The F-rank Hunter Who Turned Into a Golem Is Overpowered Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It had already been two hours since he entered the exam hall.

A clear voice echoed from the speaker on the podium.

[Please note. All examinees must immediately put down their writing instruments and place their hands under the desk. Afterward, follow the instructions of the invigilator….]

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. I will always remember the faces of those who will protect Korea and cheer for your future. That is all.”

After delivering this heartwarming message, the invigilator bowed deeply at 90 degrees and left.

Many examinees, moved by his words and actions, hesitated to get up from their seats.

On the other hand, some people were not getting up for different reasons.

‘What was the answer to question 17?’

Do-jae hurriedly pulled out one of the many books he had filled his bag with and flipped through it.

Then, he checked whether the year mentioned in the problem matched the answer.

‘Got it. I knew sticking with my first choice was the right move.’

After confirming a few more answers, Do-jae stood up, feeling relieved.

Though it had been a short period of study, he felt that all his hard work hadn’t been in vain.

‘The results are out tomorrow, so just one day. Let me rest for just one day.’

Instead of feeling joy, exhaustion washed over him now that the exam was over.

He had barely slept the previous night, waking up frequently to glance at his study materials, which added to his fatigue.

“Hey, how did your exam go?”

“I think I bombed it. It was crazy hard.”

“Me too. Damn, I should’ve studied more. What about you, Yeong-jin?”

“Do you think I’m like you guys? It was a piece of cake.”

“As expected from Yeong-jin.”

“We should’ve studied with Yeong-jin instead of going to the PC room.”

A noisy conversation broke out from somewhere.

‘Wait, those guys?’

Among the people exiting the exam hall, three particularly stood out—Shim Yeong-jin, Kim Jun-su, and Seong Min-ho.

The three were chatting non-stop as if they couldn’t be happier.

‘Seong Min-ho was a C-rank, and the other two were D-rank, right?’

Both Shim Yeong-jin and Kim Junsu’s ranks had risen.

And that too in a short amount of time.

They either had immense potential or had undergone a reawakening. There could also be something that boosted their abilities.

The most realistic possibility was that the mana scanning had been done incorrectly, similar to that case at the Seoul Hunter Department.

“Yeong-jin, do you think what your uncle said is really true?”

“What?”

“He said to hang in there for two years. He said if you manage to hold on for just two years, he’ll get you into the guild.”

“Hey, are you saying my uncle lied? You punk?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant….”

The friends were flustered by Shim Yeong-jin’s response.

Do-jae watched from afar and eventually couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Pfft.”

He had wondered why they were even taking the exam.

Especially Shim Yeong-jin, who had the solid backing of being the vice guild master’s nephew—why would he even bother with joining the Suppression Forces?

“Do you know why my uncle told me to join the Suppression Forces?”

“Because he doesn’t want you to laze around and wants you to do something, right?”

“You idiot, do you really think that’s the only reason?”

“Then what is it?”

“I know the reason, that’s why I suggested we take the officer’s exam together. Think about it—once we become officers, we’ll have subordinates. We’ll be commanding them and learning leadership skills. So, when my uncle puts us into the guild, we won’t just be new recruits but mid-level team leaders. Plus, with this experience, no one will have anything to say.”

“Wow… that’s amazing. You were thinking that far ahead, Yeong-jin.”

“Ha, you guys. How would you even survive without me?”

“Thanks, Yeong-jin.”

“Yeong-jin, let’s stick together for life!”

Do-jae couldn’t help but laugh again.

If they had seen Song Deok-hoon’s expression, they would have known that this was not the reason they were sent to the Suppression Forces.

‘In my opinion, that friend is the answer, not this guy.’

After a good laugh, Do-jae watched Shim Yeong-jin and his friends walk away.

And unfortunately, he had a bad thought.

‘I hope I’m not in the same unit as them.’

*****************

‘Ugh, why again….’

A wave of anxiety swept over him.

The second Suppression Forces Officer exam: the practical test.

In the designated waiting area, there they were again—Shim Yeong-jin and his friends!

‘Of all places, why are they in the same exam venue?’

There were eight practical test sites scattered across the country.

Do-jae was at the 1st test site, located in Cheolwon, Gangwon-do.

After setting off early in the morning and traveling all the way to the far end of Cheolwon, he found the trio sitting together.

‘Let’s stay out of sight as much as possible. I have a bad feeling about associating with them.’

Do-jae sat as far away from them as possible.

When you think about it, it’s not like they had done anything particularly wrong to Do-jae.

Maybe a little gossiping and passive condescension? In fact, compared to how others had treated him, they had actually shown some consideration.

In an extreme sense, whether willingly or not, they included him in the raid, and they even paid him a reasonable amount.

So why was Do-jae trying to distance himself from them?

Was it because they seemed childish?

Or because they seemed pathetic?

But these thoughts… weren’t these the same thoughts that others had about him?

Realizing this, Do-jae suddenly felt disgusted with himself.

‘Get a grip, Lee Do-jae. Your current self is built on luck. Always remember your past.’

He calmed himself down.

There’s nothing worse than acting like the very people you despise.

Do-jae stood up.

He was going to greet them first.

Tap, tap—

“Examinees, please take your seats. We will now begin explaining the second evaluation.”

*************

The second evaluation was a 2-night, 3-day survival test.

Given the nature of the Suppression Forces, it’s common for battles to last for extended periods rather than just brief engagements.

Thus, this second evaluation was introduced to determine if candidates could survive when dropped into the middle of nowhere.

“Huff, huff.”

A man was running through the dense forest and tall weeds that reached up to his thighs.

His pants were soaked with the juice of crushed grass as he made his way through the woods.

“And we’re supposed to do this for three days? This is insane.”

The man muttered quietly as he hid his body in a narrow cave that barely reached his waist.

Roughly six hours had passed since the test began.

He hadn’t had a single moment of rest, continuously running through the mountains.

Even though he was a physical-type hunter, it wasn’t an easy task.

Rustle-

“Damn…”

The man, gripping his sword with both hands, sprinted out of the cave like a bolt.

An ambush.

Ambushing, cowardly?

It’s not a fitting word for someone being hunted. If the positions were equal, maybe it would make sense.

Clang-!

Sparks flew intensely.

However, something was strange about where the man’s sword landed.

That’s because it wasn’t the opponent’s weapon it hit but their mouth.

To be more precise, the sword was lodged between the opponent’s front teeth.

“Heh, I think I’ve been pretty lenient, don’t you?”

Crunch-

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The man’s solid, sharp sword was being chewed up.

The precious sword he had spent a fortune on was being munched away bit by bit.

“Argh! My sword!”

“Well, you should’ve picked your target wisely. You didn’t study properly before coming, huh? During the second evaluation of the Subjugation Corps, you’re never supposed to mess with the examiners! Especially not with the ones from Cheolwon!”

The man started to regret his actions.

He had thought he was confident in his skills, but it was an arrogant assumption.

He was about to declare surrender to stop this dreadful game of tag.

“Khhh. I’m sorry. I surre… umph!”

Just as he was about to continue, a large hand suddenly covered his mouth.

“What? You want to surrender? Already? But we’re just getting to the fun part. Let’s keep playing. This time, you’ll be the one hiding. And I’ll only chase you while hopping on one leg. How about that? Go ahead, answer.”

The hand was removed.

The man tried to declare surrender again.

But unfortunately, this time as well, his voice couldn’t get past the word “sur…”

“No, no, I’m not surrendering… I sur… umph…”

“Tsk, no way. You can do it! Come on, go hide now, alright? If I can’t find you in an hour, you know what’ll happen.”

Whoosh.

Ssssh.

The man, now alone in the empty forest, despaired.

What would happen if he couldn’t be found within the hour?

***********

Slash-!

Do-jae’s sword severed the arm of a Worm Man.

The Worm Man, now with both arms cut off, collapsed onto the ground, bleeding profusely.

“Ugh… How could they gather such disgusting creatures?”

Thick, sticky green blood oozed out from the severed arm, soaking into the ground.

The thick fur covering the Worm Man’s body, which had been standing on end, now drooped lifelessly.

A bug-type monster, the Worm Man.

One of the top five most disgusting monsters, always ranking on the Forbes “Top 5 Most Hated Monsters” list.

‘For a C-rank, the Worm Man is an easy opponent. Maybe that’s why I’m only getting these few points.’

He glanced at the small electronic device they handed out before the evaluation.

It was a wearable device in the form of a necklace, and the screen displayed points in red LED.

[280]

The passing score was 1,000 points.

Now, after six hours, the rate at which he was gathering points wasn’t slow.

Except for the initial 150 points he had earned, he was now only encountering 5-point or 10-point monsters like the Worm Man.

To reach 1,000 points, he would have to kill dozens more of them.

‘This could be cutting it close.’

Do-jae felt the pressure of the points system.

It wasn’t that 1,000 points seemed like a lot.

Until now, he had been reading the flow of the evaluation and cautiously observing the situation, moving at a relatively slow pace.

If he went all out in hunting monsters?

He could gather 1,000 points in a day.

But 1,000 points wasn’t the limit.

It was possible to gather more than that, and the rankings were revealed at the end of the evaluation.

And the written test, the practical test, and the interview would all be tallied up to determine the final ranking.

In other words, unlike the written test and the interview, where the scores were fixed, the practical test allowed one to earn points based on skill.

‘Didn’t they say that the current 2nd Division Commander of the Subjugation Corps got the highest score?’

A super-elite who became division commander just three years after joining the Subjugation Corps.

Rumor had it that he scored 116,000 points in the 2nd practical evaluation.

An all-time record.

Although no one had ever come close to such a score since, people who managed to get scores in the tens of thousands appeared once every year or two.

‘Relying on small fry monsters like this will definitely hit a limit. To get a large number of points, I’ll need to find a boss-level monster or a hidden score item.’

There were many ways to earn points.

Monster hunting, survival, treasure discovery, and rescue.

But the sneaky examiners never disclosed this.

They only said it was a simple “2-day, 3-night survival test.”

Initially, there was a lot of noise about this, but over time, more information leaked out, and now everyone just took it as part of the test.

Thanks to this, the number of people passing the practical test each year was increasing, and the average score was also rising.

This meant Do-jae had to earn at least 10,000 points.

Only then could he write “Headquarters” as his top choice.

‘And even though I don’t want to try this… if I’m short on points, I’ll have to go after the examiners too.’

Step, step.

Do-jae started walking faster.

Now that he had made a decision, it was time to act immediately.

“Ahhhhh!”

At that moment, a scream echoed.

The voice was one he was quite familiar with.