Chapter 6: The Exam Ends

"...Is that for real?"

Shit, did I get played?

But looking at her reaction, it seemed clear she was crying because she was genuinely terrified.

Since my prank earlier went too far, I guess I should do at least this much.

"With lots of fruit..."

"I thought you liked sweet things."

"If I eat too many sweets, I gain weight."

Fortunately, Ha-young regained her senses quickly, but perhaps because she was so shocked, her strength had left her legs, and she was still trembling.

I let out a small sigh and, this time very gently and lightly, lifted her up just a little bit.

"Where do we need to go?"

"Eh, I can walk..."

"Saying that with those wobbling legs isn't very convincing, you know?"

Ha-young couldn't deny it, so she just laughed awkwardly, "Haha," and pointed the way. "It's over there."

'The stares... are annoying.'

I briefly considered picking a fight with the people staring at us from all around, but I shook my head and pushed the thought away.

The Association is a place always bustling with people here for Hunter-related business.

To them, an Association employee floating in the air carried by telekinesis must be quite a rare spectacle.

"C-Can't you put me down now?"

"I'll put you down."

Ha-young seemed to hate becoming a spectacle too. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she let out a "Phew" of relief.

If it were me, even if people stared, I’d just let myself be carried comfortably.

"It's here."

She must have asked to be put down because we had arrived.

Several examinees were waiting in front of a firmly closed door, fully equipped with their gear. It seemed to indicate that this was the Rank Test Room.

"Could you wait just a moment? Once the person currently testing comes out, I'll make sure you can go in immediately."

"...? No need to go that far."

"But you are an S-Class Hunter. We can offer that level of convenience. Please wait a moment."

Well, if they let me do it early, it's good for me.

I nodded, stood in front of the door, crossed my arms, and waited for a while. Until Ha-young returned to usher me into the test room.

"Damn it!"

At that moment, the door opened, and a man appeared looking very angry.

No, rather than angry, he looked half-frustrated with himself.

Did the test go poorly?

Well, that has nothing to do with me.

"I apologize, but we will have this person enter first! We ask for everyone's understanding!"

After waiting a bit, the staff member in charge ran over quickly and started asking for everyone's understanding.

But for those crushed under the pressure of rank promotion or new awakening evaluation, this wasn't good news.

Just as a protest was about to erupt, a loud boom echoed. The empty bench in the center of the hallway leading to the test room was crushed in half and embedded into the ground.

"Since I'm S-Class, can you let this slide?"

I was the one who smashed it.

I know you guys are urgent and having a hard time, but I have my own circumstances too.

Asking for understanding internally while saying that, all signs of protest in the hall vanished instantly. Thanks to that, I was able to enter the test room without interference.

"Hunter-nim, you really are amazing."

"What is?"

"When Hunters start protesting, there's no answer, but you silenced them in one shot."

"It's something I've done a lot, so..."

When I answered the fascinated Ha-young like that, she looked like a question mark popped up over her head.

But I didn't say anything more.

Ignoring Ha-young asking back, "Something you've done a lot?", I closed my eyes briefly for image training.

"You know the test rules, right? You just have to survive against the spawned monster for the designated time."

"Yes."

"Then, fighting!"

Even if I told her, she wouldn't believe it anyway.

Perhaps sensing I wouldn't explain, she didn't ask further and left the test room after leaving a word of encouragement.

Then, the voice announcement [ Activating Virtualization Device ] was heard. Upon hearing [ Starting the Exam ], I opened my eyes to find everything around me had changed.

'Is it a ruined factory type exam site?'

Due to the virtualization test device created with mana, the surrounding mana concentration rose to a level almost comparable to a high-tier A-Class Gate. I began to feel the atmosphere crushing down on me.

A real Awakened would have felt no different from a normal environment. But as a normal human without mana sensitivity, I couldn't help it.

'Was the survival time 20 minutes?'

However, this wasn't a test to drag out for long.

I had seen test videos of other S-Class Hunters registered with the Association before.

Ghost Steel Frame (Gwisin Cheolgol).

A demonic beast consisting of a head covered in something like ghostly rags, and the rest of its body made of steel frames resembling insect legs.

Contrary to its pathetic appearance, those four steel legs possessed tremendous power; a wrong hit could instantly kill even an A-Class Hunter.

And as strong as it was, its speed was impossible to follow unless you clashed with it the moment it charged.

Its head used practically infinite mana to cause all sorts of explosions, making it one of the trickiest monsters to catch.

You might think, 'Can't you just cut the steel legs to remove its mobility?' but that wasn't the case either.

They were called steel frames, but their durability was immense.

An S-Class Mage-type Hunter would have to focus their firepower on a single point of a stationary target just to barely snap one off.

...And that was what was known to the public.

'But not for me.'

Although it wasn't known, I had already cleared this guy solo once.

When was it?

Because of money, I think I smashed a Gate that wasn't even known to the Association before someone else snatched it. I think I met that chopstick bastard there.

"Phew."

I let out a small breath to lure the bastard toward me.

Officially, the dungeons where this guy appeared numbered three.

Unofficially, including the one I cleared, four times.

Naturally, no proper攻略 (strategy guide) was known for this guy, but I knew its strategy very well.

Of course, it's a method only I can use.

'First hit, definitely from behind...!'

Using telekinesis to push myself upwards, I watched the Ghost Steel Frame slam its legs down on where I was just standing.

Immediately, I deployed my telekinesis, grabbing the bastard tightly so it couldn't move, and started lifting it up.

"Kiek! Kieeeeeek!"

A sound like tearing eardrums began to echo from its head.

Proof that it was bound tightly so it couldn't move.

To show just how strongly I was manifesting my telekinesis, the swirling force caused all the surrounding terrain to crack, break, and weather away. At the same time, the flow of the atmosphere around me had changed.

But this wasn't enough yet.

As long as its legs were fine, it would still try to tear through my telekinesis with that explosive power.

So, I began to fold its legs with powerful telekinesis—just like folding chopsticks—so it couldn't use them at all.

"Hnnngh...!"

"Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!"

Cold sweat flowed down my temples and forehead.

Sweatdrops rolled down the bridge of my nose and cheeks, dripping onto my shoulders and chest.

It naturally made me think it would be easier to hold up a collapsing building.

"Kiaaaaaaaak!"

To break through my telekinesis, the bastard started releasing mana wildly from its head, causing explosions here and there.

The moment I felt vibrations from the floor of the test room—which absolutely should not shake—I clenched my teeth and applied instantaneous force.

Crunch.

I heard the sound of something snapping.

As the hideously bent legs of the bastard went limp, the burden on my telekinesis decreased immensely, giving me some breathing room.

"Kiek! Kieeeek!"

Then, because of the bastard screaming even more violently than before, it felt like my eardrums would burst.

But the real time battle started now.

Will I make it exhaust all the mana in its head before it regenerates its legs?

Or will it regenerate its legs, tear through my telekinesis, and critically injure me?

[ Time Remaining: 5 Minutes. ]

The message announcing the remaining time echoed in the hall.

But there was no way that kind of message would register in my ears. I reverse-utilized its trait of using the mana in its head for regeneration.

I started using its head as a blunt weapon, smashing it into every piece of terrain available.

'Die, die!'

In fact, if it were any other monster, whether biological or mechanical, the test would have ended long ago.

But this type of Ghost monster only died after exhausting all the mana it possessed.

Since the Ghost Steel Frame was also that type, I had to force it to use all its mana for regeneration.

"Kieeee..."

I didn't break my concentration and poured everything into killing it.

The moment it stopped screaming, only then could I stop manifesting my telekinesis.

[ The Demonic Beast, Ghost Steel Frame, has been defeated. The Exam will now end. ]

As the legs turned into smoke and disappeared, the rags that looked like they were filled with something fell to the floor like a deflated balloon.

The message announcing the end of the exam echoed inside the test room.

The moment I lifted the back of my hand to wipe off my cold sweat, the virtualization device stopped.

Soon, the familiar test room began to show its appearance again.

As if it had been strongly affected by my telekinesis...

It was damaged all over.

"Uh..."

The exam site was quiet.

Everyone probably expected me to survive the 20 minutes.

But did they not expect me to actually catch that Ghost Steel Frame?

[ H-Hunter-nim? ]

"Yes."

[ D-Did you just kill that crazy monster? ]

Ha-young's shocked voice echoed through the speakers into the test room.

I scratched the back of my head and answered in a shy tone without realizing it.

"Seems like it. I didn't know if I could do it within the time limit, but I guess it worked..."

[ Could you please come out for now? ]

"Yes."

But the door didn't open.

Originally, it should open automatically when approached, but seeing how crumpled it was, it seemed it had taken quite a hit from my telekinesis.

Can't be helped, I guess.

"Having to open the door myself too..."

Hands in my pockets, I forcibly tore the door open. Ha-young looked appalled.

But my gaze was directed beyond her.

Not only were the people waiting for the test wearing expressions of astonishment...

Kang Tae-woo and a woman with him were also looking at me with shocked faces.

Seeing their expressions, I could feel it instinctively.

It seems I might have caused a rather massive accident.