Chapter 49
"Are you sure these numbers aren't wrong?"
Inside a dark meeting room, someone irritably threw a stack of documents onto the table.
"There is no equipment malfunction. We repeated the measurements three times."
"That's exactly why this makes even less sense!"
The Hunter Association Promotion Examination Committee had gathered.
A large screen covering the wall displayed a paused recording from the practical evaluation.
On the screen, Lee Chaeho was clearly shown cutting directly through the artery in the Black-Mane Ogre's neck.
A middle-aged committee member angrily tapped the documents with his finger.
"Raw firepower. Mana output. Strength measurement."
He shook his head.
"Every one of them barely meets the minimum B-rank requirement. To put it coldly, he's near the bottom."
Moon Gihyeok, who sat in the corner with his arms crossed, answered calmly.
"And with those barely passing numbers, he killed a mutated B-rank monster."
He looked toward the committee member.
"Without suffering any major injuries."
"Then what do you call it if not dumb luck? Look at the way he moves. It's almost as though he knows exactly where his opponent is going to attack before it happens. That isn't normal combat instinct."
Moon Gihyeok answered in a dry voice.
"If someone can destroy the mana concentration point of a mutated B-rank through dumb luck and then land three consecutive strikes on its neck, then I'd say that kind of luck is a terrifying talent in itself."
The room became quiet.
Everyone had replayed the footage countless times.
Just as Moon Gihyeok said, it was impossible to dismiss the sword paths as simple luck.
Chaeho's combat style used almost no unnecessary strength.
He attacked only his enemy's weaknesses.
Moon Gihyeok leaned forward.
"And he wasn't simply good at fighting."
Everyone looked toward him.
"At the scene, he deliberately drew the monster's aggro so the other candidates had time to escape."
"After the battle ended, he didn't panic."
"Instead, he completed his assigned magic-stone recovery mission within the time limit."
Nobody answered.
Moon Gihyeok continued.
"Crisis management. Stamina control. Response to unexpected situations."
He looked around the table.
"Are you seriously considering failing someone who controlled all three that calmly just because his basic numbers are lower than those of the other candidates?"
There was nothing anyone could say against that.
When it came to the fundamental survival ability required of a hunter, Chaeho was arguably far better than many active B-rank hunters.
Eventually, the chairman sitting at the head of the table cleared his throat and raised the microphone.
"Hmm."
He looked through the documents.
"It is true that his raw firepower data is somewhat disappointing."
Then he looked toward the paused battle footage.
"However, his actual achievements are undeniable, and the evaluators appear to be in agreement."
He took the red stamp and slammed it onto the document containing Lee Chaeho's name.
THUD.
"Let's make it unanimous."
The chairman spoke clearly.
"Lee Chaeho has officially passed the B-rank promotion examination."
Several days later...
The administrative office of the Hunter Association was in complete chaos.
"Senior! Isn't this some kind of database error?"
A new employee staring at his monitor suddenly jumped out of his chair.
"What are you making such a fuss about this early in the morning? Did you spill your coffee?"
"The Promotion Committee just sent over the list of newly issued B-rank licenses. Look at this person's history."
The senior employee approached while holding a paper cup and leaned toward the monitor.
His eyes gradually widened as he read Lee Chaeho's file.
"...A porter for C-rank parties? He was a D-rank hunter working just to survive until recently?"
"Yes! He's the guy who used to deal with small fry and carry equipment at the back."
"Are you joking? How does someone who worked as a porter pass the B-rank examination?"
He stared harder.
"And with this year's group?"
Other employees around the office became interested and gradually gathered around.
"I'm telling you it's real. Remember that mutated monster incident in Zone Three a few days ago?"
The new employee pointed at the screen.
"He's the one who grabbed that disaster by the throat and still completed the exam alone."
"What the hell? Can someone's growth rate really be this abnormal?"
Whispers immediately spread through the office.
The idea that someone who had spent his days following behind lower-rank parties had suddenly become capable of cutting down a B-rank monster was completely beyond common sense.
"Maybe some major guild has secretly been giving him high-grade equipment?"
"Giving him what? I heard from people on the examination side that the video shows him cutting everything down himself."
The employee lowered his voice dramatically.
"A few sword strikes and an ogre the size of a house fell over."
"Whoa. So an actual ecosystem-destroying monster has appeared."
Then someone laughed.
"Why the hell did his old party let someone like that go?"
The shock caused by a single document didn't disappear easily.
Yet the person at the center of that storm had absolutely no interest in the Association's excitement.
That same afternoon.
The first-floor central lobby of the Hunter Association.
Chaeho sat on a waiting chair and stared blankly at his number ticket.
The footsteps of people passing around him and the mechanical announcements calling numbers drifted past his ears.
Ding-dong.
