The Hunter Interview (2)
Affiliation with the Hunter Association went off without a hitch.
I had been assured from the very start that the process would pose no problems, so that much was only natural.
The real question was whether any hunter team out there was actually looking for me.
"...Is there even one?"
I was worried sick. Still, I had no hunter career to my name—I was a raw rookie—so I settled in to wait, telling myself it was bound to take a little while.
One day.
Three days.
......
When was the last time I had thought a single day could stretch so long? It wasn't the sort of thing that happened often enough for me to remember. The only reason the hours dragged was that I was waiting for a call from the Hunter Association.
I already knew it wouldn't be easy to find a team willing to take me. Even so, with the phone staying silent, the quiet left me nothing but anxious.
A change in perspective mattered, though. There simply weren't that many hunters to begin with, which meant there weren't that many hunter teams either. I had no idea how long it took the average hunter to find a team, but even a wait of more than a week probably wouldn't be easy. So if I ended up waiting past a week myself, I only had to decide that this was normal.
"Right. It's not like there are that many hunter teams."
Better to do something useful while I was stuck resting at home. First, a modest goal.
—Form an image of my ability.
That mattered for me, and it would matter just as much for whatever team I eventually joined. If a hunter needed anything, half of it was personal skill and the other half was their ability. With an ability carrying that much weight, I had to figure mine out no matter what.
"Hoo... Creation! Creation~ Creation. Creation, creation, creation."
I shouted the ability through every thought and every pose I could invent, and nothing happened. Embarrassed for no good reason, I hurried back to the chair and sat down.
For all the support the Hunter Association had given me, I was no different from the day I had started. I couldn't very well call that support useless, either. I was simply the one who couldn't use it. Maybe the Association and I were both overcomplicating the Immortal class and the Creation ability. There might be a simpler way. An easier one.
A ringtone chimed.
"Immortal... what is it supposed to be, anyway? Yes, Mr. Lee Muo."
"Hello, Hunter Kim Haseong. I am contacting you today because a hunter team has asked to meet you."
"Yes. ...Yes!?"
"A hunter team."
I hadn't even considered that the call might come so suddenly. But a moment's thought made it obvious. If Mr. Lee Muo was calling me, what else could it be but something about a hunter team?
"Yes, yes. I'd like to meet them."
"Understood. Before we set a time, the team says they are looking for a hunter to take the cover formation. We have, of course, already explained that you are unable to use your ability."
Since I didn't know what my ability even was, cover was the only formation that suited me. My training had centered on cover work as well.
"Thank you."
"Not at all. And as with any hunter joining any team, you will take a small test they administer, and only then will they decide whether you may join. There is no need to thank me just yet."
"Ah... could I ask what they'll be testing?"
"That differs from team to team, so it is difficult to say precisely. As a rule, however, many teams look at a hunter's skill."
As I saw it, they would be testing my skill too. Unable to use my ability, I was as good as rejected unless that skill ran high.
"Thank you for the information. When can I meet the team?"
"They were kind enough to say that any time this week is acceptable, so this depends on when a training room at the Hunter Association is free... the schedule... ah. Two days from now, at two in the afternoon. How is that?"
"I can do that."
"Understood. If the schedule changes, I will call you separately. Ah—and the team's name is Hell."
"...Team Hell. Understood. Oh, and one more thing. About visualizing my ability... is there any other information?"
"...Well, the Association is investigating that as well... but there have been no particular results.... I am sorry."
"Ah, no. It's fine. For now, two days from now at two. Please contact me if the Association's schedule changes."
"Understood."
"Yes. Thank you for your help."
A peculiar stillness settled in the moment I hung up. The house was only quiet, and yet I couldn't tell whether any of this was real. I gave my cheek a small pinch.
"...It's real? Me... let's not get ahead of myself. Hoo."
I couldn't afford to be full of hope already. A hunter team. Hell. Until I passed whatever test Team Hell meant to give me, I hadn't joined any real hunter team. For now I had to stay calm and drag my skill up however I could.
"Calm down. Kim Haseong."
I sat in the chair and thought it through. I doubted I could push my skill any higher than it already was, and even if I did, it probably wouldn't mean much. The best way to raise my worth, then, was my ability—but unfortunately, the Association seemed to have nothing more to tell me.
"...Right back where I started."
Two days. I had been trying all along, but somehow, in these two days, I had to succeed at forming an image of my ability.
I had felt for a long time that the team's firepower fell short. It was obvious enough—once we entered a dungeon, clearing the first floor took us three whole days. After turning it over, I brought the matter up with the others, and they had been thinking the same thing. With all of us in agreement, we reported to the Hunter Association at once that we meant to find one more member.
Three months of waiting for them to call if a hunter turned up. A call finally came, but the hunter the Association described was somehow off. We talked it through and decided, for the time being, to meet him.
And today was that day.
"What kind of hunter do you think is coming?"
"Yeah. I'd be glad if they're at least average or better..."
Like Dohyeon said, average or better would do.
"From what you heard, Woojin, they said he was above average, didn't they?"
"I heard it. Doesn't mean the explanation's worth trusting. Who knows?"
Seonwoo had it right. The Association had called him above average, but we couldn't simply take their word for it.
"Yeah, that's true."
"Still, it might be fine, don't you think?"
"No point worrying about it now."
Every question would answer itself once we met him. For the moment, all we had to do was wait quietly.
Before long, a knock sounded at the door.
"Everyone quiet. I'll get this."
I made sure Dohyeon and Seonwoo nodded, then faced the door.
"Yes. Come in."
"Excuse me."
The man who stepped into the room was tall, and handsome even to my eye. I had never once looked at another man and thought he was good-looking. I was honestly stunned.
"Um? This is Team Hell, isn't it?"
Caught staring, I hurried to pull myself together.
"Ah, yes. That's us. I heard from the Association—you're Hunter Kim Haseong?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Good to meet you. I'm Lee Woojin, leader of Team Hell. I take the vanguard."
"Hello."
"And this is—"
"Kang Dohyeon. I handle the rearguard."
"Kim Seonwoo. I handle support."
With the introductions finished, we sat the hunter—Kim Haseong—down first. We had set a room like this aside because there were a few things we needed to ask.
"First off, and we heard this from the Association too... you can't use your ability?"
"...That. It's true. The Hunter Association says they're looking into the cause, but there haven't been any results so far..."
If the Association itself was investigating and still had nothing, the cause would be genuinely hard to find. I even felt sorry for him.
"Mind if we check for ourselves, then?"
"Ah. Yes."
"Hey, Dohyeon! I told you not to say that."
"Come on, even so, right? A hunter who can't use his ability? I'm not believing that until I see it myself."
"Agh... he's a little... like this..."
"Ah, it's all right."
"Yeah. You quit that too and act normal. I'm telling you—act like you usually do."
"Well, if we're going to run as the same team, we ought to be easy with each other about things like this."
"...You too, Seonwoo. Ha..."
If we were going to live together inside a dungeon, we would learn things about one another whether we wanted to or not. The nature of a dungeon left no other choice.
"Ah, I'd rather we keep it comfortable, too."
Even this guy...
"Ha. Forget it. Then let's keep it comfortable."
"Yes."
I wasn't sure it was all right to proceed like this.
After that, just as Dohyeon had wanted, we called in a staff member from the Association and began the process of confirming whether Haseong truly couldn't use his ability. We had already heard as much from the Association, but the class and ability Haseong carried were new ground—something none of us had ever seen, or even heard of.
"Whoa... this is a Special Class? First time I've seen one."
"Me neither. But what exactly makes it different?"
"Both of you, that's enough looking. Haseong? Try using your ability."
Haseong took his hand off the stone, stepped forward, and shouted the ability listed on his Status Window.
"Creation."
Shout an ability, and something was supposed to happen. Nothing did.
"Nothing's happening?"
"It's been like this the whole time, so I'm in a bit of a spot... haha."
"What if it's a buff? The kind a healer or a priest would have?"
"Pardon me. On that point, the Association has already confirmed the result. It has been determined that Hunter Kim Haseong's ability is not a buff."
We didn't trust the Association blindly, but in a field like this they were solid. I could be sure it wasn't a lie.
"...Ah. Still, just in case, let's try it again."
The staffer had given his account, but Dohyeon took Haseong's hand anyway. Troubled as he looked, Haseong shouted Creation all the same.
"Well?"
"...Hard to say. It really doesn't seem like a buff, though."
"From what I heard, he can't use it because he has no image of the ability."
"Yeah? That's... exhausting. And anyway, visualizing an ability just to use it? That was a thing?"
"That, as well, is the result of the Association's investigation. From the period when hunters first appeared, there are numerous records of hunters being unable to use their abilities because they lacked a concrete image of them."
"...Wow."
"So for now, it's certain Haseong can't use his ability yet."
"Right."
"Haseong, wait here a moment. Dohyeon, Seonwoo—let's step into the other room."
We knew for certain now that he couldn't use it.
First, a meeting with the team.