Chapter 234
Young-Chul sat in a small conference room at the Hunter’s Bureau, pulling his chair closer as he watched the screen. The footage from the promotion exam, recorded by the three Hunters, was playing. Only the combat sequences had been edited from the original four-hour video, cutting it down to one hour and thirty minutes. It was still a lengthy watch, but Young-Chul couldn’t look away.
“How should I even describe this...?” he muttered, staring at the video depicting a hunt of three Giant Ogres.
As the footage played, Young-Chul repeatedly doubted what he was seeing.
A single leap with a thump, always followed by a single slash. The final takedown, in particular, was flawless, executed with such precision that it wouldn’t fall behind even seasoned S-rankers.
As the test progressed, Ye-Ji’s movements became even more refined, and her unnecessary steps disappeared. She effortlessly synchronized with the rhythm of the S-rank Hunters. Her talent was innate, almost otherworldly.
Of course, she wasn’t perfect in every aspect. For example, she tended to overexert her mana when releasing sword qi, which led to quick mana exhaustion—a clear flaw. Still, her raw swordsmanship talent more than made up for this weakness, keeping Young-Chul on the edge of his seat in suspense.
“Supervisor Lee has discovered an uncut gem,” he remarked. Even then, Young-Chul was fully aware of who had polished that gem: Do-Jun.
Young-Chul spent a considerable time contemplating Ye-Ji’s hunting performance before checking the three judges’ approval forms. As expected, all three had marked “Pass.” Although the final approval was his decision, he saw no reason to reject.
***
Meanwhile, Ye-Ji, who had just completed her S-rank promotion exam, lay sprawled on her bed, utterly drained. Her body, which had been tense throughout the test, now felt completely limp against the mattress.
She was shaking ever so slightly, but was it because of nerves or from constantly engaging in mana-draining combat? Or was it the conversation she had with Kang-Hyun after her exam?
“The drastic reduction in wave reading was because of someone soloing.”