An SS++ Hunter Appears

The work of a Hunter Examination Center Director was far more tedious than she had ever imagined.

Back when she had first retired from hunter life—half by choice, half by force of circumstance—after that incident, she had actually been glad to have something to occupy her time. But sitting through endless paperwork was a job that simply did not suit Kim Heeyeon, a former SSS-rank hunter.

Hair black as ink, just long enough to graze her shoulders. Skin pale as porcelain, a figure sleek and well-kept. She could feel it in her very skin: this body she had once been so proud of was rotting away under a lifestyle this wretched.

Jobs are hard to come by these days. But if I just kill a little more time, at least the pension will be fat.

Money was the only logic driving Heeyeon now. Which was exactly why everything felt so dull. So thoroughly, mind-numbingly boring. It was like being a civil servant.

Measuring the ranks of new hunters and stamping her seal of certification. It might have sounded like she was cultivating the next generation, but in this day and age, how well would an apprenticeship system even function? The hunter industry was a jungle of eat-or-be-eaten, and those who fell behind were simply left behind. It was not as if Heeyeon did not know that perfectly well.

And so another day found her slouched in her chair, staring vaguely out the window, killing time—until the phone rang.

At this hour?

Click.

Heeyeon lifted the receiver.

"Hunter Examination Center, Director Kim Heeyeon speaking."

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

Manager Kang was an extremely professional man. Unless something was genuinely out of the ordinary, he would not even leave an email, let alone make a phone report—he handled things at his own level. In fact, the only other time Heeyeon had ever received a call from him was when the President of the Hunter Association had paid a surprise visit.

"Strange how?"

"Come again?"

"This isn't just another blowhard kicking up a fuss, is it?"

Manager Kang is going that far?

Heeyeon considered for a moment before answering.

"SS++-rank, huh… I'll look over the evaluation. Handle it on your end first, Manager, and give me a call if anything comes up."

Click.

Once the line went dead, Heeyeon let out a long sigh.

Could be a numerical error in the machine. Or someone used some kind of ability to fool it. Sorry, kid, but you're not the first. There was a guy who caused a whole uproar claiming an SS-rank hunter had appeared, and when we checked, he'd just scrambled the machine's internal program. All sizzle, no steak.

It was not as if SS++-rank hunters grew on trees. The odds of one appearing among South Korea's fifty million people were vanishingly slim. The whole thing had been absurd from the start.

See? Nothing to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Might as well grab another nap.

And so Heeyeon sat in her chair, diligently milking the public payroll.

Stay calm.

Hyun Jisu, who had come within a hair of drowning in a bottomless swamp of panic, barely managed to pull himself together. Everything happening right now was vivid, undeniable reality. He had gone all-in on a single coin. That coin had suddenly surged twelvefold. Every stat he had staked on it had multiplied by twelve, and he had become an SS++-rank hunter. All of it—every last bit—was as real as the ground under his feet.

Still. Stay calm.

He had to keep his head. If he came apart in the examination hall because of a sudden leap in power, he would only invite suspicion. Of course, a hunter's aptitude and unique traits coming to light was not, in itself, some catastrophe. But an unexpected weakness could always be seized upon, which was why most hunters kept their mouths shut. Jisu, a complete outsider to the hunter industry, had no way of knowing that—but the survival instinct he had carved into his bones scraping by at the bottom, taking whatever work he could get, was screaming at him that letting his trait get out would be a very bad idea.

There was no need to look rattled here. If anything, he needed to be bold. As if he had known, from the very first moment he checked his Status, that this was the kind of power he had been given.

Just act like my ability was always at this level.

Right. Play it cool. Better to bluff his way through with a straight face than to flail around and draw the wrong kind of looks. Jisu had no confidence in his acting, but he figured it would work out somehow, and carefully started toward the examination hall.

The interior was far more spacious than it had looked from outside. At the very center of the building stood an enormous fountain, crowned with an ornate statue, and from that fountain three paths branched away. Jisu was still taking in the scenery, his gaze drawn this way and that, when he spotted several people hurrying out from the first path.

"Are you Hyun Jisu?"

They were dressed in ordinary clothes, but Jisu could tell. These people were fairly high-ranking around here. He could not have put it into words if someone had asked him why—but his gut said so. They were of a certain age, too.

"Yes, that's me."

"Welcome to the Hunter Examination Center. Normally there would be a few more procedures to go through, but… we'd like to start with a Status verification, if that's all right with you."

On the first day he had attempted this, Jisu had already done a rough investigation online of how the Hunter Association exam worked. First came the aptitude check and Status confirmation. Once that was finished, you went to reception, filled in your personal information, and matched it against the exam number you had applied with. They did not usually bother with an extra Status verification during that process, but if the hunter themselves requested it, additional procedures could be carried out. After verification, you went through further steps according to your officially certified hunter rank, and your personal details were formally registered with the Hunter Association. From that point on you could legally operate as a hunter, and dungeon exploration and raid participation became possible as well. The license itself was issued somewhere along the way.

The situation in front of him, however, looked nothing like what he had read online. Jumping straight to Status verification? They had clearly felt the same uncanny sense of wrongness he had.

They're shocked because I came up SS++-rank.

Jisu could understand that. Hadn't he been just as stunned at first? The numbers were so hard to believe that they had come out in person to check for themselves. He had no idea how they actually measured physical ability in the examination hall, but he reminded himself of the resolution he had made only moments ago.

"Sure. Should I head that way?"

"Ah—yes. Please come this way."

The people who had come out to meet him seemed a little puzzled by how composed he was, tilting their heads, but they soon settled their thoughts and carefully escorted him into the examination hall.

Right. Whatever happens from here on, just keep doing it this way.

Maximum composure. Jisu followed the two greeters into the examination hall as if none of this were anything out of the ordinary. For reasons he could not name, a strange confidence was blooming in his chest, a feeling that he could handle whatever came next.

Was it misfortune, or fortune? Up to that very moment, Jisu did not yet understand that the coin market was a thing that could invert itself in the span of a single second.

The inside of the testing area was less remarkable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than he had expected. It was no different from any ordinary certification exam hall. Following the greeters up a flight of stairs, a somewhat wider space came into view.

"This place normally operates by appointment, but… you already know, don't you, Jisu? Why we brought you here."

Because his ability was too high, most likely. It did not particularly bother him. Honestly, if Jisu himself had been the examiner, he would have wanted to test it too. He did not know much, but he knew that in the public eye, even a single S-rank hunter was enough to splash across every headline. This was an era in which quality hunters were national power. If a genuine SS++-rank hunter had appeared, of course they would want to reconfirm the stats.

"Yes."

"Then…"

The man said that and kept leading Jisu onward. How long they walked after that, he could not have said. Something began to appear in Jisu's vision.

"…?"

"Can you see the message clearly?"

"Ah, yes."

Jisu nodded in confirmation.

"Since you've successfully awakened your hunter talent, a detailed explanation may ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be unnecessary, but I'll go over it once more."

"All right."

"This is a simulated space. It won't have any significant effect on the real world, so feel free to use your power as much as you like. Raid Zones normally only activate where a Gate has opened, but this location is an ability testing facility, and the simulation function has been activated so you can measure your own stats."

A few more explanations followed after that. Attacks here would only give you the sensation of being hit; your body would take no actual harm. Even if something felt like it was exploding, the world outside would not be meaningfully affected. The gist of it was that this was an enormous hunter simulator.

"We'll now proceed with the combat ability test."

A sharp crackle split the air. At the man's words, a ripple shuddered through the empty space—and in the next instant, a ruined cityscape unfurled before Jisu's eyes.

Well now.

Any sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic—wasn't that how the saying went? Jisu had no idea how any of this actually worked, but coming face-to-face with a space that felt like genuine virtual reality, he could not hide his wonder.

"The opposing monster is a monstrous life-form that actually appears in raids. Since you've awakened your hunter aptitude, you should be able to go out and fight it yourself. Do you have a weapon you use?"

"No. This is my first time in combat."

"Everyone has a weapon they feel they can handle well. You might have known when you confirmed your talent… and even if not, as you go on raids, you'll find a weapon that fits your hand. Would you like to pick from what we currently have available?"

"Hmm…"

Jisu gave the weapons prepared off to one side a brief look. On one end, the classics were laid out: swords and shields, massive spears, iron clubs. On the other, firearms and heavy weapons, along with things whose purpose he could not even guess at a glance—the selection was fairly thorough. He considered what to try, then dropped the thought.

Even with decent stats, I'd still have to learn how to use a weapon… and my talent isn't related to wielding weapons anyway.

"I'll just go barehanded."