their specific skills.
It was also common for one weapon to take several craftsmen and several months to build.
Of course, there were exceptions among them.
-It’s much easier to match an existing weapon to an awakened one than to create a new weapon to suit the awakened.
The representative thing was ‘Blue Forge’, where I was involved in numerous transactions before I returned.
-If you adjust the type of engraving, you can improve the performance to suit the awakened person. If correctly engraved, it is easy to make an iron bar hat on the street into a famous sword.
The idea of imprinting a weapon on an awakened was groundbreaking.
And in the past, I had a bet with them.
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