[Hunter Certificate of the Republic of Korea]
[Name: Kang Hyunsoo]
[Rank: Mid-Advanced]
The Hunter Certificate glimmered in the early dawn light.
“Phew, somehow, I’ve got it.”
Kang Hyunsoo, having stepped out of the Hunter Bureau’s annex, sighed with relief as he looked at the certificate in his palm.
Then, Swallow fluttered its wings next to his head, congratulating him.
“Oh, a Mid-Advanced Hunter Certificate. You’ve moved up four ranks from the lowest rank. Congratulations, Master!”
“Yeah, thanks to this, I can now join an S-rank dungeon raid without any issues.”
After his sparring match with Go Kyungseok, Kang Hyunsoo had been issued the Mid-Advanced Hunter Certificate by Park Seongjun, the head of the HR team.
In the Hunter Bureau’s secret training ground, he had left a scratch on Go Kyungseok’s shoulder, all while keeping quiet about his Beauty talent and receiving the Hunter Certificate.
But Mid-Advanced, huh...
It was quite an extravagant treatment.
Based on his current level, he should have been classified as Mid-Low, not Mid-Advanced.
Hunter ranks were classified as follows:
1-99: Lowest Rank
100-199: Low Rank
200-299: Mid-Low Rank
300-399: Mid Rank
400-499: Mid-Advanced Rank
500-599: Advanced Rank
600-699: Top Rank
700-799: Special Rank
800-899: Ultra Special Rank
No one in the world has reached level 900-999 yet, so those ranks don't have titles yet.
As such, hunter ranks are divided based on level, and although Kang Hyunsoo is level 200, he had been classified as Mid-Advanced.
Based purely on his level, it should have been Mid-Low, but with additional skills and hidden abilities taken into account, he had been bumped up to Mid-Advanced.
This was a huge achievement.
When a hunter’s rank rises, they not only get benefits like higher tax deductions or the ability to create their own guild but also unrestricted access to high-level dungeons.
For Kang Hyunsoo, who had to deal with increasingly difficult quests and sometimes had to move alone to obtain hidden pieces, this was a huge opportunity.
Especially...
“This must be what they call a double celebration. I’ve gained a Mid-Advanced Hunter Certificate... Now I can enter the Golden Lake Dungeon, right?”
“You remember that? That’s right, now you can upgrade your hidden pieces too.”
As Swallow said, he was now able to enter dungeons he had previously been unable to attempt.
Given the frequent casualties and the necessity of being at least Mid-Level to enter, now he could finally step foot into dungeons that required at least that level.
All of this was thanks to his victory in the bet with Go Kyungseok.
Kang Hyunsoo stopped walking toward the main gate and turned around to look up at the Hunter Bureau’s annex building.
At that moment, Go Kyungseok, the Hunter Bureau Director, was standing by the window, his arms crossed, looking down at him.
Just a short while ago, in the secret training ground...
In the final moments of their spar, the combination of Bloom and Charm had created an opening, and Kang Hyunsoo had exploited it with Pashin.
The attack had landed so precisely that even the head of the HR team had rushed over.
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Go Kyungseok pressed his hand against the wound on his shoulder, then released it.
The wound was completely /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ healed.
Not only did the blood that had soaked his Hunter Bureau uniform stop, but the injured area was fully regenerated without leaving any scars.
While larger wounds were impossible to heal, small scratches could be instantly treated using the Self-Heal skill, part of his Guardian abilities.
After treating the wound on his shoulder, Go Kyungseok looked at Kang Hyunsoo and continued speaking.
At Go Kyungseok’s question, Kang Hyunsoo briefly paused to think.
He had known that this sparring was a kind of test from Go Kyungseok.
It was clear that Go Kyungseok wasn’t going all out and was only using a few defensive skills to face him.
So Kang Hyunsoo had quickly come up with a solution.
Go Kyungseok’s defensive skills became stronger based on where his gaze was focused, so the idea was to draw his attention to one place and then quickly strike from the side.
The key was distracting him, and throwing an object wouldn’t have worked.
Thus, Kang Hyunsoo had used Bloom to maximize his appearance and then activated Charm.
Although he had a traumatic experience using Charm on the same sex before (when it caused someone to vomit), as long as it created a momentary effect, whether positive or negative, he could buy himself time.
The operation had to be completed within the 30 seconds of Bloom’s time limit.
Thankfully, it had been a success.
While Go Kyungseok’s gaze was diverted, Kang Hyunsoo had quickly used Pashin to move and strike his shoulder.
And the reason Kang Hyunsoo knew about Go Kyungseok’s skill characteristics was because...
They had once sparred in a previous life.
Before his regression, during the SS-rank dungeon encounter, Kang Hyunsoo had fought with Go Kyungseok.
It was the same method, with Go Kyungseok wearing the same shield, and the rule was that the one whose shield broke first lost. At that time, Kang Hyunsoo had lost.
Though confident in his swordsmanship, every single one of his attacks had been blocked by Go Kyungseok’s defensive skills, and he couldn’t land a hit on the shield.
Eventually, when his energy was depleted, and a gap appeared...
Go Kyungseok’s sword had struck Kang Hyunsoo’s abdomen, breaking through his shield.
At that time, Go Kyungseok had said:
Go Kyungseok could create a defense shield at the point where his gaze landed. And he used this ability to protect his team, fully utilizing his Guardian skills.
Afterward, Kang Hyunsoo upgraded his title from Sword King to Sword Emperor and leveled up, intending to challenge Go Kyungseok again, but before he could, he regressed.
The sparring that had lingered as regret in his past life.
Luckily, this time, Kang Hyunsoo had won.
Although Go Kyungseok had gone easy on him, a win was still a win.
And one of the factors that contributed to this achievement was the flame sword he was holding.
If it had been a regular sword, it wouldn’t have pierced through Go Kyungseok’s defensive skills or the Hunter Bureau uniform.
In the end, overcoming Go Kyungseok’s defense was a result of many factors combined, so Kang Hyunsoo couldn’t reveal everything.
Thankfully, Go Kyungseok didn’t dig deeper. Instead, he tried to gather clues from the ambiguous boundary.
After this series of conversations, Go Kyungseok officially classified Kang Hyunsoo as Mid-Advanced.
In his previous life, he had been classified as Mid-Low with a level of 200, but this time, he jumped straight to Mid-Advanced.
This opened up much more growth potential.
He couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.
Swallow knew this well too.
“Are you heading to the dungeon now, Master?”
Swallow reminded Kang Hyunsoo as he was lost in thought, recalling the events from earlier.
“Yeah, I should. Although the results are good, everything isn’t completely over yet.”
Although the private assessment had been completed, this was just a way to buy some time.
The fact that he had been classified as Mid-Advanced at level 200 wasn’t public knowledge, but once he started raiding again, attention would naturally be drawn, and rumors would spread.
And if that happened, the chances of Babylon’s agents, like Ji Wonhoon and Andy, hearing the news and coming after him would increase.
Even with the good situation, he couldn’t relax.
In fact, he had to speed up his growth even more.
But...
“Still... I’ll get some sleep first.”
He needed to rest, and it would be good to complete the auxiliary beauty quests as well.
After giving a small nod to Go Kyungseok, who was standing by the window, Kang Hyunsoo walked out of the Hunter Bureau’s main gate with Swallow.
***
“Is your shoulder okay, Director?”
In the Hunter Bureau annex with the first light of dawn visible through the windows, Cho Jiwoo approached Go Kyungseok, who was standing by the window, and asked.
Then, while maintaining his gaze on the view outside the window, Go Kyungseok absentmindedly touched the shoulder where Kang Hyunsoo had left a scratch and replied.
“The wound has healed, but it’s still a bit sore. Now I understand why you recommended a private assessment.”
“I was surprised too. The level displayed on the measurement device was clearly 200, but the strength shown far exceeded that.”
“Yes, especially... your appearance was really exceptional.”
“W-What? My... appearance?”
Cho Jiwoo scratched her cheek.
She had been praising Kang Hyunsoo’s strength, but unexpectedly, Go Kyungseok had complimented Kang Hyunsoo’s looks.
And more importantly...
“I think this is the first time in my life I’ve seen such a handsome young man.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, for a moment, I was completely mesmerized.”
“...?”
It was hard for Cho Jiwoo to fully agree with Go Kyungseok’s praise.
While it was true that Kang Hyunsoo had improved his appearance after losing weight, it wasn’t to the extent that it warranted such high praise.
However, on further reflection, it wasn’t just Go Kyungseok.
Back when he was in the hospital, Yuhana had also mentioned it.
Yuhana, who had been taking care of him all night, had given an unexpected response when asked about her relationship with Kang Hyunsoo. She had simply said he was too handsome.
Could there have been something about the flash during the sparring that triggered such reactions?
Since Cho Jiwoo had only seen Kang Hyunsoo from behind in the control room, her curiosity only deepened.
“By the way, Director, didn’t you seem to dislike Kang Hyunsoo’s Hunter Certificate when you first saw it?”
“Yes, I did feel that way. But... after seeing him in person, my opinion changed. If my guess is correct... he might become a huge star soon.”
“A star...?”
“Jeon Tae-seong... he might surpass Korea’s top hunter.”
“What? To that extent?”
Cho Jiwoo was taken aback.
Jeon Tae-seong was Korea’s only special-class hunter, the guild master of the great guild Cheolhyeol, and a hunter with a massive fanbase, not only in Korea but around the world.
For her, it was hard to imagine someone surpassing Jeon Tae-seong, especially with the rising star Han Sungbin. But Go Kyungseok remained unwavering in his conviction.
“If the power I saw is real, then it will definitely happen.”
“Hmm... I’m not sure, but if a few years pass, it might be possible.”
Cho Jiwoo half-jokingly agreed with Go Kyungseok, not wanting to make him feel awkward, but Go Kyungseok was serious.
“It won’t take that long.”
He continued with a confident voice, still watching Kang Hyunsoo’s back as he walked away.
“Based on his growth rate, it will take at most one year. The outcome will be decided within that time.”
The sun, rising between the distant buildings, brightly illuminated Kang Hyunsoo’s path as he left the Hunter Bureau.