The first test was a stage to measure one’s Ether Level. The Record Device would check the applicant’s potential, and if their level exceeded a certain threshold, they passed. There was no doubt that Bi-soo would pass the first test.
Her Buff ability was one thing, but wasn't she a talent who could use Stealth at will? The key was what rank she would receive, not whether she would pass or fail.
‘She’ll probably get an S.’ A Buff is a rare ability.
Globally, the number of Espers with the Buff ability could be counted on one hand. Hunters at this very moment pour their blood, sweat, and money into training just to raise their rank by one level. But a Buff could increase a Hunter's existing abilities by one or two stages at no cost.
Especially from a guild’s perspective, the value of a Buff was absolute. Just by casting a Buff on two or three top-tier Hunters, a guild's overall power would become much stronger than before.
Bok-soon… no, Bi-soo, who had already drawn attention for her striking appearance before the test, how much fervent interest would she receive once her Buff ability was recognized? Just thinking about how much she, an attention seeker, would bask in it all gave me a headache.
“Hm. Should I just head back?”
While the first qualification test was underway, Hunter officials spent their time in a hall prepared on the first floor. When I took the test, I had no connection to any active Hunters, but in reality, most people were not like that.
They were either related by blood to existing Hunters, or elites who had received a guild's sponsorship, and so on. For that reason, the Hunter officials gathered here would not leave their seats until the test was over. They had to stay here to check what rank the applicants received and also to manage their own connections.
“Haha. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. Why the long face?”
As I was wetting my throat in a suitably secluded corner, Representative Kim Seung-hwan managed to find me.
“It seems you’re worried about your acquaintance.”
“Worried…”
Yes.
It was a worry, of a sort. The worry that she might cause some kind of trouble. Instead of giving a specific answer, I just laughed it off.
However, Kim Seung-hwan was unusually persistent today.
“Hunter-nim. As you know, I am not an S-ranker. But do you know the secret to how I was able to become the head of Blue Sword?”
“I wonder?”
“My eyes. An eye for seeing the potential in Hunters.”
“A good eye. So that’s what you mean.”
“Haha. That’s right.”
Kim Seung-hwan, who burst into laughter as cheerfully as his face suggested, continued.
“In my eyes, Bi-soo felt like a rather shining jewel. She was sparkling ever so brightly.”
“Oh?”
“At first, my gaze was drawn to her simply because she was so beautiful. But the more time passed and the more I looked… the stronger the feeling that she was the biggest ‘catch’ of this examination.”
I stared at Kim Seung-hwan with a newfound appreciation. His claim of having a good eye seemed to be true. The Esper brothers from the Bishop Guild had been captivated only by Bi-soo’s flashy appearance, completely oblivious to her potential as a Hunter.
However, it seemed Kim Seung-hwan had slightly misunderstood my subtle gaze.
“Ah. If my expression of ‘looking her over’ was rude, I apologize. I was merely scouting an applicant as a representative of my guild.”
“It’s fine. Bi-soo and I are nothing to each other.”
“Pardon? Weren't you two in a relationship?”
“Absolutely not. Ab.so.lute.ly.”
“Oh, dear. To me, that sounds the strangest of all.”
Kim Seung-hwan scratched his nose with a peculiar smile. Judging by his nonchalant demeanor, the nuance felt strongly of, ‘I know, but I’ll let it slide.’ We really aren't, you old coot.
“Since Hunter Cheon Hae-seon has no affiliation yet, it’s hard to guess. Which guild does Miss Bi-soo have in mind?”
Aha.
So that’s what he came all the way to this corner to ask. But unfortunately, that was something I didn’t know either.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I’m not deliberately hiding it, I really don’t know where Bi-soo is thinking of going. I asked her once before, and she told me not to worry about it because she’d handle it herself.”
“Hmm…”
Sometimes her intentions were as clear as day, as if she were in the palm of Buddha's hand, while at other times, she was a person whose thoughts were completely inscrutable. As of now, I had no way of knowing where Bi-soo would choose.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if she went somewhere unrelated to you, Hunter-nim? It might be an odd way to put it but…”
“Like doing all the work for someone else to reap the benefits?”
“Yes. From what I heard you two saying earlier, it seems you helped her a great deal with the Hunter test. Wouldn’t it be infuriating if she just went to Glory or Bishop like this?”
“Hahaha.”
“??”
His words were so transparent that I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“If you put it that way, Blue Sword wouldn’t be much different.”
“……!!”
Kim Seung-hwan’s earlobes turned bright red. It was true that I had a connection with the Blue Sword Guild, but we weren't exactly close friends either. From my perspective, Glory, Bishop, or Blue Sword were all the same.
Kim Seung-hwan, in his strong desire to recruit Bi-soo, had failed to be objective about himself and was now quite embarrassed by his earlier remark.
“What you said is right, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. I’m ashamed.”
“You don’t need to be so awkward about it. If Bi-soo happens to consider the Blue Sword Guild, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Thank you. Regardless of the possibility, I am curious. Which guild Miss Bi-soo will choose. Her outstanding looks alone will surely make her a topic of……”
Click, clack. Just then.
The clear sound of high heels tickled my ears. Kim Seung-hwan and I simultaneously looked in the opposite direction, and Kim Seung-hwan soon gave a strange smile.
“Looks like she couldn’t resist showing up either.”
Just as Kim Seung-hwan said. Here was a person who had elevated her guild's image and value countless times with not only her exceptional abilities but also her overwhelming visuals.
“Maria-nim?”
“We meet again, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
Maria approached us and bowed her head slightly. This wasn't the first time I had seen her beautiful face. We had met a few times in private, so it was nothing new.
However, her attire today was vastly different from her usual style. Not only was she wearing the considerably high heels I heard as she approached, but the asymmetrically placed strap on her pure white dress gave off a rather stylish feel.
‘Was she always someone who put so much effort into her clothes?’
She wasn't like this when I met her in private before. Far from a classy dress, I was lucky if she didn’t just pull on a hat.
“Wow…”
Kim Seung-hwan’s jaw dropped to the floor, and the reactions of others around were much the same. It seemed that not only me, but most of the guild officials were seeing this side of Maria for the first time.
“It’s been a while, Representative Kim Seung-hwan.”
Her gaze shifting from me, she greeted Representative Kim Seung-hwan warmly. Kim Seung-hwan quickly took her hand for a handshake.
“Maria-nim. It’s a real pleasure to meet you again. Did you come alone?”
“Yes.”
Kim Seung-hwan was quite surprised, and frankly, so was I. In public settings like this, Maria was always by Gu Geon-yi’s side. The two leaders representing the Glory Guild. They were like needle and thread, always acting together.
‘Did Gu Geon-yi get a bout of diarrhea or something?’
As I was having such thoughts, Maria made an unexpected proposal to Kim Seung-hwan.
“You have your business card and a guild brochure, right?”
“Pardon? O-of course. But why do you ask…”
Maria smiled brightly. And at her next words, not just Kim Seung-hwan, but I too was so shocked I could have fainted.
“I’m looking for a place to transfer to.”
Click-click-click-click.
In the past, Yoo Ji-won was granted an exception, but normally, reporters are forbidden from entering the first qualification test site. However, the test results could be checked immediately on the electronic scoreboard. Reporters simultaneously aimed their cameras at the scoreboard and pressed their shutters.
The top line of the screen. That is, within the TOP 5, a familiar name was visible.
‘Applicant Number 1568, Lee Bi-soo. Ether Level 32,596.’ “Whew.”
A whistle escaped my lips on its own. A score of over thirty thousand. It was a score that, if she could pass the second test without issue, would be more than enough to become an S-ranker.
I had expected it to some extent, but it was still amazing. To think that the kid I used to bicker with every day was someone with the makings of an S-ranker. Things must be going crazy in there right now.
I could tell without even looking. Bi-soo’s ego must be high enough to high-five the clouds right now.
‘Should I call this a pity… or a relief…?’
Normally, it was a score that should have taken first place and received all the spotlights. Usually, in a single quarter, not even many A-rankers emerged, let alone S-rankers. An eye-catching appearance on top of a score exceeding 30,000. She had the qualifications to be called a budding star.
However, today, the spotlight prepared for her would only be at half-strength.
‘Applicant Number 3279, Kang Jeong-hyeon. Ether Level 41,987.’ Because there was someone else positioned highest on the electronic scoreboard.
Excluding myself, a promising prospect with the highest score in the last five years had appeared.
“Kang Jeong-hyeon…”
Naturally, he was an unfamiliar name to me. Other guilds might create lists of promising prospects or run their own training programs, but I had no one to care for besides Bi-soo. I grew quite curious about which guild had nurtured such a big catch.
He was a person with such immense potential that even I, who had no interest in guild management, became curious.
“Representative Ga.”
“Oh, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. You’re here too.”
Perhaps thinking we had become quite close from our meeting today, Representative Ga Yeol-chan greeted me as if I were a close friend.
“Yes. She said she’d kill me if I didn’t come out to meet her.”
“That young lady? Hahahaha.”
It was true I came because Bi-soo asked, but I was also interested in who Kang Jeong-hyeon was. What type was he? How outstanding were his abilities to have recorded a score of over forty thousand?
“Congratulations. If things proceed well from here, Miss Bi-soo will be judged as an S-rank.”
“I’m more worried than congratulatory. That reckless girl now has wings, so who knows how much more she’ll run wild…”
“Hahahaha. It’s an age when everything in the world is fun. But…”
“Yes?”
“That friend, Kang Jeong-hyeon. Is he by any chance an acquaintance of yours?”
“Ah. No. I don’t know him either.”
“Is that so? Hmm… A truly strange thing.”
“Why do you say that?”
“As you know, giants of that level are often nurtured by guilds in advance. A sort of claim-staking, you could say.”
They recruit promising Awakened in advance, support them, and once they acquire their Hunter license, they are brought into the guild’s fold. The recruitment competition is so fierce that most guilds run such nurturing programs.
“But…”
Instead of continuing, Ga Yeol-chan turned his head and gestured with his eyes. His gaze swept past Kim Seung-hwan of the Blue Sword Guild, Yoo Se-hyeok of the Orion Guild, and Son Je-hyeok of the Innovation Guild. And all of them wore the same expression.
“They all seem quite perplexed.”
“Yes. Just like I feel right now.”
Ga Yeol-chan smiled bitterly and ran a hand over his bald head.
“Most Hunters A-rank and above are caught on the guilds’ radars. Even if they don’t sponsor them, they create a list and later engage in a recruitment war. But in Kang Jeong-hyeon’s case, it’s really…”
“He’s not on any of them, it seems.”
“That’s right.”
Looking at the faces of the guild representatives gathered to one side, I could tell. A promising new star had appeared like a comet. But it seemed none of them knew anything about Kang Jeong-hyeon.
Ga Yeol-chan looked around, then leaned in and whispered to me.
“I secretly asked an insider at Glory Guild, and they said he wasn’t their pick either. The atmosphere was so grim it was hard to inquire further.”
“That’s understandable.”
I wore a most joyful smile. There was a man writhing in fury, so much so that I could feel him shaking from a distance. Gu Geon-yi, the representative of the Glory Guild.
For him, Kang Jeong-hyeon was not the problem right now. It was because a core member of his guild was going around accepting business cards from other representatives. Seeing the veins popping on Gu Geon-yi’s neck, I could tell that all the times he’d been angry before were nothing but minor or moderate annoyances.
It was pitiful to see him huffing and puffing, biting his lip so hard it might burst. It was the very picture of ‘extreme rage,’ a man expressing all the fury he could muster. Gu Geon-yi was probably feeling the deepest frustration of his life.
‘I really want to tease him so badly.’
What would happen if I casually walked up and asked, ‘How do you manage your employees?’ As I was entertaining such thoughts, Screeeak.
“Oh!!!!”
The clicking of shutters and the flashing of lights dizzied my ears. The last participant's test must have finished, as the applicants were coming up the stairs one by one. Some were filled with elation, some had their heads bowed in disappointment.
And some…
“Cheon Hae-seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeon!!! I did iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”
“……!!!”
The Hunter who had been in the news the most recently. What kind of catastrophe would occur if an S-rank prospect came running and jumped into that Hunter’s arms? As if to demonstrate that with her entire body, the worst attention seeker in the world leaped and threw herself into my arms.
Naturally, countless camera angles and gazes turned this way. In the midst of that feast of pouring attention, I smiled contentedly.
‘I’m so screwed.’