Finally Issued License
Finally Issued License
The Hunter Association building, which could practically be considered half-destroyed.
In the midst of ongoing reconstruction work, all high-ranking executives of the Association were currently gathered together in the building's underground bunker.
The reason people referred to as the so-called high-and-mighty figures had gathered in one place late at night was singular.
They had gathered to discuss measures against the sudden attack by Cheonryeok Han Jaehoon and their future course of action.
Having had their workplace blown to smithereens in a single moment, not a single executive gathered in this room hid their rage.
"We must lodge a formal complaint with the Changgung Guild!"
"Their actions have crossed the line. A complaint alone is not enough; I believe we must hit them with appropriate penalties."
"They've reigned supreme as one of the 5 Great Guilds for so long that they've clearly become soaked in arrogance. How dare they attack the Association?"
"The Association is not a simple building. It is like the pride of South Korea, unbroken through all kinds of incidents over a long time."
Despite the voices spewing rage and hate as naturally as breathing, the middle-aged man sitting in the top seat silently kept his place.
Korean Hunter Association President Gu Sangwon.
To him, a first-generation hunter who had navigated through all kinds of battlefields, the fact that the Association wasn't completely destroyed, but merely had its building half-wrecked, was not something to be particularly flustered about.
Therefore, he sat quietly and waited for the right moment.
Only after confirming that an employee from the Association's Intelligence Department had entered did he tap on the desk, hushing everyone.
Tang! Tang!
"Quiet, quiet! ...Phew, it's finally quiet. So. Have you found the reason why Cheonryeok suddenly attacked the Association?"
"Because the reporting system was damaged along with the attack, the investigation wasn't easy, but we speculate with a probability of over 90% that it might be related to his daughter."
"I believe the Strategy Coordination Director already stepped forward to handle that matter?"
"We are also not 100% certain because of that possibility. However, this is the only thing that has happened to Cheonryeok recently, so..."
"Haa... Good work."
As the employee bowed their head and left out of guilt for failing to find a proper cause despite bearing the title of Intelligence Department, the gazes of all executives, including the Association President, shifted to one side. Sitting there was Dan Cheonghwa, who was quietly sitting and slurping up coffee as if asking if there was any problem.
"So, Strategy Coordination Director Dan Cheonghwa. According to the report filled with the blood and sweat of the Intelligence Department, it seems this matter is somewhat connected to your side. Do you have anything separate to report?"
"Well now. According to the agreement reached a few days ago, he promised not to show hostility toward the Association as long as the contract was kept before leaving."
"If it's the contract, I received a report about it as well. Although it felt somewhat excessive, considering it as compensation for the terror attack and an investment in a genius who will raise South Korea's prestige in the future, it wasn't a waste. In fact, I heard that compensation is being prepared step by step. But why did Cheonryeok attack the Association then?"
"I don't know that either."
At Dan Cheonghwa's response, shrugging her shoulders as if she truly knew nothing, Gu Sangwon's worries only deepened.
At that moment, one of the Association executives carefully raised a hand and received permission to speak.
"Um... Considering Cheonryeok's usual behavior pattern, I don't think he is someone who would cause such an incident for no reason. And as everyone knows, Cheonryeok's reverse scale is his family. From what I heard, Cheonryeok's daughter visited the Association today—could something have happened back then?"
"That makes sense. Dan Cheonghwa, what happened when Han Sia-yang visited the Association today?"
"Hmph, all I did was formally apologize on behalf of the Association as promised with Cheonryeok and give a light greeting."
"Besides that?"
"I believe she took her mana test and went home."
Only after hearing up to that point did Gu Sangwon feel like the puzzle pieces inside his head were fitting together.
She came to register as a hunter, but left after taking 'only' the mana test?
For hunter registration, shouldn't physical and potential evaluations remain in addition to the mana test?
"...Who was in charge of conducting the mana test?"
"Inspector Sa Hyeona conducted it."
"Ah." "Hmm." "Heo." "Ha." "Tsk."
The moment he heard Sa Hyeona's name, the puzzle inside Gu Sangwon's head was perfectly assembled.
Han Sia, who right after awakening had shown potential enough to easily defeat an executive of the massive organization known as the Kowloon Association without receiving a single scratch.
And Sa Hyeona, who couldn't contain her desire for knowledge, meddled in taboos, got dragged to the Association, and was working as an inspector.
What if something peculiar came up during her mana test?
She surely couldn't control her true nature and must have babbled or done something weird again.
And that content would have reached Cheonryeok's ears in its entirety.
The Association President's guess was accurate, and the other executives gathered in this room were also people who could make similar guesses if given this much of a clue.
"...Now that I think about it, there's no way that fellow Cheonryeok would commit such an act without any reason, right?"
"That's true. I know because I've had drinks with that fellow a few times; he was a truly upright and righteous fellow."
"Wouldn't it be better to send a letter containing a message of reconciliation to the Changgung side even now?"
Watching the executives, upon realizing the cause lay with the Association side, competing to turn into anger-management masters, Gu Sangwon thought:
'What kind of wealth and glory am I trying to enjoy to suffer like this in my twilight years...'
**
Several days had already passed since I visited the Association.
Contrary to my worries during that time that abeoji, who had turned into a terrorist, might get arrested, the Association side had actually unofficially apologized to abeoji through the Changgung Guild, though it wasn't really something I needed to care about.
More important than that was that my Hunter License had finally arrived.
Originally, it should have been impossible for my Hunter License to come out when I had only finished the mana test and hadn't done any other tests.
However, because the Hunter Association building was half-destroyed due to a certain mad scientist, tests could no longer be conducted at the Association, and instead, I took the remaining tests at the Changgung Guild.
Since the Changgung Guild also had the equipment and technological capability, they wrote down the results of my physical ability test and potential evaluation test and sent them to the Hunter Association, and the Hunter Association, having a somewhat guilty conscience, simply issued the Hunter License according to the test results sent over and dispatched it to me.
That was how the Hunter License came into my hands.
On top of the fresh, piping-hot white license, there was a neat photo taken at a studio, and next to it, the text reading F-rank Hunter.
One might ask how someone with an EX-rank Unique Trait could be F-rank, but newly registered hunters are originally supposed to start from F-rank.
And with my abilities, I also have the confidence to quickly escape F-rank and become a high-ranking hunter.
"Heung-heung~"
I carefully put down the Hunter License, turned on my smartphone, and accessed the Korea Hunter Gallery.
Then, I accessed the Hunter Verification located at the top of the page, entered my hunter information, and pressed the verification button, whereupon a verification code was sent to my smartphone.
After transcribing the verification code to complete the hunter verification, the 'Register Nickname' section finally appeared.
The nickname I would use on Korea Hunter Gallery, huh?
Actually, I had thought about this a few times in the past.
After all, abeoji is a high-ranking hunter belonging to one of the 5 Great Guilds, and omma is also an officially registered hunter with the Association, even if she isn't an active hunter going to erosion zones.
The high probability of hunters coming from hunter parents was already a scientifically proven fact anyway.
However, all the nicknames I came up with while imagining my future self as a hunter had one problem.
And that was...
'They were nicknames made while imagining myself crushing monsters at 180 cm tall with overwhelming physical strength, you see...'
The illusion that because both of my parents possessed physical-type professions or Unique Traits, I too would naturally awaken an ability in that direction.
I, having awakened as a Cryomancer now of all times, could not possibly use a nickname created while imagining myself standing at the apex of hunters with my two fists.
Therefore, I needed a new nickname worthy of being used by me as a Cryomancer—and one with an EX-rank Unique Trait at that.
'Freezing, Ice, Frozen, Hyorinmaru, Ice Age, A cat trotting over the frozen ice...'
I pondered over new nicknames to use for a while, but not a single one was to my liking.
It can't be helped then.
Since things turned out like this, I have no choice but to come up with something rough for now and change it later if I think of a good one.
Since changing the nickname is possible once a month, a good nickname should come to mind in about a month.
Entrusting the task that I couldn't decide on right now to my future self, I pressed the confirm button with the hastily chosen nickname.
[Would you like to set your nickname to 'President of the Freeze-to-Death Iced Americano Association'?]
Yes!
Having set my nickname, I tossed my smartphone to the side and sprawled out on the bed in a spread-eagle position like the character Big.
It was still just past 9 o'clock, a bit early to go to sleep.
It wasn't that I was particularly sleepy, but I closed my eyes to fall asleep nonetheless.
'Is training starting tomorrow.'
It was for the hunter training that would begin starting tomorrow.
According to Maria eonni, abeoji asked the Changgung Guild Leader, Sua imo, to have executives with spare time take turns teaching me, so I wonder who I'll learn what from.
Although I don't know yet, since they told me to rest well for now, let's go night-night with a ko- as instructed.
Looking forward to tomorrow's training, I slowly drifted off to dreamland.