B-Rank Promotion Exam (3)
The Hunter Association's B-rank promotion exam. Having devoted myself entirely to practical swordsmanship training day after day, the week had flown by in the blink of an eye.
It was an exam I'd put real effort into preparing for, so for that entire week, I'd turned down even casual invitations from others to meet up, immersing myself completely in training. That meant rejecting calls from Hyeun or Cha Yuri, which stung a little, but they'd understand once I explained later. They never assumed I'd always have plenty of time on my hands anyway.
I hadn't told them in advance about taking the promotion exam because, since I was climbing to B-rank anyway, I wanted to surprise everyone. Good news hits harder when it comes out of nowhere, after all.
It had only been three or four months since my awakening ability manifested and I started working as a hunter, yet here I was, already at the threshold of B-rank. My ability had awakened much later than most, so I'd started late too, but objectively speaking, this was remarkably fast growth. Even assuming someone graduated from hunter training high school and jumped straight into action, B-rank would be the standard around my age. Cases like Hyeun or Mina were the exceptions.
They'd all be shocked when I told them. Not just Cha Yuri or Sihee, but even Hyeun and Eunyoung noona. Keeping it secret until I could share the good news was a small pleasure in itself. Plus, I was wary of jinxing it by bragging too soon.
It would be embarrassing in all sorts of ways if I talked like B-rank promotion was a given, only to fail due to some unavoidable accident. Excessive expectations could turn into a burden, so aside from Han Mina, who'd agreed to write my recommendation letter, I hadn't told the other women.
Preparing for the B-rank promotion exam mostly involved dungeon raids using only swordsmanship. It wouldn't have been bad to spend points raising my swordsmanship level. Especially after resolving Mina's heat cycle last time—I'd racked up four times' worth of points in a single night.
My current points in the Hunter Libido Manager System totaled 955. That was enough to bump my level 6 swordsmanship up a notch with plenty left over.
For reference, after a few days of training with level 6 swordsmanship, I'd figured out the techniques available at that level. My current awakening ability sat somewhere between B-rank and A-rank—but that was limited strictly to swordsmanship. Add in my other abilities, and I could obviously perform beyond that.
Magic skills and recovery skills, in particular, ran on autopilot without me even thinking about them, aiding my physical exertion. The mana constantly flowing through my body amplified my sword swings and footwork, while my automatic recovery kept fatigue at bay, fueling an unyielding spirit.
Setting aside those involuntary bodily flows I couldn't control, I'd decided to pass this promotion exam using swordsmanship alone. And if possible, without upgrading from my current level 6.
Asking for the next stage when I couldn't even fully utilize what I already had would be arrogance and greed. Swordsmanship was the skill I'd trained the longest, after all—I had to master it properly.
I'll save the points for later. Something will come up eventually. Worst case, I can invest in other skills or items instead of swordsmanship.
With those thoughts, I entered the Association guild and headed toward the scheduled exam site. Along the way, in the guild corridor, I spotted a familiar silhouette—a woman.
There was only one mage hunter active around here with a navy cape and red bobbed hair.
There was still some time before the exam started, so I raised a hand in greeting.
"Cha Yuri-ssi!"
Her shoulders turned slowly at the sound of my voice.
"Sungcheol?"
She hadn't expected to run into me, tilting her head quizzically.
"Long time no see, Cha Yuri-ssi. How've you been?"
"...Small world. Heading to work?"
"Something like that. You too, Yuri-ssi? Association duty today?"
"...Mine's a bit different."
"Huh?"
"They needed extra hands at the Association, so I'm just helping out for a bit."
Makes sense. A-ranks get called in for all sorts of favors. Gangdong District had so many guild branches clustered together, but A-rank hunters were still premium talent. The A-ranks and above active in Gangdong guilds were practically all of Seoul's, really.
Gangdong's warp gates were so well-developed that anywhere in Seoul was under 30 minutes if you wanted. A-ranks and up even got gate usage discounts. No wonder Seoul's guild branches gravitated here.
"Tough gig."
"Not really... Anyway, you busy these days?"
"Busy enough. But once today’s over, I'll have time again."
"...Was it because I bugged you too much last time?"
She grabbed my sleeve, looking anxious all of a sudden, which sparked a question in my mind.
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
"If I texted too much and annoyed you, I'll apologize..."
"Never annoyed. And you don't text that often anyway."
No matter how frequent, it was nothing compared to Hyeun or the twins. Yuri actually texted less than most. Outside of real urges building up and her suggesting a meetup, she barely messaged at all.
"Is it because I said I was busy last time and couldn't meet?"
"......"
"That wasn't because you annoyed me, Yuri-ssi. I had this big exam coming up that needed prep, and I felt like I had to focus on sword training."
"...For real?"
"Ask Hyeun if you don't believe me. I skipped even my childhood friend for a week—back and forth between home and the Association, nothing but sword practice."
"...You won't ditch me 'cause I'm a hassle?"
"...Who’s ditching who? Talk sense."
One missed meetup, and she's talking about being ditched.
"I'm not some clueless jerk. You think a guy like me—who you've called a total player—has the right to ditch you? If anything, you'd be justified dumping me anytime you got bored."
"But you're hot, great in bed, and everyone loves you... Me? No charm, nobody else calls me great..."
...Still so down on herself.
To snap her out of it, I lightly flicked her forehead.
"...Ow."
"Where do you get off saying you got no charm? I've never once thought you lacked compared to other women."
"...Liar. No way not even once."
"Not lying. Sure, I'm a guy—different women hit different spots. But that doesn't mean you lack charm, so don't get weird ideas."
"...Then what do you like about me?"
"Cute, unpredictable, exhibitionist streak, weak but stubborn pride—fun to break down?"
"...Who you mocking? And I said I'm not an exhibitionist."
It was a sincere compliment, but she looked pissed instead. Right—this world's women don't take "cute" as praise. Probably bruised her pride.
...Come to think of it, this stemmed from me turning down her meetup recently. Words weren't cutting it; time to show her with actions.
"Guess I'll prove I find you charming today, then."
"...Huh?"
"You free later? Date after work?"
"...Date?"
"We've never done a proper one since that first day. Dungeon sex, hotel sex, roll around in a room till breakfast—that's it. More fuckbuddies than lovers, right?"
First three meets were all like that. Not bad, but all sex felt off somehow.
Cha Yuri listened quietly, then looked flustered and started denying reality.
"Th-those dates so far... weren't normal...?"
"......Huh?"
...What the hell did this woman think a date was?