The Applicant: "Did you do as I asked?"
The Executor: "Yes. From now on, you will be the head of the family."
The Applicant: "Did you kill them all?"
The Executor: "The youngest son escaped into the forest, but I don't think he will survive. Do you want me to chase him?"
The Applicant: "No need. He was always called the disgrace of the family."
The Executor: "Then I have completed the task. Now it is your turn to fulfill the promise."
The Applicant: "Do not worry, Haleem. I will certainly complete it."
---
Present Time
One of the Association's female employees said, "Have you heard about that lucky new hunter?"
The other employee replied, "No, I haven't heard. Why is he lucky?"
"First, the rank measurement device couldn't determine his rank, so Hert Diaki was summoned to determine it."
"Hert Diaki himself came!"
"Yes. Because he always performs the same test for those villagers. This is the fourth time already."
"So that's the luck you mean?"
"Not that. It's said that during the fight, that villager had already lost consciousness but was still standing. So Mr. Hert considered it a sign of endurance and ranked it as B-Rank."
"Does that villager deserve his current rank?"
"Honestly, I have no say in the matter, but there is one thing I agree with in the evaluation."
"What is it?"
"Strength: A-Rank. After the first punch he received from Hert, I was convinced how strong he is. It's true that Mr. Hert neglected his defense and wasn't using his main weapon, but it's still difficult to push an experienced hunter backward. He deserves B-Rank."
"That's truly amazing. But it's strange that the measurement device couldn't determine his rank. And this is the fourth time, as you say."
"What's even stranger is that the first three people this happened to had the same test supervisor: Loren Belin. Applicants began deliberately ignoring her because of this, thinking she was the cause."
"But there are only three people. The rest of the hunters didn't have anything happen to them. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, but no one wants to risk their future."
"And what does this have to do with the hunter you were talking about? As far as I know, at that time, the Association was crowded with hunters, and Miss Loren was summoned to the head of the Association."
"The one responsible for his test at that time was a new trainee named Lana. Since she is under Loren's supervision and the same thing happened to her that happened to Loren, it seems she will suffer in her work."
---
After Mohin's treatment period
Mohin opened his eyes and found himself lying on a bed in a small room, with sunlight entering through a window on his left. He moved his hands, examining them carefully, and touched his face with his fingertips to feel for bruises and cuts on his face. But he didn't feel any cuts, so he realized he had already been treated.
He changed his position to sitting up. There was some water on the small table near his bed, so he took it and drank until the bottle was empty.
A beautiful nurse with long black hair entered and said in a gentle voice, "Mr. Mohin! You've finally woken up."
Mohin replied in a tired voice, "What do you mean?"
"You lost consciousness during the rank determination test and were brought here in a very critical condition. Your critical condition wasn't due to external injuries but severe internal damage. If you hadn't been taken to the healer early, your condition would have been much worse."
"Is this because of Hert? Shouldn't he be lenient with examinees?"
"Actually, Mohin... Hert did not do this to you."
"What?!"
"We don't know what happened to you, so we went to Mr. Hert to find out if he caused your injuries or not. But Hert swore on his talent's spirit that he only inflicted external injuries on you and avoided any wounds that could have cost you your life."
Mohin turned to The Outsider and said, "Outsider. Do you know anything about this?"
The Outsider did not speak. (Complete silence)
The nurse continued, "If we had discovered that Hert did this to you, he would have faced consequences for his negligence. But he swore on his talent's spirit."
Mohin asked, "What is an oath on the talent's spirit?"
She replied, "I don't know much. All I know is that the one taking the oath binds their talent as the subject of the oath using their own magic. If they break the oath, their inner magic will become distorted, leading to death. In rare cases, they remain alive but become worthless."
Mohin stood up from his bed, appearing to have difficulty standing. He asked the nurse, "May I ask how long I was unconscious?"
She replied quietly, "A full week."
He looked at the nurse, stunned, and said, "A full week?!"
"Yes. That's why we wanted to know the cause of your internal injuries."
Mohin spoke to himself, "How is this possible? I was going to ask The Outsider about it, but he isn't responding. Did this happen because I used my skills without any physical training? So my body couldn't handle it."
"By the way, Mr. Mohin. Are you new here in the city?"
"Yes. My first real day in the city was the same day as the test."
"Oh, that means you came the night before the day you took the test."
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Because a visitor came to you while you were unconscious. I was surprised you already knew some people."
"A visitor? Who?"
"We don't know. He didn't reveal his name."
"Then why did you let him visit me?"
"Because he knew you. He told us your name and the village you live in, he told us about the orphanage you live in, and he also knows about your sister. This information is impossible for an ordinary person to know unless they are from the government or a close person to you. We confirmed the truth of his words, so we had no choice but to let him in."
Mohin asked himself, "A visitor? I thought it was Mr. Beer, but it's impossible for him to know about Noon. Even if he's close to Mr. Rail. The second person is Zain, but the same applies regarding my village. If The Outsider were here, he would have told me who it was. Damn."
The nurse continued, "I will call Miss Lana. She told me to inform her when you woke up."
Mohin raised his thumb, meaning "okay," and the nurse left the room. Mohin remained alone.
---
After a few minutes, Lana entered the room and said, "I'm glad to see you're well, Mohin."
"And I'm glad to see you, Lana."
"I came to you today to tell you two things. First..." She smiled slightly and continued, "Congratulations, Mohin. From now on, you are a B-Rank hunter."
Mohin's eyes widened in shock. Within seconds, he jumped from his bed, overwhelmed with happiness, grabbed Lana, shook her vigorously, and said, "B-Rank! I got B-Rank!"
She joked, "Mr. Hunter Mohin, if you keep shaking me like this, I might lose consciousness."
"I've become a B-Rank hunter! How amazing! My hope was to become D-Rank at most because I don't have many skills, but I'm B-Rank! Noon will be so surprised if I tell her."
"So... shall I tell you the second thing?"
"Yes, of course. Go ahead."
"You haven't completed the test yet."
"What?"
"You completed the rank determination test, but not the classification test."
"What is the classification test?"
"It's a practical test to see if the hunter knows how to use their skills effectively in real combat against monsters. It determines whether you will start as a Novice in B-Rank or Experienced."
"And the difference between them?"
"First, let me explain the entire system. Every rank has classifications. The classifications are:
1. Novice: A person who doesn't know how to use their power. If they are C-Rank, they are considered D-Rank due to their lack of knowledge in using their power.
2. Experienced: The average of the rank, who is aware of their own skills.
3. Expert: A hunter who has experience dealing with monsters of the same rank and is useful due to several trials.
4. Master: A hunter who has fought countless Dungeons and Gates of the same rank and is an excellent leader due to years of accumulated experience.
5. Legendary: The final classification. A hunter who has reached the peak of their rank and can fight a hunter one rank above them if that hunter is of Novice classification, and sometimes Experienced. This is because this hunter has mastered their skills to the utmost limits possible for their rank.
Your test will determine whether you are Novice or Experienced. As for the remaining classifications, they come with experience."
"You said that the Legendary classification is mastering skills to their utmost limits. Can a person advance in rank through such a thing?"
"No, they cannot. A C-Rank skill cannot compare to a B-Rank skill. Comparison is between users of the same skills. You cannot compare someone who has perfectly mastered a C-Rank skill with someone who doesn't know how to properly use a B-Rank skill. Hence, the classifications were created."
"Is there another way to raise one's rank?"
"There is only one way: acquiring stronger skills. It doesn't matter if it's through hard work, a stroke of luck, or power from an artifact."
Mohin smiled, and Lana continued, "Tell me when you are ready to complete the test."
Mohin replied, "Give me just one day, and I will be ready."