The Hidden Gem of Unmarked
Potential rank: Ha Ohu, C-rank. Namiyang, C-rank. Han Eunbyul, D-rank. With the physical ability measurements and background verifications complete, the official hero ranks for the three were finalized.
“Whew.......” Ohu massaged his stiff neck. Now, all that remained was to wait for the examiners to analyze the data and issue the interim guidelines that would suggest their future growth trajectories.
“Now, your official ranks have been formally registered in the Association’s database. With this, our Unmarked has officially become a hero crew approved by the KHC.” Ayoung, who had been tapping away at her tablet, spoke up. “The problem starts now. Hero operations don't run on combat personnel alone.”
Ayoung projected an empty organizational chart onto the screen. “For a crew to function properly in the field, support personnel to assist the combatants are essential. A dedicated manager to coordinate schedules and communicate with the outside world, a full-time medic to treat the wounded immediately, and a dedicated mechanic to craft equipment that maximizes your abilities.”
Ayoung’s fingers tapped the empty slots. “New crews are in desperate need of experienced veteran supporters. However, capable support personnel generally avoid new C or D-rank crews, which have low pay, mountains of grunt work, and a high risk of total annihilation at any moment.”
Ohu nodded silently. It was a perfectly logical capitalist reality. Any capable supporter would naturally want to join a named crew with A-rank heroes who paid well and had high survival rates. Unless there was a special reason, no one wanted to join a new crew that might be dead by tomorrow.
“Then what about our crew? Do we have to headbutt the ground ourselves until you and Namiyang rack up enough achievements, nyang?”
“Of course, that would be the case for a typical new crew. But our Unmarked is in a much better situation.” Ayoung’s lips curled into a smile as Namiyang asked with her tail drooping low. “First of all, the position of the dedicated manager responsible for the crew’s administration and external coordination will be...... handled by me personally.”
“Uh...... the Director herself?” Eunbyul asked, surprised. Just then, a KHC official passing by the waiting room heard Ayoung’s statement through the open door and poked his head inside.
“What?! Di-Director Park! I didn't mishear that, did I?”
“You heard correctly.”
“You, the Director, are personally...... going to be the dedicated manager for a new team with C and D-ranks?! No, you’re someone who is already swamped with the overall management of the Planning and Coordination Office, why on earth......!” The official openly tried to dissuade her.
“This is my personal project. And these people are talents I discovered myself. Should I take further questioning of my decision as an attempt to interfere with the personnel authority of the Planning and Coordination Office, Section Chief Kim?”
“Ah, a-ah! N-no! How could I dare......! P-please, I wish you success with the project!” At Ayoung’s sharp rebuke, the official bowed at a 90-degree angle and scurried out of the waiting room as if fleeing.
“.......” Ohu watched the short farce quietly. ‘To think I’m using a woman like that as my personal manager...... I really am lucky.’
While Ohu was laughing to himself, Ayoung sat back down and continued the briefing. “Now, the manager issue is perfectly resolved on my end. Next, we need a crew-exclusive medic who will be directly linked to our combat survival rate, but.......”
Vrrr- Vrrr-. Even before Ayoung could finish her sentence, a smartphone in Ohu’s pocket began to vibrate.
“Hold on.” Ohu checked the call. It was Last Moment. He pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear.
“Yes, Instructor.”
「 Hey, did the evaluation results come out well? 」 Last Moment’s blunt voice flowed through the receiver.
“Well. What do you think, Instructor?”
「 It’s obvious without looking. You and that rude cat probably scraped by with a C-rank, and I’m a bit worried about our slug Eunbyul...... she lost points on the ability side, so she got a D, right? 」
Ohu let out a dry chuckle at Last Moment’s words, as she had accurately gauged the ranks of her trainees without even seeing the evaluation floor. “You hit the nail on the head. It’s chilling.”
「 Ha, I’ve been grinding brats in this business for years, you think I can’t make that estimate? 」 Last Moment scoffed. She didn't hesitate and went straight to the point. 「 So, now that you’re an official crew, you’ll need a dedicated medic to clean up your messes. Did you find one? 」
“No. We were just in a meeting about that. There’s no way a veteran medic would join a C-rank team.” As Ohu replied calmly, the sound of someone gulping down a drink came from the other side of the line, and Last Moment tossed out a casual suggestion.
「 Then use me. If you can’t find anyone else. 」
“......What?” Ohu’s eyes widened.
「 I’ll take the position of your crew’s dedicated medic. 」
Last Moment made the offer as lightly as if she were offering to cover a shift at a local convenience store. 「 Well, my healing ability might struggle with complex injuries like ruptured organs or poison ingestion, but when it comes to stitching up sliced flesh and torn muscles, I’m top-class in this business. For idiots like you who throw your bodies into the fray, a medic like me is perfect. 」
“You’re joining our team as a dedicated member, Instructor? What about your reinstatement as an academy training instructor?”
「 Ah, that? It’s not a leave of absence. I got fired. 」
“......Excuse me?”
「 The higher-ups at the Association disciplined me, claiming my training methods were too harsh and violated the human rights of the applicants. So I just quit because it was bullshit. Since I became unemployed, Director Park called me. 」
It meant she wanted to roll in the field with people who understood her ruthless training philosophy. Then, Last Moment added, sucking in a breath as if she were dumbfounded. 「 Ah, this isn't me bragging, but. I can even bring back someone with a burst heart if I use CPR. The heart is a muscle, after all. 」
“.......”
「 Hey, Ha Ohu. You even used your own hand to punch your heart to get it pumping the day before the evaluation, right? I heard you did it on the evaluation floor too? That woman Medical Sign called me earlier to talk behind your back. Tell her to stop. 」
It seemed Ohu’s bizarre, forced-pumping antics had already spread throughout the healer network.
「 If you keep doing that, you’ll really spit blood and die waiting for a busy top-tier healer like Medical Sign. So I’ll stick by your side and massage your heart whenever it’s about to burst. How about it, is that a call? 」
No matter how foul her mouth was, Last Moment genuinely worried about the well-being of her trainees. Ohu tightened his grip on the phone and smiled with genuine relief. “Thank you, Instructor. I look forward to working with you.”
「 Yeah. Let’s join up later. Hang up. 」
Click. The call ended. Ohu put his phone down and nodded toward Ayoung and the members.
“Medic recruitment complete. Instructor Last Moment has decided to join our team as a dedicated member.”
“Waaaaah!! Really?! The Instructor?” Namiyang wagged her tail, looking startled yet reassured. Eunbyul, too, couldn't close her mouth in surprise.
“That’s excellent. With Last Moment’s healing ability and field experience, she is a top-tier medic who is almost too good for a C-rank crew. Since the manager and medic are resolved.......” Ayoung tapped the last empty slot on her tablet.
“Now, all that remains is one dedicated mechanic to craft the special weapons and armor that will assist and enhance your abilities.”
Ohu nodded in active agreement. “Equipment is definitely the most urgent need.”
The memory of grinding his own hand bones like a blender at the training ground earlier, only to be scolded with a tongue-lashing by Medical Sign—who told him not to throw his body away and to get proper equipment—flashed through his mind. Without special gauntlets and an enhanced suit to fully withstand the recoil of Acceleration, it was obvious that his own bones would turn to powder before he could beat the enemy in the next real fight.
“Me too! Me too!” Namiyang also chimed in urgently, fluttering her interim guideline in the air. “It says right here in my guideline, nyang! My electrical ability has great output, but there’s too much energy loss leaking into the air when I release it! They say if I have special equipment and weapons with insane conductivity, the power could be two or three times more electrifying than it is now!”
“That’s correct. Equipment is directly linked to a hero’s survival.” Ayoung agreed and turned off the screen. “I will compile a list of capable workshops and artisans within the Association. It won't be easy to recruit them, but I’ll find a way with my influence.......”
Just as the new task of recruiting a dedicated mechanic for Unmarked fell before them, Whirrr-. A soft mechanical sound rang out from the document dispenser on the waiting room table, and two interim guidelines analyzing the combat data of Ohu and Eunbyul were printed out.
“Ooh! Yours and the kid’s are out, nyang!” Namiyang, the most curious, ran over and snatched the two fresh, warm sheets of paper.
Namiyang scanned Ohu’s guideline first, then widened her eyes and beamed. “Wow! Master, Master, your potential rank came out as B+?! That’s huge!”
“B+?” As Ohu approached, puzzled, Namiyang pointed to the top of the document. Next to his current rank of C, the item 【Potential: B+】 was clearly stamped in red ink in parentheses.
“Hehe, it’s the same as Namiyang! Namiyang got a potential of B+ too!”
“Are current rank and potential separated?” At Ohu’s question, Ayoung approached to provide further explanation.
“Yes. The current rank quantifies stability when deployed into the field right now, and the ‘Potential’ rank signifies the expected rank one can reach when grown to the maximum, based on the examiners’ analysis of the applicant’s awakening ability limits and physical structure.” Ayoung’s gaze fixed on Ohu’s document.
“A potential of B+ is a very excellent figure. It’s the most realistic and solid goal you can aim for if you endure the field operations of hero activities and master your abilities. The ‘+’ symbol means that depending on your training, going beyond that is possible, but it also means there are still many variables, so we need to keep watching the situation.”
However, Ayoung’s expression wasn't entirely bright. “But you must keep this in mind.” Ayoung lowered her voice secretively, checking her surroundings. “Hero activity is not a sports match. It always involves the risk of death. No matter how much S-rank or A-rank potential they have...... there are countless heroes who, after being crippled by injuries in the field or having their will broken after seeing a colleague die before their eyes, request a rank downgrade and retire before they can even bloom that potential.”
Only those who survive can become strong.
“I know. That much.” Ohu nodded nonchalantly, took his guideline, folded it, and put it in his pocket.
“Now, then, I wonder what rank our kid Eunbyul’s potential will be~ nyang!” Namiyang picked up the remaining sheet, Eunbyul’s guideline, and laughed playfully. Remembering Eunbyul’s miserable D-rank evaluation earlier—where she had dived toward the sandbag only to be dragged down by a tongue—she assumed she had received at most a C or C+ potential.
But.
“Huh? What is this, nyang.” Namiyang tilted her head as she received Eunbyul’s guideline. She flipped the document back and forth, then tilted her head 90 degrees and squinted her eyes. Eunbyul, who had been standing nervously on the side, wondering about her own results, asked cautiously.
“U-um...... Namiyang-unni? Why are you doing that? Is my potential D-rank too......? Or is it F......?”
Even at Eunbyul’s unconfident voice, Namiyang didn't answer. She just muttered, burying her face into the document. “No...... is the printing wrong? Did the ink smudge?”
At Namiyang’s strange reaction, Ohu also furrowed his brows and approached. “What is it? Give it here.”
Ohu snatched Eunbyul’s guideline from Namiyang’s hand and checked it. And.
“......Huh?”
A foolish sound leaked from Ohu’s mouth as well after checking the document. Ohu, Namiyang, and even Ayoung, who had approached from the side. The moment the three of them confirmed the characters written on the first line of Eunbyul’s guideline, they all froze in unison, as if by promise.
Current official rank: D-rank. Combat power: Lowest. The slug-like flight ability user, Han Eunbyul, who seemed useless for anything.
But at the top of the document, in the potential column clearly stamped in red ink, surprisingly.
A. A clear, capital A that hadn't even smudged.
“.......” Even Ayoung couldn't hide her bewilderment, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide with shock.