Chapter 8: The Association
Three days had passed since I arrived in Seoul. My determination to enter the Abyss or a dungeon and grow stronger seemed meaningless as I had spent those three days comfortably resting, as if to reward myself for all my past efforts.
In truth, I had no choice. Entering a dungeon or the Abyss required a license issued by the Association, and I didn’t have one.
Thus, for three days, I repeated the cycle of eating, sleeping, and relieving myself in a home so vast that it was difficult to navigate. I focused on organizing everything from my life before the regression.
“Fortunately, I managed to finish organizing everything just in time.”
Carefully placing the ten notebooks I had organized into my inventory, I quietly laid out my plans for the future.
‘First, I’ll pass the Hunter License exam with flying colors, then immediately take the tutorial.’
The license acquisition exam is held once a month, timed with the entry period for new applicants to the Abyss tutorial.
A newly awakened hunter can only enter the Abyss during that time.
And that day is today.
Of course! I wouldn’t be foolish enough to re-enter the tutorial zone 11, where I had entered before the regression, just to look for the Hidden Stage of the Golden Tower again.
There couldn’t possibly be two spaces that granted me such insane powers and even allowed me to regress.
One important thing to note!
‘I will definitely enter tutorial zone 7.’
There are many tutorials in the Abyss. It seems designed to help weak humans adapt to the Abyss, with a total of 15 tutorials, each featuring different monsters and difficulty levels.
The tutorial zone I entered before the regression, zone 11—forest terrain—had a medium-low difficulty.
The zone I plan to enter this life, zone 7—desert zone—clearly boasts the highest difficulty level.
Zone 7 is a partially abandoned area. With a blazing sun, so hot that there’s no drinking water, and monsters being fewer and harder to catch compared to other zones, it’s a place that hunters tend to avoid.
But there’s one fact that no one in the world knows.
‘In a year and a half, a promising candidate will discover a massive Hidden Stage in zone 7.’
That seemingly deranged candidate, who seemed to revel in pain, would run around in the scorching sun of zone 7, vowing to catch all the monsters lurking beneath the desert, and he would discover the Hidden Stage.
Named “The Ruins Where the Brightest Sun Rests,” it is a site where the divine relic of a god-king level constellation was found.
‘And I will have it.’
Being a Hidden Stage, one can only enter it once, so I’ll need to prepare thoroughly, but I’m not too worried.
I can’t imagine I’d be weaker than that promising candidate who would have received plenty of support from the guild.
‘If need be, I can use Equivalent Exchange.’
If I pour money into enhancing my stats, it should be possible.
With that thought, I got up, took a shower, put on the tracksuit I bought at the department store, and left my house.
As the sun began to rise on this early morning, I visited the hospital to greet my younger sibling, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, before saying goodbye to the attending nurse and heading toward the Association.
***
The front of the Association was bustling!
As the Hunter License exam is held only once a month, the entrance was crowded with candidates, their families, reporters, YouTubers, and many others.
“Ugh… How am I supposed to get through there?”
Just looking at the entrance made me feel suffocated, halting my steps. Taking a deep breath, I decided to push through!
— “Ah! Who stepped on me?!”
— “Hey! You jerk! Don’t push! Stop pushing!”
— “Which bastard stepped on me! Do you want to die?!”
Amidst the curses echoing around me, I continued to walk, trying my best to find a less crowded area.
Yes, that was the plan. To enter unnoticed and without attracting anyone’s attention.
But luck was not on my side once again.
〚Playful and mischievous misfortune sprinkles dung on your path and prepares laughter!〛
As the message popped up, my foot suddenly slipped on an ice cream that someone had spilled, throwing my balance off.
Being a hunter with mythical stats, I tried to regain my balance quickly, but it was too late.
In an instant, I found myself half-fallen, caught between the rushing crowd, when someone appeared as if they had been waiting for me.
— “Ahhh!!! It’s Lee Ji-hyung!”
— “Oppa!!! I love you!”
— “Wooh! You’re so colorful, Lee Ji-hyung.”
— “Hey! Take the picture quickly!”
— “There he is, there he is! Lee Ji-hyung, come here!”
I was swept away by the tide of the crowd, powerless.
“Uh…!”
No matter how much of an awakened being I was with mythical physical stats, I couldn’t go against the flow of hundreds of people. I thought about using my strength, but I didn’t want to risk being accused of assault.
If I used my strength, it would definitely result in serious injury!
‘Damn it!’
I twisted my body and tried to escape, but my body was already swept away beyond my control.
In the end, my body, thrown off from the crowd, flew through the air and fell toward someone.
Thud!
With a light yet dull sound, my body hit someone and dropped to the ground.
— “Ugh!”
— “What the hell!”
— “Are you crazy?”
Along with the horrified voices of the people, misfortune smiled at me.
〚The playful and mischievous misfortune laughs heartily, holding its belly!〛
〚The dormant heavenly fortune half-opens its eyes at the noisy laughter but then closes them again.〛
〚The playful and mischievous misfortune prepares for another prank!〛
〚As the heavenly fortune tries to fall asleep again, it waves its hand dismissively to disrupt the misfortune!〛
〚An unpredictable fortune descends upon you!〛
— “Which bastard did this!”
As I tried to get up from where I was helplessly thrown, I heard a coarse curse from behind me—the person I hit with my body.
He pushed me back down as I tried to rise and jumped to his feet.
— “Are you crazy? No, I’m paying you guys to stop this kind of crap, and what are you doing right now?”
In front of me, there stood a handsome jerk, or rather a celebrity, yelling at the bulky bodyguards in a suit.
“Yeomma, this… Ji-hyung?”
Damn it, as soon as I caught sight of the handsome guy, a piece of information I had forgotten flickered through my mind.
He would later be known as Yeomma, an A-rank magician, infamous for his explosive temper and anger management issues, constantly causing scandals and referred to as “Yeombyeong” by the public. In the end, he abandoned his humanity and committed crimes, becoming a monster.
Despite being a famous idol and actor, he had remarkable talent and without hesitation became a hunter; he reached a position I could not even dare to look at as someone who was scraping by before regression.
— “Yeomma, my ass! Are you out of your mind? Did you think you could take something from me just by throwing your body like that? Seriously, it’s these damn fans that are the problem.”
His furious curses poured out, but I could only stare blankly at him.
Because a more shocking piece of information than him being Yeomma came to my mind.
Eventually, his anger reached its limit at my reaction. True to his fiery personality, he had apparently thrown patience to the dogs and swung his leg to kick me while I was down.
However, he couldn’t hit me as he intended.
〚An unknown fortune is at play!〛
Seeing the foot flying toward my face, my hand instinctively moved to rise, slipping through like water, and hit his only support—his other leg.
— “Uh…?”
With that impact, he stumbled uncontrollably. True to being a magician, he couldn’t even maintain his balance and fell toward me; his foot, which he had lifted to get up, hit me.
— “Ugh!”
With a bizarre scream, he collapsed and fainted.
‘What the hell?’
What is happening! I just wanted to take the test quickly and enter the tutorial to grab the hidden piece, but it’s all going to hell from the start.
〚The playful and mischievous misfortune bursts into laughter at the not-so-bad outcome!〛
〚The heavenly fortune falls back asleep, looking tired.〛
This is all that damn misfortune’s fault! It’s strange that it has a consciousness like a divine power, despite being a unique ability.
“Damn it.”
Thinking of the misfortune that was laughing at this situation, I grit my teeth, and my irritation rises.
“Damn it! You ruined everything!”
I tossed the fainted Ji-hyung toward the bodyguards who were looking at the situation in confusion and quickly got to my feet.
But it was already too late. Countless reporters, having grasped the situation, bombarded me with questions while shoving cameras in my face, and the fans, who considered him their deity and religion, hurled incomprehensible curses at me.
Above all, from a distance, I could see the guild staff members rushing over with fierce gazes, seemingly amused by the unfolding situation, coming towards me as their promising talent fainted because of me.
‘I’m done for, I’m done for.’
Truly, I have no luck. I sighed, pondering how I could resolve this situation and think quietly.
But worrying wouldn’t yield any answers. Just as I was surrounded by people, on the verge of going crazy.
Screech!!
Suddenly, a luxury car arrived right behind the crowd as if it had been waiting for this moment, and a person stepped out.
“Ah…!”
With my exclamation, the attention that had been focused on me shifted to her as if nothing had happened.
— “Is that… a woman?”
— “That rumor was true?”
— “Ugh! Our chaebol princess has everything, doesn’t she?”
— “Wow! Lee Ji-hyung and Seo Min-na this time, they’re insane, for real!”
Even next to celebrities who live off their looks, her beauty stands out. With a composed and restrained, yet elegant stride, and a gaze that seems indifferent to the world, she captures everyone’s attention.
In truth, when I first saw Lee Ji-hyung, the first thing that came to mind—I’m sorry to say—wasn’t information about him.
She was a fellow successful candidate from the same Hunter examination batch, but she’s a hundred times more famous than Lee Ji-hyung.
‘That’s the woman!’
It was the appearance of the one who would later be called the Thunder Emperor and become the second SS-rank Hunter in South Korea.
If there exists a word for perfection, it could be said to refer to Seo Min-na, who has it all.
Stunning beauty that could outshine many celebrities, immense talent that could make her the best in South Korea, and on top of that, she carries the title of granddaughter of the chairman of the leading company, Seo-hwa Group.
She possesses everything: wealth, talent, power, and authority.
‘She’s a person who has lived a life entirely opposite to mine.’
I cast a fleeting glance at her, only to realize that people’s attention had completely shifted away from me, and I hurriedly dashed into the association.
As I distanced myself from her, I clenched my fist tightly.
‘But this time will be different.’
I will become an SS-rank Hunter, defeat her, and proudly secure the top spot to showcase my abilities.
With that thought, I registered my personal details and entered the examination hall.
***
Bustling!
The inside of the examination hall, which I barely entered, was no different from the outside. Since the exam hadn’t started yet, the aspiring Hunters sitting at their assigned desks were chatting away.
— “Hey~ Are we doing this again this month? It’s not like money is just falling from the sky. Isn’t this your fifth attempt already?”
— “Haha! Look who’s talking! Isn’t it you who’s trying for the seventh time? At this rate, you might not pass even next year!”
The awkward pleasure of reuniting with acquaintances met during previous exams began.
— “Hello! Let’s make sure we all pass this time!”
— “Let’s do our best!”
In an effort to ease the tension, some were cheering each other on, creating a warm atmosphere.
— “Looks like we finally meet. Seo Min-na. Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Ji-hyung, a celebrity. Haha!”
“……”
I sat quietly out of Lee Ji-hyung’s line of sight, observing the situation in silence.
‘If that guy starts showing off again, it’ll be a hassle.’
I had already endured enough of the cruel whims of fate. It was a little disappointing that luck wasn’t on my side, but what can you do? You can’t always rely on good fortune.
‘When I catch that bastard who put this curse on me, I’ll make him suffer the same way I have.’
Just thinking about who on earth could possibly have such a grudge against me and put such a terrible curse on me makes my teeth grind.
At that moment, a fellow candidate sitting next to me offered a piece of chocolate.
— “I wish you good luck on your exam. Relax a bit!”
He probably mistook my frown for nervousness.
I nodded my head in gratitude as I accepted the chocolate, momentarily pushing aside thoughts of my bad luck.
Once I eased my expression, he seemed to find his voice and began trying to chat with me.
— “By the way, I see there are more candidates like us than I thought! How many do you think will pass?”
“Very few will pass, I’d say.”
Out of nearly 300 candidates, it was clear that less than 10% would succeed.
It was expected. While you could get through the written part with experience from multiple attempts, the practical skills were tough without being an Awakened one.
“More than 80% of them are likely to be unawakened. They won’t pass the practical test.”
Rather than hunting monsters in the Abyss or dungeons, these hopefuls are probably taking the test to become helpers, doing annoying tasks for actual Hunters.
Whether they become helpers or Hunters, a license is essential to enter the Abyss or dungeons.
Those who boast about taking the exam many times are probably among those types.
Since helpers can earn a bit more than doing manual labor or part-time jobs, they keep trying.
— “I see.”
“Looking at you, it seems like you’re awakened. Don’t be scared. If you aren’t, you can pass.”
— “Thank you!”
The main goal of the Hunter license exam is to see if you can kill monsters without fear.
Not long after our conversation ended, an examiner entered. He scowled at the noisy examination hall and immediately shouted at the candidates.
“Silence!”
With his magically imbued shout, silence fell over the area in an instant.
“We will now begin the written exam. Please take your seats. The exam duration is two hours with 100 questions. After the exam ends, lunch will be provided, and shortly after, we’ll proceed directly to the practical test. Once the practical test concludes, successful candidates will be announced immediately, and they will receive supply equipment provided by the association and enter the tutorial under my direction! Any questions?”
The neat schedule left everyone in silence without questions.
“Then let’s start the written exam.”
The written exam began, asking questions crucial for Hunter activities, and I completed all the questions perfectly in just 30 minutes and took a break.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
-> MAKE ACCOUNT AND GET [50] COINS FREE!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
-> Rate/Review us on NOVEL UPDATES. It Will help us a Lot!!
Read Our 8 New Additions – Click on the to Read!
- I Became a Plagiarizing Composer in Another World
- Isekai Online Game Developer
- I Became a Calamity-Level Villain in the Magical Girl Universe
- I Became the Incompetent Youngest Daughter of the Demon Realm
- [Harry Potter] Another Legacy Weasley
- I Fell into the Hardest Dungeon
- I Became a Mythical Awakener Through In-Game Purchases
- I Became the Administrator of the Hunter Gallery
Comment