What Hunters Need Most – Chapter 10
Meanwhile, our protagonist—Kim, the so-called Mechanic Lord (not quite)—is having a bizarre experience at the Hunter Measurement Center.
At the very moment he's feeling baffled by this situation that's trying way too hard to force some contrived drama, but the actors are so incompetent it comes off as awkwardly cringey as hell...
Inside a secretive room set up within the Measurement Center...
"Fuck, these idiots can't even act right?"
"Even if you say that, how the hell are our guys supposed to pull off playing thugs on the spot?"
"That's why they're such goddamn goody-two-shoes pushovers."
"Haha..."
The surveillance officer stares at the all-seeing monitor displaying feeds from every camera in the Measurement Center—not just the obvious ones, but the hidden secret cams too.
Bickering with him is a purple-ponytailed woman in a sharp suit, perfectly tailored. The two of them watch the scene on screen, trading barbs.
So who the hell are these people, and why are they monitoring every screen in this national Hunter Rating Measurement Center?
Well, obviously—the answer lies with the purple-ponytailed woman at the center of the monitor room and the man seated nearby, tapping away at the keyboard.
Their ID badges, dangling from their necks and marking them as part of the Hunter Management Bureau, say it all. But since not everyone in the world would recognize that on sight, here's a quick profile rundown:
"But what can we do? All the hunters here are B-rank or higher, so there aren't many total assholes with personality issues."
"We slipped in a few real assholes, though. Thought that'd make it work okay."
"Did it go like you said, Aran sunbae? If anything, the A-ranks disguised among them got intimidated and ended up even nicer."
"Hmm..."
"Plus, they know we're monitoring live right now. Anyone who acts out here is disqualified as a hunter anyway."
"If they don't follow orders just 'cause they're watching me, that's its own problem."
"It's like that saying—even a pup doesn't know to fear a tiger until it's right in its face, then it just pisses itself instead of barking."
The Korean government's presidential agency, created to manage high-rank hunters in towers and dungeons—the Hunter Management Bureau.
She's Kim Aran (29), the deputy director-level bigwig there, one of the less than ten known S-rank hunters in Korea, striking with her purple ponytail.
Her junior, also an S-rank hunter, is Jang Geun-seok (28)—nicknamed Spider, the section chief who forced all hunter registrations and Measurement Center ops to go offline, smashing Korea's chronic "online solves everything" bullshit.
From their conversation, it's clear: the ones behind the awkward mess making our protagonist mutter, "Why are these guys acting so stiff and weird?"—that's Kim Aran.
Cutting the profiles short and getting to the point...
Long story short: two S-rank hunters on a casual detour drop in unannounced (or barge in like idiots, from the staff's view). With nothing better to do, they chat up the Measurement Center folks.
Hearing it's new hunter rating day, they decide to kill time with a little "impromptu personality test"—evoking another government agency's vibe.
The problem? It's blatantly obvious right in their faces, and their chat reveals it too...
B-rank hunters and up already go through rigorous personality screening due to past incidents. Compared to civilians, they're plenty righteous and surprisingly gentle with humans.
-"Get over there."
-"...You're acting, right?"
-"Nah?"
-"The guy using casual speech just switched to polite all of a sudden."
-"Oh."
"Section Chief, the other hunters in rating checks are starting to notice something's off too."
"See? I told you our guys couldn't pull this off. If they could, they'd be doing something else instead of this."
"...Should I laugh at this or not?"
From Kim Aran's view—seasoned through countless trials, immune to petty political games, able to act on cue—these performances scream, "What the actual fuck?"
Dragging this out would just turn it from rating test to Hunter Personality Test Mk. II.
"Tch. End the impromptu personality test. Tell everyone to back off casually."
"Got it."
Jang Geun-seok—Hunter nickname Spider—issues the order, calling off the pointless stunt.
But just then...
"...Hold up, Geun-seok. Can you tell who noticed the weirdness first over there?"
"One sec. Looking at the CCTV logs... this guy's the quickest to pick up on it."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
Since they're already here, better make it look like they did something—or the Bureau head in Seoul will chew them out later.
Aran, slyly building an excuse—"We spotted a standout early"—gets her perfect opportunity.
"Then let's run the rating test on that guy first. Him noticing right away means something."
"...Isn't that just luck?"
"Shh, quiet."
"Gahhh!! W-wait, I surrender! Mercy!"
She dislocates his shoulder joint a bit more as "senior's consideration," then pushes to test the hunter who clocked it first.
Of course—as mentioned—this is all just an excuse for her boredom-fueled stunt with other hunters. No matter his level or rank, it'll just add one line to the incident report.
But as he enters the training ground for the real test...
-Bratatatata-BOOM!Bang! Bang!
-Bratatatatatatat!
-"Uh, um... huh?"
-"All done."
-"Gun? Machine gun? Why a gun? Why?!"
-"Pardon?"
"...Guns, huh?"
"Precisely, a 20mm Pelican autocannon and K3A3 7.62mm light machine gun—both official Korean military gear. But why the hell are they popping out of that guy's body?"
Suddenly summoning guns from his body, blasting away.
Bigger stuff like the autocannon? He half-mounts it on himself and unloads.
Thanks to thick mana shields, he shreds a special dummy that a C-rank max-effort swing would barely dent—leaving just the roots.
A B-rank full-power burst needed to crack the special mana-armored plate? He turns it into Swiss cheese in seconds with the cannon.
Finally, the A-rank "live monster combat test."
Three A-ranks on standby for emergencies. They release a Saber Tiger—notorious for tough hide and claws that give hunters headaches.
-Rooooaaarrr!!
-Bratatatataaa!!
-"Kyaaaaang!!!"
"Whoa."
"Oh... that hide's super tough—takes real effort to take down."
"Dunno why he swaps guns every 50 rounds, but switching and spraying keeps the monster from closing in."
"Damn."
"...Sunbae, looks like we hit the jackpot."
"Yeah, total unexpected jackpot."
The Saber Tiger never gets close, just pummeled into bloody chunks.
Aran and Spider exchange grins—bored visit to the Measurement Center unearthed a gem.
And yeah, about 60% of those smiles? Relief at finding a competent "junior" to dump work on.