Copying Runes to Become the World's Strongest - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26
Awakening Management Bureau, Low-Rank Hunter Administration Division.
Outside the civil affairs office of this department, which handles E-Rank and F-Rank hunters, a long line had formed since early morning.
Everyone in it was waiting to receive their E-Rank Hunter License.
“What kind of era is it, and they still only handle physical licenses.”
“Right? Even our IDs are on our phones these days…”
“With all the talk about personal data leaks, I’d rather have the physical card, honestly.”
A few hunters grumbled, while others defended the Bureau as they traded opinions.
Most of them, though, just kept glancing at their watches, waiting for the sealed doors of the civil affairs office to open.
“License distribution starts now. Please enter in the order you lined up.”
At precisely nine o’clock, the doors of the civil affairs office swung open.
The hunters filed inside one by one.
Every face carried a mix of tremor and anticipation.
Even the ones who had been griping moments ago were brimming with the hope of becoming E-Rank Hunters.
Hyeonjun was no different.
“Please submit your Hunter registration card.”
Hyeonjun stepped up to the counter.
With trembling hands, he handed over his F-Rank Hunter registration card.
The staffer checking the card’s details widened her eyes slightly.
“I saw that, you know. It was incredible.”
“Huh?”
“That E-Rank exam from earlier. I was in the monitoring room back then. I’ve been at this job forever, and I’d never seen anything like it.”
“Ha-ha…”
Hyeonjun laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
Being praised by someone was still something he hadn’t gotten used to.
“Just a moment, please~”
A few minutes later, the staffer slid a new Hunter registration card across the counter.
It looked exactly like the old one, but in one small detail, the letter engraved beside the word “Rank” had changed to an E.
‘Finally. E-Grade.’
F-Grade, the rank he’d been stuck in for years.
He’d never imagined he would get out of it in his lifetime…
“I hope you do well on your E-Rank missions and stay safe. And take this, too.”
The staffer handed Hyeonjun a pamphlet.
Hyeonjun tilted his head and looked it over.
‘E-Rank Hunter Orientation?’
“What’s this?”
“The Bureau has been putting a lot of effort into developing Low-Rank Hunters lately. This is a new project as part of that push.”
“Since when does the Bureau do something like that?”
Until now, they’d all but abandoned Low-Rank Hunters, offering them next to no benefits.
What wind had blown them this way?
“As you may know, South Korea has fewer hunters than other countries.”
“Well, that makes sense. There just aren’t many Awakened to begin with.”
“So we’ve set a new direction focused on raising the quality of Low-to-Mid-Rank Hunters. We’re starting with Low-Rank, but in the long run, we expect to support the growth of Mid-Rank Hunters as well.”
“Ah…”
Hyeonjun couldn’t quite warm up to it.
Truth be told, talk about supporting the growth of mid-to-low-tier hunters to boost the competitiveness of hunters had been around for more than a day or two.
Rough estimate, it had been floating around for at least fifteen years.
‘It’s been quiet all this time, and now, all of a sudden?’
They say it’s never too late to start, but would that hold true in this case?
All Hyeonjun could do was raise a question mark in his mind.
“Is it something I have to do?”
“No, participation is voluntary. However, completing it comes with benefits, so we do encourage people to join.”
The staffer pointed to the bottom section of the pamphlet.
There, the benefits for those who complete the program were written out.
[Benefits Upon Completion]
-For 30 days from the point of completion, Exchange fee reduction (8%) is provided. Subject to a cap.
It was only a single line, but its impact was considerable.
Hyeonjun stared at the staffer, his eyes going wide.
“W-wait, is this for real?”
“Of course.”
Upgrading from F-Rank to E-Rank reduces Exchange fees by 10%.
But just for completing the orientation, they’re giving an additional 8% fee reduction. Not bad at all.
‘There’s a cap, but an 8% discount is pretty tempting.’
Surely the cap wouldn’t be set absurdly low.
‘…Right?’
After all, the other side was a government agency.
Hyeonjun couldn’t shake his doubts as he asked the staff member.
“What’s the limit?”
“Sales up to 50 million won qualify for the 8% fee discount.”
“Fifty million won…”
Better than nothing, but not a large sum.
He’d burn through that in a month and still have some left over.
‘It’s about right if they’re worried about abuse, but still, that’s a bit disappointing.’
As if they’d read his thoughts.
The staff member lowered her voice.
“This isn’t officially announced yet, but they’re apparently going to assign rankings at the orientation site. Top graduates will receive additional limits and a greater fee reduction rate.”
A fee reduction of over 8%.
And a higher limit.
That alone was enough to make Hyeonjun’s eyes snap open, but the staff member leaned in and whispered even more quietly.
“I heard it’s possible to go as far as zero fees…”
“Really?”
“I can’t say for certain.”
Hyeonjun’s heart fluttered.
Zero Exchange fees.
Just hearing it made him feel good.
“What’s the scope of the orientation? Who exactly is it for?”
“It’s for all E-Rank Hunters. I imagine the competition will be pretty fierce.”
“Do they gather everyone in one place?”
“Not exactly. They’ll probably divide people into groups based on practical test scores. Since you took first place on the practical, I expect you’ll be placed in Group A.”
“Ah… so that might put me at a disadvantage in the competition.”
“Don’t worry about that. Rankings are determined across all groups, and higher groups receive a weighted score bonus.”
Even among E-Rank Hunters, the structure let the most talented ones walk away with the biggest rewards.
For Hyeonjun, it was welcome news.
‘The competition will be tough, that’s for sure.’
Still, he had confidence.
Over 300 runes.
That should put him near the top even in Group A.
‘And on top of that, there’s the Primordial Will.’
Hyeonjun filled out the application form right there on the spot and submitted it.
Participation wasn’t mandatory, but he couldn’t pass up benefits this enormous.
“When does it start?”
“When would you like? We have several schedules available.”
“The sooner, the better.”
“The sessions currently listed are fully booked. Once you submit your application, it’ll be registered for the next available slot.”
“Please, I’d appreciate it.”
It didn’t matter when it was.
As long as he could get the fee benefits.
“Your application is complete. If no slot opens up, we’ll resubmit you for a different date. Once a spot becomes available, the schedule and venue will be sent to you by message.”
“Thank you!”
Hyeonjun left the Awakening Management Bureau brimming with anticipation.
An additional fee reduction of over 8%.
Just thinking about it made his chest tremble.
‘Zero fees are worth hoping for, too.’
Since this was a newly launched system, they were likely to hand out generous rewards.
That would make for better publicity, after all.
‘And if they’re going to be generous, they might as well push the benefit limit all the way up to 10 billion won.’
If that happened, he could earn money at an astonishing pace without paying a single fee.
And that would become the funds needed to buy runes.
‘Then I could find a cure for Mom’s illness that much faster.’
Though it wasn’t exactly a long way off as it stood.
With the fee benefit from the orientation, the period should shrink considerably.
‘I’d better gather as many things to sell as I can through hunting.’
Come to think of it, what exactly do they do at the orientation?
He hadn’t asked the staff the most important thing.
‘I’ll figure it out when the time comes.’
After leaving the Management Bureau, Hyeonjun rode a bus for quite a long while.
The place he arrived at was an E-Rank Hunting Ground.
There were E-Rank Hunting Grounds near the Management Bureau too, but he had deliberately come to a spot with little foot traffic and few visitors.
‘That way, I’ll have the whole place to myself.’
Hyeonjun had come with the intention of sweeping through the hunting ground alone.
Before going in, he suited up head to toe in the cold-weather gear he’d brought along.
“Are you going in alone?”
The staff at the guard booth checked his registration card.
“Yes.”
“Don’t go too deep. One wrong move and you could die.”
Hunting Grounds were known for being less dangerous than ordinary Anomaly Spaces.
Still, there were cases where the environment itself was perilous.
The place Hyeonjun was about to enter was exactly that kind.
“I’ll be careful.”
Hyeonjun stepped through the Gate.
.
.
.
There’s always a reason why a field has no people.
Hyeonjun sniffed and scanned his surroundings.
Aside from the signposts the Management Bureau had set up to mark the path, it was nothing but a snowfield, white all the way to the horizon.
‘The field conditions are brutal and the transport is poor, so hardly anyone comes here unless they have to.’
It saw even fewer visitors than Darak Mountain. Right now the view was wide open, and still he couldn’t see a single person.
‘There are some footprints, though.’
Either someone had gone deep inside, or old prints simply hadn’t been wiped away yet.
Hyeonjun moved in a direction where no footprints had been left.
He didn’t have to walk for long.
No people meant, in other words, that monsters were overflowing.
“Grrrr.”
A single white wolf blocked Hyeonjun’s path.
Behind it, several identical wolves came slinking out.
‘White Wolf.’
The big one at the front is the leader. The smaller ones behind it are its underlings.
[There is a target that can be discerned.]
As he glared at the wary one, a message appeared.
‘I’d forgotten about this.’
He’d used it on people, so it was only natural he could use it on monsters too.
Hyeonjun activated the skill at once.
[Skill – Discernment activated.]
[Information]
-Designation: White Wolf
-Rank: E
Maybe it was because the ranks matched.
The information window popped up immediately.
At the same time, red dots marked themselves across the creature’s body.
‘Close the information window.’
It was all information he already knew.
‘Good, the vital points are marked.’
Even when you knew where a monster’s weak spots were, they were often hard to see, which made them difficult to target.
But thanks to the Discernment skill, he could intuitively tell exactly where to strike.
“Grrraaah!”
The White Wolf leader lunged straight at Hyeonjun.
Instead of dodging right away, Hyeonjun followed the red dots with his eyes.
Then, twisting his body slightly to evade, at the very same moment—
Thrust!
Squelch!
He drove the dagger into the red mark.
Not once, but twice.
It was over in an instant, yet his heightened Stats and skills made the movement possible.
Drip, drip.
The beast spilled thick blood from its throat and belly.
Dark red blood soaked into the snow beneath it.
Thud.
One clash.
That was all it took to settle the matter.
“Easy.”
Hyeonjun turned his body away.
“Grrr…”
Their leader had fallen, but the remaining pack showed no sign of losing its nerve.
If anything, they bared their fangs at Hyeonjun, their hostility burning hotter.
“Grrraaah!”
***
Across the snow-covered plains lay a resort that only those in the know ever found.
A hot spring, steam rising from its surface.
One had to travel quite deep from the entrance to reach it, so only a handful of people knew the way.
“Hooo-aaah…”
In that hot spring, a muscular middle-aged man and a young man were soaking side by side.
“There’s nothing like a hot soak after training, is there?”
“Absolutely.”
There were hot springs outside as well, but this one was a little different.
Mana from the earth flowed through it, making the skin prickle pleasantly.
It seemed to restore vitality to every corner of the body.
“How far are you from D-Grade now?”
“I’ve heard it should take two or three weeks.”
“Good news.”
“I owe it all to the Guild and to you, Master.”
The young man bowed his head deeply, minding his manners.
A faint smile spread across the man’s lips.
“Changdong, do you know why I teach you personally? It’s because you have manners. You’re nothing like those other brats who strut around just because they have a bit of talent.”
“I appreciate the kind words, but I don’t think I’m all that remarkable. My Rank is quite low, too. That’s why I try to stay humble.”
“I’ve told you time and again. With your Trait, Rank is just a letter of the alphabet. If you lacked talent, then—”
-Boom!
A roar from somewhere cut him off.
It came from quite far away, but it was a noise rarely heard in this place, and both men turned their heads at once.
“So someone’s hunting all the way out this way.”
“It is a hunting ground, after all.”
The two of them tried not to pay it any mind. It was a good distance from the entrance, but it wasn’t so far that someone couldn’t make the trip.
-Grraaaah!
Within a few dozen seconds, another howl reached them.
It was closer than before.
“It sounds like it’s coming this way.”
“It seems the monsters keep changing whatever they’re fighting. Looks less like a fight and more like someone being chased.”
At that, Changdong got to his feet.
“I’ll go and help.”
“Go on, then. That’ll be good training for you.”
He threw on the coat he had folded neatly on the snow, grabbed his sword, and was gone.
Snowflakes whirled wildly in the wake of his sprint.
The man watched his back vanish in an instant and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“It’s a relief that a kid like that came along. He may have less talent than that rude friend of his, but the reward of teaching him is far greater.”
The man thought of the promising young hunter his own age who had come into the Guild alongside Changdong.
A brat who had lost his manners while keeping his talent, and the teacher who suited him perfectly.
Just picturing that teacher’s face made his skin crawl.
“I really ought to take that woman down a peg someday.”
Imagining the day, he went back to soaking in the hot spring.
It was a few minutes later that Changdong returned.
“How was it? Helping someone… that’s not bad for you, is it? Changdong?”
Changdong’s face had grown visibly gloomy, and the man found himself at a loss.
He had meant for helping someone in trouble to fill him with a sense of accomplishment and confidence.
Judging by his face, all he had managed to do was deepen the sense of defeat.
‘I’ve seen that face before.’
As Changdong trudged toward him, the man’s mind drifted back to another time.
It was when he had watched a fellow recruit from the guild fight and felt the gap between them firsthand.
His own protégé had worn that very same expression back then.
“Master…”
Changdong came to a stop before him and lowered his head, like a boy who had committed a crime.
Before he could even think of offering comfort, the man asked.
“You… what exactly did you see?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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