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.

Help me apply for the hunter exam.

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’m planning to accompany someone to the hunter exam today. Can you fail them as fast as possible?

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.”

Translator’s notes – Or ask me for clarification on our channel in discord!

MC only failed the test 17 times?

Those are rookie numbers