Novel Full Chapter 23 - Hunter Han Sungyeun (3)
Chapter 23: Hunter Han Sungyeun (3)
The White Lotus training center’s office.
“Fucking lunatic, does he think he’s some sort of genius?”
White Lotus’ manager, Hwang Manho, was annoyed for the first time in a while.
This was due to a certain out-of-the-blue phone call.
“Taking the hunter exam instead of getting the refund? What the fuck is that?”
Hwang Manho thought back to the man silently concentrating on training.
The man who had been eating away at the White Lotus brand for years.
‘Han Sungyeun.’
Stats, skills, innate ability… Not one thing was ordinary for this man.
Stats comparable to those of an athletic layman, and skills that didn’t form even after completing all of the prerequisites.
Yeah, he was a special case.
There wasn’t a single player weaker than Han Sungyeun.
But—
The fact that he was still dedicated to training even after 7 years, and being the living embodiment of hard work not always paying off, had always rubbed him the wrong way.
‘Fool, why hasn’t he given up even after having no talent?’
To Hwang Manho, Han Sungyeun had no potential to become a hunter in this lifetime.
And it bothered him that despite that fact, Han Sungyeun refused to give up.
In the beginning, he was satisfied with sapping some money off the lad but…
‘I didn’t think he’d keep this up for 7 years.’
More than just determination, Hwang Manho felt almost a certain obsession from the man.
Like a man who’d die if he couldn’t become a hunter.
The obsession didn’t sit well with him, but money was money.
And to be honest, he didn’t even really teach him well.
After finding out his lack of talent, he basically just left him alone to train.
Hwang Manho thought that he would quit after a couple months of that.
But Han Sungyeun stuck around to become infamous among the trainees.
In the end, Hwang Manho determined that he wasn’t good for the brand and chased him out of the center.
And that’s where he thought his relationship with Han Sungyeun ended.
But not even a month later, Han Sungyeun called him to make a deal.
It was arrogant.
He was planning to give back at least half of the money if he asked for a refund.
But to ask to take the exam out of the blue?
‘I didn’t know that this is what he’d call for after all this time.’
Maybe he was just trying to save face for the last time.
Normally, you could only take the hunter exam a day or two after applying for it.
As long as they were a player.
Even if Hwang Manho vouched for him, he’d just be skipping the paperwork and written tests.
‘But that’s not a good enough reason to give up all that money.’
He was probably just doing this as a ‘fuck you.’
But he still had questions.
How was he expecting to pass the practical exam?
‘He has no stats, skills, nor has he unlocked his innate ability.’
He didn’t even know what weapon he’d use during the exam.
There could be one possibility though.
‘What if he unlocked his innate ability…?’
That would explain his newfound confidence.
But no matter how superior the ability was, his stats were still below average.
‘Whether it’s strength or mana…’
It was low enough to completely bury the benefits of a good innate ability.
Even if he did unlock his ability, there wasn’t anything he could have achieved with it.
Most hunters have to go to a dungeon to get stronger.
‘There’s no way a mere trainee could develop their skills.’
They wouldn’t even be able to get into a gate.
No matter what happened, it wouldn’t change the outcome.
“Cocky bastard dug his own grave.”
Hwang Manho grabbed his coat and prepared to head out.
He’d have to accompany him as a supervisor if he wanted to skip out on the paperwork.
‘What could have possibly changed?’
Those who were meant to succeed were born differently.
Some people were meant to be heads, and Han Sungyeun didn’t even have the ability to be a tail.
“I guess I’ll make some preparations.”
Hwang Manho took out his phone and started typing out a text.
Exam manipulation, a goto move by famous guilds and training centers.
Typically, they donate massive amounts of money to raise the placement ranks of their preferred candidates.
‘But this should be enough to fail a no-name trainee.’
Hwang Minho had some connections to the Hunter Association and he was planning to use that to get rid of Han Sungyeun.
There was no other reason other than that he was annoyed with him.
As long as he wasn’t negatively affected in any way, Hwang Manho was fine with these malicious acts.
It was a feeling similar to jealousy but something completely different.
Hwang Manho realized how unethical this was but he wasn’t very concerned.
No one would care about a random trainee with no one to support him.
After making the necessary preparations, the corner of his mouth rose.
The Uijoenbu city’s hunter association would be the last place Han Sungyeun would act as a player.
***
Uijoenbu city’s hunter association. I stood in front and gave off a bitter smile.
It felt weird to come back here after almost a year.
“It’s been a while.”
There was a time when I came here with dreams of becoming a hunter.
It obviously didn’t work out.
‘I passed the written exam but my practicals were just not up to par.’
The examiner said that I was competing for the top spot in the written exam but my practical was enough to completely destroy my score.
I heard the same for all following exams.
The only thing that changed was that the examiners asked why I was so passionate about taking the test.
Of course, they stopped asking after I told them about my parent’s death.
‘It took damn so long to get here.’
I felt all the emotions I had bottled up in the tower trying to spill out.
But there wasn’t any time to look back and reminisce.
“I see you’ve arrived early Han Sungyeun-nim.”
I slowly turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.
A man with a crew cut, wearing a gray coat, and distinctively sharp eyes stood there.
I knew that man.
“It’s been a while, manager Hwang Manho.”
The man, the legend, my fast pass.
He rubbed on his luxury watch and faked a smile.
“…Haha, it hasn’t been that long.”
“I guess it just feels like a long time because I’ve been through some strange things lately.”
“…Strange things?”
“Yes.”
Hwang Manho seemed curious as to what those events were.
I mean, I guess that’s the normal response.
“He’s probably wondering why I’m so insistent on taking this exam now.”
But it’d be way more fun to not tell him.
It might sound a little petty but I had no plans to be kind to this man.
Especially with all the disrespect I’d been getting the past few years.
I knew exactly what kind of person I was.
I wasn’t so petty that I’d go eye for an eye to exact revenge on everyone who’s wronged me.
But I’m not so compassionate as to pretend that none of it ever happened.
That’s the reason I didn’t feel much guilt when I killed those challengers in the Tower of Trials.
Hwang Manho noticed that I had no intention of telling him anything and moved on.
“Well, I guess that’s not important right now. You said you wanted to take the exam right?”
“Yeah. If you help me, I’ll call it even with the money.”
“Sure. As long as that’s settled.”
As if he knew the results wouldn’t change.
“Ah, and the only part you can override is the theoretical written exam and the interview. That’s okay with you right?”
That’s the only reason I asked.
“I know.”
“Then let’s go in. I already made the necessary arrangements.”
He started walking into the hunter association building.
“This is Hwang Manho from the White Lotus training center. I’m here as Han Sungyeun applicant’s observer.”
“Alright. Just a second.”
I guess he didn’t lie about the arrangements.
After speaking to the front desk employee, a middle-aged man in a suit with a deadpan face came out from the back.
“Hello, I’m Kim Inhoo and I’ll be your examiner for today.”
A face I’d never seen before.
‘I guess having him as an observer has its benefits.’
It looked like he was a high-ranking officer and not just a normal examiner.
I had heard that the examiners for exams who are sponsored by famous centers or guild executives weren’t ordinary examiners.
That they’re veteran hunters who are fit to lead the front lines.
Seeing as they’re so experienced, there’s very little room for error in their evaluations.
‘Of course, that’s not the only thing they might be there to do.’
I guess that’s good though.
It’d be shitty to receive a lower rank just because of a bad examiner.
Kim Inhoo took a quick glance at me and turned back to Hwang Manho.
“Are you here as a sponsor as well? Or just an observer.”
I knew exactly what that meant.
Typically, guild executives can accompany candidates into their exams as observers.
And if they decide to be a sponsor, it means they’ll give all the support that candidate needs to grow.
Consequently, the hunter association will give them an easier test so they have more room to show off.
But none of that applied to me.
“No, I’m here purely as an observer.”
Kim Inhoo nodded and continued to speak in a monotone voice.
“I see. Then let’s go to the examination site. Follow me.”
Upon following the big man in the suit, a familiar scene came into sight.
Beyond a giant glass wall, one could see a white, rectangular stone chamber.
The examiner and the observers watched from here, and the candidate fought in there.
Nothing had changed from the last time I’d been here.
Kim Inhoo turned to me and broke the silence.
“Do you need an explanation on the practical exam?”
“No, I don’t need one.”
“Then please select a difficulty from 1 to 10.”
“…”
This pearly chamber could virtually emulate a chosen monster.
Of course, there were some limitations since this thing runs on a mana device.
‘But it should be able to emulate up to a D rank monster.’
Previously, I’d only ever taken the exam at level 1.
But I lost to the goblin every time.
Why?
‘Because I was weak.’
I failed because I couldn’t even beat a goblin without a life-or-death battle.
More accurately, they failed me right before the life-or-death part started.
It made sense since they couldn’t let the candidates die.
I’d have probably beaten the goblin if I did risk my life to kill him.
But—
‘Someone like that can’t be a hunter.’
You can’t call yourself a hunter if you can barely kill a goblin.
Hunters were the kinds of people who’d always be able to maintain a superior position.
At least, that’s what they told me the 17 times I failed.
It wasn’t like that in the Tower of Trials.
‘Anything goes as long as you stay alive.’
But thanks to that, I knew the extent of my limits.
The tower was cruel but fair to all of its participants.
No matter how bitter the trial was, the reward was always sweet.
Due to that, the me who beat the sand golem was able to beat the orc.
And I was able to grow even stronger from there.
I wasn’t the same weak player I used to be.
After a brief moment of silence, I confidently stated my answer.
“I’ll go with level 10.”
____
MC only failed the test 17 times?
Those are rookie numbers
____