Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Showcase （3）

This test.

Three people including Kang San at the forefront, three people including Im Chan-yeong at the rear.

A total of six testers, cautiously aware of their surroundings, moved slowly.

Since there was no separate time limit for the B-rank test, Nam Tae-ju, who was in charge of scouting, did not rush. There was a need to tap even a clearly visible stone bridge before crossing. In the midst of such a tense atmosphere, Im Chan-yeong, unlike others, couldn’t concentrate on the situation.

“…Sigh.”

He let out a sigh.

Looking at Kang San’s back, self-deprecation washed over him like a tidal wave, no matter how hard he tried not to think about it.

‘How did I end up like this?’

It was surreal.

When he was young and receiving the world’s spotlight, he truly believed he was a unique genius. He never imagined a moment would come where he’d stand on the same level as an F-rank human shield. He had experienced many setbacks that chipped away at his self-esteem, but nothing was as shocking as this.

This was reality.

He had verbally abused Kang San, denying reality, but in the end, the fact that they were taking the same test remained unchanged.

‘This test. I’ll surely fail, right?’

That was the reason he couldn’t concentrate.

It was a test he had failed even when he had a satisfactory team. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to use magic comfortably, relying on Kang San.

Actually, if Im Chan-yeong had been well-informed about the world, he would’ve been able to find out through Kang San-related issues that Kang San had completely changed. But unfortunately, he didn’t use media like the internet or TV at all. Back when he was at his peak, he used to search his name on portal sites dozens of times a day, but as failures repeated, he couldn’t bring himself to search anymore.

People mocked Im Chan-yeong.

Seeing comments saying he was washed up, or that Daeyang had been scammed, he no longer cared about people’s reactions.

Frankly, if it were the old him.

The moment he spotted Kang San, he would’ve flipped him off and given up on the test.

He could pass the test anytime, so there was no reason to accept being grouped with low-level guys like Kang San. But the current Im Chan-yeong couldn’t do that. The tenth failure was practically a death sentence, so even while expressing negative reactions, he couldn’t leave his spot, clinging to a sliver of possibility.

Didn’t the manager say it?

That he had to produce results this time.

While chewing on his lip, recalling the manager’s words, Nam Tae-ju, the scout at the front, shouted.

“Combat ready━!”

That was the end of his thoughts.

Im Chan-yeong immediately drew up his mana.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Bark!

Bark bark━!

The monsters’ identity.

C-rank Hellhounds.

As dozens of Hellhounds rushed in, their black fur fluttering, Nam Tae-ju drew his sword and stood next to Kang San.

“I’ll support you.”

This party.

Kang San was the only tanker.

Nam Tae-ju and the other members were warrior-type positions suitable for the front lines, and according to Im Chan-yeong’s advice, it would be difficult for Kang San to block dozens of Hellhounds alone. It was an appropriate judgment if the information was correct. Kang San fully understood Nam Tae-ju’s judgment, but he stepped forward as if there was no need for that.

“Maintain the formation. I’ll take the front lines.”

Whoosh.

There was no time to stop him.

Kang San faced the surging Hellhounds head-on.

Flash.

Thwack.

Crack.

Kang San struck first.

As Kang San unleashed the Blood Demon Sword Technique, First Style, the Hellhound he faced first screamed.

Simultaneously.

“Trial’s Shield.”

Whoosh━

Crash.

Hellhounds lunged at Kang San from all directions.

They quickly closed in, their agile movements difficult for Nam Tae-ju to follow with his eyes. However, Kang San’s face showed no sign of panic. He blocked the attacks of the Hellhounds that jumped over their comrades with his shield, and then countered each one as he stepped back.

C-rank stats.

Defense boosted by Guardian’s Will.

The Hellhounds’ attacks were not threatening at all.

And with the intricately intertwined red lines, Kang San instantly grasped what kind of judgment he had to make.

Crunch━!

He blocked the attack.

The surging black wave was stopped by a sturdy breakwater.

‘What the, he’s better than I thought?’

Nam Tae-ju looked surprised.

No matter how much he tried to think positively, Im Chan-yeong’s remarks had inevitably lowered his expectations of Kang San. But that wasn’t the only surprising part. As Nam Tae-ju was about to join the battle, he heard an unexpected voice.

『Stats, attack power, and defense power are increased by 10% each due to the Glory Aura effect.』

“…Huh?”

He was startled.

A 10% increase.

It was a tremendous buff.

At first, he thought it was a skill used by the priest in the rear, but when he checked behind, he saw that everyone, like him, was clearly bewildered. Only then did the truth dawn on him belatedly. The divine light emanating from Kang San like a halo was enveloping the entire team, including Nam Tae-ju.

‘Could it be…’

The truth was clear.

Kang San was the source of the skill.

With an effect that surpassed most buff skills used by priests, Nam Tae-ju suddenly had this thought.

‘Why did they badmouth someone like this?’

Im Chan-yeong’s remarks.

It didn’t make sense.

It was just the first battle, but judging by what he had seen, Kang San didn’t seem to have the skills that would warrant such a fuss. Anyway, the battle had begun. If his worries were eased, he had to actively participate and lead the battle to victory.

“I’ll cover the rear!”

Thud.

Nam Tae-ju leaped forward.

Led by him, people let go of their wariness towards Kang San.

Except for one person.

Im Chan-yeong.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

This situation.

Im Chan-yeong was equally bewildered.

As Kang San stepped forward, he was preparing a shield spell, but he swallowed a groan.

‘What is this?’

The clash between Kang San and the Hellhounds.

It was different from what he expected.

In Im Chan-yeong’s memory, Kang San had risked his life even against F-rank monsters, but he was showing a stable performance even when facing dozens of Hellhounds. There was a disconnect in his memory. And when he heard the voice saying that stats had increased due to Glory Aura, Im Chan-yeong belatedly saw the truth he had been ignoring.

‘…Does this mean there’s a reason he applied for the B-rank test?’

It was a natural consequence when he thought about it.

Korea’s promotion system was by no means easy.

The absurd situation of someone who wasn’t even at C-rank applying for the B-rank test couldn’t have happened in the first place. In other words, it meant that Kang San had already acquired skills that made his F-rank past unthinkable. As the situation unfolded more smoothly than expected, Im Chan-yeong canceled the shield spell and activated an attack spell.

“Fire Wave.”

Whoosh.

Crackle.

Flames erupted.

With the explosively rising firepower, Im Chan-yeong momentarily caught Kang San’s movement as he guided the space.

‘…!?’

It wasn’t a pre-arranged movement.

Kang San was constantly checking the rear, and as soon as he judged that Im Chan-yeong had finished casting, he herded the Hellhounds into one space. There was no way Im Chan-yeong wouldn’t understand the meaning of that action. It was his intention to ensure that the area-of-effect damage hit, and Im Chan-yeong instinctively landed the spell exactly as Kang San intended.

Boom!

Crackle.

Kieeek.

The Hellhounds screamed.

It was a strange feeling.

Even though it was a basic skill that virtually any skilled person taking the B-rank test would have, the fact that Kang San was showing appropriate movements was baffling. And that wasn’t all. Even after that, Kang San moved as Im Chan-yeong wanted. He secured space and showed solid defense to prevent any openings in the front lines.

It stabilized.

The situation was quickly resolved.

Im Chan-yeong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If Kang San was more skilled than he thought, it would definitely be a boon to the test, but he couldn’t get used to the sense of dissonance.

An F-rank.

Had completely caught up to him.

‘…This is really annoying.’

Instead of accepting reality, Im Chan-yeong simply chose to ignore the reality that was Kang San.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The test went smoothly.

Immediately after the first battle, Nam Tae-ju approached and said,

“That was really great just now. Please keep it up like that.”

Just one battle.

It was enough experience for anyone who wasn’t prejudiced like Im Chan-yeong to acknowledge Kang San’s skills.

Even as everyone approached Kang San and added their own words of praise, Im Chan-yeong kept his lips tightly shut, his pride seemingly hurt. In moments like these, his age showed. In fact, it would be right for him to maintain a good relationship with Kang San for his own success, but he couldn’t get his act together, placing his pride and reality on the two sides of a scale.

Kang San didn’t care.

He had achieved so much that he no longer cared what Im Chan-yeong thought of him.

However.

‘It’s too easy.’

The battles that continued from then on.

They weren’t particularly difficult.

That was the problem.

Even though the Trial had been activated, this kind of smooth progress had never happened before.

‘According to the Trial’s information, the goal of the twelfth Trial isn’t to pass the test. Even if I fail the test, I can clear the Trial by safely returning Im Chan-yeong. Then, there will definitely be a situation that blatantly targets Im Chan-yeong. Is this smooth situation meant to deliberately make us let our guard down?’

It was a plausible hypothesis.

The reason this place was chosen as the B-rank test site was because of the presence of vampires.

Vampires were representative B-rank monsters.

In particular, they created slaves who lost their reason through bloodsucking, and these slaves absolutely obeyed the orders of their vampire masters. The Hellhounds they had encountered several times were like that. The Hellhounds’ eyes, bloodshot to the point of turning red, proved they were vampires’ slaves, and that meant they were attacking the intruders under the vampire’s orders.

Nevertheless.

The attack patterns were simple.

As the Hellhounds appeared once again, Kang San blocked them while remaining vigilant of his surroundings.

Bark.

Bark bark!

A foul stench wafted over.

As Kang San raised his shield to block, they shoved their dirty mouths forward, desperately trying to bite him.

“Kang San-nim!”

Thwack━!

It was Nam Tae-ju.

As Nam Tae-ju darted forward and thrust his sword into the Hellhound’s head, Kang San tossed aside the limp Hellhound’s corpse and blocked the next ones that rushed in. They were starting to get some synergy now. Kang San held firm, the team members in front took advantage of openings to attack, and the rear dealers chose to attack as safely as possible.

Battles repeated several times.

The same situation repeated several times.

Everyone relaxed.

As the situation progressed as smoothly as the previous battles, Kang San’s senses reacted more sharply than ever.

At that moment.

Thud.

‘Vibration?’

He felt a tremor.

Simultaneously, Kang San saw the ground turning red in his vision.

It was clear killing intent.

The extrasensory perception that had been emitting red lines from the enemies in front of him was now showing that killing intent was emanating from the ground.

He didn’t overlook it.

There was something.

The crises he had experienced countless times told him of the one in a million possibility.

‘Something’s under the ground.’

Thud.

He kicked off the ground.

In a split second.

He made a decision.

Sure enough.

Bang.

Rumble.

The ground collapsed.

It was a collapse that precisely targeted Im Chan-yeong, and Kang San quickly fell underground with him.

Boom━!

“Ugh.”

Im Chan-yeong’s face was stained with bewilderment.

There was no time to talk.

In a space that seemed artificially created, the undead swarming everywhere glowed with red eyes.

‘Such a consistent pattern.’

In the ant nest too.

And now.

Azmoon had pushed them into a Trial of deliberate isolation.

If Kang San hadn’t been someone who learned, if he hadn’t anticipated the ground collapse in advance through extrasensory perception…

The Trial would have failed the moment Im Chan-yeong fell.

A chilling sensation arose.

He heard a voice from above.

“Are you alright?”

It was a team member.

Kang San shouted.

“Take care of the top first. From now on, this side…”

He adjusted his grip on the shield.

He could feel a slight tremor from Im Chan-yeong, who was standing right next to him.

“I’ll take care of it.”