Chapter 227?

Seven hours later. In a one-room apartment in Seoul. On a bright, sunny afternoon.

I fiddled with my phone while listening to the summer cicadas buzzing through the window. For the record, this was after I had thoroughly cleaned up all traces of the work at the abandoned building. In other words, it had been 7 hours since I experienced failure.

"Whoo."

I hadn't been able to sleep at all, erasing the bank robber's DNA scattered everywhere and restoring the assets I'd buried underground back into my bank account. My head was already spinning.

"Ha, right. I need to hold on. This isn't the time for me to rest..."

I splashed cold water on my face to wash away the fatigue and immediately began to reflect. First, the results of the body exchange ritual that took place in that abandoned building can be summarized in this sentence.

"The great wizard's soul cannot be contained in the body of a C-rank hunter. The body and soul specifications do not match, causing the body to break apart."

But when you think about it, there's really no stranger result than this.

"Huh."

After all, I used Kim Giryeo's body perfectly for several months!

The blonde with the sandbagger eyes. Despite the fact that this uniquely shaped vessel had a mere F-rank in the awakening test, which made it fit for disposal, it still managed to withstand the weight of my soul with ease.

But now, a C-rank Hunter. Even though it's considered a mid-tier awakened body here, it gets destroyed due to the difference in level?

"Hmm..."

I instinctively cover my mouth as I ponder. Soon, a powerful hypothesis emerges in my mind. If the assumption that just crossed my mind is true, then yesterday's failure wouldn't be something to regret. In fact, it might be something I should be shouting in joy about. However, a hypothesis only holds power when there is evidence to support it. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Evidence to support it."

Standing still and deep in thought, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration.

"Aha."

It was because I realized the mistake I had made. After all, I already had a way to prove the hypothesis that had just come to me.

"Damn it."

In that case, should I confirm it with the person responsible now that the memory has come back to me?

Tuk, tuk, tuk.

I turned on my phone and dialed someone's number. After a few rings, a familiar silence settled in.

"..."

It was a characteristic habit of waiting in silence until the caller spoke first.

"Hello, Hunter Kang Changho."

The call was answered by Kang Changho, the third S-rank hunter of South Korea.

"I'm sorry for contacting you out of the blue. Are you available to talk?"

"Say it."

"It's nothing serious, just something random that I'm curious about."

"What are you curious about?"

"It's about the terms of our contract..."

Even though I found myself in the unfamiliar situation of being threatened with my life by the towering S-rank Hunter, I had never really dug into the reason behind it. After all, I had knowledge of magic at a level beyond ordinary comprehension.

In theory, this meant I had the potential to use every type of magic known to exist on Earth. The only issue was the lack of mana. Still, my body, under the influence of the driver, was essentially equipped with a vast array of skills, almost as if I were carrying a variety of magical powers at my disposal.

"So, I thought whatever it was that Kang Changho, the owner of [Improvement], wanted wasn't really an important issue."

But after experiencing the corpse explosion incident in the early morning... now I'm starting to have doubts. Was the topic I had been ignoring really such a trivial matter?

"Ahem."

I cleared my throat lightly, loosening the smoker's neck, and then continued speaking.

"Anyway, what I was trying to ask... Hunter Kang, what was the exact name of the skill you wanted to steal using [Improvement]?"

"..."

"I wish you could tell me that clearly now."

Kang Changho answers.

"– That's really an out-of-the-blue question.

Clink.

At the same time, a noise of utensils being set down came through the speaker. It was 10 a.m. It was a bit late for breakfast, so perhaps he was having brunch or something.

"– What I aimed for with [Improvement]? I thought you already knew the answer. After all, you haven't really asked about it until now.

I kept silent for a moment.

"– But now, suddenly asking about that skill... Why would you want to hear the name of a technique you already possesses from someone else's mouth...

As he continued to remain silent, he eventually exhaled, as if he had realized something.

"– Ah.

The conversation continued.

"– Oh my. I didn't want to believe it, but... you don't even know for sure whether you own the skill, do you?

I casually shook my head, transferring the phone from my right hand to my left.

"It's not that I don't know, I just got a bit confused for a moment. But hearing you talk like this, it seems like we're thinking of the same skill after all."

"..."

"Can I ask one more thing?"

"– Go ahead.

"Actually, what I'm really curious about is this. Hunter Kang, you were able to identify the skill I possess with just your bare eyes, right?"

Yeah. [Dragon's Eye].

Until now, attention had been focused only on the lungs, and I hadn't paid much attention to that organ area. However, when observing Kim Giryeo's corpse with a specific item called [Dragon's Eye], there's a characteristic phenomenon that always appears.

A mysterious ripple. Until now, I had assumed that it was the result of a difference in souls, but upon reconsideration, that was quite a careless assumption.

"Why did the phenomenon of magic power wavering remind you of a specific skill?"

I gripped the phone tightly and asked the question. However, Kang Changho didn't respond quickly. He merely let out a dry swallow, as if deep in thought.

"– Hmm.

After a moment of contemplation, Kang Changho finally spoke.

"– Somehow, I don't feel like telling you... If I say this, you'll become too aware of your own value.

"Is that so?"

"– But from the looks of it, it seems like you've already half figured it out, and since the contract is in place, well...

It doesn't matter. The person who said this took a sip of a drink that seemed to be filled with ice and began explaining.

"– Do you happen to know Choi Jin?"

"Yes?"

"– She's not a hunter who works in Seoul. She's an awakened person who's ranked 3rd or 4th. She has short hair..."

"Ah, yes. I know."

"– Then, you probably know that the woman wears [Dragon's Heart] as well.

Why is the name of the Dragon Slayer suddenly coming up here?

"– Anyway, listen carefully.

Before I could express my confusion, the other party added an explanation on their own.

"– In my life, I've only seen two cases where mana fluctuated. One was when the awakening ability was sealed with an item like [Twisted Rabbit's Ford]. The more the awakening value is restricted, the more intense the fluctuation becomes, like boiling water. But a few years ago, a new case was discovered. I went to watch an awakened person who had swallowed a new artifact called [Dragon's Heart], which dropped in Singapore. Choi Jin... That hunter didn't rise from B to A rank in an instant. It took about 8 hours for [Dragon's Heart] to properly settle in their body. When they first returned to Korea and underwent a reawakening test, they were in the top 50% of B-rank. The second test placed them in the top 3% of B-rank. Finally, when the changes stopped, they were measured at the current top 20% of A-rank.

Thud.

Did Kang Changho put down his drink on the table, or did the familiar noise suddenly emanate from the cheap speakers of the budget smartphone?

"– I know because I watched the whole process from afar, but when the changes were happening inside Choi Jin's body... there was definitely the same kind of trembling.

With all these premises stacked up, drawing a conclusion should be easy.

I think this explanation should be enough. Can I hang up now?"

A moment later, the call ended.

I couldn't wait for the brief moment when my phone screen would turn off, and immediately reached out to the clothes hanger next to me.

***

Chatter.

The various noises collide with each other inside the clean, white building.

The sound of people walking. The creaking of military equipment. And the sound of employees chatting inside the quiet desk area.

This place was the Hunter Association's awakening test reception, a space dedicated to handling all matters related to the PIXY magic detection device, including appeals for rank disputes. However, since awakening was a rare phenomenon, compared to other desks, there was quite a bit of free time to slack off...

"Heuk!"

It was then. One of the employees, sitting at their desk, suddenly stood up with a startled expression. At that, the others who had been focused on their conversation slowly lifted their heads and held their breath.

Tak, tak, tak.

Soon, what could be heard was the sound of high heels, which for some reason brought a sense of tension to the air.

"Ah, hello. Hunter Kim Giryeo..."

Sssk.

But surprisingly, the blonde man, who had approached with long strides, casually grabbed a number ticket from the nearby dispenser. Up to this, his actions seemed strangely normal for an average customer.

"C, come this way! What brings you here?"

However, as soon as the man realized there were no other people waiting, he started making a shocking statement.

"Please call the person in charge. I would like to use the latest awakening test machine in the association."

"Yes?"

Tuk.

Immediately after, the man handed a bundle of blue bills onto the desk.

"Right now."

With no applicable subsidies, the man paid the full 3.46 million won for the advanced re-examination measurement fee upfront. The staff, feeling the pressure from the bundle of cash handed over, scrambled to get up and started the guidance.

Before long, Giryeo found himself standing in front of a familiar-looking device...

......

"Uh, if you have any sensitive electronic devices, like a phone or a mana device, please hand them over to this side beforehand. Ah! Yes, just lie down with your head facing there."

The person who obtained the heart-shaped magical artifact, Choi Jin. And the awakened one who is under a state of debuff that seals their power.

The commonality between the two cases the third S-rank Hunter talked about is this.

"It's only when there's continuous fluctuation in the awakening level..."

In other words, the moment there is a disturbance in someone's internal magical power, it appears as a fluctuation in the PIXY magic detection device, including appeals for rank disputes. However, since this person is immune to the vast majority of abnormal conditions, and besides, except for Blueshell's, which has already stabilized, he has never been near any equipment that increases magical power.

Then, why does Kim Giryeo's magical power appear to be 'unstable'?

Wheeeeeeeeing...

Soon, the advanced PIXY testing device activates.

Tung.

And when the familiar noise began to echo, a nervous male staff member beside me, with a tense expression, said in a trembling voice, "Please wait just a moment until it's printed." An S-rank Hunter from Korea had wanted to receive the test results in a tangible form even before stepping into this space.

"H, h, here is the result."

After waiting for a moment, the employee came back from the next room with a printer to print out the fourth test results. Then the cold-faced man got up from his seat and looked through the documents.

"..."

"I, is there any problem?"

F-rank. The magic level is in the top 60%. It was almost as if the results were directly copied from the second inspection of Seonwoo Yeon.

The staff member who conducted the re-examination glanced at the document the other person was holding and thus thought to himself. It couldn't be that the newly installed measurement machine was already malfunctioning. The reason such a low value appeared was probably because the Hunter in front of him had manipulated their awakening value using an artifact or a course.

After all, Kim Giryeo was an elite powerhouse who had performed in numerous high-stakes situations. There's no way someone with such a small amount of magical power could truly exist.

"Hmm."

However, contrary to the association staff's expectations, the hunter didn't cheat during this test. In fact, he intentionally removed some of the auxiliary devices he usually relied on.

He removed the coating of the sacred tree seedling that could affect the measurement process, extracted all the Blue shell substances circulating in his blood vessels, and set his body back to its natural state right after rebirth, ensuring it was identical to his condition before any interference.

"Hmm..."

The blond man, who had been looking down at the document, soon tilted his head slightly.

« [PIXY MDE 0703] ******

Level: F

Aw: 15.97

Apparent hardness: 0.1

********************

Oh. It seems that the reexamination of the archmage wasn't a failure after all.