Ye-Ji was feeling indescribably nervous ahead of the S-rank promotion exam, and it was only natural. She still couldn’t forget the joy she felt when she first registered her name as a Hunter with the Hunter’s Bureau. Although she started at the lowest rank, F-Rank, because of her lack of mana, she had been overjoyed simply by the fact that she had become a Hunter. “Are you ready?” Min-Ji asked her. Ye-Ji stood on a four-lane road beneath the largest Fissure she had ever seen, stretching toward the sky, and observed the scene. The size of a Fissure was determined by its danger level, which in turn was determined by its wave reading. Checking the measurement device on her wrist, Ye-Ji tilted her head in confusion. What’s with this reading? One thousand eight hundred was a strangely low figure for such an enormous Fissure. Of course, anything above a thousand was classified as an S-rank Great Fissure and was inherently dangerous. However, something felt off here. Before she could find an answer to her question, Kang-Hyun’s voice brought her back to the present. “Let’s go.” The sound of the three Mana Smokes on her combat belt clinking together rang out as she entered the Fissure. Inside the Fissure, the landscape was chaotic, as if a storm had just swept through. The rocky terrain was pocked with deep craters, and in the distance, a massive circular sinkhole, resembling a nuclear blast zone, dominated the scene. “That’s your weapon, I see,” Min-Hyuk commented. Her sword was wrapped in white cloth. Pulling the cord near the hilt caused the cloth to unravel, revealing a sleek, deep blue blade. Even at a glance, the sword was extraordinary. “Yes. It’s called the Falling Moon Sword,” Ye-Ji said. “Wow, that looks amazing,” Min-Hyuk remarked. The blade was sharp, and more importantly, its material hinted at high quality—at least an A-grade. Just then, the ground shook, and everyone looked toward the source of the sound. A single Giant Ogre was moving in the distance. It was an S-rank named monster that towered over twenty meters tall and was meant to serve as the target to test Ye-Ji’s capabilities. But something felt off. “They’re all spread out,” Ye-Ji commented. Ye-Ji had expected to face three ogres at once. Instead, each Giant Ogre was at least a kilometer apart from the others. Of course, ogres weren’t pack monsters, so it wasn’t entirely surprising. “We’ll take them one at a time,” Min-Ji said with a smile. “Taking on all three at once would be too much.” Three Giant Ogres in a Fissure with a reading of 1,800 meant that each ogre had a danger level of 600. The exam itself would become impossible if they attempted that. After all, tackling three simultaneously was akin to the difficulty of slaying Masalis. Back then, every available S-ranker had to band together to defeat it. Taking down a named monster, a quasi-boss, from an S-rank Great Fissure alone was out of the question. With a reading of 600, they were comparable to the bosses of most S-rank Fissures. “We’ll be conducting a raid. For today, the four of us will be one team.” “One team...” The phrase struck a chord with Ye-Ji. Fighting alongside the S-rank Hunters she had admired since her days at the Hunter Academy felt like a dream come true. However, a deep sense of tension accompanied her excitement. Min-Hyuk gave a bittersweet smile and said, “If you had joined our guild back then, you wouldn’t be standing here now, would you?” He recalled earlier that year when Ye-Ji attempted her Hunter promotion exam. Despite being an F-rank, her skillful use of Infusion caught his attention, and he tried everything to recruit her into the Icarus Guild. Ye-Ji’s A-grade suit gleamed. It was the same one bought from the Korean National Smithy for 5 billion won, a payment Min-Hyuk had made after losing a bet to Do-Jun. “Why don’t we make a bet?” Do-Jun had suggested. Maybe that was the moment everything changed—when Do-Jun began to shake up the stagnant world of the S-rankers. How much has she grown? Min-Hyuk wondered. A Giant Ogre charged toward them, recognizing its prey. The monster was still roughly seven hundred meters away, yet its ferocious presence was palpable. All three Hunters except Kang-Hyun pushed off the ground simultaneously, moving in perfect unison. Their opponent was just one ogre for now. Standing alone, Kang-Hyun calmly observed the Giant Ogre as it roared. A sharp blue aura emerged from his blade. The Giant Ogre was left as a test subject by Do-Jun, prepared for Ye-Ji’s S-rank exam. The stage was set. The outcome now rested entirely in their hands. With a loud firing of the mesh gun, the S-rank Hunters leaped toward the Giant Ogre in unison. The tightly woven net of mana was enough to briefly restrain the monster’s movements, albeit only for a fleeting moment. Even a mere tenth of a second, the time it takes to blink an eye, was enough. The Rankers’ sword strikes rained down relentlessly. So this is... an S-rank battlefield, Ye-Ji thought in awe. She was living the S-rank raids she had only ever seen on streams, but she didn’t have the luxury of marveling at the scene. This was her evaluation for ascending to S-rank. However, recklessly charging in was not an option. She couldn’t keep pace with the divine movements of the seasoned S-ranks, who had fought together as a team for years, their overwhelming experience evident in their synergy. Instead, she had something else—her own unique experience. Why isn’t she moving? Kang-Hyun narrowed his eyes at Ye-Ji. The S-rankers, including himself, could kill the Giant Ogre whenever they wished. They were holding back to give Ye-Ji a chance. As Ye-Ji infused her mana into the Falling Moon Sword, it produced a resonance. What is that? Kang-Hyun’s eyes widened as he noticed something unusual. For an instant, a sword-shaped light appeared and disappeared on Ye-Ji’s chest. Ignoring the Rankers who had been nicking its body, the Giant Ogre suddenly turned its gaze toward Ye-Ji and reared back its massive arm. Its right arm swung in a wide arc, smashing its fist toward the ground where Ye-Ji was standing. “Move!” Startled, Kang-Hyun shouted as he lunged toward her, but it was already too late. With a resounding boom, the ogre’s fist had already struck the ground. As the ogre started to lift its hand to check the damage, another heavy sound followed—that of the ogre’s severed wrist hitting the ground. Blood poured from the clean-cut stump, soaking the earth below. Contrary to their expectations, Ye-Ji emerged unscathed, standing atop the severed wrist of the ogre. Explosive mana burst from the Falling Moon Sword. And now, the sword-shaped light that had briefly appeared on Ye-Ji’s chest was clear and distinct. The injured ogre’s eyes burned with murderous intent. Still, it hesitated, likely because it couldn’t even feel its wrist being cut off by the enemy. Ye-Ji remained still as well. Was it tension? The ogre had completely forgotten about the others. The sound of a mana gun being loaded rang out. Kang-Hyun’s bullet spiraled toward the ogre’s nape and struck true, causing it to turn its head to the left from the sudden sting. “Now,” he muttered softly, and Ye-Ji knew exactly what he meant. A clear sword path appeared before her eyes. It was the fifth form of Scholar’s Swordsmanship, which she had learned after acquiring the sword. The enlightenment of Sword Saint Jin Suyun took form in her hands. With a slash, a milky-white flash enveloped the Giant Ogre’s entire body. Huh? Ye-Ji’s eyes widened. For a fleeting moment, she saw an image of Do-Jun crossing swords with an unknown woman. The Giant Ogre collapsed to the ground as a lifeless corpse. What was that just now...? Ye-Ji wondered. When the three Giant Ogres were finally defeated, a message announced that the Fissure was closing. Ye-Ji exited the Fissure with her three examiners. Having used up all the Mana Smokes she had brought, her combat belt now felt much lighter. The massive Fissure, reaching as if to touch the sky, started to shrink with an equally loud rumble. This was the process of an S-rank Great Fissure disappearing after it was cleared. Ye-Ji’s hands trembled slightly. She couldn’t believe she had personally contributed to clearing an S-rank Great Fissure. Of course, it was only possible with the help of the S-rank Hunters, but even so, she had played a part. “Phew.” As her tension melted away, Ye-Ji plopped onto the road. Seeing her like that, Min-Hyuk chuckled and extended a hand to her. “C-can I sit for a minute?” Ye-Ji asked, clearly fatigued. “Of course, I understand,” Min-Hyuk replied with a smile. “By the way, how does the evaluation work? Do you think I can pass...?” Ye-Ji asked. Kang-Hyun responded, “I can’t give you an answer here. I’ll need to report this to the Chief first.” With a whooshing sound, the Fissure vanished completely. Ye-Ji stared at the spot where it had been, unable to look away. She wondered about the fleeting vision she saw of Do-Jun crossing swords with someone. His attire had also seemed a bit unusual. “Excuse me, I have a question,” Ye-Ji said, thinking back to the S-rank Great Fissure they had just cleared. “The size of a Fissure is proportional to its reading, right?” Kang-Hyun replied, “That’s correct.” “Then, isn’t it strange...? A reading of 1,800 isn’t small, but the Fissure seemed disproportionately large... And there were no regular monsters, only three named ones. Has something happened before?” There was a brief silence. Then, Kang-Hyun said, “The original reading was 8,900.” “Pardon...?” Ye-Ji’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at him. He briefly closed his eyes, then reopened them and explained, “There were regular monsters, and even a boss monster. But someone intervened, and by soloing, the reading was drastically reduced.” An S-rank Great Fissure with an initial reading of 8,900 was reduced to 1,800 through someone’s solo effort? That person would have had to enter an S-rank Great Fissure alone, eliminate all the regular monsters and the boss, and intentionally leave only three named monsters. Ye-Ji swallowed hard as she wondered if such a thing was even possible. Her mind raced. Who could possibly possess such overwhelming power? “Was it you, Hunter Lee?” she asked. “Nope, I couldn’t do such a thing.” Ye-Ji’s heart raced. If even the world’s strongest Hunter couldn’t do it, then who could? That individual intentionally left the three Giant Ogres for your S-rank evaluation, Hunter Ye-Ji. They specifically appointed the three of us as your evaluators and even scheduled it for today, a Wednesday. Kang-Hyun slowly opened his mouth. “Supervisor Lee Do-Jun.” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn noᴠelfire.net