I Alone Am an EX-Class Summoner - Chapter 157
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Alone EX-Grade Summoner Episode 157
SKY Cooperation Test (2)
The holiday passed quickly.
Monday morning, 9 AM.
Whoosh!
As a cool spring breeze blew, the remaining 50 interns were already seated in the training ground.
Not a single person was late.
These were people who had passed through Yu Ji-a’s Mind Reading Squad and even overcome the demanding physical training.
Each of these 50 people here were outstanding talents who could easily be recruited by any organization!
None of them were lighthearted enough to be late for such an important test.
While everyone was steeling themselves with determined expressions.
Creak!
The door inside the training ground opened and the judges walked out.
Leading at the front was chief judge Hong Ari!
“Did you all rest well?”
Her voice was gentle, but it carried sufficient authority within it.
Hong Ari knew too.
That their journey to get here had never been easy.
Surely just being in this place would become an impressive career achievement.
However.
SKY doesn’t just recruit impressive people.
They only want players worthy of the world’s top guild.
“The second training is a team mission.”
And.
Teamwork was also an important factor.
Coordination that clicks perfectly in dungeons or preliminaries creates synergy beyond simple cooperation.
“I’ll give you 10 minutes starting now. Form teams autonomously. Five members total. We’ll form 10 teams.”
The interns stirred at Hong Ari’s announcement.
“Whew.”
Jeong Si-woo exhaled and pushed up his glasses.
‘As expected.’
It was a team battle.
The corners of Jeong Si-woo’s mouth rose.
It was just as he had anticipated.
Two people would be too few to evaluate teamwork from the start, and three or four couldn’t divide the 50 interns evenly.
Then?
‘I thought there was the highest probability of forming teams of five or ten.’
If team formation was random, there would be nothing he could do, but Hong Ari had clearly said it.
Form teams autonomously.
This was lucky.
Because.
He had already formed a team in advance.
“Wow, how did you know?”
Someone walked toward Jeong Si-woo.
It was Han Yu-na.
“And it’s exactly five people too? At this level, aren’t you practically an insider?”
Jeong Si-woo had appeared on her broadcast yesterday, and in return suggested they team up if there was ever team work.
Naturally, Han Yu-na had no reason to refuse.
Jeong Si-woo was ranked 11th domestically.
“Really amazing! They call you a data machine, so did you accurately grasp the examiner’s intentions?”
Step, step.
Another person approached.
190cm tall.
Burly muscles.
‘Kang Dae-hyeok.’
Jeong Si-woo had recruited four players in advance yesterday.
He thought recruiting more than that would be inefficient, and it was under the pretext of cooperating if team missions came up.
Naturally, he picked those who seemed most capable based on data.
One of them was that Kang Dae-hyeok.
‘2nd place in physical training.’
His personality seemed like the type to push through with brute force somewhat crudely, but his stamina was outstanding.
And.
“I’m here too.”
Another person came.
‘1st place in physical training, Seo I-yun.’
Unusually, she was 1st place in stamina despite being female.
Honestly, he was quite surprised.
No matter how much she had exercised, he never imagined she could beat that Kang Dae-hyeok.
She was a woman who was extraordinary in every way.
So yesterday after finishing their meal at the restaurant, he had hurriedly caught her as she was leaving and recruited her in a similar manner.
And lastly.
“Hyung, noonas! This is the right place, right?”
Age 23.
Kim Dae-bok.
Actually, he didn’t pick this guy because he was particularly amazing.
Surprisingly, there were few players wandering around outside, and among them, his name looked the most auspicious.
Dae-bok (Great Fortune).
Literally, wouldn’t fortune come if he picked him? That was his mindset.
Anyway.
With this arrangement, it felt like he had picked quite substantial figures.
1. Jeong Si-woo (30 years old) – Team Leader
2. Han Yu-na (24 years old)
3. Kang Dae-hyeok (33 years old)
4. Seo I-yun (28 years old)
5. Kim Dae-bok (23 years old)
Jeong Si-woo immediately compiled the roster and went to the judges to register their team formation.
They were the first team to emerge from the 50 people.
“Oh.”
Hwang Ju-won’s eyes lit up with interest as he checked the team roster.
“Look at this.”
He handed Team 1’s roster to Hong Ari.
“The substantial kids we talked about yesterday who seemed highly promising – they’re all in here.”
“That’s quite interesting.”
Except for Kim Dae-bok at the end.
They were all people who had been designated as persons of interest.
People they hoped wouldn’t drop out in the second round if possible!
“Then we can afford to eliminate quite a few in this test, right?”
Actually.
Team battles also involved elements of luck.
No matter how outstanding individual abilities were, they could still fail if the team was poor.
So originally, they were planning to pass only six out of ten teams.
To prevent key figures from being eliminated as much as possible.
But?
If things turn out this way, there’s no need to pass many.
“Hmm.”
Hong Ari pondered Hwang Ju-won’s words for a moment.
It wasn’t bad.
If they eliminated many here, they could conduct more precise tests in the third round.
“Good. We need to imprint that SKY’s tests are that fierce and ruthless anyway…”
She nodded her head.
“Exactly four teams.”
At the same time, her eyes became resolute.
“This week, we’ll select exactly four teams.”
The teams were decided.
The formed teams were from Team 1 to Team 10!
They stood lined up in their designated positions.
Hong Ari announced.
“This mission is a territorial conquest.”
Territorial conquest?
Commotion began to stir among the interns.
But Hong Ari continued speaking without concern.
“Within Geomdan Mountain, there are two peaks. The main summit at 657m above sea level and Gitdae Peak at 606m. The distance between them is about 1.5km, which is far for ordinary people, but we can say it’s quite close for us.”
The commotion died down at her explanation.
If you miss the explanation because you’re making noise?
That’s the noisemaker’s loss.
Everyone stared intently at Hong Ari’s lips with focused eyes.
“From now on, you must occupy one of the two peaks for more than one hour. If even one team member stands within the drawn circular line for more than one hour without approach from other teams? That team passes.”
Ooh.
The interns’ eyes lit up.
Because they immediately understood what it felt like.
But.
It wouldn’t be fun if it ended here!
“By the way, there’s no rest for a week. Day and night. If there’s a team occupying even at dawn, they pass.”
Dungeons and towers don’t consider sleeping time.
Training like real combat!
Testing was also like real combat.
Swoosh.
Hong Ari looked around, observing the interns’ expressions.
Some were nervous, some were steeling their resolve… but none showed dissatisfaction with this policy.
‘This batch is in good condition.’
She had planned to immediately eliminate anyone who voiced complaints.
Hong Ari clicked her tongue regretfully and continued speaking.
“And one more thing.”
The corners of her mouth turned up.
“There’s also a way to pass faster than occupation.”
…!
At those words, the interns’ eyes brightened even more.
Is there something else?
“Judges will be roaming around Geomdan Mountain. If you subdue them, you pass immediately.”
What?
Wait a minute.
Judges would be… SKY Guild members.
Most of them are domestic top rankers and world rankers?
How do we subdue them!
“However, judges can only use one of their summoned creatures. And only B-grade or below. On the other hand, you can use all your summoned creatures as teams.”
Ah.
Only then did the interns nod their heads.
‘This might be doable?’
‘No matter how much of a ranker they are, just one summoned creature is a bit…’
‘Unless it’s a summoned creature like Player Baek Jin-woo’s Hunkyo, facing 25 summoned creatures would be impossible, right?’
‘Rather than wasting time on territorial conquest, finding judges with Song Yeon-hee or Hwang Ji-woo would be faster.’
They clenched their fists tightly while harboring vain fantasies.
They don’t know yet.
What kind of control results the difference in fundamentals creates.
Even SKY members wouldn’t have known for life if they hadn’t met Baek Jin-woo.
‘This is quite a trap.’
Hong Ari smiled slyly.
If those people are idiots who don’t know their place?
They’ll become distant from passing.
Because she told the judges to give their all.
“Only the first four teams to arrive pass. The remaining six teams will automatically be disqualified.”
The moment tension rapidly escalated among the interns.
Swoosh.
Hong Ari raised the starting pistol.
“Then everyone get ready.”
After a brief silence.
Bang!
As the gunshot echoed loudly through the mountain, team members began running into the forest.
Screech!
There’s a man flying through the sky on a wyvern.
And inside his belly, one fairy yawning long.
– Yaaawn, I’m getting motion sick. Jin-woo, when exactly are we getting out?
“Phew, seriously.”
A deep sigh came from Baek Jin-woo’s mouth.
Has about two weeks passed by feel?
The continent was damn vast.
No matter how much they traveled, there was no end.
“Wait a little longer. We’ve crossed mountain ranges and rivers, so according to the map, we should be out soon.”
While moving, they passed countless cities and villages.
Of course, they were ruined cities.
The continent was miserable.
The continent just before the manifestation of the great demon Asmodeus had nothing left but wounds from terrible destruction.
For all that time, they couldn’t see a single person, only a few wild beasts and monsters.
It was fascinating.
Things they couldn’t see in the game because it started with fragmentary scenes.
What does the Tower of Trials want to show us?
Why does it do such things through humanity?
When training fiercely outside, they didn’t particularly think about it, but being trapped in here makes all sorts of thoughts arise.
– Oh, J-J-J-Jin-woo!
It was then that Ramba suddenly raised her head!
“Huh?”
– Look over there! Waaaaaaah!
Ramba started cheering with excitement.
– I can see it! That’s it over there! The Holy Kingdom of Lumentia! It looks so damn cool!
“Oh.”
It’s real!
Far in the distance, below the clouds, Lumentia was slowly revealing itself.
‘Whoa.’
The sight of the Holy Kingdom from afar was truly spectacular.
A natural mountain fortress indeed!
Ancient castle walls formed a massive circle, encompassing both the city and the mountain range itself.
The height was so overwhelming that one had to wonder how humans could have built such a thing.
‘No wonder they’ve managed to survive on this ruined continent until now with a fortress like that.’
Inside the castle walls, a golden-domed cathedral that exuded a sacred feeling rose up, and the ancient buildings surrounding it were all equally magnificent.
And that wasn’t all.
Tall towers jutted up here and there, each topped with pure white sculptures carved in the image of archangels.
Yes.
This was the 54th Floor of the Tower.
The mission?
To meet the supreme ruler who governed that place, the holy king.
To meet King Archelion!
Of course, the process would be sickeningly difficult.
– Kiruurururururu!
The Sky Wyvern stopped flying and turned around.
Now that they had confirmed the location, it was time to go back and get Rachel and the main force.
Once again.
The time for earnest climbing had arrived.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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