Chapter 29: The First drop out Occurs.

• Crackle!

As the protective barrier began to crack, Heo Cheol-hoon thought to himself,

‘Is this… really happening?’

It was a shocking situation. It shouldn’t have happened. He had brought an artifact from outside. Moreover, the

artifact he had imported was of epic grade, directly given to him by Yoo Hee-yeon.

Before the F-Class representative selection started, Yoo Hee-yeon had approached Heo Cheol-hoon.

“You are… Heo Cheol-hoon, right? It must be tough in F-Class.”

“Yoo… Yoo Hee-yeon, is that you?”

“Why are you staring at me like that? This isn’t the first time we’ve met, is it?”

Yoo Hee-yeon was a celebrity at Broad Academy. Being the daughter of the Artemis Guild Master, it was impossible

not to know her. Furthermore, she was the top student in practical skills for first-year students at Broad Academy

and had also ranked second in written exams.

It was extremely rare for an academy student to excel in both theoretical knowledge of magic and practical combat

skills. Coupled with her prestigious family background, it was no surprise that she had become a remarkable figure.

Because of this, Heo Cheol-hoon was aware of who Yoo Hee-yeon was. He thought to himself,

‘How does she know about me?’

It was a valid question. Heo Cheol-hoon was merely a rare-grade rogue. The rogue class was not particularly coveted.

In fact, due to the demerit of being a rare grade, he was just an average student found in every academy.

In contrast, Yoo Hee-yeon stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid. The fact that she recognized him felt both like an

honor and an opportunity.

‘Even if I don’t know why she came to find me, it’s still an opportunity.’

Yoo Hee-yeon, the only daughter of the Artemis Guild Master. If things continued this way, the Artemis Guild would

be inherited by her, and she would become the leader of the most powerful guild in the nation. In the future, as time

passed, Yoo Hee-yeon would reign over a place so lofty that he could hardly even reach it. If he could put her in his

debt or ask her for a favor, he might even be able to secure a high position.

‘No, it doesn’t even have to be a high position.’

As a rare-grade rogue, his life would likely be a thorny path without any flowers. He might have to resort to thievery

to survive, and even if he could enter a dungeon, there was no guarantee his skills or attacks would be effective

against monsters. All rogue skills were designed to be more effective against people than against monsters.

‘If I could just get a position as a low-level employee in the Artemis Guild, that would be more than enough for me.’

That alone would be an ample and generous act for Heo Cheol-hoon. He quickly realized that an opportunity had

come his way and bowed his head to Yoo Hee-yeon.

“Of course, I know about you, Yoo Hee-yeon. May I ask why you came to find me? Do you have a favor to ask of me?”

“Oh… you’re not completely oblivious, I see? Well, that’s a given. If I didn’t have something for you to do, I wouldn’t

have come looking for you, would I?”

Yoo Hee-yeon spoke in a condescending tone, defining her relationship with Heo Cheol-hoon clearly by using the

phrase ‘something for you to do’ rather than a ‘favor.’ Heo Cheol-hoon understood this fact as well. However, he

obviously couldn’t point it out.

Yoo Hee-yeon spoke with an assertive expression.

“I’m going to give you an artifact. Take this with you for the representative selection.”

What Yoo Hee-yeon handed over was an artifact that sparkled with a red gem.

“What is this?”

When Heo Cheol-hoon asked, Yoo Hee-yeon answered casually.

“It’s a specially made artifact that I asked a high-ranking wizard to create. Its power is slightly reduced, but you can

bring it into the virtual stage.”

“I thought external artifacts weren’t allowed in the virtual stage…”

“Oh, I’ve already taken care of that, so don’t worry about it. Just take the artifact and follow my instructions

precisely. Lee Hyun-seung. Prevent him from winning this selection.”

“Wait? Shouldn’t you give me an offensive artifact then?”

“Huh?”

Yoo Hee-yeon looked down at Heo Cheol-hoon and spoke.

“What do you think an offensive artifact would change for a rogue like you? Since you’re fast, your job is to locate Lee

Hyun-seung. Watch his movements from a distance, and if you see anything suspicious or a weakness, spread the

word around. If you get caught in the process, use this artifact to hold on and relay any disadvantageous information

to people, then get eliminated.”

She saw Heo Cheol-hoon as nothing more than a parrot conveying information. The protective barrier was a safety

measure to prevent his identity from being discovered, so he wouldn’t end up being unable to say anything and retire

in silence.

“…What happens if I refuse?”

In that moment, his pride was hurt. He was well aware that being a rare-grade rogue wasn’t impressive. It was true

he wanted to seize an opportunity through Yoo Hee-yeon. However, being treated like a worthless dog who merely

provides information felt pitiful and distressing. Thus, he seriously contemplated rejecting her at that moment.

Yoo Hee-yeon glared at Heo Cheol-hoon and said,

“Huh? Refusal? You don’t actually think you could do something like that, do you? Don’t you know what would

happen if you acted that way, considering your parents’ guild takes subcontracted work from our Artemis Guild?”

• Crunch…

Heo Cheol-hoon clenched his fists and thought,

‘In any case, it’s something I have to do. I can’t refuse. And if it goes well, I might gain a lot.’

With that mindset, Heo Cheol-hoon decided to respond.

“What’s the reward… What kind of compensation will I receive for successfully completing the task?”

“I’ll give you money. An abundance of it. Of course, if you succeed.”

He had hoped for a position, even as a low-level employee in the guild, but if Yoo Hee-yeon was promising money in

such a significant amount, that didn’t sound bad either. Thus, he bowed his head and replied.

“Understood. I will definitely carry out the mission.”

Inside the virtual stage.

• Crackle!

The protective shield generated by Heo Cheol-hoon’s artifact was cracking.

“This… can’t be happening, can it?”

It was the artifact given by Yoo Hee-yeon. She had clearly said that it would easily withstand regular magic or bullets.

Therefore, he had intentionally provoked his opponent.

• Damn it! Can a mere gun break it?

He could have just stayed quiet and not provoked his opponent. However, he believed that exhausting Lee Hyun-

seung’s ammunition would create a significantly disadvantageous situation for him. Thus, it was true that he had

hidden intentions to deplete the magazine.

• Crackle!

But he had never expected things to go this far. Heo Cheol-hoon thought Lee Hyun-seung would exhaust about half

of his magazine and then retreat due to the strength of the barrier.

That would mean he could trouble Lee Hyun-seung while achieving both magazine depletion and information

delivery. However, the situation unfolding before his eyes was simply unbelievable.

• Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The bullets fired from a mere basic pistol were cracking the shield of an epic-grade artifact.

“Damn it! Stop it! Stop it!”

Lee Hyun-seung was firing madly. Right now, the shield was still intact, but if it broke, he would immediately aim

the gun at Heo Cheol-hoon’s head, capable of piercing through it.

“Y-You crazy bastard! If this breaks, my head will go with it!”

Even though it was inside a virtual stage and he wouldn’t actually die, he could still feel pain. Thus, it was only

natural for him to be terrified.

Heo Cheol-hoon twisted his head around, but the space was too cramped to expect any proper evasion.

• Crackle!

Eventually, cracks began to spread further across the shield.

• Bang—!

Crash!

The barrier shattered.

• Thud, thud.

Lee Hyun-seung walked toward Heo Cheol-hoon.

• Squeak…

Unaware that his pants were scraping against the ground, Heo Cheol-hoon shifted his body in a sitting position and retreated.

“P-Please… don’t… I-I surrender, I’ll surrender. I… I couldn’t help it.”

Lee Hyun-seung looked down at him and spoke.

“Shut up.”

Bang—!

“Ugh—!”

• Rat-tat-tat!
• Thud.

Dozens of gunshots rang out, directed at the already fallen opponent. Soon, Heo Cheol-hoon’s body collapsed,

vanishing like ash.

A moment later, the caster broadcasting the F-Class representative selection shouted,

“Everyone~! Just now, we have the first elimination in the F-Class representative selection!”

In the viewing room for the representative selection, Yoo Hee-yeon, watching the F-Class representative selection

through virtual glass, couldn’t contain her shock.

“Th-This can’t be happening…”

She stared blankly at the screen, unable to close her mouth at the display of Lee Hyun-seung’s power.

“It’s… okay. I still have a few people lined up for the job… They should be able to… take that arrogant bastard, Lee Hyun-seung, down.”

• Crunch, crunch…

She bit her nails, continuing to keep an eye on the situation through the virtual glass.