Chapter 12

The waiting room was filled with various emotions.

“…Uh… uh…”

“Whew, I got it!”

The heightened tension stemming from the Association President’s announcement erupted at once.

“Huh?”

“…Uh…”

One by one, the candidates began to notice the incredible figures at the top of the chart.

Candidate No. 0942 – Oh Yoo-seong: 781 points.Candidate No. 0211 – Lee Un-seol: 247 points.

“Is that even real?!”

A candidate’s score was composed of two parts. First was a capture score, which added 1 point per person captured, and included a +5 / -3

The second part was a loot score, where you obtained the score of a person you captured.

Other successful candidates’ scores average between 20 to 30.

Their captures were usually the weakest people.

In fact, a lot of them avoided battle and just tried to survive.

If they encountered someone whom they thought was equal to them in terms of strength and skill, they decide to escape or call a truce, even without speaking.

It was because of this that Yoo-seong’s score was a difficult thing to understand.

First, he captured 46 people. Even if he received 5 points out of each capture, the total would only be 230 points.

Getting 5 points on all captures is already a monstrous feat.

If his total is 781, then it meant…

Lee Un-seol was speechless.

‘Score difference… 534…’

She understood what it meant.

Just getting perfect captures wouldn’t bring him to 781.

It meant that the 46 people caught by Yoo-seong were powerful, high-scoring candidates.

She was defeated by the quality of Yoo-seong’s prey.

She turned around. Oh Yoo-seong had disappeared from his seat.

Without thinking about it, she walked to his seat and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

The genius who was believed to be the best of her generation had just faced her first defeat.

The 29th Korea Hunter Licensure Test was over.

The record was set.

Oh Yoo-seong, No. 0942, was the top-notcher.

***

Yoo-seong was in the bathroom.

He was in really bad shape. As soon as he checked the results, he left the waiting room to return home.

However, as he walked down the hallway, he felt that he wouldn’t make it.

Instead, he went inside the bathroom, entered a cubicle, and sat on the toilet.

He leaned back and quickly fell asleep.

“…”

His soft snores rang inside the bathroom.

The hunters who watched him were right.

The reason Yoo-seong endured was from pure willpower.

Lee Un-seol, who thought that he looked worse than her, was also right.

The 72-hour march was harder than anything else. Even at the end of their duel, Lee Un-seol was the one who had more stamina left.

She was a genius.

A genius didn’t have to push herself to the limit of his physical strength.

However, Yoo-seong was different.

Of course, auto-hunting controlled his body, but it was his concentration that sustained it.

For eight months, he had endured hard training and tried to break his limit. In time, not only his body, but his mind became well-trained.

“…”

Sleeping proved to be a sweet endeavor.

Even if he was sleeping in the bathroom, in a ridiculous posture, it was a deep and refreshing reprieve.

His body was recovering at a fast rate.

The human body was indeed amazing. If it was not destroyed, it would keep on recovering and growing.

If the effort had gone beyond the body’s limits, then the recovery and growth would also be equally incredible.

It would go stronger, longer, and farther next time.

Perhaps Yoo-seong gained a lot more than a hunter’s license today.

***

It was 3 am when he woke up. It was cold and dark outside the test site.

“It’s crazy,” Yoo-seong murmured as he looked at the empty parking lot.

He had slept for hours in the bathroom.

“If I knew that would happen, I should have stayed in the waiting room and slept there instead.”

No matter how tired he was, how could he have slept on the toilet?

Still, he was glad. His body felt refreshed.

He had not yet fully recovered from the 72-hour examination, but he felt better. Of course, his body was still in pain. It was the same feeling he had after completing a workout. Muscle pain was inevitable.

‘But how will I get home?’ He thought.

Yoo-seong took out his phone to try looking for a taxi.

But suddenly, he saw lights from a distance, approaching him.

Soon, a white sports car was in front of him.

The car’s door opened. Out came the man he saw before the test started.

Lee Jae-hak.

“…?”

Above all emotions, Yoo-seong felt creeped out.

The test was long over. Did he wait for him?

‘What? What is he doing here?!’

He remembered Jae-hak touching his arm and his body.

‘Is he a pervert?’

Lee Jae-hak continued approaching Yoo-seong, then turned and said something in a harsh voice.

“Lee Un-seol!”

After a few moments, the passenger-side door opened.

Lee Un-seol stepped out.

Her eyes were red. There were still marks of tears on her cheeks. Lee Jae-hak turned to him and smiled shyly.

“My younger sister took it badly…”

“Yes? What…”

Yoo-seong was surprised that Lee Un-seol was Lee Jae-hak’s younger sister.

He was speechless.

Lee Un-seol approached her brother, standing before Yoo-seong.

“…”

She hesitated for a while,

Then, she finally opened her mouth, her voice trembling.

“I… really…”

She seemed on the verge of tears once more.

“Really… it was good learning… thank you…”

Then, she bowed her head deeply. Yoo-seong was speechless.

After she raised her head once more, she turned immediately and made her way back into the car.

Bang!

She went in and slammed the car door close.

“Well…” Lee Jae-hak smiled bitterly. “She’s not a bad kid.”

Yoo-seong simply nodded.

“If my sister did something rude or unpleasant in the waiting room, I apologize.”

“No, she didn’t,” Yoo-seong shook his head. “But… I didn’t do anything to her.”

“No, you did a lot.” Jae-hak’s voice was firm. “Thanks to Mr. Oh Yoo-seong, she learned much earlier than I thought. If she overcomes the feeling of losing, she will grow even more.”

This felt a bit awkward for Yoo-seong.

Lee Jae-hak offered a handshake. “Thank you again.”

Yoo-seong took his firm grasp.

Jae-hak continued. “I believe that you have unlimited potential.”

For a moment, Lee Jae-hak’s eyes shone. Rather than hostility, his gaze was of enormous admiration.

Yoo-seong took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

It all felt unbelievable. Before the exam, Lee Jae-hak had admired his body, and now, he gave him sincere appreciation and offered a handshake.

Lee Jae-hak shook his hand.

“But… I don’t think you can get a ride home, what are you planning to do? My car’s back is narrow, but it has space for one person. Of course, my sister is in the passenger seat…”

“No, no. I’ll be fine.”

Riding in Jae-hak’s car may be an amazing experience, but it would be awkward to be in a car with Lee Un-seol.

“I’ll take a taxi. I’ll be fine.”

“Um… yes, okay.”

Lee Jae-hak nodded apologetically. “Then, I will see you next time I have a chance.”

“Yes.”

“Congratulations on your license acquisition.”

Lee Jae-hak went back into his car.

As the sports car passed by him, Yoo-seong felt two gazes from within its tinted windows.

One was full of goodwill.

The other looked at him angrily.

“…Um.”

Yoo-seong checked his cell phone once more.

This time, he tried to call for a taxi. However, he didn’t get a chance to do so.

It was totally unexpected, but tonight, Yoo-seong would have to use his button once more…