Hyun-jun arrived at a nearby Exchange.
The staff member at the counter paused for a moment at the size of the bag, then wheeled over a purchasing cart and loaded the whole bag onto it.
“That's quite a haul. Your party must have had a lot of members.”
“I caught it all by myself, though?”
“......All of this?”
“Yes. How long will the inspection take?”
“Uh, well.......”
In the staff member's head, a debate over the truth of Hyun-jun's words was underway.
It took some time to calculate the time needed for the inspection.
“It'll probably take about three hours.”
“Please deposit it as soon as it's done.”
Hyun-jun left the Exchange.
The staff member looked back and forth between his receding back and the load on the cart.
“Come on, no way...... wait, really?”
***
The place Hyun-jun headed to after leaving the Exchange was not his home, but the Awakening Management Bureau.
Among the forest of high-rise buildings in Gwanghwamun, a skyscraper proudly claimed a spot of its own.
It was the building of the Awakening Management Bureau, which oversaw all matters related to Awakening.
‘It's the same as four years ago.’
It was the place he'd come to register as a Hunter, swollen with dreams and hope.
Back then, he hadn't known he would struggle for four years, nor that those struggles would resolve like this.
Hyun-jun looked up at the building, lost in sentiment, then went inside.
He checked the directory and got on the elevator.
He arrived at the customer support office of the Special Support Department on the 5th floor.
When he opened the door and went in, an interior similar to the Exchange's counters came into view.
“What brings you here today?”
A staff member standing at the entrance asked.
“I'd like to exchange a Soul Trace.”
The staff member tapped the touchscreen a few times, then personally pulled a number ticket for him.
“Please wait.”
Hyun-jun sat in the waiting area and waited.
Soon, his number was called, and he moved to the corresponding counter.
“You'd like to exchange a Soul Trace?”
“Yes.”
“Please fill out the forms.”
The staff member held out several sheets of forms.
He had to fill in all the detailed information, including the personal information of the applicant requesting the processing and when, where, and how the Soul Trace had been obtained.
‘Since it's an item that might be connected to a crime.’
That wasn't the case, so Hyun-jun quickly filled in the blanks.
“I've filled it all out.”
“One moment.”
The staff member checked the forms and nodded.
“It's been confirmed. We'll review the contents and then proceed with the work.”
“How long will it take?”
“It takes 2 hours at the earliest, and about 2 weeks at the latest.”
“That takes longer than I thought.”
“It requires cross-verifying your statement. It's 2 weeks because you found the IDs; without them, it would take much longer. If you need cash urgently, a collateral loan is also available.”
“A loan? There's something like that?”
He wasn't interested in the loan itself.
He was just curious about a new system he'd never heard of.
“We received so many complaints about the waiting period that we recently started a new system. It's closer to an advance than a loan. There's no interest. Instead, the limit is only up to 90% of the expected settlement amount.”
Hyun-jun readily nodded.
He loathed loans, but that was exactly why he didn't hesitate.
‘A loan with no interest? Why wouldn't I take it?’
It was basically saying they'd give him money for free.
There was no reason to be scared off and refuse just because it was called a loan.
“Here are the forms. Just check and sign the marked sections.”
Hyun-jun went over the forms meticulously.
In case the staff member had misspoken.
But there was nothing odd.
It was all just as the staff member had said.
Hyun-jun filled out the forms and handed them over.
“Your application is complete. Once the Soul Trace inspection is finished, the money will be deposited within 1 hour. You don't need to make separate repayments. It's repaid automatically upon settlement. The amount corresponding to the 10% will be deposited separately. The deposited amount may vary depending on market fluctuations.”
“Thank you.”
Hyun-jun submitted the Soul Traces and left the customer support office.
‘While I'm here, should I sign up for the exam?’
The E-Grade Hunter Qualification Exam, one of the gateways to becoming an E-Grade Hunter.
The exam was held once every two weeks, and there were about ten days left until the next one.
He could sign up online, but since he'd come all this way, he went down to the basement where the Hunter Academy was, to check out the atmosphere of the exam site in advance.
-One, two, three, four!
As he entered the Academy, a booming shout rang out.
It seemed a class was in full swing.
“Welcome.”
The staff member at the desk spotted Hyun-jun and greeted him.
Hyun-jun approached the desk.
“Hello. I'd like to register for the E-Grade Hunter promotion exam.”
“Please submit your ID and fill out the application.”
Hyun-jun quickly filled out the application and submitted it.
“Your registration is complete. Here's your ID.”
“Could I take a look at the exam site in advance?”
“Ah, yes. As much as you like.”
Hyun-jun left the desk behind and headed deeper into the Academy.
The first place he arrived at was the computer room where the theory exam was held.
It was an ordinary computer room with one computer on each desk.
‘So when you arrive, you take the theory exam here first.’
This was the first hurdle.
If you didn't pass the set score here, you couldn't even take the practical exam.
‘I just need to score over 60.’
Hyun-jun was confident when it came to theory.
He had no intention of being complacent, though, so he had started reviewing in his spare time a few days ago.
He was confident he'd pass the theory exam with ease.
‘Is this the practical exam site?’
The next place he went was the simulation room where the practical exam was held.
The exam was conducted by knocking down targets that appeared here in augmented reality to earn points.
‘Distance is random. And just because they're augmented reality targets, I shouldn't hit them too lightly.’
The strength of every attack was recorded too, and it was said that if you eliminated a target with an excessively weak attack, it wouldn't count toward your score.
‘It's pretty spacious.’
Hyun-jun stood in the center and gauged the distance.
He pictured a scenario in his head where targets appeared at both ends at the same time.
“It'll take quite a while to get from one end to the other. In that case, I'll have to give up on a high score.”
He was a little disappointed inside.
That was because if you got a high score and ranked at the top of the exam, they gave you one of the E-Grade Runes as a reward.
“It'd be nice to get it, but it doesn't really matter if I don't.”
Finished looking around, Hyun-jun left the Bureau and got on a bus heading home.
There weren't many people on the bus.
He sat in an empty seat and looked out the window.
‘Ten days until the exam.’
If possible, he wanted to become an E-Grade Hunter as soon as he finished the exam.
To do that, he first had to clear an F-Grade closed-type Gate 3 times.
‘But there's something I should try first.’
That was party hunting.
Once you entered a closed-type Gate, commonly called a ‘dungeon,’ you couldn't get out until you killed the boss.
That meant you had to fight in sync with others for a long time.
So he planned to practice party hunting at a hunting ground beforehand.
‘I've watched plenty of videos, but I need to experience it in practice too. Whether my fighting style will get in the way, how other people fight, all of it.’
Hyun-jun opened the recruitment board on HunterNet on his smartphone.
[<D-Grade> Gangnam Station Ant Nest] - Recruiting.
[Guild] Haetae Guild is looking for members. - Recruiting.
[E-Grade] Carrying low-level dungeons. 5 million won upfront. Rewards split 50/50. - Recruiting.
[Part-time] Anyone to assist with gathering at a D-Grade hunting ground? - Closed.
[C-Grade] Anyone going to the Ilsan KINTEX dungeon – Closed.
Posts with various tags.
Hyun-jun filtered the posts so that only F-Grade posts showed up.
His Soul Circuit's Grade was E, but his Hunter Grade was F.
For now, he could only enter F-Grade places.
[F-Grade] Looking for a party to hunt Rune Rabbits in the grassland field] - Closed.
[F-Grade] Looking for like-minded companions. Anyone who wants to party hunt together and push toward E-Grade! - Recruiting.
[F-Grade] Who wants to catch golems~ - Closed.
Hyun-jun checked the post looking for companions.
[F-Grade] Looking for like-minded companions. Anyone who wants to party hunt together and push toward E-Grade!
Author: HunterHopefulA
Hello. I'm an F-Grade melee dealer who Awakened 6 months ago.
Until now, I've either run hunting grounds solo or found parties on the board each time and gone in.
But finding people and syncing up every single time is no easy task.
“Why is this so long?”
Hyun-jun skimmed it roughly.
To sum it up, it was about gathering companions to go all the way to E-Grade together.
“The conditions are written here too.”
-Grade: F only!
-Classes recruited: If a tank or healer comes, I'll bow down and welcome you, but anyone is fine for now.
-Rune count: Between 100 and 200! Sorry to those who are too weak or too strong!
-Item distribution will be based on contribution!
-Looking for polite people with good manners!
-Contact me and we'll go hunting right away! Area of activity is Seoul!
“The standard for a strong person is 200? Isn't that way too low?”
Hyun-jun didn't meet the conditions.
He put his disappointment aside and skimmed through other posts, but they were all closed.
The only one with open spots was the first one he'd seen.
“I'm just going to practice party hunting anyway, so fudging this much should be fine.”
It wasn't like he'd stay with them until the end.
And there was no separate way to verify the number of Runes or the Soul Circuit's Grade.
Hyun-jun sent a message to the contact listed in the post.
A reply arrived quickly.
-HunterHopefulA: How many Runes do you have??
The other person first checked whether he really had 200 Runes or fewer.
Hyun-jun's brow furrowed slightly.
“Not even a greeting, and he asks about my Rune count first?”
What kind of rude prick is this?
“Tsk. Still, I'm the one who needs this.”
Hyun-jun typed a message.
Just as he was about to send a Rune count roughly fitting the conditions.
The two words Rune Killing suddenly came to mind.
‘Caring this much about the Rune count is a little suspicious.’
He might really need companions to grow with.
But in that case, wouldn't it be better to greet him first and make a good first impression?
There was some distance between the purpose they had written and their actual behavior.
‘Nah, no way.’
Strict punishment, strengthened Gate management, supervision of special technicians, and more.
Rune Killing had vanished thanks to various regulations.
The likelihood that this person was a Rune Killer after Runes was low.
‘It's ambiguous. The likelihood is low, not zero.’
If it was ambiguous, it was right not to go.
Other F-Grade parties would be posted over time, so there was no need to cling to this suspicious party.
‘But what if this guy really is a Rune Killer?’
That meant someone who took the bait from this post could become a victim.
‘Would anyone notice this besides me?’
Because it was a crime that had been rampant in the past, many people these days didn't even know it existed.
It was included in the Academy's basic education course, but how many people would listen carefully to it?
‘Honestly, I don't need to care about it to that extent.’
Then why was he still torn to the end over whether to send the message?
What was the cause of the uneasiness he felt deep in his heart?
Because he'd seen people who had died in the hunting ground earlier?
Or......
“E-Excuse me? Are you all right?”
Hyun-jun raised his head.
The man sitting next to him was looking at him.
“Sorry?”
“Your hand is shaking a lot.”
Only then did Hyun-jun look at his fist.
Without realizing it, he had been clenching his fist so hard that it trembled.
“Ah...... I'm fine.”
Hyun-jun bowed his head and put his hand in his pocket.
Only then could he see why he couldn't turn away from this problem.
It was anger toward the wicked who tried to make others' suffering their own gain.
An emotion he had harbored ever since his mother was left hovering between life and death.
But an emotion he had shoved deep down and turned away from, worn down by life.
That emotion caught a spark.
‘Let's just confirm it.’
Whether he was a Rune Killer or not.
If he wasn't, all the better.
And if he was a Rune Killer......
Then he would teach him a lesson.
***
“He replied.”
“How many?”
“142.”
“Not bad.”
A secluded alley.
Three people, men and women both, had gathered there.
A bald man logged in under the account HunterHopefulA sent a reply to the message that had arrived.
-Mountain Region, Darak Mountain. Come inside the dungeon, not outside. Time is 12 p.m.
“So it's two tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. One at 10. The guy who just contacted me at 12.”
“The two of them together have about 340, so...... a bit over 100. We're going to feast for the first time in a while.”
The laughter of the three scattered through the alley.