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Chapter 20
What the Third Test Examines Is a Hunter’s Capability.
A swordsman must handle a sword well,
a mage must excel at magic,
and a healer must be able to mend injuries.
In that sense, the third test was perfectly suited to assess a hunter’s abilities.
-Kk… kkeuaaaaah!
[You have failed the test.]
-Huff, huff!
[Congratulations. You have passed the test.]
It was about how well one could survive and carry out their mission.
Since this test was close to actual combat, it revealed the very essence of a hunter.
“Isn’t the difficulty a little too high this time?”
A staff member, who was compiling the list of failed candidates, voiced a complaint.
The team leader in charge of this year’s Hunter Exam simply shrugged.
“What can we do? This is the level the higher-ups have decided on.”
“But the exam’s difficulty has always been needlessly high, and people are already making a fuss about awakened individuals not being able to just recklessly work as hunters…”
“That’s enough.”
The team leader gently cut off the complaint.
The staffer was competent but had far too many complaints—always his flaw.
“It’s an order from above. Just do your paperwork.”
“…Yes, sir.”
The staffer swallowed his discontent and began sorting the documents.
The team leader, who habitually reached for a cigarette, remembered this was a no-smoking area. Instead of smoke, he let out a sigh.
“In the end, all we can do is follow orders.”
It wasn’t really something worth racking his brains over.
All he had to do was carry out orders from above.
The problem was—
“…Why on earth is an S-rank Hunter here?”
One particular hunter present was the issue.
The team leader stole a glance at a corner of the management room.
A large monitor was showing the exam in real-time.
And on the other side of that screen, Baek Arin was staring intently.
True to her title “Snow Demon,” she radiated such cold air that there was no need for an air conditioner. In fact, it was so chilly that people had to cover themselves with blankets.
Her presence itself wasn’t strange—she was participating in this Hunter Exam as an advisor.
What was unusual, though not quite a problem, was that she was fixated on just one monitor.
“Candidate #178… I thought there was nothing special about him.”
The team leader picked up the file containing information on Candidate #178, Han Yu-jin.
The only noteworthy details were “Re-Awakened” and his class: “Enchanter.”
“Is it just because he’s also a Re-Awakened?”
But Yu-jin was only rank D, while Baek Arin was rank S.
It was too much of a gap for her to be interested in him for that reason alone.
The only contact between them had been a brief interview.
So did something happen in that conversation…?
“…No clue.”
After pondering for a moment, the team leader brushed the thought away.
After all, he was just a civil servant—not even awakened as a hunter himself. There was only so much he could speculate.
All he could do was hope nothing out of the ordinary happened.
“Hello, Team Leader.”
“Oh, Hyewon! Come in, come in.”
The team leader’s eyes brightened as he stood up to greet the newcomer.
Seo Hyewon.
Only a B-rank hunter, so not particularly high-ranked,
but one of the few sincere hunters who cooperated well with the Association.
Not to mention, she was attractive and had personal ties with S-rank hunters like the Snow Demon and the Sword Demon. It was only natural to be favorable toward her.
“How did the errand go?”
Hyewon gave a soft smile.
“Yes. Thanks to you, Team Leader.”
“I didn’t do much. Come, sit wherever you like. I’ll make you some coffee.”
“Oh, you don’t have to…”
“Nonsense! You’re like a daughter to me!”
In fact, his actual daughter was about Hyewon’s age.
Of course, part of his kindness was a hope that if she ever switched guilds, she’d join the Association instead.
With an awkward smile, Hyewon sat beside Baek Arin.
Arin, arms crossed and eyes glued to the monitor, gave her a brief glance.
“You’re here?”
“Mm.”
They didn’t talk much after that.
They said women’s chatter could go on endlessly,
but ever since Arin had reawakened with the [Heart of Ice], her conversations had grown short.
Hyewon, accustomed to the awkwardness, followed Arin’s gaze to the monitor.
“…Huh?”
“Something wrong?”
The team leader returned with a cup of instant coffee just as Hyewon spoke with uncertainty.
“Um… is the Enchanter’s test content different from what I know?”
“What do you mean? It’s all the same—survive as long as possible, and enhance the belongings of the target you must protect.”
“Then why…”
Hyewon scratched her head.
“…Why is this hunter fighting orcs together with the target?”
“What?”
Startled, the team leader put down his coffee and looked at the screen.
On the monitor was the dungeon interior.
-Ryaaaaaah!
-Kkieeeek!
-Hahaha! Yes! My dream is to become the greatest swordsman!
-That’s it! You’re doing well!
The test subject—who was supposed to only be protected—was wielding the sword Yu-jin had provided him and fighting like a swordsman.
Meanwhile, Yu-jin was holding the item he was supposed to enchant, watching with satisfaction.
The team leader’s jaw dropped, the candy in his mouth falling out.
“…What the hell is that?”
And then—
Bzzzzt!
Static began to ripple violently across the screen.
There’s a saying:
A true Enchanter defeats enemies before there’s even a need to enchant.
But Yu-jin couldn’t agree.
Why bother moving and fighting when you could simply enchant and let others do the work?
“I can just make someone else fight instead.”
And the effect was extraordinary.
Yu-jin watched in amazement as the boy skillfully dodged, blocked, and countered the orc’s attacks.
“His mediocre stats improved thanks to the enhancement.”
[Target has been affected by the skill ‘Soul Enhancement.’]
Soul Enhancement could strengthen anything—skills, body, willpower—so long as there was a target to apply it to.
So Yu-jin had enhanced the boy.
“His original stats were just enough to run away. Definitely not enough to kill an orc. But a little boost and some confidence… and here we are.”
Shk!
Kkiieeek!
“Haa… haaah!”
The boy gasped heavily after stabbing his sword into the fallen orc’s neck.
Yu-jin tossed him a water bottle.
Thwack!
“Huff!”
The boy gulped it down in seconds, then wiped sweat from his brow with a beaming smile.
“Thank you! Because of you, I’ve realized something!”
“What?”
“My dream and my future! And…”
He raised his sword to the sky.
“That I am a being trapped in this tiny world…!”
“…Huh?”
What nonsense was this?
Just as Yu-jin frowned—
“With this sword, I’ll cut open the heavens—!”
Bzzt!
The world suddenly filled with static.
It wasn’t just visual distortion. Like a video game glitch, reality itself began to break apart, smeared with noise.
Even the boy in front of Yu-jin—
“Be@%(! @%)@!(*%!@%)”
[Error Code -178 has occurred.]
[Skill ‘Memory Realization’ has encountered an error.]
A message appeared before Yu-jin’s eyes. His gaze sharpened.
“Memory Realization.”
As the name suggested, it created a world based on one’s memories.
“So this test is basically reconstructing a dungeon the examiner has cleared.”
That made sense. No matter how strong an illusion spell was, one couldn’t just conjure an entire world like this from nothing.
Reconstructing a virtual space from memory would be the cheapest and most plausible method.
“An easter egg, huh?”
It was something Yu-jin had never seen before.
Not that he minded.
At the end of every easter egg, there was always a reward—even if unintended.
[…Error. Error. The test has not yet ended.]
“A shame, but oh well.”
He had already confirmed that applying enhancement to a person yielded tremendous changes.
Surely, that alone would leave quite the impression on the Snow Demon.
With some regret, Yu-jin clenched the item in his hand.
[Skill ‘Soul Enhancement’ is used.]
[Enhancement successful.]
Ding!
As soon as the enhancement succeeded, messages popped up one after another.
[You have cleared the test.]
[Time taken to attempt enhancement: 1 second]
[Survival time: 23 minutes 15 seconds]
[Congratulations. New record achieved.]
[Upon exiting, results will be automatically processed.]
“A new record, huh.”
Not even 23 minutes of survival?
Yu-jin clicked his tongue. But regardless, the test had ended.
Hiss—
A strange smoke lingered in his vision. Yu-jin removed the goggles uneasily.
“….”
“….”
And locked eyes with the stunned examiners staring at him.
Flustered, Yu-jin averted his gaze.
“…I didn’t do anything.”
Normally, the third exam staff weren’t too busy.
Their job was just paperwork, forwarding files to the scouting team, and sending out notifications.
But now—
“…Is the machine really broken?”
“Yes… technically it’s overload, but since the circuits inside are more like item effects than our tech—”
“Spare me the details. I wouldn’t understand anyway.”
The team leader rubbed his forehead, cutting off the technician’s rambling.
“This is troublesome… it’s the first time something like this has happened.”
If Candidate #178, Yu-jin, had been a high-rank hunter, there’d be no problem.
After all, many top hunters outright rejected machines. Sometimes their powerful mental skills prevented the devices from even working.
But Yu-jin was different.
He was only D-rank. His only quirks were his fast enhancement speed and having one sword skill and one magic skill.
Special? If that counted as special, then the world was full of special hunters.
“Hmm… what do we do…”
“…Shouldn’t we try to maintain good relations with him?”
Hyewon, who had been quietly thinking, spoke up.
“Even if we can’t confirm anything, it’s clear he’s unusual.”
“Maybe one of his skills caused interference? If so…”
Hunters weren’t required to register all their skills.
It was considered rude to demand such information.
But if an undisclosed skill caused an incident like this, responsibility was unavoidable.
“…Let’s not press him on it.”
That was when Baek Arin finally spoke.
“It wasn’t intentional, and questioning him harshly would hurt fairness and the Association’s image.”
“Well, since it’s the Association, maybe… but still.”
“Besides, I personally interviewed him. I’ll ask him myself.”
“You will?”
“Yes.”
Thud!
Placing her hands on the desk, Baek Arin rose swiftly. Her white hair fluttered as she turned.
“He will become a valuable asset.”
Turning away so her expression couldn’t be seen, she strode briskly out.
“I’ll speak to him directly.”
Whirr— Clack!
The automatic door slid shut behind her.
Hyewon unconsciously touched her waist, unsettled by what she had just witnessed.
Baek Arin’s expression—
It had been… alien.
“…Expectation.”
Ever since obtaining the [Heart of Ice], Baek Arin had always worn a cold mask.
But now, there had been a subtle warmth in her face.
The warmth of expectation.
“Yu-jin… could you really—”
Hyewon murmured to herself as though questioning.
“—fix the Snow Demon?”
And if so… maybe her own power too…
Hyewon cut the thought short.
Excessive hope only bred greater disappointment.
But still, she couldn’t entirely abandon it.
Because maybe—just maybe—he really could.
