Chapter 7

Following Ryu Taeyoung up to the second-floor examination room, I found a government employee there with a tired look on his face.

“Seo Jehyun? This way, please.”

“Yes.”

“Could you fill out your personal information here first?”

Personal information, huh. After writing down my name, date of birth, and phone number, I saw an awkward blank at the bottom.

“Do I need to write my address too?”

“Yes, please fill that in.”

'My home’s gone—does that still count as an address?'

Well, I hadn’t officially moved. I scribbled down the address of the now-collapsed, wrecked officetel and handed in the form. Then I followed the clerk to start the actual testing. I went in and out of some massive machine meant to measure the mana flowing through my body, and even went through a few things that looked like a regular health checkup. That was it for the exam.

“All done. Please wait a moment; your results will be out soon.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Getting the results on the spot—guess Korea after the Gates showed up runs pretty damn fast.

While I was sitting in a chair waiting, Ryu Taeyoung plopped into the seat next to me.

“Mr. Seo Jehyun.”

“Yes?”

“What do you plan to do now that you’ve awakened?”

What do you think? I can’t break the chain of causality, so I have to go kill Kwon Taehan.

Of course, if I said that out loud, Ryu Taeyoung would have me in a cell before I could blink, so I just tilted my head like I wasn’t sure.

“Most people either join a guild or register with the Hunter Association. If you want, I can help guide you through it.”

Hmm. Joining a guild or the Association... He must be assuming I’m B-rank or higher like him, which is why he’s suggesting it—but the reality is I’m F-rank. Sure, with my skills, I could probably worm my way into at least one guild.

'But why would I bother?'

There was no need. Reasons to join a guild? Things like duty or justice were for guys like Ryu Taeyoung. For actual working hunters, money was priority number one. No matter how low the danger of a dungeon, there was no guarantee you wouldn’t die, so unless it was for the money, it was hard to get them to move.

I wasn’t short on money, and I had no interest in doing the kind of half-assed work an F-rank could barely get. Not that I was planning to stay out of dungeons entirely.

'I need to squeeze every bit of useful info I can out of the status window.'

And besides the status window, I had a few more useful pieces of information. The original novel’s content—and one other thing... something I could probably solve with money.

“I don’t have any concrete plans right now.”

“...I see.”

Just then, the same clerk who’d helped with my exam came out and called both me and Ryu Taeyoung. Sitting at the consultation desk, I was handed a neat stack of papers—definitely mine.

“Congratulations. You are indeed awakened, and your rank is provisionally confirmed at F.”

'As expected.'

I accepted the results without much enthusiasm, but the look on Ryu Taeyoung’s face wasn’t so great.

“Is there a chance the results are wrong?”

“Well... if you do a retest, we could get something a bit more precise, but if you look here, see how the graph dips from here to here? That range puts you at F-rank. You’re exactly average.”

“F-rank...”

“You see how your energy flow spikes sharply, then gradually evens out? Looks like you only awakened recently?”

Beside me, Ryu Taeyoung stared at my results over and over like he couldn’t believe them. I left him to his little self-written drama and listened to the clerk’s explanation about getting my hunter license issued.

“Would you like it delivered to your residence? Only you can receive it directly, though. If you want someone else to pick it up, there’s another process for that.”

“Would it still be delivered if my home’s gone?”

Not that this was my only problem.

In the end, I told the clerk I’d come pick up the license in person, and that wrapped up all the procedures.

As we left the center, Ryu Taeyoung suddenly apologized to me.

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“You must have been in shock... I think I misjudged you and was too forceful in bringing you to the center.”

Is this something you’re born with? The kind of character that apologizes later for suspicions they kept to themselves? Well, I guess the world needs good guys like this to keep the balance.

After that, Ryu Taeyoung explained the compensation process and handed me his business card.

“If you have any trouble, please contact me here.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll escort you home—ah.”

So he was going to kindly drive me back, but my home had been wiped off the map.

“I can give you a map to temporary housing...”

“No, I’m fine. I have a place in mind.”

Ending the conversation with that short refusal, I took his card and hailed a taxi. I started looking for nearby hotels with same-day booking, but the prices just kept climbing. No way was I staying long-term somewhere that charged four million won a night. Who knew how things might turn out?

In this world, items worth hundreds of millions flew off the shelves; there was no reason to feel safe about my current balance. I booked a week’s stay and, after a quick search or two, found my next destination.

Speaking of which—had Do Yehyun finished his exam by now? A healer... I’d definitely benefit from securing him first. In this pathetic body, I’d at least need healing skills to keep my survival chances reasonable.

Should I bring him in? Or kill him?

By the time I finished thinking it over, the taxi was already pulling up to the hotel.

***

The next night, under the cover of darkness, in a quiet back alley somewhere in Seoul.

Do Yehyun was struggling to stifle the ragged breaths from his sprint.

If you summed up the life of twenty-year-old punk Do Yehyun, there wasn’t a single part that wasn’t a mess from start to finish. Skipping the backstory, the bottom line was: right now, Do Yehyun was desperately running for his life.

He’d been paying off the debt left by his uncle since before he was even of age. But he hadn’t even scratched the principal—he couldn’t even cover half the interest that came due every month. And his creditors weren’t the kind to politely wait until he could pay.

The ones holding his debt were the illegally-run Infinite Guild. Everyone knew their collections were illegal. Hell, the whole guild was illegal. But knowing that didn’t mean a kid who hadn’t even finished high school could escape them.

On the day he turned twenty, the guild master came to him, talking about the debt, and sold him off to one of their “shops.” He found out on the very first day what that place was and what they did there, but there was no way to escape.

At least... not until recently.

A little while ago, one of the shop’s customers had been an awakened hunter. By chance, when he was alone with that customer, Do Yehyun felt something strange from him. In that moment, he realized instinctively—that must be mana.

Ordinary unawakened people couldn’t sense an awakened person’s mana. Which meant, maybe, he had the potential to awaken. Even E-rank, hell, F-rank would be fine. Just some small skill to let him run dungeons would be enough. But reality had other plans.

“Congratulations, you’re a D-rank awakened.”

“I’m... D-rank? But I’ve never even been inside a Gate—how could I awaken...?”

“Oh, you’ve never entered a Gate? It happens. If you’ve been near one recently, or in contact with an awakened, your body’s mana can resonate and push you over the threshold. So you haven’t tried using your skills yet?”

“No, nothing at all...”

“Hmm. Well, I can connect you with the Awakened Management Department, and they’ll give you more detailed instructions. Want me to get the paperwork for you?”

“...Yes. Please.”

D-rank. Not unawakened, not F, not E—D. But the follow-up explanation crushed his hopes again.

“Congratulations! You’re a healer-type awakened! And right now we really need more awakened in the medical wards, so if you’d like, we can register your info today and get you started as soon as—”

“...Wait, healer-type...? So I can’t enter Gates?”

“It’s generally not recommended. And your skill proficiency is still low... There are plenty of places I can refer you to, would you like to take a look?”

The dream of running dungeons to earn money shattered in an instant. Sure, the hospital job would pay more than average, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough to pay off his swollen debt.

Suppressing the urge to cry, Do Yehyun made his way back to the shop. He worked as usual, and when he had spare moments, he tried using his skills in secret. But only the faintest trickle of mana came to his hands, not even enough to heal a minor cut cleanly.

'Some D-rank this is...'

He knew you could train to use your skills without entering a dungeon. But right now, he couldn’t train, couldn’t work in a hospital—nothing had changed. The same miserable life as before. It made him sick to his stomach.

And a few days later, he ran from the shop. There wasn’t some dramatic reason; he’d just finally snapped after holding on too long. The shop full of lunatics, the guild members who brushed past him with a shove, and even being here at all—it was all unbearable.

Worse, the guild master had found out he’d taken the awakening test after running away from the shop. He’d found the documents hidden in Do Yehyun’s clothes and had smiled viciously as he grilled him.

The guild master was a C-rank hunter. Even if Do Yehyun were combat-capable, he’d never win against him. And from what Do Yehyun knew, the man’s skill was... tracking.

No matter where he hid, they’d find him. And not just here—anywhere he went.

Then, a voice, vibrating with suppressed rage, came from nearby.

“Yehyun-ah. I think we have something to talk about, don’t we?”

Do Yehyun knew that voice well. That quiet, restrained anger—if the guild master found him, he’d beat him within an inch of his life again. Fear froze his body solid; he couldn’t even think of running.

And then—someone grabbed him from behind. Just as he was about to scream, they yanked him fully into their arms and clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Shh.”

Do Yehyun slowly looked up at the face of the one holding him.

'How—?'

It was the man he’d seen at the Awakened Management Center just yesterday. Or... would “seen” even be the right word? It had been more like the man had looked him over. He remembered that cold, unnerving impression vividly. Hell, it wasn’t the kind of face you forgot.

But now, unlike at the center, the man met his eyes and gave a gentle smile as he whispered.

“Want to run away?”