Chapter 179: B-Rank Promotion Test (3)

The Hunters’ Autonomous Union’s B-rank promotion test.

As a result of spending each day immersed solely in real combat swordsmanship training, a week’s time had flown by in the blink of an eye.

Since it was a test I had to prepare for with considerable effort, I immersed myself in training for the entire week, not even accepting invitations from others to meet.

It hurt my heart having to refuse contact from Hye-eun or Cha Yuri during that process, but I figured they’d probably understand once I explained the situation later.

Besides, neither of them probably thought I’d always have plenty of time.

The reason I didn’t reveal in advance that I was taking the promotion test was because, since I was going to become a B-rank anyway, I wanted to surprise everyone.

After all, the joy of good news tends to grow even larger when received in an unexpected situation.

It’s only been about three or four months since my Awakened ability manifested and I started acting as a Hunter, yet here I am already standing on the threshold of becoming a B-rank Hunter.

Since my Awakened ability manifested much later than others, I started my Hunter life late as well, but from an objective perspective, it was clearly a considerably fast growth.

In the first place, assuming one graduated from Hunter training high school and started acting right away, a B-rank Hunter would be the typical rank around my current age. Cases like Hye-eun or Min-ah are just unusual exceptions.

Probably, the moment I tell them, everyone will be surprised. Not just Cha Yuri or Sihee, but I’d be able to surprise Hye-eun or Eunyoung Noona too.

Keeping it a secret until I deliver the good news was also a small joy for me.

Besides that, there was also the caution of worrying about tempting fate by getting ahead of myself.

Naturally, if I were to say I’d rise to B-rank and then fail the promotion due to an unavoidable accident, it would be a disgrace in many ways.

Excessive expectations tend to return as a burden, so I didn’t deliberately reveal it to the other women, except for Han Min-ah, who had agreed to write a recommendation letter.

The preparation process for the B-rank promotion test consisted mostly of dungeon expeditions using only swordsmanship.

It wouldn’t have been bad to use points to raise my own swordsmanship level. Especially since last time, while resolving Han Min-ah’s heat cycle, I gathered points four times in a single night.

Currently, the total points gathered through the Hunter libido management system is 955.

It was enough to raise my current level 6 swordsmanship by about one more level and still have quite a bit of points left over.

For reference, after training swordsmanship for a few days and looking into the skills usable with level 6 swordsmanship, I was able to grasp that the level of my current Awakened ability is somewhere between B-rank and A-rank.

This is just talking about when limited solely to swordsmanship; if other Awakened abilities were utilized additionally, naturally, performance beyond that would be possible, but.

Especially magic-type skills or recovery skills used to operate on their own, providing help to my physical activities even if I didn’t deliberately focus on them.

The mana constantly flowing through my body helped amplify its power when swinging my sword or moving my feet, and my body, which automatically recovered even when tired, soon led to an unyielding spirit.

Excluding that kind of bodily flow which I cannot control, I decided I would definitely pass this promotion test with swordsmanship alone.

And if possible, while keeping my current level 6 swordsmanship as is.

To desire the next step while being unable to properly utilize even the strength I already possess was arrogance and greed.

In the first place, since it was the skill I had learned for the longest time, I always had the thought in the back of my mind that I must handle this one properly.

Let’s save up points just a little more. Something to use them for will surely arise someday.

If things get really tight, I could invest in other skills or items, not swordsmanship.

While thinking that, after entering the Guild Union and moving towards the scheduled test site, I could encounter a woman with a familiar back in the Guild Union hallway.

Among the Mage Hunters active in this vicinity, there was only one Hunter with a navy blue cloak and short red hair.

Since there was still some leeway until the test started, I raised my hand and offered her a greeting.

“Cha Yuri-ssi!”

Hearing my voice, Cha Yuri’s shoulder slowly turned towards the back.

“Sungchul?”

She too seemed not to have expected to meet me, tilting her head as she asked.

“It’s been a while, Cha Yuri-ssi. Have you been well?”

“…What a coincidence. Are you heading to work now?”

“Something like that. Is it your day to go to work at the Union today too, Yuri-ssi?”

“…I’m a little different.”

“Huh?”

“They said they needed help from the Union side, so I just came to lend a hand for a bit.”

Indeed, if you’re an A-rank Hunter or so, calls asking for help for various reasons would increase.

It’s just that Hunter Guild branches are so concentrated around Gangdong District; actually, A-rank Hunters themselves belonged to the highly skilled personnel.

It would probably be safe to say that the Hunters of A-rank or higher active in the Gangdong District Guild are virtually all the Hunters of A-rank or higher in all of Seoul.

Thanks to the well-developed warp gates in Gangdong District, moving within Seoul doesn’t even take 30 minutes if you set your mind to it. There are also benefits for Hunters of A-rank or higher, like a discount on gate usage fees.

In a way, it was a natural phenomenon for Seoul’s Hunter Guild branches to gather in Gangdong District.

“That must be tough.”

“It’s not particularly tough… By the way, are you busy lately?”

“I am busy, yes. However, once today passes, I’ll have time again.”

“…Perhaps, I didn’t annoy you last time, did I?”

At Cha Yuri’s sudden grab of my clothes’ hem, asking with apparent anxiety, a question naturally arose in my head.

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“If perhaps I’ve become a bother because I contacted you too often, I’ll apologize, so…”

“I’ve never thought you were a bother. Besides, I don’t even think you contact me that often.”

No matter how often one contacts, it’s not as much as Kang Hye-eun or the twin sisters.

Rather, Cha Yuri was a person who contacted less compared to others. Truly, except for when her libido built up and she made plans to meet, she didn’t even send messages.

“Surely not, is it because I said I was busy and couldn’t meet last time?”

“…….”

“That wasn’t said because Cha Yuri-ssi was truly a bother. For my part, I had an important test approaching soon, and I felt I had to dedicate myself to swordsmanship training regardless.”

“…Really?”

“If you find it hard to believe, you can ask Hye-eun. For the past week, I didn’t even meet my childhood friend and almost only went back and forth between home and the Union, focusing on swordsmanship training.”

“…Then, you won’t abandon me because I’m a bother, will you?”

“…Seriously, who is abandoning whom? Please make sense.”

I only said I might not be able to meet once, so why bring up stories like ‘abandoning me’?

“I’m not a guy who doesn’t know his place to that extent. Do you think I have the right to abandon Cha Yuri-ssi, who says she likes even a mop handle like me? Rather, even if Cha Yuri-ssi suddenly says she’s tired of me and leaves, I’m a guy who doesn’t have the right to hold on.”

“But Sungchul is handsome, has a good body, and is loved by everyone besides me… Compared to him, I have no charm, and there’s no one who particularly says they like me besides you…”

…This young lady is still deeply self-deprecating.

As a way to snap her out of it a bit, I lightly flicked her forehead.

“…Ouch.”

“Seriously, in what way is Cha Yuri-ssi unattractive? I’ve never once thought that you lack charm compared to other women while meeting you.”

“…Lies. There’s no way you haven’t had that thought even once.”

“It’s not a lie. Of course, since I’m also a man, the points where I feel attraction differ depending on the woman. But that absolutely doesn’t mean Cha Yuri-ssi lacks charm, so I hope you won’t have any strange misunderstandings.”

“…Then, what charm do you feel towards me?”

“First, you’re cute, I don’t really know what you’re thinking, you have a tendency for exhibitionism, and despite being weak, you have strong pride, making it thrilling to make you submit?”

“…Are you mocking me now? And I told you I don’t have exhibitionism.”

It was a compliment given honestly in my own way, but upon hearing my words, Cha Yuri instead showed an angry expression.

Come to think of it, the expression ‘cute’ wasn’t a compliment for women in this world.

Probably, that seemed to have offended her pride.

…Thinking about it, the cause itself for her harboring these thoughts was because I refused her proposal to meet a while ago.

I thought it would be better to teach her physically rather than vaguely explaining with words.

“Then, we can confirm today that I feel attraction towards Cha Yuri-ssi like that.”

“…Huh?”

“You have time today, right? When work ends, let’s go on a date.”

“…A date?”

“Thinking about it, every time we met, we only focused on having sex, and we haven’t had a proper date even once. What time does your work end today? Do you have plans in the afternoon too?”

Although it was a slightly sudden date request, it probably won’t matter much. The promotion test likely won’t continue until late afternoon.

It was also good for releasing the accumulated libido from focusing on training for the past few days.

I probably thought she wouldn’t refuse and made the proposal, but the words that came back from her were neither agreement nor refusal, but a question.

“A proper date…?”

“You and I, Cha Yuri-ssi, haven’t had a proper date even once since the first day we met. We met in a dungeon and had sex, came outside and had sex in a hotel, and other than that, it was all just lazing around in the room, playing, and parting after breakfast. Rather than typical lovers… doesn’t it seem like a somewhat dry relationship?”

Even from the first meeting, it was like that all three times.

That kind of physical relationship being the main part of dates isn’t exactly unpleasant, but I thought it was a bit strange to only have those kinds of encounters.

However, Cha Yuri, who was quietly listening to what I was saying, showed a flustered expression and suddenly began to deny reality.

“W-what we’ve done so far… weren’t those dates… ordinary…?”

“…….”

…Seriously, what did this woman think dates were?