[Hunter Association (1)]
Before going to find Park Yerim, I headed to the Hunter Association to register as an Awakened and purchase a contract item.
Korean Hunter Association.
It started as an Awakened Registration Center established by the government, which then evolved into an association with the support of the three major guilds. The Hunter Associations overseas were also formed through similar processes. Currently, it is a state-run institution with 51% government shares, 30% held by the three major guilds, and 19% by other guilds, but in five years, the guilds’ influence will grow, and they will seize most of the shares.
To be precise, Haeyeon Guild will take over.
‘The more I think about it, the more I realize Yuhyun wasn’t in his right mind even before my regression.’
For the master of such a great guild to risk his life to save his useless older brother—it’s incomprehensible.
But thanks to that, I survived, regressed, and even obtained two L-grade titles, so I guess I should tolerate Yuhyun’s crazy behavior. What choice do I have?
Since it was the weekend, there were quite a few people in the waiting room of the Hunter Association’s Awakened Registration Center. Most of the Awakened here were double F-ranked, meaning both their skills and stats were F-rank, making it impossible for them to work as hunters, but they still came to register. The government was providing subsidies to encourage Awakened registration. Just registering as an Awakened earned you a 1,000,000 won subsidy, so unless you were swimming in money, everyone showed up at the association. (TL Note: Around US$ 750)
I took a waiting ticket and sat down. Judging by the number, it looked like it would take some time.
“Hey, isn’t that A-rank Hunter Kim Seonghan?”
“Huh? It really is.”
The people in the waiting room started whispering as they recognized Kim Seonghan, who had followed me. Although A-ranks aren’t as famous as S-ranks, Kim Seonghan was a well-known hunter both by face and name. Half of that was due to Yuhyun’s influence, and the other half was because of his outstanding performance during the A-rank dungeon break in the Dongdaegu area.
A dungeon break occurs when the number of monsters inside a dungeon increases excessively, causing them to pour out dangerously into the outside world. However, with proper management nowadays, this almost never happens. Known dungeons never break, and it only occasionally happens when a new dungeon is discovered too late.
“But why is he standing there?”
“He came in with that guy earlier.”
This time, the people’s eyes shifted to me, sitting next to Kim Seonghan.
“He’s just sitting there while the A-rank hunter is standing.”
“Who is he? He looks like he’s guarding him. Maybe he’s here as a bodyguard?”
“He’s holding a waiting ticket, so he must be here to register as an Awakened, but if an A-rank follows him, he must be no joke. Maybe Haeyeon Guild is bringing in a new S-rank today.”
No, I’m an F-rank candidate. I looked up at Kim Seonghan and whispered quietly.
“Why don’t you have a seat?”
“I’m fine.”
“Please, just sit down.”
“Standing is better for responding to any emergencies.”
What emergencies could possibly happen inside the Hunter Association? Especially when the only people here are rookies coming to register as Awakened.
‘Maybe I should see if there’s any promising talent around.’
I glanced over at a guy who had been chatting noisily for a while to check him out.
[Awakened ? Shin Minho
Current Stat Rank: F
Potential Stat Rank: F~E
Initial Skills:
Failed to Acquire Quick Step (E)
Acquired Jumping (E)
Acquired Throwing (F)]
His awakened stats dropped a rank, and he didn’t even get all his optimized initial skills. But since he has an E-rank skill, at least he qualifies to be a hunter.
‘Ugh.’
After checking two more double F-ranks, a brief pain throbbed in my head before disappearing. It was a signal that I had used up half of my mana.
‘It seems like my skill to check promising talent has a limit of six uses.’
With a magic stat of 2, it’s only natural.
Health and mana weren’t displayed on the status screen. It would be so convenient if they were shown as red and blue bars like in a game, but since they’re not, I had to estimate based on how my body felt.
At least health could be roughly gauged by looking at someone—whether they were fine, half-dead, or on the brink of death. But mana was the problem. Even five years later, there was no way to check how much mana was left. All we knew was that when you used up half of your mana, you’d feel a brief headache, and if you had less than 10% left, you’d pass out.
Fortunately, passive skills like poison resistance don’t usually consume mana.
‘Using Optimized Awakening or the skill “My Kid Is The Best” will probably consume even more mana.’
“My Kid Is The Best” is an L-grade skill, so it’s bound to eat up a ridiculous amount of mana. For Yuhyun, it was applied passively thanks to the first title effect, but if I used it now, I might fail the skill and pass out.
‘I should probably level up a bit.’
But to do that, I’d have to enter a dungeon, and if Yuhyun found out, he’d flip out and stop me. Should I sneak in?
“Numbers 56 to 65, please come in.”
The people who had been here before me got up and followed the association staff inside. After another group went in, it was finally my turn.
Inside, there were rows of desks separated by partitions. The staff handed out papers to everyone. The paper was an Awakened Registration Application, which had fields for personal information as well as stats and skills. After filling it out, they would verify the information and then determine your Awakened rank.
I picked up a pen and began filling in the blanks. I only wrote down my stats and basic skills, leaving out the titles. Stats could be measured immediately, but skills and titles couldn’t be checked without proper measurement technology, so if you hid them, they couldn’t be verified.
‘People usually exaggerate their stats rather than downplay them, but hardly anyone writes them lower.’
Unless you’re a special case like me, why would anyone intentionally aim for a lower rank? The treatment you receive changes drastically with each rank, and there are a lot of benefits once you reach C-rank or higher.
“Is that guy an S-rank rookie?”
“The new S-rank from Haeyeon Guild that A-rank Kim Seonghan escorted?”
No. I said no, you idiots! How did a simple guess turn into a confirmed fact so quickly? And hey, you there, where are you going with that phone call? Oh crap, here comes an association staff member who looks like a higher-up. Surely he’s not here because of me.
“Hello. I’m Seok Gimyeong, head of the Awakened Registration Department at the Hunter Association.”
He bowed his head slightly toward me. Damn it, no, that’s not it. Don’t bow.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I take a look at the application you filled out?”
“······Here you go.”
I was already starting to feel embarrassed, but I handed over the application anyway. Seok Gimyeong’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he saw the single-digit stats and E-rank skills. Hey, I have five L-grade skills, you know?
“…I see. Well, take care then.”
After reviewing the application, he immediately dropped the formal tone. The polite attitude from earlier disappeared without a trace. This really sucks. I went through this a lot before my regression, but it still sucks.
“What? He’s not an S-rank?”
“Judging by that guy’s attitude, he’s not.”
“Then why was he pretending to be an S-rank?”
I wasn’t pretending, you bastards! You’re the ones who jumped to conclusions, so what do you mean by pretending?
‘This is reminding me of those sleazy journalists who used to write novels about me and Yuhyun.’
Ugh… Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn. My inferiority complex was fueled by those jerks by at least 30%. The articles praising Yuhyun never failed to include comparisons to his useless older brother.
Enduring the scornful gazes, I submitted my application and headed to the low-rank measurement room.
“Are you wearing or carrying any items?”
The staff in the measurement room asked in a businesslike tone.
“No.”
“Please step onto the measurement device.”
Following instructions, I stepped onto the circular device that resembled a disc. The device, made from materials harvested from dungeons, glowed faintly before displaying the results.
“Health 6, Strength 4, Agility 5, Willpower 4, Mana 2—measured.”
Accurate.
“Your skills are E-rank Willpower Up and E-rank Agility Up, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Please use your skills on the assistant.”
An assistant stepped forward to verify the buff skills. I was worried I might run out of mana, but fortunately, I didn’t faint while using the skill. I really need to buy a few mana potions.
After finishing the stat measurements, I went into the photo booth to take pictures. The photos, which included both headshots and full-body shots from the front and back, were immediately stored in the association’s database. Then, after waiting for a while, I was called over to the certification desk.
“Mr. Han Yujin, you are an F-rank Awakened and meet the qualifications for a hunter license. You may receive your hunter license and enter dungeons after completing the basic program for new hunters. Would you like to apply for the program?”
“I’ll apply using Haeyeon Guild’s letter of guarantee.”
New hunters who had already joined or were set to join a guild could skip the basic program with a guild’s letter of guarantee, as the training within the guild was much more thorough.
I handed the Haeyeon Guild’s letter of guarantee to the staff member. The staff quickly typed on the keyboard after confirming the letter.
“Please provide the account number to receive your subsidy. It must be under your name.”
“Baekil Bank 995-04-109982.”
I just got a free million won. Long live the association.
Since I was backed by the guild, my hunter license was issued immediately. The license was the size of an ID card, displaying my photo, serial number, rank, and name. After receiving the license, I asked the staff member,
“Is there a direct way from here to the Hunter Shopping Mall?”
If I go outside, I’ll have a watchdog following me, which is annoying. There’s no need for someone to tail me even inside the association.
“If you use the elevator at the end of the right hallway, you’ll enter the shopping mall directly.”
“Thank you.”
Following the staff member’s directions, I took the elevator and entered the side door leading straight into the shopping mall. I noticed an ATM nearby.
‘Should I check how much Yuhyun gave me?’
I took out a card from my wallet and approached the ATM. It was a gift card exclusively for the Hunter Shopping Mall. I told Yuhyun I needed money to buy a contract, and he handed it over, saying he’d put in a reasonable amount. It feels a bit awkward to be using allowance from my younger brother, but Hunter items are all so expensive that my poor wallet can’t handle it.
‘A contract for A-rank hunters costs around 400 to 500 million, so he probably put in about 10 million.’
If possible, I’d like to buy an S-rank contract, but I have no idea how much that would cost. It’s probably at least twice as expensive as an A-rank one. I also need mana potions, so maybe I should just get the A-rank one for now.
I inserted the card into the machine and checked the balance, and the numbers quickly appeared on the screen.
[Balance: 1,000,000,000 won] (TL Note: About US$ 750,000)
…Just how many zeros is that?
‘Yuhyun, you crazy bastard.’
–TL Notes–
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