Chapter 10
‘Look at this?’
It hadn’t been long since Suho had thought about skill doping, and he already found a skill doping user.
Suho was confident that the woman in front of him was using skill doping.
After all, all the examinees here had turned in their belongings and changed into the designated exam uniforms before entering.
‘Besides, all the test takers here are level 1 unregistered hunters. There’s no way a level 1 can emit such a strong magic wave.’
Unless they were a unique case like Suho.
Moreover, unlike a driver’s license, if a hunter license is revoked even once, you can never reapply. This made Suho even more certain.
Suho decided to check all the people around him as well.
It wasn’t a difficult task. All he had to do was sense the magic waves.
Suho focused his mind and began to feel the magic emanating from the people around him.
He could sense the magic waves from people around him, besides the woman in front.
Then it happened.
[ The system is assessing your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Magic Detection (B). ]
Just a bit of concentration, and a new skill appeared.
Well, if you can distinguish the magic in the air just by focusing, that’s definitely a talent.
Perhaps because of this, the magic that was merely felt through sensation began to be accurately distinguished into people’s magic waves thanks to the skill effect.
‘That woman is definitely using a skill.’
With the Magic Detection skill, one can clearly distinguish between the magic waves caused by item effects and those caused by skill effects.
Suho let out a sigh as he sensed several other people around him emitting abnormal magic waves.
‘It’s really a mess, isn’t it?’
However, there was nothing Suho could do right now.
He was also an examinee and they were currently taking the exam.
Moreover, it wasn’t feasible to report all the cheaters, as there were quite a few of them.
Of course, that didn’t mean there was no solution at all.
Suho looked at the glass surveillance tower on the second floor of the examination hall.
It was a place set up to monitor examinees to prevent cheating, and there was a familiar face looking at him.
It was Jeong Cheol-min.
‘Of course, he came to watch.’
With the way Suho had openly courted him, there was no way Jeong wouldn’t come.
So Suho smiled and waved at Jeong Cheol-min.
Jeong Cheol-min also waved back quietly.
With that, it was certain that he’d come to greet him later.
The written exam began.
***
‘Good, he’s here.’
Jeong Cheol-min confirmed Suho’s name on the list of written exam participants and personally confirmed Suho’s attendance.
After all, Suho was a rare talent he hadn’t seen in a long time.
So, even though it was a long shot, he hoped Suho would pass the exam.
And what a surprise.
Suho even noticed him and waved.
‘He really is an interesting guy the more I see him.’
With him being so familiar, Jeong decided to go and cheer him on.
No, he thought he should make another impression to somehow get him into the Association.
After the written exam ended and people moved to the practical exam hall, Jeong Cheol-min quickly approached Suho.
“How did the exam go?”
“I think it went well enough. But what brings you here, Team Leader?”
“I came to help. The association is always short-staffed. So when there’s a big event like this, everyone from different departments comes to support.”
“That must be tough for you.”
“Haha, it’s nothing new. Anyway, you must have had a very tight schedule with less than a day to prepare. I’m impressed by your confidence. I heard this year’s questions were particularly difficult.”
Suho chuckled at the comment.
“I found them manageable. By the way, Team Leader, can I ask you something?”
“As long as it’s not about the exam, anything is fine.”
“It’s not entirely unrelated… I noticed there was no skill inspection here. Is there a reason for that?”
“Skill inspection?”
“Yes, you did urine and blood tests, but no skill inspections.”
Jeong Cheol-min gave Suho a puzzled look.
Of course, the concept of skill inspection didn’t exist at this time.
However, Jeong Cheol-min wasn’t entirely clueless. He furrowed his brow and lowered his voice.
“Why do you ask?”
“Think about it. To prevent cheating with items, you confiscate belongings and change everyone into exam uniforms. But why not prevent cheating with skills?”
Jeong Cheol-min’s eyes widened at Suho’s question. He then lowered his voice even further.
“…You saw something, didn’t you?”
Suho smiled, and Jeong Cheol-min’s expression hardened.
“Please report who it is. We’ll take immediate action.”
“Haha, I’m not entirely certain myself, which is why I mentioned skill inspections.”
“I understand what you’re suggesting, but… we can’t implement measures right away. The concept of skill inspection is unfamiliar, and forming a team to discuss preventive measures isn’t feasible at the moment. So, please just report it.”
Hmm.
Suho thought he had given enough hints, but it seemed more explanation was needed.
He had no choice.
“You’re overthinking it. There’s no need to form a team to discuss preventive measures.”
“What?”
“There’s a skill called Magic Detection. If you use it, you can easily identify cheaters.”
“Magic Detection?”
“Yes. Specifically, you would check the amount of magic emitted from the body. As you know from entering gates, each player’s magic emission varies when using skills or items. Since all the test-takers here are level 1, you can examine those emitting above-average magic.”
“Oh!”
Jeong Cheol-min’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
Suho practically spoon-fed him the idea, so he would have to be a fool not to understand.
Suho added,
“Of course, my magic might be higher. Unlike other players, I recently cleared a gate alone…”
“Ah, yes, I’m well aware of that. Thank you so much. This is an incredibly insightful suggestion. And since Magic Detection isn’t a rare skill, we can quickly gather a team.”
“So, will this be implemented from this exam onwards?”
“We’ll start with the practical test. By the way, considering your solo gate clearance and this advice, you’re already a pro hunter in my eyes.”
“Haha, not at all.”
“No, I’m serious. There was even talk of a special recruitment internally, but you applied for the exam the very next day… Haha, so don’t worry. If you don’t pass this exam, I’ll find a way to arrange a special recruitment.”
Special recruitment for the hunter exam.
Suho smiled at the offer.
“No, I’d prefer to pass through legitimate means. The same goes for the Association’s open recruitment. That way, there won’t be any controversies.”
Jeong Cheol-min was moved once again by Suho’s words.
“Suho, you’re truly something…”
“I’ll head to the practical exam now.”
“Alright, thank you. Oh, and Suho?”
“Yes?”
“Personally, I really hope you pass. And if possible, I’d love to work with you.”
Suho smiled in response and moved to the practical exam area.
***
While Jeong Cheol-min quickly gathered the supervisors after Suho’s hint, Suho arrived at the practical exam area and looked at the ‘Dive Capsules’ set up around the venue, reminiscing.
‘Wow, these are really old versions. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these.’
The Dive Capsule was a virtual reality device created by a collaboration of domestic corporate research labs. By entering the capsule and connecting one’s consciousness, it allowed one to enter a virtual world, much like something out of a ‘game fantasy novel’.
‘In the past, people used to say that the world would turn upside down once these virtual reality capsules came out…’
But the world had turned upside down even before that. Despite this, virtual reality remained popular and was widely used for training devices for players, just like now.
Of course, virtual reality games were also popular among non-players.
Just then, the supervisor who had introduced the exam process earlier suddenly announced an urgent notice.
“Attention all examinees! Due to an issue with the Dive Capsules, the exam will be delayed by 2 hours. Please wait in the lounge or training area within the exam venue during this time.”
The sudden delay.
Looking around to see what was happening, Suho immediately understood. The capsule issue was an excuse.
Jeong Cheol-min was taking various measures based on Suho’s hint.
‘They must be planning to conduct magic detection before entering the capsules. As expected of Cheol-min hyung, he handles things well.’
Although the practical exam was delayed, it was only by 2 hours. The fact that they could prepare the manpower to detect cheating within such a short time was proof of good work.
Since he had time to spare, Suho decided to take a leisurely look around at the examinees.
With the implementation of skill detection starting from this exam, it was obvious that the pass rate would drop even lower than before due to the large number of cheaters being caught.
‘There are about 1,200 applicants for this exam, right?’
Quite a lot.
Considering the average pass rate was less than 20%, and Suho remembered hearing that this batch’s pass rate was less than 10%.
Next year, they intentionally adjusted the difficulty level of the exam.
‘In other words, those who pass this exam are the real skilled ones.’
This made it even more important to pay attention to the examinees.
If there were any promising individuals, like the guardian Kang Dae-han, it would be necessary to recruit them into the Hunter Association… specifically under Suho’s command.
While exploring the training area, Suho spotted an unexpected person.
“Huh? Is that…?”
Thinking he might have seen wrong, he approached closer. The practice weapon he was holding confirmed it.
‘That bastard Park Yong is in this batch?’
A man with drooping eyes, hugging his sword and dozing off against the wall.
His name was Park Yong.
Despite his seemingly sloppy appearance, he would become a notorious large-scale criminal in the future… no, a legendary serial killer who only targeted hunters.
