Chapter 49

Chapter 49. Oppa, This Is Really Great!

“A rank… evaluation again?”

“Indeed. Your present tier has surpassed D-rank for quite some time now.”

I was fully conscious of how rapidly and unprecedentedly my power had been expanding.

Even so, barely four to six weeks had passed since my previous evaluation.

Wouldn’t anyone view it as bizarre if I showed up for another official measurement after such a brief period?

Besides that, another question lingered in my mind.

“…Have my abilities genuinely advanced to such an extent?”

Though I recognized my own progress, I assumed undergoing a fresh ranking test was premature.

The feats I had displayed within the Garden of Dragon Swords were hardly due to sheer, overwhelming prowess on my part. Rather, an unusual set of circumstances had merely aligned in my favor.

“At moments you show flashes of brilliance, yet looking at you right now, you can be remarkably oblivious.”

Rokan clearly held a contrasting perspective.

“You still perceive yourself as a run-of-the-mill hunter. Do you honestly believe the accomplishments you have piled up correspond to someone of D-rank caliber?”

“…”

In all truth, I couldn’t claim they did.

Even the draconic energy I had previously channeled through the Dragon Bone Sword vastly exceeded the realm of any typical D-rank combatant.

Yet, I had never truly considered that strength to be inherently mine.

Could a power laden with grave personal hazards upon every activation rightfully be deemed my own?

Perhaps that apprehension was precisely why I kept undervaluing my achievements.

Strip away those external factors, and a voice inside me wondered whether my actual feats were genuinely impressive at all.

Yet at this moment, Rokan himself stood before me, offering his personal endorsement of what I had attained.

His words made me realize how hollow my worries truly were.

If someone of Rokan’s stature was ready to state as much, it was safe to conclude that my advancement was substantial, even after filtering out every stroke of luck.

“In that case, I will take the test. Since the topic has been raised, I’ll head over for the reassessment right away.”

“A wise decision. Seeing that we are on the matter, allow me to transport you close to the testing facility.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Rokan cast Teleport, dropping me near the complex before vanishing into thin air.

The transition occurred so rapidly that it left my mind spinning, but a pressing task immediately commanded my attention.

‘I must let Sia know.’

I shot her a text mentioning my impending rank reassessment, and barely sixty seconds passed before my phone chimed with an incoming call.

[Oppa, you’re heading in this very moment?]

Her tone carried an equal mixture of astonishment and deep pride.

“That’s right. Since we’ve already brought it up, there’s no point in delaying.”

[Hmph. If only I could’ve tagged along.]

Now that I reflected on it, Sia had stood right beside me during the last appraisal.

She undoubtedly wished to celebrate the moment of receiving an updated grade together, so her lingering gloom made complete sense.

“Well, then… provided the staff permits filming, I’ll record the session and send the clip your way.”

I offered that alternative to soothe her frustration, hoping a recorded video would suffice.

[If they permit a real-time broadcast, start a video call! Promise me you will!]

Clearly upset at missing out on being there personally, Sia placed immense weight on her command.

“Understood. I will.”

[Give it your best, Oppa! I know an amazing outcome is waiting for you!]

Bolstered by Sia’s energetic encouragement, I stepped through the doors of the assessment center and completed the intake forms.

When I handed the papers across the counter, the administrative clerk glanced over the sheets before looking up at me with an inquisitive frown.

“Mr. Yoon Minjun, your prior ranking review took place quite recently, did it not?”

“That is correct.”

“Only six weeks ago… Well now.”

Admittedly, such brief intervals were far from routine.

I understood full well why it looked peculiar.

All the same, having her display her skepticism so openly in my face felt somewhat dismissive.

Stacking the documents neatly, the employee added, “Under official guidelines, because three full months have not elapsed since your last testing, an administrative processing fee must be charged.”

The rule was completely unfamiliar to me, though considering how the Hunter Association operates, the policy made practical sense.

“What is the charge?”

“Two hundred and fifty thousand won.”

It was certainly within my means to settle, yet the figure proved steeper than I had anticipated.

“That being said, should the testing verify an actual upgrade in your assigned rank, this sum is refunded in full. Mind you, such occurrences remain rather exceptional.”

“Understood.”

That simply meant I had to secure the upgrade and claim my money back.

After handling the transaction, I made my way toward the designated appraisal chamber.

The atmosphere within carried an unmistakable sense of déjà vu.

Having been tested so recently, the memory of gripping the practice wooden blade and facing the target dummy remained sharp in my mind.

As luck would have it, I had been assigned the very same chamber as before, although an unfamiliar proctor stood inside.

“Mr. Yoon Minjun?”

“Yes, present.”

The evaluator stepped inside, browsed through my file, and observed, “I notice barely a month and change has passed since your previous evaluation.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Much like the clerk upfront, curiosity colored her expression at the sight of someone seeking re-evaluation so rapidly.

Thankfully, she refrained from further remarks. After verifying the documentation, she passed over the rank-measurement ring while speaking in a strictly professional tone.

“I presume you are acquainted with the testing routine, though should you require a walkthrough, feel free to ask.”

“I’m fully aware. However, if permissible… could I possibly capture video footage of the trial?”

“Are you a content creator?”

Her inquiry was deadpan, giving the impression that similar inquiries cropped up far more frequently than one might think.

“Not at all. It’s simply… my partner wishes to watch it.”

“Filming is acceptable, though live broadcasting remains forbidden.”

“I understand.”

Once the recording apparatus was securely positioned, I crossed into the testing square.

“I will signal you when the trial commences.”

Channeling my mana into the measurement band, I lunged forward the instant the prompt sounded, battering the dummy with repeated strikes.

What had my form looked like during the previous examination?

While the finer points eluded my memory, I had an enduring impression of having moved far more sluggishly back then.

My current footwork was immensely sharper, and the reverberation echoing down the wooden shaft felt infinitely heavier than before.

A sharper recoil directly translated to a vastly superior kinetic force delivered through the strike.

Naturally, wielding a crude wooden implement instead of the Dragon Bone Sword meant I couldn’t unleash my full destructive capabilities.

All the same, with each crashing blow, an unmistakable truth resonated through me.

A vastly superior realm of strength was surging within my flesh compared to the past.

The faint shroud of gray energy wavering from the tip of the wooden edge at this exact second served as undeniable evidence.

Every time the practice weapon hammered the target, that gray mist traced the arc of my blade.

Recalling the sensations imprinted upon me deep within the tomb of Minos, I struck forward with the fierce intent to shatter the target, a dummy said to be nearly indestructible.

Channeling everything I had, I attempted to focus an unyielding intent into the edge as if invoking Dragon Tongue, even if replicating that exact phenomenon proved beyond my reach.

I swung as if captivated in a trance, so completely immersed that the sweat drenching my entire frame went wholly unnoticed.

Eventually, the overhead speaker crackled to life.

—The recording phase has ended. Please step out and await your metrics.

Having poured my utter limit into that brief window, every muscle throbbed and my breath came in ragged gasps, yet a vibrant thrill simultaneously blossomed inside my chest.

I drained a bottle of water resting on a nearby side table and stood patiently, waiting for the calculations.

Moments later, the tester inspected her display, uttered, “…How odd,” and began tapping rapidly across the keyboard.

“Has an issue arisen?”

“No, wait… just give me a moment. The resulting figures seem irregular.”

Muttering, “This hardly makes sense,” she cocked her head in disbelief while continuing to input commands.

Only after verifying that the computational readouts were completely valid did she pivot the monitor into view.

[Yoon Minjun / B / Assessment

Strength: 47 (+3)

Stamina: 41 (+3)

Agility: 44 (+3)

Mana: 48 (+3)

Average: 45 (+3)

Special Skill: [EX] ??? (+3)

Final Average: 48]

“…!”

The moment the figures registered, my breath caught in my throat so violently that I couldn’t even manage a shout of astonishment.

A solid B-rank, and firmly anchored at the upper boundary of the B tier at that.

A mere six weeks prior, I had been an utterly unremarkable, dime-a-dozen D-rank hunter lost in the crowd.

Now, I was already standing tall within the B-rank classification.

Yet that wasn’t the sole revelation on screen.

An enigmatic trait newly recognized under the Special Skill ledger immediately seized my attention.

[??? (EX)

Skill Description: ???]

An EX-tier capability bearing neither a designation nor a profile summary.

Up until this moment, that listing had only ever surfaced upon my personal status display. The association’s appraisal hardware had never picked it up even once.

Whenever I had attempted to bring it up with other hunters in the past, they had dismissed me as delusional, leading me to virtually dismiss the anomaly from my mind.

Yet today, not only had the apparatus identified its presence, it had even tacked on a (+3) modifier beside it.

Its true purpose still remained an absolute riddle to me.

Was it only starting to unleash its dormant significance now?

“Here is your physical assessment ledger. Presenting this at the registration desk will ensure an immediate reimbursement of your testing fee.”

While my thoughts ran rampant, the proctor passed the printed analysis into my hands.

Though her tone remained strictly composed, the visible tremor in her gaze revealed that she was inwardly reeling just as heavily.

“Much obliged.”

Grabbing the document, I headed back toward the administrative worker who had processed my intake.

The woman displayed identical shock the moment her eyes swept across the grade.

Regardless, once the procedural steps were concluded, I wasted no time dialing Sia.

As if she had been pacing nervously waiting for the verdict, she picked up before the dial tone could even finish its first chime.

[Oppa! What’s the verdict? Did things turn out well?]

Her voice practically vibrated with eager anticipation.

“Yeah. The results surpassed what I anticipated.”

[What rank did they assign you?]

Pure excitement and eagerness bled through the receiver.

“They determined I’m a B-rank.”

[No way, seriously?!]

Her triumphant shriek nearly blasted out my ear.

I proceeded to read off the granular breakdown of my attributes, including the mysterious EX-tier trait that had finally registered after going unnoticed in every previous evaluation.

“What do you suppose that ability could be…?”

[Right. You brought that up years ago as well, remember? You mentioned possessing a bizarre trait like that even though nobody took you seriously.]

Sia paused briefly, pondering the matter.

[Couldn’t it be tied to dragon energy?]

“Dragon energy?”

[Exactly. Considering all the recent events, wouldn’t that be the most logical explanation? If the measurement tools are only detecting it right now, it likely ties back to the moment you invoked Dragon Tongue inside that dungeon.]

Sia reasoned that channeling Dragon Tongue had unlocked an advanced threshold within me, akin to clearing a blocked meridian.

Her deduction struck me as remarkably sound.

[We should consult Grandfather to uncover the specifics… but regardless, this is truly fantastic!]

“Indeed. At this pace, reaching our objective might happen far sooner than we dared to imagine.”

I reminded myself not to lose my head in overconfidence just yet.

[Perhaps so. Ah, Oppa, something urgent just came up on my end, so I must hang up for now. Enjoy the rest of your day!]

Uncharacteristically, Sia cut the conversation short, citing an unexpected matter, and disconnected.

‘…What could that be about?’

Ever since we crossed paths again, Sia had virtually never hung up on me first.

Reflecting carefully, a tiny handful of instances had occurred.

Even so, this marked the very first occasion where she severed a conversation before we had even spoken for ten minutes.

Did this correlate with whatever appointment Rokan had hinted at for the afternoon?

I had no way of confirming, but perhaps she was merely having some relaxed downtime with her kin.

Or maybe some other obligation demanded her presence.

Though a faint itch of curiosity lingered, I chose not to brood over it.

The testing had concluded with immense success, so heading back to rest was the best course of action.

Normally, a triumph like this called for sharing a celebratory toast with Sia, making her sudden absence a bit of a disappointment.

*

Sia’s lair situated on Jeju Island was bustling with an extraordinary crowd.

A sweeping assortment of individuals had assembled inside, encompassing everyday citizens, prominent icons, heirs to vast conglomerates, and high-ranking statesmen.

Their origins and stations in life bore no commonality whatsoever, leaving virtually zero visible overlap among them.

Why, then, had such an eclectic gathering of people congregated within the confines of her sanctuary?

Though nothing linked them on the surface, beneath the veneer lay an absolute, unifying reality.

Each and every figure standing there was a dragon cloaked in human flesh.