The A-Class License Sensation
Kang Yujun’s license exam quickly became the talk of the town.
HunterNet.
HunterNet, usually filled with discussions about towers, awakened abilities, and optimal skill tree builds, was once again flooded with talk of Yujun.
Trainers who passed the license normally began at D-Class. From there, they could climb through achievements and further examinations. Starting at A-Class was unheard of.
The awakened on HunterNet were stunned.
The most dangerous incidents involved youths. Guilds across the board were pushing to raise promising youths into top awakened, so trainers often pushed them hard. Those who had obtained their licenses too easily abused the youths, leading to countless accidents. The root cause was deemed to be the overly lenient licensing process, and the exam difficulty had been drastically increased several months ago.
The review was extremely detailed.
Those who read the review were shocked.
Everyone had to admit it. The difficulty was insane.
There had been no such system before. If you met the right examiner, getting a license was relatively simple.
On top of that—
Because of this, countless candidates failed.
As a result, the pass rate had dropped sharply compared to before.
And because of that, Kang Yujun’s perfect score stood out even more.
Especially for the top guilds, the conditions were mouthwatering.
Han Gyujin, the star trainer who studied abroad and returned. Rumors said Dream Guild had already recouped his massive signing bonus thanks to him.
With the importance of trainers rising, Kang Yujun, who had obtained an A-Class license, was an incredibly valuable commodity.
News articles about Kang Yujun began appearing across multiple outlets.
Of course, most of the headlines were sensational. Yujun’s achievement was certainly remarkable, but he had only just become an A-Class trainer. Still, it was true that guilds were eyeing him hungrily.
“Where is Kang Yujun currently affiliated?”
“Any ongoing contract negotiations?”
“Can we contact him?”
Scouts had already taken note of him after the Woo Hana incident. Now that he had become an A-Class trainer, he was officially a top-tier prospect. Kang Yujun was the real deal. Not hype — he had genuinely succeeded in transitioning to a trainer. Once that fact spread, guilds rushed to reach out through their scouts.
And then there was Promise Guild.
“Hmm…”
The golden youth, Kang Yujun. Promise Guild had once possessed a proud youth who was meant to carry their future. But they had released him not long ago. Now that same youth was filling the news as an A-Class trainer.
“He’s being mentioned nonstop on HunterNet.”
“Our scouts are cross-checking again. We contacted the certification director and the examiners at the time. They confirmed there’s no exaggeration regarding Trainer Kang Yujun.”
At Promise Guild, Kang Yujun had always been their golden youth. Right up until his release, people in the guild had called him Yujun or Mr. Yujun. Now it was Trainer Kang Yujun. The words felt strangely awkward.
The Promise Guild executive crossed his arms.
“I never thought he had talent in that direction. It would’ve been nice if the signs had shown earlier.”
With talent like that, he could have become a great awakened rather than a trainer. Even if they had known in advance, it probably wouldn’t have changed much.
“It’s a shame, but…”
The executive believed a clean break was the right move.
Ring—! Ring—! Ring—!
At that moment, his phone rang with a special tone.
— [Guild Leader]
It was a call from Choi Hojeong, the Guild Leader of Promise Guild.
— Re-recruit Kang Yujun as a trainer. Begin immediately.
“!”
The Guild Leader’s order had come down.
“This is troublesome…”
But an order was an order. He couldn’t ignore it.
“We’re recruiting Trainer Kang Yujun. Make securing a meeting our top priority.”
“……Yes!”
“Yes! Understood!”
The secretaries left, and the executive headed straight for the Guild Leader’s office.
In the Guild Leader’s office, Choi Hojeong wore a bright smile.
“Executive Kim.”
“Yes, Guild Leader.”
“Can we bring Yujun back?”
No unnecessary words were needed. Regrets about the past were meaningless. Releasing him hadn’t been a rash decision. The higher-ups had deliberated for a long time, and both the executive and Guild Leader Choi Hojeong had thought it over carefully. That matter was already settled.
What they were discussing now was re-recruiting the promising youth they had released — this time as a trainer.
Executive Kim nodded.
Whether it was possible or not didn’t matter here. The order had been given.
“I’ll bring him back.”
That was all that needed to be said.
Yujun had asked the certification director for employment referrals.
— Of course it’s possible! I’ll let you know as soon as something opens up!
‘Not right now, but…’
Once he completed his division later, he thought he could make good use of the referral system.
When Yujun returned to the certification center waiting room, someone called out to him.
“Trainer Kang Yujun.”
It was Kim Gyucheol.
Until moments ago they had been fellow examinees, but now everything was different. Yujun had become a certified trainer. An unprecedented A-Class trainer with overwhelming scores, no less.
“Mr. Kim Gyucheol, have you thought about what we discussed earlier?”
Yujun looked at Kim Gyucheol. His expression didn’t look good.
‘I figured as much.’
Judging by that arm, he had been in that state for quite some time.
‘It’s getting worse.’
His mana circuits were burned out, yet the flames still weren’t dormant.
‘They’re still burning. It’ll affect his other arm too.’
The difficulty was extreme. But that also meant the reward could be great.
‘The Awakened Training System’s experience points will rise significantly too.’
Moreover, someone at that level clearly possessed considerable ability.
‘The flames I sensed weren’t ordinary.’
They weren’t like Kim Minseok’s ignition or Yu Jena’s volcano. These were flames that could withstand other flames.
‘He’s no ordinary blacksmith.’
Yet Kim Gyucheol was still hesitating.
‘It’s not that he doesn’t trust me…’
He simply didn’t trust people in general.
“If it feels too burdensome, you don’t have to.”
With those words, Yujun immediately turned his back.
‘In that case, I’ll just have to make him impatient.’
“!”
The moment Yujun turned without hesitation, Kim Gyucheol instinctively reached out.
“Please! Could you train me?”
Yujun turned back with a smile.
“Shall I?”