…
Seoyeon's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Alicia's voice,
…
"Huh?" Seoyeon yelled whilst looking at the only camera in the room, knowing Alicia was most likely watching him.
His face showed that he was most definitely irritated, he put his hands in his pockets once more as he turned his body and faced the camera.
Meanwhile, Director Ian chuckled nervously, "Ah, Alicia, don't worry about it, he must be another one of those players that think they're so good just because they passed the golem test—"
"Shush, Ian." Alicia interrupted him abruptly.
…
"The golem test will be repeated but with a higher difficulty, prepare yourself, Player Han Seoyeon." Alicia said through the intercom.
Seoyeon readied his stance, clutching his dagger firmly within his right hand.
Then, the room turned red as an alarm blared for a moment before going back to normal as a large beast began materializing at the center of the test chamber.
"This is a C-Rank Orc Champion, good luck."
Static could be heard for a moment from the intercoms as Alicia stopped talking, the beast in the center finished materializing.
It was an orc which towered over Seoyeon, its muscular body imposed a sense of utter strength, but Seoyeon knew just how dangerous these beasts were.
Orc Champions—a higher-ranking orc within the orcish hierarchy, they possessed not only brutish, inhuman strength, but also great intelligence which gave them a veteran-like combat intuition and battle sense; these orcs were also notorious for their extremely high durability and endurance.
Although, because it was only a summon for the test, the orc champion standing before Seoyeon is significantly weaker than an actual orc champion, but this didn't change Seoyeon's thought—not one single bit, "That thing… Is powerful!"
"Faced with a formidable foe, now you have no choice but to reveal all of your cards, Player Han Seoyeon." Alicia thought to herself.
Seoyeon smirked nervously,
"If I don't use Voidstar… I don't stand a chance against that thing."
[
However, Seoyeon's eyes trembled as he felt fear for the first time since arriving in Eioth…
"T-this thing… Doesn't have any weak spots!?" He said as he watched on as Eye of Criticality failed to identify any critical strike spots on the Orc Champion.
"Shit. It must be because of my low stats, even level 30 players struggle with this thing… And I'm only level 11…"
Seoyeon shook his head and clicked his tongue, unsure of what to do next.
Then, he thought to himself,
"Calm down, I need to use my extensive knowledge of this game to defeat that thing—"
Before he could finish his thought, the Orc Champion suddenly dashed forwards and reappeared beside him as if it was teleporting—too fast for Seoyeon to even notice.
Seoyeon narrowly blocked the attack with his dagger as he was slammed into the wall, with some blood dripping from his mouth.
…
"Fine, you wanted to see what I was hiding, right, Alicia?... Watch carefully." Seoyeon muttered to himself,
Seoyeon got up as the Orc Champion began walking towards him, he extended his arm out.
[
A singularity the size of his hand appeared in his palm, engulfing the room with an intense pressure as an orange glow lit up the walls, ceiling, and floor.
The abyss reflected within Seoyeon's eyes as he released the singularity, sending it at a slow pace towards the orc champion.
The orc champion laughed at the small, insignificant singularity at first… Suddenly,
Otherworldly lightning originating from the singularity with an orange hue struck the room constantly as a deafening, otherworldly sound echoed throughout.
*Boom*
The singularity exploded, leaving everything in its wake destroyed. Seoyeon got up as the smoke slowly cleared, the silhouette of the orc champion standing slowly appeared.
However, when the debris and dust settled, the orc champion's right hand was replaced with nothingness as blood spilled out.
*Kaaaagh!* The orc champion yelled out.
Then, with Eye of Criticality, Seoyeon was able to see system messages identifying skill usage from monsters.
[Orc Champion has used
The orc—not being able to bear the pain—quickly sprinted towards Seoyeon,
*Swoosh* The orc missed its punch with its left hand as it slammed its leg down, Seoyeon narrowly avoiding it.
Seoyeon stepped back, he took a deep breath, and a white glow emanated from his eyes once more.
"I need to think!—"
Then, the orc interrupted him with a punch that sent him flying across the room, slamming into the concrete walls once more.
He slowly got up, clothes covered in dust and soaked in blood, hair messy, and face more serious than ever.
Seoyeon readied his stance,
[
Another singularity formed in his palm as he threw it at the orc champion.
The orc champion—now knowing of the dangers of the singularity, dodged it, as it lunged at Seoyeon and slammed its fist into the ground.
For a brief moment, he felt true fear, realizing just how mortal he really was… "Right… This… Isn't just a game anymore." He thought, gritting his teeth.
Seoyeon dodged it—stepping to his left as he pulled out his dagger.
He jumped towards the orc champion.
*Cling* *Clang* Only the sounds of his dagger bouncing off of its skin—barely able to make even so little as a scratch on its thick muscles.
Seoyeon knew that with only the orc champion's neck, legs, and arms exposed, with the rest being covered in armor, the bare skin was his best option for attacking. However, even the orc champion's exposed skin was as sturdy as lower grade metal.
*Swoosh* The orc champion spun around, hitting Seoyeon with its fist, pummeling him into the ground.
*Kagh!* Seoyeon spat out blood as he was slammed into the floor.
He got up slowly and faced the orc champion. His mind was racing with thoughts and strategies, his eyes darting around everywhere, his limbs trembling—barely able to keep himself standing.
Then, a small glint of hope appeared in his vision, a critical strike location in a small gap in the orc champion's silver chestplate.
"There!" He yelled, dashing forwards once more.
*Cling* He struck the champion's heel as he slid under it, hopping onto its back and going up to its head.
The orc champion flailed around to get Seoyeon off as he jumped down and landed near the orc's legs while it was still distracted.
[
"Enhanced Endurance has made its skin even thicker… I can't use Voidstar to kill it… But I can use it to immobilize this beast!"
He placed his palm firmly on the ground as two powerful singularities encircled each of the orc's feet.
*Raagh!* It yelled out in frustration.
Seoyeon extended his arms out as he summoned another singularity, stopping the orc's arms from moving. With one hand gone, and the other immobilized, Seoyeon jumped up.
Now in the air, he saw the critical strike spot clearly,
[
A powerful singularity manifested in his palm, spewing abyssal lightning everywhere as it let out an ear-screeching sound.
*Crash* The singularity struck the orc directly in its weak spot as a massive explosion rocked the entire building.
In the lobby, several players were startled by a powerful explosion and the building suddenly shaking.
"What's happening in there?" They began to murmur amongst each other.
Gorou smirked, "What the hell could you possibly be doing, Seoyeon."
…
The dust settled within the test chamber as a dead orc champion laid on the floor—limp and lifeless.
Seoyeon was disheveled and dirty, his clothes soaked in blood—both his own and the orc's.
The intercoms went online once more as Alicia clapped audibly.
Meanwhile, in Ian's surveillance room, Alicia smiled, "Very good, Player Han Seoyeon." She began speaking to the microphone in front of her as Seoyeon took several deep breaths.
Seoyeon sighed, combing his hair back into place with his fingers and wiping dust off of his shoulders.
…
[You have unlocked a hidden use for
[Congratulations, you have successfully immobilized a powerful being with
[You have acquired the A-Rank Skill:
Seoyeon disregarded the system message, eyes too tired to even take a quick look.
He put his dagger back into his inventory.
Alicia couldn't hold in her excitement after having witnessed such an amazing battle from a player who had—according to the documents—only been transported just yesterday.
She laughed audibly through the intercom,
…
Alicia spoke up, "Player Han Seoyeon…"
…
Seoyeon squinted his eyes, a serious expression formed on his face as he gazed into the lens of the camera in the corner of the room's ceiling.
"How would you like to…"
…
"Join my guild?"
…
Seoyeon smirked,
"Why should I?" He said, arrogantly staring into the camera.
Alicia felt both frustration and pure, visceral, excitement.
"What an interesting person… Director Ian, I'm heading to the test chamber." She said to Ian as she stormed out of the room.
Director Ian put his legs on his desk as he reclined,
"Player Han Seoyeon… Huh?" He laughed.
"I better keep an eye out, After all… You've been added to my list of promising talents."
…
In the test chamber, Seoyeon stepped out and back into the observation room connected to it, the observers inside were shocked—their mouths wide open and their expressions frozen in awe.
*Swish* The door opened as Alicia walked into the room.
She looked at Seoyeon with a determined face,
"You don't have to do the stat testing, I'm making you a D-Class Player. Thank me later—"
"No thanks." Seoyeon interjected.
Alicia's face froze in confusion,
"What? Why wouldn't you want a D-Rank right from the get-go…—"
"It's a hassle." Seoyeon coldly replied.
"Give me an E-Rank, please." He said, momentarily staring into Alicia's eyes as he walked passed.
Right as he was about to leave the observation room. Alicia stopped him with her sword, a silver sword decorated with an ornate golden design and a beautiful hilt.
"You're not going anywhere, we still have things to discuss." She said with a serious tone.
*Swing* Suddenly, Seoyeon's dagger was mere centimeters away from her neck as he gazed into her eyes—piercing through her.
"Do you want a fight?" She asked.
Seoyeon replied in a cold and exhausted voice, "Get out of my way. I'm not in the mood for a conversation right now."
Sparks could be felt as an intense weight washed across the room, the two observers—staff of the World Association—stood frozen in place as both Seoyeon and Alicia exchanged deadly glares at each other.
Alicia chuckled, "Whatever. If you change your mind, contact me." She put away her sword as Seoyeon did the same.
"My contact number is *****" She said as Seoyeon sighed.
*Swish* The door opened as Seoyeon pulled out his phone and typed in her phone number—saving it to his contacts.
…
"M-Ma'am Alicia! …W-What class do we put Han Seoyeon into?" One of the observers asked.
Alicia replied with a smirk on her face, "Put him into E-Class. He wanted to be an E-Rank…"
"I'll earn his favour first. I have something promising planned for him."
Her smirk grew and eventually turned into a grin,
"I've never seen a player with as much potential as him…"
…
Seoyeon walked through the corridors of the building and eventually made his way back to the front lobby—clothes soaked with blood and disheveled.
…
Alice left the observation room, muttering something as she left;
"I need to convince him to join…"
…
"The Player Tournament."