GM Ch10

“The skill retention time was 5 seconds.”

At Soohyuk’s explanation, someone muttered that he was lying. Minjun felt similarly. He knew it was short, but it felt like minutes had passed.

“As you can see, you can’t block fear or confusion skills from monsters ranked higher than you, which is why we recommend entering dungeons that are as close to your level as possible. In the past, we’ve gotten a lot of complaints about why people can’t get into higher ranked dungeons, and that’s something that’s best experienced rather than explained.”

Soohyuk slowly made eye contact with the examinees in the seminar room. His eyes shone coldly.

In the early days of the cataclysm, incidents continued to happen even after all the monsters spilling out of the gates had been slain, with hunters being slaughtered for raiding dungeon raids that did not match their level.

Once a hunter entered a dungeon, they could escape from it at least once, at any time and any place. This was thanks to a special skill called Emergency Dungeon Escape that saved many hunters’ lives, but many others died before they had a chance to use it.

As a result, laws were created to limit the rank of hunters that could enter a dungeon. For example, C-class was the lower limit for hunters to enter an A-class dungeon, and even then, more than half of the group had to be A-class or higher.

Many hunters protested that it was discriminatory, but the National Security Agency made them experience the dangers firsthand by showing them Soohyuk’s method. It had worked so well that it was incorporated into the hunter license examination process. The result was successful. The alerted rookie hunters didn’t let up.

Minjun had also been a practical exam proctor, warning people about the dangers of high-ranking hunters and monsters. But he did not go about it like Soohyuk.

They said he was a handsome madman.

Minjun clicked his tongue as he remembered reading that Soohyuk’s nickname was handsome madman, and among the S-class hunters with strong personalities, Soohyuk seemed to stand out.

“Of course, there are those who argue that you can defend yourself with skills or items, and there are many who say that if you’re in danger, you can use the Emergency Dungeon Escape skill.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Soohyuk’s standing position changed. Before Minjun could blink, he had moved from the podium to a desk in the center of the seminar room.

Ever vigilant, Minjun instinctively threw himself backward. He barely resisted summoning a spirit. None of the examinees reacted to Soohyuk’s unexpected behavior, except for Minjun.

“Except for the one who just ran away, everyone else would be dead right now. Before you could make an emergency dungeon escape, you’d die without even realizing you were dying.”

Except for Minjun, everyone else’s face turned white and blue, still not quite grasping what had happened. They all looked at Soohyuk with bated breath.

Standing near the back door of the seminar room, Minjun couldn’t see the expressions on the faces of the examinees sitting in front of him. Instead, he could see that their eyes were focused on Soohyuk. Because of his position at the desk, everyone was looking up at him. And it suited him well. He looked like the leader of something.

Minjun swallowed a bitter laugh at the odd composition. He was able to sway and lead people with powerful charisma, which was a qualification for a strong leader, but it was also a condition of being a cult leader.

“All examinees. The purpose of the practical examination is for you to experience the fact that dungeons and monsters are hostile to humanity. I hope you don’t forget to be fully prepared and enter the dungeon.”

When he finished, Soohyuk got down from the desk with a light gesture and exited through the front door of the seminar room he had entered from earlier.

“We’ll be on our way in ten minutes, and the restrooms are down the hall on the left after you leave the seminar room, so don’t be late!”

The first proctor to step up to the podium shouted loudly. Minjun, standing by the back door of the seminar room, immediately relaxed, and so did everyone else.

“Wah…”

“Fuck.”

“This guy’s crazy.”

The seminar room quickly erupted in a jumble of curses, exclamations, and sighs. Minjun understood the reaction, but it was a little too much for someone whose life had been threatened.

There were no protests. Most people said they were scared and wouldn’t go into the dungeon, and a few said it was a little too much, even though they sincerely cursed. On the contrary, some even liked it because it gave them something to brag about to their friends.

Minjun was inwardly impressed. As an S-class hunter, Yoon Soohyuk was known for being the first to lead in the most dangerous places, so even if he had an accident like today, it was believable that it was for the good of the prospective hunters. It was a trust that had been built up over time.

Minjun readjusted his assessment of Soohyuk and turned to leave, but a man in the June Guild’s trademark white uniform approached.

The young man, who introduced himself as Choi Yohan, said Soohyuk wanted to see him for a moment. He wanted to talk in private about what had just happened.

“The guild leader asked me to bring you there.”

“Ah…”

Minjun felt the stares of everyone around him. He hadn’t heard from him since he’d texted him to thank him for the New Year’s gift and he’d replied. He’d thought that would be the end of it, but he hadn’t expected to get involved.

He wanted to blurt out that he wasn’t going, but he couldn’t, given Soohyuk’s personality. He was a man who could come and find him if he didn’t go.

Inwardly regretting that he should have pretended to know nothing, Minjun nodded in understanding.

Choi Yohan took Minjun to another, smaller seminar room right next door. There were six more white-uniformed hunters from the June Guild there, excluding Soohyuk.

Hunter license practical exams were conducted by hunters from the Hunter Association and the National Security Agency as proctors, and by guild members from guilds with S-class hunters who were invited to serve as special proctors.

Minjun clicked his tongue, wondering if this was what it was like to walk into a tiger’s den, but he managed to keep a straight face and walked toward the source of all this.

“Hello.”

“Hi. We meet again. Has it been ten days? How was the meat?”

Soohyuk, who Minjun hadn’t seen since 10 days ago, after they parted ways at the hamburger restaurant, greeted him warmly. Minjun remembered the melt-in-your-mouth Korean beef. The 2.5-kilogram beef set had quickly disappeared in a matter of days.

“I enjoyed the meat and fruit. Thank you. By the way, Guild Leader Yoon, is it okay if I meet you in private while I’m taking the exam?”

“The passing rate is 99% anyway, so it won’t be controversial. It’s okay, everyone will understand if I say I’m trying to scout people. Why did you do that earlier? People usually freeze up.”

After hearing Soohyuk’s explanation, Minjun decided not to worry about the leniency controversy. He pretended not to notice the curious gazes of the June Guild members, who were all looking at him in their own ways.

“It’s all thanks to the guild leader, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything otherwise.”

He was serious. Thanks to Soohyuk limiting his own power, he was able to make an attempt at running away. If Soohyuk had been serious, Minjun would have fainted or had a heart attack by the time he used the skill.

When he looked at him and said that, Soohyuk burst out laughing.

“I once made a group faint before. After hearing a lot of nagging back then, I’ve been more careful ever since. But do you know that no matter how much I was being careful, you know it’s hard to move back that quickly?”

“I thought you were going to do something, so I was prepared for it, but you kept making eye contact and smiling.”

Minjun said matter-of-factly. Soohyuk, who smiled meaningfully whenever their eyes met, kept him on high alert, ready to flee if anything happened.

“I think there’s something to it, though, because everyone has a secret talent.”

“Well, sure.”

It didn’t seem like the shrewd Soohyuk was going to probe further, so Minjun kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t exactly a special trick, more like experience, but he couldn’t tell him that.

“You didn’t join another guild, right?”

“Yes.”

“I got dumped, but I still don’t want to hear that you ended up in a place worse than our guild. Then my heart would be very broken.”

Soohyuk put his hand on his chest and made a pitiful face. However, he had such a strong impression that it looked like he was just mocking.

Looked like Minjun was really marked by him. He had already recognized it when he sent Minjun a gift for New Year’s Day, and though they hadn’t texted since then, he had a strong feeling that Soohyuk was targeting him.

Minjun was glad Soohyuk didn’t threaten to ruin his life if he didn’t join his guild right away. But it did not seem like he was going to give up easily.

When Minjun was a S-class hunter in the past, he never really thought about rank. But when he became a C-class as a side effect of the dimensional shift, he realized something he hadn’t realized before.

S-class hunters were literally the best hunters. The strongest, the most vicious. It was an instinct etched into their souls to relentlessly pursue their prey.

Realizing that he had unwittingly become Soohyuk’s prey, Minjun swallowed a sigh.