“First place, Han Hye. Fifteen goblins.”
It was only natural.
This was how I hunted goblins.
HUM-.
Tap-tap-tap—slash.
HUM-.
Tap-tap-tap—slash.
Rest, slice, rest, slice.
Whenever I felt tired, I could just enter Subspace, sleep, and come back out. Thanks to that, I was able to cut down goblins in peak condition.
......Honestly, by around the middle, finding goblins was more of a hassle than fighting them. There were fewer and fewer goblins as time passed.
“Fifteen goblins?”
“?”
“Really? How is that even possible?”
The moment the supervisor finished speaking, cries of shock rose from all around.
“Mr. Han Hye, aren't you a Spatialist? How are you this good?”
“Wow, I already thought you were different, but fifteen is seriously insane, isn't it?”
Some of the trainees I had gotten to know over the last three days even came over to speak to me. The instructor continued.
“The average is four, yet Mr. Han Hye has demonstrated overwhelming skill. Even considering that his level is higher, this is remarkable.”
Everyone nodded at the instructor's words. There might have been a gap in level, but Warriors and Rogues also had combat skills.
Unlike a Spatialist, they had an advantage in combat itself.
Yet even so......wasn't the difference simply overwhelming?
“What's even more surprising is that Mr. Han Hye's record is the best in Workshop history.”
“The best record ever?”
“Yes. You all know ‘Knight’ Lee Hongju, right? The A-Grade Hunter. The record had stood at eleven until now.”
Wow.
I was just as surprised.
I hadn't expected it to be the best record ever. My stats and ability were definitely overpowered.
“Ahem.”
With everyone looking at me, managing my expression was essential. Ahem, I cleared my throat for no reason.
As we wrapped things up and came out, the swordsmanship instructor who had acted as our supervisor approached me.
“I'm Instructor Lee Sangyeop. You worked hard.”
“Yes, you worked hard as well, Instructor.”
“I'm looking forward to it.”
“Pardon?”
“To entering a Gate with you someday. I'm not merely being polite. You're the most exceptional trainee I've ever seen.”
The swordsmanship instructor smiled. Come to think of it, the instructor had been favorably disposed toward me since the very first swordsmanship class.
“Ah, thank you.”
That response felt somehow inadequate. Showing a little humility would be virtuous, right?
“It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Instructor.”
“Pardon? Mine?”
The instructor looked at me as if I were being ridiculous.
“I never taught you anything separately during class......”
“Ah......”
Ah, was that a humblebrag?
.
.
.
“The Workshop, which has run for a week, ends today. There were injuries, but fortunately no major accidents.”
The Workshop was over. The second Gate practicum had also taken place, but nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
It was a recommended Level 1~5 Gate with an entry limit of five. The trainees entered by themselves, without supervisors.
“Mr. Han Hye, what are you doing for a team? Want to join me?”
“I'm a D-Grade Healer!”
Every trainee wanted to team up with me, so I put together a group as I saw fit and entered the Gate.
There were no problems, and we came out after setting a record for clearing a Gate in the shortest time.
“Next, there will be an elixir presentation for Mr. Han Hye, the top trainee in this Workshop.”
Just before the graduation ceremony ended, I went up onto the stage and received a small wooden box.
[Flame Herb (C-Grade)]
-A herb containing the power of flame. If consumed, it feels as though your heat resistance will become greatly stronger.
-If you have a flame-related skill, there is a chance that skill's level will rise.
Crazy, C-Grade?
I couldn't hide my shock. The baseline elixir provided at Workshops was E-Grade.
I had hoped that I might receive a D-Grade elixir after breaking the top record in the Gate practicum.
But they were giving me something even better.
“Manage your expression. Manage your expression.”
At the words from beside me, I hurriedly shut my open mouth.
“We prepared a C-Grade elixir for Mr. Han Hye, but we'd appreciate it if you said publicly that you received a D-Grade one.”
It seemed the Association had gone out on a limb as well.
Since they asked for my understanding, I nodded quickly.
“Of course. Thank you.”
I put the wooden box into Subspace.
“Would you be available to talk for a moment after the graduation ceremony?”
“Ah, yes.”
With that conversation, the graduation ceremony concluded as I received my Hunter license.
***
“What? You received a C-Grade elixir?”
Uncle Cheolgi was also startled when he heard what had happened at the Workshop.
“Look at this lucky bastard. They gave you a C-Grade one? Wow, that's insane.”
“I was surprised too.”
“It looks like the Association is trying to get into your good graces properly.”
“You think so?”
“Even ‘Knight’ received a D-Grade elixir at the Workshop. Since a Spatialist did better than a Knight, they want to make a good impression on you early.”
I agreed. I had been shocked by the C-Grade elixir as well. No matter how impressive my performance had been......
If it weren't for the value of my Subspace skill, it would have been difficult to receive a C-Grade one.
I had really made the most of the Workshop.
“Didn't the Association say anything else?”
“They did.”
“What did they say?”
“They asked whether I had any thoughts of going abroad, so I said not for the time being. They said they'd treat me well and asked for my cooperation in the future.”
For its land area, Korea was a Hunter powerhouse. When the Gate Crisis erupted, it had been one of the few countries where a massive Gate had burst open.
There had been countless casualties, but just as many Awakened had been born as a result.
And Awakened received quite favorable treatment. Overseas scouts came by often, but few people left. In most cases, the conditions in Korea were better.
‘If you go abroad, you have to enter dangerous gates first, too.’
Since most Hunter contracts were signed by the year, foreign Hunters whose contracts were ending took the risks.
Many also suffered because the language and culture were different.
“Korea is better. Look at China. They treated Awakened like shit, then a coup happened and turned the country upside down.”
“Don't you dislike Korea, Uncle?”
“I don't have any major grievances against the country. It treated me well enough. They did everything they could to help me use my skills. It was ordinary people who made my life difficult.”
Uncle Cheolgi drank shot after shot of soju. He still seemed to feel bad whenever he thought about that time.
Broadcasts, newspapers, online communities......they had torn him apart everywhere.
I held out a card I had prepared for him.
“What's this?”
“A registration card for the Hunter-only training center nearby.”
I had paid for both mine and Uncle Cheolgi's on the way back after graduating.
The magic stones obtained during the Gate practicum had all been settled as well.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“So you can get back into shape, Uncle. Let's hatch that dragon quickly and teach them a lesson.”
“You bastard, hatch it first before you say that.”
Uncle Cheolgi let out a hollow laugh. Even so, he accepted the card.
“Thank you.”
“For what? If it weren't for you, Uncle, I might've died on the streets.”
“That's an exaggeration......”
Uncle Cheolgi waved his hand, but it was true. After the Gate Crisis, it had been impossible for the orphanage to support me, and I had been wandering the streets without a home.
Separate from that, I hadn't tried hatching the dragon yet. The newborn dragon might be hostile, and I didn't know how strong it would be.
“And you should level up. You're still not up to my level yet.”
“Come on, have you had too much to drink? You're Level 14, Uncle. Well, reaching Level 14 without skills is impressive, but......my stats are equivalent to Level 18.”
“Ha, a bastard who was a porter until last week has really grown bold.”
“I grew up a long time ago. Want to arm-wrestle?”
What was Uncle's Strength stat again?
As I considered it, Uncle Cheolgi silently raised his middle finger. A man in his late thirties using such a childish insult......
“By the way, what are you going to do now?”
“Run Gates.”
“Alone?”
“Of course.”
My stats were already about Level 20. That meant I had more than enough ability for Level 6~10 Gates.
There was no need to take others Awakened along and lose experience.
‘Unless they had an ability good enough for us to grow together.’
Besides, if I formed a team, I couldn't properly show my own skills. I had held back at the Workshop as well.
If I went all out, the other Awakened would definitely notice that something was strange.
“With your ability now, you should be fine, but wouldn't it be better to bring a Healer? Even a small injury can become a major danger.”
“The Association gave me potions, antidotes, and all sorts of things, so I'll be fine.”
“They gave you expensive things like that?”
Some of the supplies I had put into Subspace during the Gate practicum had simply ended up in my hands.
“Mr. Han Hye, please take these. You'll need them when you finish the Workshop and start running Gates. It would be inconvenient and cost money to buy them separately.”
Naturally, I hadn't refused. Uncle looked dumbfounded.
“These bastards need to tone down the preferential treatment.”
“Wait, Uncle, are you really on my side?”
“I'm just jealous, you bastard.”
He talked like that, but he looked as though he was congratulating me.
“By the way, have you picked your next Gate?”
“Not yet. I'll probably go for a survival-type Gate. Going by my stats alone, I'm a D-Grade Hunter.”
Level and Hunter grade were not proportional. A Hunter's grade rose through Gate achievements.
Still, it was possible to make a rough estimate.
F-Grade: 1~7
E-Grade: 7~15
D-Grade: 16~25
C-Grade: 26~35
B-Grade: 36~45
A-Grade: 45~55
S-Grade: 55+
That was roughly how it worked. As the levels of the Advance Teams rose, those grade standards changed as well.
Right now, I was around the level of a D-Grade Hunter.
“A survival-type Gate? It's not a bad idea, but......even if your stats are high, isn't that going to be rough?”
That wasn't wrong. Most survival-type Gates were harder than their recommended levels would suggest.
They could be cleared simply by surviving for the given time without killing monsters.
Just as I had survived the Red Dragon.
“Even if the difficulty is high, survival-type Gates will be the easiest ones for me.”
During the Dragon incident, I had panicked and opened the Subspace entrance in an open area, but......
Things were different now. Uncle and I had experimented with Subspace together. I only needed to open it with a wall at my back.
No matter how strong an enemy was, it wouldn't be able to attack me through the space between the wall and Subspace.
Besides, survival-type Gates were difficult, so their rewards were fairly good depending on one's performance.
‘But they aren't popular.’
Even when a survival-type Gate had been identified, Hunters tended to avoid it despite the good rewards because it was much harder than its recommended level.
The Association didn't recommend them either.
Usually, to prevent a Gate Break, high-level Hunters above the recommended level cleared them.
They did so while giving up experience and rewards.
‘But not me.’
For now, I intended to go in and see what happened. My stats were ridiculously overpowered for my level.
If it didn't work out, I could flee into Subspace. I was heading in with an insurance policy.
.
.
.
As the drinking session drew to a close, Uncle suddenly brought something up.
“By the way, Hunternet is going wild because of you.”
“Really?”
Hunternet.
It was a community only Awakened Hunters could use. Hunter license verification was required, with no exceptions.
Of course, I had used it before. Not in the same way Hunters did.
There was a separate section where unawakened Hunters could post their résumés as porters. Hunters usually looked through those and contacted them.
“The Workshop ended, so this is when your information gets released. Go take a look if you're curious.”
“Okay.”
People were talking about me. Anyone would be curious. I stood up and said,
“Shall we work out together tomorrow morning? You don't do lunch service anyway.”
After considering it for a moment, Uncle nodded.
“All right.”
“Then let's meet here at nine and go together.”
“Hye.”
“Yes?”
“The hatching......I'm counting on you.”
Uncle called after me as I turned to leave.
“I'll do my best.”
I sincerely intended to. I would definitely hatch it. I hadn't stirred a fire in the heart of a retired man for no reason.
I wanted to repay Uncle Cheolgi in my own way. He was my benefactor.
I had thought of a few methods, and I had ordered some things before leaving for the Workshop.
I didn't know whether they would work, but I intended to try this and that.
‘There's a possibility.’
Even if I had to stay in a fire while holding the egg, it would be fine.
I had an A-Grade Fire Resistance skill.