Episode 7: Hunter Association (1)
Before going to find Park Yerim, I headed to the Hunter Association to register as an Awakened and purchase Contract items.
The Korean Hunter Association.
It started as an Awakened Registration Office established by the government, but it established itself as an association with the addition of the power of the three major guilds. Other Hunter Associations overseas were also created through a similar process.
Currently, it is a state institution with a 51% government stake, 30% held by the three major guilds, and 19% by other guilds. However, in five years, as the power of the guilds grew, it ended up losing most of its shares.
To be precise, the Haeyeon Guild took them over.
The more I think about it, that bastard Yuhyeon wasn't exactly sane even before his regression.
To think the owner of such a magnificent guild would risk his life to save a useless older brother.
I really don't understand it.
Still, thanks to him, I saved my life, regressed, and even earned two L-Class titles, so I guess I have to put up with Yuhyeon doing some crazy things. What else can I do?
Perhaps because it was the weekend, there were quite a few people in the Awakened Registration waiting room at the Hunter Association.
Most Awakened were so-called "Double Fs"—having F in both skills and stats—making it impossible for them to work as hunters, yet everyone still came to register.
This was because the government provided subsidies to encourage Awakened registration.
Since registering alone provided a subsidy of 1 million won, everyone flocked to the Association unless they had money to burn.
I took a waiting number from the machine and went to sit in a chair.
Looking at the number, I figured it would take a while.
"Hey, isn't that A-Class Hunter Kim Seong-han?"
"Huh? It really is him!"
The people sitting in the waiting room recognized Kim Seong-han, who had followed me, and began whispering amongst themselves.
Although the fame of A-Class hunters is lower than that of S-Class hunters, Kim Seong-han was a hunter whose face and name were well-known.
Half of this was due to Yuhyeon, and the other half was thanks to his performance during the A-Class Dungeon Break at Dongdaegu Station.
A Dungeon Break occurs when the number of monsters inside a dungeon increases excessively. It is an extremely dangerous situation where monsters swarm out of the dungeon, but it rarely happens these days thanks to better management.
It was practically nonexistent for known dungeons to break, and it only happened occasionally when the discovery of a new dungeon was delayed.
"But why is he standing over there?"
"He came in with that person earlier."
The people's gazes turned this time to me, sitting next to Kim Seong-han.
"They've put an A-Rank there, but he's the only one sitting."
"Is he someone important? He looks like he's standing there guarding something. Is he here as an escort?"
"He's holding a ticket, so it seems he hasn't registered as an Awakener yet. If an A-Rank is following him, he must be something special. Isn't a new S-Rank recruit coming out of the Haeyeon Guild today?"
"No, I'm scheduled for an F-Rank."
I looked up at Kim Seong-han and spoke quietly.
"Please sit down."
"It's fine."
"Can't you just sit down?"
"It's better to stand so we can handle any emergencies."
It's not just anywhere; it's inside the Hunter Association. What could possibly go wrong?
Besides, there are nothing but novices here who have come to register as Awakened.
Maybe I should check to see if there is a decent new recruit.
I checked the man who had been chattering away for a while, using the "Promising Sapling" title.
[Awakener – Shin Min-ho
Current Stat Grade: F
Awakenable Stat Grade: F–E
Optimized Initial Skills: Quick Foot (E) — Acquired (Failed), Jump (E) — Acquired, Throw (F) — Acquired]
His Awakening stats dropped by one level, and he hadn't acquired all of the optimized initial skills.
Still, since he had E-Grade skills, he should qualify as a hunter.
Ugh.
As I checked two more F-Grade individuals, a brief pain throbbed in my head and vanished.
It was a sign that I had consumed half of my mana.
Six uses of the "Promising Sapling" status-check skill is the limit.
Is that to be expected, given his Magic Power is only 2?
HP and Mana were not displayed in the status window.
It would be so convenient if they were displayed as red and blue bars like in a game, but since they weren't, I had to guess based on my physical condition.
With HP, I could roughly tell by looking whether I was fine, half-dead, or dying, but the problem was Mana.
A method to check remaining Mana wouldn't appear even five years later.
However, consuming half of my mana caused a brief headache, and losing consciousness if it dropped below 10% was a real drawback.
It was fortunate that passive skills like Poison Resistance usually didn't consume mana.
Optimization Awakening or My Little One will likely consume more mana than checking their status.
Since My Little One is a whopping L-Rank, it must be devouring a ton of mana.
It was fine for Yuhyeon because it was used like a passive skill as the first effect of his title, but if I used it now, the skill might fail and I might faint.
I really need to level up a bit.
To do that, I would have to enter a dungeon, but if that bastard Yuhyeon found out, he would fly into a rage and stop me.
Should I sneak in?
"Numbers 56 through 65, please enter."
The people who were already there rushed up and followed the Association staff member inside.
It was only after another group had entered that it was my turn.
Upon entering, I saw rows of desks with partitions.
The staff member handed out a piece of paper to each person.
The paper application for Awakened registration had sections for stats and skills in addition to personal information.
After filling this out and verifying that there were no falsehoods, the Awakened rank would be determined.
I picked up the pen lying on the desk and began filling in the blanks.
I only wrote down my stats and basic skills, leaving the title blank.
While stats are measured immediately, skills and titles lack measurement technology, making them impossible to verify if hidden.
It wasn't that no hunters possessed the relevant skills, but they were rare, and peeking into someone else's skill window was likely to start a fight.
It was a sensitive issue among hunters.
To begin with, while there are people who inflate their numbers, there are few who understate them.
Unless I was a unique case like myself, why would I intentionally aim for a lower rank?
The treatment I received changed drastically with just one rank step.
Besides, being C-Rank or higher came with various benefits.
"Is that person an S-Rank rookie?"
"The new S-Rank of the Haeyeon Guild brought in by A-Rank Kim Seong-han?"
No. No, you idiots.
How on earth has a mere guess already become a fait accompli?
Hey, you! Where are you calling in such a hurry?
Ugh, that Association guy coming over there looks like a high-ranking official.
Surely he didn't come because of me, did he?
"Good morning. I am Seok Gi-myeong, Head of the Awakened Registration Department at the Hunter Association."
He bowed his head deeply to me.
Damn it, no. Don't greet me.
"If you don't mind, could I take a moment to check the application you filled out?"
"…Here you go."
I was already starting to feel embarrassed, but I just handed it over.
Department Head Seok Gi-myeong frowned slightly upon seeing my single-digit stats and E-Grade skills.
Hey, I have five L-Grade skills, you know?
"…Hmm. Then, good luck."
He checked the application and immediately dropped the formalities.
His polite demeanor vanished as if washed away.
It's disgusting, really.
I went through this a lot before my regression, but it's still disgusting.
"What? Weren't you S-Class?"
"Judging by his attitude, you're not."
"Then why did he pretend to be S-Class?"
I never did, you bastards!
You guys jumped to conclusions yourselves, so what do you mean by pretending?
It reminds me of those trash reporters who used to write novels about me and Yuhyeon.
Ugh…
Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn.
Those trash reporter bastards contributed about 30% to my inferiority complex explosion.
After all, comparisons to his incompetent older brother were an indispensable part of the articles praising Yuhyeon.
Under stinging stares, I submitted my application and headed to the lower-level ability measurement room.
"Do you have any items equipped or in your possession?" the staff member asked in a businesslike tone.
"No."
"Please step onto the measuring device."
I did as instructed and stepped onto the disc-shaped device.
The device, crafted using items from the dungeon as materials, glowed faintly before the results appeared.
"Measured HP: 6, Strength: 4, Agility: 5, Spirit: 4, Magic: 2."
That's accurate.
"Do you possess the E-Class Spirit Up and E-Class Agility Up skills?"
"Yes."
"Please use the skill towards the assistant."
An assistant stepped forward to verify my buff skills.
I was worried about running out of mana, but fortunately, I didn't faint while using the skill.
I need to buy a few mana potions.
After finishing the stat check, I entered the photo booth and took a picture.
The photo information, which checked not only the passport-size photo but also my full body from front to back, was immediately saved to the Association's database.
After waiting briefly, I heard my number called and approached the license issuance office.
"Ms. Han Yujin, you are an F-Grade Awakened and meet the qualification requirements for a hunter. The issuance of the Hunter license and entry into dungeons are possible only after you complete the basic program for rookie hunters. Would you like to apply for the program?"
"I will apply for completion using the Haeyeon Guild Guarantee."
Rookie hunters who had already joined or were scheduled to join a guild could skip the basic program with a guild guarantee.
This was because the rookie training within the guild was of much higher quality.
I handed the Haeyeon Guild Guarantee to the employee.
After checking the certificate, the employee busily moved their fingers across the keyboard.
"Please provide the account number to receive the subsidy. Only accounts in your own name are accepted."
"Baekil Bank 995-04-109982."
I had received a million won in free money.
Long live the Association!
Because I had received the guild guarantee, my Hunter license was issued immediately.
The Hunter License was the same size as a resident registration card, featuring a passport photo along with a serial number, rank, and name.
After taking the license, I asked an employee, "Is there a direct way up to the Hunter Shopping Mall from here?"
Going outside is a hassle because a guard follows me.
There's no need for them to follow me even inside the Association.
"You can use the elevator at the end of the hallway on the right."
"Thank you."
Following the employee's instructions, I took the elevator up, and a side door leading directly into the shopping mall appeared.
I saw an ATM machine located near the door.
Shall I check how much Yuhyeon gave me?
I took a card out of my wallet and approached the ATM.
It was a gift card exclusive to the Hunter Shopping Mall.
He had handed it to me, saying he had put in a reasonable amount when I told him I needed money to buy contracts.
It felt a bit awkward asking my younger brother for an allowance, but all the Hunter items were so expensive that my meager wallet couldn't handle it.
I'll just pay him back by finding skilled hunters, I suppose.
He said an A-Class contract costs 400,000–500,000 won, so I wonder if he put in around 10 million won.
I'd prefer to buy an S-Class one if I'm at it, but I don't know how much that costs.
It's bound to be at least twice as expensive as an A-Class one.
I need mana potions too, so maybe I should just buy the A-Class one for now.
I inserted the card into the machine and checked the balance.
A number appeared on the screen almost immediately.
[Balance: 1,000,000,000 Won]
…How many zeros are there?
Yuhyeon, you crazy bastard?!