I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 9

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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 9. The Examination
The written exam results were displayed immediately on-site. Since the questions were answered via computer, the scores appeared in order on the large screen at the front.
[1st Place – 100 Points Shin Ju-ha
2nd Place – 99 Points Seo Mi-na
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7th Place – 94 Points Lee Ji-hyung
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211th Place – 50 Points Kim Sun-jak]
Nearly a hundred candidates had already been eliminated after just one written exam.
I acknowledged the test’s difficulty. Even I, who had studied monsters diligently every single day before my regression—driven by the conviction that I would graduate from the tutorial and venture into the Abyss—had nearly failed to achieve a perfect score through carelessness.
“Oho~! A perfect scorer after so long. Congratulations! You 211 have passed the written exam brilliantly. The 92 who failed should pack your things and head home immediately. The rest of you, proceed to the 10th Floor and have lunch at the cafeteria there! Everyone must finish eating by 1 o’clock and assemble at the Basement 3rd Floor Grand Hall! Begin!”
The Examiner shouted his instructions and left the testing hall, while the candidates began moving in small groups.
“Damn~! I can’t skip the exam just because of the Association’s food!”
“You crazy bastard, use lunch time to practice instead!”
“Still, the Association’s food really is delicious. That’s why they serve it to the candidates taking the exam.”
Some walked toward the cafeteria with light steps, savoring both the joy of passing and the pangs of hunger.
“Damn it, if I’d just gotten one more question right, I would’ve barely passed!”
“Sigh, another month of studying ahead. Good effort, everyone. See you next month.”
“Yeah, let’s make sure next time is the last. Well then, I’m off.”
Others descended downward, swallowing the bitter pill of failure while feigning composure.
And yet another person—
“You bastard, there you are! Shit, do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? You crazy son of a bitch!”
—had found me and begun making a scene.
“Lee Ji-hyung? Ugh, I was trying to avoid this because it’s annoying. How did we end up meeting like this?”
Could it be that the Bad Luck bastard pulled strings again?
But seeing no message from Bad Luck, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Which meant I hadn’t encountered him by chance—he’d been grinding his teeth and searching for me deliberately.
‘What do I do?’
To be honest, I was the one at fault with this irritating bastard. I was the one who flew into him while he was walking peacefully, and I was the one who countered his attack and knocked him unconscious.
“You’re ignoring me again! You’re really asking for it!”
If his anger didn’t dissipate, he’d probably keep pestering me. Should I just take a hit?
A mage-class awakener and former celebrity’s punch wouldn’t hurt that much anyway.
But the moment I saw his slow, pathetic punch flying toward me, my body reacted faster than my thoughts.
I caught his incoming fist with one hand, pulled it toward me to destabilize Lee Ji-hyung’s center of gravity, then swept his leg to topple him completely.
Crash!
Lee Ji-hyung’s face met the floor once again because of me. His body trembled from embarrassment and pain, yet he couldn’t get up easily.
Still, one small mercy for him was that he didn’t seem to have lost consciousness this time.
Too bad—if he’d passed out, I could’ve eaten lunch in peace.
‘Damn it, I couldn’t hold back.’
The moment I saw that unlucky bastard’s handsome face and his body language seething with rage, memories of what he’d done before my regression flooded back, and I found myself unwilling to simply let him off with a beating.
‘He’s the type who’ll complain no matter how hard I hit him anyway.’
Despite his talent earning him a spot among the top five as a promising prospect of the Seongun Guild, one of the massive guilds, and despite the high expectations placed on him in the Hunter exam, I knew his future well enough to recognize him as nothing but trash I couldn’t afford to go easy on.
If anything, showing weakness might only make him more arrogant and cocky.
“Aaaaah! My nose!”
Unable to endure the pain any longer, he sprang to his feet, clutching his nose and glaring at me with terrifying intensity.
“Hey… you’re bleeding from your nose!”
A nosebleed from both nostrils, no less. Red liquid streamed down his pale skin, and the moment Lee Ji-hyung felt it, he glared at me with frightening fury before rushing toward the restroom.
“Ugh, what a hassle. I wish he’d just get disqualified already.”
But that wouldn’t happen. Despite looking like a street thug, he was a talented mage.
Sighing deeply, desperately hoping the exam would end soon, I brushed off the stares and left the written exam hall.
And in the now-empty written exam hall, with all the remaining spectators gone, a single woman in the back finally rose from her seat and walked slowly forward.
“…Interesting?”
Seo Mi-na, watching the scene of Shin Ju-ha and Lee Ji-hyung’s confrontation from above, let her distinctive golden eyes gleam.
It was a flawless suppression, flowing like water. Though her opponent was a mage, she’d humiliated Lee Ji-hyung—a guild prospect receiving support and even vitality elixirs—not once but twice without lifting a finger.
That’s right. She had witnessed the entire scene from the beginning when Shin Ju-ha knocked Lee Ji-hyung unconscious. It wasn’t a coincidental appearance with perfect timing—it meant she had deliberately drawn his attention to help Shin Ju-ha.
‘Since I properly humiliated that annoying guy.’
The street thug who’d been clinging to her since before the Hunter exam, using their shared cohort as an excuse to attend the 【Guild Alliance Promising Prospect Program】, had never sat well with her either.
“He’s definitely not a guild prospect.”
Prospects from the same guild had to attend mandatory programs designed for inter-guild competition, such as mock duels and monster combat training, making it inevitable they’d meet and thus impossible not to know who the prospects were.
But among this cohort’s guild-affiliated applicants, there were only two: her and Lee Ji-hyung.
She’d never seen that man before. Even the weakest guilds would have applied for the prospect program to earn the title….
“A naturally awakened person with that level of skill? What ability could he possibly have awakened?”
To be honest, she didn’t think she would have won if she’d been in Lee Ji-hyung’s place instead.
Rather, she would have been overwhelmed and suppressed just as thoroughly.
“This is very interesting!”
Somehow, she had a feeling that this man, Shin Ju-ha, was the one who’d stolen her first-place ranking.
The composure flowing from his body, as if he knew everything, was more than enough to capture her interest, and thus the future SS-rank Hunter began to observe Shin Ju-ha closely.
***
After enjoying a meal from the Hunter Association’s buffet that put hotel spreads to shame, I headed straight to the Grand Hall prepared by the Association.
Partly to avoid the bothersome Lee Ji-hyung, and partly to warm up my body before the test, I was running through the Grand Hall.
Crackle!
Someone appeared out of nowhere and sprinted past me.
“Huh?”
From just that brief contact, a tingling static electricity coursed through my entire body, and goosebumps erupted across my skin in an instant.
I regulated my breathing and checked who had overtaken me.
‘Seo Mi-na?’
There she was, running with her body moving intensely, fine golden currents flickering across her entire frame.
And her movements were somewhat excessive for merely warming up.
‘What’s this about?’
I tilted my head in confusion and tried to refocus on running, but when she suddenly overtook me again in an instant, creating static electricity as if she’d activated an ability, I let out an exasperated exclamation.
‘What is this really? A new provocation? This is a challenge to fight.’
Looking closer, her eyes were fixed on me—as if to say, is that all you’ve got?
‘Suddenly?’
Why were there so many crazy prospects among these rising stars?
But I had my own pride. How could I ignore someone openly demanding a fight like this?
‘And I want to test it once.’
Whether I could defeat the remarkable Seo Mi-na or not.
As I tensed my body and accelerated my pace from my leisurely jog, my speed became incomparably faster than before.
“Hah!”
I overtook Seo Mi-na who had been running ahead of me in an instant, tapping her shoulder lightly.
2:1. I still had one more point to settle.
Seo Mi-na, realizing she’d been caught, intensified the electrical current radiating from her body and quickened her pace.
Tap!
“2:2.”
However, the physical abilities enhanced by my Limitless stat were not so fragile as to lose to a power that hadn’t even fully awakened yet.
Tap!
“3:2.”
I overtook her one more time before finally securing victory and came to a stop.
“So what?”
I asked, looking at the golden eyes that approached from behind me and gazed at me quietly.
“Shin Ju-ha?”
“What?”
“So it was you who got a perfect score on the written exam. And subduing Lee Ji-hyung too.”
Ah… so that was it. I suppose I did stand out too much. It seems keeping the top spot quietly was impossible after all.
Had I wounded her pride? Or had I triggered her competitive spirit?
I wasn’t entirely sure, but one thing was certain—she felt competitive rivalry toward me.
“This practical test will involve defeating hologram monsters. You won’t be able to beat me in the practical exam. The difference between someone who’s never seen a monster and someone who has is significant.”
What was this woman talking about?
I’ve slain monsters thousands upon thousands of times more than you ever will.
“Really? You’re certain?”
“Absolutely certain. I’ll win the practical exam. It’s not that you lack skill—don’t be too discouraged.”
The way she spoke with such unwavering confidence, declaring my defeat, ignited a fierce competitive fire within me.
“What if I win?”
“Hmm? I said you won’t.”
“But what if I do?”
Seo Mi-na stared blankly at me for a long moment before nodding and opening her mouth.
“I’ll give you one of my collection pieces. Whatever you want.”
“Oho! A chaebol heiress’s collection, no less. I like it.”
“In return, you have to stake something too.”
“Hmm…? I don’t have anything to stake.”
I’d been impoverished, born into the lowest stratum of society.
“Actually, you do.”
Seo Mi-na pointed at me with her finger, and for the first time, her lips curved into a smile—as if she’d been waiting for this very moment.
“If I win, you join our guild. Well, since I know your abilities, I’ll offer you record-breaking contract terms!”
I burst out laughing at her audacious wager.
Because…
“Deal!”
Just as you’re certain you’ll win, I’m equally certain that I will.
***
“This month’s practical exam is hologram monster elimination!”
The moment the clock struck 1:30, the Examiner locked the Grand Hall doors and immediately began explaining the practical exam.
Seo Mi-na had been right. This month’s practical exam involved eliminating monsters using hologram technology.
A test where the Hunter Association’s hologram machines would recreate monsters for elimination…
“Damn, we got unlucky again!”
“Ugh, another month wasted. Damn it!”
“Cursed luck. Of all things, a monster elimination test. Damn!”
It was notorious as the most brutal difficulty among all practical exams.
Of course, since these were merely holograms and the test subjects were applicants, the monsters would be rendered weaker than their actual counterparts.
But slaying monsters was far more difficult than one might think.
You had to endure the sickening sensation of flesh tearing and blood spurting, the pain of being cut and pierced.
And you had to overcome the primal fear—the aura of dread that monsters emanated.
“This month’s monster is a goblin. Prepare immediately as the test will begin shortly!”
Upon hearing that goblins were the monsters, I shed the last remnants of my nervousness.
I absolutely cannot lose this bet.
I can confidently say that among everyone here—the Examiner, instructors, and all—I’m the most skilled at slaying goblins.
How many would I have had to kill to earn the title of Goblin Slayer?
The Examiner activated the hologram immediately, and the practical exam began in order of the numbers distributed before the test started.
-Kyaaaagh!
“Kyaaaah! Please, save me!”
“Examinee 17, disqualified. If you’re going to challenge the Hunter exam with such pathetic resolve, you’d be better off using that money to buy yourself a meal instead! Next!”
The examination progressed faster than I’d anticipated. Nearly half the examinees gave up immediately upon seeing a monster, before the test had even truly begun.
After waiting roughly an hour, my number was finally called.
“Examinee number 165. Come forward!”
I walked out and gripped the prepared wooden sword.
“Will you not forfeit?”
“No!”
“Then we begin!”
The hologram activated, and the goblin’s eyes—previously motionless—flickered to life before locking onto me.
-Kyaaaah!
With a screech so familiar it had grown tedious, the goblin recognized its opponent and charged, brandishing a sharp dagger.
Left foot forward, head lowered, and then—!
‘Left thigh!’
But it was predictable. I had the goblin’s entire combat pattern memorized. Simply by observing their movements, I could discern exactly where and how they would attack.
It was nothing more than prediction born from experience.
‘Unfortunately, there’s no blood-soaked chicken this time.’
I was no longer the weakling who needed underhanded tricks to defeat this creature.
Though it seemed chaotic, I evaded every attack with its precise underlying pattern, then channeled power into my body.
‘I won’t even give it time to use its Rage skill!’
No prolonging this—I’d end it in a single strike!
My Limitless stat infused my body with strength, and Fortune opened an opportunity for me.
〚The awakened Fortune casts its faint light upon you!〛
〚Misfortune merely waits and gathers its power!〛
‘Now!’
The hologram’s standard wooden sword swept cleanly from left to right.
-Ki… ck.
With the goblin’s expression turning helpless as it registered the blow, it collapsed, spraying green blood from its throat.
“Excellent! It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone with such promise. Well done. You’re dismissed.”
The praise came naturally. So did the applause from the other examinees.
I caught Seo Mi-na’s gaze among them—her eyes wide with astonishment.
See that?
After teasing her slightly, I lowered my head and returned to my seat, while the Examiner, calmly writing his evaluation, followed me with his eyes.
***
‘A flawless strategy.’
The Examiner jotted down his assessment. The movements, the tactics—as if I’d slain thousands upon thousands of goblins.
‘I didn’t even give the Rage skill a chance to activate.’
The Examiner understood well enough that holographic monster trials were formidable. Even as holograms, the terror and pain inflicted by monsters were genuinely daunting for ordinary people.
This trial’s difficulty was, in fact, the highest on record.
When headquarters issued orders to designate a goblin—one of the tutorial’s final boss monsters—as the test creature, the Examiner had protested the difficulty level. It was clearly beyond beginners’ capacity. He’d even negotiated revised passing conditions: if the goblin could activate its Rage skill, he’d grant a passing grade. Yet candidate 165 killed the goblin in a single strike. What’s more, they could have eliminated it preemptively, but instead displayed the composure to evade the goblin’s attacks as though conducting their own examination.
However, applicant number 165 killed the goblin in a single strike. In fact, he could have killed it beforehand, but he even showed the composure to dodge the goblin’s attacks as if he were testing it.
‘A promising prospect from some guild?’
But today’s test had only two promising candidates.
And neither had taken their examination yet.
‘A hidden gem.’
The Examiner thought this and unhesitatingly awarded candidate 165 a perfect score.

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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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