The SSS-Class Exam
Veteran Guild Leader’s office.
On the screen, Minister Kang Eunha’s press conference was drawing to a close.
At last, Eunha finished her briefing with unshakable composure.
Ziiing—
Not long after the conference ended, Hanul’s phone vibrated.
“Eunha, good work.”
“I was a little late because I had to speak with the President first. In a way, the real star of this press conference is you, Uncle, so I’m sorry for calling late.”
Hanul let out a quiet snort of laughter.
“You’re right. I could’ve just walked out there myself and revealed everything. That would’ve made you look even better.”
“I’m grateful for the thought, Uncle, but my reputation isn’t what matters. We already decided it was better not to expose your full strength until the official SSS-class announcement.”
Yeah, that’s what she said.
“Besides, I heard Robert Lee tried to recruit you?”
“As if I’d ever fall for that. My niece is a minister of this country.”
With his niece right here, where else would an uncle go?
If Eunha weren’t here? This country—no, this planet and this dimension?
Hanul felt no particular attachment.
“Tch… thank you, Uncle.”
Eunha’s voice brightened. A smile tugged at the corner of Hanul’s mouth as well.
Just then the office door opened and Office Manager Seo Jihun stepped inside.
“Acting Guild Leader, the SSS-class exam schedule is almost finalized. It’s nearly time to move.”
Outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
A cutting-edge, closed training facility managed by the Hunter Association. The SSS-class promotion exam was about to begin.
The list of observers was impressive. At the head sat Go Changsik, President of the Hunter Association. Guild leaders from three of the nation’s top ten guilds occupied the spectator seats.
In the examiner seats sat familiar faces: Sarah Cameron of the United States, and Ian, the SSS-class Hunter dispatched from Canada, sitting side by side.
One seat beside them, however, remained empty.
“Before we begin, an announcement. Hunter Robert Lee will not be attending…?”
The host faltered for a moment, double-checked something, then cleared his throat and continued.
“The reason given is… enlistment.”
“What?”
“Enlistment? As in the military?”
A brief silence settled over the room. Then Hanul rose to his feet. Casually rolling his neck, he walked to the center of the arena.
“Enough small talk. Let’s get started. What’s the event?”
Gulp—
Sarah Cameron swallowed dryly and stood. She poured mana into the bracelet on her wrist; staff and armor unfolded and equipped themselves in an instant. Fully geared, she spoke a single word.
“The event is… a duel.”
In that moment every mention of Robert Lee vanished. The entire hall froze.
A duel.
It was already established fact that Hanul had slain the Corrupted Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara. Sarah Cameron was an American SSS-class Hunter. No one could easily predict the outcome.
Sarah herself, however, knew perfectly well who was stronger.
No—comparison itself was impossible.
That was why her feelings were complicated. She had already hit a wall.
“Who decided the event?”
“I did… under the authority of chief examiner.”
Under Hanul’s gaze, Sarah flinched.
“Even after what happened that day? Even after watching me cut down the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, you still chose a duel?”
“……Because I saw it. I want to learn from you.”
Hanul could read the fear in her reaction. Yet she was still standing there, forcing herself to be brave.
“Using this exam for that purpose… the timing worked out well for you.”
“I’ll consider it a debt. If there’s ever anything I can do for you later……”
“Later, huh? Fine by me. If you survive here, that is.”
“Excuse me?”
“The slash I used to cut down the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara. I’m going to use that exact same one.”
Sarah’s heart seemed to stop. She was supposed to take that slash head-on?
“If you can’t withstand it, you die.”
“What are you—!”
“Did you stand in front of me without even that much resolve?”
“That’s not it, but still……”
“Have you ever truly stood before death even once?”
“Of course I have. As an SSS-class, I’ve crossed the line between life and death more times than I can count.”
Hanul gave a short, dry laugh.
“No. You’ve never truly stood there. You’ve only scrambled to avoid dying.”
He took one step closer.
Kuoohhhh—
“Properly facing death and seeing into your own essence is a great help. You never managed that.”
“Kh…!”
“This time, look clearly at that essence. And survive.”
“Then… can I become stronger?”
To Sarah’s desperate question, Hanul answered indifferently.
“Looking purely at the limits of the physical body, becoming stronger is impossible. You’ve polished yourselves with systems, skills, level-ups and the like, but the SSS-class you people talk about looks like the ceiling of that method.”
A faint blade of sword energy gathered at Hanul’s fingertips.
“To go further, you either cast off the rank of human or accept something else entirely. As long as you remain bound by a human body, that is.”
“That sounds like you’re telling me to stop being human.”
“I hope you can walk that first path as well.”
First he said she would die. Now he told her to leave humanity behind. Sarah decided Hanul was simply trying to intimidate her.
He just wants me to have that level of resolve.
The slash that cut the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara had been monstrous, true. But right now Hanul was bare-handed, no items. She, on the other hand, was fully geared.
Moreover, every Hunter training facility had built-in formulas that nullified damage above a certain threshold—to protect examinees if things went wrong. Of course, the situation was reversed now; as the examiner she might be the one benefiting from that safety net. Still, two layers of protection were already in place.
Even so, I’m not going to get careless relying on them. Against this man I’ll give everything I have… see my limit and break past it!
“Then I’ll begin.”
“I’ll give you time to raise your defensive formulas. Speak when you’re ready.”
Sarah nodded and drew up every drop of mana she possessed. She layered every defensive skill she owned. Barrier strata stacked one upon another, radiating a brilliant light.
“I’m ready.”
“Begin.”
The instant the word left his mouth—
Tsuwaaaaaah!
At Hanul’s gesture, mana carved a trajectory through empty air. A meticulously designed path of the slash drew itself right up to Sarah Cameron’s nose.
Splitter
The world splits apart.
In truth it was a strike whose power had been reduced to the absolute minimum.
Even so!
The ironclad barriers raised by an SSS-class Hunter proved as fragile as paper.
Kwaddeuk!
The first stratum shattered.
Jjeojeong— jjeojeojeojeong!
The second and third defensive walls burst apart in rapid succession. Every formula she had deployed was dismantled.
Pakang!
Even the defensive formula of the life-saving item she kept for real combat broke without resistance.
Ziiing—
At last the training facility’s built-in damage-nullification formula activated.
Yet the nullification formula could not interfere with Hanul’s slash formula at all—as if it were a technique beyond its reach.
Th-this can’t be…!
The slash came straight at her. Sarah’s pupils flooded with pure shock. Any further defense was meaningless.
At this rate—
She would die.
Puhwahhh!
In the end, a diagonal spray of blood erupted from Sarah’s shoulder down to her waist.
Thud!
Unable even to scream, she dropped to her knees, then collapsed. A pool of crimson blood spread across the floor in an instant.
“Tch. In the end she couldn’t cross it.”
He had cut her. Considering they shared a certain connection, he had hoped for an awakening.
Hmm. If my niece finds out someone died during the exam, she’ll have a heart attack.
Hatchery. Revive her.
Yes! Hehe, then if she wakes up she might become a junior, yong!
Sticky violet mana flowed from Hatchery’s fingertips. The mana burrowed along the severed planes of flesh, forcibly reconstructing the cells.
Revive.
“Keuhup!”
Sarah’s upper body jerked upright. Her breathing had been forcibly restored, yet consciousness did not return. She was a vegetable.
If she accepts the power, fuses with it, and wakes, she’ll become a demonkin.
If she failed?
She would simply die—or, in the worst case, degenerate into a monster. Then she would become an SSS-class monster to be hunted by other Hunters.
It may not have been the method you wanted, but you’ve been given a chance to break through the wall. Come find me when you wake.
Leaving that message in Sarah Cameron’s mind, Hanul turned around.
The hall was paralyzed with terror. To the observers it looked like clear attempted murder—or worse, pure humiliation. Of course, because it had occurred during an exam, no one could protest. Everyone had already signed waivers for exactly this possibility. The only difference was that this time it was the examiner, not the examinee, who had ended up in that state.
“What about you? Do we continue the exam?”
That question was directed at the last remaining examiner—Ian, the Canadian SSS-class Hunter. His face had gone deathly pale. He staggered backward, waving both hands frantically.
“N-no! Without question, Kang Hanul is an SSS-class Hunter!”
“Then it’s settled.”
Hanul turned away. Leaving the stunned observers behind, he called for his office manager.
“Manager Seo, we’re leaving.”
“Yes, Acting Guild Leader.”
Five-star hotel grand ballroom.
The entire hall blazed with glittering lights and the camera flashes of the press corps.
Jointly hosted by the Hunter Association, the Veteran Guild, and the Dungeon Management Department—this was the ceremony announcing the birth of the Republic of Korea’s first official SSS-class Hunter.
“Even the embassies of various countries have sent people.”
Office Manager Seo Jihun murmured as he scanned the room. Politicians, high-ranking officials, and the leaders of every major domestic guild packed the space without a single empty seat.
“Minister Kang Eunha is entering.”
“President Go Changsik is entering as well.”
Go Changsik and Eunha ascended the stage. The noise drained away like an ebbing tide. Eunha’s clear, confident voice rang through the microphone.
“Today, the Republic of Korea greets a new era. An SSS-class Hunter has been officially born! Allow me to introduce him.”
The doors opened. Hanul, wearing a black coat, walked out at a leisurely pace.
Click, click!
Click, click!
A storm of camera flashes. Hanul took his place between Go Changsik and Kang Eunha.
“I’m Kang Hanul. I just received the SSS-class rank. For the record, I was also the one who dealt with the Corrupted Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara not long ago.”
Reporters’ questions began to erupt, but a single indifferent glance from Hanul silenced the hall again.
“You’ll all find out eventually, so I’ll reveal one more thing here. I’m a returnee, and Minister Kang Eunha’s uncle.”
A wave of murmurs rolled through the crowd. Journalists, stunned, hammered their shutters, desperate to capture Kang Eunha and Kang Hanul in the same frame.
“Minister Kang is faithfully carrying out her duties. But if there’s anyone who gets in her way?”
Hanul continued, making sure everyone heard.
“This is the first and last warning. Whether it’s treason or corruption—if you pull any stupid shit, prepare to die that same day. I’ll end all of you.”
A bomb of a declaration far too extreme for a venue like this. Hanul set the microphone down, left the stage, and exited.
“Uncle, that was far too aggressive.”
The moment they entered the waiting room, Eunha approached with a sigh.
“I meant every word.”
“Even so, you’re still the head of the Veteran Guild. You don’t have the legal authority to personally deal with treason or corruption.”
“Hmm, is that so? Then I just need an official title. Got any spare positions lying around?”
Secretary Min Sehee, who had been listening nearby, jumped in as if she had been waiting for the cue.
“The Director of the Hunter Special Affairs Bureau seat is vacant. Or the principal position at the Hunter Academy would also work.”
“Oh? Special Affairs Bureau? What does that do?”
“It holds full authority over investigation, inspection, and enforcement for every crime involving Hunters or Awakened. Right now it’s a complete mess that has strayed far from its original purpose.”
Hanul’s eyes lit up. He clearly liked the sound of it. Eunha carefully added,
“But if you keep the Veteran Guild Leader position, dual office is impossible.”
That was when Office Manager Seo Jihun stepped forward.
“You’re currently only the Acting Guild Leader anyway. If you wish, we can promote Vice Guild Leader Baek Hayan to Guild Leader, and list you as an external director. You’ll retain real authority just the same.”
Baek Hayan, standing beside them, nodded with shining eyes.
“If that’s what you want, Acting Guild Leader, I’ll cooperate fully!”
Everything was falling into place with almost suspicious smoothness. Hanul looked at Eunha.
“What do you think?”
Eunha hesitated for a moment. It felt a little forced, but it wasn’t illegal.
More importantly, if her uncle stepped forward?
He could straighten out the rotting foundations of the nation in a single stroke.
“All right. Then I’ll be counting on you from now on as well.”
Eunha slowly nodded. Color returned to the faces of Min Sehee and Seo Jihun.
“Understood. Manager Seo, please cooperate!”
“Of course. We’ll process everything quickly through inter-agency cooperation!”
The two of them, practically glowing with excitement, gathered their documents and hurried out.