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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: All Master Who Regressed to Bronze
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"Seems like the situation's a bit different from when we started?"
"...You!"
Lee Joo-ho, dragged in front of Choi Shin-hyeok and unceremoniously dumped on the ground, bared his fury at Shin-hyeok, grinding his teeth.
But Shin-hyeok paid no mind to the reaction. He simply swung his sword.
Slash!
A clean strike.
His B-rank Swordsmanship sliced precisely through Lee Joo-ho's neck.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Choi Shin-hyeok → Lee Joo-ho]
"That's 1 billion!"
"But we have to split it among ourselves, so it'll be about 100 million each."
"100 million's plenty."
"True that."
The players who betrayed Lee Joo-ho cheered at the kill log featuring Shin-hyeok that popped up.
But their joy was short-lived.
"What are you all so happy about? Now fight each other."
"...Ah."
"Or do you want to try me again?"
Shin-hyeok, who had been lounging casually on some rubble with his staff in hand, stood up.
At his words, the players who had just been hugging and celebrating began slyly distancing themselves from their comrades.
Watching them, Shin-hyeok smiled.
"Alright, now kill each other."
"Uwaaaah!"
"Die!"
Shin-hyeok was demonstrating the textbook way to sit back and watch others fight your battles.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"W-What rank am I?"
"You? Around 4th. There are some stubborn survivors holding out."
"Kuh... Even so, I'm satisfied—"
"Then goodbye."
Crack!
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Skill: Staff Mastery [E]
After the players fought among themselves.
Shin-hyeok smashed the head of the last survivor with his staff and checked the remaining survivors.
[Remaining Survivors: 3]
"Two left."
The combined assault from Lee Joo-ho and the players.
Their betrayal.
The civil war among the betrayers.
Two players who hadn't shown themselves until the chaos ended.
But Shin-hyeok wasn't worried.
"I've killed so many, I've got three location trackers now. Time to hunt with these."
Location Tracker.
He had three of the very trackers that had gotten him so many times early on.
"Use Location Tracker: Hwang Sun-woong."
The hunter and the hunted switched places in an instant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Slash!
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Skill: Blade Mastery [E] 💨 Skill: Tracking [E]
"Phew, is that the last one?"
The final player had given up fighting and fled, forcing Shin-hyeok to spend quite some time chasing.
But even that player was eventually caught by Shin-hyeok's superior Tracking skill and lost his head.
As the player's body dissolved into particles of light and vanished, a message appeared before Shin-hyeok.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Placement Exam has ended.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Achievement: Achieved 1st Place Survival] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Achievement: Achieved Most Kills] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Achievement: Achieved Perfect Play]
"Perfect."
The message announcing the end of the Placement Exam also showcased just how incredible Shin-hyeok's results were.
These were achievements where even one would guarantee a Silver tier placement— and he'd nabbed three.
But the real surprise was just beginning.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have self-acquired 5 or more weapon skills during the Placement Exam.] [You may select the job: Weapon Master.]
"Weapon Master? You can get this job like this?"
The Dimension Arena had jobs.
Most people got the usual: Warrior, Mage, Archer.
Nothing special. But the lucky ones were different.
And among them, Weapon Master was legendary— even Shin-hyeok from his previous life knew of it.
"Weapon Master Roderick. The Grand Master from Europe. They said there was no weapon he couldn't wield..."
Grand Master.
The title for Diamond tier players on the cusp of Challenger.
Europe's only one, so it stuck in his memory.
The thought of obtaining such a being's job made Shin-hyeok's heart race.
My previous job was top-tier Swordsman. Pushing a basic class to its limits. If I get a hidden job on top of that...!
He'd been Challenger tier despite a basic class, so his excitement doubled.
"I accept—"
Just as he moved to accept.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have self-acquired 10 or more skills during the Placement Exam.] [You may select the job: All Master.]
"All... Master?"
The sudden message blocked his choice.
All Master.
A job he'd never heard of.
But the moment he saw the name, instinct took over. Shin-hyeok reached out to the message.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have acquired the job: All Master.] ⚔ STATUS ⚔
[All Master]
- Classification: Job [Unique]
└ Additional bonuses applied when learning all skills.
└ Additional bonuses applied when using all skills.
└ Can wield opposing energies.
"I never imagined I'd get All Master as an actual job, not just a nickname."
In his previous life, Shin-hyeok had been called All Master for handling what dozens of Challengers couldn't alone.
Now, he truly had the All Master job.
The implication was simple.
"Won't take long to deal with those New Humanity Empire bastards."
The New Humanity Empire that killed him.
And the Challenger players from other dimensions who joined them.
His blade of revenge wouldn't be far off.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skills: Archery [C], Swordsmanship [B], Axe Mastery [D], Spear Mastery [D], Staff Mastery [E], Blade Mastery [E] have merged into Comprehensive Weapon Mastery [D].]
"Not bad either."
His miscellaneous weapon skills had consolidated into one upon gaining All Master. Shin-hyeok was satisfied, even if the rank dropped significantly. With Versatile and his sealed Late Bloomer trait, it was no issue.
Thus, having gained a new job and new skill, the true reward arrived.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have achieved 3 achievements in the Placement Exam!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [This record is unique across dimensions and will be recorded in the Dimension Arena's Akashic Records.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Rewards: Random Box (Max Legendary), Random Trait]
"...Fantastic."
A Random Box that could yield up to Legendary items.
But what really caught Shin-hyeok's eye was the latter reward.
"A random trait. It's like giving me a second heart."
He already had Versatile and Late Bloomer— two hearts, essentially.
Now a random trait too? Perfect for him.
"I'll open the Random Box later... Claim the random trait."
He took a deep breath to steady his pounding heart and claimed it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have acquired the trait: Predation.]
"Predation? What's that trait?"
A trait he'd never heard of appeared.
Predation.
Unsure what it did, Shin-hyeok pondered deeply—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Apex of All Evil senses its trace and has come to you.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Apex of All Evil gazes at you with interest, having acquired its trait.]
"Constellation...!"
A Constellation had come to Shin-hyeok.
Constellations that ignore even major achievements are showing interest in me already?
Constellations were beings others begged for a glance from.
For one to notice a fresh Placement Exam survivor was astonishing.
"Could you tell this humble one about the trait?"
He wanted to know about the unknown Predation trait.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Apex of All Evil strokes its chin in thought.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Apex of All Evil accepts your request.]
"...! Thank you!"
Fortunately, the Apex of All Evil granted his request.
His joy was brief.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Warning! There may be pain!]
"Pain? What do you— Kuh...!"
A sensation like needles stabbing his brain overwhelmed him.
Even pain-hardened Shin-hyeok thrashed, limbs trembling uncontrollably.
But soon—
"Phew... So that's what it is..."
The pain vanished instantly, settling Predation's knowledge in his mind. Shin-hyeok sighed with a smile.
"Absorbing part of the abilities from enemies I kill? Ridiculous."
A power to absorb slain foes' abilities.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the 'real' Dimension Arena, so no player abilities— but it didn't matter.
"Monsters in the Dimension Arena are plenty for steep growth. All Master plus Predation. Wings keep sprouting while I sit here."
Just hunting appearing monsters would fuel massive growth via Predation.
As he smiled at his growing power—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Apex of All Evil says it looks forward to your future exploits.]
"I'll live up to the expectations."
The Apex of All Evil, having revealed Predation, left with one final message.
Feeling the gaze lift, Shin-hyeok exhaled in relief.
"Phew, being under a Constellation's gaze is no joke."
Constellations were god-like.
Even through messages from afar, it weighed heavy on a mere human like him.
Exhausted, Shin-hyeok sprawled out—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Placement Exam has concluded.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Determining your Placement Tier. Please wait a moment.]
"Oh right, it was still the Placement Exam."
Realizing he was mid-exam, Shin-hyeok let out a hollow chuckle and awaited his tier.
How much time passed?
Another message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Player Choi Shin-hyeok, your tier has been determined.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The above tier assignment utilized your achievements and playstyle as data.]
"This should be good."
His performance and achievements were no joke.
Akashic Records or whatever— it wasn't ordinary.
Being recorded there, plus playstyle factored in? His tier would skyrocket.
The next message confirmed it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Player Choi Shin-hyeok's tier is...]
"...Does this make any sense?"
A result he could see but not believe.