Chapter 13: When is My Turn?

A month flew by in a flash.

The first thing Do-joon did was to copy the options of the Tier 3 Dungeon Key.

[You can copy one of the options of the ‘Dungeon Key: Tier 3 Collapsed Temple’ to ‘Kim Do-joon’.]

[Copyable Options]

1. Enter the ‘Dungeon: Collapsed Temple’.

After copying it successfully, Do-joon entered the dungeon with a light heart.

However.

[Fallen Follower]

Compatibility Rate

• 37%

The compatibility rate of the monsters that appeared was a bit high. He was able to catch one or two, but the problem was the ones that came after him.

In the end, Do-joon retreated for now. It seemed that he would be able to start the hunt more easily if the compatibility rate increased.

And so, a month was left until the exam.

During that time, Do-joon maintained a regular schedule.

***

Morning.

• Good morning~

He woke up to the sound of his alarm in the morning. He turned off the alarm with bleary eyes and washed up briefly.

After changing into his sportswear, he went jogging.

His jog wasn’t just around the neighborhood and back, he had a destination.

A training ground located nearly 20 kilometers away. It was a new business that appeared along with the emergence of Hunters, a place that rented out individual training grounds by time slot.

By the time he reached 20 kilometers, it was a good warm-up for him.

He entered the training ground, catching his breath. At the entrance, a female college student chewing gum was looking at the counter.

“Welcome~”

She greeted him with an expression that was either sleepy or bored. He had talked to her once before, and she said that she was helping her father with his work during the vacation and getting paid for it.

Despite her flighty appearance, she seemed to be quite a diligent person. After all, it wasn’t an easy job to be up and running from 7am.

After exchanging a brief greeting, Do-joon entered one of the underground training rooms.

The floor was covered with mats, and the walls on all sides were made of a very sturdy material. However, the walls were covered in scratches.

It looked a bit intimidating at first glance, but on the other hand, it was also proof that many people had trained here.

And on one side, there were a few pieces of equipment, including a machine that measured impact force. It was said to be a machine that was often used in the old Hunter exams.

Do-joon mainly used this machine to practice swinging his weapons more forcefully.

After all, for the ax he mainly uses, a heavy blow is more important than flashy techniques.

Bang!

[Bam! 3564 points! New best! Congratulations!]

“Oh.”

The machine rang out with an excited sound.

Sometimes, when he updated his best score like this, he tried to remember the movement he just made. The distribution of strength, the timing of his leg extension, the speed of his arm swing.

If he just swung it mindlessly, the training effect will be low. In order to improve his skills, he needed to constantly analyze and explore himself.

Although it was only by a little bit, Do-joon’s movements were gradually becoming more refined.

After training with the training ax, practicing throwing knives, and loading and shooting the crossbow, it was soon lunchtime.

Lunch.

When it was lunchtime, he returned home again. Of course, he ran the 20km distance back.

When he arrived, there was always food delivered to the door. It was a service that delivered lunch with a different menu every day for 180,000 won a month.

Originally, he tried to save every penny by cooking and eating at home, but now time was more precious than money.

“Pork cutlet today?”

After exercising, he was always quite hungry, so he was quite happy with this hearty menu. He washed away the sweat he had been sweating while showering and ate his meal in a refreshing mood.

After eating, he took a break and lay down. He then buried himself in the sofa and browsed the news on his phone, letting his body rest fully.

After resting, it was time for his main job: Potion Crafting.

Most of the shops were closed, but he was still making the amount of supplies to be delivered to the guild.

It would be much more profitable to sell the materials and items he obtained from the dungeon with his eyes closed, but having a stable fixed income makes a big difference in his peace of mind. In the first place, he was using all the items he obtained from the dungeon for copying.

Since it wasn’t easy to get back in touch once you’ve lost a business partner, which was why he was still continuing to make deliveries.

Evening.

“Daddy~!”

After finishing his potion work, he went to the hospital to see So-eun.

“Our So-eun, did you behave well today?”

“Uh-huh!”

While playing with So-eun, he copied any items he had gotten from the dungeon that increased Vitality runes. Of course, along with the heart of the glass snake.

However, the only way Do-joon currently could obtain items was through the random boxes he got from clearing the Nature’s Isle once every ten days.

If an item that increases vitality came out of there, he would copy it for So-eun, or for himself.

[Kim So-eun]

Compatibility Rate

• 0%

[Additional Options]

• Vitality +11Lv
• Cold Resistance 9%

These days, Do-joon felt that So-eun had also become much healthier. In the past, she was almost always bedridden, but these days she goes out about once a week.

After eating dinner together, he stayed with So-eun until she fell asleep. Then he returned home around 9pm.

After that, it was time for him to train again in the deserted mountain behind his house.

In the personal training, he focused on his posture and such while swinging his weapon, however here he instead focused on moving his body while making simulations in his head.

In all, there were four types of combat situations he had experienced so far.

• When he fought the mixed group of skeleton warriors, magicians, and archers.
• When he had to penetrate the overwhelming number of over 300.
• The snake group that harassed him in various ways, such as by surprise attacks from the ground.
• And the endless tug-of-war with the cold ice snake.

It had only been two dungeons, and in terms of time, it had only been a little over a month.

However, the experience he had gained was as dense as that of a seasoned hunter with several years of experience.

Usually, hunters form parties with carefully calculated combinations and simply mow down monsters that are easy to deal with, like machines. It’s more like work than hunting.

Of course, that’s not to say it’s bad or undesirable. If the compatibility rate increases through such experiences, that directly correlates with becoming stronger.

However, it’s also true that in terms of the intensity of each battle, there’s no comparing Do-joon to others.

How many rookie hunters can claim to have plunged into a horde of 300 monsters alone?

Although it wasn’t quantified like a status window, each of these experiences was an irreplaceable asset to Do-joon. So he trained, simulating those experiences.

What if I had done this at that time? If I had moved like this, I would have been able to break through more easily.

If he could think of a better move, he would try it out in actual combat. In the dungeon he would keep entering, the Nature’s Isle, whenever the cool time comes around.

He had entered the dungeon three more times during the month. The attribute resistance leathers had achieved an average value of about 20% in their stats, and he continued to copy the options of the dungeon boss Glass Snake’s heart, to So-eun.

As for the Glass Snake’s leather, it was carefully stored in his inventory. He could sell it, but he thought it might come in handy later.

After a month filled with such endeavors, the day of the exam finally arrived.

***

Morning of the exam.

“Good morning.”

“Ms. Ji-ah?”

As he came out after getting ready, he found Lee Ji-ah standing in front of the store with her car.

“I came to give you a ride.”

“The exam location is in Gangwon-do, right?”

“I know.”

The exam to be taken today is not in Seoul, but in the mountains of Gangwon-do. It would take at least 3 hours to get there, wouldn’t it?

“This is what a manager does. Get in quickly.”

Do-joon got into the passenger seat, a little flustered.

Vroom.

The car started with a low noise. He fastened his seatbelt, smelling the slightly nauseating smell of cars.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“Someone like Mr. Do-joon will have no problem passing. The way you took down that goblin rider back then was amazing.”

In fact, it wasn’t so much amazing as it was quite brutal, but Ji-ah did not say that.

Do-joon scratched his head and replied.

“Is that so?”

“You’re almost certainly going to pass. The problem is the potential rank evaluation.”

Potential Rank Evaluation.

In general, even if a hunter acquires a good skill, they all start at F rank. It is the general structure that they start from F rank and raise their compatibility rate through hunting and at the same time accumulate achievements to be promoted.

However, it is not that there is no advantage depending on the skill performance.

The potential rank evaluation is a comprehensive evaluation of the power and excellence of the skills possessed by the applicant to predict the level to which the applicant will be able to grow in the future.

That was the potential rank evaluation.

“Is the potential rank evaluation that important?”

Do-joon asked, looking at the red light that had just come on.

The potential rank is not absolute. Depending on the individual’s effort, it was possible to go higher or not reach the potential rank received at first.

Moreover, Do-joon was in a special situation compared to other hunters. With so many variables, he was indifferent to his own potential rank.

However, Ji-ah, who did not know this fact, was different.

“Of course. Don’t you think first impressions are important in everything? Guilds are really picky in this kind of thing.”

“Hmm…”

Do-joon, who had no intention of joining a guild, was still skeptical.

After that, they chatted about trivial things.

After about 2 hours and 30 minutes, the two arrived at their destination.

[National Monster Research Institute]

As the name suggests, it is a research complex established to study magical monsters. It is usually a place where only researchers and staff members are allowed to enter, but twice a year, part of the site is opened for the Hunter Exam.

To the north, there was a forest area surrounded by mountains, and to the south, there were various buildings including the main building.

Do-joon and Ji-ah arrived in front of the main building of the Hunter Exam. It was already crowded with people.

“You guys will definitely pass.”

“Don’t be nervous, just do what you’ve been training for.”

“Son, did you leave anything behind?”

Seniors were cheering for the examinees who seemed to have been raised by private training centers, academies, or guilds. Many of them seemed to have come with their families. The families all looked very worried.

While others were talking about how passing this exam would turn their lives around, the families were worried that the examinee would get hurt in the dangerous exam.

The sight of encouragement and the sight of worry.

Either way, both were human landscapes.

Do-joon had no colleagues who had been taught together, no seniors who were cheering him on, and no family to worry about him, except for his daughter in the hospital.

As he unconsciously smiled wryly.

“Here you go.”

Ji-ah patted him on the shoulder and handed him something. It was a small candy with the words “Wishing you success” written on it.

Do-joon smiled faintly at the cute appearance of the candy.

“You said I’m definitely going to pass.”

“Still, it’s the thought that counts.”

With her usual stoic expression, she handed the candy to Do-joon’s hand.

“Then I’ll be waiting at the cafe in front.”

Leaving those words, she turned and walked away.

Do-joon unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth before heading to the main building.

The main building was also used for research, so there were many rooms and strange machines that he had never seen before.

Following the arrows attached to the floor and walls, he headed to the first test location.

The first test was simply to verify whether one had the ability or not, and it was conducted in a place similar to a large lecture hall.

After arriving at the lecture hall, he sat down in a suitable place and waited.

“We will now begin the ability verification. When your number is called, please come out one by one and demonstrate.”

There were three large machines placed in front of the lecture hall. And one employee in front of each of them. It seemed that they were verifying three people at a time.

The machine was a device that read the mana used when using a skill and analyzed its output and characteristics. It was not a time-consuming test, so the measurement was carried out quickly.

Then.

“Wow…”

“Crazy.”

When it was the turn of a big and tall young man, everyone in the lecture hall was drawn to him.

He looked ordinary. He looked to be in his early to mid-20s, and other than the fact that he was big, he had nothing remarkable about him. His face was neither handsome nor ugly, and if Do-joon had to say, the man looked fierce.

In his hand was a blade of light that looked to be two meters long.

<Compatibility Estimate> 20~24%

<Output> 974~991

<Attribute> Light, Materialization

People started to murmur at the results that appeared on the screen. The place where the guild managers were gathered was especially noisy.

“Is that the guy?”

“Yes. He’s the one who said he awakened by chance while working as a porter.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such output… But why is the compatibility rate so high?”

“I heard he went into the dungeon and hunted a bit as a porter.”

“That’s more than a bit?”

Originally, the principle is to get a Hunter’s license and start hunting monsters, but as always, there are exceptions.

Since porters and collectors are allowed to enter dungeons even without a Hunter’s license, there were quite a few cases where they used this to raise their compatibility rate in advance.

In fact, it was not so much an exception as it was a method used by many people to raise their compatibility rate in advance. Dungeon experiences are even included in the official curriculum of various academies and academies.

However, it is still rare for it to be over 20%.

“Are you all done?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. It’s confirmed. You can go in.”

“Hmm.”

The young man snorted and returned to his seat. He looked confident, but also somewhat arrogant.

The attention he received was overwhelming. The managers were mostly looking at him with greedy eyes, and the other examinees were glancing at him with envious expressions.

As for Do-joon, he was thinking,

‘When is my turn?’

He had no other thoughts.

Even when Ji-ah had talked about it, and even now that he had seen the skill himself, he was not particularly interested in it. Perhaps it was because he had experienced things that were several times more shocking.

“Number 58, please come forward.”

After waiting for a while, it was Do-joon’s turn. The employee read the chart he was holding.

‘The skill is physical-reinforcement ability, and the age is… 35? This isn’t a civil service exam, what is he doing at this age… .’

The employee shook his head inwardly.

Hunters are a profession where physical ability is most important. It is true that the Yggdrasil system has made physical abilities surpass those of ordinary people, but that system does not prevent aging.

It is commonly said that the prime of a hunter is around their 40s.

If you are 35 years old, you are on the decline after only 5 years. Since it takes at least 2-3 years to enter a guild as a rookie and do your part, the actual time you can be active will be even shorter.

In fact, most of the examinees here are in their 10s and 20s. Wasn’t that big guy from earlier in his early 20s?

“What’s an old man doing here?”

“At that age, when are you going to work after getting your license… .”

“Just keep working at the job you had.”

Some of the examinees whispered. The other examinees seemed to be completely uninterested, and so were the managers.

The employee thought, “See, I told you so,” and proceeded with the test. He attached several electrode patches to Do-joon’s body and turned on the machine.

“Please use your skill once.”

“Yes.”

Do-joon focused his will on the magic core in his heart. Then, cold magic began to stir inside his body.

Soon, a cold air rose all over Do-joon’s body.

“Huh?”

The employee saw the text on the machine and opened his eyes wide.