902 Episode 50 The World After The End (5)

I still didn't know whether the word that would go into that ■■■ was Kim Dokja, the name of someone who shouldn't be called, or literally three black squares.

However, there was something certain.

In this crazy worldview, the people who would establish a company with that name were already decided.

'Readers.'

Killer King, Cha Yerin, Kyung Sein, Ji Eunyu, Ye Hyunwoo, Dansu ahjussi...

I could definitely meet all of them, or at least one of them, if I went to that company. I was certain of that.

The summoning was completed with a dazzling beam of light.

Is this the 'examination team'?

I slowly looked around, and the sight of a pure white room came into view.

The room looked to be about the size of a sports field.

Various weapons were on display outside the examination team. In particular, the quality of the weapons displayed in the front row was quite excellent.

If they are investing this much in just display equipment, is 'Divine Murim District' a fairly wealthy city?

—High-grade D Sword.

—High-grade D Blade.

—High-grade D Spear.

Strangely, all the item names had D in them.

Come to think of it, the coin I received when I entered here also had 'D' in it.

I took out the coin I received as a scenario reward.

That was a simple explanation. Expensive currency handled in this area.

Anyway, Divine Beings of the Otherworld... The moment I held the coin, I felt an unpleasant sensation, as if I had touched the skin of an unfamiliar creature.

In an instant, the coin clung to my palm like a leech. I was startled and summoned the coin back.

I guess it's because I've been back to the scenario for the first time in 8 years, but I can't get used to everything from the currency to the scenario area.

If I could contact them at least, I'd ask for help, but it doesn't seem like the inside of the [Fourth Wall] would be a good situation.

I should meet the readers quickly.

"Is anyone here?"

There was no sign of anyone around the examination table except for me.

Why is there no one here? Is this an automated system?

I thought about just walking out, but I remembered Namgung Myung's advice to definitely choose a company.

Let's wait a little longer.

I took out 'Unbreakable Faith' and started to lightly stretch my body. Maybe because it was a Murim area, the amount of magical power in the air was quite abundant.

Lightly draw a sword line left and right.

Although I didn't become a Transcendent, my swordsmanship skills have improved by leaps and bounds since joining the 'Transcendent Alliance' and completing the 1,863rd round. The connection between [Way of the Wind] and [Baekcheongganggi] has become much more natural, and my understanding of the characters in [Bookmark] has also improved significantly.

Honestly, I felt like I wouldn't lose to any incarnation except for Yoo Joonghyuk right now.

"Huh?"

That was when I discovered the sword mark drawn in the middle of the martial arts field.

The sword mark that tore the solid martial arts field floor diagonally.

'It's the martial arts of the Transcendents.'

There was no doubt about it. Judging from the strength of the floor and the depth of the sword, it was a powerful Transcendent that had reached at least the 3rd stage of Transcendence.

The faces of the Transcendent Alliance quickly flashed through my mind.

Did one of them visit here? But it wasn't Cheok Jungyeong's [Three Swords] or Kyrgios' [Baekcheongganggi]. At first glance, it seemed like [Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship], but upon closer inspection, it had different characteristics.

There was another strange thing. The moment I examined the form of the swordsmanship, my heart fluttered slightly. I can't express it well, but it seemed like the swordsman who left this sword mark swung a sword in extreme sadness.

"Huh? Who is it?"

A voice was heard from the entrance outside the examination hall. The one who opened the entrance and came in was a middle-aged man wearing somewhat baggy clothes.

A person finally appeared.

It seemed that the middle-aged man was the 'examiner'.

"Who is Sohyeop?"

"I'm here to be examined."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

The middle-aged man looked at something on the terminal he took out from his bosom as if he was embarrassed, and then said.

"That's strange. The lower scenarios aren't in the season for the promotion yet, right?"

What kind of a baseless term is the season of the quest?

"How did you get here, Sohyeop?"

"I walked."

"Huh?"

"I just walked into the city and got summoned here."

The middle-aged man who had been listening to my answer with a blank expression suddenly snapped.

"Hey you! Don't lie! How can someone who walked into the city get summoned to the examination?"

"It happened?"

The middle-aged man looked extremely embarrassed. I felt his lips mumble softly as he rolled his eyes and examined me for a moment.

I guess I know what he's trying to do.

However, there was no way he could deduce my identity with such a skill.

With a light spark, the examiner who was watching me was greatly shocked and took a step back.

"What, what is this—"

Then, he opened his eyes wide and began to examine my entire body. It was probably not a 'perception' skill, but rather an attempt to read my status through his senses.

But it would be useless.

This 'hood' I'm wearing was taken from the last scenario area.

The examiner looked at me with a confused expression, and suddenly spoke to me formally.

"Sohyeop, are you by any chance from the 'Giant Nebula'?"

'Giant Nebula'.

Come to think of it, I had once made a small nebula at the 'Recycling Center' with other readers.

"It's not a giant nebula."

"But how... No, wait a minute."

The tone of his speech changed immediately when I told him I wasn't from a giant nebula.

While the examiner was going through a stack of electronic documents, I lightly activated my skill toward the examiner in front of me.

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

It was because it had been a long time since I had seen an ordinary incarnation that was over 100 years old.

Did I enter a 'Time Fault'?

'Foreign body. Cyborg. That's why they have long lives.'

Come to think of it, there was a time when a large number of similar incarnations appeared in 'Ways of Survival'.

It was the 1,500th round, I think.

I skimmed through it so I don't remember clearly, but the scenario area. Some were occupied by a group called a 'company'.

The Murim world including 'First Murim', the world of the demons, and even the medieval fantasy world and SF world including 'Peace Land'.

Maybe those 'companies' are the 'companies' I checked earlier.

And this examiner...

"Hmm, are you really a friendly person who came up without knowing anything? It's been a while since I've seen something like this."

He was a kind of a 'new recruit training manager' who was in charge of measuring the skills of the incarnations and transferring them to a company.

"I guess they don't usually come in walking like me?"

"The judging panel only summons incarnations who have come up through [the path to the top] from lower scenarios. They won't be summoned to this 'judging panel' just because they walked into the city."

Is that the principle?

"Usually, the 'judging' is conducted according to the season branches of the lower scenarios. This season already ended a few months ago, so I thought there wouldn't be any new recruits for a while..."

So this 'judging panel' is a kind of primary filtering net that welcomes new recruits who come up to the 'new Murim district' through [the path to the top] from lower scenarios.

"If you're summoned to the 'judging panel' alone at a time like this, it's usually one of two things. You're either an 'outcast' who has been away from the scenarios for a long time, or..."

The judge, who was looking at me with deep eyes, continued speaking.

"A mysterious strongman who suddenly 'jumped from a scenario' in an unknown scenario, or Sohyeop?"

I thought for a moment and then asked.

"Is there a disadvantage if I don't answer properly?"

"Hehe, what an interesting newcomer. You're really spirited."

"First of all, I'm not an outcast."

"I guess so. If you're an outcast, your incarnation body should have already been dyed in the probability aftermath."

Were there some outcasts hiding in the scenario?

The examiner seemed to know a lot about the characteristics of outcasts.

"Then you're from a lower scenario... There's something about it that doesn't make sense to believe that."

"What's the point?"

"Usually, when you're summoned here from a lower scenario, you can't help but have trouble breathing because of the narrative pressure of the higher scenario, but Sohyeop is very relaxed."

The density of the stories that could be felt in the air was definitely different. But compared to the density of the stories I experienced in the 'Fear Realm', this level of pressure was child's play.

"Even if you've come this far, there must be a last scenario you cleared. What's the last scenario number?"

Which scenario was the last?

The last scenario I performed was the 'Fear Realm', but the Fear Realm didn't have a scenario number.

Then should I start from the 'Recycling Center' before that?

"It's probably around scenario number 20."

The examiner's eyes widened after hearing me.

"No way! Do you know which scenario this is?"

I nodded. Even without asking, there had been a message flashing above my head since a while ago.

Scenario 70.

A number that wouldn’t be strange even if a 'Giant Story Scenario' of the Super-Large Nebulae occurs.

At this point, the examiner’s shock was understandable. Even after looking through both the 'main story' and the 'Ways of Survival', there was no incarnation that suddenly jumped 50 scenarios.

"Did you receive the blessing of a constellation of the level of a legend or a myth?"

"Hmm, I think there was something like that."

"Did you learn from the Transcendent Alliance’s Transcendents, or were you their disciple?"

Strictly speaking, I was a disciple, but I didn’t learn their martial arts.

Strictly speaking, I didn’t learn martial arts from them, I was a thief who stole with [Bookmarks].

"Huh… Either way, it’s surprising. Honestly, the level I feel from the small group isn’t that great…"

The examiner licked his lips after saying that and started sending a message somewhere. I guess he was sending a message to a 'company'.

As I was looking at that scene, a familiar cliché came to mind.

That's it.

The 'rank measurement episode' that is often seen in hunter stories.

This is the cliché that hunters who returned from 'another world' or 'rank measurement impossible' dungeons experience when they visit the Hunter Association.

Usually, character A, who ignores me, should appear around this time.

Unfortunately, there was no such sign.

I was wondering whether I should maintain 'exhausted mode' this time as well or whether it would be better to gradually show off my strength, but the examiner said something unexpected.

"Oh, really, I really want to measure the rank of Sohyeop, but unfortunately, the measuring machine is broken right now. Last time, one of the incarnations summoned destroyed all the spare measuring machines."

To be honest, from my perspective, it wasn't such a bad situation. It was like I had a reasonable excuse to hide my strength. However, I was a little curious about who the incarnation was that destroyed all the extra 'measuring devices'.

I absentmindedly glanced at the bottom of the examination table.

Could the owner of the 'mark' be that incarnation?

"If you're an executive, they can tell your rank without a measuring device…"

The examiner, who had been thinking for a moment, gestured toward me as if he had made up his mind.

"Well, that's better. Please follow me for a moment."

"Where are we going?"

"There's an 'ascension ceremony' for corporate executives scheduled to take place near here today."

"Ascension ceremony?"

"To put it simply, it's the day when the executives go up to the 'next scenario' area. Normally, a newbie like you can't attend this event…"

If you're an executive, it probably means someone who has a big responsibility in the company.

"I think it's great that you came all the way here alone, so I'll take you there for a special occasion."

I looked at the examiner who was smiling shamelessly as if he was doing me a great favor.

There was no reason for the examiner I met for the first time today to suddenly be kind to me, so his intention was clear.

In other words, this guy was plotting to sell me off to a company in real time.

Did he judge me to be that valuable?

If I wasn't careful, I could have been sold off to the losers of this region as soon as I started the scenario.

In order to maintain the wise 'strength mode', it would have been right to sneak away at this point, but I was also curious.

Just how strong do the key figures in this 'scenario region' really are? And how strong have I become now?

That's when a strange story became entangled in my feelings.

"Examiner."

I stopped walking, looked at the doorway outside the examination room, and asked,

"Do you happen to know who the 'executive' who is ascending today is?"

The owner of a story I knew very well was definitely there.

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