The hunter was attacked and fell under an unknown abnormal status.
If it were any other hunter, they would have rushed at the skeleton immediately, but Maeng Seong-yong had completely changed after becoming an Awakened One and felt a surge of curiosity instead.
What could this mark possibly be…
He diverted his gaze from the silent skeleton and turned his head toward the one who planned and executed all this.
Manipulating a massive number of summoned creatures and, in an instant, summoning a specter to counterattack.
Where he was struck, slime was smartly gathered to defend, all while a girl wielding the mysterious power of a Skeleton Soldier and various types of summoned creatures operated simultaneously.
Is that really a power a single person can possess? This girl is just barely reaching D-rank?
He felt chills from that incomprehensible strength.
A freshly sprouted seed that hasn’t even broken through the ground yet, but Maeng Seong-yong realized she had the potential to become a one-person army.
‘… If I tell the Association Head about this, I’m sure he will be very pleased.’
Before he knew it, his expression had become serious, and he slowly raised his arm to signal the end of the test.
The mark would fade over time, and if they fought any longer, he felt they would lose control and cause an accident.
“Ah! I could do more!”
Yeon-hee, still with plenty of magic left, unconsciously shouted out of regret, even though she couldn’t even stand properly.
And instinctively, I knew I couldn’t draw out any more power from that examiner. If we wanted to see more, we would have to fight with something greater at stake—like our lives.
‘Still a long way to go…’
Of course, there were gains. One good point, one bad point.
Being able to pierce the examiner’s back like a tank was very positive. It was a miraculous feat that I, playing around in E-rank, managed to graze someone at the A-rank level.
But throwing a fireball off-target was something to correct quickly. After all, it felt wrong to go through the trouble of using magic without being able to utilize it.
Additionally, the fact that I could achieve this level of combat power without using bombs was commendable in itself. Of course, there were no bombs to use.
Crack—
‘Ah, crap—it’s all destroyed.’
The left shoulder was completely destroyed, and the torso was dispersing like sand. It looked like the examiner struck me while maintaining his power in his hand.
It was essentially the debut of the bone armor, but it was shattered disgracefully. But given the opponent, there wasn’t much to be done.
‘If I stay like this a bit longer, my lower body will separate…’
As I turned my head to look at Yeon-hee, she approached, limping, and began to release the summon.
Being in the Dark Space meant that my broken body would recover, which I had already confirmed after several trips to the Lizardman dungeon.
Step—
Just then, the hulking examiner came toward us with a suspiciously kind smile.
“Hey, summoner controlling skeletons. What do you say about joining the Association?”
“Eh?”
After hearing Yeon-hee’s bewildered response to the sudden proposal, I slipped into the Dark Space.
‘What’s going on? Why the sudden recruitment into the Association?’
That must mean we made quite an impression, but… the Association…
The Hunter Association serves as a shield to mediate disputes among hunters, and even more so, conflicts between guilds, blocking government interference. It’s somewhat like the UN but possesses a bit more enforcement power.
That power comes from a council of the heads of major guilds, and the authority bestowed upon the Association Head by that council is significantly strong.
Even so, what good would it do to be part of the Association?
‘Nothin’ at all.’
No matter how much power you might have, it doesn’t swing the rise and fall of guilds, and there’s a ton of useless paperwork, making it unsuitable for someone like Yeon-hee who is in a prime growth period.
So why make such a proposal?
‘There must be something they want to gain.’
There were whispers that efforts were being made in the Association to control guilds. This must be part of such a plan.
‘That size… he’s not just some lowly examiner. Is it a setup to foster the Association in the long run?’
The government builds power to restrain the Association, and the Association builds power to control the guilds.
The guilds try to free themselves from such interference, while hunters want to enhance their value among these factions. It’s always been the same playbook. But having experienced the future once, I wasn’t impressed by any of it.
‘Only looking one step ahead…’
When you think of the orc attacks rising up in various places around the world, those power struggles seem like childish games.
Boom—
It hadn’t been long since I came in, but the previously destroyed left limbs were beginning to slowly regain their form.
<01:58:33>
Two hours… Is this also a reduction in time due to the job change? I’ve never had such a serious injury, so I can’t be sure. Perhaps there will come a moment when dying and recovering immediately is more efficient.
‘It’s taking too long…’
I immediately took out the jug and poured it on myself.
Glug glug glug—
Like a monk positioned under a waterfall, I sat in place and let the water pour over me for several minutes.
– The rate of physical recovery has slightly increased.
Irmana’s lake water had an effect, but it was merely slight.
‘Sigh—let’s focus on training. I must have passed the test anyway.’
With my intact right hand, I conjured a fireball and aimed to throw it at a target.
Bang—
Once again, the fireball exploded in a completely different place from my target.
‘It seems it’s not as simple as just throwing it. No wonder sorcerers talk about coordinate calculations.’
The last fireball I threw at the examiner left a thick sense of regret in my mind as it exploded in a nonsensical location.
‘I think they mentioned something about envisioning the coordinates…’
Fleeting memories of my past life began to surface. Are they implying I should visualize the x, y, and z axes in my head? I’m terrible at math.
For now, I drew an imaginary line to designate a point, discarded the thought of throwing, and simply extended my hand to draw the image.
‘Hmm—seems to be moving a little…’
The fireball resting on my right hand stirred and wiggled.
But soon.
Boom!
It fell right at my feet and only scorched the ground.
‘I guess if I keep at it, something will come of it.’
I’m not really one to overthink when training, so I continued repeating the training according to the image that popped into my mind.
* * *
“Come join the Association.”
“Uh… um…”
Once again, facing the examiner who made the same proposal, Yeon-hee didn’t know what to do.
“W-well, I…”
“Hmm.”
‘How can someone grow as much as Lizardman 1?’
The pressure from that overwhelming physique was far more terrifying than she imagined. But Yeon-hee managed to express her refusal. Blaming the White Knight Guild.
“The White Knights? Damn… those crafty bastards have already extended their reach.”
“The demon beasts…”
“Ahem—forget what I just said. Erase it from your mind.”
“Yes…”
“Such a shame. Have the White Knights gotten something on you?”
“No, I’ve been helped by them instead…”
“Helped? What help? Those bastards don’t help anyone.”
“It’s my personal matter… s-sorry.”
Examiner Maeng Seong-yong moved toward the entrance along with Yeon-hee, frequently licking his lips.
Click—
“Uh? Manager Maeng?”
“Hmm, Assistant Ha. This friend has passed.”
“Yes. You didn’t need to come out and say that…”
Maeng Seong-yong might have had his bleeding at the back of him stop as he walked, but his backside was still soaked with blood.
He mainly oversees the D to B rank promotion exams, and it was the first time Ha, the assistant, saw someone injured to this extent. Therefore, passing the test was a given.
“And this friend, arrange for me to handle the next promotion exam as well.”
“… Eh?…”
Yeon-hee looked up at the massive man as if asking what that was all about.
“Uh, Manager, there’s the person in question right here; it’s problematic if you say that.”
“Isn’t that something Assistant Ha should handle?”
“If you have any complaints about me, please let me know.”
Examiner Maeng Seong-yong said nothing more, lightly patted Yeon-hee on the shoulder, then turned back toward the testing area.
“Phew— I, I survived…”
Yeon-hee felt the massive stone weighing in her stomach dissipate, giving her a sense of liberation.
“That bastard… Ah! Hunter! You’ve worked hard. Don’t worry, he’s not that crazy. Assigning a person to oversee things is ridiculous.”
The man called Assistant Ha said while grinding his teeth. Yeon-hee nodded, thinking, ‘I see now.’ This man might not be so scary after all.
With Assistant Ha’s guidance, Yeon-hee moved down a path opposite to the one she had taken when exiting the elevator.
That place greeted her with a different lobby that had a more upscale atmosphere, and the expressions of the people seated there exuded a vibrant energy.
“If you wait here, your renewed license will be issued shortly. Please wait just a moment.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Once again, I’ll remind you, but you don’t need to worry about the C-rank promotion assignment the examiner mentioned. You’ll probably forget about it by tomorrow anyway.”
“… Understood.”
“Yes, then.”
Assistant Ha returned to his work area, and as she sat down in an empty corner waiting, two unfamiliar men approached her and spoke.
“Oh! That’s right! Hello! You’re Lee Yeon-hee, right?”
“……”
Lee Yeon-hee felt her hair bristle in annoyance at the men who had approached her to strike up a conversation.
“What’s, what’s wrong?”
“Um, could we take a quick photo together? We’re fans of the Hunter! Since your first interview, we’ve followed you closely! We saw you in the Lizard Swamp too, but you probably don’t remember.”
Had she encountered people like this before? No matter how hard she tried to recall, she had no memory of them. Feeling guilty, she finally stood from her seat.
“Okay, just one…”
Click—
Fortunately, they only took one photo and profusely thanked her as they returned to their seats. She felt a bit foolish for being so nervous over something trivial.
‘From now on, I bet such requests will become more frequent… I need to prepare myself.’
She knew that her personality didn’t quite match up with a job that drew attention. But since she was deeply entrenched in being a hunter, she couldn’t retreat now. Plus, it paid decently, didn’t it?
‘I’ll change too. Confidently!’
– Lee Yeon-hee Hunter #477! Please pick up your license.
“Yes! Yes!!”
‘Whoa, that surprised me.’
But when the call startled her and she jumped up, her demeanor still seemed far from that newfound resolve.
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