Chapter 9

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Translator: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠MadScientist

Chapter: 9

Chapter Title: Apprentice System Launch

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The Association President lay on the bed, gazing quietly at me.

Standing beside him was Irmi, the headquarters chief, still reeling from the shock.

"Headquarters Chief, that bow?"

Irmi lifted the bow she had been clutching to her chest with trembling hands.

A longbow shimmering with a faint emerald glow.

"He said it was the last piece he made before upgrading its rank."

Even to the Association President's eyes, it was a bow with astonishing specs.

An item with monstrous options that made its F-grade label feel like a joke.

What if his main lightning-attribute aura were socketed into it?

It was a treasure even he, ranked third in the world, couldn't help but covet.

'No wonder the guild leaders lost their minds and charged in.'

The reason he'd unsealed his maximum power, untouched for twenty years, wasn't just for intimidation.

Nothing short of that overwhelming might could crush the greed that had blinded them.

'Sylphsong and the headquarters chief... both broke through their ten-year walls thanks to that blacksmith.'

Lee Do-ha.

A single freshly awakened F-grade blacksmith was shaking the Korean hunter ecosystem to its roots.

This wasn't mere coincidence.

The gates' deepest cores, the ominous stirrings in the demon realm.

Monsters' levels rising exponentially lately, like an army gearing up for a massive war.

'...This irregular appearing at this exact timing might not be chance.'

An alien power.

An aura that shattered class limits.

The gear Lee Do-ha crafted touched something beyond human bounds.

'This kid will one day surpass the Association.'

"Association President! You need to treat Do-ha first! Think later!"

Irmi's urgent cry snapped him back, and he nodded quickly.

"Right, my apologies. Transfer him to the VIP ward immediately."

He personally ordered the transfer.

"I'll cover all costs—give him the top treatment. Not a single hair out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠place."

"Understood!"

"Ugh..."

Lifting my heavy eyelids revealed the familiar white hospital ceiling.

The sharp scent of disinfectant stung my nose. A hospital.

"You're awake?"

"Are you okay, Do-ha?"

Turning my head, Irmi and Sylphsong looked down at me with worried eyes.

Both had red-rimmed eyes—they must have fretted while I was out.

"Uh... why am I in the hospital...?"

"You passed out. Caught in the aura wave from the Association President. But he carried you himself, so don't hate him too much."

"Do-ha, one day I'll rip out that old man's mustache. How dare he knock out our Do-ha?"

Sylphsong ground her teeth menacingly.

I gave a wry smile and sat up.

"Haha, no. Thanks to him, I survived those crazy guild leaders."

Come to think of it, the air around them felt subtly different.

Far more relaxed and robust. Especially Irmi radiated wind energy, while Sylphsong exuded deep shadows.

"Speaking of which, Headquarters Chief, you broke through the S-grade wall too? Congratulations."

Irmi blushed shyly.

"No, haha, it's all thanks to the bow you gave me. A debt I could never repay in a lifetime."

As she beamed and grabbed my hand, Sylphsong's eyebrow twitched beside her.

'This vixen, wagging her tail?'

'As if—you're the stray rock rolling in.'

Invisible sparks flew between the two women.

The room temperature swung wildly between freezing and sweltering.

But on the surface, they chatted amiably like the world's best friends.

"Anyway, given your situation, Do-ha, we're tightening security even more."

"If word of that bow gets out, the whole world will target you. The US or China might send kidnapping squads."

"And we've narrowed down the first list of applicants for the apprentice system you mentioned."

I nodded and summoned the system window in the air.

They gaped at the details.

"Unbelievable... Such meticulous and ironclad constraints."

"Betrayal's impossible. The system manages apprentices directly—we can rest easy."

"Yeah, so we should pick diligent, good-hearted folks. The system will filter out tech-grabbers or villain spies anyway."

The key was character.

Everything else, my system would handle.

Application ratio: 8,354 to 10

Author: ㅇㅇ

835:1? Real?

Tougher than bar exam or big corp hiring lololol

Even with F-grade req, this turnout— all hidden F-grades surfaced.

The interview process was equally unconventional.

With over 8,000 applicants impossible to review one-by-one, the Association President and guild leaders stepped up personally.

As atonement for their prior riot, they volunteered as interviewers.

"Gather all 8,300 in the Association's grand hall."

"We'll sift them with mental skills at once."

Korea's top hunters as interviewers, facing the consented applicants packed in the vast hall.

"Hm, this one's diligent. Pass."

"This one has dull eyes—planning to learn and bolt? Fail."

"Huh? This bastard's mind is pitch black? Villain spy? Dare infiltrate here?"

"Gaaah! Mercy! My mistake!"

A villain minion posing as applicant screamed under S-grade pressure and was dragged out.

A brutal pressure interview.

Through that harrowing process, the final 10 with verified character and grit were selected.

"Start next week."

"Ah... r-really? I passed?"

"Thank you! I'll bury my bones here! Anything you ask!"

The passers wept and kowtowed.

For these scorned F-grades, it was a miraculous chance.

Finally, my face-to-face with them.

"Hello, I'm Lee Do-ha..."

"Master! Huge fan!"

"An honor! True respect!"

"I'll live on this path forever!"

"Loyal till death!"

They were near cultist levels.

Eyes brimming with reverence and awe, like devotees meeting their savior.

"Everyone, calm down."

Irmi stepped forward then.

Her emerald bow gleamed faintly behind her.

"Everything you see and hear here is top-secret."

"Leak it, and the Association will respond immediately. We'll hunt you to the ends of the earth. Got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it?"

S-grade intimidation.

The apprentices gulped, faces mixing fear and thrill.

'Whoa... Headquarters Chief really hit S-grade.'

'That bow... how broken are its options for that aura?'

'Can I make something like that?'

"Yes! Understood! We'll remember!"

I approached, patting each shoulder.

"Gasp..."

"This... possible?"

The apprentices' eyes rolled back checking their notifications.

This wasn't mere skill transfer. It was a system-guaranteed cheat key.

The master forcibly elevated them to unreachable heights through effort alone.

Author: ㅇㅇ

Whoa... NDA so can't spill details, but insane.

Why picky? It's a revolution fr.

F-grade me nearly fainted at dagger options today.

Author: ㅇㅇ

Can't spill lololol

One hint: Your current 6-option weapons? Tutorial trash.

Real deal's separate.

Era of skill over luck incoming.

Save up—dropping soon.

A new wind blew through the hunter industry.

A typhoon of change in item realm.

The gear frontlines would shift.

"Blacksmith Apprentice" topped hunter searches.

Apprentice production began rolling out.