I'm a Mana Genius!
"Snow Girl? That's a job I've never heard of."
"Huh, really…?"
Hunter jobs usually overlapped a lot. For example, Grandpa Yong-su's Guardian of the Sea was held by quite a few hunters. Of course, just because the job names were the same didn't mean they were all the same rank. Most had different job grades despite the identical names, and the innate skills varied wildly too. For the record, Grandpa Yong-su proudly held Guardian of the Sea (S). The name had a cool ring to it. If only mine was something like Snow God (EX) or Ice Boss (EX) instead of Snow Girl.
"Fascinating. I might need to look it up, but as far as I know, there aren't even any jobs with a similar vibe overseas."
Uncle Jong-woo stared at me like I was the most intriguing thing ever. Grandpa Yong-su and Sister Se-eun did too. Well, I had been pretty shocked when I first checked mine. I hadn't known Snow Girl was unique to me, but EX-rank was something no one had ever seen before. They were probably feeling the same awe I had.
"Let's start with measuring your mana quantity."
"Okaay~!"
Every hunter was born with a different amount of mana. I'd heard about some foreign hunter whose job was Mage but started with so little mana after awakening that they struggled for a while. Luckily, mana grows with hunter activities. It was like physical stamina—you build it up by running raids or climbing towers for those sweet rewards. That's why people joked that innate mana wasn't that big a deal. But deep down, everyone dreamed of being born with a massive mana jackpot.
I bet mine's pretty huge, right? Nah, probably not…
Still, come on? I'd done that not-quite-raid with Grandpa Yong-su, and I'd frozen everything around me solid. Dragon-level mana at birth? But I stopped daydreaming—chugging kimchi soup only to crash hard later would suck. Absolmi pecked my head like he was cheering me up.
"Miss Shiro, this way."
"Ooooh…!"
I shook off the random thoughts and followed Uncle Jong-woo's lead. Wondered how they'd measure it, and turns out it was me hopping into one of those muse-making capsules…!
Inside the translucent blue glass tube, it felt weirdly surreal. Like it might fill up with bubbling water any second and knock me out. What if I woke up a million years later and future people mistook me for alien chow? Not that it'd happen, but…
"Hold your breath for a moment, please."
"Hng…!"
I held it, and Uncle Jong-woo deftly worked the controls. Hunter Association Presidents weren't usually this hands-on with tech—it was kinda cool seeing him handle what looked like scientist gear. Guess you had to be this competent to reach his position? Yeah, no Association President gig for me ever. Unless it was a snowman-making association.
A short wait later, a pssh sounded, and the capsule opened. Felt like nothing happened, but Uncle Jong-woo's face was weird. Eyes twitching, sweat beading, gulping repeatedly while sneaking glances at Grandpa.
Did I fail the test…?
"This is… unprecedented. How can the readings be this high…?"
Nope?
"Hmm, let me see. How high did it—whoa…!"
"Lemme see too. Whoa, Shiro. What are you?"
Huh, I wanna know too. But the vibe wasn't right for joking, so I stayed quiet. I really did want to know why my body changed like this.
"I wanna see too."
"Sure. Let me explain, Miss Shiro."
Uncle Jong-woo crouched to my level, paper in hand, like he thought I'd need it simple. Too bad my inner nine-year-old girl was actually a burly adult dude, so I should've gotten it fin—wait, why didn't any of it make sense? The paper was crammed with jargon. Even Grandpa Yong-su and Sister Se-eun looked baffled as they peered over. Uncle pointed out the key bits.
"See that huge number? That's your total mana, Miss Shiro."
"Ooooh…!"
"This is an incredibly high figure. In raw quantity, it rivals the top A-rank Mages."
So I am awesome! I'd never done a proper raid or climbed a tower, so fully grown, I'd be off-the-charts even among S-ranks, right?
"And the even more shocking part's below it. That percentage is mana density—the higher it is, the more potent your mana is per unit spent."
So quantity was just volume; density decided the punch. Like comparing water to syrup? Got it.
"Finally, that last number is mana hierarchy. Mana follows a hierarchy from 1 to 10—the closer to 10, the higher it is."
"Ooh! Mine's super high!"
"Exactly. Higher hierarchy resists lower ones, so attacks with weaker mana won't faze you much. But yours shreds lower hierarchies harder."
"Wow!"
"Your hierarchy and density are top-tier even among S-ranks. Astonishing numbers, and you haven't even fully grown yet…."
Uncle Jong-woo's breakdown made it all click. High hierarchy = strong vs. lesser mana. High density = more bang per mana. I was seriously OP. No wonder those big dragons went down like phsssh.
"Shiro, you're incredible! Everything's higher than me. That's gotta be an S-rank judgment, right?"
"Hahaha! This young one's got some chops. Her quantity and hierarchy outstrip even this old man's."
Even more than Grandpa Yong-su, S-rank Vanguard ranked 6th. I'd lose in a fight, sure, but just hearing that made me beam. Uncle Jong-woo went from stunned to proud, pocketing the paper.
"On to the next test: physical evaluation. Expectations are high after that mana showing."
"Hehehe."
Sweet. Time to go all out.
"Hah… hah…."
"Hm? That's odd."
Uncle Jong-woo hadn't announced results yet, but I could tell. This body? Trash-tier confirmed. Running and heavy lifts proved it. That time I couldn't budge the fridge in my old one-room? Not beginner weakness—it was just weak.
"Physical abilities are… overall, those of a nine-year-old girl. Except for exceptional eyesight…."
"Ugh…."
"N-No, that's not bad! Miss Shiro excels in mana, and high hierarchy means solid natural defense anyway…."
Uncle's late save didn't help my gloom. Me, once 171cm of ripped muscle, reduced to this.
"Hahaha! Chin up, kiddo. With skills like yours, you won't be frontline much."
"You're putting Shiro in raids, Dad?"
"If she wants."
"Eyy, too dangerous still!"
"Uguuu…."
"L-Let's move to the next test."
Grandpa almost cheered me up, but Sister Se-eun tanked it again. I wanted raids, okay? Triceratops flashbacks still made my legs jelly—I legit thought I was dead. But fighting alongside Grandpa Yong-su? Thrilling. Felt alive. Super… fun.
Uncle Jong-woo caught my sulk and hustled me to the next spot: a massive gray sphere floating midair.
"Can you describe your skills, Miss Shiro? It's fine if you're not sure."
"Um… spraying snow to move around. And making living things like Absolmi."
Honestly, I hadn't used 'em enough to explain better. Why no skill descriptions anyway? Uncle seemed to get it—newbies often didn't know.
"Try the first skill on the sphere, then. Relax and go for it."
"Okaay…! Hnnnggg, hiyaa!"
Fists clenched, I gathered power. Chest tickled like a sneeze brewing. Felt like I had to fart! I flung my hands wide, unleashing mana.
Breath of the White Night
A blizzard roared out. No control practice yet, so cold surged past the sphere, slamming the far wall like crashing waves.
Whooooosh—
Strongest activation yet. Machines around the sphere iced over or snow-blanketed.
"…!"
Uncle Jong-woo, Grandpa, Sister Se-eun—all stunned, like they hadn't expected this. I felt embarrassed yet thrilled, unsure how to react. Standing awkwardly, I…
"V-Victory…?"
I flashed a V-sign.