Chapter 16

Chapter 16. The Logic of Power

***

'[Blink].'

The world folded.

My vision was covered in black noise, then reconstructed itself.

Yoo Hye-sung’s back, which had been in front of me, appeared before my eyes.

Spatial Leap.

A mage’s secret technique that made physical distance "0."

It required about two seconds of casting time, but I had started casting it before Yoo Hye-sung brought his axe down.

"······!"

Yoo Hye-sung’s senses must have screamed.

A mana wave had suddenly surged up from behind him.

He instinctively twisted his body and tried to recover his axe, but the law of inertia was fair even to a B-Rank Hunter.

He began lifting the axe he had slammed down.

'You’re too late.'

I swept my sword sideways.

It was no simple slash.

A blow layered with the acceleration of [Slash] atop the physical prowess enhanced by [Synchronization].

BANG—!

The sound of air tearing rang out.

The dull edge of the sword, wreathed in blue aura, slammed into Yoo Hye-sung’s shoulder.

"Ghk!"

A dull impact.

Yoo Hye-sung’s body spun like a top.

If he had not deployed a barrier with an aura, the force would have shattered his shoulder blade.

He lost his balance, staggered, and dropped to one knee.

THUD.

The huge battle axe drove into the ground.

It became a support, keeping him from collapsing completely.

But the outcome was clear.

"Hoo··· hoo···."

Only ragged breathing filled the training ground.

The thick fog was slowly lifting.

The scene revealed beyond the fog.

An examiner kneeling at my feet, and an applicant pointing a sword at his neck.

"······."

Yoo Hye-sung raised his head and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Space··· magic?"

"Something like that."

I answered briefly and withdrew my sword.

CLACK.

The sound of the sword returning to its scabbard rang out unusually loudly.

Yoo Hye-sung drew in a hollow breath, as if deflated.

"Ha···. Damn. What a sorry sight I am."

He grabbed the axe haft and tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he sank back down.

It was because he had poured all his aura into that final [Reaper’s Fang].

"···I lost."

It sounded like a declaration.

An examiner admitting defeat to an applicant.

There was no way there was any precedent for it.

I looked at Yoo Hye-sung’s face.

There was no servility in his voice.

It did not feel as though he were forcing himself to bow his head, either.

He had lost, so he acknowledged it.

That was all.

The plain acknowledgment a warrior showed when facing a stronger warrior.

I felt that.

"You monster. Mixing magic into swordsmanship too? What’s your Awakened class?"

"There are no classes on a battlefield."

I looked down at him and spoke calmly.

"···Not wrong."

He grinned and held out his hand.

"Hey, help an old man up, will you?"

I took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

His palm was thick and rough.

I could feel the calluses built from rolling across battlefields.

"Holy shit... that’s insane."

"Fuck! He won that?"

"He took down Hunter Yoo Hye-sung? For real?"

The survivors, who had been silent, erupted into cheers.

They had not seen the process because of the fog, but the result was right before their eyes.

Examiner Yoo Hye-sung had knelt.

That fact alone was enough to make me an object of awe to them.

"Mr. Kim Do-jin··· What on earth are you···?"

Lee Seong-chan stared at me with a blank expression.

His pupils were trembling violently.

'This got noisier than I expected.'

I steadied my breathing.

I had planned to hold out moderately and end it, but things had escalated because Yoo Hye-sung came at me seriously.

But I had no regrets.

There was a limit to hiding things anyway.

DING—

[The 25th Regular Hunter Qualification Exam has concluded.]

[Surviving applicants, congratulations. All of you have passed.]

The closing announcement.

Only then did the tension drain from the Hunters, and they sank to the ground.

Some burst into tears, while others thrust their fists toward the sky.

The end of a hellish two-day, one-night ordeal.

Yoo Hye-sung brushed off the dust and lightly tapped my shoulder.

"Excellent work. You passed."

He left only those words behind and turned away.

***

It was noisy outside the gymnasium.

The site of the 'draft' held after the exam ended.

It was a kind of auction house where guilds competed to recruit the successful applicants.

But the scouts could not enter the gymnasium.

Entry was being restricted by order of the Hunter Association.

Outside the glass doors, their eyes gleamed like hyenas stalking prey.

'Seven successful applicants out of two hundred.'

The worst pass rate in history.

But that meant the survivors’ level was that much higher.

The seven who had survived were premium goods to the scouts.

CLACK.

The door to the evaluation room opened, and a Ranger walked out.

Choi Do-hyun.

He was the archer who had survived to the end in Group C.

His expression was stiff.

"Hunter Choi Do-hyun. Final Rank: E."

His Rank was called through the speaker.

The waiting room stirred.

E-Rank.

It was the Rank most successful applicants received, but considering the difficulty of this exam, it was a harsh evaluation.

Still, it was coldly accurate.

He had survived to the end, but at every decisive moment, he had been too busy fleeing or hiding.

The Hunter Association’s evaluation standard was not 'survival,' but 'contribution.'

'He should be grateful it wasn’t F.'

"Next. Applicant No. 006, Hunter Lee Seong-chan."

When his name was called, Lee Seong-chan, who had been sitting beside me, shot to his feet.

He rubbed both hands over his face nervously, then suddenly turned toward me.

And he bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Thank you for everything!"

His voice boomed.

The gazes around us focused on him.

"If it had not been for you, Mr. Do-jin, I would have died in the first round. No, I would have run away. My life and my passing the exam are both because of you."

His fists were clenched so tightly that veins stood out on the backs of his hands.

I lightly waved a hand.

"Raise your head. You were the one who took that step, Mr. Lee Seong-chan."

"Even so···!"

"A Tanker must not show his back. Go receive it proudly. You deserve it."

At my words, Lee Seong-chan’s eyes reddened.

He bowed his head once more and headed to the evaluation room.

His back looked much steadier than before.

"Hunter Lee Seong-chan. Final Rank: C."

I saw the scouts waiting outside plaster themselves against the glass and tap their radios.

It was extremely rare for a newly licensed Hunter to receive C-Rank.

His performance in the Mirror Golem battle, and the guts he had shown against Yoo Hye-sung.

The Association had recognized that value.

Lee Seong-chan came out of the evaluation room and gave me a thumbs-up.

A good guild would probably contact him right away.

"Next. Applicant No. 032, Hunter Kim Do-jin."

At last, it was my turn.

I rose from my seat.

The hall went quiet, as though cold water had been poured over it.

Everyone’s gaze fixed on my back.

I silently bore their attention and moved forward.

CLACK.

When I opened the evaluation room door, an unexpected situation unfolded.

It was different from the evaluations of the other applicants, where there had been only a single desk standing alone.

Association officials in suits were blocking the corridor.

"Is this not the room?"

"That is correct. Hunter Kim Do-jin, this way, please."

"Why?"

"A special evaluation has been scheduled. We will escort you to the VIP room."

I followed them without another word.

We took the elevator to the top floor.

Since the place was a remodeled old military building, rough traces of its past remained everywhere.

At the end of the corridor, before a heavy set of double doors.

The doorknob was not gleaming gold, but heavy brass darkened by countless hands.

CREEEAK.

The door opened.

An old-fashioned reception room.

A fire was blazing in the fireplace, and an old but dignified leather sofa had been placed there.

And in the center of it, there were three people.

Yoo Hye-sung.

The sharp-looking woman standing beside him, Choi Seon-a, deputy guildmaster of Guardians.

And an old woman sunk deep into the sofa.

'······'

My breath nearly stopped.

An unexpected heavyweight had appeared.

Wrinkled skin, and hair thick with white.

But the force emanating from that small body overwhelmed the air in the room.

It was a life force as though a massive ancient tree had taken root.

'Jung Eun-jin.'

The name slipped out without my realizing it.

South Korea’s first S-Rank Hunter and its first Healer.

The undisputed legend of the first generation of Hunters.

Why is she here?

In that instant, a thought flashed through my mind.

The reason scouts from giant guilds, including Invictus, had come in droves.

It was not simply to pick up promising rookies.

'Jung Eun-jin has appeared at the 25th exam site.'

Hyenas that had heard the rumor and caught the scent had gathered.

"You came."

Yoo Hye-sung welcomed me warmly.

He was supporting Jung Eun-jin.

"Pay your respects. This is the Association President."

"I am aware. I am Kim Do-jin."

I bowed politely.

With respect.

She was not simply someone in power.

She was the hero who had saved more people than anyone else since the Gates opened.

Her Unique Trait, [Wings of the Seraph], performed miracles that brought dying people back, but in return, it gnawed away at the caster’s life force.

The deep wrinkles carved into her face were practically the number of lives she had saved.

"It is nice to meet you, Mr. Kim Do-jin. Sit down."

Her voice was like wind brushing over cracked earth.

But her eyes alone were clear.

Deep, transparent eyes, unsoiled despite having seen every ugliness in the world.

“Senior, be careful.”

“Eun-jin, do not overdo it.”

When Yoo Hye-sung’s voice cut through the air, the old woman quietly waved her wrist.

"I’m fine."

Jung Eun-jin sat on the sofa.

Across from her, Choi Seon-a set down a folder.

"Let us get straight to the point. Mr. Kim Do-jin, your Rank cannot be measured."

"..."

"Your mana operation ability and combat sense are A-Rank or higher. Our conclusion is that the existing Rank system cannot contain you."

Choi Seon-a pushed up her glasses.

"Therefore, by the authority of the Association President, we have decided to issue you an A-Rank license."

A-Rank.

The upper limit a newly licensed Hunter could receive.

It was treatment beyond the word exceptional.

But I was not shaken.

"I doubt the Association President moved personally just to give me a single license."

At my words, Association President Jung Eun-jin set down her teacup.

CLINK.

The small sound echoed through the room.

"You are perceptive."

She leaned forward.

"Mr. Kim Do-jin. You are aware that Gates make money, yes?"

It was a sudden question, but I nodded.

"Yes. Mana Stones are the blood of modern society."

"That is right. That is why people fear Gates, but want them at the same time. Private guilds are even worse. They cherry-pick only the profitable Gates. Dangerous places that do not make money are left neglected."

I agreed.

All people saw were numbers.

In silence, I mulled over her words.

Even before my regression, this issue had been raised repeatedly.

This was also why my brother Tae-yoon had created Blade Guild.

"Recently, the frequency of Gates appearing has increased."

Association President Jung Eun-jin’s voice grew heavier.

"And the level of the monsters coming out of them is gradually rising as well. There is much we do not know. No, perhaps we simply do not want to know. As long as we can keep obtaining Mana Stones, people probably want to believe humanity can coexist with Gates. But···."

Her hand trembled faintly as she took mine.

It was cold, but it carried strength.

"We may be hurtling toward ruin."

I know the end of this world.

That future reduced to ash.

That was why her insight sent chills down my spine.

When most people were drunk on immediate profits, this old woman alone sensed the end.

"We need Hunters like you."

Her gaze deepened.

"The way you conducted yourself at the exam site is exactly what this era needs in a Hunter. Eyes not swayed by desire, pursuing only survival and destruction."

Choi Seon-a, who had been standing one step behind, spoke.

"The Guardians Guild I belong to has a friendly relationship with the Hunter Association, but at its root, it is a private guild. There are limits to what we can do. We have to watch the board’s mood, manage stock prices, and so on. The Association needs power that can move independently without those constraints."

At those words, I suddenly remembered the scene of Kim Dae-han persuading me in the hospital room.

In the end, the Hunter Association also wants an end to the Gate Era.

Before my regression, I had not known what they truly thought.

I listened to them in silence and arranged my thoughts.

I understood the Association’s intent.

And I could see that it was connected to the concerns my brother Tae-yoon had wrestled with before my regression.

I drew a light breath.

Then I looked straight into Jung Eun-jin’s eyes.

"I am sorry. I must refuse."

Yoo Hye-sung clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.

His brow twitched slightly.

"So it is about money after all?"

Hunter Choi Seon-a also narrowed her brow and let out a sigh.

Her eyes could not hide her disappointment.

Association President Jung Eun-jin stared at me without saying a word.

Her gaze was neither sharp nor disappointed.

It was simply a gaze that seemed to be silently trying to see through me.

A brief silence passed.

"It is not because of money."

"That is right. I have no interest in Mana Stones."

At that moment, Yoo Hye-sung let out a hollow laugh.

"Then what exactly is the problem?"

I answered immediately.

"Because the Hunter Association is weak."