Chapter 15
D-rank Hunter Koo Dae-sung came to the Association for grading again this year.
“Uh~ Mr. Koo. You’re here again this year?”
A middle-aged man is happy to see him. It was Team Leader Kim Do-han, who had worked with the gate mining team a few times.
“It’s been a while.”
“You’ve been working hard, Mr. Koo.”
“Haha…….”
At the words of Team Leader Kim Do-han, Koo Dae-sung let out an awkward laugh.
His age is thirty-two this year and he has been a Hunter for over ten years.
Talented people usually awaken their powers in middle school and receive admission to the academy. However, he awakened at the age of 22, his rank is D and he has no unique skills.
“How about this year, do you think you’ll improve your rank?”
“Haha… I’ll try.”
Koo Dae-sung has been a D-rank for 10 years. It is said that the limit of the untalented is C-rank, but he was stuck at D-rank for ten years.
“Why don’t you join our team? If you’re as good as Mr. Gu, you’ll be diligent and do a good job, and you’ll become an ace in no time.”
Not all Hunters who have awakened their powers have combat jobs.
There are those who work in production, those who work in research, and quite a few who work in conventional industry rather than as Hunters.
However, the vast majority of untalented and unremarkable Hunters work as porters for raiding parties or on mining teams that stop just before the gate closes to mine for items.
They were able to do this because they were much stronger than the average person, but they were still laborers.
Koo Dae-sung had been doing this menial labor for 10 years, but he couldn’t give up.
Even as a D-rank Hunter, the money he earned in the dungeon was nothing compared to the menial labor.
‘I need to earn more money, and unless I can find a dungeon with high profits, I can’t pay the interest.’
He had debts, an old mother to support, and younger siblings to take care of. He couldn’t afford it without his Hunter income.
But there was hope that one day he would awaken his unique skills and become a Hunter who could take on high-level Gates as part of a raiding party.
He imagines a future where he can shine as an Awakened. But the reality was harsh, and even that glimmer of hope was fading.
“I’ll try.”
He says, but he doesn’t expect much. His goal is now realistic, and he’d be grateful if he could somehow become a C-rank and escape the life of a porter.
“Hmm? A young man is coming?”
Just then, someone enters the association’s waiting room. It’s a foreigner with blonde hair.
“Could it be someone from Europe?”
“He looks like royalty.”
The eyes of the people in the lobby turn to the blond man.
-Wow, he’s handsome.
-Oh my God… he’s so handsome.
He was certainly striking.
With the straight gaze and gorgeous blonde hair, he had the air of a nobleman. Most of all, in a place full of black heads, a blond man was bound to stand out.
“Is he a foreign worker?”
“I think he’s European.”
“Aww, Europe is not all well off, there are poor countries too.”
Even after the cataclysm, South Korea was a fairly well-off developed country.
It’s not a bad country for foreign workers to come and work in, except for the fact that it has a terrible food self-sufficiency rate and relies on imports for most of its food.
“Hmm…….”
Curiosity piqued, Kim approached the blond man with his trademark backwoods charm.
“Hey, young man. How are you?”
“Don’t talk to me, you lowly thing.”
“……?”
“???”
For a moment, he thought he’d misheard me, but the intensity of the verbal assault that came back was so strong that he forgot what to say.
“Ha, you learned Korean in a weird way, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
Mr. Kim turned around, unable to ask any more questions. At that moment, the blond man’s gaze crossed with Koo Dae-sung’s.
“Hmph…….”
Koo Dae-sung gasped as the pressure from the blond man gaze was like a huge presence suppressing him.
“Haa……”
The only reason Koo Dae-sung could breathe was because an association employee called his number, 57.
“57, Mr. Koo Dae-sung!”
“Yes, yes, yes, I’m coming!”
Koo Dae-sung rushed to the association staff, feeling a strange chill from the gaze behind him.
* * * *
‘What a bunch of lowlifes.’
Turning his head from the Association’s lobby, Leon looked at the assembled faces and made a harsh assessment.
‘Weak.’
Leon’s gaze alone can penetrate a person’s insides, sensing the energy within them. However, the auras within them were all dull and small.
In the first place, those who came to take the ranking test were either junior Hunters or those who were just about to take the Awakening Test.
A bunch of ignoramuses whose ‘talent’ wasn’t discovered unless they were from the Academy but Leon is not looking for the strong.
‘It is a lament that there are no men worthy of being soldiers.’
He’s not here to find knights. He’s here to recruit men to follow and support him…soldiers.
Of course, a knight and a soldier have very different standards.
Soldiers are not serfs, and they’re not going to be used as a meat shield, so they should have some talent, but they don’t even pass that small threshold.
‘Though I see one who might be useful.’
What he sees is more than just internal energy. He sees marks, scars, signs of a life lived.
A man of Leon’s stature can judge people by their face alone.
Most of them are full-grown men, but their faces show no sign of hardship.
There should have been a few with skilled muscles, but even then, they were barely useful as laborers… no, janitors.
‘It’s not like I’m going to be satisfied from the start.’
Leon stood up when his turn was called and headed for the interview room.
“Leon, number 77… Mr. Dragonia Lionheart?”
The interviewers were employees of the Association. Of course they knew Leon was a survivor but they didn’t know his personality.
“Address me as Your Majesty, commoner.”
“Uh…….”
The association worker paused, then nodded to the deputy who poked him in the side.
“Uhm…Your Majesty…….”
Leon listened to the officials’ deference with satisfaction; he knew his common sense was at odds with Earth’s, but there was a reason he insisted on imposing his version of justice and decorum.
‘It is not for royalty to consider the laws of the commoners.’
Though he is an Earthling, he has been a knight of noble birth and a king for three hundred years.
Royalty is not bound by the rules of the lesser, and there is no reason for him to consider cultural differences, even if they are worlds apart.
“Then please place your hand on the measuring device here for the test.”
The test for a Hunter’s rank is a two-step process.
First, they’re tested for unique skills and class aptitudes.
Usually, the class aptitudes that follow the Inherent Skills are Warrior or Swordsman, and in the rare case of a Wizard aptitude, they would contact the Tower.
The next step is to take a practical test at a gate maintained by the Society to determine your final rank.
They had heard that Leon was a very powerful survivor, so they were very curious to see what his unique skills would be.
“Foolish!”
“What?”
But it was Leon’s scolding that came back.
“How can a commoner test the honor of a knight!”
What?
“Your Majesty, it’s not us that’s measuring, it’s a magic tool, and it’s quite accurate…….”
“How can a machine measure a knight’s worth? Only honorable knights and the gods can measure a knight.”
“…….”
The Association’s staff was puzzled, too; they’d had plenty of survivors with odd personalities, but this was the first one to refuse to take the test.
“Uhm, well, then…on the very next test…no. You refused to take the test, so you must go…….”
Then why are you here?
“I’m here to recruit useful soldiers, but I can’t believe even the auditors are such scumbags.”
‘Headhunting? So openly?’
Many guilds, including the Ten Guilds, hire scouts to recruit good hunters. But to openly refuse the test and come to headhunt like this?
“So far, I haven’t found anyone I like, so what’s the next test?”
“There’s a practical test at the… gate.”
“Good. I’ll be there to observe.”
“…….”
But the employee could only nod as the manager poked him in the side once again.
* * * *
Each gate has its own concept.
Dungeon type and field type are the largest categories, followed by several smaller categories such as quest type and capture type.
The general rule of thumb is that once a gate is cleared, it should be closed and removed.
However, in some cases, gates are kept open even if the boss is not captured or the closing conditions are not fulfilled, such as the Seoul Station gate.
“Does anyone else get dizzy? Some people get motion sickness when passing through the gate.”
The Seoul Station gate is a field-type gate with a green meadow.
Koo Dae-sung sighed softly as he looked at the Seoul Station gate, which he was already visiting for the tenth time.
This year’s measurements weren’t much different from last year. There were no unique skills and no stat increases.
If he wanted to turn the tables, he’d have to perform well in this practical test. And in order to perform, party members are important. Koo Dae-sung looked at the faces of the party members who had joined him for this test.
“Wow, this is the gate. Brother, this is a hot mess.”
“Jinmi, let’s turn off our cell phones first.”
‘Two newbies…….’
He also saw the blond foreigner from the waiting room.
‘Haa…….’
If he’s here to test his rank at that age, it’s most likely a case of late awakening since Academy graduates are tested separately.
In a party of five, three of them are just beginners… Koo Dae-sung turned his eyes towards his last hope, but it was the old man who was there.
“Hehe, the air is so good.”
The old man must have been over sixty years old. He may have awakened during the Cataclysm thirty years ago, but he had not made a name for himself among the first generation of Hunters.
That meant that the old man was just an unremarkable C- or D-rank Hunter like himself.
‘I wasn’t expecting it, but…….’
It can’t be helped that they’re either beginners or D-rank in the first place.
“Then, Hunters, don’t worry and feel free to attack the gate, even if it’s dangerous, because I, a B-grade Hunter, will step forward.”
Leaving the association staff behind, Koo Dae-Sung stepped forward.
“Then… let’s introduce ourselves and confirm our positions.”
Even at a time like this, he had to play the role of party leader and raise his evaluation score.
“I’m Koo Dae-sung. I’ve been a Hunter for 10 years, and my class is Warrior. My main position is dealer.”
“Shin Tae-hoon. I awakened this year and I use a shield and spear.
“This is my sister, Shin Na-yeon, she uses daggers and is learning to use a bow.”
They are beginners who haven’t even found their aptitude yet so Koo Dae-sung cautiously asked.
“Did you two go to separate schools?”
Due to age restrictions, those who can’t attend a hunter academy often attend training centers run by veteran hunters.
It’s not as structured as an academy, but it’s more of a cram school.
“Me and my brother went to school for three months at a time.”
They were complete novices. Koo Dae-sung didn’t expect it, so he approached the old man.
“Hey, old man. What about you?”
“This old man is fifty years old and my name is Oh Kang-tae. Although I’m an awakened, I was recently dismissed from my job.”
His weapon is a pistol and he has little experience for his age.
A pistol…even if he was a martial artist, it would be hard for him to overcome the disadvantage of a sword or spear.
“Huh… And finally, the foreign visitor, do you speak Korean?”
“…….”
The blond man… Leon stared at him for a moment, unmoved by Koo Dae-sung’s question.
“This king doesn’t fight.”
“Uh… You’re a good fighter? Did you learn Korean backwards?”
“You can’t use a dragon-slaying sword to kill a chicken.”
He learned Korean backwards.
Koo Dae-sung scratched his head thoughtfully and decided on a position.
“So… Tae-hoon, you’ll be the tank, me and the old man will be the main dealers, Nari, you’ll be the archer and that foreigner… what the hell, why doesn’t he have a weapon?”
While the Hunters at the gate had brought their own weapons, Leon had none.
“That…foreigner…didn’t you bring a weapon?”
Strange. I thought the Association would lend him a weapon or two.
“Handsome brother over there, do you want me to lend you a weapon?”
At that moment, Shin Na-yeon, who was holding a dagger and a bow, cautiously asked. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Leon, who seemed to have an air of transcending humanity.
“Do you want to use a dagger or a bow? My main skill is daggers, so… would you like to try this bow? Do you know how to shoot a bow?”
Shin Na-yeon hands over a bow. It’s a new product called a smart bow that can automatically aim and adjust the string tension.
“You want to give me this?”
“No, just use it and give it back.”
Leon stared at the bow in disbelief. As if he heard something he shouldn’t have. Then he frowned as if he had been insulted and threw the bow to the ground.
“Ack! My bow!”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Shin Tae-hoon was furious when his sister’s bow was thrown to the ground. However, the knight king is equally angry at being insulted.
Of course, the reason for his anger is beyond the comprehension of a lowly commoner.
“Knights don’t use cowardly ranged weapons.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Koo Dae-Sung rubbed his eyes.
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