S-Rank Fury and the Shocking Measurement
“What?”
“This employee here said it. That it's a waste of electricity to do a rank measurement. Do they only measure ranks for people they deem worthy in this office?”
“What?”
The director's face twisted in disbelief. He probably never imagined something like this happening when he rushed over, excited at the thought of seeing Kim Seol-bi again after so long.
“Hunter, what exactly do you mean by that?”
She glared at the employee with a fierce expression.
“I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!”
The female employee who had looked down on and ignored me turned pale and bowed repeatedly.
“How long have you been working here?”
The director asked, and the employee answered.
“A little over three months.”
“Then you've done enough. One look tells all ten. From what you did today, it's obvious how you've treated other hunters until now.”
“N-No, that's not true! Actually, this person...”
The employee furrowed her brow at me, as if to say it was all my fault.
I could guess what she was about to say. She wanted to claim that some nobody had come in demanding a hunter rank measurement. In a normal situation, it wouldn't be entirely wrong. The odds were zero percent, after all.
Still, no one should treat people like that. It was shocking that someone paid by the Hunter Management Office had such poor service mentality. If I'd come alone, I might have been kicked out on the spot—my vision went dark just thinking about it. The idea that even common sense depends on who you're dealing with made me realize the world was seriously messed up.
Well, it was par for the course. The world had already deviated from common sense the moment dungeons and hunters appeared. Maybe clinging to old norms in this new game was the real mistake.
“What about this person?”
Kim Seol-bi asked with venom in her voice. She seemed even angrier than I was.
“N-No...”
The employee rolled her eyes in panic before bowing her head again.
“I'm sorry!”
“You're fired.”
The director said firmly.
“It's not one or two months—three months on the job and still acting like that means it won't change. You just don't fit in this line of work.”
“Director!!”
Tears welled up in the employee's eyes.
“Don't cry. It's pathetic.”
“Sob sob... Yes...”
It was satisfying on one hand, chilling on the other. Messing up with an S-rank hunter meant your head rolled—no questions asked. I'd expected as much, but seeing it firsthand was new.
As the employee turned to leave, sniffling, the director spoke again.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“Pardon?”
“Quitting is quitting, but you still need to apologize. Or do you not want to live in Korea anymore?”
...Harsh.
I flinched seeing the director cross his arms and glare.
“I... I'm sorry...”
The female employee shuffled out from behind the desk and knelt before Kim Seol-bi, pressing her forehead to the floor in a deep bow.
“Please forgive me. I've committed a grave sin...”
The director wasn't wrong. Getting fired was one thing, but earning an S-rank hunter's grudge was like begging to be exiled from the country.
“Forget it.”
Kim Seol-bi said coldly.
“What sincerity is there in an apology now? Just quit.”
“Ah! Hunter! Please! Let me live!!”
The employee grabbed Kim Seol-bi's leg.
“What are you doing?!”
The director startled and roughly pried the employee's hand away.
“How dare you touch her?”
“Sob sob sob.”
“Stop crying—it's disgusting. Get out. Now.”
“Yes...”
It was a hair-raising scene. As someone still employed at the Dungeon Management Office, I could somewhat empathize with her. Of course, I would never act so rudely myself.
“I'm sorry, Hunter. I failed to train my staff properly. It won't happen again.”
The director bowed deeply to Kim Seol-bi. For someone much older, and a director no less, this was rare. Normally, his authority outranked most hunters.
This was the power of an S-rank hunter.
“Aren't you apologizing to the wrong person?”
At Kim Seol-bi's words, the director flinched and turned to me. His expression was somewhat humiliated, but he bowed to me as well.
“Truly sorry.”
The director of the Hunter Management Office bowing to me. It sent a thrilling shiver through me, mixed with discomfort.
Only then did Kim Seol-bi speak.
“I'm tired. Get the rank measurement ready quickly.”
“Yes! Right away!”
While preparations for the rank measurement were underway at the Hunter Management Office, Kim Seol-bi and I sat in the waiting room. Perhaps because she'd shown her cold side, the director seemed to avoid her gaze deliberately. It was like he had to entertain an important guest but was fumbling nervously.
Meanwhile, Kim Seol-bi sitting beside me was silent. Her aura felt oddly downcast, so I asked her.
“What's wrong? You feeling okay?”
Asking an S-rank hunter if she was unwell felt off, but her sudden mood shift left me no choice.
“Sung-gi...”
“Yeah.”
“Did seeing me like that disappoint you?”
“Huh? What do you...”
“Didn't you think I was too harsh on that employee earlier?”
Ah...
Then I understood why Kim Seol-bi looked so serious and gloomy. She was right. To an outsider, the scene with the Hunter Management Office employee might look like a powerful person bullying a lowly civil servant.
I'd been shocked myself. The Kim Seol-bi I knew wasn't like that. It felt like a different person. I even wondered if S-rank hunters came with a passive skill for harshly treating rude civilians.
“Sorry for showing you that side. Seeing how she treated you made me snap before I knew it...”
With her head hung low, mumbling that, any unease in my heart vanished. She wasn't mad about being mistreated herself—S-rank hunters rarely faced that anyway. She was furious because I'd been disrespected.
It must feel like watching family get insulted right in front of you. Kim Seol-bi and I weren't family, and calling us lovers was still ambiguous, but it felt that way. I could vividly sense the power of my Unreasonable Favor skill.
“It's fine.”
I smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Thanks. For getting mad on my behalf. If it weren't for you, I'd have been thrown out. And honestly, she wasn't wrong in what she said. Her attitude sucked, but the facts were straight.”
“Sung-gi...”
Kim Seol-bi looked up at me with a wistful expression. An S-rank hunter gazing at me so vulnerably made emotion well up inside.
“Seol-bi...”
Our lips drew closer.
Then—a knock at the waiting room door.
Knock knock.
“Preparations are complete, Hunter.”
We sprang apart in surprise. A kiss was something we could do anytime, but in public? Awkward, especially for her with her status. I didn't mind, but still.
At the civil servant's call, I stood.
“I'll be back.”
“Yeah. I'll wait.”
It was my first rank measurement. Never thought the day would come.
Explosive growth after ten years. A case like this would be rare worldwide.
Guided by the employee, I entered the measurement room. She was extremely cautious now, clearly heeding the director's warning—not treating me like a non-hunter civilian.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No problem.”
“The measurement takes about five minutes. If anything feels off or the results seem wrong, tell me immediately.”
“Got it.”
I sat in the comfortable chair. No fancy devices—just a headgear-like apparatus descending before me. The employee fitted gloves on my hands.
With the headgear on, a monitor appeared. Numbers and incomprehensible screens filled it, and the employee said,
“Relax and circulate your mana. I'll let you know when it's done.”
Circulating mana... Back when I had none, the concept was alien. But now, without training, I circulated it smoothly through my body as instructed. For something born just a day ago, it felt potent and abundant. Hard to judge the scale, though.
She said five minutes, but it felt like only one had passed since donning the gear and gloves.
“Measurement complete.”
The headgear retracted automatically. Before me stood the employee, staring at the results in shock.
“Th-This... is...!”