Before going to find Park Yerim, I headed to the Hunter Association to register my Awakening and purchase contract items.

The Korean Hunter Association.

At the start it was a government-established Awakened Individual Registration Office, and then, with the power of the three largest guilds, it became an association. Other Hunter Associations abroad have also been created through a similar process. Currently, the government holds 51% of the shares, the three major guilds hold 30%, and other guilds hold 19%, making it a national institution. However five years from now, the power of the guilds grew bigger and the majority of the shares were taken away.

To be exact, the Haeyeon Guild took it.

‘The more I think about it, that brother of mine, he wasn't in his right mind even before the regression.’

The leader of such a remarkable guild risked his life to save his useless older brother. I can't understand it.

But thanks to him, my life was saved, I regressed, and even got two L-Class titles. Even if Yoohyun does crazy things, I should endure it. What can I do?

Perhaps because it's the weekend, the waiting room for Awakened Individual Registration at the Hunter Association was quite crowded. Most awakened individuals had F-level skills and stats, commonly known as Double F, making it impossible to work as a hunter. However, they still came to register to get subsidies provided by the government to encourage awakened individual registration. Just by registering, one could receive a million won, so everyone came for the money to burn.

I drew a waiting table and took a seat. Looking at the number, it seemed like it would take some time.

“Hey, isn’t that the A-class Hunter, Kim Sunghan?”

“What? Really?”

People in the waiting room, recognizing Kim Sunghan who followed behind me, began to murmur. While the fame of A-rank hunters fell short of that of S-ranks, Kim Sunghan was a well-known hunter with both a face and a name. Half of it was thanks to Yoohyun's influence, and the other half was due to his outstanding performance during the Dungeon Break of an A-rank dungeon in Dongdae District.

A Dungeon Break occurs when the number of monsters in the dungeon exceeds the capacity of the dungeon, leading to a dangerous situation where monsters pour out of the gate. Nowadays due to good management such incidents rarely happen. There has been no known case of an already discovered dungeon having a Dungeon Break, but it has occurred occasionally when the discovery of a new dungeon was late.

“But why is he just standing there?”

“He came in with that person earlier.”

Now, people's eyes turned towards me, sitting next to Kim Sunghan.

“Despite having come here with an A-rank, he’s the only one sitting.”

“Is he someone important? It looks like Kim Sunghan is guarding him, doesn’t it?”

“He’s holding a waiting ticket, so he must be here to register his Awakening. But if there is an A-class accompanying him, it doesn’t seem to be a joke. Is there a new S-rank rookie coming to join the Haeyeon Guild today?”

No, it’s an F-rank. I spoke quietly, looking up at Kim Sunghan.

“Please, take a seat.”

“No thank you.”

“Why don't you just sit down?”

“While standing, it is easier to respond to unexpected situations.”

It's not just anywhere; it's inside the Hunter Association. What could possibly happen here? Besides, there are only rookies who came to register as Awakeners.

‘Let’s see if there are any good newcomers.’

I used Promising Sprout to check out the stats of the man who had been chattering away since earlier.

[Awakened – Shin Minho

Current Stat Rank: F

Possible Awakening Stat Rank: F~E

Optimized Initial Skills:

Quick Feet (E) Failed to Obtain

Jump (E) Obtained

Throw (F) Obtained]

The Awakening Stats fell a grade and not all the Initial Skills were gotten. However, he would still get a Hunter’s license because he had an E-Grade skill.

‘Ugh.’

When I checked out two more FF-Class people, a brief pain flared up in my head and disappeared just as suddenly. It was a sign that half of my mana had been consumed.

‘The Promising Sprout skill’s status check is limited to 6 times.’

With a mana value of two, it was only natural.

Health and mana were not shown in the status window. It would be nice if it was displayed as a red and blue stick like in a game, but since that wasn't the case, I had to estimate my body's condition myself.

For health, a quick glance was enough to tell if someone was fine, halfway dead, or almost gone. The problem layed with mana. The method to check the remaining mana had not been revealed even five years later. However, it was known that using half of one's mana caused a brief headache, and falling below ten percent resulted in losing consciousness.

I’m glad that passive skills like poison resistance do not usually consume mana.

‘Triggering the optimal awakening or using the Little One skill is going to have a higher cost than a status check.’

My Brat Is The Best, being an L-Grade skill, would undoubtedly devour mana in large quantities. In Yoohyun’s case, as it was used passively and was an effect of being bestowed a new title, it was fine. However, if I used it now, I could fail and pass out.

‘As expected, I should raise my level a bit.’

To do that, I would have to go into the dungeon, but if Yoohyun found out, he would likely jump in to stop me. I might have to sneak in.

“Number 56 to 65, please come in.”

People who arrived earlier than me stood up in a rush and followed the association staff inside. After that group was finished, it was finally my turn.

Inside, there were desks with partitions. The staff handed out a piece of paper to each person. On the Awakened Individual Registration application form, there was a section to fill out personal information as well as stats and skills. After completing this, they would verify if there were any falsehoods, and then the Awakening grade would be determined.

I picked up the pen lying on the desk and began filling the empty spaces. I only wrote down stats and basic skills, leaving out titles. Stats were immediately measured, but skills and titles were impossible to confirm if hidden, as there was no technology to measure them. While there were hunters with related skills, they were rare, and peeking into someone else's skill window could easily lead to a fight. It was a sensitive issue among hunters.

‘Although there are people who exaggerate their abilities in the beginning, few people would write it down.’

Unless you were a unique case like me, why would anyone deliberately want to receive a lower grade? The treatment significantly improved with each grade, and above C-grade, there were various benefits.

“Is he an S-class rookie?”

“Haeyeon Guild’s new S-class, whom A-rank Kim Sunghan escorted?”

No, no. Seriously, how much time has passed for mere speculation to become an established fact? You there, where the hell are you calling in such a hurry? Oh, there seems to be a high ranking Association member coming over. It couldn't possibly be because of me, could it?

“Good morning. I am Seok Gimyeong, the head of the Hunter Association's Awakened Individual Registration department.”

He bowed his head to me. Damn it, don’t. Don't greet me.

“If you don’t mind, could I take a moment to check your application?”

“…Sure.”

Feeling irritated already, I handed him the application. After glancing at the single-digit stats and E-grade skills, Director Seok Gimyeong furrowed his brow ever so slightly. Hey, what's wrong? I only have five L-grade skills, you know?

“…Hmm. Well then, have a nice day.”

After checking the application, he immediately dropped the formal attitude. It vanished as if washed away. Dirty, really. It was something I had experienced a lot even before the regression, but it still felt dirty.

“What? So it wasn’t an S-rank?”

“Judging by the attitude of the worker, it seems not."

“But why did he act like an S-rank?”

I never did such a thing, you idiots! What kind of act are you talking about, tripping over your own lies!

‘It reminds me of the people who used to write novels about me and Yoohyun.’

Ugh… Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn. Those scumbags contributed about 30% to my inferiority complex explosion. They always wrote articles praising Yoohyun, making the incompetent me the subject of comparison.

Amidst the heated glares, I submitted the application and headed to the lower-level ability measurement room.

“Do you have any items you are using or carrying?”

The measurement room staff asked in a professional tone.

“No.”

“Please stand on the measuring device.”

Following the instructions, I stepped onto the measuring device shaped like a circular disk. The measurement device, created using items obtained from dungeons as materials, emitted a faint light, and soon the results appeared.

“Stamina 6, strength 4, agility 5, mental power 4, magic 2 have been measured.”

Accurate.

“Your skills are the E-Grade Mental Power Up and the E-Grade Agility Up, is that correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Please use your skills on the assistant for verification.”

The assistant came forward to confirm the buffs’ effects. I was worried about running out of mana, but fortunately, there was no incident of fainting while using the skill. I need to buy some mana potions.

After completing the attribute check, I went into the photobooth and took a picture. The photo, checking both front and back in full body size, was immediately stored in the association database. I then waited for a while and upon hearing my name being called, I approached the certificate issuer.

“Mr. Han Yoojin is an F-class Awakener and meets the Hunter requirements. You can be issued a Hunter license and enter Dungeons after completing the basic program for new Hunters. Would you like to apply for the program?”

“I will apply for completion with the Haeyeon Guild certificate.”

Rookie Hunters who have already entered or are scheduled to enter guilds, can skip the basic program under the guild’s guarantee. This was because the training for rookies within the guild was of much higher quality.

I passed the Haeyeon Guild’s guarantee to the staff. The employee, having verified the guarantee, tapped their fingers on the keyboard.

“Please give me your account number to receive the subsidy. The subsidy can only be accepted in your name.”

“Baekil Bank, number 995-04-109982.”

I got one million won in pocket money. Long live the Association.

Thanks to having a guild guarantee, my Hunter license was issued immediately. It was the same size as a resident registration card and had a serial number, Hunter rating, and name along with a photo of proof. I took the license and asked the staff.

“Is there a way leading directly to the Hunter Shopping Mall from here?”

It’s annoying to have a watchdog tagging along when you go outside. There's no need to follow me even within the Association.

“To get there you can use the elevator at the end of the corridor to the right.”

“Thank you.”

As the employee said, I took the elevator and immediately came out a side door that led straight into the shopping mall. There, I noticed an ATM machine near the door.

‘I wonder how much Yoohyun gave me.’

Taking out a card from my wallet, I approached the ATM machine. It was a Hunter Shopping Mall exclusive gift card. After hearing I needed to buy a contract, Yoohyun said he would give me money and handed me a gift card, telling me that he had put in a moderate amount of money. It’s a bit embarrassing to get an allowance from my little brother, but all the items for Hunters are expensive, so I couldn’t have cut it with just my poor wallet.

I can repay him by finding some competent high-level hunters.

‘He said an A-rank contract costs around five million, so maybe he put in about ten million won.’

Ideally I would like to buy an S-rank contract, but I had no idea how much that would cost. It would probably be even more expensive than the A-rank. Since I also needed mana potions, I decided to start by buying an A-rank contract.

When I put the card in the machine and checked the balance, the numbers appeared on the screen.

[Balance: 1,000,000,000 won]

…How many zeros are there?

‘What the hell is this crazy guy Yoohyun thinking?’