episode_0032

I was so dazzled that I closed my eyes for a moment and what appeared in front of me were colorful little children.

“wow! We got promoted, right? oh my god! He was promoted just 3 days after he was born… ! After all, our master is the best!”

“ha… This feeling of being full of power. As expected, you are my contractor. “He is a person worthy of becoming the next Water Spirit King.”

“Promotion… Shock… ｣

“What! Guys, what is this? good! Absolutely great! “I’m really happy that I’ve become stronger, and I’m also really happy about Hyunseong, who made me stronger—!!”

The words of the spirits, which I had only vaguely felt until now, can now be heard clearly. That too, very accurately.

By the way, in this case, all four people used the spirit stone to become stronger and promoted. It’s awesome, really… !

“Guys, are you okay? Do you feel like anything has changed since you got promoted?”

“what? Promotion? master! “Can you hear our voices now?”

｢Ho… From the moment I started to understand what we were saying, I thought he was not an ordinary human being, but he is still unusual. “Nature’s relatives shouldn’t be like this either.”

“Surprise. interest. Positive.”

“and! Hyunseong, you can hear me now! Ouch! Great! Now you can play with us more! i love it!”

The spirits that immediately respond to my words grab hold of my body one by one and spread out what they have to say.

“Hey, master. Where am I? I opened my eyes and found myself in a strange place. The cheeky female that was with the owner also disappeared.”

“Hmm. First of all, I want you to move to a place that fits the status of a contractor for the future Water Spirit King. “I don’t really feel the energy of the water here.”

“human. name. substitute. request.”

“Hey there, you know, Hyeonseong! Let’s go to a place where the wind blows better! It would be really fun to hang out there together. “Do you think so too?”

I was completely distracted as all the children, each with their own distinct personality, focused only on me and spoke to me.

Is this how it feels when you have beautiful nieces or nephews? The spirits that look like pretty and cute children make me feel good just by looking at them, but they are so distracting that it is frustrating.

After calming everyone down, we decided to take time to slowly get to know each other.

“Now, now. Guys. If you talk all at once, I won’t be able to hear you well. First, let’s talk calmly, one by one.”

“Me, me first! “I’d like to talk to the owner first!”

Starting with the red-haired spirit who showed the most enthusiasm, they took turns introducing themselves.

“I am Ifrit! I am a fire spirit born through a contract with my master! “Thank you for giving me birth, master!”

“This spirit is Undine. This is a spirit that will one day become the Spirit King of Water. Until then, please take good care of me, contractor.”

｢Gnoum. Command. refusal. name. substitute. hope.”

“I am Shuriel! I signed a contract with Hyunseong because I liked his scent! But why does Hyeonseong smell so good? I asked other winds, and they said there is no one with a smell like Hyeonseong! Especially among humans! Interesting! fun! Ahahahaha –!!”

These spirits have names that are as distinct as their appearance. The behavior is even more like that.

But wait a minute. name?

“Huh? Have you guys been okay with me calling you by a different name? You even managed to understand.”

Ifrit, the fire spirit, answered my question clearly.

“It is only when a spirit becomes a mid-level spirit that it has its own name. And even then, it is usually built by the contractor who signed a contract with them. We don’t know why, but when we were promoted to intermediate spirits, we were reborn with this name. “I’m not sure what that means, but I think it’s probably due to the master’s influence!”

Somehow strangely, I thought it was similar to the names of spirits in fantasy novels I had read. Perhaps the names of the fantasy spirits that I remembered in my subconscious were reflected in the children.

｢Gnoum. Satisfaction. Command. very unsatisfied! Hope for a replacement!”

A command strongly appeals his opinion by tapping my arm from the side… No, a gnome.

It is no longer possible to call a child a commanding officer when he expresses his dissatisfaction by puffing out his cheeks like this.

“Okay, gnome. From now on, I will call you a gnome without any confusion. ”

“Positive. Satisfaction. human. good.”

Only after I finally satisfied the gnome with my name, was I able to tell the kids about my situation.

From going back and forth between dimensions, to what I want to do as a hunter in the future through spirits, to a brief story about the world I live in…

I think of the spirit as something more like a partner than mine. Those thoughts became stronger the more I talked to these kids.

All the spirits who heard my request smiled and agreed, and I was able to do what I had to do again, giving them free time.

“Now… Now I have to come back to reality.”

There was so much going on in three days that I forgot what I needed to do. So I turned my phone’s Wi-Fi back on, which I had turned off.

Then, a notification sound is heard in the messenger.

Tiring!

[Sender: Hunter Association]

[Content: Hello, Hunter Park Hyunseong. The Hunter Association is sending you a text message to inform you that your rank renewal period is approaching expiration. To maintain your hunter qualifications or upgrade your rank, you must visit the Hunter Association Seoul – Seongbuk branch. If you violate this, your hunter qualifications may be suspended or you may be punished in accordance with relevant laws… ]

“Ah… I forgot.”

Come to think of it, I had forgotten that my hunter qualification renewal was approaching.

* * *

The next morning I woke up clean.

As I entered the cleanest and largest building in the area, unlike other places, there were people gathered armed with weapons.

Only people who look like hunters and employees of the Hunter Association are gathered here.

However, the fact that there are a little more people gathered than usual may have something to do with the reason I came today.

“Now, there will be a rank renewal test for E-class hunters. All you have to do is follow me!”

As soon as the employee finished speaking, most people stood up.

“The opportunity has finally come! Today I will definitely be promoted to D level… !”

“Phew… My condition isn’t very good. This time, I should just aim to maintain my rank.”

“Would you like to have a drink after this? Anyway, I’m off duty today.”

People gathered in small groups chatting lightly with each other. Since the society of magic awakeners and hunters is small, light greetings are exchanged.

This is a familiar face to most people. Perhaps because I was an E-level hunter for almost 10 years, most of the faces I know often.

But still, there is no one around me who welcomes me warmly.

No, on the contrary, most people are reluctant and look at me with suspicion.

“That person is him… ? A man who has been in Class E for 10 years.”

“In some ways, it’s amazing to be in E-class without even awakening magical power, but in other ways, it’s shameless. Either I can just live as an F-level hunter, or I can look for another job as an ordinary person.”

“Why don’t you become a model instead? I think my body is as good as any top hunter.”

“I’m old, so I keep doing that and tsk… No matter how much a hunter wants to do it, that’s true. It’s easy to die unexpectedly at the dungeon gate like that.”

“Mr. I need to get promoted soon. Aren’t you asking for 10 years of E-level energy from that guy for no reason? I feel bad… ”

It’s probably because of my well-known reputation.

Still, people who have been to the party a few times just pretend not to notice, but people who are planning to move up to D-level soon are starting to look at me with disdain.

‘I guess that bastard’s influence is still there… Tsk.’

After the guy who was bullying me became an A-class hunter, I thought the bullying among hunters became less.

This is probably due to the recent problem with the B-class hunter.

While I was smiling bitterly, the spirits next to me all got angry.

“How dare those people! “What are you saying to your master?”

“…It’s not a particularly good feeling to have my contractor ignored by someone. Even for those weak people.”

“dissatisfaction. Humans. “Hope to remove.”

“I hate them! Hyeonseong smells good, but they all smell like magical magic! As expected, I hate humans other than Hyeonseong! Wow!”

“It’s okay, guys. I’m used to this now.”

I muttered so quietly that no one around me could hear, only to the spirits who were angry with me.

It’s always been like that anyway.

There is no reason for people’s malice. Just because they are weaker than you, or because they are different from you. That’s enough for me to be treated like this even though I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s that kind of world.

The same applies to the employees of the association in front of me right now.

“Hunter 38, now… ha. This is Hyunseong Park. Is this again?”

“That’s it.”

“Ha… yes. Please follow me. We will guide you.”

I have been working hard as an E-class hunter for almost 10 years, without even awakening my magical powers. In fact, except for F-class hunters who have not awakened magic power, they are no different from the weakest hunters.

‘Is Nottang really not retiring? I don’t know why I’ve been doing life-threatening hunting for 10 years. ‘It’s definitely not something an ordinary person who can’t even awaken magical power would do, but he’s a hunter.’

‘No matter how successful you were in the past, aren’t you at the age where you need to come to your senses? It is a wiser choice to quickly establish yourself as an employee of the association like me.’

I still have a clear memory of the employee in front of me gossiping with other employees behind my back. Even though I was fighting to the death with the monster on the hologram, I did so calmly.

We don’t even know each other. However, there is knowledge, and it is a troublesome subject. To him, my life was nothing more or less than something to chew on. I know it well.

Upon arriving at the virtual reality testing center, a staff member provides brief guidance.

“What… As you may be familiar with, the monster Hunter will face in this test is Gremlin. It is a monster that appears at the D-class dungeon gate. If you catch them all, you can challenge for the next promotion, but if you don’t catch them, you have to hold out for more than 5 minutes. Please keep in mind that if you fail to do so, the association may object to your E-class hunter qualification. Did you know?”

“Yes, I understand. Let’s get started right away.”

“Ha… Yes, I understand. Then let’s get started right away.”

What kind of bravado is there if you’re going to spend 5 minutes looking ugly anyway?

The grumbling employee left the room, and the spirits that entered the room with me started to get angry again.

“That insignificant human! “Why are you talking about something that isn’t worth as much as the master’s claws!!”

“…I can’t stand it. Contractor. Are you going to just watch it like this? “I, Undine, cannot stand by and watch this insult any longer.”

“Humans excluding contractors. Oman. Disgusting. “Needs removal.”

｢Hyeonseong. I hate those people. I want to quickly blow it away with the wind. Is that okay? “Can’t we do that?”

“Even if you don’t, you can run wild from now on. Don’t pay attention.”

– Let’s start now. Number 38, Hunter Hyunseong Park, please nod your head if you agree.

The employee’s voice mixed with electronic sounds echoed throughout the room, and I nodded. And before I knew it, the scene in front of me changed to 10 gremlins in a cave staring at me.

Kiik! Kehehe!!

Similar to goblins, but with more vicious slit eyes. And big ears. Better armed status.

Normally, I would have been very nervous. Even if it were me, I wasn’t confident that I could win against 10 gremlins as easily as a zombie. These are opponents who can only last 5 minutes if they fight ugly, hit and run and roll with everything they have.

But I am different from before.

Kyahaaaagh!!!

Green monsters with a completely different force from goblins rush towards me. It is so powerful that you can’t feel it at all as a hologram made of magical power.

“Ifrit.”

I called softly to the newly named fire spirit.

“Good, leave it to me, master!” “I’ll burn that weak lump of magic right away!!”

And the sword in my hand is filled with flames that are much more intense and hotter than usual.

RURRR!!!

-Wh-what is that! The sword is on fire… !

-Have you awakened your magical powers? That Park Hyun-seong Hunter?!

I’ve never done anything like magical awakening. I can’t do it even if I want to.

Through the microphone, I hear the voices of employees unable to hide their embarrassment. But to me now, it’s something insignificant that I don’t even care about.

Hiss!

My sword cuts straight through the air, and a line of red flame is drawn between it.

Cough?

Hehehe!!!

Kyahaaa—!

Grrr!!

The gremlins who were staring at me blankly, not knowing that they had been cut down, burned up and disappeared. Without even leaving a trace.

-……

-……

The gremlin’s hologram disappeared without a trace, and the scene of the test site returned as if nothing had happened except for a lot of soot on the ground.

“Hey, I think the test is over.”

-…Uh, yes… yes

“If it’s okay, can I continue with the next promotion test?”

There, the moment I was promoted to D-class hunter for the first time in my life, I immediately requested a promotion test to become a C-class hunter.

The moment of getting a promotion that I had dreamed of was more calm than I expected, but looking at the dumbfounded face of the employee, I felt happier than I thought.