Chapter 16
A B-rank monster: the Raptor Dragon.
It looked like a smaller version of a Tyrannosaurus. Though not large, it was extremely fast and had razor-sharp teeth—a true hunter.
Its intelligence was low, so it wasn’t particularly difficult to capture, which made it perfect for stirring up chaos in the Center.
Ready.
𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑗𝑖
Nayeon-noona
Rdy. (means ready lol)
?
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑔𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑗𝑖
Guildmaster-hyung
ㄱ
As soon as the signal was given, Gidan pressed his thumb and index finger together and flicked the glass.
Crack—!
Cracks began to spread across the special glass, which was over a meter thick. The liquid seeping out through the cracks instantly vaporized the moment it met the air.
Flash.
Freed from the liquid, the monster opened its yellow eyes.
Gidan turned up the volume on his headset and took a casual step back.
Soon, a long, piercing cry echoed throughout the entire Center.
* * *
When they entered the measurement room, the technician—recognizing Shin Nayeon—bowed deeply and guided Gru toward a large machine.
As Gru stepped inside, the device glowed red and began scanning her body.
“All done.”
At that moment—
Bang—!
“What was that?”
A bursting sound, followed by the crash of shattering glass, rang out from somewhere.
Blue warning lights flashed throughout the measurement room.
It was the signal for all employees holding hunter licenses to assemble.
The technician pulled a weapon from his inventory and motioned to Lee Yujeong.
“Officer, please guide the civilians to the waiting room!”
“Yes!”
Amid the bustle of hurried staff, Nayeon smiled gently and scooped Gru into her arms.
* * *
When determining whether someone was an Awakener, the Center gathered the stats extracted from the measuring devices—total mana capacity and skill data—into the server room, where they went through a series of processing steps before being output.
Licensed hunters were stationed in that server room.
Jurin, who had been leaning against the wall and waiting for everyone to leave, approached the desk without releasing his stealth.
So Measurement Room 1 is this one.
On a small monitor, a program was interpreting Gru’s data, writing it out line by line.
Status: F
Skill: L
Total Rank: S
How considerate.
Smiling in satisfaction, he placed his hand on the monitor.
[Activating Skill: “Internal Interference (SSS)”]
– Interferes with all internal settings perceived by the caster.
“Internal Interference” was a skill that allowed the caster to freely manipulate internal settings.
Though its range varied depending on the caster’s stats and the target’s condition, its strict requirements were balanced by limitless applications.
Jurin could use it for simple hacking, rummaging through someone’s mind, or even—when combined with other skills—inflicting pain or subduing opponents directly.
He had used this very skill to read Gru’s abilities.
Just as Jurin was about to alter Gru’s skill and rank—
“Why’s the ecology wing suddenly in such an uproar?”
The door swung open.
“They say the glass shattered. They kept whining about how expensive it was—knew this would happen.”
Three hunters who had been summoned earlier walked in, chatting casually.
“This is why you shouldn’t skimp on safety. No matter how many times we tell them, they never listen.”
“Seriously. They’re already plugging manpower gaps with low-ranking hunters—like they’d spend money now. Good thing Team Leader Jin was here, or we’d have had to deal with a mess.”
After venting for a bit, they sat back down and checked their monitors.
“Let’s see, our little one’s an F again, right?”
“See? Awakening too early isn’t always a good thing.”
After confirming that the modified data had been retransmitted to the measurement room, Jurin slipped out through the open door.
Team Leader Jin?
He went into the restroom, confirmed no one was there, and released his stealth. Then he exited naturally.
After glancing once at a CCTV camera, he adjusted the glove on his left hand and headed toward the measurement room.
He had told Gidan to stall for at least ten minutes, so he must have picked a monster of B-rank or higher.
Was there really a hunter at the Center skilled enough to suppress a B-rank monster in such a short time?
And if the surname was Jin… there was one person who came to mind.
As Korea’s number-one-ranked hunter, information about him inevitably reached Jurin, whether he wanted it or not. Government agencies and influential figures constantly sought his advice or tried to gauge his reactions—and that was how Jurin had learned about him as well.
His Korean name was Jin Siwon.
An S-rank who had defected, and the owner of a leading-type skill.
* * *
Gru sat quietly in the waiting room, waiting for Nayeon to return.
“Gru, don’t go anywhere—stay right here, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
Although Hyeonak had been the main culprit behind the incident, no one wanted any civilian casualties.
Nayeon stepped out to prevent any possible harm, and before long, it seemed the situation had been resolved.
The warning lights soon stopped flashing.
That’s good… right?
It hadn’t even been five minutes.
The suppression was much faster than what the guild master had mentioned.
Nothing went wrong, did it?
The thought that something might have gone wrong made Gru anxious.
What if… Gru failed at hiding her strength?
Failing to hide her strength = Gru’s abilities exposed everywhere = villains coming after Gru!
Ding—!
Gru, pale with fear, hugged her duck clip tightly and waited nervously for Nayeon to return.
Then the quiet waiting room door burst open.
“Unni!”
Gru scampered over and threw her arms around the person.
“Gru stayed brave just like you said, unni…!”
She wanted to say that she’d been scared alone but had waited patiently—
when something felt… strange.
…Huh?
Why were unni’s legs so…?
Gru looked up at the person with a deathly pale face and a look of despair.
The man awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth, clearly at a loss.
“Uh— um… hello.”
Ash-tinged blond hair, slightly drooping eyes. A gentle tone and a somewhat sorrowful expression.
He had a warm presence, but his features and jawline were sharp and striking.
“I’m not unni. I’m Uncle Jin Siwon.”
“…!”
Startled, Gru jumped back in an instant.
A villain?!
Hiding behind the back of a chair, she trembled as she glared at him.
“Ah…”
He reached out hesitantly, then pulled his hand back.
“Sorry, I startled you by coming in suddenly. I just came to check if the waiting room was safe.”
“Y-you’re not here to target Gru… right?”
“Huh? I’m not a weird guy! I work here, at the Management Bureau.”
Management Bureau?
Gru cautiously peeked out a little more.
“I have candy. Want some?”
Jin Siwon fumbled clumsily through his pocket.
His unsteady movements were worrying—and sure enough, the candy spilled all over the floor.
He laughed awkwardly and began picking them up.
“Oh… dear.”
Wobble, wobble. He was so clumsy he looked like a newborn giraffe, even when picking up candy.
Doesn’t seem like a villain. More like… kind of incompetent…
After hesitating, Gru carefully approached and helped pick up the candy.
“Haha, this is embarrassing…”
With his ears turning red, Jin Siwon handed her one piece.
“Do you like red ginseng flavor?”
…What flavor?
Hearing something she’d never tasted before, Gru’s mouth fell open.
Flustered again, Jin Siwon hurriedly said,
“I-I don’t really know what kids like.”
“…It’s fine. I like g-ginseng.”
Gru nodded to spare him further embarrassment.
“That’s a relief.”
Jin Siwon smiled softly, as if melting all over again.
For some reason, he’s an uncle you can’t help worrying about…
“Thank you.”
Hugging the red ginseng candy to her chest, Gru beamed.
Jin Siwon suddenly sucked in a breath and clutched his chest.
At that moment—
Ding!
[Potential caregiver detected.
Increase the attachment index to register as a caregiver.]
Huh?!
This clumsy uncle… is an S-rank?!
