Chapter 18. The Corroded Staff
As Kim Do-Joon took down the last remaining team, a voice sounded from the drone filming him.
— The exam has now concluded.
He straightened up and looked around. The contraction of the circular barrier around the forest had shrunk the once-vast battlefield to a small arena that forced the last five teams into conflict. To the surprise of the guild managers watching the exam, Kim Do-Joon was the only one of the final fourteen fighters who remained standing.
This is unbelievable... Just how many did he defeat on his own?
The other examinees didn't stand a chance—not even with seven of them working in tandem!
At one point, two teams had joined forces to engage Kim Do-Joon. However, it was an exercise in futility. Although numbers were on their side, they were still nothing more than a disorganized group of strangers. Their flimsy coordination was no threat to Kim Do-Joon, a fighter long seasoned against hordes of enemies.
He casually brushed the dust off his shoulders as his gallery of thirteen fallen examinees peered up at him with uniform expressions of shock and defeat. Before them was an immense wall of talent that no amount of effort could overcome.
They didn’t realize that, in stark contrast to their nurturing inside a greenhouse, Kim Do-Joon had already grappled with death multiple times. Moreover, he had his additional effects at his disposal.
"Thank you for your hard work," he told the medics. With the other contestants carted away for healing, Kim Do-Joon was the only one to board a helicopter back.
The moment he disembarked at the headquarters, he was swarmed by guild managers, each showing the same fervor they had shown Kang Jae-Jun.
"I'm Seo Jung-Woo from Gukseon! Could I give you my business card?"