Promotion Exam Day
Promotion exam day.
"Mom! I'm heading out!"
"Don't be nervous. Mom always believes in her Yeondo."
"I'll come back with an S-rank just like Ahjussi, so look forward to it!"
Why am I getting dragged into this?
"Don't clown around and mess up."
"Yeeees!"
"Minho, are you sure this is alright when you're so busy?"
"We eat from the same pot. It's fine."
I had cleared my entire schedule for today. With Yeondo and the whole support team taking the promotion exams, the least I could do was show up and cheer them on.
"Really, I don't know how to thank you enough, Minho."
"Then pack me more kimchi. It's delicious."
"I'll send some up as soon as it's ready."
"Thank you. Extra would be even better."
My mouth count has exploded, after all.
Sir Isra alone could easily pass for three people—no, four or more.
"Hahahaha! Is it not the First Sword's sacred duty to handle the portions of many?"
"Stuffing your face is nothing to brag about, you iron skull."
"In this land, they say rice power is true power, mage."
"You fight just fine without eating."
Here we go again.
"Let's go, Yeondo."
"Okay, Ahjussi."
"My looord! Do not leave me behind!"
"Take me too, Master!"
We made a racket of a departure and reached Yeouido in no time. The support team had arrived ahead of us and were already stretching.
"Hyung-nim."
"Don't mind me—just loosen up."
These guys were today's main event. There wasn't much I could do for them, but I had come to cheer anyway.
"If you tense up, even the easy stuff falls apart."
"We'll do exactly as Sir Isra taught us."
"Aye. And well you should."
Sir Isra planted both hands on her hips.
"If any of you come out of this exam below A-rank, know that special training awaits you all."
"S-special training?"
"Twice the usual intensity. No—thrice as hard."
The blood drained completely from the faces of the support team and Yeondo.
"You lot have received personal instruction from the Greatest Sword of the Continent. Anything less would be an insult to my name."
"We will absolutely make it!"
"Ah. Maybe I should just die if I come out B or lower."
Sir Isra's training was already pretty brutal. Doubling or tripling it was beyond my imagination. I should start preparing their eulogies.
"H-haha. I've been aiming for S-rank from the start anyway. Right, Ahjussi?"
"Sure you have."
"I-I can do this. Of course I can!"
Your pupils are shaking, Yeondo.
"We can't lose either."
"Unnie? Excuse me?"
"Mijeong, if you come out B-rank or lower, you're training extra too."
"Eek!"
I didn't do anything wrong, people.
I had definitely come to cheer them on, yet their morale wasn't just shattered—it had been ground into powder.
"Everyone looks full of drive. Excellent."
President Baek had appeared at some point, wearing a warm smile.
If they get any more driven, they'll transfer their affiliation from this world to the next.
"We'll be off, then, Hyung-nim."
"Yeah. Good luck."
"Ahjussi. Victory charm for me too."
Yeondo tapped her ear with a finger. Ugh.
I sidled up and muttered, "The scrub who lost to a lifelong E-rank."
"Uwoooooh! I am not a scrub!"
All five of them strode toward Seungcheon Tower with heads held high.
Wonder how the results will turn out.
"Shall we wait in the car?"
"Yes. It'll take a while."
President Baek had driven his coffee truck in today. The moment I settled into a folding chair, the grinder whirred to life and a rich aroma filled the air.
"They'll be alright, won't they? Everyone?"
"The support team hunters have worked far harder than you realize, Hunter Park."
"How do they look to you, President?"
"Whether they meet Sir Isra's expectations is another matter, but I suspect they'll pass at the very least."
"You're rating the support team quite highly."
That surprised me. B-class hunters sat in the top five percent of the industry. How many lifelong C-ranks had broken themselves against the walls of Mana Release and Multi-Chant without ever climbing higher?
"So that is why the fellow at the strategy competition was so full of himself."
I tilted my head at Sir Isra's words. Ah. She meant that raid captain from Mir Guild. It had only been a few months ago, yet it already felt like ancient history.
"Not many succeed at Mana Release before they even pass the exam."
Which meant a minimum of B-rank was already locked in. They were at the level of a prospect being pushed hard by Mir Guild. That was how much weight a B-class carried.
President Baek answered with a faint smile.
"Objectively speaking, the individual capabilities of the support team members are not particularly outstanding."
Smiling while dropping pure facts, huh.
"The Minister of the Interior speaks truly."
"Why are you agreeing?"
"I merely stated the truth."
Whiiiiir—
Freshly ground coffee dripped as concentrate into a small cup.
"The reason I am confident in the support team's promotion is because of you, Hunter."
Who, me?
"They were spurred on by you and received instruction from a peerless talent like the White Radiance Knight. They'll be fine."
"I'm here too, you know?"
"Nor have I forgotten the aid of Lady Ingrid, the Witch of the Solar Eclipse."
Our president. Working so hard to keep the summons' egos happy. I really needed to rein these kids in. No matter how many times I told them, they refused to use proper honorifics for other people.
"When one is tense, coffee made from Brazilian beans is excellent."
Clink.
Steam rose in lazy curls from the cup set before me.
Uh. President??? What on earth is going on here.
Three question marks practically floated above my head.
"Did I not just tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"When tense, an Americano brewed from Brazilian beans is excellent."
"No, I got that part. Why did you give me something boiling hot?"
"To truly taste coffee, one must drink it hot."
Good grief.
Had all that conversation been build-up just so he wouldn't have to take a menu order? Terrifying. I had fallen right into the president's scheme.
"Hoo."
Adding ice would only water it down. No choice, then. Pretending I had lost the argument, I lifted the steaming cup.
Gulp.
"Hm?"
"How is it?"
"Incredibly rich and nutty."
Something—something was different. Every coffee I had drunk until now had been a one-note bitterness machine. A whole spectrum of flavors coated my tongue and jolted my mind wide awake.
"Try this as well."
A small cup of pitch-black liquid. Assuming it was the same coffee, I took a sip—
"Mmh?"
My eyes went round.
"How is it?"
"It has a sourness like liquor."
"Depending on the region and the roasting method, the flavors are entirely different."
Wow.
It was as wondrous as watching a magic show. So that was why he always said not to put ice in if you wanted to taste coffee properly.
"Hot coffee is pretty decent every once in a while."
"'Every once in a while,' is it?"
"If you're Korean, you're iced-americano-till-I-die."
Obviously. Amazing taste or not, I wasn't about to change my religion. Converting from the Church of Iced Americano would take a much bigger impact than this, President.
"Can I try one too?"
"I'm curious about that taste."
"Might this humble one also be granted a portion?"
"Of course."
We were all sipping the coffee President Baek had poured when—
D-class Hunter Kim Yeondo has received an S-rank judgment in the promotion exam.
An additional skill will be granted to Hunter Kim Yeondo.
"There it is."
"We've hit the jackpot thanks to you, Hunter Park."
"It's the result of you selling me out for marketing, President."
"You noticed?"
"It was pretty obvious."
"I will do my utmost to ensure nothing tarnishes your reputation."
What reputation is there to tarnish? He handled everything so well on his own that he would take excellent care of Yeondo too.
"A cause for celebration has arisen, so we must duly raise a toast."
"Iron skull. Already thinking about food again?"
"Hah! When great deeds are accomplished, one commemorates them with food and drink. That is the way of things."
Sir Isra did have a point.
"I've already reserved the beef place we went to last time."
"Oh! Ooooooh!"
"This humble one finally gets to try it too!"
"Well, not bad."
The summons who could actually taste food, large and small, all showed their excitement in one way or another.
Honestly. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm raising kids or what.
Early evening.
We headed to the dinner venue with the group that had just finished their exams.
"It's all thanks to you, Hyung-nim."
Seongsu, the support team leader, spoke with open excitement.
"We actually broke through the Wailing Wall!"
"And all of us got A-rank judgments, too."
"Without Hyung it would've been impossible!"
Yeondo had received S-rank. The entire support team had passed as A-rank.
"Hahaha! Raising my lord's honor fills me with pride."
"Mijeong, you did pretty well yourself."
Both summons wore thoroughly satisfied expressions.
"Shall we do a toast for this occasion as well?"
When President Baek asked, everyone caught up in the mood raised the glasses in their hands. Liquid sloshed. Yeondo, swept along with the atmosphere, was about to lift hers when—
"You're a minor."
I confiscated the soju glass she was holding and pressed a soda into her hand instead.
"Ah, whyyyyy! The CSAT's already over!"
"You're still not an adult."
"All my friends drink!"
"Give me names. I'm reporting them to the police."
"Ugh."
Ma'am. I'm protecting Yeondo, so don't you worry. Not a single drop of alcohol will touch her lips on my ironclad watch.
"To the promotions of the support team and Miss Yeondo!"
President Baek led the cheer.
"To them!!!"
The support team friends and everyone else answered in a lively chorus.
Clink!
Glasses met in the air. Drink splashed here and there, but not a single person frowned.
"This is called chuck flap, is it? It melts on the tongue."
"Eat slowly, iron skull."
"You ought to put down your own chopsticks first."
"This! Is! Completely! Delicious! My lord!"
The summons were too busy spearing beef to care whether a toast was happening or not.
Kids. I'll buy you more later, so stop inhaling it like that, okay?
"You are probably the only hunter in the country who brings A-rank promotees along as a support team."
"It's a luxury. A real luxury."
"At the support team's level, cracking the domestic top five would be a stretch, but any major guild would welcome them with open arms."
President. You're enjoying your meal so nicely—why plant a flag like that? It almost sounded like he was egging these friends on to transfer.
"We became B-class thanks to Hyung-nim. Where else would we go?"
"We're sticking with Hyung!"
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but the flag President Baek had raised vanished as naturally as it had appeared.
Whew.
"Oh, right. We won't need to request help from the Rift Authority anymore."
"I already informed them the moment the promotions were confirmed."
"I always felt a little guilty whenever I saw the Rift Authority staff."
Officially they were there to escort me, but the gap in combat power was so vast that I had ended up working them like a support team. We had discussed that much already. Still, it was painfully obvious they were struggling with chronic manpower shortages, and having them peel people they barely had every time I cleared a gate had weighed on me.
"Good. No more walking on eggshells."
"Is something the matter?"
"An A-rank gate. Time to clear one."
A-rank gates that B-class hunters could enter popped up often enough. Higher-tier gates I had avoided out of consideration for the Rift Authority. Now that the support team was back, we could dive in freely.
"Everyone good with that?"
"If Hyung-nim says go, of course we go!"
"Let's gooooo!!!"
The thoroughly drunk support team friends agreed without a shred of hesitation.
Kind of feels like I'm scamming them.
No. They would have gone even if they were sober.
...Right?