Chapter 15
[<Copied E-rank Skill Rune – Magic Arrow> has been absorbed.]
The next day.
As soon as Hyeon-jun woke up, he copied and absorbed the Skill Rune.
Then he copied Agility Runes.
With that, he obtained his first combat Skill.
His Agility also rose to 21.
I finally have a combat Skill too!!
Overwhelmed with excitement, Hyeon-jun shook his arms wildly.
He wanted to shout and run around.
But it was only six in the morning.
He couldn’t ruin his younger sister’s sleep in the room across from him.
Let’s see. Is this how I use it?
Hyeon-jun muttered softly.
“Magic Arrow.”
Hummm.
Mana drew a blue circle in the air.
Then a blue arrow of light appeared inside the completed circle.
“Whoa. This is insane.”
Hyeon-jun reached toward the arrow.
Bzzzz.
The moment his hand touched it, the arrow vibrated faintly and made a low sound.
Startled, Hyeon-jun pulled his hand back.
A smile spread across his face.
“Hehehe. Let’s work well together from now on.”
Since he had already started, Hyeon-jun decided to test its control too.
There were two ways to handle it.
I can grab it and throw it directly. Or give it commands mentally.
He wanted to try immediately.
But destroying his apartment was out of the question.
Hyeon-jun calmed down and dismissed the arrow.
First, I need to go outside.
Hyeon-jun put on his armor, gathered his weapons, and left home.
He headed straight for an F-rank Grassland hunting ground not far away.
He intended to test the Skill while also hunting and making some money.
“Let’s see.”
After entering the grassland, Hyeon-jun looked around for an honorable first test subject.
It was early, so there weren’t many people.
Even after going only a little deeper, plenty of monsters were available.
“That one looks good.”
A Grassland Mushroom.
One of the weakest monsters in the Grassland.
It looked like an oversized mushroom.
Its green cap was densely covered in blades of grass.
Its appearance and waddling movement make it really popular.
It looked cute.
Enough that official merchandise existed.
Sorry, but today you’re my test subject.
Hyeon-jun blocked its path.
The Grassland Mushroom stared blankly at him with round, button-like eyes.
“Magic Arrow!”
Hyeon-jun summoned one arrow and immediately fired.
It felt like controlling something connected to him by an invisible thread.
It was a new sensation.
But strangely, it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Stab!
The arrow cut through the air and pierced deep into the Grassland Mushroom’s forehead.
Hyeon-jun’s eyes widened at the unexpected power.
“I-It pierced straight through?”
Thud.
The Grassland Mushroom collapsed.
Its button-like eyes changed into X shapes.
“I know it isn’t a high-defense monster, but I didn’t think one shot would kill it.”
And the power wasn’t the only surprising thing.
The accuracy.
The arrow had flown in a straight line and struck directly between the eyes.
It had moved exactly as Hyeon-jun imagined and controlled.
He had worried because Hunters without magic-related Traits were said to have terrible accuracy the first time they used magic Skills.
But he had no such problem.
“Was I just lucky?”
Maybe the target was easy to hit because it was close.
Hyeon-jun continued hunting Grassland Mushrooms.
He gradually increased the distance.
As expected, his accuracy slowly dropped.
But controlling the arrow itself never became especially difficult.
Even if I concentrate just a little, I can usually hit.
Hyeon-jun continued firing Magic Arrows and hunting every monster he encountered.
Then...
“Urgh.”
His head suddenly spun.
His vision flickered.
He tried to steady himself.
But eventually he lost his balance and fell.
“Ughhh...”
Sitting on the ground, Hyeon-jun pressed a hand against his forehead.
Dizziness.
Then a headache.
The reason was obvious.
“I got too excited because I can finally use magic.”
He had overused the Skill.
His Mana had reached its limit.
“Is it because my Willpower is low?”
Mana determined the maximum strength of magic.
Willpower was connected to how many times magic could be used.
The only reason he had lasted this long was because his Soul Circuit was E-rank.
If he had still been F-rank, he would have collapsed much earlier.
“I did use it a lot.”
Hyeon-jun slowly stood and looked around.
Monster corpses were scattered everywhere.
Not only Mushrooms.
He had killed other types too.
“I didn’t even try the rabbits because they’re fast. But with a little more practice, I think I could hit them too.”
For his first day, the results were excellent.
Hyeon-jun grinned and drew his dagger.
He had killed plenty of prey.
Now it was time for the harvest.
Winter dawn came late.
Even in the freezing weather, a few people walked through the neighborhood park.
Fwish!
Fwish!
A little distance away from the walking path, behind thick trees and bushes, sharp sounds repeatedly cut through the air.
“What’s that sound?”
An elderly man walking nearby stepped into the bushes.
As he moved deeper inside, faint streaks of light repeatedly appeared and vanished in the darkness.
-Hup!
Rough breathing accompanied them.
The elderly man peeked through the bushes.
His eyes widened.
Dozens of blue light arrows were embedded in a target hanging from a tree.
A Hunter is training. The distance is pretty far, but his accuracy is incredible.
Every arrow had landed close to the center.
The Hunter stood almost ten meters away.
Even now, arrows continued forming in glowing circles before slamming into the target.
The future of this country is bright indeed. Hoho.
The old man silently cheered for the young Hunter training so earnestly.
Then he turned away.
“Whew.”
Hyeon-jun wiped sweat from his forehead.
The temperature was below minus ten degrees Celsius.
Yet using magic repeatedly with complete concentration had made him sweat.
“I didn’t miss once today.”
It had been four days since he learned Magic Arrow.
Going to a hunting ground every time he wanted to train was economically inefficient.
So whenever he had free time, he came to the park near his home and practiced.
“At first, I missed a little.”
But as time passed, his accuracy had steadily improved.
Now he had practically become a sharpshooter who never missed.
“Maybe I really do have talent?”
Compared to videos of other people practicing magic, the difference was obvious.
Most people initially fired spells all over the place.
Then their Mana quickly ran out.
The only exceptions were people who had awakened magic-related Traits.
From the very first time they used magic, they handled it more naturally than anyone else.
“I’m doing this well without even having that kind of Trait. Maybe this isn’t just talent. Maybe a once-in-a-generation genius has been born?”
Hyeon-jun muttered with a serious expression.
Then laughed.
“Genius isn’t some neighborhood dog’s name.”
Still, he was certain of one thing.
He had at least some talent for magic.
He had seen enough examples to be confident of that much.
“Who would’ve thought I had talent like this?”
Hyeon-jun fired a few more arrows.
Then he removed the target from the tree.
The arrows embedded in it scattered into the air with one gesture.
He put on the coat he had left nearby and headed home with light steps.
Today’s finally the day.
Today was the day he would enter a dungeon.
More precisely, it was the day of Michuhol Guild’s practical test.
He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried.
But he wasn’t especially anxious either.
After all...
I’m E-rank.
Hehehe.
An E-rank who could even use magic.
And not just use it.
He could use it with considerable accuracy.
He still couldn’t hit Rune Rabbits consistently.
But he had already killed several ordinary rabbit monsters.
And I raised my Stats quite a bit too.
Hyeon-jun opened his Status Window.
[Name: Go Hyeon-jun]
[Trait: Primordial Eye]
[Primordial Soul Circuit <E>]
Stats ▽
-Strength: 1/100
-Agility: 61/100
-Vitality: 1/100
-Mana: 1/100
-Willpower: 1/100
Skills ▽
<Trait Skill>
-Copy
<General Skills>
-Magic Arrow (4/100)
He had absorbed one Magic Arrow Rune each day.
The remaining ten Copy uses had all gone into Agility.
He had raised Agility again before coming out for his dawn training today.
His Agility had already crossed the halfway point.
The other Stats remained at one.
But that didn’t matter.
Agility alone was enough to compensate for much of the difference.
At least, it worked in hunting grounds. Dungeons shouldn’t be that dramatically different.
If anything, Hyeon-jun was more worried about controlling his strength.
The admission test was meant for Hunters with F-rank Soul Circuits.
The notice had even warned about legal action if deception was discovered.
Showing strength beyond what an F-rank should possess would only create problems.
I need to be careful not to get exposed.
If possible, he shouldn’t use Magic Arrow either.
Not every Skill user was E-rank.
But a Skill completely unrelated to his registered Trait could raise suspicions.
My registered Trait is Bird Hunter, so Magic Arrow might still be explainable...
It might look suspicious.
But it probably wouldn’t be enough for them to conclude he was E-rank.
Still, better safe than sorry.
Only use it if there’s a real emergency.
After returning home, Hyeon-jun prepared his equipment and left for the destination.
Outside a building in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.
A huge crowd filled the wide outdoor parking lot.
Every person there was an F-rank Hunter who had come for Michuhol Guild’s admission test.
“Wow. That’s a lot of people.”
Baek Je-jung, who had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, looked at the crowd through the car window.
“Do you really have to go?”
A deep voice spoke.
A man past middle age sat in the driver’s seat and looked back at Je-jung.
“Don’t worry, Uncle. I prepared properly this time.”
“I still don’t understand why you insist on continuing as a Hunter. Can you explain it?”
“I told you, it’s a secret...”
“Maybe I should just tell your father everything that happened yesterday...”
“O-Okay! Fine!”
At the threat of telling his father, Baek Je-jung hurriedly answered.
“It’s... cool.”
“...What?”
“Doesn’t it feel like being a hero? Monsters threatening the world... and heroes protecting people from those monsters...”
Ever since childhood, Baek Je-jung had admired heroes like that.
That was why, whenever someone asked him who he respected most, he always answered with his father.
“That childish... No, more importantly, when you first said you wanted to become a Hunter, didn’t you say it was just for fun?”
“That’s what I said back then. But I was lying to myself. I told myself someone with an ability like mine could never become a hero. But I changed my mind.”
First, he had been inspired when a Hunter of the same rank displayed strength far beyond his own.
Then, the same person had saved his life.
Through those experiences, he had finally understood what he truly wanted.
“I want to become someone who inspires others too. Someone who saves people.”
“Does it have to be as a Hunter?”
“Yes. For me, it has to be a Hunter.”
“...All right.”
Baek Kang-jun, Baek Je-jung’s uncle and the head of the Awakener Police Bureau, nodded.
There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in his nephew’s eyes as he spoke about his dream.
He was no longer an immature boy.
He had become a young man who knew what he wanted and was prepared to move toward it.
“Then at least buy more Runes from now on. It’s not like you’re poor.”
“I’ll compromise on that a little. I still don’t like the idea of achieving my dream using money I didn’t earn myself.”
“So stubborn... Is that why you’re participating here too?”
“Pretty much. Ah, it’s time. I’m going.”
Before Baek Kang-jun could add anything, Je-jung got out of the car and ran toward the crowd.
Watching his back, Baek Kang-jun sighed softly.
“He’s exactly like his father.”
...
...
“Everyone! Today is Day One! If your message says Day Two, you need to leave!”
A Michuhol Guild staff member shouted at the gathered Hunters.
There were too many applicants to test everyone on the same day.
Even so, there were well over three hundred people here.
“After checking your ID, stand with your assigned group!”
There were a lot of people.
But controlling them was easy.
For F-rank Hunters, a major guild was a world they had almost no connection to.
Nobody wanted to make a bad impression on the guild staff.
So everyone moved quickly.
I’m Group 23.
Hyeon-jun checked the name tag he had just received and headed toward his assigned position.
“Huh?”
A voice came from beside him when he lined up.
He turned.
A familiar face.
“Oh.”
It was the man who had nearly been Rune Killed a few days ago.
Baek Je-jung, if he remembered correctly.
“We meet again!”
Baek Je-jung greeted him enthusiastically.
“Looks like it. What are the odds?”
“I was actually trying to find your contact information so I could properly repay you. Since we met again like this... can you give me your number? I’ll contact you later.”
“Come on. Giving me all those spoils from back then was already more than enough.”
“No way! That wasn’t nearly enough! You saved my life!”
Baek Je-jung talked excitedly.
Hyeon-jun naturally got pulled into the conversation.
“Hmm.”
Someone else was watching them.
At the very back of Group 22.
A man wearing a cap and disguised as an F-rank Hunter.
Baek Je-hyeok.
From what he could gather from their conversation, the man in Group 23 was probably the person who had saved his younger brother.
Je-jung said he was good at fighting.
How much had Je-jung talked him up?
He had even said it would be great if that person happened to participate in this test.
He’s still probably only impressive by F-rank standards... but I might as well watch.
Baek Je-hyeok tapped the guild member who had infiltrated Group 23.
“What is it?”
“Switch places with me.”
“Suddenly?”
“There’s someone in that group I want to watch.”
“You’re not going to keep an eye on your brother?”
“What dangerous thing could possibly happen in an F-rank dungeon?”
“The Vice Guild Master will lose it if he finds out.”
“Let him.”
The guild member shrugged and willingly switched places.
“Keep an eye on Je-jung.”
“Yes, yes. Don’t worry.”
Baek Je-hyeok gave several more warnings.
Then he focused on Hyeon-jun at the front.
Let’s see just how well you fight.
