Chương 73: JIMIN’S DAY OUT

The 4 hours time limit was about to end. Only 10 minutes were left. A few parties had already returned. Ryu Seong-ho stood there, overseeing the return of the students. And then, a party of students began stepping out of the Rift gate. It was none other than Jimin and his party. They casually stepped out of the rift. But this time, there was no dramatic reaction as the first rift training. No gasps. No crowd gathering. No whispers spreading like wildfire.

Because they neither killed the Boss nor arrived just at the last moment. However, Seong-ho's gaze lingered on them for a brief moment. Expecting them to kill the boss is still too much. But he wasn't disappointed at all. If anything, the fact that they returned in relatively good condition, without overexerting themselves, told him more than a reckless victory would have. He shook his head, as if discarding unnecessary expectations.

As the final minutes ticked away, the remaining parties began returning one after another. Some staggered out. Some needed support. A few collapsed right outside the gate, drawing immediate attention from supervising staff. By the time the timer hit zero- All the parties had already exited the Rift gate. Everyone looked exhausted. Clothes torn in places. Armor scratched and dented. Weapons stained with blood. Faces pale from fatigue. Compared to them, Jimin and his party… at least looked relatively better.

After a while- The students gathered in formation outside the vicinity of the entrance. The area was filled with chatters and occasional laughter. Beyond them, a few regular Rifters and independent parties moved about their own business, occasionally glancing at the students. For them, this was just another day. Then, Seong-ho stepped forward and stood straight in front of them. The murmurs gradually died down.

"We don't have much time left. So I'll make it quick," said Seong-ho, his voice calm but firm. The students straightened instinctively.

"All the students have successfully completed today's training." A wave of applause broke out immediately. Some clapped with genuine excitement, others simply relieved that it was over.

"You can keep all the loot you have collected... And there will be no classes tomorrow." The applause turned louder, mixed with a few cheers. Seong-ho allowed it for a moment before continuing.

"Keep training hard for the next two weeks. Until your final evaluation." His gaze swept across them once more.

"Today's training ends here… Slowly return to your bus now. We'll be leaving in 15 minutes." With that, he simply left without another word. The formation loosened almost instantly. But something bothered Jimin. That felt a bit off… Or is it just me?

The students began dispersing into their own groups, conversations sparking up everywhere. Some were already comparing loot. Others were recounting close calls. And so was Jimin and his party. Yu-jun stretched his shoulders slightly before speaking.

"So… Should we sell the loot today?" This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Jimin glanced at him briefly before nodding.

"Yeah. That seems like a better move."

"Everyone's together now," he added.

"We should visit a commerce hall after we reach school." Gun-woo nodded immediately.

"That makes sense." But suddenly-"Sounds good. But… What about the loot distribution?" said Min-su, his voice carried a slight hesitation. The question hung in the air for a moment. Jimin noticed it instantly. Before it could linger any longer-"Don't sweat it. We go equal." said Gun-woo with a cheerful smile. The tension broke almost immediately.

"Then let's do that," Yuna said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

After a while, the students boarded the bus. One by one, they took their seats. The bus engine rumbled to life. And soon, it left for the school Jimin sat by the window, his gaze drifting outside. The Rift gate slowly disappeared from view, followed by buildings. All of it faded into the distance. Inside the bus, the ride felt quiet. Everyone was exhausted. There were a few conversations here and there, but most had already leaned back into their seats. Some closed their eyes almost instantly. A well-earned rest.

But Jimin's eyes were looking at his status window. [Current LP: 2067] A faint grin formed on his face. Damn… I really gained around 1900 LP from just this raid. He leaned back slowly, letting his body relax into the seat. If I can maintain this streak, I can create all the skills I need before the final evaluation. He closed his eyes, expression reflecting a sense of satisfaction. The bus ride passed quietly after that.

Soon, the bus reached the school. Students began getting off, one after another. Some engaged in conversations. Some prepared to go home. However, Yu-jun, Gun-woo and Min-soo were having a small stretching session.

"Man… Tonight's gonna be painful," Gun-woo muttered, rolling his shoulders.

"You bet," Min-su replied immediately.

"But I'll be in the most pain." Yu-jun scoffed.

"What're you talking about? I took the brunt of all those goblins' attacks."

"But you have the physique of a tank, bastard. We don't," Gun-woo shot back immediately. Yu-jun didn't have any rebuttal for that comeback. So, he could only sigh and roll his eyes. Jimin was standing just beside them.

"We should head out now," he said suddenly.

"Yeah. Let's-" said Yu-jun. But he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. His stomach started growling all of a sudden. All eyes turned toward him. Yu-jun froze, becoming visibly embarrassed. A brief silence followed. Then-"Let's have lunch first," said Hye-jin with an awkward smile. Everyone just nodded silently. With that the party headed out.

"By the way, Where do we go? We are still in our gear."

"I know a place."

"I'll eat till my stomach bursts."

After a hearty meal, the party eventually reached the 'Golden Scale Hall of Commerce'. They entered the hall without wasting any time. Then, without hesitation, they headed straight for the underground exchange counter. Yu-jun stepped forward and the rest of the party stood behind him. He took out the mana cores from his storage ring. One by one, they appeared on the counter in a neat pile. The staff member gave them a brief glance before she started counting. They had gathered a total of 104 mana cores.

And each core was priced at 160, 000 won. So, the total came out to be 16. 64 million won. They were about to get excited but didn't. As they had learned from what happened before. The money was transferred soon after. And then, they began calculating their shares.

"Alright. So divided equally…It's 2. 08 million won each," said Min-ji. Gun-woo whistled.

"Damn…" But it obviously didn't move Jimin. He was lost in some other issue. I have 57 cores on me. So, they should fetch me around 9 million won… But I can't sell it now. I'll just come in mask later. Meanwhile, the rest were far less composed.

"That's almost triple of what we used to get from the F-rank Rift!" Yuna said, unable to hide her excitement.

"Huh… Triple?" Hye-jin tilted her head slightly.

"It's five times for us…" Min-su cut in immediately.

"How much did you guys even earn?" Yuna froze for a split second.

"L-Let's check out the gear on first floor guys," she said quickly, already turning toward the stairs, her expression unreadable. And everyone followed behind quickly.

"No, seriously! How much did you guys…" Min-su continued, still trying to get an answer as they climbed.

After finishing the distribution, the party began looking around the hall. However, nobody bought anything. But after a while, they gathered around the potion counter. They were stocking up on potions since they had used up all they had. But Jimin was in a difficult position here. He hadn't used a single potion vial till then. In fact, the first vials he bought remained intact. However, he was a bit shocked to see that the others were buying 2-3 vials of any potion they needed.

Just the potions ate up half of their earnings. No wonder E-Ranks have it hard. Now I get why most E-rank parties are small. Jimin sighed faintly. Anyways, I should buy some too. Or they will start interrogating again. No harm in being prepared either. Jimin also bought one of each; healing, stamina and mana.

After that the party left the hall. They started walking along the sidewalk.

"By the way, I think we should take a break tomorrow," said Yu-jun suddenly. Jimin was startled. As he didn't anticipate anything like that. What's he up to now?

"I know we should start grinding at full pace now. But we shouldn't push ourselves too hard. We should rest for a day first. We can start after that," said Yu-jun. Gun-woo added, "I think so too. I told you I'll be in pain tonight. I definitely do need some rest." Min-su nodded as well, "Same." Slowly others also agreed one by one. But Jimin decided not to fight back. I… could actually use a break from fighting. Besides, I haven't been regular at my appraiser work lately. He took a deep breath.

I'll just look for a house tomorrow. And attend the Appraiser Center afterwards. Or should I go today… Suddenly-"Then, what do we do now?" asked Min-ji. Gun-woo didn't hesitate.

"Let's go to karaoke guys," said Gun-woo. Everyone agreed at once. Jimin simply gave up after that. Jimin stared at them for a second. Then sighed internally. There goes my day… Some karaoke won't hurt. In fact, he doubled down.

"Let's go karaoke," he shouted with full energy. Everyone replied with the same energy.

"Let's go..."