The next morning, Si-woo received a message from Woo Jin-chul stating that the testing facility of the Hunter’s Association would be available for him this afternoon.
He nodded to no one and placed his phone back into his pocket before looking up to see his grandpa walking towards him with a serious expression.
“I guess it’s time for the talk, huh?” he muttered, though Do-yoon just sighed and sat down directly in front of him with his palms resting on his knees.
“I know you will be dungeon diving as soon as you get your license,” the old man started.
“And with your rank, it is obvious they will be dangerous,” he added as his grip on his knees tightened.
“No,” Si-woo interrupted firmly.
“You will not be registering with the Hunter’s Association so you can go into the dungeons with me.
I need you here and safe so I can go into the dungeons with a worry free mind,” the boy added with a shake of his head.
“And what of my mind?” the old man countered.
“You will just have to trust me on that, grandpa.
I know what I am doing and I will be safe.
And I will be at ease when I know you will be protecting Jin-ah,” Si-woo answered gently.
The old man leaned back in his seat as he saw how stubborn Si-woo was being, to which the boy just got up and approached him.
“I’ll take it slow and turn to more experienced people for help whenever I encounter something I can’t handle,” Si-woo placated the man gently.
Do-yoon stood up at last and reached out his hand to pat Si-woo’s head before giving the silver-haired boy a nod.
“I trust you,” he said and turned around to walk towards the kitchen to bring out the breakfast he had made.
The breakfast table was quieter that day as both of them were deep in their own thoughts.
Jin-woo was already away at a raid, while Jin-ah had left for school before that.
“I’ll be heading out now,” Si-woo shouted from the door as he exited the apartment on his way to the Hunter’s Association testing area.
He had left the apartment an hour before the allotted time because he wished to just walk there.
Though, he paused when he saw a familiar face near a construction site not too far from his destination.
“Jin-woo!” he called out to the grey-eyed man with a smile and a wave.
Jin-woo waved back with a grin as Si-woo walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
“You’ll be clearing this gate then?” Si-woo asked, gesturing to the glowing blue vortex after the pleasantries.
“Yep, it’s an E-rank one so I’ll be more at ease.
And the pay is good as well,” Jin-woo mentioned, gesturing to the gate with a jerk of his head.
“Why?
Is there something special about this one?” Si-woo cocked his head in confusion.
“Well, I’ll be getting a 300,000 Won bonus from the construction company whose project the presence of this gate is hindering,” Jin-woo answered, gesturing to the empty construction site beside them.
By now, Si-woo had noticed Jin-woo’s party as well and saw they were giving him wary, fearful looks, so he waved at them to put them at ease.
“Hey guys.
This here is my brother, please take care of him in there.
I’m Kang Si-woo by the way,” he introduced himself.
The party introduced themselves one by one.
There were two men and two women.
Three of them were holding swords while one was holding a spear, and all of them were D-rank.
A frown formed on Si-woo’s face when he noticed something.
“No healers?” he asked, not politely, though not yet hostile either.
Flustered expressions appeared on the hunters’ faces as one woman even took a step back in fear.
Before any of them could muster enough strength to answer, Jin-woo pulled Si-woo’s arm and took him away from the hunters with an apologetic smile.
“Don’t intimidate people like that,” he started in a fluster.
“I was not trying to intimidate them…
yet,” Si-woo defended himself, adding the last part in a whisper.
“You totally were.” “I totally wasn’t.” “Hmm, I guess it’s just the face,” Jin-woo hummed to himself with a hand on his chin.
“You want me to beat you up?” Si-woo raised his fist, veins visible on his forehead.
Jin-woo sighed.
“Just, let them be.
It’s an E-rank gate, I’ll be fine,” he said, rubbing his neck.
“So you’ve made it your mission to take full advantage of the hunter’s health insurance, huh?” Si-woo said with folded arms.
“Don’t you have things to do, mom?” Jin-woo said with a smirk before nudging Si-woo’s shoulder and walking away.
Si-woo parroted Jin-woo’s words in a high-pitched voice as he walked away towards the testing area in a sour mood.
He was intercepted by Woo Jin-chul at the entrance of the Hunter’s Association, who could tell Si-woo was not in a small talk mood.
Knowing they were not close enough, he did not ask the reason and silently led Si-woo towards the testing area.
“I appreciate you keeping me being an S-rank a secret,” Si-woo started the conversation after shaking his head to clear it.
Having to go through a crowd of reporters would have been a hassle.
“I’m afraid we will have to disclose your S-rank status as soon as you get your hunter’s license,” the blonde man answered as he opened the door of the testing area for Si-woo.
The boy was met with a small group of people waiting for him in a large, stadium-like space with testing dummies and a blunt weapons rack.
“Allow me to introduce everyone present,” Woo Jin-chul said as he started to call out everyone’s names, and they would either greet Si-woo with a bow or a handshake.
First was Choi Jong-in, second Cha Hae-in, and third Baek Yoon-ho.
The men offered Si-woo handshakes while Hae-in greeted him with a short bow.
To the side was Lim Tae-gyu, who stood with his secretary and greeted Si-woo with a nod.
While Ma Dong-wook had appeared beside Si-woo at some point and greeted him with a boisterous laugh and a firm shake of the hand.
“Should we start with the test?
I’m sure our friend here must be anxious about it,” Lim Tae-gyu stated after the greetings.
Although he had said that because he just wanted to know what Si-woo would be worth.
The boy shrugged and looked from the dummies to the weapons rack.
Meanwhile, the others stepped back as a man stepped into the room, clipboard in hand.
He greeted Si-woo with a bow.
“Could you tell me if your skill lies in magical or martial combat?” he asked.
Si-woo thought for a moment before answering, “Martial.” “Very well,” the man said and stepped back, his gaze turning to the weapons rack.
“Please choose a weapon.
All of them are blunt and common weapons.” Si-woo moved towards the weapons rack with a hand on his chin, though it took him only a moment to select his weapon.
In his grip was a large, single-edged sword with a slight curve.
Its blade was 130cm long, and this style of sword was known as a Ssang-soo-do.
Although it was a two-handed saber, Si-woo held it in one hand and placed its flat side on his shoulder before turning to the guy testing him.
The man answered his questioning look by jerking his chin towards the dummies, and the rest was obvious.
Si-woo gave a nod before walking a distance away from the dummies and extending his hand to the side.
He stretched his hand to the maximum, the sword still in hand and its flat side parallel to the ground.
He surged his magic into his legs before a loud bang was heard in the area, and half of the dummies were cut in two.
Another bang followed the next moment, and the other half now had deep cuts running through them as well, while Si-woo had already returned to the exact place he had started in.
By then, the severed halves of the dummies were still falling to the ground.
“Splendid,” Choi Jong-in was the first one to speak after that, as he complimented Si-woo by clapping his hands.
Lim Tae-gyu stood stunned before shaking himself from his stupor as he walked towards Si-woo with a determined expression.
Though, he was stopped by Woo Jin-chul.
“I would ask you to wait until after Chairman Go talks to him,” he stated.
Jin-chul knew Tae-gyu was going to make Si-woo an immediate offer, even though the Hunter’s Association had the authority to talk to hunters first.