episode_0208

About 1,000 people enter the maze in different directions.

“Good luck.”

When the door closes with the supervisor’s dry remarks, darkness finally comes.

The darkness is so dark that you can’t even see an inch in front of you.

There is no exaggeration or falsehood in this sentence.

Because the darkness in front of your eyes was literally designed to prevent the act of seeing.

“Nothing much has changed.”

About 10 years ago?

The shocking news that all 400 test takers who survived to the end of the newly released test declared that they had given up was widely reported.

At the time, I was still young, so I was very curious about the unknown.

What kind of test was it that made test takers who desperately wanted to become hunters give up at the last step?

“surely… “It was a test worth giving up on.”

When I asked the association directly to experience the ‘Maze of Darkness’, I had only one thought.

This isn’t a test you’re made to pass.

A vast maze whose total area is difficult to estimate, and various traps filled within it.

Up to this point, there may have been some applicants who were somehow able to pass.

But one bigger problem remained.

“The problem is that we have to pass through all of this while blocking our view.”

The darkness that fills the maze makes your field of vision extremely narrow.

The biggest problem was that you could literally only see one inch ahead, so if you took even one wrong step, you would be faced with an irreversible mistake.

And one more thing.

“Ugh… !”

The test taker’s shrieking screams echo from far away.

Every time I hear that, my heart cannot help but shrink.

A vague fear came over me that the next person to scream might be me.

“One thing that makes a difference is certain.”

It’s scary to the point of death, and as difficult as it is, one thing is certain: the performance that determines your superiority.

Mental strength, strength, judgment, crisis response ability, etc.

You will only be able to pass through this place if you demonstrate all the necessary elements as a hunter.

“… “Of course it’s not me.”

Even Son Si-woo, an S-class hunter, could not see through the darkness that filled this maze.

I was so curious about what it was made of that I asked.

Of course, I couldn’t find an answer.

This is because the producer did not disclose it to the association members, claiming it was a trade secret.

This body can see such secrets.

The principle behind the creation of darkness that blocks vision, as well as the maze scenery beyond it.

Chicken flesh is growing all over my body.

“What on earth happened to this eye?”

To destroy the darkness that even the eyes of an S-class hunter could not penetrate, as naturally as breathing.

The bleak scenery of the maze, which I had not seen at the time, comes into view.

It seems like a huge maze that would have existed in the Middle Ages, and the rough and rough structures actually add to the sense of reality.

“… “Suddenly, I feel like I’m starting to lose steam, eh.”

Before I came in, my heart was pounding for the first time in a long time.

Although it was a place that Son Si-woo passed through easily, it was definitely an interesting place.

I thought I would be able to enjoy this maze even more if my body was weaker than before… .

“I never thought I could solve the riddle so easily.”

We also identified the identity of the darkness that filled the maze.

As expected, it was an artificial darkness created by a magic circle.

To be precise, a large magic circle is drawn on the ceiling by modifying the magic of ‘Blind’, one of the curse spells that blocks the opponent’s vision, so that the target is not a person but the entire space.

Of course, everyone who enters here will have their vision blocked, so the only people who know this will be the maze’s creator and me.

“Hmm.”

The exam is held over a total of 3 days.

The 100 people who pass the maze completely within three days or are close to the exit will receive a certificate.

The latter is said to be a newly added passing condition for this exam, and this is actually correct.

As I said before, this test is not at a level that the test taker can pass.

The hope that you can become a hunter as long as you are close to the exit will be a ray of hope that you cannot easily give up like the test takers 10 years ago.

“I can’t help it.”

We can’t just be disappointed by the reduced stimulation.

However, I have no desire to pass the maze as easily as drinking a bottle of cola.

If the darkness of the maze can’t cover my eyes, there’s nothing I can do.

“I have no choice but to cover it myself.”

Even these deceptive eyes can’t penetrate their own eyelids.

Only when you close your eyes will the same conditions as the test takers be achieved.

No, other kids can still see one inch ahead, so I’m at a greater disadvantage.

It’s not bad.

“It’s about this much of a handicap, huh?”

I walk with my whole body’s senses sharpened.

* * *

Even though the exam is extremely scary for the test takers, it is nothing more than an interesting attraction for the audience watching it.

“Hey… “Are you avoiding that?”

Scouters from each guild.

They couldn’t take their eyes off the monitor that filled one wall with excited eyes.

The worst exam resumed in 10 years.

If there is someone who stands out here, they will definitely be something the guild should keep an eye on.

“How much time has passed?”

“23 hours 42 minutes.”

“… “Have you been counting them all?”

“You’re probably the only one here who doesn’t see the time on the bottom of the monitor.”

“Hmm… ! “It’s because I’m tired, because I’m tired.”

It’s been 24 hours since test takers wandered through the dark maze.

In a situation where they couldn’t see an inch ahead, 300 people fell away without being able to overcome the trap that was triggered unexpectedly, and 200 people ran away from the pitch-black darkness and the fear of the screams that erupted in succession.

Even though only one day had passed, almost half of the people were eliminated.

“If this is the case, no one who passes the maze will come out.”

“I think you have to be at least B-level active duty to get through that maze safely.”

“surely… , it is a vicious place.”

The monitor at the top left corner is lined with monitors that illuminate the area around the exit of the maze.

But no one even looked in that direction.

Because I was confident that no test taker would reach that point.

It was definitely like that.

The gaze of a scouter, who inadvertently tilted his head to drink water, landed in that direction.

“Push… !?”

The water that was stored for drinking pours out and wets the surrounding area.

“What are you doing now!”

“I don’t even have a change of clothes… !”

Despite the protests of those around him, the man stared at the monitor with blank eyes and pointed with his index finger to where I was looking.

“Look over there… .”

The attention of the scouts all turn towards the direction pointed by the finger.

“What on earth is there…?” “Uh, huh?”

There is something.

A long black shadow is cast within the range covered by the CCTV.

While I was looking at the monitor like a person in a trance, a person suddenly appeared.

A man suddenly appeared and made them doubt their eyes.

It’s a familiar face.

A man who was all the rage on social media and impressed scouts by showing off his incredible skills throughout the hunter qualification test.

“Ki, Kim Do-jin… ?”

It has been 23 hours and 48 minutes since the fourth test started.

Breaking the scouts’ rants that there would never be any test takers who would pass the exit.

Shake!

Kim Do-jin opened the exit door.

* * *

Vision plays a big role in combat.

Well, in fact, there is no sense among the five senses that is unimportant, but it is an undeniable fact that vision is more important to people who have not reached that level.

However, when you conquer a dungeon, you sometimes come to moments where you have to believe your eyes.

Like now, the view itself is blocked, or the truth is buried in illusion.

In this way, only what appears to be the truth is true, and when a situation arises where it is not real, what should be the answer?

The answer is simple.

If you can’t see it, you have no choice but to hear it, smell it, taste it, and feel it.

To be precise, you have to use all your remaining five senses to overcome the situation.

“What?”

It reads the flow of magical energy fluctuating around it and avoids magic traps that burst into flames when stepped on.

Avoid the swamp where your whole body is submerged the moment you step into it through the sour smell.

Quang!

Avoid the golem’s fists rushing in through the sound of waves and fight back.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to pass the maze.

Like I’m doing now, rely on other senses instead of sight to destroy traps and find your way.

Or, you can walk slowly but carefully, relying on just a single glance.

“Either way, it’s difficult. This is especially true for aspiring hunters.”

It’s not easy for either side.

In particular, encompassing all five senses was an extremely difficult ability that even I could barely master when I was almost from B-level to A-level, so there’s no way chicks could do it.

However, moving forward relying on one-inch vision is also… , well.

In the quiet darkness, one second feels like ten seconds.

Would it be possible to concentrate for three days in a slow-flowing time?

I think it’s difficult.

“I don’t know if my kids are doing well.”

For our children, this test is literally the worst match.

Why?

Despite his outstanding abilities, his body and mind are still as green as that of a 20-year-old.

Even though I was legally an adult, I was a bit immature to be considered an adult. It was a time when I was brilliant and beautiful, but mentally unstable.

Will they be able to demonstrate their skills in a test that requires strong mental strength?

“… “I’m sure they’ll do well, I guess.”

wee.

I thought about helping, but I decided not to do it.

Since they are chosen as my team members, they have to be the best in the industry, but I can’t let them enter the full-fledged hunter society without being able to overcome this level on their own.

If you fail, you just have to improve yourself and look for the next opportunity.

“ah.”

As I walked along, lost in my thoughts, I finally reached the end.

How much time has passed?

“Has it been about a day?”

I don’t know exactly, but it was probably around that time.

I finally open my closed eyes and grab the doorknob hanging on the rough wall in my hand.

Shake!

Rays of light pouring in through the door that opens tightly.

“Oooh.”

My vision flashes as if I had been hit by a flashbang, and my vision gradually recovers.

A small waiting room.

The two supervisors were staring blankly at us with their mouths wide open and disbelief in their eyes.

“This is the exit, right?”

Only then did the supervisors come to their senses after hearing the humorous question and straighten their confused expressions.

“… Huh! you’re right.”

“Congratulations on passing the exam, Candidate Kim Do-jin.”

The supervisors are whispering something into the radios plugged into their ears and hustling.

Well, it’s not unreasonable to do that.

They probably didn’t even think that there would be a test taker who would pass through this door and get out.

“I want to go to my dorm and get some rest, is that okay?”

“yes.”

I pass the hurried supervisors and pass the waiting room where I was handed an emergency rescue device before entering.

As I wait for the elevator to go up, the entrance to the maze is noisy.

I turned my head to see what was going on and saw a test taker being carried out on a stretcher.

“Did I fall into a trap? .”

Supervisors holding stretchers are coming this way.

Before I knew it, my gaze naturally shifted to the stretcher standing next to me.

Beyond the transparent oxygen respirator covering his face, his features were distorted with pain.

At the sight of this extremely familiar face, my heart beats like it had never beaten faster, even in the maze.

As if he couldn’t believe it, his trembling lips spontaneously called her name.

“… Seo-yeon?”