It was unfair. So unfair, he felt like he was going mad. Yoo Se-hyeok placed a hand on his chest, as if to keep his frustration from bursting out.
Was it because he failed to recognize Kang Jeong-hyeon and let him pass? Of course, that was part of it. But there was another reason for his profound sense of unfairness.
Cheon Hae-seon.
Yoo Se-hyeok watched him, his eyes filled with envy and jealousy. What kind of fortune was that man born with, that all these renowned talents just came to him on their own? The effort a Guild puts into recruiting a single S-ranker was truly painstaking.
It took an astronomical signing bonus, of course, but one also had to grovel to please them and actively promote the Guild's vision.
And yet.
What charm did Cheon Hae-seon possess for two promising prospects to latch onto him at the same time, when he wasn't even affiliated with anyone? Yoo Se-hyeok was no fool. That was why he hadn't simply dismissed Kang Jeong-hyeon’s earlier words, ‘I’ll be in your care from now on.’
It was a declaration of his will to follow whatever path Cheon Hae-seon chose to walk. With Bi-soo, he could concede a hundred times that they already knew each other. But Kang Jeong-hyeon?
Seeing Cheon Hae-seon's surprised expression, it seemed he was also meeting Kang Jeong-hyeon for the first time. It was truly a case of a prize falling right into his lap. Seeing Cheon Hae-seon’s dazed face, Yoo Se-hyeok even had a fleeting thought.
He should have become a Guild agent, not a Hunter. With the heavenly luck he possessed, conquering not just Korea but the entire world wouldn't be just a dream.
“I heard you’re participating as an examiner for the second test.”
“Yes. For the Esper-types.”
Cheon Hae-seon’s gaze momentarily flickered toward Bi-soo. The reason he was examining the Espers, and not his original Healer-type, was simple. It was to prevent any examiners from the Association or other Guilds from playing any tricks on Bi-soo.
However, it seemed to hold a different meaning for Kang Jeong-hyeon.
“That’s great.”
“…What is?”
“I heard that the Esper-type and Other-type are evaluated by the same examiner.”
“Ah… yes. Because there are so few applicants for the Other-type.”
“I’m one of those Other-types.”
“What?”
Cheon Hae-seon, Bi-soo, and Yoo Se-hyeok all had the same reaction. Had there ever been an Other-type Hunter with S-rank potential? Cheon Hae-seon searched his memory, but no one came to mind.
That was how few ‘Other’ types there were, and since they weren't a major class, they were often overlooked. What kind of ability could an ‘Other’ type with such potential possibly have? The gazes of everyone looking at Kang Jeong-hyeon turned peculiar.
“I’ll be in your care during the examination. Well then.”
Kang Jeong-hyeon bowed shyly and left.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
Yoo Se-hyeok, who had instantly become a third wheel, cleared his throat to make his presence known.
“So that’s what he meant by ‘take good care of me.’ He was asking you to look favorably on him during the exam.”
Yoo Se-hyeok smiled brightly, a look of understanding on his face. At the same time, that smile held a desperate hope that his guess was correct. That the meaningful statement made to Cheon Hae-seon was not about what would happen after the qualification test.
Bi-soo nudged Cheon Hae-seon with her elbow as if she had thought of something.
“Ooh~ So you decided to be an examiner because you were thinking of me?”
“No.” “Hey! I definitely saw you looking at me, are you going to pretend you didn't?”
“Nope. Absolutely not.”
“You…!!”
“Do you have a lot of time? I doubt Kang Jeong-hyeon went back first for no reason.”
“…Ah!! Right!!”
Bi-soo clutched her head and hurried toward the second examination site. Cheon Hae-seon held his stomach and chuckled, while Yoo Se-hyeok could only stare back and forth between the two.
“Haaaaaaaah!!”
An applicant gathered his hands and let out a grim battle cry.
Crash!! Kieeeek.
A Monster flipped onto its back and collapsed from the applicant's electric attack. Though it was only a 2-star, a Monster was a Monster. Subduing a living creature in one blow was certainly a significant achievement.
However.
‘How dull.’
He didn't know how many times he had to suppress a yawn. He was trying his best to watch with sincerity, but frankly, everything the applicants were putting out felt like a talent show for children. And why were there so many applicants?
He had heard that more Hunters were needed recently due to the increase in dungeons and Gates, but he hadn't expected this many applicants. Should he have just stayed home, regardless of what rank Bi-soo received? He was beginning to regret it.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”
Just from the sound of his voice, one would think he was taking down a 5-star or higher Monster by himself. But anticlimactically, the Monster before him was a ‘Crazy Rabbit’. No matter how crazy it was, a rabbit was just a rabbit, wasn't it?
A middle-aged man in his thirties was repeatedly shouting his battle cry at the ‘Crazy Rabbit’, a creature that three or four sturdy ‘civilians’ could subdue.
Hop.
The middle-aged man's ice attacks repeatedly missed the ‘Crazy Rabbit’s’ cute and fantastic movements (…). Growing impatient, the man eventually gave up on the ice attacks and started a brawl with the Crazy Rabbit.
“Die! Die!”
Kkireuk!!
At the miserable sight, I rubbed my eyes with my palm. The other examiners were no different. The panel of examiners, composed of some Association officials and high-rank Espers from various Guilds, watched the wrestling match between man and rabbit with glazed eyes.
Beep. -Time has expired. When the battle ended, the examiners pressed the button for the rank they had in mind. In slightly ambiguous cases, the examiners would share their opinions, but unfortunately, no one seemed to want to discuss the middle-aged man.
Every examiner, including myself, pressed the same colored button.
‘E’ The rank displayed on the screen made the middle-aged man look as if the sky had fallen.
Well, what did you expect to get after struggling with a single bunny? While the Monster was being prepared for the next participant, the bald-headed man sitting next to me gave a bitter smile. He was Ga Yeol-chan, the representative of the Bishop Guild and one of the top Espers in the country.
“They say it’s poverty amidst plenty, and that saying is spot on.”
I shrugged my shoulders once as a sign of agreement. Out of over a hundred applicants so far, not a single ‘A’-rank talent had appeared, let alone an ‘S’. Occasionally, there were Espers who displayed unusual abilities, but they only sparked momentary interest and failed to show significant killing ability.
The tedious examination process continued, and just as Ga Yeol-chan was about to succumb to his heavy eyelids and fall asleep— -Applicant number 1568…
“Oh…”
A slight stir occurred even among the veteran examiners. That was how much personality this applicant had, enough to capture the attention of those around her. Besides, hadn't many people already checked her Ether level?
“Finally.”
Ga Yeol-chan looked my way and raised the corners of his mouth. A bewitching Esper with red hair. At last, Bi-soo stepped into the second examination.
“I am Lee Bi-soo.”
‘She’s pretty stiff.’
She looked brave on the outside, but I could see a slight tremor. Her expression and voice, too. Her nervousness was palpable.
Although she had crossed the line between life and death with me, she had practically no experience fighting a Monster on her own. Moreover, Bi-soo’s abilities were more on the utility side, not for killing.
When proving the abilities of a Knight and an Esper, the focus was on killing ability, which inevitably meant facing the Monster in front of her. And that was precisely why I was here.
Beep.
With a short electronic sound, the wall blocking the Monster disappeared. A very, very ugly Monster standing awkwardly on two legs. It looked stupid, but one hit from the club it wielded could shatter the bones of an A-rank Knight.
That was to say, its 5-star rating wasn’t for nothing. An ‘Ugly Troll’ with a physique of 2.5 meters appeared as Bi-soo’s opponent. The sight of her seemingly frail body facing the behemoth looked quite precarious.
To some, it might seem like a harsh measure, but that wasn't the case. You couldn't just give a bunny to an applicant whose Ether level exceeded 30,000 points.
“Will she be alright…?”
Ga Yeol-chan asked me with a worried look. I propped my head with my arms and answered nonchalantly.
“She won’t die.”
“No… what does that…”
“She probably won’t get hurt either.”
“Hmm?”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The Ugly Troll strode forward, but Bi-soo showed no particular movement. She just stared at it with her lips firmly shut. Finally, just as the Troll reached her immediate vicinity and was about to swing its large arm, Pat.
“Oh!!”
A short gasp erupted from the examiners’ seats. Her figure had vanished in an instant. The Troll's arm, having lost its target, swung through the empty air in vain.
“Stealth… She’s certainly showing what a promising prospect she is…!!”
Ga Yeol-chan clapped his thick hands together. Stealth had no killing ability, but the fact that one was invisible was a huge threat in itself. Even for me now, with my developed aura perception, detecting Bi-soo's Stealth was impossible.
That meant that almost every Hunter in the country couldn't detect her Stealth. -Kku… Ppori made a low cry from my shoulder, as if to say he was different. I know, I know.
He always has to assert his presence at times like this.
Woosh.
Even after Bi-soo disappeared, the Troll continued to swing its arms wildly at the empty air. It was a clumsy attack, but if it landed, most Hunters would be turned to pulp. Of course, the small, clever fox was probably far out of its range by now.
“What do you think? With that Stealth skill and her high Ether level… I think we can give her somewhere between A and S.” An examiner looked to his right, seeking an opinion.
It was one thing for the nobodies, but for A-rank and above Hunters, a consensus had to be formed among the examiners.
“Hmm…”
The short-haired woman sitting to his right made a displeased face. She rested her chin on her left hand and pouted.
“Stealth is a rare skill, but… S-rank is out of the question. I think B would be more appropriate, actually.”
“B is too…”
Harsh.
Ga Yeol-chan, who was listening quietly, was about to say that but shut his mouth. She was the third in command of the Glory Guild, and the leader of Team 2, the most powerful attack squad after the one led by Gu Geon-yi.
Yeon Ji-seon.
She was a top-tier Esper who possessed the terrifying attack ‘Devastation’, which sucked all the moisture out of her target. As if thinking ‘there’s no point in saying anything’, Ga Yeol-chan smacked his lips with a bitter taste and closed his mouth.
Although she was just a team leader in a Guild, her abilities were a step above Ga Yeol-chan’s. Even among ‘S’-rankers, there were differences in power. If one had to choose between Ga Yeol-chan and Yeon Ji-seon on the battlefield, ninety-nine out of a hundred would choose Yeon Ji-seon.
Yeon Ji-seon was as famous for her stiff neck as she was for her formidable Ether, and she would kick out even her own team members without a second thought if they didn't meet her standards. The biggest reason she was here was not to help the Association, but to scout for her own team members.
Naturally, she applied a harsh standard when evaluating the applicants' ranks. Moreover, the authority of the Glory Guild was so powerful that no one could challenge her words. If even Ga Yeol-chan, the representative of the Bishop Guild, couldn't properly stand up to her, who else could?
‘Of course… that’s not all there is to it.’
But there was another, ultimate reason for their silence. The more ‘S’-rank Espers there were, the more the value of the existing S-rank Espers would be diluted. The rarer any resource is, the higher the price it commands.
From their perspective, it was better if no more ‘S’-rank Espers appeared. In other words, there was an unspoken consensus among them to keep it to themselves. Ga Yeol-chan seemed to have some conscience, but if he couldn't get the other Espers to agree, any opinion he offered would be in vain.
“The haves are always the most greedy…”
All the examiners looked at me with expressions that said, ‘Did I hear that right?’ You heard me right, you greedy toads. It wasn't as if I hadn't expected this development, so I turned my head and called out to Yeon Ji-seon.
“Hunter Yeon Ji-seon.”
She answered with a nonchalant expression.
“Yes?”
“That Troll. How strong is it?”
At that, Yeon Ji-seon gave a triumphant smile. Her thoughts were plain to see: ‘You’re still young, you don’t know anything yet.’
“It’s not even a challenge. That thing is at a level where even an A-ranker could handle it without much trouble. But this applicant is struggling without landing a single blow, so wouldn't you say even a B-rank is generous?”
She must know very well that I came with Bi-soo. Yeon Ji-seon replied mockingly, her eyes full of provocation.
That's right.
I knew she would answer like that.
“As expected of you, Yeon Ji-seon. Then I suppose it wouldn't be a problem even if that Troll were to get a level stronger?”
“Of course not. Not just one level, even ten levels wouldn't be a problem.”
Yeon Ji-seon snorted and raised her sharp nose. She had been surreptitiously glancing this way even during the examination, setting up a confrontation. It seemed she was determined to assert her superiority as a fellow Esper now that we had met.
“Is that so? Then I’ll be counting on you, Hunter Yeon Ji-seon.”
“??”
Her slender eyes widened slightly. Counting on me for what? Ignoring her questioning face, I brought my face close to the microphone. -Applicant Lee Bi-soo.
“Yes.”
A voice answered from an unseen location. -If you have any more abilities to show, you can do it now.
“Really… is that okay?” -Yes.
No problem.
We will take responsibility for any contingencies. To be precise, not ‘we’, but Yeon Ji-seon. I hid a pleased smile inwardly and leaned back in my chair.
As if an entertaining show was about to unfold. Question marks appeared above all the examiners' heads. Just as Ga Yeol-chan, unable to contain his curiosity, was about to ask me something— -Kwooooooooooooooar!
Suddenly, a loud roar came from inside the examination site.
“?!”
“Wha- what was that?!”
A chorus of voices filled with shock erupted. They had heard the Troll's voice before, but they had never felt such a sense of unease as they did now.
Jjijik, jjijik.
Every examiner except me was rubbing their eyes in disbelief. The state of the Ugly Troll inside the examination site had changed noticeably. It wasn't just the roar.
Its already massive forearms, thighs, and trapezius muscles. All the muscles in its entire body were endlessly swelling.