Chapter 232 –
Recruiting the Attack Squad (5)
Assassin class, B-grade Holder Do Seung-min.
Now in his 6th year as a Holder, an unaffiliated freelancer.
But regardless of his experience, he was about to face a tense moment.
<Prime Training Hall>
–During the final interview for the Far Realm Attack Squad recruitment.
Do Jae-hyun’s temporary attack squad recruitment.
The attack squad named <Ripple Raid> after the dungeon they would conquer.
Do Seung-min was also waiting for…
The final interview to select members for that squad.
‘That I passed…’
It was actually an unbelievable result.
A whopping 311 Holders had applied in the first document screening.
Since they couldn’t interview every Holder, they sorted them based only on the grades registered with the association and brief resume information.
So it was already difficult for average Holders to pass the document screening.
Apparently, quite a few A-grade Holders passed, while a large number of B-grades failed.
It’s understandable if the squad’s success depends on the members’ grades.
And among the countless B-grade Holders, Do Seung-min had proudly made it through the competition to the final interview.
‘Finally meeting Brother Jae-hyun.’
However, Do Seung-min’s sentiment was a bit different from other Holders.
While others cheered at the squad’s enormous scale, lavish members, and unprecedented compensation, Do Seung-min was excited just to see Do Jae-hyun in person.
He was an ardent fan and follower of Do Jae-hyun.
In fact, his sole motivation for applying to the squad was ‘fandom.’
‘Brother Jae-hyun is the pride of the Do family!!’
Even though they just shared the same surname, Do Seung-min put special meaning into calling it the ‘family.’
A Holder who started from the very bottom to reach the top, and even from that top position, wasn’t afraid of the spotlight pouring down on him at all.
Rather, he was a hero who advanced history one step ahead based on that top position.
For Do Seung-min, who had always fought in a world of low self-esteem and insecurity, Do Jae-hyun’s existence could only be an object of admiration and aspiration.
The top domestic prospect.
The future of the Assassin class.
The academy’s hero.
The youngest squad leader…
All the titles surrounding Do Jae-hyun were objects of admiration and aspiration for Do Seung-min.
‘I can’t disappoint Brother.’
With a determined mindset, Do Seung-min faced the final interview.
He had disappointed many over the years – parents, friends, the Holder community, even himself…
But he wanted to show a satisfactory result to Do Jae-hyun at least.
Through this idol he found after many years, he also wanted to break through his own limits.
“Holder Do Seung-min?”
In the midst of this,
A woman in office attire approached and called out to him.
Do Seung-min hurriedly patted his thighs and stood up from his seat.
“Yes, I’m Do Seung-min.”
“Oh, no need to stand up. There are about three people ahead of you, so I called you to get ready. When your name is called, come in right away.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
It seemed they were trying to minimize unnecessary waiting time since there were many applicants and field tests were needed.
Do Seung-min sat back down.
Then he turned on his phone and accessed the <Do Jae-hyun Official Fan Cafe>, one of his ‘favorite sites’.
It was a fan cafe where Do Seung-min visited almost as often as breathing…
And where he held the [Premium Member] rank.
He went straight to the writing section and quickly left a short post.
-3 mins before greeting the real thing.. Seriously so nervous
A post to relieve tension before the interview begins.
As expected…
The trolls constantly lurking in the cafe immediately left comments.
[Jae-hyunLuv/Prem] Wow.. Where are you going?!
└ [Jae-hyunSS/Top] Isn’t today the attack squad interview? This person probably applied to be on the squad.
[GrapeYogurt/Top] Don’t be nervous, fighting!
[BondOwner/Top] Are you a girl by any chance?
[ThatsBro/Prem] I’m jealous.. I want an interview too ㅠ.ㅠ
‘…What kind of people are these?’
Do Seung-min closed his phone with a cold sweat.
Comments left just 1 minute after posting.
On top of that, they seemed to know Do Jae-hyun’s entire daily schedule.
He posted to relieve tension, but their behavior only made him more anxious.
The Ghost nickname really did fit them well.
The ones marked ‘Top’, the [Top Premium] rank members, were even more mysterious.
He couldn’t fathom how they managed to rank up that high…
But soon a voice called out for him,
And Do Seung-min shook off those distracting thoughts to enter the special area inside the Training Hall.
And as soon as he entered,
He was momentarily stunned by the sight before him.
‘Bro…Brother Jae-hyun?’
His idol and role model, Do Jae-hyun, was standing sweating in the center.
Normally for squad interviews or clan admission tests, the interviewers would typically set up a table in the Training Hall and sit there.
Then the applicant would directly demonstrate their abilities in the open space, or perhaps have a match against another applicant.
Do Seung-min had taken many interviews in that format before.
But Do Jae-hyun was directly holding a weapon, ready to fight.
It was clearly a special interview format where he would personally spar to evaluate their abilities.
“You’re the applicant, Holder Do Seung-min?”
And as he wiped his sword, Do Jae-hyun asked a question.
The very first, glorious question from his idol.
Suppressing his surging emotions, Do Seung-min answered as politely as he could.
“Yes. That’s me, Brother.”
“…Older brother?”
But it seems habits from the heart are unavoidable.
He tilted his head at the very unfamiliar way of addressing him.
Then Do Seung-min changed his words with an apologetic look.
“Ah. Sorry. I’m a bit friendly… I even call strangers older brother or older sister.”
“…Seems nice. First, take out your weapon and relax your body. The interview will proceed with a simple Q&A followed by a sparring match.”
“Yes!”
After briefly answering, Do Seung-min took out his weapon.
There were some high-ranking Holders with familiar faces nearby, likely supervisors or interviewers, but Do Seung-min didn’t really notice them.
He only wanted to look good in front of Do Jae-hyun.
In the meantime, Do Jae-hyun started the interview while reading his application.
“Your age… 19 years old?”
The first thing he checked was, of course, his age.
Despite being a Holder with 6 years of experience, he was still only 19 years old.
When the sensitive topic came up, Do Seung-min nodded tensely.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Did you awaken early?”
“Yes.”
Rune Holders usually awaken between 18-20 years old, but occasionally some awaken too late or too early.
Do Seung-min was one of the latter cases, an ‘early awakening Holder.’
He started his Holder life at 13 after awakening at that age.
Back then, there were no other cases of Holders awakening that young, so he was talked about as a prodigy.
‘But in the end, I was just a promising talent that failed.’
Recalling the past brought a bitter smile.
Perhaps it was because he received too much attention at such a young age.
Do Seung-min couldn’t overcome the burden of being labeled a promising talent.
There was always a sense of pressure and impatience to meet expectations lingering in his mind, which stunted his growth during the most crucial time.
After regaining his senses, he slowly built up his experience, but in the end, he couldn’t break through the wall to become an A-grade Holder.
‘But Jae-hyun is different from me.’
That’s why Do Jae-hyun became his role model.
In the same situation, under the same spotlight, Do Jae-hyun overcame it all and became a true hero.
Despite only being in his 2nd year as a Holder, he broke through his limits and meet everyone’s expectations.
That was envious and admirable.
An inferiority complex only arises when comparing someone on the same level.
For someone shining so overwhelmingly bright…
You only want to follow and learn from them.
So naturally, Do Jae-hyun became the object of admiration.
“…Then let’s start the sparring interview.”
After the question-and-answer portion that felt like it passed in an instant, the sparring interview began immediately.
His opponent was Do Jae-hyun, the squad leader of the <Ripple Raid>.
Kang-!
Kakang-!
‘Wow…’
And as the match continued, Do Seung-min couldn’t help but be amazed.
The rumors didn’t even scratch the surface of his true skill.
Without using any special skills or additional abilities, he overwhelmed Do Seung-min with just two short swords.
His stats, rune level, utilization…
The difference was clear in every aspect.
His skills were unbelievable for only a 2nd year Holder.
Even considering just assassin-type Holders, his skills would qualify him as top-tier.
‘As expected of Jae-hyun.’
Despite the obvious loss, Do Seung-min was simply in awe.
Rather than lament his own lacking abilities, he considered crossing blades with his admired figure an honor.
“That’s enough. We’ll stop here.”
Just like that, the match ended in an instant.
The result was, of course, Do Seung-min’s defeat.
It was a clean and unavoidable loss.
As Do Seung-min tried to bow respectfully despite his overwhelmed feelings,
“Holder Do Seung-min. Did you happen to use a silver weapon?”
His idol spoke to him again.
Do Seung-min answered with a slightly excited face.
“No, Older Brother! This is one of my runes called Silvery Moonshadow. During battle, I can utilize Divine Power to imbue all abilities with the power of silver. As you’ve heard, it’s a really useless rune, but it’s quite helpful against undead monsters…”
“Okay, okay. You don’t need to explain all that.”
Do Jae-hyun interrupted with an annoyed look on his face.
It made sense since Do Seung-min’s endless stream of explanations must have been tiring to listen to.
After sheathing his weapon and turning away, he said, “Holder Do Seung-min passes the final selection. We’ll notify you of the next steps, so keep the next 2 weeks open.”
For a moment, Do Seung-min doubted his ears.
Pass.
He was selected as a member of the renowned <Ripple Raid>.
The unbelievable result came from the mouth of the person he admired the most.
“Wow, wow…”
Momentarily stunned into silence, he then lowered his head and shouted, “Th-Thank you! Thank you, Older Brother!!”
“…I told you not to call me that.”
“Ah! Thank you, Squad Leader! Wow…!”
And with Do Seung-min as the last one,
The temporary attack squad of Holder Do Jae-hyun…
Also known as the <Ripple Raid>, completed all of its member selections.
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