'Well, look at this.'
Suho had barely thought about skill doping when he was already spotting a user of it.
He was certain that the girl in front of him was using skill doping.
After all, every examinee had to surrender their belongings before entering and had changed into the official exam uniform.
'Besides, all exam-takers should be unregistered Level 1 Hunters. There's no way a Level 1 could emit a magical aura like that.'
Unless, of course, they were an exceptional case like Suho.
Moreover, unlike a driver's license, if a Hunter License is revoked even once, the applicant can never take the exam again. That made Suho even more certain.
Taking it further, he decided to check the surrounding people as well.
It wasn't difficult. He just needed to sense the flow of their magical energy.
Focusing his mind, Suho began to sense the magical auras emitted by the people around him.
Soon, he could feel not just the girl in front but several others with abnormal magical auras.
Then, a system notification appeared:
[ Your sensitivity to distinguishing magical power is far higher than that of others. ][ The system is now evaluating your talent. ][ Congratulations! You have acquired the skill: Magic Detection (B). ]
By simply focusing, he had gained a skill.
Well, it made sense.
If someone could distinguish ambient magical energy just by concentrating, that definitely counted as a talent.
And indeed, the magical energy that had only been perceptible through intuition now became far clearer thanks to the skill.
'As I thought, that girl is definitely using a skill.'
With the Magic Detection skill, Suho could now clearly differentiate the magical auras caused by item effects and skill effects.
Besides the girl in front, he also detected a few others nearby with abnormal auras, making him sigh inwardly.
'Even for the past, this is a total mess.'
But there was nothing Suho could do at the moment.
He was an examinee himself, and the exam was underway.
Also, it wasn't just one or two cheaters; he couldn't possibly report each one individually.
Of course, that didn't mean there was no way.
Suho looked at the glass observation tower on the second floor of the exam hall.
It was used to monitor examinees to prevent cheating, and a familiar face was watching him.
It was Jeong Cheolmin.
'Of course he came to watch.'
After all, Suho had deliberately drawn him here.
Grinning, Suho waved at Jeong Cheolmin.
Jeong Cheolmin quietly waved back.
At this rate, he'd come over to greet him later.
Finally, the written exam began.
'Good, he actually showed up.'
Jeong Cheolmin checked the list of participants for the written exam and confirmed that Suho was present.
After all, Suho was a rare and desirable talent, even if it was an absurd wish to hope for him.
He truly wanted Suho to pass this exam.
But what was this?
In the midst of it all, Suho had spotted him and even waved.
'The more I look at him, the more interesting he is.'
Since Suho had made the gesture, Jeong Cheolmin decided he might as well go over and offer support.
He also wanted to leave an impression so that he could somehow bring Suho into the Grand Hunter Association later.
When the written exam ended and examinees moved to the practical exam hall, Jeong Cheolmin quickly approached Suho.
"How did your exam go?"
"Yeah, it went fine, I think. But team leader, what brings you here?"
"I came to assist. The Association always has a shortage of personnel. So on days with big events like this, everyone comes to help regardless of department."
"I see. That must be tough."
"Haha, not at all. This isn't the first time I've faced something like this. By the way, your preparation time was less than a day, right? Yet you seem incredibly confident. I heard today's exam questions were really tough."
At that, Suho chuckled lightly.
"I thought they were manageable. By the way, team leader, can I ask you something?"
"Anything unrelated to the exam is fine."
"Not completely unrelated, but… I noticed that there's no skill testing here. Is there a reason for that?"
"Skill testing?"
"Yes. You did urine and blood tests, but I didn't see any separate skill testing."
At the mention of skill testing, Jeong Cheolmin raised a puzzled look.
Of course. At this time, the concept of skill testing didn't exist yet.
Still, he furrowed his brow and lowered his voice slightly, as if trying to figure out if Suho was serious.
"Why do you ask?"
"Think about it. If they confiscate belongings and have examinees change into official uniforms to prevent cheating with items, why wouldn't they try to prevent cheating using skills?"
Jeong Cheolmin's eyes widened at that.
He leaned even closer and whispered, "…You saw something?"
Suho smirked, and Jeong Cheolmin's expression stiffened further.
"Report them, and we'll take immediate action," Jeong Cheolmin said.
"Haha, I'm not completely certain myself… That's why I mentioned skill testing instead."
"I get the idea of what you mean by skill testing… but we can't implement a solution immediately. The concept of skill testing is unfamiliar, and to solve this, we'd need a team to discuss preventive measures. That can't happen right now. So, please don't do that and just report it if necessary."
Hmph.
Suho thought he had given enough of a hint, but he'd have to clarify further.
"Don't overcomplicate it. Do you really need to form a team just to discuss preventive measures?"
"Huh?"
"There's a skill called Magic Detection. You can use it to easily identify cheaters."
"Magic Detection?"
"Yes. Specifically, it measures the magical output coming from someone's body. As you've seen in the Gates, players emit different amounts of magic when they use skills or items, right? Here, all examinees are Level 1, so we just examine anyone emitting above-average magical energy."
"Ah!"
Jeong Cheolmin's eyes widened in shock.
Suho added casually, "Of course, I might emit a bit more magic. Unlike the others, I recently soloed a Gate…"
"Ah, yes, we know that already. Anyway, thank you. This is really unexpected advice. And since Magic Detection isn't that rare a skill, it won't take long to gather a team to implement it."
"So you'll apply it starting this exam?"
"Yes, starting from the practical test. By the way, considering your solo Gate conquest and the advice you've given, Suho, you can already be considered a professional Hunter."
"Haha, not at all."
"No, seriously. Internally, we even considered giving you a special recruitment spot, but since you registered for the exam the very next day… Haha, don't worry. Even if you fail this exam, I'll arrange a special recruitment process for you."
A special recruitment for the Hunter exam.
Suho smiled.
"No, I'd rather pass legitimately. Same goes for the Grand Hunter Association's public recruitment. It avoids controversy that way."
Jeong Cheolmin's eyes reflected a wave of admiration.
"As expected of you, Suho…"
"Well, I'll head to the practical test now."
"Yes, thank you. Oh, and Suho."
"Yes?"
"I personally hope you pass. And if possible, I'd love to work with you."
Suho returned her smile and headed toward the practical exam hall.
While Jeong Cheolmin hurried to gather the proctors based on Suho's hint, Suho entered the practical exam hall and glanced at the "Dive Capsules" placed throughout the area, reminiscing.
"Wow, that's an old version. Haven't seen it in ages."
The Dive Capsule was a virtual reality device created through collaboration between major Korean corporations. Once a person entered the capsule, their consciousness could be projected into a virtual world—a concept straight out of a "game fantasy novel."
"They used to say the world would flip upside down when VR capsules came out… but the world flipped even faster than that."
Yet virtual reality remained popular and was widely used as a training tool for players.
Of course, unawakened people also enjoyed VR games.
Then, the proctor who had introduced the exam process suddenly announced an emergency notice.
"Attention, examinees! Due to an issue with the Dive Capsules, the exam will be postponed by two hours. During this time, please use the waiting areas or training grounds within the exam hall for temporary rest!"
The sudden delay.
Suho immediately understood why.
The capsule issue was just an excuse.
He could see Jeong Cheolmin taking various measures based on Suho's hint.
'Looks like he's planning to use Magic Detection before the capsule entrance. That's exactly why Cheolmin is so competent.'
The practical exam would be delayed, but only by two hours.
Even in such a short time, arranging personnel to catch cheaters is proof of efficiency.
With some free time, Suho decided to casually observe the examinees.
With skill detection applied from this exam, cheaters would be caught en masse, and the pass rate would likely fall even lower than before.
'I think there are 1,200 applicants for this session.'
That was a lot.
With an average pass rate under 20%, Suho remembered hearing that this session's expected pass rate was under 10%.
The difficulty had even been slightly adjusted for next year.
'In other words, those who pass this exam are truly the top-tier talent.'
Hence, it was even more important to observe the examinees carefully.
If someone promising appeared, like Suho Guardian Kang Daehan, Suho would find a way to recruit them to the Grand Hunter Association—or more precisely, under Suho's command.
While scouting the training grounds, he noticed someone unexpected.
'Huh? That person… no, that guy?'
Approaching for a closer look, he confirmed it. Even the practice weapon made it obvious.
'Park Yong… that guy is part of this session?'
The man slouched against the wall, clutching his sword and dozing off.
His name was Park Yong.
Despite his sloppy appearance, in the future, he would become an infamous serial killer who targeted only Hunters—a massive criminal threat.