The last goblin crumpled with a gurgle, its crude club clattering uselessly against the damp stone floor. Kim Hyu-Gi didn't pause, his gaze already sweeping the dimly lit cavern. Two more, tucked away in an alcove to his left, were stirring, alerted by the death throes of their comrade. This was a dance he knew intimately now, a rhythm hammered into his bones by the Endless Battlefield. No wasted movement, no hesitation. The blade of his standard-issue longsword, dull and unadorned, hummed with a precision that belied its simplicity. Basic Swordsmanship, indeed. It wasn't about flashy moves; it was about efficiency, about finding the quickest path from intent to execution.\n\nHe pushed off his back foot, a blur of motion. The first goblin shrieked, a high-pitched, guttural sound, as Hyu-Gi's blade carved a swift arc across its chest. It stumbled, blood blossoming on its ragged hide. Before it could even fully register the wound, Hyu-Gi pivoted, his momentum carrying him into the second creature. A thrust, precise and deep, found its heart. Both fell almost simultaneously. His breath was steady, his heartbeat a calm drum in his chest. This F-Class Gate, designed to test aspiring E-Class Hunters, felt… familiar. Too familiar. The goblins, though numerous, moved with a predictable savagery that offered no real challenge after the horrors of the Hell Simulation.\n\nHe had entered this dungeon with a clear objective: clear it solo, prove his E-Class capabilities. The system prompt had been explicit. "Pass the official E-Class Hunter examination by solo-clearing an F-Class dungeon populated by dozens of goblins." Dozens. He had already accounted for at least thirty, and the Gate’s energy signature indicated only a handful more remained in the deeper recesses of the cavern network. He moved deeper, his senses heightened, his mind a steel trap. Battlefield Adaptation hummed beneath his skin, processing every scuff of a boot, every distant growl, every change in air current.\n\nThis wasn't about survival anymore, not in the desperate, agonizing sense of the simulation. This was about mastery. Every swing, every parry, every step was an exercise in perfection. He found groups of three, then five, then a surprising cluster of eight in a larger chamber, all armed with their rudimentary weapons—clubs, rusty daggers, slingshots. They swarmed him, a tide of snarling green, but he was a rock in their midst. His blade became an extension of his will, a silver blur that met every attack, deflected every blow, and found every weakness. He moved like water, flowing around their clumsy lunges, striking where they were most vulnerable. A swift kick to a knee, a parry that sent a club flying, then a clean, decisive strike. There was no thrill of danger, only the cold satisfaction of a task executed flawlessly.\n\nIn one instance, a particularly large goblin, almost the size of a human teenager, charged him with a heavy, spiked club. It swung with surprising force, aiming for his head. Hyu-Gi didn't flinch. Instead, he met the attack with a parry, twisting his wrist at the last moment to redirect the blow, sending the goblin off balance. Before it could recover, he stepped inside its guard, delivering a short, brutal punch to its gut, then a final thrust through its exposed chest. The creature slumped, its momentum carrying it backwards as it died. The entire sequence had taken less than three seconds.\n\nHe continued his systematic sweep of the dungeon. Each slain goblin dissipated into motes of shadowy energy, a phenomenon he still found mildly unsettling but had grown accustomed to. The scent of damp earth and goblin musk slowly gave way to the faint, metallic tang of residual mana as the dungeon’s energy began to dwindle. Soon, he stood alone in the final, largest chamber, the echoing silence a stark contrast to the cacophony of moments before. His internal system panel flickered, confirming the last kill.\n\n[F-Class Gate Clear: Successful]\n[E-Class Hunter Examination: Passed]\n\nA quiet sigh escaped his lips. It was done. The whole process, from entry to exit, had taken just under seven minutes. An F-Class Gate clear by an E-Class Hunter was expected to be swift, but even he was surprised by the sheer ease. The lessons from the Endless Battlefield had carved a new kind of warrior out of him, one who didn't just fight, but *optimized* combat.\n\nHe walked out of the Gate, the swirling portal behind him shimmering once before collapsing into nothingness, leaving only the mundane, familiar alleyway where it had manifested. The sun, a pale disc in the late afternoon sky, seemed almost blinding after the dungeon’s gloom. He took a deep breath, letting the crisp autumn air fill his lungs, a stark reminder of his return to reality.\n\nHis standard Hunter uniform, though slightly dusty, was otherwise pristine. There hadn't been a single significant hit. He checked his system panel again.\n\n[Kim Hyu-Gi]\n[Rank: E-Class Hunter]\n[Strength: E+]\n[Agility: E+]\n[Stamina: E]\n[Mana: F]\n[Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (E), Battlefield Adaptation (E), Hell's Gaze (F)]\n\nThe subtle "+" next to Strength and Agility caught his eye. A slight improvement beyond the initial E-Class baseline. It wasn't a massive jump, but it was definite, tangible progress. The 'F' for Mana still irked him, but he understood: the Hell Simulation was focused on physical combat and survival, not magical prowess. Hell's Gaze remained a mystery, a skill he hadn't yet been able to consciously activate or understand, but its presence reminded him of the unique nature of his abilities.\n\nHe made his way to the nearest National Hunter Association branch office. The building was a familiar concrete monolith, bustling with Hunters coming and going, some looking weary, others invigorated. He navigated the bureaucracy with practiced efficiency, waiting in a short line before presenting his temporary F-Class ID and informing the desk agent of his successful E-Class examination clear.\n\nThe agent, a young woman with weary eyes and an expression that suggested she’d seen it all, processed his request without much fanfare. She scanned his temporary ID, tapped a few keys, and then paused, her eyes widening slightly as she reviewed the system's confirmation. "Seven minutes, Mr. Kim?" she murmured, more to herself than to him. "That's… quite fast for a solo F-Class Gate. Especially from a new E-Class."\n\nHyu-Gi merely nodded. "The goblins weren't particularly challenging."\n\nShe gave him a look that was a mix of surprise and mild skepticism, but didn't press. Instead, she initiated the final steps. His old F-Class record was officially closed, and a new E-Class one was opened. He completed a digital fingerprint scan and had his new Hunter photo taken—a grim, determined expression staring back from the screen. Within minutes, a brand-new, sleek black card, emblazoned with the silver E-Class emblem, was printed and handed to him.\n\n"Congratulations, Mr. Kim Hyu-Gi," the agent said, her tone a little more respectful now. "You are officially an E-Class Hunter."\n\nHe took the card, its cool, smooth surface a physical testament to his hard-won progress. It wasn't the C-Class rank he once dreamed of, the rank held by Kang Hwok, but it was a step. A significant, undeniable step up from the F-Class stagnation that had plagued his life for years. The validation was a quiet warmth in his chest, a flicker of pride that had been absent for so long.\n\nYet, even as he clutched the card, a familiar pang of sorrow echoed in his mind. The faces of the Three Flowers Guild members flashed before his eyes—Kang Hwok, of course, but also the others. Jang Min-Ho, Lee Jin-Ah, Park Joon-Hwa. All of them still trapped, or worse, gone. This E-Class license, this personal triumph, felt incomplete without them. He had promised to return, to get stronger, to understand what had happened. This was just the beginning. The first tangible proof that the path Kang Hwok had forced him onto, the terrifying path of the Hell Simulation, was indeed making him stronger. Strong enough, perhaps, to one day face whatever waited on the other side of that Special Gate.\n\nHe slipped the E-Class card into his wallet, a silent vow hardening his resolve. The world of Hunters was dangerous, but he was no longer the weak F-Class scavenger. He was Kim Hyu-Gi, an E-Class Hunter. And he was just getting started.