Chapter 131
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Entry Evaluation (1)
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Available at any time of the year, every day without fail.
Applications to join the Pioneering Unit were always floating around everywhere.
On the holographic boards in the plazas, in the Hunter-exclusive networks, and even in the shadowy alleys of Noctorn Town's black market.
However, there was no time quite like right before the new semester began when it was this hard to recruit personnel.
Most of the capable graduates had already found spots in good guilds and left, and the remaining students had no reason to voluntarily crawl into the real army that was even harsher than the Academy.
Moreover, it was almost unprecedented for a student Hunter like a D-rank to apply to the Pioneering Unit.
"Pfft, isn't this what they call a military type? Who knows, maybe they just fit in so well at the Academy that they applied."
"...It'd be better if that were the case."
Team Leader Elias burst into laughter as he spoke, but Jake's expression remained damp and sullen.
It was rare for a D-rank Hunter student to apply to the Pioneering Unit.
The reason was simple.
D-ranks couldn't survive.
The entry conditions for the Pioneering Unit weren't strict at all. As long as you were physically healthy and could prove minimal combat ability, anyone was accepted.
But the front lines were a grave for those without talent.
Even in squads composed of average B-rank or higher, casualties were constant, so there was no room for a D-rank. It would only be a nuisance to themselves and their squadmates.
Yet here they were, knocking on hell's door of their own accord.
Jake was starting to worry if this student might be suffering from severe Hunter depression.
But as if to dispel Jake's concerns, the sound of steady high heels clicking—tak, tak—echoed from down the corridor.
The office door opened, and the face that peeked in belonged to a massive man like a gray bear.
A bushy beard connecting to his ears, and bizarre palms with round holes in both hands—the man was Vasily Ivanovich.
He was one of the vice leaders who served as the twin pillars of the Pioneering Unit.
"Did the documents arrive properly?"
His voice was low and thick.
Everyone in the office shot up from their seats.
"You've arrived!"
"Mm. Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., interview for the newbie at Training Ground 1. Team Leader Han Jiwon, you'll participate as an interviewer."
Everyone froze in salute position. Han Jiwon, facing him directly, soon asked,
"Who... are you interviewing? I haven't received any prior report."
"Didn't read the documents? Academy student, Maker Hunter, Kang Ihyeon."
Kang Ihyeon?
At that name, Jake's eyes narrowed.
Did I hear that wrong?
They're holding an interview specifically for a Class D student?
"Sorry, Vice Leader! Do we really need to interview just one D-rank student?"
At those words, Vasily's expressionless eyes turned to Jake.
"D-rank, you say."
"Yes, that's right."
"Does this look like just a D-rank to your eyes?"
Vasily tossed a document folder onto Jake's desk with a thud.
Inside were Kang Ihyeon's profile, along with a recommendation letter personally written by Seraphina.
"Looks like you didn't read the report properly."
It was the third page of the very document folder Jake had been reviewing, neatly attached.
Jake unfolded the recommendation letter with trembling hands.
And he doubted his own eyes.
Recommender.
There wasn't just one name—there were countless listed.
[Marsha Leosica - Elder of the Maker Sect]
[Delphine - Maker Sect Professor]
[Seraphina, Cheon Da-eun, and 8 other Academy instructors.]
[Wolfgang Kraus - Academy Vice Principal]
[Patriarch of the Yu Family - Yu Janghyeok]
[Miyazaki Rena - Elite Hunter of the active Starlight Guild]
Each name belonged to someone with undeniable influence within Tartaros.
Jake stared blankly at the lavish list of recommenders.
"Th-this... super deluxe recommendation letter is..."
Academy Vice Principal, head of the Maker Sect, even the Patriarch of the Yu Family and an active S-rank Hunter. All of them writing a recommendation for one D-rank student? Did this make any sense?
Kang Ihyeon's connections and Seraphina's legwork in gathering the recommendation letter were more than enough to blow away Jake's concerns.
"So you didn't read the report properly before jumping to conclusions."
"Th-that's..."
As Jake stammered, Han Jiwon quickly stepped in.
She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, then bowed to the vice leader.
"My apologies, Vice Leader. My subordinate is still new to our department, so he makes frequent mistakes. Please forgive him generously."
Han Jiwon wore her usual affable smile.
At her demeanor, Vasily paused blankly for a moment, cleared his throat shortly, and turned away.
"Prepare well for tomorrow's interview."
"Yes, understood."
Only after the vice leader had completely left did the frozen air in the office finally thaw.
And Han Jiwon's smiling face turned icy cold in an instant.
She slowly turned to Jake.
"Are you insane?"
Her voice trembled with anger.
"Why butt in on something you weren't doing? Were you looking down on him because he's D-rank? Who do you think you are?"
"T-Team Leader... That's not it. I just thought it might be better for him to stay at school than join the Pioneering Unit..."
"Why is that judgment yours to make? Haah, I nearly died of shock... If you'd at least picked the right person, but why against Vice Leader Vasily?"
"I'm sorry..."
Jake bowed his head.
Watching him, Elias asked curiously,
"But Team Leader Han, was this guy really a newbie in our department? I've seen him around for a while."
"Oh, that? Just something I said. Vice Leader Vasily doesn't remember faces or names below team leader rank anyway. He doesn't care."
"...You knew that too? First I've heard of it."
Han Jiwon flashed a sly smile.
The next morning.
After days of preparation, I headed to the central Pioneering Unit headquarters to join.
'Hey, you got recommendations from other instructors and even the vice principal, so don't screw this up unnecessarily! Got it?'
Seraphina had put together quite the high-spec recommendation letter.
I had no idea how she saw me in her head, but she'd clearly put in significant effort.
"But damn, it looks so uninviting."
The Pioneering Unit headquarters' gray building exuded a cold, functional intimidation utterly unlike the Academy's ornate stone structures.
Glossy rectangular metal walls. Nothing more, nothing less. More like a bunker than a building.
The staff guiding me from the entrance walked silently without a word. The corridor reeked of disinfectant and faint metallic tang.
What was it? It didn't feel like a place where people lived at all.
Especially since the place I was led to wasn't an interview room.
It was a vast, empty training ground spacious enough to pass for a hangar. In the center stood just a single desk and two chairs.
And on one chair sat a woman.
Sharp office suit. Long green hair tied back.
Dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept all night.
Spotting me enter, she set down the document folder in her hand and waved.
"Yaaawn. You're Kang Ihyeon, right? I'm Han Jiwon, Information Team Leader at Pioneering Unit HQ."
"Yes, Kang Ihyeon."
"Have a seat, make yourself comfortable."
I sat in the chair opposite her. Self-introduction in one minute, motivation for applying, future aspirations... all the cliché questions flashed through my mind.
But she scanned me over with her shadowed eyes before saying something completely off-script.
"Let's skip the standard interview for now."
"Pardon?"
Propping her chin, she eyed me sleepily.
"I've already seen more than enough documents, and your entry is basically confirmed... Wasting time isn't good for either of us, right?"
"B-but there are procedures. Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay. I'm in charge. I'm the team leader."
To my cautious question, she waved the document folder in her hand like a fan.
"I'd love to chat one-on-one with you properly, Ihyeon, but you know this list of recommenders, right? With this, even if you showed up blackout drunk this morning, we'd have to accept you. Basically, no interview needed—entry confirmed."
Han Jiwon stood, hands behind her back.
She looked me up and down like a lab rat under observation.
"So, what we're really doing today is aptitude evaluation. Any department you want to go to after joining?"
I answered without hesitation.
"Combat division."
The most dangerous, but most visible place to stand out and rack up merits. That was the purpose of joining this unit anyway.
At my answer, she gave a meaningful smile.
"Got it, loud and clear."
"...So."
"Ah, don't get your hopes up. I don't decide that."
'Then why ask, you crazy bitch.'
As I swallowed the curse inwardly, she clapped her hands.
At the same moment, mechanical whirs echoed from spots around the empty training ground as training drones from the hangar bays flew in.
"Alright then, time to see your real abilities... I'm Information Team, so no hardcore combat metrics, but I'm confident in quantifying numbers. No injustice here. We'll measure mana capacity, reaction speed, and run a combat sim."
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Hehe... No need to be nervous."
And so the sudden training evaluation began.
But contrary to her words, she pushed me mercilessly.
Training drones swarmed from all sides, traps sprang up from the floor without warning. At the same time, rubber bullets launched from the drones.
'Fuck, you're measuring all evaluation items at once!?'
Rubber bullets meant no real danger, but their speed and barrage were far faster and more intense than anything in the Straggler Exam.
Not aimed precisely at me, but a full-omnidirectional hail blanketing the training ground.
But I wasn't the old D-rank failure anymore.
Most of my abilities came from inflated gains via clone experience or elixirs rather than training, but ability was ability.
Stats didn't lie.
Pure numbers-wise, my mana capacity was already A-rank equivalent, and mana control was solid B-rank.
Of course, factoring in real combat might lower it a bit...
'But this kind of training is a different story!'
Thin mana threads extended from my fingertips.
A trick learned from Ira.
Like spiderwebs, I instantly spread a nearly invisible mana snare across the training ground airspace.
Pakang! Pakakakang!
It was just wide enough to cover my body, but every incoming rubber bullet split in half upon touching my mana threads.
"Hoo..."
Han Jiwon's eyes lit up with interest for the first time.
With a blank face, she manipulated the console, ramping up the bullet launch speed another notch.
Dodging the incoming hail from all directions had reached its limit.
I kicked off the floor and leaped into the air. Twisting mid-jump, I created a thin ice sheet underfoot.
Cheon Da-eun noona's freezing magic after so long.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Hm, heard you were a Maker Hunter... No, maybe some device implanted?"
Upon landing, I slid across the ice like a skate, cutting through the bullet rain.
Placing my right hand on the floor, cold chill rode the mana outward, erecting a translucent ice wall before me.
Tatatatang—!
Dozens, hundreds of bullets shattered against the ice wall.
'Hoo, hoo...'
Finally, the bullets seemed to stop; the drones halted.
"Impressive. Hard to believe you're D-rank. At this level, you could've taken an A-Class exam at the Academy without embarrassment."
Han Jiwon whistled and clapped.
Meanwhile, I'd moved so vigorously I was gasping for breath on the verge of collapse.
'Should've trained more regularly.'