The Possibility
In the fourth checkpoint, the woman’s employee ID card read “Lee Wonji, Administrative Officer.”
She was so stunningly beautiful that I felt a slight jolt of nervousness.
“Hello. I’d like you to check your identification first.”
“Yes? Ah, yes, here...”
Lee Wonji scanned my ID, then asked for a fingerprint scan as well.
Maybe if I had passed the civil service exam, I might have been standing in that very seat.
The Association of Awakened was under the Ministry of the Interior, and I had been preparing for the national civil service exam.
“Your identification is confirmed. As you know, the registration procedure for awakened is quite well-known, but first there will be a simple physical and stamina examination. It will take about two hours. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Association of Awakened will personally conduct your interview.”
“You mean Hunter Baek Jongdu and Ahn Sungjin?”
“Yes. You seem to know them well.”
“It really is true that every awakened person gets thoroughly reviewed.”
“Yes.”
Lee Wonji’s voice turned slightly tired as the questions kept coming.
After all, with three thousand awakened registering every year, that meant roughly ten people per day.
After repeating the same thing many times, one would get bored.
Then came the simple paperwork, and I was guided upstairs to the seventh floor.
The notice board beside the elevator had the rule “No skill usage inside the building. Fine is 200,000 won for violation.”
Alongside it were recruitment announcements for awakened firefighters, police officers, and hunter special hires, plus posters promoting benefits for gate extermination volunteers.
What caught my eye most was the wanted poster for an awakened criminal.
[A-Class Awakened Criminal, Bae Hyeongsin — 500 million won]
“Wow... 500 million...”
The crime: serial murder and terrorism.
The tattoo on his face was chilling.
Skill grade: A-class.
Public skills: Dark Bolt and Dark Blast.
Last sighting: one month ago near Busan Port.
So had he already become a smuggler?
—
While I was lost in thought, the elevator stopped.
— Seventh floor. Ascending. —
* * *
The physical examination was standard: height, weight, one X-ray, blood draw, urine test.
The stamina test was tougher.
They attached various machines, made me lift heavy objects in specific poses, and ran on a treadmill.
The result sheet read Strength: 3 / Agility: 4 / Vitality: 3.
Surprisingly, the numbers matched the stats on my status window exactly.
“Is there some kind of baseline here? The numbers are identical to my status window.”
“Yes. If you feel uncomfortable from sweating, there is a shower area over there. You may take it easily.”
Tsk, civil servants.
I had only been curious about the baseline.
Still, I remembered the advice I had heard from a civil servant friend, a classmate at the public exam academy.
“No, it’s fine.”
Of course, it had been a while since I last bathed, and I was eager to return home and change.
Without clothes to change into and not even at home, showering felt awkward.
Home suddenly made me remember my mother’s voice asking, “When will you be home?” out of nowhere.
That voice I would never hear again.
The call records were saved on my phone, so I could have listened to it.
But if I did so right now, I wouldn’t be able to hold back tears.
How shameful would that be?
I would only listen once before bed.
“Then may I proceed with the interview?”
“Yes...”
The interview was meeting two very famous people, so I felt a bit nervous.
Baek Jongdu and Ahn Sungjin were first-generation hunters who had been active thirty years ago, before the first gate appeared.
They were the representatives of Korean hunters.
On New Quiz TV, they had said their greatest joy in old age was watching every awakened person themselves, and their greatest honor was directly assessing their grades.
Of course, they were not there simply because they had been hunters for a long time.
They were there because they possessed the optimal ability to evaluate awakened.
“Just think of it as a casual conversation. I don’t know much about how to receive a high grade.”
Even though I had asked a question that might have gotten a long answer, they answered quite well.
Following the civil servant, I entered the interview room.
The space was absurdly vast, so much so that my voice would echo if I spoke.
Was it roughly the size of a school auditorium?
Two elderly men sat on a grand sofa in the center.
Baek Jongdu, the Chairman, wore a white suit and fedora, a cigar in his mouth.
Next to him, Ahn Sungjin, the Vice-Chairman, wore sunglasses and extremely casual sweatpants, legs crossed, fiddling with his phone.
It was slightly different from the image on TV.
“Ah, hello.”
“Yes, come here, Lee Doosik. Sit comfortably on that chair.”
Baek Jongdu lit his cigar and pointed to the shabby chair in front of him.
“Ah, yes...”
The distance from the interview room entrance to the chair was enormous.
What kind of structure was this absurd interview room?
It felt unnatural to walk, and the Vice-Chairman’s eyes behind the sunglasses seemed to be scrutinizing every move of mine.
Once seated, Baek Jongdu spoke.
“No need to be nervous. It’s a casual seat.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then let’s hear what you have to say.”
“Yes? What kind of... conversation?”
“Just talk openly. How you awakened, what class you awakened as, that sort of thing. What constellation is it?”
Baek Jongdu, looking like a grandfather, gave an impression of great wisdom and kindness.
‘If you could tell whether a person was lying or telling the truth just from listening to his words once he reached the peak of sensing...’
That was Baek Jongdu’s revealed ability from New Quiz.
Of course, his combat ability was separate.
Even though he looked kind, the man was an incredible swordsman.
Was the cane beside him actually a sword?
I answered calmly, still a little scared.
“A while ago, my mother passed away in a traffic accident.”
“Oh dear...”
My first sentence seemed to leave Ahn Sungjin unfazed, but his eyes behind the sunglasses sharpened as he looked at me.
Black pupils in pure white eyes.
The moment our gazes met, a chill ran down my spine.
He saw mana.
He had said every person’s mana had a color.
I had heard his combat ability was a spirit sorcerer.
“In the hospital... right before she passed, she appeared in my dream. My mother.”
I hadn’t wanted to say it, but my throat tightened, and tears welled up.
“But my mother brought a reaper to me and introduced him, saying to please take good care of him.”
“An unusual awakening. But a reaper? Do you remember what the reaper looked like?”
Baek Jongdu asked seriously.
“A skeleton. Dressed in a dark, worn robe or cloak? Face only visible, head wrapped, holding a judge’s sickle in his hand...”
“Continue.”
“My mother told the reaper to take good care of me, and the reaper sucked into my body. When I woke from the dream, my mother...”
Again my throat choked, and Baek Jongdu added a question.
“Which constellation chose you?”
“The Skeleton Star...”
“Hmm, interesting... not only the look but a constellation I’ve never heard of. What class?”
“Yes. Unique class. Skeleton Lord.”
The word “unique” made Ahn Sungjin remove his sunglasses and stare at me sharply.
His white eyes.
I wasn’t particularly burdened by eye contact with others, but his gaze was heavy.
My eyes naturally drifted to empty space.
“Are you sure? Lord?”
I heard Ahn Sungjin’s voice for the first time.
He had uncrossed his legs and was staring at me intently.
He cared more about the word “lord” than “unique” or “skeleton.”
“Yes. Skeleton Lord. In English, Skeleton Lord...”
“No need to look further. Chairman, shall we move on to a skill demonstration?”
“Haha, very well.”
—Tap—
As soon as Baek answered, Ahn Sungjin snapped his fingers.
The floor suddenly vibrated, and a lump of dirt flew up.
“A lower-grade dirt spirit. Can you suppress it while using your skill or whatever?”
“If you do your best, I’ll be grateful.”
Baek and Ahn spoke in perfect sync.
It felt like a predetermined procedure.
“It’s a bit weak, though.”
Not weak at all.
I had planted the seeds.
“But if the skill level rises, there might be a possibility...”
“Well, give it a try.”
“Yes. Summon.”
—Crack—
Something tore open, and a skeleton soldier emerged.
“Wow, how bizarre.”
“Tsk, hmph... Never use it in public. Unless it’s a critical situation...”
“If you can, wear something and a helmet. It might not stand out at all, which would be even better.”
Was that advice?
I had heard that awakened with promising skills received advice from Baek and Ahn on how to speak in interviews.
I would keep it in mind.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s begin.”
“Yes. Attack.”
The skeleton soldier, clacking and shuffling, walked toward the lower-grade dirt spirit.
It was too slow, embarrassing.
“Ah, this is... I summoned it based on my stats... it’s strange...”
“......”
Clack clack...
Still not arriving.
“Are you doing your best?”
“... Do your best to make it a little faster...”
I asked the skeleton soldier timidly.
The soldier seemed to speed up a little...
Anyway, the skeleton soldier reached the dirt spirit, and
—Tap—
It was like a girlfriend playfully poking.
—Tap—
Not even a punch.
I had clenched my fist, but it was just a tap...
Tap...
Tap...
He kept hitting the dirt spirit, and my head fell with each tap.
It was humiliating.
“What do you think?”
Baek asked Ahn in a formal tone.
Ahn simply shook his head.
“Um... is that the base price? Ultimate skill?”
“... None.”
“Ahem... May I inspect durability?”
“Yes.”
A piece of something stuck out from the dirt and struck the skeleton soldier.
Then, like pins knocked over by a bowling ball, it fell over.
“Ugh... tsk.”
“This is... truly...”
I felt despair, but I still saw it as my mother’s legacy and argued with all my might.
“When I grow stronger, the skeleton soldiers will grow stronger too. And when the level rises, the number of skeleton soldiers will increase. Most importantly, if a skeleton soldier dies!”
“Of course, they can shine in special situations... attach bells to stand guard or hide magic traps and detonate them at the right moment... or stand in for night duty!”
Baek still offered advice on the usefulness of the skeleton soldier.
He even clapped when I thought the night duty idea was brilliant.
But Ahn made one more request.
“Summon the skeleton soldier again.”
“Yes. Summon.”
Again the skeleton soldier burst from the space.
Ahn rose from the sofa and walked slowly toward the soldier.
He studied the skeleton soldier for a long time.
Then he said to me.
“Look closely at the skeleton and imitate him.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Skeleton! Look closely and imitate.”
The skeleton soldier nodded slightly at my command.
Ahn threw a punch into empty air in front of the skeleton soldier.
The skeleton soldier copied the motion perfectly, without any deviation.
Of course, the fist was slow, but the jab was perfect, and then the straight punch Ahn showed next was copied exactly.
Ahn stared at me with his eerie white eyes for a while and said.
“With learning ability, there’s a possibility if you do it well.”
“Yes?”
“The path of a lord is always difficult. But once you become a lord, you will be able to look down on the entire world. And a lord who started with bare hands will eventually become the greatest lord.”
Ahn’s calm words.
I was deeply grateful for that sentence.
A person who understood the value of the gift my mother gave me.
I bowed silently.
“But I can’t give you a good grade. Because you have no combat ability.”
“Once you join Huntred and demonstrate your abilities, there will be opportunities to adjust your grade. Don’t be too disappointed.”
Baek added.
“Yes, thank you very much.”
It was sincere.
The final grade I received was E-.
Was that because they had seen my potential and not given me F?
The walk home felt light.
♪
[Dad]
While riding the subway home, I suddenly received a call from Dad.
I didn’t call Dad often.
Suddenly, the trauma from the day I called Mom’s number resurfaced.
But I answered carefully, thinking it couldn’t be him.
“Hello?”