Chapter 282 – Wailing Wall #2 in the Gold Promotion Match

She still had a fact she couldn’t reveal to Wendy.
That I had been passionately confessed to Mary in the past. To explain why she didn’t bother to tell the truth, it was to avoid a mess.

‘Isn’t it love for children anyway?’

It’s the love of an 11-year-old kid.
Who knows when, as time passes, love will suddenly cool down one day? I can’t even remember the face of the girl next to me that I liked when I was in elementary school. I could think of Mary’s liking for me as well.

‘After all, Mary isn’t obsessed with anything.’

It’s like girls having a crush on their student brother. After all, it’s a love that will cool off after one semester. After a few years, when you reach the age of puberty, you won’t even notice an old man like me. I’m worried that they will hate me when they see me who is always tired of practicing magic.

So Al Iswell.
You don’t have to worry about anything.
Time will settle everything between us.
There is no need to make a fuss by revealing the truth that has been confessed.

“I’m really curious about who he is, haha. Even if I don’t know who he is, he’s very lucky. To be loved by a cute guy like Mary.”

Breaking into a cold sweat, I pretended not to know Wendy’s question.
As Wendy looked at my reaction, she put on a look of pity.

“I can’t help it that even Luke-sama doesn’t know. I think Mary intends to keep the people she likes a secret. Well, as a girl grows up, she might end up liking one or two people. It’s probably better not to dig too deep. .”
“That’s a good idea. We need to protect our daughter’s privacy.”

Indeed, like kind Wendy, she didn’t bother digging into Mary’s secret. Inwardly, I let out a sigh of relief.

Pretend you didn’t know for a few more years, Mr. Wendy.
Because the love will naturally cool down.

‘But what if Mary continues to like me when she grows up?’

A dangerous thought ran through her head, sending goosebumps all over her body. What if after 9 years Mary rushes to marry me? So, is there really a mess between mother and daughter?

Jesus Christ.
Please don’t let that happen

I prayed in my heart.
I heard Wendy’s voice as she started explaining the promotion match quest to me.

“Now, pay attention to both of you. Now, I’ll explain what kind of promotion quest you’ll receive. Let’s start with Rebecca. The silver tier promotion quest.”
“Yes!”

Rebecca answered energetically, focusing on Wendy’s voice.

“The Silver Tier Promotion Quest can be carried out in Yoensu’s Underground Waterway. Recently, a mutant monster called ‘Rat King’ was born deep in the Underground Waterway. It is a very special entity called the King of Ratmen. The Rat King is a rare It appears with a chance, unites the underground ratmen and strengthens their power. This year, the ratking that appeared in the underground canal is attacking people.”
“Is the rat king a strong monster?”
“Yes, it’s so powerful that it can be judged C-class with just a single subjugation quest. It has power so strong that it can’t be compared to ordinary ratmen. Of course, with Rebecca-sama’s skills, you can defeat it enough.”

A mutant monster with a C-class difficulty.
If it was a C-class, it was a fearsome existence among bronze-class adventurers. But if it’s Rebecca, there won’t be any problem. As a warrior who knows how to handle mana, she should be able to subdue the Rat King.

“I’ll form a group with adventurers of the same tier within this week and send it to you. If you kill the rat king in the underground canal and come back, you’ll pass the promotion match.”
“Who are you going with?”
“There are four in total. Rebecca-nim, Dwarf Kyle-nim, Vampire Shisela-nim, and Halfling Ethan-nim.”
“Ethan…? It’s a name I’ve heard a lot.”

Among the Bronzes who made a party together, there was a name that stood out.
Halfling Ethan?
You mean that eccentric halfling who researched communion with monsters?
I wonder what other sophistry you will come up with other than hunting rat men.

“Ah! That strange halfling! I remembered. He’s a madman trying to talk to monsters.”
“Tsk tsk, cheer up.”
“Oh shit. It’s the same party as the trolls.”

Remembering who Ethan was, Rebecca frowned.
It seems that she didn’t want to be at the same party as Ethan.

Bad girl, a rough road of hardships will open.

“Haah …! Is it a party with him when he’s upgraded.”
“Maybe it’s better to just throw away all the party members and go alone. Go in alone, slit the rat king’s neck, and come out.”
“Do you really want to do that?”

Rebecca listened to my advice and began to think seriously about it. It was because she had the power of a warrior who knew how to handle mana. It’s to the point that it’s better for her to act alone and die than to have an accident taking care of the chatter.

This ended her explanation for her Rebecca.
Now it was my turn.

What other trolls will we meet in this promotion match?
My heart is pounding in anticipation.
I think an arrhythmia is coming.

“This time, it’s Luke’s turn. Gold tier promotion quests are different in nature from normal adventurers’ quests. From gold tier, your ability as an adventurer is basic, and you need to have superior combat skills to be able to serve one person. That’s why Luke’s battle A quest to evaluate your ability to perform has been issued.”
“Is this a quest with other people?”
“No. It’s a solo quest. There’s no reason to form a party.”

I heard good news.
They say there is no need to organize a party!
Was it a solo quest? It felt like my chances of passing the promotion battle increased by 50 percent with just that. It’s a blessed environment that only I have to take care of. There is no need to fight with adventurers who don’t even match their hands and feet.

Gap!
It’s a new word floating around among adventurers these days.
The word was coined because it is said that working together with other adventurers when performing a quest is exactly the same as training in guerrilla warfare. That must mean that the concept of cooperation is difficult for adventurers.

Because all kinds of different races are active in the adventurers’ profession, their habits and cultures are often different.

It’s been a while since I’ve been talking about it for a while, but anyway, there’s no need to use guerrilla warfare in this quest.
So good.

“The gold tier promotion match is conducted by sparring with the same adventurer. Among the adventurers who are already gold tier, the person who belongs to the higher ranks competes as an opponent. If you win in the sparring, you pass, and if you lose, you fail. How about simple?”

I understand what you mean.
In short, one of the gold tier adventurers came out as my sparring opponent. If I can defeat him, I’ll be promoted to gold immediately. To become a gold rank, you must prove your fighting ability by defeating an adventurer who is already a gold rank.

“The gold tier promotion match is being held at the Adventurer’s Guild Gymnasium. Even now, the adventurers included in the list are having the promotion match one by one.”
“Looks like you can watch the promotion right now?”
“Yes.”

Does that mean that the promotion itself is also held within the adventurer’s guild?
It will be over much sooner than Rebecca.
Right off the bat, I might have reached the gold tier tonight.

Wendy looked at me, who was delighted, and blurted out what was going on.

“By the way… The person who took over the role of supervisor in the gold tier promotion match this time is no joke.”
“A supervisor?”
“He’s a gold tier adventurer who is determined to compete against Dalian. He’s a strong guy who ranks ninth in the gold tier rankings. He’s like a ‘wailing wall’ among adventurers watching promotion matches.”

9th in the gold tier rankings.
The meaning of that ranking is no joke.
Galarhorn has branches in Joensuu as well as in various parts of the continent.

According to the information released by the guild, there are a total of 100 gold tier adventurers.
It means that he is an adventurer who proudly ranked 9th out of 100 people.
He must be an adventurer with superhuman strength.

For reference, my adventurer ranking is 1st in silver tier.
Being a first-class wizard, it was only natural.

“So what’s the name of that overseer?”
“If you go to the gymnasium now, you’ll know. Luke-sama is someone you know well.”

Are you someone I know well?
Who are you talking about?

“Follow me. I will guide you to the gymnasium. Unfortunately, Rebecca-sama can’t follow you. In order to prevent any accidents, outsiders are prohibited from entering the gymnasium today.”

Wendy got up from the reception desk and gestured for me to follow her. Rebecca, who was busy preparing for her own promotion, replied that she would understand and left the guild. Before she left, of course she gave me a cheering up cheer, but she said.

“Cheer up, Luke! Let’s go on a date after the two of us pass the promotion match. It’s a commemorative date for the promotion match.”
“OK.”

Seeing Rebecca shout out in a bright voice, her strength rises.
If it was for my girlfriend, I might be able to defeat the demon king now.

10 minutes after that.
I followed Wendy to the guild’s gymnasium, where a high barbed wire fence was installed. The moment I arrived at the gymnasium entrance, I could find adventurers like me flocking to watch the promotion match.

The number of adventurers waiting was six in total.
Wouldn’t it be an exaggeration to say that almost all the adventurers on the promotion list have arrived?
However, most of the adventurers had expressions of despair.

“No… That’s too much, Sifal.”
“Does it make sense that the Overseer is a barbarian? Besides, if you’re a barbarian Nike, you’re a person who is treated as a god among barbarians.”
“How to defeat a barbarian using an aura blade.”

Quaang! Just then, a loud explosion rang out in the gymnasium. As if someone’s promotion war had already begun, a fierce battle is taking place here. Inside the wire mesh, dust rose like fog and obscured the view. After the dust settled, I checked inside to see who was fighting.

‘Isn’t that the Barbarian inspiration?’

A barbarian grandpa I knew well was swinging an ax in the gymnasium.

The barbarian’s name is Nike.

A barbarian who carried out subjugation quests together when Rebecca and I were bronze. Was it a quest to subdue the giants that appeared in the coastal cave? It would not be an exaggeration to say that I received the subjugation quest itself from the old man at that time. It was amazing to see him slashing giants with his twin axes.

‘That person is ninth in the gold tier? Do you know how to handle Aura Blades? So that means he was a first-class soldier from the beginning.’

When we first met, the Bavarian Nike was probably a silver ahead of the Gold promotion. But even then, Nike was unreasonably strong enough to slaughter giants. It must be because he was a first-class soldier who knew how to handle the Aura Blade.

The more he knew, the stronger he was.
It’s easy to see why he’s risen so fast to the rank of ninth after being promoted to gold.

“Is this the end? A young man from the royal family.”
“Kreureung… Don’t underestimate me!”

It means that Nike is now the overseer in promotion matches.
The opponent being tested by Nike is a rough-looking tiger beastman. He wears thick handcuffs on both hands as if he has mastered martial arts. Judging from the auras rising steadily, he was a second-class soldier.

Wheeeee student

Every time Nike swung his axe, fearsome wind pressure was generated and swept through the gymnasium. Overwhelming energy emanated from the body of the decrepit barbarian. Conversely, the regime of Suin Mutuga did not harm Nike at all. It was because of the aura in the form of armor that was wrapped around Nike’s body.

Aura armor.
It is a technique used by warriors to protect themselves by making their aura into armor. It is said that warriors who use the Aura Armor to the extreme will gain a defense comparable to that of the Geumgang Buddha.

“More, it’s filthy hard.”

Wearing an aura armor, Nike easily overpowered the beast martial artist. After getting hit by his fist a few times, he counterattacked and knocked out his opponent in one blow. It was not the blade, but the handle of the ax that swung to subdue it.

“Quaaaaah.”
“Would you like to try a bit more? I’ll give you any chance.”
“Po, I’m giving up! I’m giving up on promotion!”

The beast martial artist finally admitted defeat and gave up the promotion match. Even after one battle, Nike’s stamina showed no signs of diminishing at all. Rather, he invited the adventurers standing outside the wire fence to come in.

“Aren’t you guys there also here to watch the promotion match? Come on in! I’m at ease.”

Today is also a barbarian inspiration full of energy.

“Fucked. Is the sparring opponent a barbarian?”
“But I have to try. You can’t just give up on promotion.”
“I go in first. I’ll break that savage’s nose.”

The gathered adventurers entered the gym one by one and started sparring.
However, to start with the conclusion, no one passed the promotion round.
Until my turn came, everyone tasted the bitter taste of defeat and quietly backed away.

“I lost, I lost!”
“Barbarians are too strong.”

Because the barbarian who came out as the supervisor was too strong.
There was a sign that he looked at me to some extent, but he was no match for me.

Wailing Wall!
Wendy’s expression about her supervisor finally made sense. At the guild headquarters, she wonders what the hell she was thinking of planning the gold promotion match. Did you want to reduce the number of new entrants to the gold tier?

‘This is the greatest impossible exam ever!’

In terms of Earth, it is impossible.
Impossible to make the students roar!

Time passed and finally my turn came.
It was time for my promotion match.

When I entered the gymnasium, Nike welcomed me as if it had been waiting for me.

“Luke, it’s finally your turn. Do you have anything to say before the promotion starts?”

Do you have anything to say?
Of course there is.

Could you please take a look?
We know each other

After swallowing my saliva, I opened my mouth.

“Old Man Nike, do you know the word ‘Kkanbu’?”