Chapter 34 - What on earth is it?
[ What on Earth? ]
=== What on Earth? ===
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[Yoo Ga-on]
Strength: SS-
Agility: S-
Stamina: S
Mana: S+
Skills: Intangibility (A), Special Meal (SS), Good Job Today (S)
[Quest]
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"..."
After doing nothing but fucking all day long, I somehow ended up with these bizarre stats.
Aside from Intangibility, I didn't have a single combat skill to my name—
but if I linked arms with even one of the three girls walking beside me, my raw stats would shoot up, turning me into an absolute monster.
"Cho-yeon, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Hmm... I don't know. I don't really have any plans yet."
It was a relief to see how close they'd gotten. They had already dropped the formalities and started speaking casually to each other yesterday.
"For now, I think I'll decide after we get Ga-on registered today."
That's right.
We were currently on our way to the nearest Association branch to register me as an Awakened.
Originally, I was the only one who was going to register, but since the three of them had all reached S-class, we figured they might as well get re-evaluated while we were there.
"We're here."
Yoo Seo-rin spoke up, clinging to my side and holding my hand.
She held my hand with a completely straight face, no longer bothered by any embarrassment. With her by my side, we entered the building.
We headed up to the examination room on the second floor, took a number, and waited for our turn.
When our number was called, we opened the door to the examination room. A female staff member in a white lab coat welcomed us inside.
"Four of you? You're here for Awakened registration and re-evaluation, correct?"
"Yes."
The staff member pointed to a circular platform with an integrated artifact.
"Please step onto the platform one at a time. This artifact only measures your stats and ability rank. Please note that individual skills won't be displayed—"
At her words, Yoo Seo-rin stepped onto the platform first.
Flash!
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[Yoo Seo-rin]
Sub-zero Moonlight (S)
Strength: C+
Agility: SS
Stamina: A-
Mana: SS+
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"...H-Huh?!"
As Yoo Seo-rin's status window flashed onto the large screen, the staff member stared in sheer shock.
"S-Sub-zero Moonlight... S, S-class ability and stats... recorded!"
Her attitude instantly shifted to one of overwhelming deference as she announced the completion of the test.
"N-Next, please..."
Yoo Seo-rin stepped down with a blank expression, and Yoo Ra-eun stepped up next.
Flash!
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[Yoo Ra-eun]
Sword God (S)
Strength: SS-
Agility: SS
Stamina: S+
Mana: A-
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"...???"
This time, the staff member was completely speechless.
"R-Recording... complete. Next... please?"
Finally, Han Cho-yeon stepped onto the platform.
Flash!
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[Han Cho-yeon]
Garden of Life (S)
Strength: C-
Agility: SS
Stamina: A
Mana: SS+
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The staff member stared at Han Cho-yeon's status window, her mind completely blank.
"...Garden of Life... S-class... recorded..."
She nearly dropped her tablet, barely managing to keep her grip as she spoke.
"Where on earth did these people come from...? Next, please."
"Whew..."
Now it was my turn.
I slowly stepped onto the platform, letting my body relax completely.
The artifact emitted a faint glow.
Flash!
My status window popped up on the screen.
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[Yoo Ga-on]
Snail Husband (S)
Strength: E
Agility: E-
Stamina: E-
Mana: None
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"...Huh?"
A heavy silence instantly fell over the examination room.
The staff member stared blankly at the screen, then blinked and looked back at me to double-check.
"...S-Snail Husband? F-class...?"
...?
Her voice cracked slightly.
The artifact had evaluated Snail Husband as an F-class unique ability.
If it had registered as S-class like it originally did, I was planning to activate my second status window and retake the test...
But for some reason, the system seemed to be helping me hide my true abilities.
For someone like me who hated drawing attention, it was a welcome surprise, but...
"Y-Your stats are all E-class too... and your ability is F-class...?"
"..."
Her reaction was like someone looking at a straight-A student's report card only to suddenly see a failing grade. It was a little annoying, to say the least.
The staff member stared back and forth between the screen and me for a long moment before finally snapping out of it and regaining her professional composure.
"Ah! I-I'm so sorry!"
She quickly set the tablet down, stammering out an excuse.
"I was just so shocked because the three before you had S-class abilities and SS-class stats back-to-back! I didn't mean any disrespect! I'm truly sorry!"
"...Ah, it's fine."
Still, it felt awkward to stay annoyed at someone bowing a full ninety degrees to apologize.
Behind me, Yoo Ra-eun couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out giggling.
"Pfft...! Oppa, are you really F-class? 'Snail Husband'... What on earth is that? Does it mean you're just good at housework?"
She was teasing me, playing dumb when she already knew the truth. Han Cho-yeon chimed in right on cue.
"Hehehe. We'll bring home the bacon, so you can just be our stay-at-home husband, okay?"
Yoo Seo-rin maintained her blank expression, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
"Ga-on... is cute."
...Are these girls serious?
Grab!
"Eek?!"
"Ah!"
"...Ah."
High-pitched squeals rang out as I yanked all three of them close, wrapping my arms around their waists.
"Just wait until we get home."
""...Okay... ♡""
They were going to make the perfect targets for me to vent my frustration on.
Their smiles suggested they had planned this all along, but I didn't care.
"...?"
On the second floor of the Association branch, Kang Seo-yoon leaned against a wall in the shadows, her gaze turning toward the exit of the examination room.
A familiar face had caught her eye among the four people walking out.
"Hmm?"
Kang Seo-yoon's eyes narrowed.
The four of them walked through the door. Among them was the silver-haired woman, and the man clinging right next to her.
"...From that time."
The memory of the two of them standing arm-in-arm at the outskirts training ground a few days ago overlapped perfectly with the scene before her.
The woman's silver hair, and those sharp eyes that softened only when she looked at him.
And the man who had been right by her side.
Both of them were clearly S-class, which had piqued her interest. She had intended to look into them, but other matters had gotten in the way.
Pushing herself off the wall, she casually strolled toward the examination room they had just left.
Knock, knock.
"...Yes, come in."
She opened the door to find the female examiner sitting at her desk, looking completely dazed.
Kang Seo-yoon spoke in a calm voice.
"The group that was just tested—they just left, right?"
The staff member's eyes widened.
"...Y-Yes?"
"May I see their results?"
The staff member hesitated, flustered, but after recognizing Kang Seo-yoon's face, she quickly tapped on her tablet.
"...Hmm?"
The moment she took the tablet, Kang Seo-yoon's eyes narrowed.
The screen displayed their status windows alongside simple profile photos.
On it, she saw three women registered as S-class, and one man registered as F-class.
Kang Seo-yoon stared at the screen for a long moment before letting out a soft chuckle.
"...Ha."
It was a laugh of pure disbelief and intrigue.
"'Snail Husband,' an F-class unique ability... with E-class stats and zero mana?"
She handed the tablet back to the examiner, muttering under her breath.
What a load of absolute bullshit.
Kang Seo-yoon's eyes flashed with interest.
The sudden appearance of three new S-class hunters was shocking enough,
but the one who truly captured her attention was the man.
A man who clearly possessed power on par with an S-class.
Stepping out of the room, she watched the backs of the four as they disappeared down the end of the hallway.
"...What the hell is he?"
She decided then and there that she absolutely had to investigate him.
After leaving the Association, we quickly took care of our remaining business.
We stopped by the guild Yoo Seo-rin and Yoo Ra-eun belonged to, informing them that their ranks had officially risen to S-class after the re-evaluation.
The sudden news threw the guild into a frenzy, but the two of them calmly wrapped up their affairs and said their goodbyes to the guild master.
It was the end of an era—from the time Yoo Seo-rin had started working there back in high school, to when Yoo Ra-eun joined her later on.
This meeting felt like a final settlement for all those years.
In truth, their path forward was already clear.
Three S-class Hunters.
And me, operating alongside them as an unofficial S-class powerhouse.
With this level of power, staying tied down to a small-to-medium guild was incredibly inefficient.
They would have to split commissions according to guild regulations,
hand over a percentage of their rewards to the guild—
and worst of all, their freedom of movement would be restricted.
Since our combined strength already rivaled or surpassed any major guild, there was absolutely no reason to remain under someone else's banner.
In fact, staying would only hold them back.
And the one who understood this best was the guild master herself.
The guild master looked at the two of them calmly, showing no signs of bitterness or resentment.
She told them they had worked hard, endured a lot, and that she was grateful for everything they had done.
She didn't try to hold them back, nor did she show any lingering regret.
Instead, she gave them a warm, supportive push forward.
Perhaps because of that, the entire process was wrapped up quietly and cleanly, hardly feeling like a painful farewell at all.
On our way out of the guild building,
Yoo Seo-rin and Yoo Ra-eun looked back for a brief moment,
but they quickly turned around and kept walking, leaving it all behind.
Just like that, they cut ties with the guild for good.
We decided not to join another guild, choosing instead to operate as an independent party of four.
There was no need to be tied down to an organization, and with our current power, we could make a fortune just from Association commissions.
We would simply pick and choose commissions posted by the Association, moving only when we wanted to.
After leaving the guild in a somewhat anticlimactic fashion and finalizing our new Hunter profiles with the Association, we finally headed home.
Click.
"Everyone, on your stomachs."
"""...H-Huh?"""
You girls had a real blast teasing me about being F-class all day, didn't you?
"I hope you're ready."