On the brink of the final examination, I raised my hand.
“I’m just saying this, just in case.”
“……??”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward me. With a face full of genuine concern, I continued.
“What type is this applicant?”
Deputy Chief Joo Jin-hae of the Hunter Association's Planning Department answered quickly.
“According to his application, he is listed only as Other Attributes. It has been confirmed that he has no other abilities, but…”
“Ah. That’s a relief.”
My subtle gaze passed over Ga Yeol-chan and the other Espers, finally landing on Yeon Ji-seon.
“I was just worried that if this Monster gets a level up too, it would be really difficult.”
“……!!”
Yeon Ji-seon’s lips trembled, and a flicker of rage sparked in her eyes. She had caught on to the intention behind my words. Kang Jeong-hyeon’s Ether Level was higher than Bi-soo’s, which meant a stronger Monster would naturally appear than the one used to test Bi-soo.
When I had discreetly asked during the break, they said they were going to release the strongest Monster currently being held in confinement by the Hunter Association. Even with Bi-soo, they had to use all their strength to stop the buffed Monster. What if the Monster facing Kang Jeong-hyeon was also powered up by a ‘Buff’?
As she was now, Yeon Ji-seon had no way to stop it. Her claim that she could stop it no matter how many buffs it received would become nothing but empty bravado.
“You bastard…!!”
I knew.
I had figured out long ago that Kang Jeong-hyeon was an Other Attributes type. Besides, Buff wasn't a common skill. But I asked anyway, pretending not to know.
Simply because I wanted to tease the strongest Esper of Glory Guild. I put on a rather worried expression, and that anxious look became the ultimate insult to Yeon Ji-seon. It clearly conveyed the intention, ‘I’m worried about you, so I’d better check.’
“Do not, do not worry, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
As harsh words started to flow from Yeon Ji-seon’s mouth, Deputy Chief Joo Jin-hae stepped in.
“We have sufficiently reviewed applicant Kang Jeong-hyeon’s data. If he intended to show an Esper ability like ‘Buff’, he would have taken the Multi Ability Test as well.”
“Ah. Is that so. I feel so relieved.”
“Ha, hahaha. Right?”
Did Joo Jin-hae know? That his act of reassuring me was grating on Yeon Ji-seon’s last nerve.
“What do you mean, ‘right’?”
Yeon Ji-seon’s expression began to show not just ‘anger,’ but ‘killing intent.’ We were not the only ones here. Association officials were present, as were the strongest Espers from other guilds.
How must Yeon Ji-seon feel, being made a laughingstock by a young upstart in such a place? I couldn't know for sure, but she probably wanted to tear me to pieces.
“Ah… Hunter Yeon Ji-seon. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Enough. Let’s just get this over with.”
Yeon Ji-seon spat out coldly and crossed her legs the other way. At her frosty demeanor, I couldn't help but throw one more question at her.
“Are you really sure it’s okay without the glass wall?”
“I said it’s fine, you son of a… Hunter Cheon Hae-seon? Even if a 10-star Monster comes out, I’ll kill it myself, so stop being so anxious, will you?”
“A ten-star?”
“Not ten-star, 10-star!!!!!”
Yeon Ji-seon couldn’t hold back and let out a sharp yell.
Heh heh.
Now that I've teased her enough, shall we watch the main event? As I averted my gaze from Yeon Ji-seon and crossed my arms, the other examiners let out sighs of relief and straightened their postures.
“Cheon Hae-seon, you.”
“Yes?”
Ga Yeol-chan’s eyes were filled with admiration.
“You’re probably the only person in the Republic of Korea who teases Hunter Yeon Ji-seon.”
“Representative Ga, you seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit yourself.”
“…Was it that obvious?”
Ga Yeol-chan lowered his head slightly and gave a mischievous smile. Although Glory Guild was at the top in the country, Yeon Ji-seon's title was merely Team Leader. She should naturally show respect to the representatives of other guilds.
However, Yeon Ji-seon’s behavior toward Ga Yeol-chan, the representative of the Bishop Guild, showed not even a shred of respect. It was a blessing if she didn’t outright ignore him. Seeing one thing tells you ten.
He must have had a lot of things build up whenever he met Yeon Ji-seon for various matters.
“Maybe Glory Guild has a reverse personality test? How is it that everyone in a position there is like that?”
“Is, is that something for you to say right now?”
“Yes? Why me?”
“Looking at your behavior now, yours is more than Yeon Ji-seon’s…”
Ga Yeol-chan started to say something but smacked his lips instead.
Why. What.
If you have something to say, go on and say it. Just then, an announcement heralding the final test came on. -Applicant number 3279.
“…He’s finally here.”
Ether score 41,987. The top prospect of this quarter stepped into the examination site.
“Hello. I’m Kang Jeong-hyeon.”
His earlobes were flushed, so he seemed quite embarrassed. Kang Jeong-hyeon hesitated as he greeted the examiners. Then he asked in a rather surprised voice.
“The, the wall is broken? Are we just going to proceed like this?”
At his innocent question, Yeon Ji-seon’s face turned red once more, and all the officials struggled to maintain their composure.
Hmm.
That friend, Kang Jeong-hyeon. He does some unexpectedly commendable things.
“It doesn’t matter, so you can just proceed. We will now begin.”
Deputy Chief Joo Jin-hae, glancing at Yeon Ji-seon, quickly announced the resumption of the test.
Clank.
A large door opposite Joo Jin-hae opened, and a small-statured Monster was pushed into the examination site. Pointed ears jutting out on both sides and a nose sticking out sharply forward. A Monster whose entire skin from head to toe was covered in a greenish-blue color.
The examiners who identified it let out a gasp.
“Oh no…”
“Of all the things…!!”
What’s with this reaction? I turned my head and asked Ga Yeol-chan.
“Is that thing that strong? It looks similar to a Goblin.”
Ga Yeol-chan stroked his bald head and answered.
“It may look like that, but it’s a pretty strong one. It's called a ‘War Goblin.’ The difficulty is the same 5-star as the one Bi-soo faced, but you’d have to say its combat power is superior.”
“It’s stronger than that brutish Troll?”
“That’s right. First of all, its body has very solid muscles and it also possesses destructive power. What if it could produce power similar to a Troll with a body smaller than a human's?”
“Wow. That would be pretty hard to deal with.”
“Furthermore, unlike the Troll’s slow attacks, the ‘War Goblin’s’ speed is faster than most A-rank Knights. If you let your guard down, you’ll be in for a world of hurt.”
“Ah. So that’s why everyone is so tense.”
I chuckled and looked around at the other Espers who had entered their battle stances. In a normal situation, they would watch calmly, but right now, the glass wall between the examination site and the examiners was broken. It was as if a ticking time bomb that could go off anywhere had appeared without any safety measures.
“Well, don’t worry. Someone will block it well.”
I deliberately raised my voice so that ‘someone’ could hear, then hardened my eyes. I felt a fist clenching behind me, but maybe it was just my imagination? Everything up until now was just a pre-show.
Now that the Monster is out, it’s time to see what abilities Kang Jeong-hyeon has. A prospect from the ‘Other Attributes’ category, which hadn’t appeared once in the last few years. How, and in what way, will he subdue the Monster?
Hiss.
The War Goblin flicked its tongue and crouched forward.
“Hup…!”
Kang Jeong-hyeon, tense, took a step back.
“Heh… Stepping back?”
Ga Yeol-chan clicked his tongue in disappointment. I, too, found it a bit surprising. This examination site was larger than most small soccer fields, and Kang Jeong-hyeon was dozens of meters away from the Monster.
For Kang Jeong-hyeon to step back despite this simply meant he was overwhelmed by its presence. Or he was completely terrified. To some, it might just be a single step.
But depending on the interpretation, it could hold a much larger meaning.
“This might end anticlimactically.”
“Why?”
“This is your first time, but I have participated as an examiner for the Hunter Qualification Test for many years. There have been many applicants with high Ether levels, though not as high as Kang Jeong-hyeon’s. But not all of them received good ranks. Do you know why?”
Ga Yeol-chan pointed a finger at Kang Jeong-hyeon.
“It’s because of fear. No matter how good your ability is, if you can’t overcome your fear of Monsters, you can’t even use ten percent of your potential. It’s a similar principle to a mouse freezing in front of a large snake.”
“Hmm.”
“When I saw him briefly earlier, I thought he was far from having a bold personality, and now it’s becoming clear. The ‘restraints’ might be activated right away.”
The ‘restraints’ that delivered an electric shock to the Monster when an applicant was in danger. Ga Yeol-chan was so pessimistic about this test that he mentioned that device. However, something a little different was visible to my eyes.
“You seem very disappointed.”
“Of course. How long has it been since an Other Attributes prospect has appeared? Just looking at his Ether Level…”
“No. That’s not what I mean.”
“Hmm?”
“It seems you missed his next move because you were sighing.”
“Next move?”
At the War Goblin's menacing gesture, Kang Jeong-hyeon took a step back with a frightened face. Just as Ga Yeol-chan said, his fear was palpable. But on the other hand, Kang Jeong-hyeon had brought his right arm to his opposite shoulder.
At a glance, it looked like he was cowering with both arms crossed, but no. The bandages wrapped tightly around his entire left arm. Kang Jeong-hyeon's fingertips were precisely touching the end of those bandages.
Thud!! Thud!!!
The War Goblin sprang like a coil, leaping around the examination site.
“Fast…!”
If my Poison-type level hadn't risen, I might not have even been able to follow its movements with my eyes. In fact, the majority of the Espers around me were turning their heads a beat too late. As if toying with Kang Jeong-hyeon, the creature flew around, scaling the walls up, down, left, and right.
Just its back-and-forth movements were enough to make Kang Jeong-hyeon’s clothes flap wildly. If there was even a little killing intent in those movements, it wouldn’t have been strange for Kang Jeong-hyeon’s body to be torn apart on the spot.
“This is dangerous. He looks completely terrified. We need to activate the restraints right now…!”
Ga Yeol-chan couldn’t stand it and rose from his seat.
“Just a moment.”
“?!”
“Let’s watch a little longer.”
The moment I said that, the bandages wrapped around Kang Jeong-hyeon’s shoulder came undone.
Rustle…
Surprisingly, where the bandages had been unwound, the arm that should have been there was gone.
“What…!!!!!!”
“No…??????”
People weren't surprised because his arm was missing. Since the appearance of Monsters, there were plenty of people with missing body parts. The problem was that before he unwrapped the bandages, there was clearly ‘something’ in Kang Jeong-hyeon’s arm.
“Is it magic?”
At my innocent observation, Ga Yeol-chan frowned. But there was no other way to explain it. Before unwrapping the bandages, there was an arm; after unwrapping, there was none.
How else could one explain such an outlandish event besides magic? Then, two words flashed through my mind.
[Other Attributes] “Don’t tell me…”
As if in response to my mumble, a hideous ‘something’ extended from Kang Jeong-hyeon’s shoulder.
Shwaaaaaaaaaaak!!
“Aargh!!!!”
Screams erupted from the surroundings. It was because of the bizarre protrusion, something unbelievable for a human. Only then did I understand.
The fishy smell I had felt since entering the Hunter exam site. It wasn't a hallucination. The smell of a specific life form I had encountered in a Poison Dungeon.
It was none other than the scent of a plant. Not an ordinary plant, of course, but a large plant like one I had seen somewhere in a Poison Dungeon. The carnivorous plants that preyed on passing insects definitely looked like that.
Except that the thing in front of me was monstrously large. With something several times the size of his body emerging, Kang Jeong-hyeon looked like a seed (….). And the stem of that hideous plant, the maw at the end of its stem, opened its mouth wide.
Gulp.
The wind that had been blowing around Kang Jeong-hyeon instantly stopped. The source causing the wind had been suppressed. To be precise, the expression ‘eaten’ would be more fitting.
“Did I… get it?”
How can you be the one to ask that? Kang Jeong-hyeon, with something enormous dangling from his one arm, turned to look this way. Making a mockery of Ga Yeol-chan’s explanations, Kang Jeong-hyeon had swallowed the ‘War Goblin’ or whatever it was in an instant.
It seemed he was so scared that he had closed his eyes, so he didn’t even know what he had done. Looking around, everyone’s jaw had dropped to the floor. Even the ever-so-proud Yeon Ji-seon had her mouth open so wide her uvula was visible.
To think that with such a timid face, he could devour a Monster in the blink of an eye.
“Wow… What in the world is that?”
I couldn't help but swallow a dry laugh and smile.