Chapter 47

The Hunter Association.

The name had appeared some thirty years ago, at the same time the Great Cataclysm ended.

The first-generation Hunters who survived that blood-soaked catastrophe raised their flag, and over the years the Hunter Association grew into an organization of tremendous stature.

Gulp.

I swallowed as I stared up at the Association building standing tall before me. Even in this dense forest of skyscrapers, its size and height stood out. Even on an ordinary weekday, countless people streamed in and out.

How many years has it been?

Every Awakened had their rank assessed under the Association’s supervision.

I was no exception. The thought of twenty-year-old Jin Taekyung walking in here all excited almost made me snort—

Like hell it did.

Now that I’m actually here, I’m incredibly nervous.

I walked into the lobby on stiff legs. The place was the size of a sports field and packed with people. Following the electronic signs posted throughout, I found the place I was looking for.

Measurement Waiting Room

On the clerk’s instructions, I filled out the paperwork and went inside. Dozens of people were waiting to be measured.

Thud.

The door shut, and everyone’s eyes shot into me like arrows.

Suffocating. This is suffocating.

Even the air was different here. A taut tension pressed down on the entire waiting room.

One measurement decides your whole Hunter life.

I’d been the same way. I’d once gotten so nervous that I farted in front of an examiner. That pretty much said it all.

I was waiting my turn, thinking about this and that, when—

“Jin Taekyung?”

A familiar voice came from behind me. I slowly turned my head.

There he was.

“I didn’t think it would be, but it is.”

A middle-aged man with a bulbous nose and a potbelly. A face I couldn’t forget no matter how hard I tried.

…Team Leader Kim?

Kim Sangshik. A founding member and team leader of Sopung Guild, where I’d spent years. He could be summed up in two words.

Former boss.

“Wow, I never expected to run into you somewhere like this. Good to see you.”

Team Leader Kim thrust out his hand with a hearty laugh. I hesitated for a moment, then shook it.

“Likewise. It’s been a while.”

“What do you mean, a while? It’s only been a few days.”

“Those few days felt pretty long to me.”

I’d said it thinking of Murim, but Team Leader Kim would take it another way. After all, he was the one who’d handed me my dismissal only a few days ago.

“It’s because it’s summer. My days have felt long lately too.”

“Really?”

Watching him slide past it like a sly old fox, I let out a hollow laugh.

He was a funny guy, no matter when you saw him.

In more ways than one.

“So what brings you here?”

“I had some business. What about you, Team Leader?”

“Came to scout. Heard there was a decent one this time.”

They’d fired me for staff cuts in a restructuring. And he was here to scout.

“I see.”

That was all I had to say. It was the same tired story everyone knew, and the story was already over. I had no lingering attachment to it.

“What about you? Why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to get reassessed.”

“Yes.”

Team Leader Kim smiled.

“Well, it’s good to try, but isn’t that a waste of money? A reassessment isn’t cheap. Must be a burden for an F-rank Hunter.”

“I still figured I’d give it a shot. Just in case.”

“You should save up while you’re young. What’s going to change if you keep clinging to something that isn’t going to work?”

“Who knows? I think this time might be different.”

“It’s not that easy—”

“Team Leader.”

“Huh? What?”

I smiled gently.

“That’s enough.”

A crack ran through Team Leader Kim’s smile.

“What?”

“I said that’s enough. I’m out of the Guild now, so stay out of my business.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

What did he think it meant?

“You know what I mean.”

“…”

“It couldn’t be helped. You’re lucky you survived. Forget it all and make a fresh start. You pecked away at me behind my back while pretending to console me.”

“You…”

“Weren’t you the one who first told the Guild Master to fire me? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Kim Sangshik was a half-baked, petty little man.

Short on humanity, short on ability.

Even in Gates, he was too busy saving his own skin. His reputation in the Guild was rock-bottom.

“Who did you put in my place after you fired me? How much did you take to slot someone in?”

“Hey, Jin Taekyung.”

Team Leader Kim clamped a hand down on my shoulder and growled. He might not have looked it, but he was one of only three D-rank Hunters in Sopung Guild. With that kind of strength, he could toy with an F-rank Hunter like me using one hand.

But—

“Take your hand off.”

I didn’t even blink. The System wasn’t the only thing that had synchronized. My martial arts, my stats, even my steel-like Sinews and Bones had come with it.

“I’ll count to three. Take your hand off.”

“You little bastard. I’ve been putting up with you, but—”

I didn’t hesitate.

“One. Two.”

Three.

The instant I grabbed Kim Sangshik’s wrist—

Clack.

“Would the next group please come in? Numbers twenty-one through thirty!”

An Association examiner walked in with a file, and we both let go before the other could. Getting marked by the Association wouldn’t do either of us any good.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

“Who. Me? Or you?”

Kim Sangshik’s flushed face looked downright ridiculous.

So did the Level Window I’d picked up through Qi Sense.

System

Lv. 24 Kim Sangshik

“It was disgusting seeing you. Let’s never meet again.”

I got up without a shred of regret. My waiting number was thirty.

The steps I took toward the examiner weren’t stiff anymore.

“Number twenty-one. Please come forward.”

An Awakened with a tense face stood in front of the measuring device. Made from an A-rank Magic Gem, it scanned his whole body and converted the mana inside him into numbers.

Bzzzzzt—

The examiner checked the reading and spoke.

“Mana distribution in the body: F-rank.”

The Awakened’s face turned ashen. But it was too soon to despair. He still had a second chance.

“Try moving your mana. Concentrate as hard as you can, and imagine firing it into the measuring device.”

They were checking his mana control. Realizing it wasn’t over yet, the Awakened gritted his teeth and drew up his strength.

Every last ounce of it—ngh!

Bwoooom.

“…”

“…”

Looking ready to vomit, the examiner spoke.

“Control ability: F-rank.”

“Just once! Let me try one more time!”

“No. Next.”

The line moved fast.

Everyone was E-rank or F-rank. One guy wasn’t even Awakened.

“This is a scam! A scam! That measuring device is made in China, isn’t it? Huh? You bastards!”

“Handle him.”

At the examiner’s word, the security Hunters waiting nearby dragged the fraud out. Even if that guy miraculously Awakened, he’d probably end up on the Association’s blacklist.

“Next. Number thirty.”

Here it came.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The examiner glanced at the file in his hand.

“This is a reassessment?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Jin Taekyung, you received F-rank seven years ago… and you know there’s a separate fee for reassessments, right?”

From the way he said it, he might as well have been telling me not to waste my money and to go home while I still could. The usual look people gave an F-rank Hunter.

Do they think I’m a beggar?

I was used to it, but that didn’t make it any less filthy. When I glared at him, the examiner gave a short puff of a laugh.

“I’m only mentioning it in case you weren’t aware, but the fee is two million won.”

“…The price went up?”

“It’s been a few years.”

Fuck. I didn’t know that.

How much was in my account right now…?

“Then we’ll begin the assessment.”

With my heart trembling, I closed my eyes.

And the next moment—

Bzzzzzt.

A wave of mana flowed from the measuring device and swept over my entire body.

Fifteen years of internal energy answered it and shuddered.

What rank will it be?

C-rank? No, I’d be happy with D-rank.

But ten seconds or so passed, and the examiner still didn’t open his mouth.

“Uh… why is it doing this?”

“Why?”

He looked back and forth between the device and me, visibly flustered, then cleared his throat.

“There seems to be some kind of error… We’ll move on to the next step for now.”

I had no idea what was going on, but strangely, it didn’t feel ominous.

I’ve got a good feeling about this.

My heart pounding, I drew up my internal energy.

Ssshhh.

At the call of the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, fifteen years of internal energy surged up and shot toward the measuring device.

At the lobby entrance.

“Well done.”

Kim Sangshik patted a young man on the shoulder. As of today, the promising young man had officially been recognized as a D-rank Awakened.

He would soon join Sopung Guild and be assigned to Kim Sangshik’s team. Thinking of that coming day, Kim Sangshik smiled proudly.

“Father and son on the same team. That’s my boy.”

“Come on, I’m not even an official Hunter yet. I still have to enter the training center.”

“Don’t worry. Your father already made arrangements.”

“Wait, really? Didn’t you say there weren’t any openings in the Guild?”

“There’s always a way.”

He didn’t mention that, in the process, he’d cut the lowest-rank Hunter who’d been a thorn in his side.

“Anyway, get plenty of rest this week. Starting next week, we’ll go to work together—”

Kim Sangshik’s expression suddenly twisted.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. Go wait in the car.”

After his son left, he was alone. He rolled up his shirtsleeve.

His wrist had already swollen to a dark blue-black. The sight made him grind his teeth.

“Jin Taekyung, that fucking bastard.”

He’d disliked that bastard from the start. An F-rank Hunter as deputy team leader, and the way he’d been like brothers with the former team leader, who was dead now.

That bastard should’ve fucking died with him back then.

The unfortunate accident two years ago had been a stroke of tremendous luck for Kim Sangshik.

After various sex scandals had forced him away from the front lines, he’d made a triumphant return as team leader. A few days ago, he’d even managed to force Jin Taekyung out.

But did that bastard really reawaken?

Kim Sangshik stared down at his throbbing wrist.

It had lasted only an instant, but the strength he’d felt had been tremendous. Taekyung might have reawakened as an E-rank, or possibly even a D-rank.

“No. Reawakening isn’t child’s play.”

Maybe he’d grown weaker because he hadn’t exercised lately.

Kim Sangshik was muttering, mixed up inside, when—

“We have breaking news from the measurement room.”

“Someone good?”

“They say a big fish surfaced. C-rank.”

“C-rank? Not bad, but that’s not enough to call a big fish, is it?”

“But they say his mana control is A-rank.”

“What? A-rank! Get a straw in him, now!”

“Yes. This is Choi Min-su from Sangdong Guild. The thing is—”

A stir spread through the scouts prowling the lobby entrance like hyenas.

Most had been dispatched by small and midsized Guilds, but the handful from major Guilds were already moving quickly.

C-rank alone is impressive, and he’s gifted with mana control on top of it?

This was a jackpot.

Kim Sangshik’s mind snapped into focus. He shoved every thought of Jin Taekyung far away and pulled out his phone.

—Hey, Team Leader Kim. Did that business go well?

The deep voice on the other end belonged to Sopung Guild’s Guild Master.

Kim Sangshik answered urgently.

“Guild Master, all hell has broken loose here. A C-rank just appeared, and they say his mana control is at the level of a high-ranking Hunter.”

—What? Where did a guy like that come from?

“Exactly. The major Guilds always snatch them up midway, but it looks like they were a step late this time.”

—Good. So that’s how it is…

Huff. Huff.

Rough breaths came through the phone, as if the Guild Master was excited. Even the way he addressed Kim Sangshik changed.

—Sangshik. Hold on to this guy no matter what. Tell him we’ll meet any conditions he asks for.

“How high can we go on the money?”

—Don’t worry about it. Pile plenty on top of whatever the others offer. The major Guilds will drop out if they decide it isn’t profitable enough. It’s not like they’re desperate.

“Yes, yes.”

—I’m on my way. Keep hold of him until I get there. If you pull this off… you know what that means, right?

Kim Sangshik hung up and clenched his fist.

We’ve got this!

He’d been worn smooth by years in this business. Holding on to a newly Awakened rookie was nothing.

This was a world where money could put even ghosts to work.

Twice what everyone else offers. I’ll quote double, no matter what.

The commotion grew louder. The elevator that had stopped on the third floor, where the measurement room was, was coming down toward the lobby.

“He’s coming!”

“Hey, stop shoving.”

About twenty scouts clung to the entrance like a swarm of ants. Kim Sangshik had muscled his way into the lead and was ready to hand over his business card.

Ding.

At last, the elevator doors opened.

Kim Sangshik bowed low and launched into the words he’d prepared.

“Hello. I’m Team Leader Kim Sangshik of Sopung Guild. We’re a prestigious Guild with a long tradition here in Bucheon—”

“This is the first time I’ve heard anyone call Sopung a prestigious Guild.”

“…What?”

The familiar voice made Kim Sangshik lift his head, gingerly.

Their eyes met.

At the same moment, Kim Sangshik’s buttonhole-sized eyes flew wide open.

“You, you…”

Jin Taekyung grinned.

“We meet again, Mr. Kim Sangshik.”