Chapter 48
After pushing the heavy magic stone into the leather pouch at his waist, Chaeho flicked the blood from his blade.
Dark red blood was still pouring from the roughly severed artery of the Black-Mane Ogre.
The sight of such a massive corpse lying on the floor was unreal.
But Chaeho's eyes were already cold and calm.
He wasn't drunk on a sense of accomplishment.
The first thing he did was check his physical condition.
He lightly rotated his ankles in place.
Then he opened and closed his fists while checking the fatigue in his muscles.
Repeatedly activating and deactivating [Time Slow] under extreme tension had left several of his joints stiff.
But he was still capable of fighting.
I still have some skill time remaining.
Chaeho quickly calculated the remaining amount in his head and gave a small nod.
Looking around, he saw that the other candidates who had panicked during the unexpected incident were already gone.
At least they had been smart enough to run instead of standing around and getting caught in the fight.
The Hunter Association's emergency rescue team was probably approaching from somewhere.
But Chaeho had no intention of leaving yet.
Defeating a mutated B-rank monster alone was obviously an absurd achievement.
Even if he abandoned the examination right now, walked outside, and told everyone what had happened, nobody could reasonably criticize him.
But Chaeho saw things differently.
My original mission is to recover the assigned magic stone.
If he stopped now, defeating the B-rank monster could simply be dismissed as the result of an unexpected accident.
But if he also perfectly completed the mission originally assigned to him...
Then the result would prove his ability completely.
Chaeho released one long breath and began walking back toward the altar where he had previously seen the target magic stone.
However, part of the detour route had been blocked by fallen rocks because of the ogre's rampage.
So he chose another connecting passage leading toward the altar.
The amount of time he had lost fighting the ogre was greater than expected.
An ordinary candidate would probably have become impatient after realizing how far behind the others they had fallen.
They might have started running recklessly.
But Chaeho's stride remained completely steady.
Rushing narrows your vision.
It was a lesson he had painfully learned while following behind other hunters as a porter.
A dungeon was a place where one careless step caused by impatience could get you killed by a simple trap or even the claws of a weak monster.
The deeper he moved into the cave, the more humid the air became.
The smell of rotten water filled his nose.
Kirik! Kieeek!
The moment he turned a corner, unpleasant scraping sounds came from above.
A group of Cave Spiders appeared along the walls and ceiling.
Four spiders, each roughly the size of an adult man, approached while flashing their poisonous fangs.
Chaeho lowered his sword and watched them.
Unlike during the fight with the ogre, he didn't even need to activate his skill.
Even without [Time Slow], he could clearly read their gazes and the directions in which their eight legs twitched.
The spider in front kicked off the ground and leaped.
Chaeho moved half a beat earlier.
His body slid sideways immediately after he confirmed that the creature's center of gravity had fully shifted into the air.
SLASH!
His sword cut through the spider's underside and split it in half.
Before the green fluid from its body even reached the ground, Chaeho had already turned toward his next target.
Another spider was descending along the right wall.
Chaeho lightly knocked away its front leg with the flat of his sword.
Then he rotated his wrist and drove the tip directly into its head.
Thud.
The spider struggled before going limp.
The remaining two attacked together.
Chaeho didn't panic.
He allowed them to close the distance while taking half a step backward.
The instant their paths overlapped...
Chaeho drew his sword horizontally through the air.
It was a proper, textbook slash with all unnecessary strength removed.
Only the angle and speed of the blade mattered.
The remaining two spiders were decapitated before they could even scream.
"Hoo."
The entire battle had taken less than a minute.
Because Chaeho had focused completely on attacking only the enemies' weaknesses, he had barely used any stamina.
Without even looking at the spider corpses on the ground, he continued forward.
Several more minor fights followed.
Weak monsters continued appearing in the passages.
But Chaeho was extremely careful about using his limited skill.
He defeated them using nothing more than careful observation and efficient movements.
After steadily advancing without losing his composure, the narrow connecting passage widened.
The cavern he had seen earlier appeared again.
At its center stood an old stone altar.
A small stone resting on top gave off a faint red glow.
It was the assigned magic stone.
The final objective of the practical evaluation.
Chaeho carefully checked the surroundings for traps or hidden presences before approaching the altar.
He picked up the stone.
A cool sensation spread across his palm.
Only then did a faint smile finally appear on his tense face.
