Chapter 119: Entry Examination (1)

Episode 119

‘…100 billion?’

Kim Jinsung’s eyebrow twitched as he saw the wanted poster.

The amount was higher than he expected.

Even though he had become quite famous due to the Colosseum program, his skills were still unproven in the New Continent.

Yet such a large bounty had been placed on his head.

‘They seem determined to capture me.’

As Kim Jinsung thought this, the Daehan Clan hunters glanced back and forth between the picture on the poster and Kim Jinsung’s face with sharp eyes.

Seeing this, Kim Jinsung inwardly chuckled.

‘You won’t recognize me no matter how long you stare.’

Kim Jinsung was currently disguised as a different person.

He had changed his appearance using ‘Organism Transformation’ ever since he appeared on the ship battling the pirates.

It was a moment where ‘Organism Transformation’, a skill developed by enhancing ‘Animal Transformation’, proved its worth.

“…Mr. Lee Jinhwan?”

One of the hunters asked, looking at Kim Jinsung’s identification card.

“Twenty years old, from Seoul… a C+ rank hunter?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never heard of that name. There’s no way I wouldn’t know if there was a C+ rank hunter at 20 years old.”

“I haven’t been active in Korea. I was sold to Argentina when I was young and have only been active there.”

“Sold, you say?”

“Yes. Do I need to tell you the name of the slave trader as well?”

“No, that’s fine.”

As if it wasn’t important, the hunter shook his head and asked again.

“Do you have anything to prove you’re a hunter? Like a license or a card?”

“No. I intentionally didn’t bring it.”

“Intentionally? Why?”

“Because I heard that existing hunter licenses are useless for the New Continent entry exam. Is that not true?”

The hunter, who had been questioning him aggressively, shut his mouth.

There was nothing wrong with what Kim Jinsung said.

During the New Continent entry exam, it didn’t matter how you had lived your life.

The only thing that mattered was your ‘current skill’.

That was the only way to survive in the New Continent. Fame or glory from elsewhere was of no help in surviving here.

This was a major reason why the New Continent was called the ‘Land of Opportunity’.

“…Alright. I’ll just check one more thing. Please look at this camera for a moment.”

The hunter received a device that looked like a measuring instrument from his colleague.

Looking at the device with a large lens, Kim Jinsung asked,

“What’s that?”

“It’s a device that can verify if someone is a former Colosseum Survival participant.”

“……!”

“This is part of our efforts to apprehend a criminal who recently escaped during the Colosseum, so we ask for your cooperation.”

The measuring device was suddenly brought close to Kim Jinsung’s surprised face.

A green light emitted from the device, covering Kim Jinsung’s face.

After a moment, a mechanical voice came from the device.

[Not a Colosseum Survival participant.]

Hearing this, the two hunters looked at each other.

They exchanged dubious glances, then stepped back, seemingly resigned.

“…Thank you for your cooperation.”

They then turned and approached another person.

As they disappeared from sight, Kim Jinsung inwardly sighed with relief.

‘It would have been a disaster if I had transformed into a Colosseum participant.’

Kim Jinsung was currently disguised as one of the boys he had killed in the Fight Club incinerator.

He had intentionally transformed into someone who would be the most difficult to recognize, and it was a fortunate choice.

“Please come this way now.”

A nearby staff member, who had been watching, called Kim Jinsung to the immigration screening machine.

Pass.

This time, Kim Jinsung passed without any problems and was finally able to walk through the exit.

“Hey, there’s Jin!”

“What took you so long?”

“I thought something was wrong because it was taking so long.”

Joel and his companions, who had been waiting inside, greeted Kim Jinsung warmly.

Except for one person, Rio.

He seemed preoccupied, looking around restlessly.

“Where the hell is he? He said he works here…”

Rio, craning his neck like a meerkat, looked around and muttered to himself, unable to stay still.

Kim Jinsung looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Joel explained on his behalf.

“Rio has a colleague who used to be in the same clan as him working here as a staff member. They promised to help him, but he hasn’t been able to meet him yet.”

“…Ah! There he is!”

Rio suddenly ran towards the back door with a bright expression. The others naturally followed him.

“…Huh?!”

The man who was just entering through the door widened his eyes in surprise upon seeing Rio.

“What, it’s Rio! I heard you were coming, but you’re really here?”

“Pablo, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you forever!”

“Ah, I just started my shift. Anyway, it’s good to see you! I didn’t expect to see you in the New Continent.”

Pablo, after exchanging greetings with Rio, looked at the group standing behind him.

“Are these your companions?”

“Yes. You know them, right, Pablo?”

“Of course. We all went to the same academy, didn’t we? …But there’s a new face here.”

Pablo’s gaze turned towards Kim Jinsung.

“Ah, this is Jin. We met on the ship coming to the New Continent. We encountered pirates, you know? This guy took care of them all by himself.”

“By himself? The pirates operating near the New Continent are quite strong…”

‘They were weak.’

Kim Jinsung inwardly responded to Pablo’s surprised voice.

Aside from the pirates being weak, the traits he gained from killing them were not very impressive. The most useful trait was one that increased his strength by 15, which spoke volumes.

“So we immediately recruited him to our party. And this is Karen.”

Rio pointed to the sharp-looking person standing at the other end.

He was Karen, a man with sharp features and a striking black dragon tattoo on his right neck.

“He’s a friend Joel brought along. He was the most successful mercenary in Argentina recently. Everyone says he’s at least A- rank.”

“A- rank? Oh…!”

Pablo’s eyes widened at Rio’s words as he looked at Karen.

“As soon as he said he wanted to come to the New Continent, Joel brought him to our party. So he came with us.”

Kim Jinsung listened to Rio’s words and stared intently at Karen.

Then, he slightly furrowed his brow.

‘A- rank? Definitely not.’

The energy emanating from Karen was at least A+ rank, and if he pushed it, he could even be assessed as S rank.

One thing was certain: he was definitely not below A+ rank.

“So, all 10 of you are in the same party?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll pull some strings for you.”

“Wow! Thanks, bro!”

Pablo winked in response to Rio’s joyful exclamation.

* * *

After finishing their conversation with Pablo and returning to their original spot, the group had to wait a bit longer. The screening process seemed to be more complicated than expected.

A while later, several staff members appeared, carrying stacks of thick documents.

One of them picked up a microphone and began speaking.

“Attention, attention. Those who meet the following criteria, please come forward and enter the right corridor.”

The staff member’s voice echoed loudly through the speakers installed in the hall.

“First, those with a Monster Dissection license, please step forward. Next, those with a Medical License or a Healing Skill ability. Please note that you must be able to heal others, not just yourself.”

‘…I don’t qualify.’

The healing skill Kim Jinsung possessed couldn’t be used on others.

“Next, those with a Magic Stone Refining license or a Potion Crafting license…”

The staff member continued speaking, and each time, one person would move to the right corridor.

However, not many people moved to the right corridor even after the staff member finished speaking.

The members of Kim Jinsung’s party, who also hadn’t moved, whispered among themselves.

“They’re all jobs that require licenses.”

“I should have gotten a Magic Stone Refining license. Then I could have entered easily…”

“But hunters make more money. When will you ever turn your life around by just sitting in a corner of a factory, handling magic stones?”

“That’s true. That’s not why we came to the New Continent.”

One of the biggest reasons people came to Sselepoh, the land of opportunity, was money.

And if money was the goal, choosing to be a hunter was the common path.

The New Continent was always overflowing with people who dreamed of turning their lives around by conquering dungeons.

Of course, being a hunter had the drawback of being much more dangerous than other professions. But everyone here was willing to take that risk to enter.

“Those who don’t meet the criteria mentioned so far will take the entry exam as hunters. If you don’t wish to do so, we recommend you return now.”

“……”

But no one moved.

The staff member continued, as if he had expected this.

“Please take one of the papers we’re handing out, choose the relevant section, and submit it along with the identification card you filled out earlier to the counter on the left.”

Kim Jinsung’s gaze turned towards the counter on the left.

He saw Pablo, whom they had met earlier, sitting there.

Kim Jinsung received the paper the staff members were handing out and began reading it.

—

※ To obtain a hunter license in the Sselepoh continent, you must pass one of the following entry exams. Please choose the exam you wish to take.

– Successfully complete a raid on a ‘Demon World Dungeon’ of Level 1 or higher and return through the exit portal.

– Successfully complete a raid on a ‘Trial Tower’ of 1st floor or higher and return through the exit portal.

– Hunt at least 5 Super-Large monsters or 20 Large monsters at the designated location and collect trophies.

—

All exams allow party hunting, with a maximum party size of 10 members.

The types of Super-Large and Large monsters are as follows:

….

Kim Jinsung was reading the types of monsters listed at the bottom of the document.

Joel, who was beside him, called out.

“Jin, you can check number 3 here.”

Kim Jinsung nodded and checked box number 3 with his pen.

He saw people moving towards the counter on the left one by one.

“We’ll go last.”

Following Joel’s words, Kim Jinsung waited until everyone had exited through the left exit.

The group, who had been waiting for a while, finally moved after confirming that there was no one around.

They followed Rio to the counter.

Pablo, looking at them, grinned and then, controlling his expression, spoke.

“Are you all in the same party?”

He raised his voice, as if for the surrounding staff to hear.

“One representative, please come forward and write everyone’s names here.”

Rio stepped forward and began writing their names at the bottom of the document.

Then, Pablo whispered to Rio in a low voice, just loud enough for him to hear.

“You know Franco, right? I contacted him. He’ll come to help you during the entry exam.”

Rio’s eyes widened at those words.

“The Franco I know?”

“Yeah, go straight right after crossing the bridge. You’ll see a small beach. Wait there, and Franco will find you.”

After saying that, Pablo started speaking in a loud voice again.

“You all chose number 3? Hunting ground number 3 is across the bridge you see on the left as soon as you exit. You can leave now once you’ve finished writing your names.”

The group headed towards the exit on the side.

Before leaving, Rio didn’t forget to thank Pablo.

“Thanks, Pablo! I’ll buy you a drink after the exam!”

Pablo winked in response.

After confirming that everyone had left, Pablo took out his smartphone from his inner pocket and pressed the call button.

“…Hey, Franco. It’s me. I sent the kids your way.”

– How many?

“Ten in total.”

– What’s their level?

“They’re youngsters, but there are two new faces. From what I heard, they seem like they’re quite skilled. Be careful.”

– We’ll handle it.

“Again, make sure you settle the bill afterwards.”

– Don’t worry. I swear on the name of ‘Triunfo’. See you.

The call ended.

Pablo put down his smartphone irritably, his expression displeased.

“What good is swearing on the clan’s name? Everyone in the New Continent knows they’re a bunch of scammers…”

He grumbled, then quickly controlled his expression.

He saw another group of entry applicants entering after completing their immigration screening.

—