Ch. 22 - Chapter 22

Vrrrrr.

One person at a time.

The applicants stood in front of the ‘Record Device’. It was a high-tech machine that measures the Awakened's stats and determines whether they've passed the first round of selection.

I was worried about the long line, but fortunately, the measurement itself didn’t take very long.

Beep.

[756 points]

[1,320 points]

“Ah……!!”

“Ooh!!”

Every time a candidate’s score appeared, sighs and exclamations erupted from the crowd.

The cutoff for passing the first round was 1,000 points.

Those who scored over 1,000 clenched their fists in triumph and cheered, while those who fell short covered their faces with both hands.

[998 points.]

“Wow… what’s he gonna do.”

“Damn. Talk about bad luck.”

“He looks pretty old, too. That’s rough.”

In particular, a middle-aged man who missed the cutoff by just 2 points fell to his knees and couldn’t get up for a while.

Two points.

That slight difference cost him the 50 million won application fee and his bright future, vanishing like bubbles.

Even as a bottom-rank hunter, he could easily pay off the application fee within a year if he just became one.

Because of that one trivial difference, which felt like a divine joke, the man's life was completely ruined.

‘If I could, I’d have lent him some of my Aether.’

With the despairing middle-aged man as the last, the first round of the Knight-type exam came to an end.

The passing rate wasn't as high as I expected.

Only those Awakened who were fairly confident likely applied, yet less than 10% managed to meet the criteria.

Of course, since it was a job that involved protecting people from monsters, it was only natural for the standards to be strict.

But what I was dissatisfied with lay elsewhere.

If so many people fail after a simple test, was it really necessary to charge 50 million won each?

For some, it must be a sum they poured their soul into.

Like that man, who was being dragged out by the staff, looking dazed.

[Healer-type applicants, please come forward one by one.]

“Watch carefully.”

Yoo Jiwon tapped my shoulder and stepped past me to the front.

He was incredibly confident.

The reporters, who had been watching his every move, also moved in line toward the front of the recording device.

The Knight-type were given the order to proceed in a line, but Yoo Jiwon this time seemed to be an exception.

Being the first to take the spotlight during the test would definitely be advantageous for him.

I stood silently with my arms crossed, watching the scene.

- Grrr….

Brie growled softly from atop my shoulder.

As a monster, he would make this growling-like sound whenever he was upset.

“You… what do you know that’s making you angry?”

- Kkuwang!

The sound didn't feel threatening at all, but still, it seemed the little guy wasn't too pleased with the current situation either.

Contrary to the Association’s claim of a ‘fair and transparent selection process’, Yoo Jiwon was clearly receiving various privileges.

I heard you’re not even allowed to take selfies inside the testing site.

Looks like the rules change depending on who you are.

“Well then, let’s see……”

Yoo Jiwon stepped onto the recording device with a relaxed, confident smile.

I didn’t know where he learned it, but he seemed to have mastered how to enhance his body using Aether.

I’d love to see him fail with flying colors, but that’s probably not going to happen.

Of all the people here, he possessed the strongest aetheric energy.

As expected, Yoo Jiwon received a remarkably high score.

[5,103 points]

Stepping down from the recording device, he raised one hand toward the cameras.

It felt like watching a candidate who just won an election.

“Woooah!!”

Click click click.

Just as I expected, Yoo Jiwon easily cleared the cutoff.

The envious gazes of the test takers contrasted sharply with the cameras’ focused attention.

He would probably be splashed across the front page of tomorrow’s papers.

Korea's next-generation rising star, surpassing the standard by five times.

Something like that.

[677 points]

[2,131 points]

Every now and then, a standout score appeared, but most tend to hover around the 1,000 mark.

And the disappointment on the faces of the reporters witnessing this spectacle was palpable.

This was because among the recently registered hunters, there haven't been any top-ranked candidates.

"This quarter’s qualification test is a total bust too....."

“If it weren’t for Hunter Yoo Jiwon, this would’ve gone down as the worst selection exam.”

“Monsters keep getting stronger and appearing more often, at this rate, what are we supposed to do..…”

It would be good for the world, and for the reporters job if a hunter full of potential would appear.

I, standing at the very back, waited quietly until the candidates before me had finished their turns.

Yoo Jiwon's score was certainly unrivaled.

Not only among the healers, but even among the previous knight types, there wasn’t a single candidate who scored over 3,000 points.

Even after confirming his score, the guy stood at a distance, watching the selection process.

He was probably waiting for my turn.

Unlike when I first saw him, his nose was raised far in the sky.

His confidence was understandable, considering he scored over 5,000 points.

But how could he be so sure that my score would be lower than him?

[Healer-type examinee, Chun Haesun.]

My identity appeared on the screen through the facial recognition system.

When I first registered, I had spots on my face, but unlike the receptionist who was surprised by the change, this system recognized me right away.

Bzzzzzz—

As I stepped onto the recording device, a multi-colored laser scanned my entire body.

And soon, the following message appeared:

[User measurement not possible.]

…… Huh?

A murmur spread.

I wasn’t the only one tilting my head in confusion.

The people watching the other examinees’ scores also glanced back and forth between me and the screen, wondering, ‘What the heck is going on?’.

"Puhahahahahahaha!!"

Yoo Jiwon craned his neck to check my score and burst out laughing.

“What the heck. You’re not even an Awakened? Seriously.”

He seemed to think that the reason I was marked as unmeasurable was because I was not an Awakened.

But does ‘unmeasurable’ mean I was not an Awakened?

No.

That was impossible.

I already had a vast amount of Black Aether inside my body, and if I weren’t an Awakened, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the black market in the first place.

No way the equipment provided by the Hunter Association was worse than a black market access control device.

“Huh? What’s going on with this? Just a moment.”

A Hunter Association staff member approached and inspected the equipment.

There have been cases where someone scored zero, but never a case where the message said it was impossible to measure.

That’s probably why the staff member inspecting the machine was scratching his head.

“Supervisor.”

After fiddling with the machine in various ways, the staff member finally went over to the supervisor sitting on the platform.

As time was delayed and an unusual message appeared, attention from the surroundings naturally shifted this way.

How annoying.

Why did this suddenly happen?

“I’m Pyo Hyukgyu, the supervisor in charge of the first exam. Your name, please?”

“Chun Haesun.”

A supervisor with a pleasant demeanor appeared to confirm my identity.

After checking the machine for a long time, he seemed to come to a decision and gave instructions to a subordinate.

"Huh?!"

The subordinate, startled, hurriedly picked up the radio to communicate.

What the hell?

What’s going on?

Someone tell me too.

About five minutes later.

An incredibly sturdy-looking alloy case was delivered to the supervisor.

Clunk.

When the supervisor placed his fingerprint and unlocked the case, it revealed a golden orb so dazzling it was almost mesmerizing as it emitted a radiant light.

"Wow!!!!!"

“What’s that?”

“A… A Golden Core?”

Cries of astonished admiration, almost like screams, burst out from the crowd.

Wow.

So that’s a Golden Core.

A top-tier core that could only be extracted from an epic monster with a 7-star rating (★★★★★★★) or higher.

An item so precious that it can’t even be measured in market value has appeared here.

I never thought I’d see a Golden Core with my own eyes, something I’d only ever seen in photos.

The supervisor glanced at my face once more, then unlocked the recording device.

Clang.

Then he took out the faint, cloudy orb inside and replaced it with the Golden Core.

By this point, everyone in the auditorium was showing interest.

Even the reporters who had been chatting casually were now picking up their cameras again, preparing to film.

Ugh, I hate being the center of attention.

The supervisor, having restarted the recording device, called me over.

"The Awakener's readings are from a very sensitive machine. If they exceed a certain tolerable range, there's a risk of it going haywire, so the system shuts down the measurement on its own. It should be fine now.”

"Oh, yes."

I answered calmly, and the supervisor, in turn, seemed surprised by my reaction.

Being told that your Awakener reading is off the charts was practically the same as hitting the jackpot for a test taker.

It meant you had limitless potential to grow as a Hunter.

So much so that, despite lacking real Hunter skills, some people get recruitment offers from major guilds based solely on their Awakener reading.

For a Hunter, it’s such a blessing that people often call it 'winning the damn lottery'.

But in a situation where most would be dancing with joy on the spot, I just responded with, ‘Ah, yes.’ No wonder he was speechless.

Even the nearby staff had looks that said, ‘What’s with this guy?.’

Yet, despite that, they couldn’t hide the sense of expectation they had toward me.

‘Let's just get this over with.’

Following the supervisor’s guidance, I quickly stepped onto the recording device.

[Measurement starting.]

I could feel a slightly more intense aura coming from the laser as it began scanning.

I couldn’t help but think it would be great to absorb the Golden Core inside the machine.

While I was pondering such trivial thoughts, the measurement was complete.

[100,000 points]

"Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The auditorium echoed loudly with cheers.

Not just the test takers, but even the reporters filming Yoo Jiwon had eyes so wide they were about to pop out.

A hundred thousand points.

After all, I’m a Hunter recognized by Kiril, shouldn't I be at least that good?

I stepped down from the recording device as if it was no big deal, and oddly enough, that attitude seemed to leave a strong impression on everyone.

"What was that guy's name again?"

"Chu... Chun Haesun."

“What are you doing right now? Start filming quickly!”

Hehe.

As the reporters turned their cameras toward me, I pulled the hood of the tracksuit over my head.

I'd gotten used to wearing a hood since I had the blotches, but who would have thought it would come handy this way?

They were all excited to film Yoo Jiwon earlier, and now seeing him stomping his feet in frustration because his spotlight was stolen was kind of satisfying.

Ah, anyway.

I have to ‘settle’ the score.

“Can I have something to write?”

“Oh, yes, here you go.”

After getting a sticky note and pen from a Hunter Association staff member, I scribbled down a few numbers.

Everyone looked like they were wondering what I was up to.

I didn’t want to draw any more attention, so I decided to just ‘settle’ the account quickly and leave.

Step step.

Holding the sticky note, I walked over to Yoo Jiwon.

His face was already in a panic from the Awakener reading that had completely overwhelmed him.

"Now he's embarrassed because of some mere numbers..…”

-Kwuu……

Brie let out a small whine as if telling me not to say such things.

That little guy sure is bipolar isn’t he?

I told him not to come in with me during the test, so when did he even climb up on my shoulder?

“Hey.”

Looking at Yoo Jiwon’s face, crumpled like a wad of used tissue, felt like the food that had been stuck in my stomach was finally digesting. Well, thinking about it, I'm a Poisoner, it's not like I would ever get food poisoning.

“……!!”

His face was twisted in frustration.

With both the Awakener score and the spotlight stolen away, his jealousy seemed to have hit its peak.

I don’t need the spotlight, you can have all of it. Just give me this one thing.

“Take this.”

I handed the sticky note over to him, and after reading what was written on it, his face went blank.

“What's this?”

“Transfer the money. Ten million won. That’s my account number.”

“!!!!!”

“The bank name’s written there too. Are you illiterate or something?”

I let out a faint chuckle and turned away.

Ah, like with any proper transaction, there has to be a deadline.

“Send it by tomorrow. If you try to skip out..... well, you wouldn’t do that, right? I mean, ten million won is supposed to be chump change for someone oh-so-high.”

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could almost feel the furious, tingling sensation on the back of my neck.

Hoping I wouldn’t have to run into him again. 

And with that over with, I stepped out of the first selection site.

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