Chapter 10

Chapter 10

One afternoon on another day.

I headed to the Hunter Association in a black sedan.

The person accompanying me was In Yeonhae, an A-Class Hunter who introduced herself as a member of Yeonwoo Guild's Support Team.

She had a neat black bob cut and sharp, cat-like eyes. She was also fairly tall for a woman, so the suit she wore suited her well.

If the corners of her lips hadn't naturally curved upward as though she were smiling, she probably would've looked rather cold.

When I first heard her rank and reacted in surprise, she subtly appealed to me by saying,

"I'm looking forward to the items you'll be bringing into the guild."

S-Class production skills really are something else.

Once again, I realized just how much a single awakening had changed my position in society.

Although In Yeonhae belonged to the Support Team rather than a Raid Team, she explained that she was also a ranged fighter who used a bow.

She was only assigned to the Support Team because her main skills were buffs and debuffs.

When it came to combat strength needed for protection, she confidently claimed she had more than enough.

I'd already been given an explanation beforehand and had only expected someone around B-Class at most.

So rather than feeling uneasy, I found her extremely reassuring.

Screech...

Click.

The sedan stopped in front of the Association building.

I immediately felt several gazes gathering around us.

So this is an Awakened person's senses...!

The presence of ordinary people who made no attempt to hide themselves felt far clearer than before.

"Oh dear. There seem to be more reporters than usual today."

In Yeonhae quietly revealed the source of those gazes.

Without looking directly at her, I lowered my voice and asked,

"Will that be a problem?"

"Of course not."

Her wide grin looked incredibly reliable.

"Artist Do, you're going to become famous around the world sooner or later anyway. The only difference is when."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Haha! I'm not flattering you. Straighten your back. We're going in now!"

We immediately entered the lobby and took a number.

As we waited, I focused my senses.

One by one, I noticed far more gazes than I ever would have before awakening.

I also understood why In Yeonhae had been certain they were reporters.

Nearly all of them carried notebooks, laptops, recording devices, or some other electronic equipment.

The people watching me weren't immediately writing articles or attempting interviews.

Instead, they seemed to recognize In Yeonhae and were curious about why someone from Yeonwoo Guild had come all the way to the Hunter Association.

So this is what it feels like to attract attention.

It was a sensation I'd never experienced before.

Having so many eyes focused on me was certainly uncomfortable.

But strangely enough, it didn't feel entirely unpleasant.

"Customer number 1356, please proceed to Counter Three."

A chime rang out, followed by the announcement calling my number.

I approached the counter with In Yeonhae.

The eyes of the Association employee sitting there immediately moved quickly.

Apparently recognizing In Yeonhae, he checked her face once before scanning me from head to toe.

Once the rapid inspection was finished, his eyes disappeared slightly beneath a polite smile.

"Welcome. What brings you here today?"

"I'm here to register as a new Hunter."

"Congratulations on your awakening. First, could you fill in the sections highlighted here?"

The employee pulled over a tablet that had been sitting to one side.

Feeling slightly nervous, I entered the letter S in the field asking for my awakened skill's rank.

Somewhere among the reporters behind me, I heard someone sharply inhale.

Even without turning around, I instinctively knew someone had peeked at what I'd written.

So this is where it begins.

I glanced at In Yeonhae.

She gave me another broad smile.

The sparkle in her eyes felt almost like confirmation that my thoughts were correct.

Some of the information written here would probably make it into the news soon.

Tomorrow at the latest.

Even if Association employees were legally prohibited from leaking Hunters' personal information, there was no realistic way to control the sheer number of reporters present or stop information from spreading by word of mouth among staff.

The Association employee was staring at what I'd entered with his eyes stretched wide.

Only five minutes later.

<[Breaking] World's First S-Class Production-Type Awakened Appears in South Korea!>

The entire article consisted of a single line saying, More details to follow.

Then more headlines began flooding the internet.

<[Breaking] Is the S-Class Production-Type Awakened Affiliated with Yeonwoo Guild?>

<[Column] What the Appearance of the World's First S-Class Crafter Means for the Global Hunter Market>

<"South Korea's National Defense Could Rise by at Least Two Levels" - Hunter Industry Shaken by Emergence of S-Class Production-Type>

<Should an S-Class Production-Type Belong to a Private Corporation? Public Anxiety Surges>

.

.

.

From follow-up breaking reports to fast-moving clickbait articles.

South Korea was thrown into an uproar.

"...Until now, A-Class has been considered the ceiling for production-type Hunters. But today at approximately 2 p.m., a production-type Awakened possessing the world's first S-Class awakened skill appeared at the Hunter Association. Beside him was A-Class Hunter In Yeonhae, known as the captain of Yeonwoo Guild's Support Team One. Some are already speculating that Yeonwoo Guild may have secured the production-type Awakened through some unknown means before anyone else could..."

Click.

The television suddenly went dark.

Silence filled the room.

Shin Ha-gyeon spun his chair around and leisurely crossed one leg over the other.

"How upsetting. Making speculative claims like that on the news."

"Upsetting? You're the one who suddenly called busy people here because you wanted to brag, then turned on the news just to brag some more."

"Haha. Please show him lots of interest."

"If we show interest, will you actually let us meet this crafter?"

"Of course. Artist Do doesn't belong to Yeonwoo Guild. He only has a protection contract with us."

"Oh? You're serious?"

The guild master of Badger Guild quickly brightened, cutting ahead of the Taepyeong Guild master, who had been grumbling nonstop.

"You seem interested."

"Of course I am. What Hunter wouldn't be? Especially from the perspective of a guild that has to operate multiple Raid Teams. If he hadn't looked like a Yeonwoo Guild member, I bet several people would've already gotten hurt fighting over him."

"Our artist was clever."

"...Interesting."

"What is?"

"I can't remember the last time I saw you acting this childish, Shin Ha-gyeon."

"What nonsense."

The Badger Guild master had been one of Shin Ha-gyeon's comrades during the earliest Gate raids.

However, there was nearly a ten-year age difference between them.

Because of that, from the day they first met until now, the Badger Guild master had always treated Shin Ha-gyeon somewhat like a child.

Shin Ha-gyeon, who had never cared much for formality or personal boundaries, had also never minded how the man treated him.

"By the way, is that toy you keep fiddling with another work made by your artist?"

"Ah. You mean this?"

Shin Ha-gyeon deliberately displayed the frog keychain he'd been spinning around his finger.

A sharp gaze immediately swept across it.

"That doesn't look like an ordinary toy."

"It's called a keychain."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"It really does seem like a unique item."

The Glory Guild master cheerfully joined the conversation.

With his bright hair and eyes, along with his old-fashioned silver armor, he looked almost like a knight from a comic book.

"You haven't openly carried frog things around for a long time because of your image. If Vice Guild Master Kim Sang-hyeon allowed it, that must be a fairly impressive item. What does it do?"

"Weren't you only interested in weapons?"

"There isn't a crafter in the world who refuses to make weapon items. And as I already said, I can sense holy light from it."

"Ah, don't drag religion into this. You're saying you want to judge his ability first, aren't you? You still have a sly side."

"Haha. And you're still just as rude."

The Yeonwoo Guild master and Glory Guild master smiled brightly while taking jabs at one another.

Watching them, the Badger Guild master faintly smiled and leaned back in his chair.

Then he glanced toward the Taepyeong Guild master, who was already sitting crookedly and chewing gum.

The Taepyeong Guild master shrugged.

"What exactly do you expect from genuine S-Classes?"

"Even if we don't expect much, shouldn't we at least establish some order? The crafter is over there."

"You said he isn't actually affiliated with Yeonwoo. Then all I have to do is win over the crafter himself. I'd rather not deal with those lunatics."

"That's one way to do it."

Even as he said that, the Badger Guild master's gaze remained fixed on the frog keychain Shin Ha-gyeon was rolling between his fingers.

Badger Guild had one genuine S-Class Hunter who absolutely adored cute things like that.

If that kid sees it, she's definitely going to throw a fit saying she wants one too.

Maybe he should keep it secret for a while.

That day's South Korean Guild Masters' Meeting ended with Shin Ha-gyeon doing nothing but bragging about his artist.

It was unusual.

Shin Ha-gyeon's public image might have been oddly carefree and eccentric, but he wasn't actually someone overflowing with affection or easy sentimentality.

Every guild master assumed that Shin Ha-gyeon either had some ulterior motive or that this mysterious artist had given him something extraordinary.

Even so, no matter how suspicious they felt, none of them could afford to treat a person with an S-Class production skill coldly.

Each guild master began devising their own method of making contact with the artist.

And back at Yeonwoo Guild...

Shin Ha-gyeon looked up at the vice guild master who had rushed over the instant he returned.

"What did you go and do?"

"Promotion."

"Didn't Artist Do say he was going to spend some time raising his physical stats? He's already getting plenty of attention because of the news. Why would you pour oil on the fire?"

"It's better to make them impatient in advance."

"Haa... This is going to make security even harder."

"They won't act that aggressively."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Isn't it a characteristic of Korean guilds that they become slower precisely because they're all competing against one another?"

"For goodness' sake. At the very least, I should warn Artist Do."

Kim Sang-hyeon pressed a hand against his forehead.

Then he quickly stood up.

Watching him, Shin Ha-gyeon spoke.

This time, their roles were completely reversed.

"Aren't you already busy enough managing the guild?"

Kim Sang-hyeon stopped on his way out and let out a short laugh.

"And when are you finally going to put that keychain down? At least attach it to something."

Click.

The guild master's office door shut.

Shin Ha-gyeon spun his chair around, raised the keychain high, and stared at it.

Beyond the keychain was a clear blue sky.

The sight reminded him of the sculpture carefully displayed in his mansion.

As expected, the final ranking assessment took place in a small room on the fourth floor of the Association building.

Apparently, this was also where they confirmed whether someone had actually awakened.

Didn't I hear that some people try to scam others by pretending to be Awakened?

I could understand why.

Among ordinary people, simply pulling out a Hunter license changed the way others treated you.

Whether the reaction came from admiration or fear, the result was the same.

After waiting for my turn, I entered the small room and stood with my arms spread as instructed.

A blue light soon scanned across my body.

Ding!

A clear chime rang out.

"Awakening confirmed. Please maintain the same posture."

I remained still for a little longer.

Then a second chime sounded.

Ding!

The blue light turned off.

After hesitating briefly, I stepped outside.

A person standing near the entrance was pulling a long sheet of paper from an enormous machine.

A moment later, the paper was handed to me.

The only things I could immediately recognize on the long document were a check mark beside the Awakening Confirmation field and my name.

When I skimmed through the rest without focusing too hard, I saw all kinds of graphs.

There were percentile charts comparing my physical grade and mana grade to those of average newly awakened people.

There was an explanation of energy wavelengths for new Awakened people.

Then there was information about my own energy-wave pattern.

"If you take that paper downstairs, they'll issue your license card."

"Thank you."

Still somewhat dazed, I bowed and headed toward the elevator.

In Yeonhae, who had been waiting nearby, followed me.

On impulse, I spoke to her.

"Technology has really advanced a lot."

"Ah, isn't it fascinating? Where was it again? Sweden, I think. There's a Hunter there whose awakened skill is S-Class Appraisal. I heard he was a researcher even before awakening. He formed a research team and created that Awakened Appraisal Machine. Apparently, he somehow embedded his own ability into it."

"You can transfer a skill into an object?"

"That's the trade secret."

She smiled.

"Do you really think he's the only Awakened person in the world whose skill is Appraisal? Yet the entire world imports those machines from Sweden. Well... I suppose S-Class Appraisal may simply be on a completely different level even compared to other Appraisal skills."

I imagined some research institute somewhere in Sweden.

My expression tightened.

My shoulders instinctively hunched.

Something about the idea made me deeply uncomfortable.

I rolled the feeling around in my head several times, trying to find the right word.

Then I finally said,

"...That's kind of creepy."

"It does have that side to it. Especially for people like you whose skills are unusual. The rarer someone's skill type is, the more uncomfortable they tend to feel about that appraisal machine."

"A skill is basically a person's livelihood. I suppose that's unavoidable."

"True. Now that I imagine my own skill being stored inside some object and circulated like an artifact, that does feel pretty disturbing."

In Yeonhae readily agreed.

Judging by her reaction, her own skills probably weren't extremely common, but they weren't uniquely rare either.

I'd heard that she was a buffer, but the details weren't widely known.

Maybe, like me, she possessed a skill with a particularly unusual name.

Even so, she didn't look especially troubled.

She smiled lightly.

"Still, personally, I think transferring a skill into something is probably another skill in itself."

"You sound pretty certain. Why?"

"Everyone tries to explain Awakened abilities scientifically, but you can't recreate an identical skill just by imitating the unique energy waves of an Awakened person."

She shrugged.

"In that sense, these powers are fundamentally unscientific because science can't reproduce them."

"Ah. That's true. Then maybe there really is some kind of skill that allows someone to transfer abilities."

"Or maybe someone with a high-ranking production skill like yours created an item capable of containing a skill. Maybe there's only one such object, and that's why those machines can only be manufactured in Sweden."

Unlike her usual cheerful attitude, she became surprisingly serious as she presented the theory.

For some reason, I found myself looking suspiciously down at the paper in my hand.

"...Anyway, what I was trying to say is that this is all fundamentally unscientific, and as long as you stay away from Sweden, there's probably nothing to worry about."

"That does make me feel better."

"I'm glad. Come on, the elevator's here."

The elevator arrived just then, and we stepped inside.

In Yeonhae moved naturally, probably because she'd already visited the Association several times to renew her license.

Once I receive the license, I'll officially become a Hunter.

I'd expected to smoothly receive my license card and leave the Association.

Instead, the lobby we returned to was in complete chaos.

"There he is!"

Click! Click, click! Click!

"You're the new S-Class skill holder, correct?! What's your name?!"

"Please give us a statement! How do you feel about awakening the world's first S-Class production skill?!"

"Are you affiliated with Yeonwoo Guild?! When did you first realize you'd awakened?!"

"Why did you choose Yeonwoo Guild?!"

In Yeonhae stepped in front of me.

She still wore her usual smile, but there was a hint of surprise in her expression.

Then she raised one hand and made a shushing gesture.

The movements of everyone in front of us suddenly became extremely slow.

A moment later, they were practically frozen in place.

"T-This...!"

"—, ——! ...!!"

The reporters opened and closed their mouths in panic.

Then even that stopped.

In an instant, silence fell across the entire lobby.

In Yeonhae calmly pulled out her phone to figure out what was happening.

I leaned slightly closer and whispered,

"They're ordinary civilians, aren't they? Is it okay to use a skill on them?"

"It doesn't cause physical harm. At worst, I'll probably get fined."

"You don't need to become a criminal just to protect me... And I'm not going to promise you anything because of this."

"I know."

She didn't look worried in the slightest.

"My job is to protect you. What else am I supposed to do? Vice Guild Master Kim Sang-hyeon will save me."

I stared at her carefree expression in disbelief.

Then I shrugged.

Well, they're the number-one guild in the country. I'm sure this level of security was already discussed.

I hadn't forced her to do anything.

I hadn't even hinted that she should.

This had happened entirely on her own.

I tried to remain calm.

Just like the conversation we'd been having moments earlier, I needed to remember that the world I was entering from now on was both unscientific...

And deeply unreasonable.