For the yangbans, the Hwan Kingdom was their home, but at the same time, it was also their prison. It was a prison they had to escape from in order to spread their presence among the humans and build up a reputation. However, escaping it wasn’t easy. Only seven of the yangbans were eligible to move freely from the Hwan Kingdom. They were those who passed Chiyou’s Test with high grades. Excluding those few, the other yangbans needed permission from the Five Seniors to descend to the human world. A few of the yangbans, including Pagma, escaped the Hwan Kingdom at will, but their ending wasn’t good.

“If you want to give the human a chance, then give us a chance as well.”

The yangbans hated Chiyou. It was physiologically impossible to have good feelings for Chiyou, who despised the Five Seniors. However, Chiyou’s combat force was highly respected. The yangbans followed the rules made by Chiyou better than anyone else.

“Okay.”

Chiyou’s trials weren’t regular events. It was unknown what the standards were based on, but Chiyou held his test every few decades or even hundreds of years. Now he did it suddenly, without notice. The yangbans had to always be well prepared and now they were willing to jump into the test straight away.

‘The opportunity has finally come!’

Haejin’s expression brightened when Chiyou agreed to give the yangbans a chance to participate in the ordeal. She passed the most recent test in 22nd place and was convinced that this time, she would be in the top seven. Gru, Naeun, Hangyeol, Harang, Saul, Maru, Garam, etc.—all the yangbans who were in the top seven or closer to the top seven were dead so Haejin believed that one of the vacant spots could be passed onto her.

A human woman also expressed her intention to participate in the trials, “I like it too.”

Haejin thought this woman would step back, so it was unexpected.

‘She doesn’t know anything about the world.’

The apostle was just like Zik, who refused to join the Five Seniors. She couldn’t understand the situation. It was unbelievable that she was really accepting Chiyou’s ordeal. At this point, she seemed to have decided to die.

‘Well, she is free to die.’

Haejin clicked her tongue. Her resentful gaze turned toward Chiyou. It was Chiyou’s problem in the first place. He suggested offering the trials to the human on a whim.

‘It is too much to play a joke like this.’

Chiyou had been strange from the beginning. There was a time when he expressed favor to Pagma, who caused disgust with his incomprehensible deeds. It wasn’t common sense.

‘The moment that a human participates in the trial for the gods, the prestige of the trial will drop.’

The most important concept for a god was the status. The higher the status, the closer they were to a god and they could become a stronger god. Chiyou’s Test was a type of grace that could elevate their status. It was grace from a god to another god. Wouldn’t it be poisonous the moment that grace was shared with a human?

Haejin and the yangbans were concerned. Some of the yangbans thought they couldn’t stay silent and complained.

“Do you really want to give a human the qualification to participate in Chiyou’s Test?”

“It can’t be. How can an inferior creature be brought into a test for yangbans?”

“You should say it correctly,” Chiyou interrupted them.

Jingle jingle.

The bells on Chiyou’s necklace and hair tie shook loudly. It was the aftermath of the movement he made as he smiled. The bells worn by Chiyou were sensitive enough to respond to the smallest changes.

“The reason I am holding this trial is to witness this human’s combat power. You are just riding on this human’s coat tails. Now you are asking about this human’s qualifications? What is this shamelessness? Shouldn’t you be grateful instead?”

“……”

The expressions of the yangbans distorted. It was ridiculous sophistry. A trial being held for a human...

Chiyou’s Test was an ordeal to gain the qualifications of a god. How could a human be the chosen candidate? As usual, the yangbans were tired of the whimsical Chiyou and closed their mouths. Meanwhile, Haejin nodded happily.

“If you say this, then we have no choice but to follow.”

Haejin thought this was better. She wanted to see the human, who dared to send a challenging gaze at her, going through the feeling of frustration, desperation, and death.

“You aren’t sane based on the way you made eye contact with me. Someone like you will only know who you are up against after your eyeballs are pulled out.”

Haejin faced Grid and smiled. It was a smile full of killing intent. The killing intent of a half-god. It was normal to feel a pressure that was difficult to handle. Surprisingly, Grid felt it was bearable.

‘Did the yangbans always feel this way?’

Until just a few months ago, Grid’s perception of the yangbans was only Garam. An absolutely strong man who couldn’t be surpassed no matter how wicked he was. He was a subject of fear that caused Grid to sweat the moment he recalled it. However, Haejin was completely different. She was a strong yangban, but she didn’t give him too much pressure. The same was true for the other yangbans other than Garam.

Was it because Haejin was weak? That wasn’t it. The average stats of the yangbans were similar. Haejin had passed the test in the 20s and she belonged to the skilled side. The reason Grid felt differently was because Grid had changed. Grid had fought enemies stronger than Haejin and won. Grid was too great to shrink before Haejin.

Grid, who always tried to copy Irene’s speech and expressions, finally revealed his true nature as he spoke, “Let’s see who will have their eyeballs pulled out.”

He sent hostility and killing intent to Haejin with a ferocious gaze that didn’t match Irene’s soft eyes. The atmosphere suddenly changed 180 degrees and Haejin was amazed.

‘Was she hiding her strength?’

A human deceiving the yangbans? She was ashamed of herself for briefly flinching and turned her gaze to Chiyou. It was a glance asking him to start the trials quickly.

Chiyou, who was watching Grid with an expression of interest, nodded. “Then I will start the trials.”

Jingle, jingle. Jingle.

The loud bell sounds gradually faded. The minds of Grid and the yangbans seemed to fade and they were soon sucked into somewhere.

***

“This...”

The temporarily confused Grid regained his mind and found that the surrounding scenery had completely changed. The marble floor where the yangbans had been walking disappeared and a canyon took its place. The dozens of steep cliffs made his mind dizzy.

Jingle.

“This is the first trial. It will take courage to overcome this trial.”

Chiyou’s voice echoed in the canyon for a while and disappeared. Then the ordeal began.From the bottom of the dark canyon, an ear-tearing scream was heard and a huge being emerged.

The yangbans faced an absolute god while Grid faced the evil dragon Bunhelier. [1]

It was an encounter with their most feared target. This was the first trial for Grid and the yangbans. Chiyou’s trials changed every time. The yangbans trembled when their parents glared at them with terrible expressions that were different from normal.

Grid’s situation also wasn’t very good.

‘Why is it suddenly Bunhelier?’

An encounter with an object of fear—Grid already had a chance to experience a similar trial in the Behen Archipelago. However, Grid’s challenge at the time was very easy. At that time, the difficulty of Grid’s trial was only at the level of rabbits and deer.

But now, things had changed. The level one Grid who had been killed by a deer and rabbit had long since overcome the ordeal and disappeared. At this moment, Grid was the supreme one. The enemy he was afraid of wasn’t deer or rabbits, it was one of the strongest beings in the worldview. The growth he made was grabbing at his ankles.

‘Dammit, what should I do with this guy?’

The appearance of Bunhelier rising in the sky with his wings wide open was exactly the same as what he witnessed in the National Competition. Scales that rose and fell with his breathing, fierce eyes, a bulging nose, and wings that caused storms. It was so realistic that it was too much to treat it as an illusion.

It wasn’t strange for the true Bunhelier to be reproduced since the one who created this phenomenon was a top god in the first place.

‘Do I have to fight?’

Grid gulped and pulled out his sword. He took a look at Bunhelier, blocking the access to the highest canyon, and performed a five fusion sword dance. The space under Grid’s control was filled with a thunderous momentum. The Fire Dragon Sword collected powerful energy and penetrated deep into Bunhelier’s scales.

Kieeeeeeek-!

Bunhelier screamed.

‘Indeed!’

He thought that if it was a five fusion sword dance using the Fire Dragon Sword, it would be able to cause great damage to absolute beings. The confident Grid smiled once this idea became a reality. Then he kicked off Bunhelier’s feet, knees, and belly in turn as he leapt and climbed onto Bunhelier’s back.

‘Shunpo!’

It was the moment when Grid stood on Bunhelier’s back and moved to the tallest canyon in the distance...

Bunhelier’s mighty body disappeared like a mirage, an illusion. At this time, the other yangban’s pulled out their weapons.

“Ahh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Making us aim our swords at a god...! Chiyou is crazy!”

The yangbans also seemed to notice that Hanul in front of them was just an illusion. Even so, they hadn’t dared to attack. Eventually, the yangbans apologized with tears in their eyes, attacked Hanul, and overcame the trial.

The yangbans arrived by Grid’s side and stomped their feet. “Rude human! You are afraid of dragons, not Hanul! It is blasphemy!”

“……”

The point of their anger was very strange. Grid was looking at the yangbans like they were crazy when the surrounding landscape changed again.

Jingle.

“The second trial will be difficult.”

The sound of butterfly wings reminiscent of the sound of falling water was heard. Grid was stunned by the sight of thousands, no, tens of thousands of butterflies, heading toward him. His transcendent senses that had been silent when Bunhelier’s illusion appeared were now warning him.

[Death is coming!]

“......!”

Grid woke up and focused. The wings of the butterflies were as sharp as saw blades. It felt like his flesh would be torn just by the wings passing by him.

“I finally know why Chiyou gave you this test.” He heard Haejin’s ridicule. "It was intended to sacrifice you as a warning to Zik.”

The yangbans didn’t trust Chiyou because they didn’t know his inner workings. However, they couldn’t ignore the years they had been together. They believed in Chiyou and relied on him more than outsiders. They thought Chiyou was punishing Zik, who had rebelled against Hanul’s will. Wasn’t the evidence the butterflies that were filling the world? It was an ordeal that could never be handled by technique and momentum. Only those who had divinity could face this ordeal.

The yangbans instantly activated the Blue Dragon’s Breath. Blue lightning bolts surrounded them and all the butterflies approaching them were destroyed.

The spirited Haejin and the yangbans turned to Grid.

“......!”

The yangbans’ eyes widened. They had expected the human woman to die while struggling against a swarm of butterflies. However, a storm of flames was surrounding her body. It was a much more powerful and enormous energy than the lightning bolts worn by the yangbans.

‘This...!’

The yangbans noticed the source of the flames instantly. It wasn’t possible. They had lost it currently, but it was one of the powers they originally possessed.

‘The Red Phoenix’s Breath!’

No, it wasn’t at the level of a breath. It was closer to the origin of the red phoenix. It was a sight that reminded them of Mir, the yangban closest to being a god.

[1] Author actually wrote Nevartan but that feels like an error since Grid has never met Nevartan when the text said the dragon looked exactly the same as what Grid saw in the National Competition. Bunhelier was the one who appeared in the National Competition, not Nevartan.