Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Souls everywhere, souls all around!”

Cha Taeyang, with blue flames in both hands, gracefully extended her arms as if dancing. Blue lines traced the trajectory of her hands. Even to my inexperienced eyes, it looked extraordinary.

An area-of-effect skill accompanied by incantation must be truly impressive…

Uttering phrases that blurred the line between spell and song, Cha Taeyang spun once and drew a large circle with her hand. Her skirt billowed like flower petals, then settled.

“As the wind blows, as the waves rise, as they’re guided, they say they’ve gone to the three thousand li of medicinal waters.”

Ding!

Though the goblin remained still, a bell sound rang out from somewhere.

Then, a blue glow swirled in the dark sky, and a strong floral scent overpowered the stench of the undead.

Simultaneously, the wind began to howl wildly.

“Oh, how they go, how they go. Looking towards paradise, will they all go to the lotus pedestals!”

With Cha Taeyang’s cry, an indecipherable pattern appeared within the circle she had drawn.

As Cha Taeyang stood before the completed formation and pressed her palms together, a mist shimmering with five colors enveloped the greenhouse.

Thud-! Thunk!

And then, four massive doors fell from the sky.

The doors, with their peculiar luster, resembled the one-pillared gates of a temple, but had door panels engraved with goblin motifs. Though we knew they had appeared to protect us, their overwhelming presence made cold sweat run down our backs.

Cha Taeyang, eyes tightly shut in deep concentration, formed a seal with her hands.

“Gate of the Dead, Open!”

The enormous doors opened silently.

Beyond the open doors lay an endless field of flowers.

Screech!

Sensing something amiss, the undead screamed and fled. But the auspicious doors that devoured the wicked did not let them escape.

The monsters were pulled into the doors as if drawn by a magnet.

Endlessly, endlessly.

The wicked beings that had filled the clearing were sucked into the doors. Then they scattered into dust.

We couldn’t help but hold our breath at this bizarre spectacle.

The doors, which had seemed eternal, finally closed silently after swallowing the last creature. Then they vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.

This was an S-rank skill. The power to split the heavens and perform miracles.

The group belatedly exhaled their held breaths. Cha Taeyang, having terminated the skill, collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Seo Young-woon hurriedly caught her. Jo Sung-hyun, dazed, could only laugh hollowly.

‘Being the same A-rank, the shock must be greater for him. No, even without that…’

Except for the goblin, who jumped onto Cha Taeyang while making a fuss, everyone was speechless for a long while.

Then, a bell sound cut through the silence.

Dong- Dong-

[Main Quest ‘Dance with the Dead (B+)’ has been completed.]

[Clear reward has been distributed.]

A small bell hanging above the mansion was swinging.

It was the Bell of Calling, announcing the clearing of the 19th floor.

The bell sound I had never expected to hear in my lifetime echoed in my head.

“It’s… over.”

Seo Young-woon muttered in an uncharacteristically dumbfounded voice. Cha Taeyang, cradled in his arms, smiled brightly.

I bit my lip at the belated thrill. My heart felt like it would leap out of my mouth.

“Yes, we did it. We really did it.”

We cleared the main quest.

Though we all looked worse for wear, unlike before, our eyes now shone with achievement and joy.

Now I understood why they said the moment you first hear the Bell of Calling is unforgettable.

“Isn’t this totally crazy?”

“Taeyang, you were really the best! Your family would be so surprised if they saw this!”

“You know, I’m hungry. Can we leave quickly?”

“Good job, everyone.”

Saying we shouldn’t take the long way around, Jo Sung-hyun stomped on the greenhouse ceiling, breaking it. Seo Young-woon glared at him, but Jo Sung-hyun just grinned, pretending not to notice.

“I must be the only one who’s experienced something like this during field training.”

“Though I never want to experience it again… it’s certainly a rare opportunity.”

With the tension released, the group walked towards the gate, making idle chatter.

‘Ah, when I get back, I’ll soak in warm water, have some hot chicken with a can of beer. Then sleep like the dead. The report… I’ll worry about that later.’

My body felt completely limp.

[Do you want to move to the field ‘The Wizard’s Garden (C)’?]

Just as we were about to enter the gate, a large figure burst out.

What’s this, reinforcements arriving only now?

A man who walked out of the gate waved his hand, smiling broadly.

“Wow, you all look ragged. Sorry, I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”

“Who are you?”

“Haha, you’re making me blush, staring so intently.”

‘Why is that person here…’

A giant even among the well-built hunters. Eyes tinged by the influence of awakening. A cape falling to his ankles. Decisively, a feather-decorated staff embedded with a mana stone the same color as his eyes.

It was certain.

The man who responded so nonchalantly approached us.

“Which one is Mr. Kim?”

“Wow, the bell is talking? Can I touch it?”

The man casually bantering with the goblin was Gyeon Ji-woon.

The greatest wizard in South Korea and the guild master of “Holding the End of This Night,” also known as White Night. He wasn’t someone who should be coming here as reinforcement.

‘Why is someone who’s too busy even with five bodies in a place like this?’

Gyeon Ji-woon seemed acquainted with Seo Young-woon, laughing heartily while patting Seo Young-woon’s shoulder. Jo Sung-hyun, who had been wearing a dumb expression for a moment, soon brightened his eyes and observed Gyeon Ji-woon.

He is indeed a rare sight. I hadn’t noticed on TV, but just being near him made my body tingle from his overwhelming presence.

“Hmm, why isn’t the quest window popping up?”

“We just cleared the stage.”

Gyeon Ji-woon raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Seo Young-woon was about to explain the situation but looked towards me. He must be asking if it’s okay to mention my skill.

I shook my head slightly. I couldn’t tell someone from another guild about something I hadn’t even reported to our own guild yet.

Gyeon Ji-woon looked this way and then smiled blandly. It seemed he was saying he’d pretend not to know, appreciating our effort.

Seo Young-woon calmly recounted the day’s events. It was a smooth explanation, uncharacteristic of his usually terse self. The goblin interjected occasionally, emphasizing Cha Taeyang’s achievements.

As the explanation continued, Gyeon Ji-woon’s eyes lit up with interest. By the end, his gaze was so blatant I felt it burning into me.

Known for being eccentric even among the peculiar S-ranks, I discreetly avoided Gyeon Ji-woon’s eyes.

Fortunately, his gaze swept past me and fixed on Cha Taeyang.

“I’m glad I came. Something interesting happened, didn’t it?”

“We were lucky. We almost got wiped out.”

“That’s a bit disappointing for me, though.”

Gyeon Ji-woon briefly explained the outside situation. The delay in reinforcements was due to a mistake by an Anomaly Management Bureau employee. Apparently, the employee monitoring the gate had dozed off.

“How is that even possible?”

“They must be out of their minds.”

For a moment, I felt my temper flare. Dozed off? Even though three A-ranks were assigned to a C-rank field, there’s a limit to carelessness. We almost had a brush with death because of it.

Gyeon Ji-woon chuckled at our incredulous reactions.

“Whew, scary. But bear with it. There’s no use getting angry at me.”

He explained that a supervisor had dropped by on his rounds, and that’s when the bureau staff noticed the anomaly. They hastily sent out emergency signals to nearby hunters…

“And I was the one who responded.”

“This wasn’t a situation that required Guild Master Gyeon Ji-woon’s presence.”

“Ah, well, I happened to need an item from the 19th floor. Killing two birds with one stone, you know.”

An item he needs from the 19th floor? For someone leading conquest teams on the front lines? A dark attribute item perhaps. There aren’t many floors related to black magic. If so, I understand.

While patting Cha Taeyang’s head, Gyeon Ji-woon continued.

“To be honest, Ji-hwa’s nagging and pushing was the biggest reason. You’re that girl Ji-hwa keeps bragging about, right?”

“Oh, are you close with the witch unni?”

“Of course. Ah, keep it a secret that I said this.”

Ji-hwa must mean Kim Ji-hwa? I had a vague idea from the “witch unni” comment, but it really was Ji-hwa.

Kim Ji-hwa, known as the Apocalyptic Witch, the former guild master of Hwangya. Though retired now, she was a hunter who would go down in Korean hunter history.

“She threatened to grind me up if you got even a scratch… but that won’t be necessary, it seems.”

“The party members are quite exhausted. Could we continue this conversation outside?”

“Hmm, alright. Good work, everyone.”

I was worried he might refuse, but Gyeon Ji-woon nodded without hesitation, seeming more reasonable than expected. He emphasized “good work” particularly strongly while looking at me.

‘He probably thinks I didn’t do anything.’

With that bitter thought, I exited through the gate.