NOVEL NEXT C4
To operate as an Awakener, one must be registered with the Hunter Association.
I visited the nearby Hunter Registration Center.
“Please take a waiting ticket and wait.”
33.
‘There are quite a lot of people.’
It was early morning, just as the sun was rising.
32 people had arrived before me and were waiting for their Awakener aptitude tests.
The inside of the center was bustling with people waiting for their turn.
I sat in an empty seat, leisurely waiting for my turn.
“Mom! I awakened! I’m a Hunter now!”
“I—I definitely heard the message! This can’t be happening!”
Some were expressing their joy of awakening,
while others were showing disappointment.
“Let go! Let go! The machine is malfunctioning!”
“I definitely awakened!”
“Please escort that person out.”
Some even denied the results and had to be escorted out.
‘The test isn’t cheap.’
The machine that determines if someone has awakened uses magic power,
and even the lowest-grade E-class mana stones cost over 3 million won.
Naturally, it wasn’t free.
After about an hour, my turn came.
The staff member in charge of the test looked to be in his 40s, with tired eyes as he glanced up at me.
“May I have your name?”
“Jeon Mincheol.”
“Yes, Jeon Mincheol… Could I see your ID?”
“Here it is.”
“Your identity has been confirmed. Please head inside.”
Inside the test room, the loud sound of an engine assaulted my ears, like ringing in my ears.
“Welcome!”
A woman in her early 20s with short hair and a subtle makeup approached me.
She wore a fragrance similar to cherry and seemed to put effort into her appearance.
Though she wore formal attire, she looked both refined and youthful.
But there was one thing that stood out to me.
‘This person is emitting mana.’
I could sense quite a bit of mana from the staff member.
“I’m So Hye-min, sent from the Hunter Association’s executive division.”
“Ah, yes. I’m Jeon Mincheol.”
So she’s a Hunter.
“Is this your first time taking the Awakener test?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then let me guide you!”
She seemed fresh and energetic, like a first-year student.
After seeing the tired receptionist, her lively presence lifted my mood.
“Please change into the attire in the changing room, then come to the test room.”
After changing, I found Hye-min fiddling with a gadget.
“Do you see the cylinder? Once you enter, the test will begin right away.”
“Do I just stand still?”
“Yes, though it will get very bright, just close your eyes.”
“That’s not difficult.”
“You’re different from other first-timers.”
“What do you mean?”
“Most people are nervous, but you don’t seem nervous at all.”
“Since I’m just here for confirmation after awakening, there’s nothing to be nervous about.”
“You’re also much more handsome than the older guys who came earlier…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no. I hope the awakening result is confirmed soon!”
Hye-min blushed and laughed, wishing me good luck.
I entered the cylinder, and the half-open door of the machine closed.
The light was blocked, and the interior turned dark.
The equipment started humming.
At first, a red infrared light scanned from my feet, passing over my whole body.
Then a variety of colors flashed around me.
‘This is like a nightclub.’
It felt like I should be dancing with the flashing lights.
About a minute later, the door opened.
“Mr. Jeon Mincheol, the test is over! Please wait a moment, and the results will be available soon.”
After changing back into my clothes, Hye-min handed me the result sheet.
“That was fast.”
“Hehe. Right?”
I checked the results.
**Test Subject:** Jeon Mincheol
**Resident Registration Number:** 200207-3XXXXXX
**Awakening Status:** Yes
**Attributes:**
Strength: E (E)
Agility: E (E)
Endurance: E (E)
Vitality: E (E)
Mana: D (D)
**Traits:**
Unidentified (The tester is advised to confirm the subject’s traits.)
**Opinion:**
Mana was detected, but aside from mana, the other attributes…
(Excerpt)
**Overall Evaluation:** Close-Combat Class
This is… pathetic.
“Are there any higher grades?”
“Ah, haha. The lowest grade is E.”
Hye-min flushed and quickly turned her head.
‘She saw mine… she saw it.’
Why is she embarrassed?
All my attributes except mana are E-grade.
‘D means 20 or more. E is below that.’
The status window is much more precise and detailed than the association’s test equipment.
Just confirming that was a big gain.
‘It seems the association doesn’t recognize chaos power.’
The equipment results only showed mana, but my status window displayed ‘Chaos Power.’
That wasn’t something even I had heard of when I was at the peak of Pandemonium.
It’s odd that it wasn’t detected by the machine here on Earth, a lower dimension.
As I kept checking the results, something caught my eye.
“Excuse me, Tester. I have a question.”
“Yes, of course. Please ask.”
“What does the number in parentheses next to the attributes mean?”
“That indicates your latent ability.”
“Latent ability?”
“Awakeners absorb mana when they defeat monsters in dungeons or towers. After repeated battles, their abilities grow.”
“So it’s the growth potential of the ability?”
“Right…”
Hye-min trailed off at the end.
Hmm.
It seems that Hunters have a fixed limit on how much their abilities can grow.
“But, there are some rare cases where Hunters surpass the latent abilities the association measured.”
Well, that’s not relevant to me.
As a Player,
I can change the rules.
Self-modification.
Limits are nothing to me.
And with the vast knowledge from my past life,
there are countless ways to grow stronger.
“Mr. Jeon Mincheol! If you officially register as a Hunter, you’ll be able to make use of your skills in many fields, even without entering dungeons or towers. So don’t be too disappointed!”
Hye-min suddenly raised her voice in an attempt to cheer me up.
I wasn’t disappointed at all.
I gave a half-smile.
“Thank you.”
“Ah! To officially operate as a Hunter, you’ll need to obtain a Hunter License!”
“Hunter License?”
“Yes, there’s a licensing exam every month. You need the Hunter License to access towers or dungeons.”
I slightly furrowed my brows.
‘This changes things a bit.’ Towers, gates, or the eroded lands. Places where you can fight monsters. The names are different, but they share one thing in common: all three areas are off-limits to regular people.
“When is the next license exam?”
“It’s on the second Monday of every month, so it’s about 10 days away. A detailed notice will be sent by text!”
A license exam…
I guess leveling up will have to wait a bit.
I finished the inspection, and as I came out, the area near the registration center entrance was buzzing.
“Jungseong Awakener! I’m Jeong Jiwoon from the Yong-Oreum Guild. Our guild invests a lot in promising new members.”
“Yeongsan Guild provides kind guidance to new awakeners.”
“Wheel of…”
Guild representatives were aggressively promoting their guilds to recruit awakened ones, trying to draw them in with business cards or guild brochures.
They didn’t seem particularly interested in me, just glancing at me briefly before looking away.
‘I’m glad they’re not bothering me.’
All of my stats were E-level, excluding mana.
Any guild would probably pass on recruiting someone like me.
Bzzt!
My phone rang loudly.
It was an unfamiliar number.
“Hunter Association notice?”
I checked the text.
Sender: Hunter Association
Hunter License Exam Notice
Congratulations on registering as an awakener, Jeon Mincheol.
This notice is sent to everyone who completes the awakener registration.
To become a Hunter, you need to officially register with the Hunter Association.
The Association will evaluate whether you’re qualified to operate in the towers/gates and grant a license depending on the results of the exam.
(…omitted…)
Location: 240 World Cup Road, Seongsan 2-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Time: Second Monday of every month.
‘About ten days left.’
Hunter License Exam.
There are five exam patterns, but each time one is randomly selected.
But there’s one thing in common:
‘They test combat ability and survival skills.’
Towers. And gates.
Hunters are those who hunt monsters.
The exam focuses on whether you can successfully hunt and survive against monsters, no matter the environment or enemies.
‘With my current abilities, I’m a likely candidate for dropping out.’
A smile crept across my face.
Ten days, huh?
That’s plenty of time.
I’ll pass the Hunter License Exam and make sure they know it!
I immediately began my workout.
Not too fast, not too slow, I jogged along the riverside.
‘Building a solid foundation starts with the basics.’
Running is the foundation of all exercise.
And it’s incredibly effective.
Of course,
I wasn’t just running by moving my legs back and forth.
Huff—!
My heart was pounding.
My lungs felt on fire.
But I kept breathing steadily and calmly.
My face turned as red as a tomato.
How long had I been running?
I kept jogging, focusing on steady breathing, until my body hit its limit.
My joints and muscles were creaking.
‘I need to push through.’
I gritted my teeth, focused on my breath, and kept moving my arms and legs.
At the same time, I opened my mental world and operated the Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb.
Pushing through the limits, with every step I took, the power of the celestial energy entered my body, strengthening me.
When my body reached its limit, I felt renewed strength pushing me to keep moving forward.
[Effect of Seongcheon Heavenly Boundary Orb: Physical abilities are enhanced.]
[Strength +0.2.]
[Endurance +0.1.]
[Toughness +0.1.]
I stopped when I heard the system’s notification.
“Whew, haah! *cough* *cough*.”
I breathed deeply, inhaling the fresh air, and slowly cooled my heated lungs.
I wiped the sweat from my neck.
‘Exercise is truly the best way to improve your body.’
There’s a saying on Earth: a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
It’s a proverb that perfectly aligns with my thoughts.
The chaos energy adapts to the body, and then, with the energy of the stars, the physical body reaches its limits, further strengthening it.
It’s a simple but effective training method.
‘For now, just the basic exercises will be enough to strengthen my body.’
Breathing techniques while running—
It’s not an easy task.
Both body and mind are pushed to their limits.
Only when you reach your limit can you take the next step.
After running, I did push-ups and sit-ups.
My clothes were soaked in sweat.
My arms and legs trembled without rest.
I felt like I was going to die, but…
‘I’m getting stronger.’
I clenched my fists.
The status window.
A very thoughtful system, notifying me when my stats increased just when I was about to give out.
From sunrise to sunset,
I pushed my body to the limit, never resting, and continued using my breathing techniques.