Martial God Jin Cheon-woo was a character from a ‘martial arts world.’
I had never lived in such a place myself, so I could not say much about it, but it was clearly a civilization unlike the world in which I lived.
After all, he had marveled at the microwave in the Private Training Center, and now he was shouting at the top of his lungs on the subway.
- Why are you not escaping at once? Use your sword! If you use the Limitless Sword Method, you should be able to cut through this mysterious contraption!
“I told you it isn’t dangerous. Please calm down, will you?”
I had been trying to calm Jin Cheon-woo down for some time, but it was not easy.
It was not as though I could not understand him. Anyone would be startled if they suddenly experienced a subway.
It was tremendously long and moved at an incredible speed.
Moreover, the noise it produced while moving could have felt quite threatening.
- Good heavens……! What in the world is this……!
Martial God Jin Cheon-woo was still visibly astonished.
Something similar had happened before we entered the subway station.
The moment we left the Private Training Center and he saw the cars outside, Jin Cheon-woo had jumped in fright and practically shrieked.
‘This is starting to ruin the image I had of him. I thought the Martial God would be a dignified man, but the more I see him, the more I realize he is nothing like that.’
I did not dislike this side of Jin Cheon-woo.
In fact, I found it rather endearing because it made him feel more approachable.
‘We’re here.’
I got off at a subway station near the Hunter Association.
The Hunter Association building came into view the moment I left the station.
It was magnificent.
I had heard they were rich, and judging by the building, it seemed they truly were.
- Is there really any need to obtain this Hunter License?
“Not necessarily.”
- Then why do you intend to get one?
“To avoid unnecessary trouble.”
As I had told Jin Cheon-woo, I was going out of my way to get a Hunter License to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Put another way, it was so I could enter Dungeons without any hassle.
“The Hunter Association manages many Dungeons. You need a Hunter License to enter them.”
Many of Korea’s Dungeons were managed by the Hunter Association.
It was ostensibly a safety measure intended to prevent ordinary people who had not awakened from entering Dungeons.
That was why Hunter Association employees stood guard like inspectors in front of the Gates connected to those Dungeons.
I had seen them many times while working as a Dungeon Porter.
‘When I worked as a Dungeon Porter, the Hunters handled the verification for me, so I could get inside. From now on, having a Hunter License will be more convenient.’
Of course, it was possible to manage without a Hunter License.
The Hunter Association had limited personnel, so there were quite a few Dungeons they could not keep an eye on.
If I sought out and entered only such places, I would have no trouble even without a Hunter License.
However, tracking them down sounded even more troublesome, so I decided to get one.
SWISH!
I opened the door to the Hunter Association building and stepped inside.
Perhaps because the building was so luxurious, even the door opened with remarkable ease.
However, two people blocked my path as soon as I entered.
“What brings you here?”
They were employees guarding the entrance to the Hunter Association.
They were probably both Hunters. Perhaps that was why they looked so intimidating.
Most people would be cowed before they even made it through the entrance.
“I’m here to have a Hunter License issued.”
“Please verify your Mana.”
The Hunter Association employee held out a hand, indicating that I needed to verify my Mana.
A strangely shaped device rested on his palm.
“It is Inner Arts rather than Mana. Will that be all right?”
“Of course. We accept Inner Arts as well.”
I placed my hand on the device and channeled my Inner Arts.
HUMMMMM!
My Inner Arts flowed into my palm at my will.
The device immediately lit up and emitted a sound.
BEEP!
“Verification complete.”
The two Hunters who had blocked my path stepped aside.
When I went farther inside, another employee approached and began guiding me.
“I was told you came to have a Hunter License issued. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Please wait for your turn in this waiting room.”
Several chairs came into view when I entered the waiting room.
More than ten people were sitting in them, and they were probably all Awakened.
‘There are a lot of people. Is today unusually busy?’
I had expected there to be no more than five people, but there were far more than I had anticipated.
That was probably why the room was somewhat noisy.
“Bwahahaha! And that’s how I ended up with a C-Rank Trait!”
“Wow…… I am genuinely jealous. With a C-Rank Trait, you could get into almost any guild, couldn’t you? You are obviously going to join a major guild, right?”
“Who knows? Suppose a major guild fails to recognize someone of my talent and does not offer me the very best treatment. Then I would never join!”
“Come on, you awakened a C-Rank Trait, so I am sure they will treat you well. I have an E-Rank Trait, so I will probably have to join a small guild. I do not know whether they will treat me well.”
“What? You are only E-Rank. You should not shamelessly expect good treatment. Someone at my level can afford to care about how he is treated. If you are E-Rank, you should be grateful if even a third-rate guild accepts you.”
“I suppose you are right. Sigh…… Why did I have to awaken an E-Rank Trait of all things……?”
The two men spoke loudly.
The man boasting about his C-Rank Trait was especially loud.
The other Awakened in the waiting room briefly looked at him with envy.
‘C-Rank is fairly high.’
On the Hunter Community, people spoke of A-Rank and B-Rank Traits as though they were commonplace, but in reality, even seeing someone with a C-Rank Trait was rare.
Had I awakened a low-rank Trait, I might have envied that man as well.
However, my Trait was SSSSS-Rank.
It was a rank even higher than S-Rank, which was known as the highest.
In other words, I had no reason to envy him.
“Gwahahaha! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and spend that time trying to get on my good side. Then some benefits might trickle down to you later!”
The people who had briefly looked at him with envy frowned.
The man’s boasting had gone too far.
“What are you looking at? Do you have a problem? If you do, say it! Let’s settle it right here!”
The C-Rank Awakened pounded his chest with his fist as he shouted.
He was brimming with confidence.
Intimidated by his bluster, the people in the waiting room hurriedly averted their eyes.
- Look at that little whelp swaggering about. I would like to kick him squarely in the backside.
Jin Cheon-woo spoke without warning.
His words were so full of utter disgust that I burst out laughing before I knew it.
“Pfft!”
***
The laugh escaped me without warning.
It might have been fine had I laughed quietly, but the sound was fairly loud.
“What? Who was it? Who laughed at me?”
The C-Rank Awakened scowled and looked around.
Then he spotted me, glared, and approached.
“Was that you? Were you the one who just laughed?”
“Do not misunderstand. I was not laughing at you.”
I answered politely because I had no desire to fight.
I had spent two years dealing with customers who had utterly rotten personalities while working as a Dungeon Porter. Handling this much was easy.
However.
“Do not lie! I saw you! Hey! Do you have a death wish?”
My explanation did not get through to him.
GRAB!
The C-Rank Awakened went so far as to seize me by the collar.
Many people became scum the moment they became Hunters, and this man was already showing all the signs.
“A lot of Dungeon Porters are going to suffer because of you.”
“What?! What did you just say?”
“I said you have a rotten personality.”
In the end, I said it.
I had tried to settle things amicably, but after he grabbed me by the collar, I could no longer keep my words polite.
“You bastard…… You must have a death wish!”
The C-Rank Awakened tightened the hand gripping my collar.
However, his strength did not feel particularly impressive.
CLENCH!
I reached out and squeezed the hand gripping my collar.
CRUNCH!
I heard his bones grind.
At the same moment, he screamed.
“Aaaaargh! My hand!”
The C-Rank Awakened clutched his hand in agony.
His eyes were bloodshot, which suggested that he was furious.
“I’ll kill you!”
The C-Rank Awakened charged at me.
However, his charge was immediately stopped.
Not by me, but by a Hunter Association employee.
“That is enough.”
A frigid voice rang out.
At the same time, a sharp sword stopped just before the C-Rank Awakened’s throat.
If he moved even slightly, blood would be drawn.
“Hic!”
Startled, the C-Rank Awakened began to hiccup.
The Hunter Association employee holding the sword had eyes as cold as her voice…… Wait, wasn’t she the woman from before?
‘Was her name An Mi-hyeon?’
She was the woman I had met after killing the Kiraks that had burst out of the Gate.
She had introduced herself as a Hunter Association employee and given me her business card. Her beauty made her easy to remember.
‘A face like that is not exactly common.’
She had the kind of looks that would have made it believable if someone said she was a celebrity—even a top star.
She seemed fairly famous, because the people in the waiting room began whispering.
“Oh! It’s An Mi-hyeon! The Goddess of the Hunter Association!”
“I never thought I would see An Mi-hyeon in person! She was beautiful even on YouTube, but she is even prettier in real life!”
“Wow…… She is absolutely stunning! She really is a goddess……!”
At that moment, An Mi-hyeon parted her red lips.
“This is the Hunter Association. Please remember that violence is prohibited here.”
“……I am a customer! I came here to get my Hunter License! And I awakened a C-Rank Trait! You should not be treating me like this!”
“If you cause any further disturbance, I will subdue you by force.”
“Grr……! I am only letting this go because you are beautiful. Only because you are beautiful!”
The C-Rank Awakened huffed and dropped heavily into a chair.
He kept rubbing his hand, so it must have hurt.
‘My stats are quite high, after all.’
My stats had risen considerably after I awakened my Trait and earned various Achievements.
The difference in strength between me and someone who had likely awakened only recently was bound to be enormous.
When he grabbed my collar, it had felt as though a small child had done it.
More importantly.
Why was An Mi-hyeon coming over to me?
And why did she look hurt?
“Please refrain from causing a disturbance as well. And…… why did you not contact me?”
An Mi-hyeon’s sudden question made everyone in the waiting room stare at us in shock.
“What?! He knew An Mi-hyeon?”
“It looks like they were even close enough to keep in contact……! No…… My An Mi-hyeon…… Why him……?”
“The Goddess of the Hunter Association is practically begging him to call her? How can something like this happen……?!”
The misunderstanding grew out of control in an instant.
Still, did I really deserve to be called someone like that? What was wrong with me?
“I had other things to take care of first, so it slipped my mind.”
I answered honestly.
I had been so absorbed in training that I had not even thought to take out An Mi-hyeon’s business card.
“……It slipped your mind? Very well. I understand for now.”
An Mi-hyeon, who had looked hurt, suddenly seemed to turn cold.
Well, it was probably nothing.
“We will now begin the Hunter License issuance process. Please enter in order.”
I was last in line.
The procedure for issuing a Hunter License included various tests, so it tended to take some time.
The Awakened directly ahead of me had already been taking the tests for twenty minutes.
Just then.
“Yu-gwon, I have a question.”
An Mi-hyeon, who had been quiet all this time, spoke to me.
“Go ahead.”
“Yu-gwon, you seem to have awakened quite some time ago. Why are you only getting your Hunter License now? You can work as a Hunter without one, but it must be inconvenient in many ways.”
What was she talking about?
I had only awakened recently.
“I only awakened recently.”
She seemed to have the wrong idea, so I corrected her.
“What? What do you mean……?”
An Mi-hyeon’s eyes widened.