Chương 524: Chapter 524
[Player 'Kim Jihun' enters 'Aptitude Test Room – Korea Zone 1'.]
Summoned to the aptitude test room, Seong Jihan looked around.
'They called it a test room, but it's just a forest.'
Inside a forest densely packed with trees so large the sky was barely visible.
If he ignored the map name, it felt like being stranded in a tropical rainforest.
Then,
Step. Step.
A World Tree Elf slowly walked over and smiled at Seong Jihan.
"Welcome, Player 'Kim Jihun'. I am the 'High Elf Priestess' in charge of guidance."
The woman who called herself the High Elf Priestess,
"I'll guide you this way."
After politely bowing her head to Seong Jihan, she led him deeper into the forest.
After walking for a short while,
He was guided by the elf to the front of a massive tree glowing green.
"Well then, Mr. Kim Jihun, please wait in the waiting room, and we'll call you when it's time for your test."
The 'waiting room' the elf pointed to was,
A place across from the giant tree packed with chairs.
In the waiting room with about 30 wooden chairs,
Only one seat was empty.
'Was I the last one for Zone 1?'
As Seong Jihan strode towards the empty seat,
He heard murmuring from around him.
"Oh… it's a man."
"There are five men in Zone 1 this time. Quite a lot."
"Maybe we'll get a male Half-Elf today."
"There are a lot of men with Cross-Species Affinity in this batch, aren't there?"
"Were there this many B-grade or higher…?"
In the waiting room where 25 out of 30 were women,
People looked at Seong Jihan, wearing Kim Jihun's shell, with interested eyes and chatted among themselves.
'They said only players with the Cross-Species Affinity gift are summoned to Zones 1 through 10.'
The zone numbers assigned in the aptitude test room were based on the probability of becoming a Half-Elf,
Since women had a higher chance of becoming Half-Elves than men, Zone 1 was usually dominated by women.
Especially since Zone 1 was only for those with Cross-Species Affinity of at least B-grade,
It was rare to have as many as five men gathered here.
As Seong Jihan sat down in the empty seat, drawing attention from those around,
"Oh, the last person has arrived!"
One of the men sitting rose abruptly and approached Seong Jihan.
"Excuse me… are you perhaps affiliated with a guild?"
The man who approached Seong Jihan was a middle-aged man in a suit.
With his hair half balding, he had quite a few wrinkles on his forehead.
Considering that the human species had evolved two stages, this level of aging should only be possible for those over 60.
But below that, his facial features unpleasantly resembled Seong Jihan's.
A face that clearly showed signs of plastic surgery.
'Ah… really.'
Seong Jihan immediately understood why this person looked like this.
In the current world where the superstition that resembling the appearance of male Half-Elves increases the chances of passing the aptitude test is widespread,
In the medical field, which was generally struggling as humanity evolved to mid-tier, the only growing area was plastic surgery.
It was a world where everyone was going under the knife to resemble the features of male Half-Elves.
'At this point, this is more irritating than humanity becoming a colony…'
While thinking this, Seong Jihan outwardly showed no reaction and answered,
"Guild? I don't have a guild."
"What, you don't have a guild??"
The moment he said he didn't have a guild, the other person immediately switched to informal speech,
"Haha, well… why on earth did you do that?"
He started lecturing Seong Jihan like a life senior.
"As soon as you received your gift, you should have contracted with a guild and received a signing bonus! What if you fail the aptitude test coming empty-handed like this!"
"It's only been a few days since my gift awakened."
"Tsk tsk, you should have contacted the top 5 guilds right away! Oh my. This friend just threw away the lottery…!"
Pat. Pat.
The middle-aged man came closer, patting Seong Jihan's shoulder and sighing.
Just because he said he hadn't contracted with a guild,
The man immediately switched to informal speech and started giving advice, which made Seong Jihan chuckle inwardly.
'It's been a while since I've been treated like this.'
In his time as Seong Jihan, he never had to endure such casual disrespect.
It was certainly different now that he's become 'Kim Jihun'.
'Actually, what he's saying is correct.'
Male Half-Elves were indeed much rarer compared to females.
While women occasionally became Half-Elves even without the Cross-Species Affinity gift,
Men basically all needed to have the 'Cross-Species Affinity' gift,
And even then, the probability was less than 1 percent.
So, male players who obtained the 'Cross-Species Affinity' gift,
Often contacted large guilds before the aptitude test, receiving large signing bonuses and pre-contracts.
Rather than aiming for a jackpot with less than 1% success rate, prepare for failure in advance.
This was the thinking of the majority of men who received the 'Cross-Species Affinity' gift these days.
"Coming without a pre-contract… that person must be rich."
"He doesn't look like it though?"
"That's why. If he had money, he would have gotten full plastic surgery in advance."
People in the waiting area whispered, seemingly having overheard their conversation.
But before the conversation could continue,
Flash…!
A green light flashed at the front of the waiting area.
"Oh, looks like it's starting."
Seeing this, the middle-aged man who had been meddling returned to his seat,
Swish…
At the front of the waiting room,
The High Elf Priestess gradually appeared.
"Now that everyone has gathered, we will begin the aptitude test."
As she said this, she pointed behind her.
Crack…!
Part of the tree trunk hollowed out,
Revealing a space just large enough for one person to enter.
"Then I will call out the waiting numbers starting from number 1. Number 1, Player Jung Yoonha."
"Y-Yes!"
"Please enter this way."
As the female player in front stood up, tension enveloped the waiting room.
And then,
Zing…
On the side of the tree, a large message window appeared.
[Zone 1 Test Results]
[Qualified: 0 Waiting: 30]
[The progress of Zone 1 testing will be broadcast on BattleTube.]
As soon as the message about starting the BattleTube broadcast appeared,
-Zone 1 has opened!!
-Oh, 5 men keke Last month there were only 2.
-Is something big coming today?!
-Something big? Demongod is swole.
Viewers' messages started appearing in real-time on that message window.
* * *
The aptitude test.
This crucial test that determined whether one becomes a Half-Elf or not,
Was actually simple in its method.
'You just go in there and come out, that's it.'
When the examinee enters the hollowed-out tree trunk,
The entire tree flashes green and the test begins.
Those with the potential to become Half-Elves stayed inside the tree longer.
Those without potential were ejected within 1 minute.
Perhaps because of this,
"Number 21. Player Lee Muyeol. Please enter this way."
"Yes! Yes! I understand!"
As the numbers quickly progressed, the test was already nearing its end.
"Our Father in heaven, merciful World Tree… I beg and beseech you. I pray, grant me the glory of becoming a Half-Elf… please, please…!"
"You're a devout believer. But it's time to end your prayer and enter now."
"Yes, yes…!"
The middle-aged man who had been praying fervently before the test,
Continued to invoke the World Tree as he entered the tree trunk at the High Elf Priestess's words.
Flash…!
As he entered, the giant tree glowed.
Seong Jihan looked at the message window floating beside it.
[Zone 1 Test Results]
[Qualified: 4 Waiting: 9]
So far, only 4 people had passed the aptitude test.
And all those who passed were women, who had a relatively higher chance.
-Is it only women becoming Half-Elves again this time…
-The male one that appeared three months ago seems like a miracle;
-Is it true that they'll turn off the dungeon portal suppressors if male Half-Elves don't keep appearing?
-Property values have already dropped because of that news ㅡㅡ;
Seeing these results, the viewers were clearly disappointed.
They had hoped that with 5 men in Zone 1 this time, at least one would make it.
But the atmosphere suggested that this time would be a bust too.
And one minute later.
Rumble…!
The space in the tree trunk opened again.
"Ah, no. Why so soon…"
The middle-aged man felt his ears, hoping against hope.
But as he confirmed by touch that his ears were unchanged, his expression instantly hardened.
"Ah… Can't I have just one more chance… I'll do better this time…!"
"Come out."
As the High Elf Priestess moved her finger slightly with a cold expression,
Whoosh…!
The middle-aged man's body flew far from inside the trunk.
"Ugh… ugh…"
As he lay on the ground, groaning from the pain of the fall,
[Zone 1 Test Results]
[Qualified: 4 Waiting: 8]
The number of waiting participants decreased by one more.
-Looks like it's a bust this time too ㅡㅡ…
-No, there's still one man left.
-That person didn't even get plastic surgery?
-He should have used the signing bonus for surgery, what was he doing? No sincerity before a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
-Does plastic surgery even have any effect? lol
-For real, isn't it just a superstition? lol
With 4 out of 5 men failing,
Seeing that the last candidate 'Kim Jihun' also had very rough features,
Many people were already concluding that this candidate would fail too.
Of course, for the person in question,
'How much should I dye my hair, percentage-wise?'
Becoming a Half-Elf was a given for him, but
He was pondering how much to dye his hair.
'They say 25 percent is the highest record. Should I exceed that or not?'
If he set a new record, public attention would skyrocket.
It would make it harder to quietly investigate the colonial Earth and World Tree Elves.
On the other hand, if he became the most outstanding Half-Elf,
There might be more chances to find out from the inside why they're so focused on the male type.
'Hmm… should I go for 20 percent or 30 percent, that's the question.'
With his legs crossed, lost in thought, Seong Jihan,
"Number 30, Player Kim Jihun. Please enter this way."
"…"
Rose from his seat and walked at the High Elf Priestess's call.
While Seong Jihan was lost in thought, one more female Half-Elf had emerged in Zone 1.
"Ah…"
"We're really done for…"
"I thought I'd make it…"
The failed candidates hung their heads low.
"Sis, I knew you'd make it too!"
"Wow… I can't believe I've become a Half-Elf…!"
"The World Tree's words… still so clear in my ears."
The five who became Half-Elves gathered together, sharing their joy.
While the male type was rarer, becoming a female Half-Elf was still like winning the lottery.
In this waiting room sharply divided between heaven for the qualified and hell for the failed,
"I just go right in, right?"
Seong Jihan, the last in line, pointed at the open space in the trunk.
The High Elf Priestess tilted her head at his eagerness to enter.
"Yes, but believer, aren't you going to pray to the World Tree?"
Who decided he was a believer?
Seong Jihan thought this but outwardly smiled gently.
"I already did my prayers while waiting earlier."
"…I see. Please enter."
As soon as the High Elf Priestess gave permission, Seong Jihan strode into the trunk.
-Oh, he seems quite relaxed…
-Maybe he's just given up? lol
-For real, no plastic surgery and no prayer;
-Even if he succeeds, it's a problem with so little sincerity.
-He'll probably be kicked out within a minute
While most people predicted 'Kim Jihun's' failure seeing him like this,
As he entered the tree,
Flash…!
"Oh…"
From the giant tree,
Unlike before, a blue light flashed.
-??
-The color is different from before?
-Isn't this the light that appears when successful?
-Yeah, it's blue;;
-Whoa, could it be success…?? With no preparation like that??
As the chat exploded suddenly upon seeing the blue light,
Seong Jihan, inside the tree, frowned as he saw the blue light enveloping his body.
'…This is Stat Blue, isn't it?'
The power contained in that light was,
The ability of the Blue Administrator, Seong Jihan.
It was 'Blue'.
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