Reunion with Park Hayul – Crushing the Hunter Exam
The hunter exam has three parts total: physical fitness, mana measurement, and practical combat.
The physical test evaluates body enhancement types.
The mana test checks magic types.
And the practical is to see how you handle yourself as a hunter.
"Group A, numbers 1 through 10, come on in."
They test ten at a time.
I didn't have to wait long before my turn came up.
"Next, numbers 51 through 60!"
I'm 59.
I followed the government official and took the physical and mana tests.
The physical exam was similar to the one I'd done with Park Hayul.
Except this time, ten people did it simultaneously.
The mana test after that was no big deal.
Just a check of your total mana amount.
You drip a drop of blood on the crystal orb, and that's it.
The crystal changes color to show your rank.
It's not perfectly accurate, but according to what I'd seen online:
E-rank is gray, D-rank green.
C-rank blue, B-rank purple, A-rank gold.
S-rank black.
That's solid info.
All six S-ranks in Korea came out black.
Mine was blue.
Still a huge step up from when I barely had rat-shit worth of mana.
I breezed through the mana test and headed to the final practical exam.
A dungeon in the basement of the Awakening Bureau.
One they manage to keep from disappearing.
"You'll go in with an examiner. If your life is in danger, the examiner intervenes."
But if the examiner steps in, the test ends.
Automatic fail, they said.
Since it's one at a time for the practical, it took forever to get to me.
"Next, number 59. Pick your weapon."
My number was finally called, and I entered the dungeon with the examiner.
A bright open plain, no obstacles in sight.
"The test starts now."
The examiner vanished.
Guess he has some stealth ability.
Alright then...
The goal is to smash the fake core the examiner set up.
Forward march.
No info on this place, but I've got confidence.
A current top B-rank hunter acknowledged me.
That's from a solid upper B-rank hunter.
So I'm definitely passing.
I advanced without any tension.
"Kieek!"
Then monsters charged at me.
Dog-faced beasts covered in fur.
Bipedal, wielding weapons.
Trolls swarmed from all sides.
Trolls gripping swords or hammers swung at me.
I spun my test sword and slashed.
Clang—!
The troll got pushed back in our strength clash.
I briefly summoned Gram and activated body enhancement.
Swish—!
I sliced through the heads of the five trolls lunging at me in a flash.
Gram's heat vaporized their blood completely.
Sizzle—!
No troll blood splattered on my sword or body.
As expected, no combat growth triggered, just like with goblins.
Time to pick up the pace?
This clash confirmed it.
For me, who'd fought alongside the hero party...
This test was boring as hell.
**
Thud-thud—!
I dashed forward at full speed.
Trolls charged, but—
Shing—!
One swing, and their heads flew.
As I severed necks and torsos while running, I spotted what looked like the core.
Boom—!
Then a massive troll appeared.
Troll Warrior.
This must be the stand-in boss the examiner prepared.
So the real boss of this dungeon is a Troll Lord?
Random thought aside, I dove into combat.
The troll warrior swung its huge arm wide.
Good power, but slow.
And—
Full of openings!
Its wild swing left its torso wide open.
I slashed, but it didn't cut.
Tough hide.
There had to be a way to slice it...
They wouldn't stick us with an enemy a training sword can't cut.
Gram would do it, but nah.
I wanted to cut this troll warrior with my own skill.
Plenty of time left since I'd rushed here fast.
Whoosh—!
The troll warrior's attacks were sloppy, easy to dodge.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
Its swings kept slicing empty air.
My strikes all landed on its torso.
My blade dug deeper and deeper.
Got the feel now.
Difference in grip technique.
Shifted how I held the sword, and the blade sank into its skin right away.
Thud—!
Now half the blade was buried.
Time to finish.
No reason to drag it out now that I had the knack.
Perfect—its arms swung wide, body completely exposed.
I swung horizontally and bisected the troll warrior.
After dealing with it, I walked up to the core behind it.
Clang—!
Sliced the core in two as well.
"That it?"
Couldn't see him, but the examiner was watching nearby.
So I said it.
"Yes, that's it. You can exit."
The examiner dropped stealth, and we left the dungeon.
No trolls attacked since we were moving together.
**
Results come out a week later.
I took it easy that week.
Saw Hana unnie, met Park Ayun too.
Every time I hooked up with Hana unnie, my looks got handsomer.
Even grew a bit taller now.
Wasn't just them, though.
I summoned Cream and went on a date with her.
"Haa... spicy but delicious!"
Tteokbokki.
"Whoa~! So many flavors!"
Pizza.
Crunch—!
"This is chicken? No gamey smell at all!"
Chicken too.
We tried all sorts of food.
I summoned Choi Rin, but only for 30 minutes.
Too short to do much.
Kang Nabi had the longest time at two hours among those I could summon.
"Eh, not much different from our world."
She said it bluntly, but—
Grin—!
That smile never left her face during our two-hour date.
That's how I spent the week dating and fucking various women.
Monday, results day, finally arrived.
100% pass, but my heart still pounded—small-man syndrome, I guess.
I opened the Awakening Bureau site and checked.
"Heh."
Pass, bold as brass.
I immediately messaged the family.
Parents who thought I was a NEET.
-What? When did you even take the exam! Oh my... you finally passed!
Parents were thrilled, naturally.
But worry laced their voices too.
Hunter deaths, news staple.
That flashed in their minds.
"Don't worry! Your son's strong!"
Mom smiled at my reply.
But the worry lingered.
They're down in the provinces, so I promised to visit this weekend and hung up.
Next, Park Ayun.
Someone I'd known longer than Hana unnie, so order made sense.
-Congrats. Busy, gotta go.
Plain and simple.
Hana unnie's reaction was totally different.
-Really! Congrats! Free tonight? Dinner!
She celebrated like it was her own win.
No plans, so dinner date with unnie it was.
Thought it'd be just us, but—
"Oh, hi..."
Park Hayul came out with Hana unnie.
"Y-you promised to buy me food."
Too embarrassed to come alone, so tagging along with unnie to keep her word.
Hayul led the way to some "great spot" she'd found.
Hana unnie sidled up behind me and whispered,
"I'll eat and bail, so you two sort it out."
Unnie giving us a chance to thaw the awkwardness.
"Got it."
With unnie in the picture, I'd keep running into Hayul anyway.
Better fix this ASAP.
Hayul's pick was a nakgopsae joint—noodles and baby octopus.
"What, why?"
I gave her a surprised look, and she panicked.
"Western stuff like steak or pasta never sits right with me. You don't hate it, do you?"
She cautiously asked if I disliked it, explaining Western food didn't suit her taste.
"Nah, love it."
We headed inside.
Popular spot, pretty crowded.
"You okay?"
I asked the famous actress unnie.
"Oh, didn't I mention?"
She was wearing a perception-blocking item.
Said no one recognizes her even wandering around.
"Mmm~ tasty." "First time, but yeah, good."
Unnie and my verdict.
Hayul, who'd scouted it herself, smiled faintly.
"Tch... still 2% off."
Hayul griped it was lacking.
Unnie caught on quick—what her daughter needed—and called the waiter.
"One bottle of soju here."
Mom instincts.
"Kya~ that's the stuff!"
Once the booze flowed, the vibe heated up.
"Ah, perfect buzz."
More drinks and snacks arrived.
"Mom, round two?" "Sorry, something came up at work."
Unnie looked apologetic.
Before grabbing her stuff and leaving, she—
Wink—!
Slipped out.
She wants us to go alone?
Couldn't waste unnie's setup.
"Just us?" "Um..."
Hayul pondered, glancing between my face and the soju.
She nodded firmly, decided.
"Yeah. Round two."
Round two was a pojangmacha street tent.
Udon and soju.
Hayul's tastes were total old-man style.
"Heehee~"
Totally wasted now.
Swaying as she whined,
"It's~ all your fault~"
Blames me for whatever.
"Why~ why do I keep thinking about that time~?"
"That time?"
She propped her chin, staring straight into my eyes.
"Sex! Sex, I mean!"
Shocking word from her mouth.
"Ever since then, my head's full of it~!"
More unexpected outbursts.
"Your fault! Take responsibility!"
"Yeah, yeah, I will."
I just took her straight to a hotel.