The Examination Tower’s judging room had an entire wall filled with monitors.
On those monitors, various places inside the Gate were shown in split screens of different sizes.
A man was staring into those screens.
The employee ID hanging from his neck read ‘Gong Cheol’, and as he watched the people on screen, he made notes and nodded to himself.
He was marking anyone who showed outstanding skill so he wouldn’t forget them.
“This person’s done for….”
He muttered as he switched off one of the monitor screens.
He had decided there was no further value in watching that candidate.
Unaware of this, the people still shown in the divided screens continued hunting monsters diligently.
On their wrists, ankles, and chests, all of them wore the same color and type of protective gear.
It was a device that picked up basic information about their mana and muscle strength.
While they hunted, the device assessed the wearer’s physical abilities and transmitted the data back to the judging room.
That information was now being printed out at a rapid pace from the printer.
Gong Cheol reached out and placed the printed sheets in front of him for a closer look.
“Hey, Gong Cheol. Are you keeping track properly?”
Just then, a man came in, opening the door.
Gong Cheol just turned his head back to see who it was.
The man was holding two cans of soda in one hand.
“Oh, Team Leader. What brings you here?”
“Came to take a look. I heard Woo Chaeyeon is here?”
With that, the man set the sodas down on the desk.
The employee ID on the man Gong Cheol called ‘Team Leader’ read ‘Kang Injae’.
Kang Injae scanned the monitor screens quickly with his eyes.
Just as he said, he was here to find Woo Chaeyeon and watch.
Gong Cheol popped open a can and pointed to the upper left corner of the monitors.
“Top left corner.”
“Ah, found her.”
Gong Cheol followed Kang Injae’s gaze to the top left.
In the largest split screen at the upper left of the monitors, Woo Chaeyeon was hunting monsters with ice magic.
The Red Manticores—B-rank monsters—were skewered to death by enormous ice spears falling in a relentless torrent.
The two men, watching that, forgot about judging and simply admired her in pure awe.
“Wow, did you see the casting speed just now?”
“I did. It’s insane, isn’t it? With magic that big, wouldn’t it take ages just to draw out the mana?”
“It would take a long time. There’s a reason they say wizards can’t solo.”
“She looks like she could solo just fine by herself, though.”
“Exactly. They always said that if her Meridian Disorder got cured, she’d become a genius who could turn the world upside down….”
“If her physical abilities come out good, she’ll be promoted straight to A-rank.”
Gong Cheol searched through the printouts for Woo Chaeyeon’s records as he spoke.
Kang Injae listened, still staring at the monitors, and let out a dry laugh.
Woo Chaeyeon had just shot down a ‘Red Wyvern’ with her ice magic—a monster flying swiftly in the air.
The Red Wyvern was tough to hunt even one-on-one, but groups of them soared through the sky and were classified as A-rank monsters.
“Seventeen years old, and the world is just so unfair.”
“Right? Now that her Meridian Disorder is cured, she’s even scarier than before.”
“Of course. Before, she at least had the penalty where the more she used her skills, the more her body froze up….”
But now, that’s gone.
Lost in admiration, he trailed off before finishing his thought.
Gong Cheol swallowed hard, watching her shoot down another wyvern in a flash.
Kang Injae noticed how loud the gulp was and chuckled at Gong Cheol’s startled reaction.
“Well, it’s a relief. Watching her suffer every time she used a skill was hard to see.”
“What, Team Leader, are you a Woo Chaeyeon fan too? Like, an uncle fan?”
“Fan? No way. I just felt bad, that’s all. It’s tough seeing a kid go through that.”
Gong Cheol nodded in agreement at Kang Injae’s words.
Then, something he’d been wondering about came to mind.
“But how did she get the Udamhwa? There’s nobody in our country who can collect that.”
“Right? There’s almost no information about this last expedition. Feels like the intel’s been deliberately controlled.”
“You don’t know either, Team Leader? You’re the Hunter Management Team 2 Leader!”
“…A team leader isn’t as amazing as you think.”
Seeing Gong Cheol’s disappointed look, Kang Injae made a face.
He must have had some big fantasy about being a team leader.
Thinking that, he shook his head.
For someone like Gong Cheol, a regular employee, the team leader might seem impressive, but the truth was, the work wasn’t all that different.
They were all just cogs making the Association run—some cogs were simply a bit bigger.
“So, you really don’t know anything?”
“…I’ve got a guy I know who’s close with the National Intelligence Service.”
Kang Injae caught Gong Cheol’s attention, who perked up.
Was he raising a subordinate or raising a kid?
“I asked him.”
“And?”
“He said he can’t tell me.”
“What?”
“He knows, but it’s classified. He can’t talk about it.”
“Ah.”
It wasn’t much different from not knowing, but Gong Cheol looked a bit less disappointed than before.
The look of pure letdown had softened a bit, as if to say, ‘That’s our Team Leader.’
Kang Injae sighed and looked back at the screen.
Near Woo Chaeyeon on the monitor, he spotted a man with a ponytail hunting Red Manticores.
“…Who’s that ponytail guy? Why is he with Woo Chaeyeon?”
As far as he knew, Woo Chaeyeon had always taken the Examination Tower test alone.
He remembered how, even when other Hunters tried to talk to her, she would ignore them without a word.
It was like running into a brick wall.
Even Association employees often tried to greet her just to look good, only to come back having been completely ignored.
A memo had even gone out warning people not to try greeting her, just to avoid such awkward incidents.
“Oh, just noticed him? That’s Baek Dowoon.”
“Baek Dowoon? That name sounds familiar… Oh. Baek Dohee’s brother, Baek Dowoon?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is he with Woo Chaeyeon?”
“How would I know? She was the one who talked to him first, actually.”
“Woo Chaeyeon did?”
Not even once had that ever happened.
Kang Injae, surprised, looked more closely at Baek Dowoon on the screen.
Baek Dowoon reached out with his left hand to grab the Red Manticore’s flaming mane so it couldn’t struggle.
Then, with his right index finger, he rapped the manticore on the head.
Each time, the skull broke open and blood gushed out.
“……”
“…What is that? How is that working?”
They were dumbfounded by the bizarre sight.
Monsters in the Examination Tower were virtual constructs, adjusted to the entrant’s level.
But even so, smashing a monster’s skull with just a finger—was that really possible?
Maybe they saw wrong.
Kang Injae rubbed his eyes.
After blinking a few times, he peered at the monitor again.
“……”
No luck on the second look.
On screen, Baek Dowoon was still hunting Red Manticores in exactly the same way.
There was one difference, though.
This time, he was grabbing the mane with his right hand and pounding the manticore’s snout with his left index finger.
Taking down a B-rank monster with just a finger…
“…Terrifying, really terrifying.”
“Huh? What is?”
“That means he’s been hiding his true skills all this time. Until guys like Jeon Myeonghwan started invading.”
“Now that you mention it….”
Gong Cheol nodded at Kang Injae’s words.
According to the reports, Baek Dowoon had pretended to be incompetent to anticipate interference from rival guilds.
He had hidden his real strength for two years, preparing for any enemy attacks.
Even those who refused to believe it couldn’t deny it after two Baek Uncheon Guild members who were there that day testified.
“He’s nuts.”
“Yeah, not sane. Which is why he’s friends with that crazy bastard Lee Taecheon.”
“You’re still not over that?”
“Not at all. Would you get over it? He just barged in, said if the ones who commissioned Cheonching Guild weren’t revealed, he’d wipe out all the A-rank guilds, that psycho.”
“His level of crazy is something else.”
“I guarantee, if Baek Dowoon is friends with a guy like that, he can’t be normal either.”
With that, Kang Injae pointed at Baek Dowoon on the monitor.
He was still doing something completely bonkers.
Alternately tapping the manticore’s head with his index and middle finger, it looked just like some idle mobile clicker game.
Gong Cheol shuddered and shook his head.
“Did they ever figure out who hired the Cheonching Guild?”
“No. It’s been narrowed down to two possibilities, but even that’s not certain.”
“Two?”
“‘Mine’ and ‘Aigaion’.”
Both guilds were well-known A-rank guilds in Korea.
The Mine Guild, in particular, was the biggest guild in the country.
But neither of them had the prestige of the Baek Uncheon Guild.
They were notorious for abusing their power, exploiting smaller subcontracted guilds, and were infamous for their ruthless reputation.
“Now that you mention it, of course it’d be them.”
“It’s only known they might have had contact with Cheonching Guild, so it could be someone else.”
“Then—”
“Hold on.”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that Ji Sangwook? Why’s he over there?”
“Ji Sangwook?”
Gong Cheol looked at the screen Kang Injae was pointing to.
He saw Baek Dowoon and Woo Chaeyeon hunting Red Wyverns and Red Manticores.
Not too far away, Ji Sangwook was watching them.
*****
[The World Tree Sprout reports feeling a sneaky gaze.]
[Warns Caretaker Baek Dowoon to be careful.]
After reading the warning message from Sprout, I glanced at Woo Chaeyeon.
“It’s been a while since I took the exam, so I’m a little nervous. Could you help me out?”
She’d said that before entering the Examination Tower, asking to form a party….
But now, any sign of anxiety was gone, and she was skillfully hunting wyverns and manticores with ice magic.
What a liar.
Well, after being bedridden for so long, she’s probably just shaking off the rust.
She’s so focused on hunting now, she won’t even notice me leaving.
“Actually, this works out.”
She won’t notice even if I slip away….
Time to deal with that sneaky gaze that’s been following me for a while.
I quietly moved away from Woo Chaeyeon.
[Sprout reports the sneaky gaze is following.]
Hm, as expected, Ji Sangwook is tailing nicely.
After walking briskly for about five minutes, I glanced around.
There was no sign of anyone.
In the distance, I could just see ice magic raining down on wyverns.
“Come out.”
“…You knew?”
Ji Sangwook walked slowly out from behind a boulder.
The face I once thought was fairly decent now just looked sneaky.
I raised my hand and pointed at the camera filming us.
He looked up at the camera I was indicating.
Unlike other Gates, the Examination Tower allowed these kinds of machines to be set up.
There was no mana pressure, so devices didn’t wear out or disappear.
The government and Association had formed a joint investigation team, but they’d never figured out why.
No one knew the reason, but since it worked, they used it.
“You know you’re on camera, right?”
“I know. Is there a problem?”
“What?”
“I’m just here to say hello. And, you know, stretch my legs a bit.”
“Did I ever agree to that?”
“Of course you did.”
Ji Sangwook shrugged with a sly grin.
What a disaster—he was just as crazy as the others.
But, compared to others, this sneaky gaze of his was almost cute.
At least he wouldn’t turn into some bug or mutant, even if he claimed to be a demon’s vassal.
“Fine, but…”
I pulled my smartphone from my pocket.
At the same time, I asked Sprout to send me a stone.
[World Tree Sprout happily sends a stone!]
“You started this.”
With that, I turned the smartphone screen toward him.
On screen was Sprout, its three leaves looking like a head and arms.
Ji Sangwook, pulling out a massive double-bladed axe, tilted his head at the sight of my phone.
Watching him, I recalled the time he got blasted into a dirt fountain.
Soaring up into the sky, the dirt falling back down like a dome….
Sprout always used all its strength when sending something.
Unable to hold back, Ji Sangwook shouted.
“What kind of joke—!”
WHAM!
With a sharp crack, the sound of something breaking drowned out Ji Sangwook’s voice.
Of course, it wasn’t the stone that burst out of my phone that broke.
It was Ji Sangwook’s head—more worthless than the stone itself.
Blood split into two rivers from his split forehead, running down from the bridge of his nose.
Almost feels like I’m a batting machine, huh?
“You bastard! Throwing rocks out of nowhere, that’s—ugh!”
WHACK! CRACK!
The stones Sprout sent for me weren’t just one or two.
They flew out from my smartphone, smacking him in the forehead and nose.
Now he tried to dodge with both eyes wide open, but a spinning stone suddenly dropped and struck him in the torso instead of the head.
I thought it was a fastball, but it turned out to be a perfect curveball.
“Wow, our Sprout could be a pro pitcher at this rate!”
Chapter 38 is missing?