Chapter 221: Episode 221

“Try running that crap by me one more time. Why exactly is Yusin not qualified?”

“I figured you would come about that matter.”

Collins broke eye contact and, looking weary, shuffled through his papers. He pulled one sheet out and unfolded it.

“Archmage… no, Tower Master Kim Yusin’s current record is, in our judgment, still insufficient for rank 2. If he adds just one more solid achievement and reapplies for promotion…”

“Right, right. You mean after the M10 evaluation and Korea’s World Guild evaluation are both over.”

The Association President smiled faintly.

When she was truly angry, she smiled.

“Did you really think I’d just sit back and take this kind of bullshit?”

“Hunter Hong Yul! That is an outrageous leap in logic!”

“Pipe down, you nobody.”

She shot a glare at one of the committee members, who flinched and looked away.

“I’m pissed as hell right now, so if you’re going to butt in, pick your moment. Before I kill every last one of you.”

She cowed the most powerful people in the world with her presence alone, then turned back to Collins.

“Let me ask you something, Chairman Collins. Among the Official rank 3s promoted to rank 2 over the past few years, is there a single bastard who has liberated an entire continent or has a comparable career?”

He remained silent.

“You could bring in a truckload of the newly promoted ones, and they still wouldn’t match the contribution he’s made to the world. Have you already forgotten that you all got to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to him? Sending the Africa Abandonment guy to oversee the Africa deployment was a miracle of bureaucratic genius.”

When she jabbed at their sorest spot, the committee members’ faces flushed bright red.

“Hunter Hong Yul! Any further rudeness and—”

“Yeah, since I’ve already crossed the line, I’ll keep going. Sure, if you only look at the numbers, you could say an overseas deployment is just one successful mission. But you assholes aren’t binary computers that only understand ones and zeros, are you? You really think I’m not going to lose it when you twist logic that hard just to discriminate against someone?”

A heavy silence fell.

The one feeling the most awkward was me.

I must have debated a hundred times whether I should step in, but no matter how I looked at it, this was not a situation for me to get involved in.

“…Heh.”

Chairman Collins ran a hand down his face.

“Very well. If Hunter Hong Yul insists so strongly, I will reconsider.”

“C-Chairman Collins!”

Several members shot to their feet in alarm, but Collins calmed them with a gesture and addressed the President.

“Hunter Kim Yusin’s list of achievements may be short, but in terms of quality, it is certainly top-tier. Given that we can expect even greater accomplishments from him in the future, there is room to consider promotion to rank 2.”

“Now you’re finally making some sense.”

“However, a single major achievement does not, by itself, prove his overall ability. The best way to demonstrate a hunter’s strength is, no matter what anyone says, the number of achievements. How many feats has he accumulated? How many times has he gone into dungeons and come back alive? If not that, there is a more straightforward method.”

Collins smiled faintly as he continued.

“He can spar in front of everyone against an active Official rank 2 hunter. If he performs well there, I will reconsider my evaluation.”

Murmurs rippled through the room.

This time, the Association President’s expression hardened.

Pitting a rank 3 who was just about to move up against an active Official rank 2?

It was an absurd proposal.

However—

“I’ll do it.”

’I’ve already fought Frost. This is nothing I can’t handle.’

“Thank you for the opportunity. If you are willing to give me a stage to prove my strength, of course I should take it.”

I smiled at them.

“I’m ready to go right now.”

* * *

Chairman Collins immediately moved to arrange a sparring match with an Official rank 2 hunter.

“Damn, you didn’t even hesitate. That’s my boy!” the Association President shouted, bursting out laughing.

“They’re offering me a chance. I can’t exactly say no.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

She sounded relieved, but then her expression grew more serious.

“Still, be careful. That sly old fox Collins would never suggest something like that for no reason. It could turn into a completely ridiculous matchup.”

“I’ll be fine. If the opponent is tough, that’s actually what I want.”

I rolled my shoulders lightly as I spoke.

“The real issue isn’t my Official rank 2 status; it’s the Magic Tower’s World Guild evaluation, right? The biggest preconception is that the candidate to lead a World Guild is some newbie who’s only just now challenging rank 2. This is my chance to change that perception. I’ll start by making such an impact that no one can argue about my strength.”

“Exactly! That’s the kind of fire you need!”

She laughed and pounded my back mercilessly.

This wasn’t a slap on the wrist; it was a destruction technique.

My turn came sooner than expected. An Alliance staffer came to inform us that I should head to the arena immediately.

’I talked big in front of the President, but now I’m getting nervous.’

I didn’t expect this to be easy.

As the President had said, my promotion was tangled up in all kinds of conflicting interests, and on top of that, the Alliance didn’t exactly have a favorable view of me. We had a bit of friction back in Tanzania.

On top of that, the Africa Abandonment faction that still lingered within the Alliance, and any demonkins who might be hiding here, would foam at the mouth at the sight of me.

There were plenty of people who wanted me to fail this evaluation. That was an undeniable fact.

—Even so, Tower Master, you have equipped the sixth-order. No matter who your opponent is, I believe it will be a fight you can handle.

’Thanks, Ea.’

We headed straight for the arena located on the Alliance grounds.

’Wow.’

As expected of the World Alliance.

Their hunter training facilities were insane.

The massive training ground, reminiscent of a colosseum, made the gym we used for duels at the Academy look like a community center for kids.

The stands already had a decent number of people seated.

’News really does travel fast.’

No matter the matchup, a duel between hunters was the best possible spectacle. And this was also the first real chance to properly evaluate the much-rumored first true mage and World Guild candidate.

For me, this was effectively my crucial Alliance debut.

There was absolutely no room for mistakes in front of these people.

Beyond the official rank 2 and World Guild issues, my first impression here would determine whether the Alliance would walk all over me for the rest of my career.

“The match will begin in twenty minutes.”

“Has my opponent been decided?”

“We are currently arranging the schedule among the rank 2 hunters present at headquarters. You will be able to confirm before the match begins.”

I scanned every corner of the arena where the fight would soon take place, then went with the President into the waiting room.

I was doing some light stretching when she stood up.

“Want a hand?”

“Pardon?”

She came up behind me and grabbed my shoulders. With her other arm, she took hold of my right arm, then pulled it back firmly.

My body let out a loud CRACK, and I yelped in shock.

“Argh! That hurts!”

“There you go again, whining. Does it really hurt?”

“…Huh?”

The sound had been loud, but strangely, there was no pain.

She immediately moved to my other arm and loosened it as well. Again, there was a dramatic cracking sound, but it didn’t hurt.

If anything, it felt refreshing, like my muscles had been released.

“Where did you learn massage techniques like this?”

“There’s nothing to learn. It’s just a simple trick.”

She spent about ten minutes loosening up my body. When I bounced lightly in place, I felt like I could fly. My whole body felt much lighter.

Now I focused on bringing my mana into peak condition and turned to the monitor in the waiting room.

It was showing the interior of the arena in real time, and in the short time I hadn’t been looking, the first floor of the stands had nearly filled up.

’Why are there so many people?’

There were a lot of eyes on me, and a lot of cameras. I had a strong feeling this would be either a spectacular success or a complete disaster.

Just then, a polite knock sounded, and the waiting room door opened.

“Hunter Kim Yusin, it is time for you to enter.”

“Go get ’em, Kim Yusin! Whoever it is, crush them!”

“I’ll be back.”

With the President’s encouragement at my back, I left the waiting room.

I walked down the corridor and pushed through the door, and a sea of people came into view.

Voices buzzed from every direction. Now and then, I could hear small bursts of cheering.

A man in a referee’s uniform, standing at the center of the arena, approached me. He was holding two suits.

“This will be under suit rules. Change into one of these.”

“Yes, sir.”

I did as instructed, taking off my personal suit and putting on one of the two he offered.

On the central screen above the arena, a gauge appeared, displaying the number 1,000. I had done this plenty of times at the Academy, so it didn’t feel unfamiliar.

“Who’s my opponent?”

The referee checked his watch.

“He should be arriving right about… now.”

No sooner had he spoken than the ground in front of me began to swirl as black liquid rose up in a vortex.

’…No way.’

The churning black liquid took on the shape of a person.

He wore a black cape that evoked the image of Count Dracula, and a masquerade mask covered his face.

’I hadn’t expected to meet this man here.’

“Long time no see, Archmage. Or should I say, Tower Master now?”

I lifted the corner of my mouth.

“Good to see you again, Nightwalker.”

The crowd erupted into wild cheers at Nightwalker’s appearance.

Anyone with even a passing interest in the hunter world knew his name: a heavyweight hunter from Hungary.

He and I had clashed in Tanzania over the extradition of Hakan, the “Africa Abandonment” advocate.

“Have you been holding a grudge over what happened last time?”

“That is already in the past.”

He took off his cape and slipped into the suit the referee handed him, then gave a thin, crooked smile.

“But I imagine I’ll enjoy watching you writhe in pain on the ground.”

’So he has been holding a massive grudge. Figures.’

Following the referee’s instructions, we shook hands and then backed away from each other. Back in Tanzania, Nightwalker had seemed like an insurmountable wall. I had neutralized him through political means, but the idea of him going all out had been frightening.

Compared to the me of that time, how much had I changed?

“Are these lunatics serious? They’re putting a monster like that up against a kid taking his rank 2 evaluation?”

“P-please calm down, hunter Hong Yul!”

“The evaluation isn’t decided by win or loss, so please—”

I could see the President on the bench, practically foaming at the mouth.

’Well, as expected, there was no way they were going to give me a reasonable opponent. This is just another mountain I have to climb.’

When our eyes met, I gave her an okay sign to show I was fine. She nodded back with a worried look.

“Both hunters, prepare.”

After finishing the rules explanation, the referee gave the ready signal. Nightwalker and I lowered our stances at the same time.

’You ready, Ea?’

—Yes, whenever you are.

I drew up my mana and smiled.

It was time to show the Alliance what I was really capable of.

“Begin!”

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