Chapter 58 (1/2)
Team Building (3)
“We’ve booked a promotion review for two-persons under ‘J-corp.’”
“Yes, please wait a minute.”
The measurement center I had stopped by for the first time in a long while remained unchanged.
The ministry official in front of me spoke once more after checking the computer system.
“The reservation has been confirmed. Nate Hope and Amano Hibiki?”
I answered on behalf of the two. “That’s right.”
“Since both of you are foreigners, please present your passport and Hunter’s ID card together to confirm your identities.”
I then asked the official before the registration process was complete. “I didn’t make a reservation in advance. Can another apply for a promotion review?”
He paused, checking something for a moment. ” Since there is only one team of Hunters, which is your team for this morning’s review, I think it would be possible. By the way, there is no problem with the Mana Output review and Mana Control Capability Evaluation. Still, the Combat Capability Assessment may not be possible on the same day, is that okay? You may have to visit again later.”
It didn’t matter.
He hasn’t guessed it yet, but I wouldn’t need a combat capability assessment anyway. There was no need to make unnecessary trips.
“That’s all right.”
I couldn’t book a promotion review in advance under my name.
As I had already witnessed in the first measurement, the insider from the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs would soon tell Seo Gyu-Cheol about it.
‘Before things get tiring, I should disappear after finishing the screening.’
The receptionist spoke with his eyes still fixated on the monitor.
“Please tell me your name and the guild you belong to. Please give me your Hunter’s card, too.”
“I am Seo Jin-Wook.”
“Seo Jin··· Huh?”
The public official who heard the name raised his head and looked at my face. His expression changed dramatically.
“Oh….!”
My picture had never gotten in the press, so it was natural for people to not recognize me just by looking at my face. However, they couldn’t be unaware of the name, since I was one of the factors as to why Celestial Dragon was so famous on the news these days.
‘As a runaway heir, that is.’
The government official asked, “Do you belong to the same group as the other two….?”
Instead of giving the name of a company made up with the Senator’s help, I stated a different affiliation.
It was not impossible to belong in multiple companies at the same time, depending on the terms of the contract, but I intentionally stated the name of the guild still on my Hunter’s card.
“Celestial Dragon, please.”
*
There was a commotion among those waiting for the first measurement in the waiting room. Everyone’s ears were sharp, so they could clearly catch conversations from the reception desk.
“Seo Jin-Wook? Did he just say Seo Jin-Wook?”
“Oh wait, isn’t that really him? I saw that face when I went to the Celestial Dragon.”
“Why all of a sudden, at this point? Is it a promotion review?”
There was more commotion among guild employees who came with them than the Hunters who came to be measured.
“It’s not all of a sudden. It’s been months since he has awakened, so it’s about time he measured again.”
“I heard he’s never been in any exploration team since the Okcheon dungeon. Didn’t he lock himself somewhere because of the shock?”
“It’s the other way around. There’s a lot of rumors going around that he did not lock himself up in his room, but that he also did not return home ever since he ran away.”
“How long can the dearly raised young master hold out? He came back home because he couldn’t take it anymore!”
Although they tried to speak in a small voice that even the Awakens could not hear, it was still not enough to escape from my ears.
It was natural since they would regard my state as a D or C-ranked Hunter at best.
“Seo Gyu-Cheol must be a mess because of the internal situation of the Celestial Dragon. Did he send him to a promotion review right away?”
“There’s no way he’s done rounds at dungeons ever since he left his house, so wouldn’t it be the same if they measured him now?”
In fact, I had done my rounds. A whole lot of them.
“No. Seo Gyu-Cheol wouldn’t send his successor to a promotion review without thinking when he’s someone who can’t let his reputation down even if he could give up eating. I’m sure he allowed him to do so, now that he has reached a certain state.”
“There’s a lot of rumors going around that he’s got an extreme potential; he should at least be C-Rank, right?”
“That’s the rate that’s possible after months of serious rounds in the dungeon. How can a man who hasn’t even seen poked his nose at the gate get a promotion already?”
“I don’t know. Even if he didn’t go to the dungeon, he could have been madly engaged in Activating Mana training.”
“That method is less efficient.”
“That’s only your opinion. There’s nothing scientifically proven for one method to be any better than others yet!”
Everyone was talking with an empty tongue.
The general public opinion was on speculation that Seo Gyu-Cheol had intentionally sent me to the promotion review, as I had made some achievements when no one was looking.
Their guess was that this would serve as an opportunity to reverse the Celestial Dragon’s image, whose reputation was under fire, by showing off my undisputable growth to the public.
‘Their predictions were only half right.’
I was trying to show off my ability, but my real goal was to take Seo Gyu-Cheol’s seat, the man that had only been holding onto his position thanks to his symbolism as the first S-Ranked, and his shareholdings as a founder.
“But who are the people who are with him?”
“Isn’t the boy a minor?”
“No way!”
Leaving the murmurs behind, we went into the promotion room.
*
“Well, we will start with Ms. Amano Hibiki. This is Mana Output Evaluation. Please put your hands on the stone.”
Hibiki concentrated on pouring Mana into the Artifact, and the official’s eyes grew slightly larger after checking the figure.
“Hmmm…. You’ve got a C-Rank.”
Hibiki had indeed been trying pretty hard.
‘This is by just pure effort and talent. Even if the way one’s Awakening method had changed, the person won’t change.’
The official tilted his head.
“Hmm.”
The records he saw now would show that she was an E-Rank at the initial measurement.
It was not that there weren’t any instances where an E-Rank had risen to C-Rank within a month of measurement, but it was still shocking enough.
Contrary to that, the official’s reaction was rather calm. There was a reason for this.
“Well, you guys are from abroad. You must have had a complicated situation.”
He concluded that a hunter, who was originally a C-Rank, pretended to be a non-Awakened when she departed from Japan to avoid trouble. She then registered, as she said she Awakened from Korea and manipulated the results last time, since receiving a C-Rank in the initial measurement would make her appear on the news.
There were cases where an E-Rank quickly rose to a C-Rank, but nobody got a C-Rank from the first measurement.
I said with a grin, “It’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
“Well, it happens sometimes.”
From the government’s point of view, it was appreciated when the best hunters gathered from abroad. The official no longer dug in for the details.
“As you know, from the promotion review, there are two additional tests, including output testing.”
One wasn’t confirmed to be of C-Rank even if it measured so from the Mana Output testing.
“According to the results of the subsequent tests, the rank may increase or decrease.”
Unless other test results were superior or disastrous, they were most likely to show the same result, and they usually moved one class even if there was a change.
“We will start with the Mana Control Capability Assessment that we can do inside the center.”
Hibiki moved away, and Nate and I looked at the scene through the glass window.
Ten metal artifacts were placed in front in size and shape.
“Think of it as a three-dimensional puzzle.”
It was based on the pattern of the maze type dungeon.
“If you assemble the ten pieces in the right way, they will form a cube. Refer to the holographic images on which piece should be assembled to where and how.”
Indeed, a video that came up next to her was explaining how to assemble it.
Hibiki said in a dry voice, “You’re giving me the answers.”
“It’s not a test to assess spatial perception.”
In fact, it was not easy to assemble those, even with the correct answers.
Each of those pieces was an artifact; in other words, it responded to Mana.
Mana, which was concentrated to a specific pattern without the Awakened having to use a particular skill, contained a semblance of physical force, and it was called psychokinesis.
The evaluator must assemble the pieces with the force of the force lifted from the air.