A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 5
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 5: Measurement (1)
"Tae-sung, do you want to have breakfast before you go?"
"Breakfast…?"
I wasn’t really thinking about food, but it seemed Jun-hyuk was hungry after drinking the night before.
"Sure, what should we eat then?"
"I heard the hangover soup place nearby is pretty good."
"Sounds good. Hangover soup it is."
Though it felt a bit bothersome to skip the dorm cafeteria and go out to eat, Jun-hyuk had done favors for me in the past.
Buying him a meal was no big deal.
Besides, this would surely turn into another good memory.
After the morning physical training session, all the freshmen gathered in the main auditorium.
A large screen had been set up at the front of the hall.
"Whoa, what’s that?"
In response to Jun-hyuk’s question, I answered indifferently.
"The refinement stages."
"Huh? But there’s nothing on the screen yet."
Just then, the projector turned on, and the screen lit up.
"Whoa…."
Jun-hyuk stared in surprise at the text that appeared on the screen.
‘That’s how I reacted back then too.’
----
Refinement Stages:
Stage 1. F-rank.
You can sense the mana within your body.
Stage 2. D-rank.
You can perceive the flow of mana in your body.
Stage 3. C-rank.
You can control mana.
Stage 4. B-rank.
You can spread mana throughout your body to enhance your physicality, senses, and special abilities.
Stage 5. A-rank.
You can use mana more efficiently.
----
The auditorium was filled with murmurs from the students.
Jun-hyuk couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked me another question.
"Tae-sung, what does all that mean?"
"Refinement stages…."
What else could I call Refinement stages but refinement stages?
"..."
Jun-hyuk stared straight ahead with an expression that screamed confusion.
Thirty years ago, I probably had the same look on my face.
Right.
If we’d understood everything back then, our lives wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.
The phrases on the screen represented the ranking system from twenty years ago, devised just five years after gates first appeared and awakeners emerged.
It was slightly different from the ranking system of the future.
Over time, as education systems changed, the pace of learning accelerated—for example, today’s children learn things in kindergarten that used to be taught in middle school.
The stages have effectively risen by about two levels.
Before those faster learners catch up, we need to secure our position.
"Now, skill cards will be distributed."
The types of skill cards handed out were five:
==> [Horizontal Slash]
==> [Vertical Slash]
==> [Fist Strike]
==> [Rotation Angle]
==> [Mana Amplification]
Did this mean you couldn’t swing a sword without the Horizontal Slash skill?
No.
The difference lies in whether you can imbue mana into your swings or not.
That distinction significantly impacts their power.
But of course, this only applies if you’ve activated your ability to use mana.
The instructor at the front provided an explanation.
"These are basic skill cards, so some of you might already have them. Since you can only learn a skill once, please return any duplicates."
The tests would be conducted over two days.
"Now, we will begin the mana refinement test."
Given the sheer number of people and the limited number of test devices, the testing process was designed as follows:
Ten people would go up at a time, each entering a test machine.
"I’ll explain this just once, so listen carefully and follow along."
The instructor raised his voice to explain.
"Mana Refinement begins with sensing the mana within your body."
The screen switched to show a diagram of a human figure.
A blue circle appeared in the lower abdomen of the figure.
"You are all awakeners. Every awakener has mana in their body, as confirmed when you registered as hunters."
Those who didn’t know nodded along, while those who were already aware looked bored.
Many had already undergone mana activation training before arriving at school.
"This device measures how much mana is in your body. You will experience a sudden shock but don’t run out or scream. It’s not painful."
The monotonous explanations continued.
"Tae-sung, do you get what they’re saying?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, you must be some kind of genius."
"..."
What's up with the glazing?
Still, this guy did manage to reach B-Rank eventually.
How he did it with that level of understanding, I’ll never know.
It must have been thanks to his equipment.
"To put it simply… they’re telling you to feel the mana in your body."
"How do you feel something like that?"
"...If I tickle you, how do you feel it?"
"Because you’re touching me?"
"Exactly. So touch the mana inside you."
"...How do I touch something inside me?"
"If you keep trying to sense it, you’ll feel it eventually."
In my past life, it took me half a year to get there.
But this was something only the individual can achieve for themselves.
Unless you’re someone who could control the mana inside another person’s body.
“Go further and learn to control mana freely.”
“Control?”
“And beyond that, focus and condense mana to increase its activation speed and destructive power.”
“Hmm…”
Could he understand any of this when he hadn’t even felt mana yet? Still, hearing it might help eventually.
“Keep concentrating it, increasing its quantity, and then condensing it again and again.”
“So basically, just keep growing it.”
“If you’ve grasped that much, you’ve already learned it all.”
I was about to end the conversation out of laziness when Jun-hyuk rubbed his stomach and exclaimed.
“Oh… I feel something inside my belly!”
“…Already?”
I placed my hand on his stomach.
Could it be that what I explained actually helped? Did he have some kind of epiphany?
Did I just point him to a shortcut?
Do I have a knack for teaching? Did my explanation really make that much sense?
Focusing, I tried to sense any movement of mana within his body.
And then it happened.
His belly rumbled.
Pfff.
A fart.
Startled, I instinctively stepped back.
“…What the hell? Is this chemical warfare?”
“Oh, I need the restroom.”
He scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.
“Ah, come on…”
I pinched my nose and waved the air away with my hand. Other students nearby began covering their noses as well.
“Ugh, what is this smell?”
“Oh, what the heck? What’s that stench?”
Jun-hyuk glanced back at them, offering an apologetic gesture.
“Sorry. Sorry.”
At that moment, Jun-hyuk earned himself the nickname "Fart Jun-hyuk."
With the chaos of his stinky debut as a Hunter, what was this guy planning to do about his future image?
“Is your stomach upset? Was there something wrong with the hangover soup?”
“I’m fine. Isn’t it just alcohol poop?”
“Oh, man… Maybe. Ugh, my stomach hurts.”
Well, that’s more like it.
Sensing mana wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Most people couldn’t even condense it after ten years of effort. That’s why skill cards were necessary.
Skill cards could amplify, condense, or rotate mana. They could expand its range or increase its damage.
But those who hunted in low-level areas couldn’t acquire good skill cards. High-level cards were rare, and when available, they were incredibly expensive.
Ultimately, it became a system where the winners took all.
Of course, even those winners sometimes died unexpectedly while hunting, giving opportunities to those beneath them.
That’s just how this world worked.
Finally, the tedious explanations seemed to be wrapping up.
“Alright, now come forward in order and enter this machine. Once inside, a subconscious realm will open, and you should try your best to sense your mana. It will help with activation.”
The machine would measure how much mana a person had, and based on that measurement, the students would be divided into groups.
“About 80% of awakened individuals are initially graded E or F. Don’t be discouraged.”
At that, someone raised their hand to ask a question.
“Excuse me, does that number stay with us forever?”
“No. Even current S-rank Hunters started with scores between 1 and 500.”
“So the initial score doesn’t last a lifetime?”
“That’s correct. No one is born good at studying, but some people are naturally smart.”
Two human figures appeared on the screen.
“Let’s say these two people studied for the same 10 hours using the same materials. Would their test scores be identical?”
Of course not.
“Despite studying the same way for 10 hours, one scores 80, while the other scores 100.”
The instructor continued.
“How well you do depends on how you hone yourself. Simply put, just because you love soccer doesn’t mean you’ll be good at it.”
Exactly.
“Some players are faster, some are better at physical play, some excel at passing, and others have great positioning. Players are ranked based on these abilities, aren’t they?”
True.
“That ranking will eventually determine your grade.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
“So don’t worry too much about your current grade. It can change depending on how much effort you put in. If you keep at it, one day you might become S-rank.”
The logic wasn’t wrong. How well someone refined their mana would indeed determine their future.
But breaking through that barrier was extraordinarily difficult.
Perhaps only the chosen few could achieve it.
As students stepped into the machine one by one, their mana levels were displayed on the screen.
- [Kim Yun-mi: 48.]
- [Jung Ha-yun: 102.]
- [Lee Man-bok: 201.]
- [Kim Hyun-su: 326.]
- [Mun Jung-ho: 522.]
Wow—
The numbers appeared on a display above the machine, and every time a high score appeared, gasps erupted.
- [Lee Jae-hwan 1.]
Pfft—
“Stop laughing. This student might surpass all of you someday.”
I remembered him. Unfortunately, he stayed at that score until graduation—or rather, he never graduated.
- [Na Min-hyuk 204.]
- [Bang Jung-hyun 130.]
Familiar names brought back memories. As expected, those who would excel stood out early.
While there were rare cases of late bloomers achieving fame, they were few and far between.
- [Seo Ye-rin 538.]
Wow—
The reaction was much louder this time. There had been murmurs of excitement even before she entered the machine.
She was already famous as the daughter of West Guild’s Seo Tae-hun.
As expected. She was born gifted.
Next up was…
The top student of our academy.
A person who had it all: looks, skills, family background.
- [Ma Tae-ho 543.]
Wow—!
This time, it wasn’t just admiration; it was an uproar.
So Ma Taeho had 543.
What about me now?
Finally, my turn arrived.
***
After stepping out of the machine, I noticed something strange—everyone was staring at me.
Teachers, instructors, and the entire student body.
What’s going on? Did I score lower than expected?
I turned to look at the display.
- [Jung Tae-sung 1,004.]
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