The Dark Forest, a land of monsters that does not permit human footsteps.
Boasting a massive size that covers one-third of the continent, the Dark Forest was truly a world belonging to monsters.
The kingdoms bordering the Dark Forest had consistently dispatched subjugation squads and attempted to expand their territories to increase their national land.
Unfortunately, however, no one who entered the Dark Forest ever returned alive.
Eventually, the kingdoms reached a point where they gave up on conquering the Dark Forest, and thus, humans and monsters seemed to coexist while recognizing each other’s domains.
That state of affairs collapsed in an instant.
For some reason, the monsters of the Dark Forest began to pour out into the human continent. As a result, two kingdoms vanished from the map, and three kingdoms reached the brink of destruction.
Since it was obvious that the aftermath would eventually reach every kingdom on the continent, the nations formed an Allied Force of a staggering one million soldiers and began a massive counterattack.
In that Allied Force, the continent’s strongest Sword Masters and 7th Circle Archmagi were stationed, along with a vast number of the strongest talents representing each kingdom.
The crowning achievement of them all was the Saintess of the Holy Order, Ermia Jaylyn.
Numerous Saintesses and Saints had appeared and disappeared throughout the continent’s history, but there was certainly no one who possessed such immense holy power and formidable abilities as Ermia Jaylyn.
More than anything, she was famous for having a beauty so great it was difficult to see her as human.
At any rate, perhaps because of this, the monster army that invaded the continent was defeated by the human Allied Force and eventually fled back into the Dark Forest.
Naturally, the Allied Force considered this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer the Dark Forest and entered the forest immediately.
Three months have now passed since the Allied Force entered the Dark Forest.
“Huff, huff! C-crazy! This place is hell. We shouldn’t have come in here in the first place!”
The Saintess of Radiance, Ermia Jaylyn, who used to sweep away monsters with powerful holy magic, was now running through the Dark Forest with a haggard face and priest robes that had turned into rags.
Ordinarily, mediocre monsters wouldn’t even be able to lift a finger against her holy magic, so what on earth was the meaning of this state?
-Kuoooooo!
The roar of monsters echoed from the distance.
Ermia’s complexion turned rapidly pale at the sound.
“A-already here? Tsk! I need to find a place to hide first!”
Countless lives had vanished to buy her time to escape, yet the monsters were already hot on her heels.
A cave caught her eye.
“Huh? A cave in a place like this?”
Ermia looked conflicted for a moment.
She was debating whether she should keep running or hide in the cave for the time being.
‘If I hide in the cave, I might put out the immediate fire, but if something goes wrong, I could end up isolated. But I can’t just keep running blindly either. What should I do?’
Her deliberation did not last long.
-Kwaaaaaaa!
-Kuooooo!
This was because the roars of the monsters had grown even closer.
“It can’t be helped. The cave entrance isn’t large anyway, so the massive monsters won’t be able to enter. That alone is enough.”
In the end, she chose to hide inside the cave.
She hurriedly concealed herself within its depths.
***
F-Class Dungeon: Goblin Logistics Base.
A party that had finished its raid and filled its quota just emerged from the dungeon.
“Good work today.”
“Ah! We really pushed hard today. Jae-jun, handle the mercenary payouts yourself as usual. Come on, everyone, let’s head back to the guild.”
At the words of the man who appeared to be the party leader, a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties smiled and spoke.
“Haha, yes, I’ll handle the settlements cleanly on my own.”
When the young man named Jae-jun said he would take care of it, four of the party members left the area.
Since a full party is a maximum of eight people, it meant there were five guild-affiliated members and three who had joined as mercenaries.
Once the guild members had left, Kang Jae-jun looked at the mercenaries with a greasy smile.
“I’ll settle up now. I’m sending it to your accounts right away, so check them.”
As he spoke and manipulated his phone, a deposit notification popped up on the mercenaries’ phones.
After checking the deposit details, one of the mercenaries frowned and spoke up.
“Huh? Wait a minute. Why are you suddenly taking out 100,000 won? I let it slide when you were taking 50,000 won until now, but 100,000 won suddenly? This isn’t right.”
“Hah! Exactly. I mean, taking 50,000 out of a 300,000 won daily wage was bad enough, but now 100,000? Isn’t this really too much?”
In the case of an F-Class dungeon, a single day’s raid generates about 10 million won in profit.
That is distributed among the party members, and even then, the settlement ratio varies depending on whether one is a Tanker, Healer, or Dealer.
Of course, this only applied to official party members; those who joined as mercenaries were excluded from the settlement and were instead paid a separate daily wage.
However, it seemed this man named Jae-jun was playing games with the mercenary wages.
When two of the mercenaries openly protested, Kang Jae-jun frowned and snapped.
“Huh? Too much? Are you kidding me? What did you guys even do for it to be too much? We did all the actual raiding, and you guys just did the cleanup. You should be grateful for even this much.”
At Jae-jun’s words, Choi Yu-seon, a Ranger in her early twenties, spoke out desperately.
“We contracted for a 300,000 won daily wage in the first place! I let it go when you took 50,000 each time, but taking 100,000 won is wrong! You’re taking home several times what we get in settlement money, do you really have to fleece us like this?”
“What did you say? Hey, do you want your jobs cut off? You should be thankful that F-rank losers are even being hired as mercenaries. I used you as fixed mercenaries because I thought you were somewhat useful among F-ranks, and now you’re crawling all over me?”
F-rank is the lowest rank among awakened individuals.
Perhaps because of that, it was extremely rare for an F-rank to be admitted into a guild.
More importantly, even if it was an F-Class dungeon, it was very difficult to clear with a party made only of F-ranks.
Even for F-ranks, Tankers or Healers had quite a few parties that would accept them, but in the case of Dealers, they were so overabundant that finding a party was like plucking a star from the sky.
Because the situation was like this, they had been enduring receiving less than the contracted amount, but they couldn’t take it anymore when he tried to take even more.
The problem was that, just as Kang Jae-jun said, if they were fired here, there was no guarantee they could find another party.
The angered mercenaries could only grit their teeth at Jae-jun’s threat.
“Urgh!”
“……”
Just then, a mercenary in his early-to-mid twenties, who had been watching the situation silently, rushed forward.
“Haha, Jae-jun. Please calm down. And Yu-seon, Gwang-taek, you two should calm down a bit as well.”
He reached out and grabbed Jae-jun’s arm as he spoke.
“Hey, let go of me! You’re the same, you punk! I was nice to you because I thought you matched the mood well, but do you think I’m some kind of joke? Where does a Buffer, who’s worse than a Dealer, get off acting close to me!”
A Buffer. Literally, a class that increases the abilities of party members using various buff skills.
The problem was that a Buffer was not an absolutely necessary class for a party.
The Tanker, who defends against monsters with their whole body at the front, and the Healer, who is responsible for the party’s life, are truly like a twin-engine carriage that can never be missed.
In the case of Dealers, their numbers were just vast compared to Tankers or Healers, but they were still a necessary class for dealing with monsters.
But Buffers were different.
If they were there, the hunting speed would increase exponentially and hunting would become much safer, but it wasn’t as if hunting was impossible without them.
Unlike other classes that were indispensable, a Buffer was a position that was good to have but didn’t matter if they were absent.
As a result, Buffers were treated similarly to other auxiliary classes.
“Oh, come on. Who’s making a joke of you? Don’t be like that, let’s go over there and talk for a bit.”
“Talk about what! Ah! Forget it! I don’t need any of you! I’ll find new mercenaries, so just know that and don’t show up from tomorrow!”
“Why are you so worked up? Come on, let’s just head over that way for a second.”
The mercenary Buffer tried to soothe Kang Jae-jun and lead him to the side, and Jae-jun moved his feet with an expression that said he was only going because he felt like it.
Having distance themselves somewhat from the other mercenaries, the Buffer looked at Kang Jae-jun and spoke.
“Sir, please try to understand. Actually, today is Yu-seon’s mother’s birthday, and it seems she needed some money for a birthday gift. That’s probably why she was so sensitive. You know very well how grateful we are to you.”
“How should I know? Is this the attitude of people who are grateful?”
“Ayy, don’t be like that. I heard there’s an internal guild evaluation coming up soon. It wouldn’t be good for you if any noise were to break out because of something like this, right? If they happen to ask us about you, we’ll make sure to speak well of you, so please just understand and let it go this one time.”
The Taeseong Guild, which Kang Jae-jun belonged to, conducted internal evaluations periodically, and these evaluations were divided into a skill assessment and a personality assessment.
The evaluation ratio was 7 to 3.
Skill assessment accounted for 70%, and personality assessment for 30%.
Unless one possessed overwhelming skill, it meant that the personality assessment could not be ignored.
“Ugh, how did you even find out about that?”
“I have my ways. Anyway, I heard the personality assessment is just as important as the skill assessment. Haha, if all of your fixed mercenaries were suddenly replaced, they would definitely find it strange. So please, just understand and let it go this once.”
What else could he do?
With the internal evaluation not far off, there was no need to create unnecessary noise.
Even if he were to fire them, it was better to do it after the internal evaluation was over.
“Sigh, I’m really letting this go because of you, Seong-jun. By the way, make sure you keep your word about speaking well of me if the guild asks.”
At Jae-jun’s words, the Buffer named Seong-jun smiled and spoke.
“Of course. Just trust me. You will definitely never have a problem with the personality assessment.”
“Tsk, fine. I’ll let it slide this time, so manage them well yourself so that there’s no backtalk. I was a bit harsh earlier, right? It just came out in the heat of the moment, so don’t take it to heart.”
“I know. I’ve already let it go in one ear and out the other, so don’t worry. I’ll talk to Yu-seon and Gwang-taek, so don’t worry and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
His anger subsided by Seong-jun’s words, Kang Jae-jun nodded and soon turned to leave.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow then.”
As Kang Jae-jun walked away, Seong-jun stared silently at his retreating back.
“…….”
In his eyes, a translucent window was floating.
[Analysis Result]
Kang Jae-jun: [E-Class Warrior]
Average Stats: [E-]
Combat Style: [Uses hit-and-run tactics with quick movements.]
Core Skills: [Heavy Strike / Vital Point Strike]
Trust: 23
Psychological State: [Sensitive due to the upcoming internal guild evaluation. Particularly worried about the personality assessment part.]
Seong-jun, an F-Class Buffer, had another skill that he had never told anyone about.
It was the F-rank skill, In-depth Analysis.
Among skills, there were analysis skills that could check an opponent’s information.
However, those only went as far as letting one see the opponent’s stats.
The skill Seong-jun possessed, In-depth Analysis, was a slightly special analysis skill that could check not only the opponent’s combat style but also their current psychological state.
The fact that Yu-seon was sensitive because of her mother’s birthday, and that Kang Jae-jun was sensitive because of the guild’s internal evaluation, were both things he had learned through this In-depth Analysis skill.
And Seong-jun used to use this skill to handle others.
‘Kang Jae-jun. I’m putting up with you because you’re useful for now, but just you wait. I’ll give you a massive stab in the back someday.’
No matter what anyone said, the one in a difficult position right now was Seong-jun.
It was hard to find a party that would use a Buffer as a fixed mercenary, after all.
But whenever Kang Jae-jun’s usefulness vanished, Seong-jun had no intention of letting him off easy.
It was his personality to return at least as much as he had received.
Having persuaded Kang Jae-jun to leave, Seong-jun soon returned to Yu-seon and Gwang-taek.
“I’ve talked to him and sent him on his way. I’m just as disgusted and annoyed as you two are. But what can we do for now? Like he said, if we get fired here, it won’t be easy to find another party. Of course, since you both have good skills, you could find one if you looked, but it would take time. And in the meantime, you’d have to go hungry.”
At Seong-jun’s words, Gwang-taek let out a sigh and spoke.
“Sigh, I really can’t do this anymore because it’s so dirty. I mean, how much is the daily wage anyway that he’s taking more from it? That’s definitely going into his pocket. Well, still, like you said, Seong-jun, it won’t be easy to find another party right away if we’re fired, so I guess we have to endure for now.”
“Exactly. It’ll be better to endure for now while looking for another party that will use us as fixed mercenaries. You and Yu-seon have good skills, so you’ll be able to find another party soon.”
It is not wise to cause a scene by being swept away only by emotions without thinking of the consequences.
Therefore, he judged that even if it was dirty and petty for now, the best course of action was to hold on until they found another party that would accept them as fixed mercenaries.
Looking at Yu-seon, who was just clenching her fists without a word, Seong-jun used his analysis skill.
‘In-depth Analysis.’
Then, Yu-seon’s current state appeared before Seong-jun’s eyes in a translucent window.
[Analysis Result]
Choi Yu-seon: [F-Class Ranger]
Average Stats: [F+]
Combat Style: [Engages in dynamic combat with agile movements and rapid fire.]
Core Skills: [Rapid Fire / Tracking Arrow]
Trust: 88
Psychological State: [Emotions were uncontrollable due to anger toward Kang Jae-jun, but she feels relieved that she wasn’t kicked out of the party. She is in a difficult situation because she is slightly short on money to buy her mother’s gift.]
Although she was clenching her fists as if angry, it seemed she felt relieved that she wasn’t kicked out of the party thanks to Seong-jun’s appropriate judgment.
Even though she had lashed out emotionally, her life would be greatly hindered if she were kicked out of the party immediately.
Having checked Yu-seon’s state with In-depth Analysis, Seong-jun pulled out his phone and sent 100,000 won to her account.
“Yu-seon. It’s your mother’s birthday today, right? I sent 100,000 won to your account. Tell her happy birthday for me, and go have a meal with her with that.”
At Seong-jun’s unexpected words, Yu-seon’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Why, why did you…? No, you don’t have to do that.”
“Forget it. Is this our first day seeing each other? Your mother is like my mother too. Although I can’t visit her and congratulate her in person, my mind is more at ease doing this. Besides, who else but you and Gwang-taek look out for my safety every time we go out to hunt? Think of it as a bribe to keep taking care of me.”
As a Buffer, Seong-jun had no combat abilities to speak of.
Did the Taeseong Guild side care about him?
Not at all.
The only one they cared about was the Healer, who was a fellow guild member.
They didn’t care at all about the safety of a Buffer who was merely a mercenary.
As a result, dangerous situations had unfolded several times, and each time, he had escaped the crisis with the help of Yu-seon and Gwang-taek.
“Ah! That’s right! Come to think of it, today was Yu-seon’s mother’s birthday! I would have completely forgotten about it if it weren’t for Seong-jun. Wait a second. I can’t just stand by either.”
Then Gwang-taek also sent 100,000 won to Yu-seon.
“I sent 100,000 won too. Combine it with what Seong-jun sent and go eat something delicious with your mother.”
When Gwang-taek sent money following Seong-jun, Yu-seon said with tears in her eyes.
“Thank you.”
At that, Seong-jun patted Yu-seon’s shoulder and spoke.
“Go on now. Your mother must be waiting. Have a good time with her, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, Seong-jun, Yu-seon, and Gwang-taek shared brief farewells and went their separate ways.
***
At a time past midnight.
Seong-jun, who hadn’t realized he was out of beer, came outside despite the late hour.
“I should have checked the fridge in advance. If I had, I would have bought some on my way in.”
If he drank beer every day, he obviously would have known, but since he only drank once in a while when it came to mind, he had completely forgotten that he had run out.
Fortunately, the convenience store wasn’t very far.
“Anyway, the weather has already turned chilly.”
The season was slowly passing through autumn and turning into winter.
Perhaps because he had come out dressed lightly, Seong-jun felt a somewhat chilly sensation.
As he was trudging toward the convenience store.
“Hmm? What’s that?”
A faint light was emanating from an alleyway.
Since he had lived here for several years and had passed this way many times, he knew well enough that there was no reason for light to come out of that alley at this time.
“……”
Seong-jun stopped his footsteps for a moment and looked at the alley.
Then he soon turned his direction toward it.
“Let’s just check what it is for now.”
Entering the alley, Seong-jun stood at a corner that turned to the left and carefully poked his head out.
“Huh! That, that’s a dungeon portal? Why is that here…?”
A dungeon portal emitting a faint light caught his eye.
“Seeing as no Association staff are out here, it looks like a new dungeon that just formed. What should I do? Should I report it to the Association?”
Seong-jun stood in front of the dungeon portal and pondered for a moment.
In any case, as a Buffer, if he entered a dungeon alone, it would be nothing short of suicide.
On the other hand, if he reported it to the Association, he would receive a reward of approximately 10 million won as the first discoverer.
Of course, the reward varied depending on the dungeon rank, but anyway, based on an F-Class dungeon, he could receive between 8 and 10 million.
“Tsk, I heard that in the case of a new dungeon, there are huge benefits for the first person to enter, but since I’m a Buffer, there’s nothing I can do even if I enter… Let’s just report it.”
In the case of the first entrant, he had heard there were many benefits in various areas, starting with rewards.
But even so, it was nothing more than a pie in the sky for Seong-jun.
Just as Seong-jun, who had decided to report it, was about to pick up his phone.
-Come to me.
A voice was heard in Seong-jun’s ear.
“Whoa! What, what was that!”
Seong-jun hurriedly scanned the surroundings.
But there was no one in the alley except for the dungeon and Seong-jun.
Then, a voice was heard in Seong-jun’s ear once again.
-Come inside.
That voice was telling Seong-jun to enter the dungeon.
“……”
Seong-jun looked at the dungeon portal with a bewildered expression.
-Come inside.
At the repeated voice, Seong-jun clenched his fists and moved his feet.
“Damn it, I don’t know what it is, but it’s calling because it needs me. Surely it wouldn’t call me to a place where I’ll die? Let’s just go for it.”
Although he didn’t know what on earth the situation was, Seong-jun decided to do as the voice said for now.
I Became an EX-Class All-Rounder Priest Episode 1
E-book Publication Date: 2025.11.14
Author: Kim Hyun-jun
Publisher: Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Publishing House: Poten
Address: [04783] 10th Floor, 11-gil 8, Yeonmujang, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone: 02-6320-8500
Fax: 02-6320-8585
ISBN: 9791175302167
Price: Not for sale
c Kim Hyun-jun 2025
This e-book is a work protected by copyright law.
Since this e-book was published under a contract with the author, unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.