"Mister, Did you see us fighting?"
As soon as the test was over, Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye rushed over.
The two of them looked at Seo Woojin with faces full of excitement.
"Yeah, I saw it."
After Seo Woojin, the Heroes generally fought well.
They couldn't completely shake off the fear of death, but still, they didn't freeze in fear like they did at first.
Among them, Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye stood out noticeably with their outstanding performances.
"When I swung my fist hard, the troll's chest got pierced with a hole! Even considering the troll's recovery ability, I thought it would recover, fortunately, it died in one shot, you know?"
For a story told by a smiling pretty girl, the content was quite gruesome.
"Ha ha ha, Okay."
Seo Woojin awkwardly smiled and nodded.
"Did you see me this time?"
This time, Kim Da-hye asked.
"Yeah, I saw you too."
In some ways, she was even more noticeable than Lee Ji-ah.
'A flamethrower, huh….'
Surprisingly, Kim Da-hye created a flamethrower using her skills.
Of course, if it were an ordinary flamethrower, it wouldn't have been effective against the troll.
The rate at which the body burned was much slower than the rate of recovery.
However, Kim Da-hye's flamethrower was created with a skill.
'It gets stronger proportionally to the level.'
By the way, Kim Da-hye is at level 21.
Although the class was only C class, that level was more than enough to deal with trolls.
"One shot, and it melted away."
As Kim Da-hye said, the troll melted as soon as it touched the flames.
Seo Woojin thought the troll was made of wax.
"But how does Da-hye get her skills?"
They are given one by one every time they level up.
That's what other Heroes said.
I heard it's a little different from level 50, where Baek Shi-woo reached, but…
No matter how you look at it, it seemed that Kim Da-hye had no skills other than summoning drawings into reality.
"I use the upgrade method."
"Huh?"
I couldn't understand what she meant right away.
When Seo Woo-jin tilted his head, chatterbox took the mound instead of Kim Da-hye.
"Da-hye's skills are mostly things like 'Quick Drawing', 'Duration', 'Memorize'. And when she levels up, they get upgraded. Right, Da-hye?"
"Yeah."
Listening to Lee Ji-ah's words, I understood.
It seemed that as the level increased, you could draw pictures faster and summon them for a longer duration.
Depending on the skill proficiency, there also seemed to be differences in the number of pictures that could be drawn in advance in a sketchbook.
"How many can you save right now?"
"Ten."
It wasn't as much as I thought.
Still, if you raised the level, it was undoubtedly a job that could be quite helpful in combat.
"I'll have to level up a lot from now on."
The core of a Hero's ability was the level.
Seo Woojin didn't blindly believe in levels, but he agreed that they were necessary.
"Starting tomorrow, the class will proceed in the direction of gaining experience in practical battles and leveling up."
At Lee Ji-ah's words, Seo Woojin blinked his eyes.
"Where on earth do you get information like that?"
It is nothing else but the academy's educational curriculum.
Not something you could just pick up on the way.
"I just picked it up on the way."
It must have been possible.
Anyway, Lee Ji-ah was the most popular person in the academy.
"How? Have you heard anything about that too?"
Today wasn't a particularly meaningful time for Seo Woojin.
Rather than killing a troll, sparring with Irene in the training ground was more helpful, that's what he thought.
Still, the word 'level' caught my interest.
After seeing Baek Siwoo's skills, I fully realized the importance of levels.
"I don't know exactly about that."
Unfortunately, I didn't know that much.
"But I heard that tomorrow, instead of going inside the academy, we will go outside."
"Outside?"
Are they really trying to carry out a subjugation or something like that again?
Seo Woojin furrowed his brow.
It was just a few days ago that the knights were almost wiped out because of Gerald.
But now, the thought of going outside again for a subjugation didn't sit well with him.
'There's no guarantee that another monster won't appear.'
He survived last time thanks to luck.
There was no guarantee that luck would favor him again.
"Well, wouldn't the Empire and the Academy be fully prepared? It doesn't seem like they're such carefree people."
Indeed, the Empire is the strongest nation on this continent.
Their history has lasted for hundreds of years.
There was no reason why they couldn't do the same things that Seo Woojin, an ordinary young man in his twenties, did.
"We'll find out tomorrow."
Seo Woojin eagerly awaited tomorrow with a slightly hopeful expression.
* * *
"What's up with that guy?"
Kim Taejin grumbled as he returned to the lodging after finishing the test.
Although he overwhelmed the troll with flashy skills, he didn't receive much attention.
"Siwoo, it's understandable, but what about Seo Woojin? Who on earth is that man?"
He heard that he was clearly D-class.
Even his job title was unimpressive, called 'Sword Soldier.'
His level was embarrassingly low compared to themselves.
However, he left a bigger impact than any other Heroes.
"Why are you so concerned? He won't be our opponent anyway."
Park Jinhan chuckled and patted Kim Taejin on the back.
"Aren't you worried?"
"Not really?"
"That's because you're an ignorant musclehead."
Kim Taejin said mockingly, but Park Jinhan just laughed.
"You're pitiful for not understanding the beauty of muscles."
He proudly showed off his muscles, befitting his job as 'Adamantite Warrior.'
"Ah, why am I even talking to you."
As Kim Taejin sighed, a snickering sound came from behind.
"I agree with Jinhan. I don't understand why everyone is so interested in that man, who is just a D-class."
It was Seong Yura.
She seemed to be casting a disdainful look at Kim Taejin, as if he didn't appeal to her.
"Baek Siwoo, you're the same. Don't use flashy skills just because you're upset. You could have easily killed trolls without using skills."
"I'm not upset."
Baek Siwoo shook his head in response to Seong Yura's words.
"You're making me laugh. Do you think I don't know you?"
Although Seong Yura shot back, Baek Siwoo didn't respond this time.
Honestly, her words were not wrong.
"It's really strange. I heard that class and levels are absolute. That guy has a low level and a poor class. And yet…"
He continued to display exceptional skills.
It wasn't just this incident.
The day they encountered Gerald and almost died, Seo Woojin survived without any significant injuries.
According to rumors, even the sword master Dariel had taken an interest in him, someone they hadn't cared about before.
From their perspective, always drawing attention with exceptional performances, Seo Woojin was an annoying existence.
"I looked into it a bit."
"Seong Yura, you?"
Kim Taejin's eyes widened in surprise.
It was hard to believe that his friend, entangled with pride and arrogance, would investigate someone.
"It's not that difficult."
Seong Yura continued speaking, avoiding eye contact as if she felt uncomfortable looking at her friends.
"He trained in a place called Sion for the past year."
She then explained what Sion was, and what life was like for Seo Woojin there.
"If he fought monsters risking his life, it's natural for him to show such skills."
Park Jinhan nodded at Seong Yura's words.
Compared to the Heroes who comfortably raised their levels, it was only natural that Seo Woojin had good skills.
"But that's only possible now. As time passes, the gap with us will inevitably widen."
Classes and levels are absolute.
Seong Yura believed in that statement.
Now, it seemed that the academy would provide enough practical experience as well.
"That guy, who is just D-class, won't be able to catch up with us even if he wakes up after dying."
The friends nodded in agreement to her confident words.
There was not a single error in what she said.
Only Baek Siwoo disagreed with Seong Yura's words.
Of course, he didn't show it outwardly, but that's what it was.
"Instead of worrying about that man, let's focus on the training tomorrow."
Seong Yura glanced at Baek Siwoo and changed the topic of the conversation.
"Oh, right. Did they say we're starting survival training tomorrow?"
They knew more than Lee Ji-ah.
"According to the nobles we agreed to join, it's a week-long survival training in a place called Demonic Helldane."
Demonic Helldane.
It was a place where the ancient Demon Lord was defeated, and it was a huge forest polluted with demonic energy.
Thanks to this, wild animals eroded by demonic energy and followers of the demon lord live there, and its danger is considered significant even on the continent.
"Demonic… Sounds like a scary place from its name alone."
"They plan to stay only on the outskirts. As our level rises, we'll gradually go deeper inside."
There were several such demonic places on the continent.
Most of them were created as a result of the aftermath of the Advent War, and some were occasionally caused by the influence of the Demon King's family.
Beyond the northern reaches of the Massive Guardian, there was also one of those demonic places.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"It probably is."
Most of the information from the nobles warned about how dangerous Demonic Heldane was.
Even though she hadn't heard everything about the place, Seong Yura felt a slight tension.
"But it's an opportunity for us."
An opportunity to excel beyond any other Heroes.
If they show a different side from others there?
"Wouldn't the attitudes of the nobles towards us become even more polite?"
Seong Yura and her friends were not just attention seekers.
From the start, they didn't need to act to gain attention from others because they were already outstanding.
Nevertheless, there was a reason for having such thoughts.
'We need to prepare for after the war.'
She and her friends had information that other Heroes didn't know.
It was a secretive story that couldn't be told to others.
And if used wisely, it could be a great help to them.
'It could be the other way around… … .'
Still, Seong Yura was confident.
At least she believed that they could have a different ending from other Heroes.
For that moment, they had to show an outstanding performance.
No one should be able to ignore them.
Seong Yura glanced at Baek Siwoo once again.
He still looked lost in thought.
'It's possible with you, Baek Siwoo.'
Although he was an infinitely kind and innocent friend, his talent was unrivaled.
If Baek Siwoo could grow properly…
'No one can stop us.'
The D-class Hero named Seo Woojin had long since been erased from Seong Yura's mind.