Episode 17 Fix Zone (2)
Since I started
Inevitably, I had to face countless challenges from those who coveted my position.
But most of the challenges never reached me and were just meaningless sums of the heroes I had raised.
You need to have a good handle on the sandbag to use it.
So sometimes, just for fun, I would go one-on-one with challengers without using my hero.
On days when I would get new items or skills, other rankers would be perfect opponents to test them out against.
They weren’t easy opponents, and when we fought them one-on-one, they sometimes put me in danger.
They may be lower ranked than me, but if you look at it broadly, they are the ones at the top of the pyramid.
But even those skilled people were all equally at my feet in the fix zone.
The skill gap was too big.
Whether it was a duel in a duel or a battle of wits, I could do whatever I wanted.
And that proposition remains unchanged today.
[A monster will be summoned soon.]
[10:00 remaining]
I tried calling up the status window.
[Kim Ho]
▷Skill
Amplification (F)
Copy Skill [1/1]
1. Hummingbird (F)
▷Characteristics
Core (F)
Monarch (F)
Copy-Attributes[1/1]
1. Elemental Resistance (F)
▷Equipment
School Uniform (F)
Staff of the Earth (F)
According to the rules of the Fix Zone, the ranks of all skills, traits, and equipment are fixed to F rank.
As for me, since most of what I originally had was E-class, nothing much has changed.
In addition, skills like [Hummingbird] are mainly focused on controlling enemies rather than destructive power, so even if they become F-rank, they will have similar performance.
Of course, this time I plan to seal even the hummingbird and challenge it using only my basic physical abilities.
‘I need to loosen up a bit.’
This is my first fix zone since entering school, and I’m also trying to see how much I can do.
And physical ability alone will suffice.
There’s a reason I’m nicknamed ‘The God of Fix Zones’.
I took a quick look around.
The terrain of [Foggy Forest] is randomly formed the moment a challenger enters through the portal.
However random it may be, this dungeon is ultimately man-made.
Broadly speaking, there are several stereotypical patterns.
If you can figure out that pattern, you can predict when, where, what kind of monster, and how many will be summoned, and then take action.
Judging from the arrangement of bushes, trees, weeds, rocks, etc. that surround me, and the direction in which the fog flows,
‘It’s a C pattern.’
I took a seat in front of an empty space near the rock.
Grab the staff of the earth with both hands and raise it high above your head.
The system started counting down.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[A monster is summoned.]
[9:59 remaining]
[Current Score: 0 points]
Black, dirty smoke rose in the air before me.
A green-skinned monster about the size of a five or six-year-old child emerged from the smoke.
“Keruk, keruk.”
As soon as the goblin was summoned, its yellow eyes flashed and it looked for someone to kill.
But the first thing that came into his sight was a thick wooden stick falling down, aimed at his crown.
– Crunch!
I crushed the first goblin’s head and immediately snatched the dagger it was holding.
At the same time, he swung his staff strongly to the left, causing another head to burst.
I grabbed the goblin’s dagger and ran straight towards the bushes.
He swung his staff before the three black smoke billowing from it could transform into the shapes of goblins.
– Kwajik, kwajik, kwajik!
As soon as the three goblins are summoned, they are converted into points,
At least ten black clouds of smoke rose from the same spot.
As I prepare to swing my staff again,
‘Two orcs at 7 o’clock. 3, 2, 1 seconds forward.’
As soon as he counts down ‘one second’, he throws two daggers over his shoulder.
– Pfft pfft!
“Ugh.”
“Ugh.”
While I was slaughtering the goblins in front of me, I heard two sounds of flesh and blood behind me, and two short, dying words.
I put the staff of the earth into my inventory.
Now, anything that is widespread is a weapon.
He runs towards the corpses of the orcs he just killed, carrying a handful of daggers dropped by the goblins in his arms.
Then he throws the daggers as if scattering them in all directions.
Goblins swarming from all directions each stick a dagger between their eyebrows and fall down.
The corpses of the two dead orcs were each holding a shortsword and an axe.
He held them one in each hand and ran to the next summoning location.
A large plume of smoke and several small plumes of smoke rising between two trees.
‘Six goblins on the left, four goblins on the right, two orcs, and a troll in the rear. 3, 2, 1.’
This time too, at the count of ‘1’, he jumped into the smoke and spun his body like a windmill.
– Crunch!
He instantly annihilated the mobs and rushed towards the newly summoned troll.
Before he can even resist, he plunges the shortsword into his heart, twists it, kicks the handle to drive it in deeper, and finally brings the axe down on his forehead.
-Crack!
To the next place, and the next.
The monsters were busy having their heads blown off as soon as they were summoned.
It was a play that would seriously raise suspicions of cheating if observed by a third party.
Because it would look like someone was deliberately summoning monsters only where I went.
But this is not a misconduct, but the result of long experience and meticulous analysis.
‘Okay. That’s it.’
I thought it was time, so I stopped walking towards the next summoning location.
When I turned my gaze to the scoreboard,
[7:02 remaining]
[Current score: 683 points]
The results were a bit disappointing.
‘3 minutes and 683 points… … .’
I’ve died a lot too.
Back when I was setting new records, I could get 800 points in 3 minutes in the foggy forest.
Anyway, the original purpose was achieved.
[Sub Quest: Placement Test]
▷Goal: Achieve a score above the average on the placement test.
▷1 win or more in the match placement test (1/1)
▷Top 50% or higher in the pre-conquest placement test (Current ranking: N/A)
▷Reward: [Copy-Skill] Slot +1
The goal of the placement test quest is to win at least 1 PvP match and be in the top 50% of the strategy matches.
Since the cutoff score for the top 50% usually fluctuates between 400 and 500 points, a score of 683 would definitely place you in the upper-middle ranks.
There are still 7 minutes left, but I don’t feel the need to increase the score any further.
Of course, even if it’s a bit shaky, the number one spot in the strategy battle is a given.
But if you draw attention like that, the fact that you gave up on Song Cheon-hye while being called a coward by the audience will all be in vain.
– Huh? Kim Ho is ranked 1st?
– When you get to know him, isn’t he incredibly strong?
– Then why did you abstain?
– Maybe he just looked at me?
It’ll probably become a topic of gossip in something like this.
As with any battle, you need to keep your skills hidden until you can handle the fame.
So, the placement test ends here.
“I’ll stop.”
Everything turned gray and stopped for a moment, and a message appeared before my eyes.
Of course, the remaining time continues to decrease.
[6:49 remaining]
[Are you sure you want to end the battle?]
[Accept/Reject]
“uh.”
[Would you like to save the replay?]
[Accept/Reject]
“no.”
The exit opened its mouth immediately,
I walked out leisurely.
* * *
‘Weaklings.’
Lee Soo-dok frowned.
His usually fierce face became even more ferocious, causing students passing by to look down without realizing it.
At the end of his gaze were the ‘weaklings’, that is, the dropouts.
It’s been a while since the test started, and they’re still lying on the floor or sitting down.
‘You still can’t wake up?’
Although it is not mentioned first due to the nature of the course, teachers may, at their discretion, give retired students a second chance to try again.
If even one of them had asked me, if there had been any way to make amends, I would have given them a chance.
But I don’t see any sign of that from those losers.
I feel like I’ve completely lost my motivation.
‘Just something like this.’
Lee Soo-dok was also once a student at Yongsal Academy.
The path he walked was a much harsher and more thorny path than this.
Even in that kind of environment, he was the one who crawled up from the bottom.
So, I can’t help but feel resentful towards those who have already given up.
“… … .”
Lee Soo-dok glanced to the side.
A closed portal opened and a student emerged.
If I remember correctly, it had been about 3 or 4 minutes since I entered.
That means it didn’t even last 10 minutes.
‘Another retirement.’
Even though I don’t know the name, it was a face I remembered.
A guy who withdrew from the interpersonal battle placement test, saying, “I’m not in good condition.”
As expected, even the strategy battle was retired.
‘What kind of dragon are you going to catch with that kind of rotten spirit?’
I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch a B-class boss even after graduating, let alone a dragon.
If one of his subordinates had done something so pathetic, he would have killed him in an instant, but this was Yongsal Academy, and that guy was a student in his class.
As a homeroom teacher, I already have a headache thinking about having to teach and lead such a scumbag.
Even though it was a request from a former warrior, Lee Soo-dok repeatedly regretted it, saying that he should not have accepted it rashly.
‘Stay still… … .’
Lee Soo-dok turned his head.
Because suddenly, an inexplicable sense of discomfort passed through me.
After thinking deeply about the nature of the feeling of discomfort, I finally realized it after seeing the faces of those who were eliminated.
‘That guy walked out.’
The safety devices of the artificial dungeon ‘release’ students through forced teleportation magic when their safety is at risk during a battle.
That’s why the dropouts bounce out of the dungeon and roll around on the floor.
The aftereffects left me unable to come to my senses for a while.
But that guy walks out, completely normal, as if nothing happened, and checks the leaderboard.
If nothing else, it means that at least it wasn’t ‘released’.
Lee Soo-dok’s eyes scanned the leaderboard, following the guy’s gaze.
[Kim Ho, 683 points, 38%]
‘Upper middle class?’
That score is definitely not something you can get in 3 minutes.
Even if we exaggerate a bit, it would be impossible even if a polymorphic dragon came.
So does that mean you’ve filled up all 10 minutes?
It’s only been 3 minutes since I entered, did I see something wrong?
Although Lee Soo-dok was always a cool-headed person, he felt a little embarrassed right now.
‘Your name is Kim Ho.’
Lee Soo-dok remembered that guy’s name.
I promise to definitely check the replay later.
The supporters ate it all
