Chapter 2 …..
Title: Is There Really Someone Who Awakened in a Hunter Elite School After 16 Years?? (Views: 49.23 million)
Hunter_No1: This is insane. Remember when I posted about that senior at our school who had awakening potential but never awakened for 16 years? Well, that senior awakened today. Hㄷㄷ. The Association President and the Chairman came running, the whole school is flipped upside down. Crazy stuff.
└ There’s no such person. Stop lying.
└ He’s doing it again?
└ I’m majoring in Awakening Biology. That is scientifically impossible.
└ It’s bait. Retreat.
└ (OP): Not fake. The school is going wild right now. (Video)
└ Looks way too much like AI.
└ Reversed playback lol.
└ That’s not awakening, that’s “awakening.”
**
Hunter Association.
Awakening Rank Examination Department.
“People look like they’re surrounded by light.”
“Light?”
“Yes.”
“Could you describe exactly what you see?”
Black, gray, blue, colorless, orange, yellow—
Like different colors and thicknesses wrapping around people.
Everyone in videos, everyone in photos.
Looks like this is my Observer ability.
“That’s intriguing. We’ve never had a case like this reported before.”
“Not once…?”
“Right. If things go well, it could be recognized as a unique ability.”
Unique.
A “special” ability possessed by only one person in the world.
Even among A-rank hunters, Unique abilities are extremely rare. It would be a huge deal.
Meaning… if things go well, S-rank, and even if not, at least A-rank…
Twitch.
I couldn’t hide the smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
It felt like receiving the reward for 16 years of effort and patience all at once―
“Hahaha. Student Gwang-hui is so dignified, just like an adult.”
The Association President smiled proudly next to me.
I only met him today… but ever since he saw me at school, he’s been acting like he’s my guardian.
“Manager Kim. Make sure our student Gwang-hui gets examined comfortably.”
“Don’t worry, President. We’ll make sure he doesn’t experience any inconvenience.”
“They say he’s been waiting 16 years to awaken, so we’ll process his exams faster than anyone else.”
“Understood.”
“Gwang-hui, I have a meeting now, so I’ll need to leave. I’ll come back when the exams are over. Hope you understand.”
No need to come back…
This is… way, way too much pressure.
“Treat this like your own home. Relax. If you get tired during the exams, just rest in the staff lounge. Our Association has excellent welfare. Try out our latest facilities.”
“…Yes.”
“How did you grow up so properly in this day and age? Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”
Rub rub.
Right before leaving, he touched my arms, shoulders, chest, abs, back, thighs.
Uncomfortably.
**
Machines were attached all over my body.
Beep, beep, beep.
The tests progressed so quickly it felt almost wrong.
I heard you normally have to run around all day, waiting endlessly for your turn…
But here, the examiners were the ones waiting for me.
The test room was empty—looks like no other hunters were being tested until I arrived.
Beep, beep, beep.
“Your inventory size is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“…How big is it supposed to be?”
“Normally around the size of an apple box. Large ones might be refrigerator-sized, but yours is bigger than a warehouse in a mega-mart.”
Twitch.
My lips curled up again on their own.
No wonder… no matter how much I put inside, it always felt empty. It was empty.
“Your main ability isn’t storage, so this is fascinating. It’s something worthy of academic reporting.”
Twitch.
So now, a Unique awakening ability and a colossal inventory.
Two strikes.
This was enough to hope for an S-rank.
“As expected of a genius who was discovered to have awakening potential at age three. Truly different. Hahaha. If someone like you joins our Association, we would feel very secure.”
“…”
“These days, young hunters only want to join big guilds. What’s the world coming to? It’s a problem, a big problem.”
“Ah… yes.”
The Association’s pay is lower than guilds, and they deal with lots of complaints.
So unless a hunter has a patriotic sense of duty, there’s no reason for high-rank hunters to join the Association.
That’s why they’re treating me so well.
They want to show off what the Association can do.
“All done. Let’s move to the next exam room.”
“Yes.”
Again, the second test was fast-tracked.
As I passed the waiting hunters, I felt their sharp, jealous stares.
“Hahaha, if you join our Association, you’ll always be able to skip long procedures like this. Special benefits. Hahaha.”
“Ah… yes.”
I felt a bit guilty, but honestly, it felt nice. Like I had become someone special.
“The Hunter Association is—”
The problem was… having to listen to endless Association propaganda.
**
“Please write down what color you see the people in these photos as. Size of the light can be written as a number from 1 to 100.”
Photos of more than a thousand people.
People from all kinds of backgrounds.
Some had died long ago, some were famous overseas.
“Oh! That man is a hero of our Hunter Association. Wonderful character, excellent ability. When the monsters overran the city, he stayed behind until the end to evacuate civilians. He rests in the national cemetery. His family receives a pension—”
“Ah… yes.”
“Our Association has great welfare, all hunter families are satisfied—”
“Our Association protects the world with pride—”
“…”
The Observer exams took the longest.
Then strength test. Agility test. Stamina test. Magic sensitivity test. Special ability test.
All done rapidly, with no break between them.
What normally takes at least 12 hours finished in 2 and a half.
At that speed, I suppose a little bragging was worth listening to?
And then—
“Hello. I’m Counselor Lee Mi-jeong. Nice to meet you.”
The results, which usually come out in a week, arrived in ten minutes.
“Thank you for your hard work. Was anything uncomfortable?”
Uncomfortable? Not at all.
I was eating fruit… while lying on a fluffy bed.
“…No.”
“That’s good. Then let’s confirm your results together.”
She began the presentation like she’d done this a thousand times.
Click, click.
Lights off.
“First, you said you see light around people. According to our analysis, the color corresponds to personality and temperament. For example—”
Black means rough personality, gray means depressive, colorless is average, yellow is kind, orange is energetic.
Size of the light equals degree of the trait.
The woman speaking had… a thin black light.
“Your awakening ability has been classified as ordinary.”
…?
“I’m sorry, but the examiner told me it was Unique.”
“Yes. From the examiner’s perspective, it may have seemed that way, but the final decision is made by the World Hunter Association. To be recognized as Unique, rarity, specialty, usefulness, and applicability are all judged. Your ability was acknowledged as rare and special, but did not meet the criteria for the others, so it has been classified as Ordinary.”
“…”
**
“Your strength, agility, and stamina exceed that of active athletes in their early 20s. Magic sensitivity is zero. No additional abilities detected.”
None of it registered.
“The notable point is that your inventory is larger than usual. This suggests a correlation between inventory capacity and the length of the dormant awakening—”
Because I already saw my rank.
Written at the very bottom.
【 F-Rank 】
“Please check and sign here.”
Lights came back on. She handed me a document.
I read it twice.
【 F-Rank 】
I hadn’t read it wrong.
“…Is this result correct?”
“Yes. As you can see, your comprehensive score is F-rank.”
F-rank meant awakened… but no different from a normal person.
In other words, impossible to make a living as a hunter.
“Do you have questions or anything you don’t understand?”
Is the exam broken?
Did the grading system change? Since when is S and F that close alphabetically?
Should I go talk to the Association President?
A thousand questions swarmed in my mind.
“…No.”
“Oh! Lastly, the Association President left a message for you. He apologizes for not saying goodbye—something urgent came up.”
“…”
The Association President…
I’m going to sue him for molestation.
“This concludes the results. Sorry, but since this is the VIP counseling room, we only issue licenses to A-rank or higher here. You can receive your F-rank Hunter license outside, to the right.”
“…”
**
I dropped out of school.
**
Why did I pray every night asking God to let me awaken?
“You stupid piece of sh*t!”
When the miracle happened—the first awakening after 16 years in history—
I knew.
My prayer was answered.
“You absolute idiot!”
But I forgot to say four important words:
“As an S-rank.”
So I awakened as…
F-rank.
Ruined.
**
Three months later.
Tutatatatatatak!
A noisy farm tractor approached.
Riding on it was the village chief, glowing yellow.
“Gwang, are you eating well? Still surviving?”
The chief purposely drives down this road sometimes just to say hi.
“Yes, chief. I’m ea—”
