….
"Mister Yoo."
The voice cut through the quiet like a bell, snapping him out of his thoughts–
"We are ready for you."
"...it's about time I get this over with."
Jin-Ho stepped forward, the guard staying behind as the heavy door slid shut behind him.
….
Inside, the atmosphere shifted - quieter, colder.
A suited Association official was waiting just beyond the threshold, clutching a tablet against his chest.
"We apologize for the delay, Mister Yoo."
Jin-Ho waved it off with an easy shrug. "Chill out. I am not timing you."
That earned him a blink of surprise, followed by a hasty nod. "Th-thank you for understanding. Please place your hand on the mana sensor inside. The system will begin automatically."
He swiped a keycard, and the next door unlocked with a soft hydraulic hiss.
"Good luck." The staffer added, dipping into a small bow.
The chamber was perfectly round, walls lined with faintly glowing glyphs that pulsed in slow rhythm like a heartbeat.
At the center stood a pedestal of polished stone, humming with quiet power.
He approached it without hesitation.
Placing his hand atop the glowing plate, he felt it warm instantly beneath his palm - like sunlight caught in glass.
Then the air shifted.
Outside, the staffer's monitor flickered, then lit up like fireworks.
Readouts spiked off the charts, mana density graphs, neural response curves, everything screaming red. Raw mana bled from the air, drawn to him like iron to a magnet, spiraling around his still figure.
Jin-Ho stood silent and steady in the storm, hair lifting gently in the rising current.
His eyes never blinked.
….
[Evaluation Complete]
[Assigned Rank: B-Rank]
….
[Outside the Chamber]
The staffer was already waiting in the corridor, posture stiff, tablet clasped to his chest. He stepped forward the moment Jin-Ho appeared, offering a sleek black card between gloved fingers.
"Congratulations, Mr. Yoo!" The man said crisply. "Provisional certification - B-rank."
Jin-Ho took the card without ceremony, eyes flicking to it once. "That was fast."
"Yes, sir. The results came through almost immediately."
"Mm." A short sound, neither gratitude nor dismissal. Then, after a beat: "Good work."
The staffer blinked - he hadn't expected that
"Ah! Yes, of course."
"Schedule my orientation for tomorrow." Jin-Ho said, already turning slightly, as if the conversation was just a formality.
The staffer hesitated.
It wasn't a request most people made so fast, usually they spent days celebrating first.
"Tomorrow?" The man hesitated. "Normally, orientations are arranged at the end of the month. It's a two-day program covering Bureau regulations, dungeon conduct, benefits, guild options—"
"Then make it one day." Jin-Ho cut in, tone calm but unbothered. "I will go through everything. Just faster."
The staffer shifted awkwardly. "Sir, that's… highly irregular—"
Jin-Ho sighed faintly. "So is running into a dungeon full of monsters, but we still do it. Don't worry, I will manage."
There was no arrogance in his voice - just that quiet confidence that made the argument feel pointless.
"I will… speak to the Bureau head about it."
"Nice. Tell him I won't waste anyone's time."
The man blinked again, unsure if he had heard right. "O-Of course, Mr. Yoo."
Jin-Ho gave a half-nod and continued down the hall.
Outside, the car was already waiting.
Jin-Ho paused before stepping in, eyes drifting back to the tower of the Hunter Bureau. Its steel ribs clawed into the gray sky, the entire structure humming faintly with mana from the dungeon cores stored deep inside.
Somewhere in there, he imagined, Sung Jin-Woo was probably still sitting quietly in the evaluation bay - staring at that paper E-rank slip as though it meant something.
But it doesn't, Jin-Ho thought.
'He is not the one I should be worried about, right now.'
He stepped into the car, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
Because this world was going to change, and he wasn't just going to watch it unfold.
He was going to tear it wide open.
….
The Association's Hunter Orientation.
Usually, this lecture hall came alive only once a month - when they herded every newly awakened Hunter from that month into one collective session.
A quick mass briefing, the Association liked to call it.
You weren't even allowed to leave the country before finishing it, and until you did, your license was basically probationary.
You could hunt E-rank dungeons to get your feet wet, but anything higher was locked out of your access until the orientation was complete.
There were other rules too, temporary insurance waivers, travel restrictions, weapon carriage forms, but Jin-Ho only cared about one.
He couldn't leave the country.
And that was a problem.
He wasn't planning to stay here long - not because of rebellion.
Because as soon as he completed his registration as an official hunter, a new system notification materialized before him
◤-----------------------◥
「INVENTRY:」
[-> Pan'ku Locket:]
| Artifact Function: A magical puzzle Locket, which Locates opening/closing Portals, and allows You to Travel across Dimensions.
| Currently Available Locations: NONE
| To Be Opened:
[[Portal 002] Location: Los Angeles, California
- Site: Skid Row, Downtown LA
- Status: ACTIVE | Will be opened in: 5D, 23H, 45M
◣─────────────────◢
A subtle countdown timer blinked at the corner of the panel.
Coincident or not, his sister will be moving to America in four days so he has to get over these things…
For now, though, he smiled faintly, pushing the doors open.
Jin-Hee who was hanging out with her friends suddenly got chills, blissfully unaware of what her younger brother was plotting behind her back.
As the car rolled through the streets, Jin-Ho casually told the driver to stop by a salon.
A few minutes later, Jin-Ho stepped back into the car with a fresh haircut.
The driver's palms started to sweat.
The cut wasn't exactly giving off a friendly vibe, if anything, Jin-Ho now looked more like a street delinquent than a polite young master.
But what really made the driver uneasy was the new glint on Jin-Ho's left ear.
He had gotten it pierced.
That could only mean one thing - his young master was about to have a long, unpleasant meeting with his father.
At least he hadn't dyed his hair.
….
[Next Day]
The orientation room double doors parted.
Inside, rows of chairs fanned out like a lecture hall, half-filled with people in varying states of nerves, some jittering with excitement, others trying and failing to look aloof.
Jin-Ho felt it immediately: the shift, the subtle ripple as recognition passed through the room.
Yoo family… B-rank… The news had spread fast amongst the newbie Hunters.
And then came the hush.
It wasn't the respectful kind, it was the awkward, judgmental kind that crawled up Jin-Ho's spine as soon as he stepped inside.
Whispers spread like static.
"Wait, that's the Yoo family kid, right?"
"Yeah… but what the hell happened to him?"
"Is that even allowed? He looks like he came straight out of detention."
Jin-Ho ignored it, but the stares stuck like pins.
His hair, once neat and businesslike, was now uneven, rough-cut at the sides with longer bangs falling over his brow.
A single silver stud gleamed in his left ear, catching the light every time he turned his head.
Someone muttered under their breath. "Looks more like a gang member than a Hunter."
Another snorted. "Guess money doesn't buy class after all."
Jin-Ho just walked forward, expression flat.
He didn't need to say a word - the chill in his gaze alone was enough to make a few people look away.
As he was scanning the room for a perfect spot his gaze froze.
There. Near the back row.
A young man sitting by himself, slouched slightly, expression distant and almost bored, as though he'd wandered into the wrong room. Plain hoodie, worn shoes, messy hair.
He wasn't talking to anyone, and vise versa, no one was trying to talk to him either.
Sung Jin-Woo.
Currently E-rank. Eventually… something far beyond that.
The Monarch of Shadows, the man who would rewrite the balance of this world with a single raise of his hand.
And just two rows ahead of him, another figure - a young woman, posture perfectly straight, her eyes sharp even as she listened silently to the staff droning at the front. Short hair brushed the collar of her jacket.
Her aura was faint, but tightly coiled, like a blade sheathed in velvet.
Cha Hae-In.
Jin-Ho's steps faltered for half a heartbeat, eyes narrowing faintly in surprise.
Did she also awaken around this time…?
According to his memory, she had appeared much later - already rising up to become the 9th S-Rank Hunter in Korea and joining the Hunters Guild as its Vice-Guild Master.
But right now, she was still just newly awakened.
Ranked A.
Soo… a Re-Awaking? Or someone is trying to hide the fact of S - Rank awakener.
Neither of these cases bothered Jin-Ho.
He just didn't expect to see her here.
In the same hall.
The same day.
Only meters away from Sung Jin-Woo.
Destiny, Jin-Ho thought wryly, had a strange sense of humour.
….
As Jin-Ho stepped down the aisle, whispers followed him like a wake.
A few new Hunters straightened their backs, trying to catch his eye.
Two bold ones even tried to introduce themselves, but he walked right past without a flicker of hesitation.
His steps carried him straight to the last row.
Jin-Woo didn't even glance up at first, clearly accustomed to being invisible.
It was almost comical, how the man who would one day terrify monarchs could sit here like the quiet kid in the back of a math class.
"Hey there." Jin-Ho waved in front of his desk, carrying a disarmingly friendly attitude. "Remember me?"
The reactions were immediate.
Conversations cut off mid-word. Dozens of eyes snapped toward them.
Even Cha Hae-In's gaze flickered back for a second, due to the commotion.
Why him?
Everyone here knew the value of social hierarchy. For the past twenty minutes, the rookies had been politely circling one another, comparing ranks, exchanging numbers, and fishing for connections.
No one had bothered to glance at the quiet E-rank sitting by himself.
For them, he was a background character, at best.
Yet here was the B-rank heir of the Yoo family, speaking to him like an old acquaintance.
Jin-Woo blinked slowly, studying him. The hair, the piercing, but the same confidence - it all looked so different that for a second, he genuinely wondered if he was mistaken.
"…Yes." Jin-Woo finally said, voice low. "I remember."
"Cool." Jin-Ho grinned wider. "Thought you wouldn't. I look a bit different now."
Jin-Woo's brow twitched. "A bit?"
"Yeah… just a bit." Jin-Ho replied with mock innocence, though the smirk tugging at his lips said otherwise.
….
.
[To be continued…]
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