Chapter 8
The Hunter’s Bureau, located not far from Seoul City Hall, was a place that served as a control tower, handling all matters related to Hunters.
Being a towering skyscraper with over eighty floors, it often overwhelmed first-time visitors with its imposing presence.
Despite the building not being opened yet, crowds were already gathering near the entrance because it was Saturday, the day of the annual rank evaluation for Hunters.
The evaluations were divided into four sessions as it wasn’t possible to evaluate all Hunters at once. Ye-Ji was scheduled for the first session.
As Do-Jun skimmed through a pamphlet detailing the evaluation procedures and other important information, he checked the time on his smartphone to see that it was 9:10 AM. The evaluations were scheduled to start precisely at 10:00 AM, so there was still some time left.
“Is this your first time at a rank evaluation?” Do-Jun asked upon noticing that Ye-Ji was looking quite tense.
Ye-Ji shook her head slightly in response.
“We do the same thing when taking our Hunter exam. But it is my first time doing this since then.”
“I know you didn’t have much time to train, but you’ve trained hard with what little time you had. I’m sure you’ll see the results of your training, so don’t worry.”
“Yes!”
At that moment, shouts erupted from a distance.
“It’s Kang Min-Hyuk!”
“Han Min-Ji is here too!”
“Not just one, but two S-rank big shots...!”
When Do-Jun and Ye-Ji turned to look, they witnessed a spectacle akin to the miracle of Moses parting the Red Sea.
A man and a woman, appearing to be in their early thirties—no, late twenties—were walking side by side toward the entrance of the Hunter’s Bureau, with people making way for them.
“Please sign this!”
Click!
Click!
The scene of reporters busily pressing their shutters and people reaching out to shake their hands resembled celebrities walking the red carpet to an award ceremony.
“Are those people famous?” Do-Jun asked.
Ye-Ji looked at him in surprise, wondering how anyone could possibly not know those two.
“Of course! They’re ranked seventh and tenth among all Hunters! Ah, I wish I could at least shake their hands…” she trailed off.
The two S-rankers, Min-Hyuk and Min-Ji, passed by Do-Jun and Ye-Ji and entered the Hunter’s Bureau.
Do-Jun focused on sensing their qi. Then he said, “If you work hard, you could catch up to them within a year.”
Befitting the S-rank Hunters, the qi they exuded was similar to that of the top-tier martial artists back in the Central Plains, but it wasn’t a level that Ye-Ji couldn’t dream of surpassing.
Moreover, since she possessed the swordsmanship of someone once known as the Sword Saint, she could easily catch up to top-tier martial artists with sufficient effort.
“Eck? M-mr. Administrator! Please don’t say such embarrassing things…”
The people in the vicinity turned their gazes toward them, having heard Do-Jun’s comment.
Seeing Ye-Ji blush red like a beetroot, Do-Jun chuckled.
***
The Hunter rank evaluation began with stat measurement.
Much like the blood pressure monitors found in health clinics, Hunters placed their arms on a specially designed Stat Measurement Device. This device emitted qi to measure the Hunters’ stats and then display them on the device.
Beep.
As a man in his early forties placed his arm on the Stat Measurement Device, the numbers on the device began to rise slowly. The readings, categorized into Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Mana, soon stopped. An assisting staff member smiled as they printed out the result sheet.
“Thank you for your participation.”
“Ugh. E-rank again.”
The man snatched the printed result sheet with irritation and got up from his seat.
Do-Jun glanced over a table that summarized the provisional rank. The rank was determined by the sum of all stats except Mana, with a particular emphasis on the Mana stat.
“A total of twenty points in Strength, Agility, and Stamina, combined with a Mana stat of one or higher, ranks someone an E,” Do-Jun muttered.
The man’s stats were: Strength 10, Agility 4, Stamina 9.
Along with a Mana stat of 2, his provisional rank based purely on his stats was E-rank.
While it was possible that the results could be overturned in the practical evaluation against monsters, such cases were rare, so without any significant variable, the man was all but certain to finish the evaluation as an E-rank.
“Woah, that person ranked one higher than last year.”
“A C-rank, huh? Must be nice.”
Managers from various guilds quickly swarmed the woman who received a C-rank evaluation sheet.
“Hello! I’m Go Gil-Dong, HR manager of the Valkan guild. If it’s not a bother, could we have a quick chat?”
“I’m Cho Hyun-Jin from the Buffalo guild! Our guild has many C-rank and higher Hunters, and we offer free rentals of D-rank or higher weapons and suits to new Hunters! We also offer a generous signing bonus.”
A radiant smile appeared on the woman’s face, and understandably so, as Hunters who were C-rank and above were quite a rarity.
A Hunter’s value was determined by their rank, and at C-rank, medium-sized guilds would be eager to recruit them.
Watching this, Ye-Ji sighed.
Do-Jun alternated his gaze between the woman who received a C-rank evaluation and Ye-Ji, then asked in a strange tone, “Are you envious, human?” [1]
“Pft! What is that?”
“You were staring at that person quite intensely, so I thought I’d ask.”
“It’s not because of the guilds’ offers. It’s just... I’m nervous.”
Ding-dong.
[Number 78, Hunter Cha Ye-Ji. Please come to counter number five.]
“You’re up, Ye-Ji. Let’s go.”
Ye-Ji took a deep breath, walked slowly to counter number five, and sat down.
“Please roll up your sleeve above your wrist and place your arm on the measurement device.”
Ye-Ji followed the staff’s instructions while Do-Jun watched her calmly as the numbers on the measurement device began to rise gradually.
A moment later, the measurement was complete.
Strength 6, Agility 11, Stamina 8, Mana 10.
The staff member’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Noticing this, Do-Jun asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no, not at all... It’s just that her Mana stat is unusually high compared to the other stats. She must respond well to physical enhancement effects. The measurement is complete, and your provisional rank is... D-rank.”
“Thank you. Let’s go, Ye-Ji,” Do-Jun said to her.
“Yes!”
As they were about to move, guild managers who had been observing Ye-Ji flocked toward her.
“Hello! I’m from the Mir guild…”
“I’m from the Buffalo guild! We…”
Ye-Ji looked overwhelmed, unable to respond.
Not wanting to wait around any longer, Do-Jun sighed and pulled her closer, almost in an embrace.
“Do you have any business with our Hunter?” he asked.
At this sudden, unexpected development, Ye-Ji’s face turned bright red as she lowered her head.
The guild managers clicked their tongues and turned away.
“T-thank you, Mr. Administrator.”
“I was just doing my job.”
She was a Hunter that the division had worked hard to hire, and if she were poached by a guild, he wouldn’t be able to face the other members of the Fissure Exploration Unit.
However, Ye-Ji interpreted Do-Jun’s words differently.
He’s got an unexpectedly bold side... Hehe. She looked up at Do-Jun and smiled bashfully.
***
After completing the stat measurement and finishing a quick lunch, Do-Jun and Ye-Ji entered the waiting room of the test arena located in the basement of the Hunter’s Bureau building and waited for two hours.
Do-Jun lightly tapped the glass partition separating the waiting room from the arena with his finger, observing what lay beyond the glass. Five stages could be seen, each with dozens of Hunters battling D-rank monsters known as Skeleton Soldiers.
“It’s finally your turn next,” Do-Jun said to Ye-Ji.
“Um… Mr. Administrator, do you really think it’s okay for me to challenge the C-rank?” Ye-Ji asked, fidgeting her fingers as if she couldn’t hide her uneasiness.
“Believe in yourself. Your stat assessment might have placed you at D-rank, but you are more than capable of facing C-rank monsters.”
“H-how can you be so sure?”
“I can feel it in my guts.”
“Sigh…”
Although he passed it off as a gut feeling, Do-Jun did not doubt that Ye-Ji would achieve excellent results in the practical portion of the evaluation.
After all, the skills and performance he had analyzed during their training sessions were already those of someone who had surpassed the C-rank.
The Scholar’s Swordsmanship might be a training sword technique, but its power exceeds even the absolute martial arts, Do-Jun thought.
The more she wielded the sword, the higher her swordsmanship level rose, and on top of that, she could store the mana from nature in her dantian.
Do-Jun felt a newfound respect for Jin So-Un, the creator of Scholar’s Swordsmanship.
[The C-rank Fissure will be activated in ten minutes.]
As the Hunters who had challenged D-rank left the stage, it reset as if nothing had happened, and the Cave Field was shortly replaced by the Grassland Field.
“It’s an Orc Warrior, just as we expected. Remember what we discussed—you can’t win by force alone, so don’t think about taking its attacks head-on,” Do-Jun reminded Ye-Ji.
She gulped and nodded, then took out her suit-case and equipped herself with a suit of the lowest grade and the Skeleton Soldier’s sword, a D-rank weapon.
Upon seeing them again, Do-Jun thought it might be time to upgrade her equipment after this test.
It shouldn’t be too much of an ask if she gets promoted to C-rank, Do-Jun thought as he pictured Chief Cheol-Soo laughing heartily.
***
Ye-Ji raised her head and looked at a point on the opaque partition thirty meters above the ground.
While one couldn’t see the waiting room from the stage, the former had a clear view of the latter from behind the partition.
“What the... What are you doing here?”
With a twitch, Ye-Ji turned her head to see a familiar face. “Na… Han-Jung.”
“Hah, in all my life, I’ve never seen an F-rank challenging a C-rank test.”
As soon as he muttered those words, the Hunters on the same stage murmured.
“F-rank…? What are you talking about?”
“Did he just say F-rank?”
“She’s wearing the lowest grade supplementary suit.”
“Wow. That’s crazy.”
Ye-Ji bit her lip hard but soon gripped her sword tightly and turned away, knowing that now was the time to focus on the test. There was no time to be distracted by insignificant disturbances.
Na Han-Jung looked around and realized that the monster from last time wasn’t there.
“Well, break a leg, keke.”
***
Do-Jun turned his head, sensing someone’s presence next to him.
After Ye-Ji entered the stage, the waiting room had suddenly become noisy.
He turned to see the face of the man standing beside him.
Kang Min-Hyuk, was it? he thought.
A seventh-ranked, S-rank Hunter.
Even though it wasn’t yet time for the S-rank evaluation, Min-Hyuk’s appearance in the waiting room excited people, who secretly took pictures or approached for autographs.
“I’m a huge fan! Could I please get your autograph?” Blushing deeply, a woman handed him a piece of paper and a pen.
Min-Hyuk smiled softly and pointed at the stage. “Sorry, I’d like to focus on that right now.”
The woman retreated reluctantly.
Min-Hyuk turned his gaze back to the stage, and at the end of it stood Ye-Ji.
1. “Human” will come up every now and then. Seems like it was a popular reference in Korea back in 2019! ☜
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