🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 9
The written test scores were announced immediately after the exam.
Since the test was taken on computers, the results appeared on the large screen at the front of the room in ranking order.
1st – Shin Ju-ha: 100
2nd – Seo Mi-na: 99
…
7th – Lee Ji-hyung: 94
…
211th – Kim Seon-jak: 50
Just from the written exam alone, nearly one hundred applicants had been eliminated.
That alone proved how difficult it had been.
Even I, who had spent every single day before my regression studying monsters in preparation for eventually clearing the Tutorial and entering the Abyss, had nearly missed a perfect score.
“Oh! A perfect score after all this time. Congratulations!”
The examiner smiled broadly.
“The 211 of you have passed the written exam. The 92 who failed may pack your belongings and go home immediately. Everyone else, head to the cafeteria on the tenth floor for lunch. Be finished eating by one o’clock and gather in the auditorium on Basement Level 3. Move out!”
With that, the examiner left.
The applicants naturally split into small groups and began moving.
“Man… this Association food alone makes the exam worth taking.”
“You idiot! You should be practicing instead of stuffing your face!”
“Still, the Association cafeteria really is amazing. That’s why they serve it to Hunter applicants.”
Some happily headed toward lunch, celebrating their success.
Meanwhile…
“Damn it! I only needed one more correct answer!”
“Sigh… another month of studying.”
“See you all next month.”
“Let’s make sure we pass next time.”
Others accepted defeat with forced smiles as they headed for the exit.
And then…
Someone else found me.
“There you are, you bastard! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?!”
“Lee Ji-hyung?”
I sighed.
“Damn… I was trying to avoid you.”
Did Bad Luck interfere again?
No.
There was no message from Bad Luck.
Which meant this wasn’t fate.
He had genuinely been searching for me.
What should I do?
Honestly…
I was the one at fault the first time.
He had simply been walking when I accidentally bumped into him.
And when he’d attacked me, I’d instinctively countered and knocked him unconscious.
“You’re ignoring me again?! You really have a death wish!”
If I didn’t let him vent his anger, he’d probably keep pestering me forever.
Maybe I should just let him punch me once.
He was a mage-type Awakener and a former celebrity.
His punches couldn’t possibly hurt that much.
But…
The moment I saw his slow, clumsy fist flying toward me…
My body reacted before my mind did.
I caught his fist with one hand.
Pulled him toward me.
Destroyed his balance.
Swept his leg.
Crash!
Lee Ji-hyung slammed face-first into the floor once again.
His body trembled with embarrassment and pain, and he couldn’t immediately get back up.
Fortunately for him…
He hadn’t been knocked unconscious this time.
Too bad.
If he’d passed out, I could’ve eaten lunch in peace.
Damn it…
The moment I saw that annoyingly handsome face twisted with anger…
Memories of everything he’d done before my regression resurfaced.
There was no way I wanted to simply let him hit me.
Besides…
Even if I’d taken the punch…
He would’ve kept making trouble anyway.
Everyone viewed him as a promising talent destined for the prestigious Sungwoon Guild—one of the top five guilds.
But I knew his future.
To me…
He was nothing but trash.
If I showed weakness, he’d only become more arrogant.
“My nose!”
Finally unable to bear the pain, he jumped to his feet while clutching his nose.
“Dude… your nose is bleeding!”
Not just bleeding.
Both nostrils.
Bright red blood streamed down his pale face.
After glaring at me for one last terrifying moment, Lee Ji-hyung hurried toward the restroom.
“What a pain.”
“I wish he’d just fail already.”
Unfortunately…
That wasn’t going to happen.
For all his attitude, he was still an exceptionally talented mage.
Sighing, I ignored the surrounding stares and left the written examination hall, hoping the rest of today’s tests would end as quickly as possible.
After everyone else had left…
One woman sitting quietly in the back row finally stood.
“…Interesting.”
Seo Mi-na looked down at the spot where Shin Ju-ha and Lee Ji-hyung had fought.
Her golden eyes gleamed.
That was flawless.
The suppression had been so smooth it looked effortless.
Granted, Lee Ji-hyung was a mage.
But he was also a guild prospect who had likely consumed expensive enhancement elixirs provided by the guild.
Yet…
Twice now…
Shin Ju-ha had humiliated him without breaking a sweat.
In fact…
She had witnessed the very first encounter as well.
She hadn’t appeared by coincidence.
She had intentionally drawn Lee Ji-hyung’s attention away from Shin Ju-ha to help him.
That annoying punk deserved to be humiliated.
Lee Ji-hyung had been clinging to her since before the Hunter Exam under the excuse that they were enrolled in the same Guild Alliance Prospect Program.
She’d found him irritating from the start.
“He isn’t a guild prospect…”
Guild prospects inevitably met one another through mock battles and monster training sessions organized by the Guild Alliance.
There was no way someone with his level of skill would’ve gone unnoticed.
Yet…
Among this year’s applicants…
Only she and Lee Ji-hyung belonged to guilds.
She had never seen Shin Ju-ha before.
“No way…”
“Could someone who awakened naturally really be that skilled?”
“What kind of ability did he awaken?”
Truthfully…
Even if she’d been the one fighting him instead of Lee Ji-hyung…
She wasn’t confident she could’ve won.
If anything…
She probably would’ve been defeated just as easily.
“Now this is interesting.”
For some reason…
She had a feeling that Shin Ju-ha was the person who had stolen first place from her on the written exam.
The calm confidence that naturally radiated from him—as though he already knew everything—was more than enough to pique her curiosity.
And from that moment on…
The future SS-Rank Hunter began keeping a close eye on Shin Ju-ha.
