Chapter 12: Rank Advancement Exam

The Rank Advancement Exam is broadcast live for fairness.

[ Good work. ]

At the same time as Supervisor Konrad spoke, the Demon Beast summoned in the exam hall dissolved into particles and vanished.

The examinee who had been facing the Demon Beast had a look of clear disappointment on their face.

This examinee, too, had never once gained the upper hand against the Demon Beast’s data.

But they must have prepared hard during this period—it seemed harsh to end it without even letting them see it through.

“That guy always does that.”

Thinking that, Leroy, an examinee waiting for his turn, muttered in a bitter voice as he watched the broadcast screen.

Leroy was an E-Rank Hunter who hadn’t been able to rank up for a year, now on his fourth attempt at this exam.

It wasn’t that he was particularly bad at passing compared to others.

The pass rate for the D-Rank Hunter Rank Advancement Exam averages under 30 percent.

Rank Advancement Exam opportunities come only once a quarter, and more than half of Hunters fail for over a year.

‘I won’t end up like that. This time, I’m confident.’

Maybe because it was his fourth exam, he no longer felt nervous.

And he’d gotten a lot stronger than when he first took the exam.

Thanks to that, he had a bit of leeway.

So much so that he was more worried about the examinee trembling next to him.

“Hey, you okay?”

Leroy asked the examinee in a concerned voice.

The boy was a rare sight for a Hunter—young.

“Huh? Oh… yes.”

“Well, it’s natural to be nervous.”

If he failed this exam, he’d have to wait another three months without a choice.

And then he’d be stuck dealing with goblins and kobolds over and over again.

Leroy wanted to rank up as soon as possible and end this damn E-Rank Hunter life.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“…Deneb. Lucius… Deneb.”

“Deneb… wait, Lucius?”

The moment he heard the boy’s name, Leroy’s face showed surprise.

“No way, that Lucius?”

At Leroy’s words, the boy who called himself Deneb nodded with an embarrassed expression.

‘This kid… I thought he was a greenhorn, but he’s a big shot?’

Leroy knew the name Lucius.

Anyone working in the Hunter industry would find it strange not to know.

It was the surname of Wilhelm, an S-Rank Hunter.

Wilhelm was the guild master of ‘Royal Knights,’ one of the top five largest guilds in the country.

And this kid was a relative of that guild master!

‘…Tch.’

Realizing the gap between himself and the other, Leroy clicked his tongue involuntarily. Only then did he understand why this young boy was here.

Being the younger brother of an S-Rank Hunter, he must have exceptional talent.

Most underage Hunters enroll in the Hunter Academy before becoming Hunters.

But very rarely, some show genius-level talent from a young age and get scouted by a guild—this boy seemed to be one of those cases.

Honestly, he was jealous. To be part of the Royal Knights, one of the Five Great Guilds that every Hunter dreamed of…

“…Good luck.”

This wasn’t the time to worry about others. This boy would probably pass the exam with high probability.

Leroy felt a bit uncomfortable, wondering if the kid was secretly laughing at him…

“Thank you.”

The boy Deneb bowed his head and expressed genuine gratitude.

Seeing that, Leroy’s heart softened a little.

[ Next examinee, please enter. ]

Hearing the sound from the broadcast screen, Leroy and Deneb’s gazes both turned toward it.

And then.

A moment later, the moment they saw the silver-haired girl who appeared.

“Whoa…”

“I thought she was a doll.”

“Who is that? First time seeing that face? Was there a Hunter that young?”

A sigh of admiration rippled through the entire exam hall. Everyone couldn’t stop marveling at the girl’s appearance.

“Whoa, what the hell… that girl.”

Not just Leroy.

“She’s pretty…”

Even Deneb, the rising star of Royal Knights, was the same as everyone else in the exam hall.

[ Ms. Yoschua Verdi, that is you, correct? ]

‘Yoschua Verdi? Never heard that name before.’

At the supervisor’s question, the girl quietly nodded.

To someone watching, just nodding without answering might have seemed like an insincere attitude, but no one commented on the girl’s demeanor.

[ Then, we will begin the exam. ]

With those words, the supervisor pressed the button in front of him. Light particles gathered before the girl, shaping into a living creature.

[ Kiiirururururit!! ]

The formed creature let out a screech. What finally revealed itself was a grotesque, green plant-type Demon Beast.

‘A Mandragora?’

The moment he saw the Demon Beast, bewilderment bloomed on Leroy’s face.

“Isn’t a Mandragora a D-Rank Demon Beast?”

“It’s a troublesome one even among D-Rank Demon Beasts.”

“To put something like that in an exam… they really have no mercy.”

“Wasn’t that supervisor known for being fair? I mean, her attitude was insincere, but still…”

“It could’ve been a mistake.”

It wasn’t just Leroy. Hunters who had taken the exam even once also had doubts about the broadcast screen.

Mandragoras were infamous even among D-Rank Demon Beasts.

They were so aggressive that even D-Rank Hunters would give up on Magic Stones and avoid them.

‘Are the supervisors out of their minds?’

Leroy turned his gaze to the screen broadcasting the supervisor’s face.

He could see embarrassment blooming on the supervisor’s face in the screen.

It didn’t look like acting. Could he have pressed the wrong button by mistake?

Just as he was thinking that.

“It might not be a mistake. Maybe Supervisor Konrad wanted to see something? The girl’s real skill.”

A voice reached Leroy’s ears.

“Now that you mention it, that could be possible?”

“It could even be an opportunity. There are guild scouts all over outside right now — if she shows off something impressive here, she’ll be top pick for recruitment.”

Leroy’s gaze turned back to the silver-haired girl.

With her mysterious aura, beautiful looks, and that bewitching charm that drew the eyes of everyone who saw her, he thought it might actually be possible.

[ Wait— ]

It was just as Konrad was about to open his mouth to stop the exam.

The girl’s body moved before Konrad’s mouth could.

‘No matter what, that’s reckless!’

At the sight, Leroy held his breath, worried that an accident might happen.

If that girl was a Hunter, she must know how ferocious a Mandragora was.

Yet there was no hesitation in the girl’s steps.

‘What is she trying to do?’

Even though she had to face a D-Rank Demon Beast, she showed no hesitation. The moment everyone’s gaze shifted from worry to anticipation.

The girl’s lips parted slightly.

[ …O sword. ]

It was quiet, but since everyone was focused and silent, it could be heard clearly.

The girl’s voice, heard for the first time, was a mysterious and pure tone. It was as if the goddess of melody herself was humming.

The girl extended her left hand. A white light rose up.

Then the girl extended her right hand and pulled a sword from the light in her left hand.

It looked as if she was drawing a sword from her left hand, which had become a scabbard.

“W-Woah…”

“What is that? Is it magic-type?”

“I’ve never seen that. Can a mage also use a sword?”

Everyone couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.

Except for one person.

Deneb shot up from his seat.

With a dazed expression, Deneb couldn’t take his eyes off the girl reflected on the broadcast screen. The reason was.

“…Verdiol hyung-nim?”

Because the girl’s magic was emitting the same light as the hero he admired.

No doubt about it. That magic was definitely the same as the one Yoschuko Verdiol used.

Having seen it right before his eyes, Deneb was certain.

“Please take your seat.”

Just then, a man wearing sunglasses who appeared to be a supervisor approached Deneb’s side and spoke.

“Ah, I’m sorry…”

Finally coming to his senses, Deneb apologized with an embarrassed expression and sat down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Ah, it’s… nothing.”

Deneb answered Leroy’s question evasively.

‘Who is that kid?’

What relation could they have to Mr. Verdiol? That was the only thought in Deneb’s head right now.

Three years had already passed since Yoschuko Verdiol stopped hunting.

And a month ago, the occasional news of Yoschuko Verdiol had completely cut off.

He had asked around, but no one knew Verdiol’s whereabouts.

Deneb had been saved by Verdiol once in the past.

The scene of Verdiol saving him was still vivid before his eyes.

A magic-type Hunter who cast spells without incantation and swept away Demon Beasts single-handedly.

Seeing that, Deneb had fallen into magic despite his family’s opposition.

Because of that connection back then, when Verdiol hyung-nim, who never built ties with others, taught them magic, it felt like they had the whole world.

But now.

A girl no one knew, a girl who used the same magic as Verdiol, had appeared.

Was that why?

While others showed surprise and admiration.

‘How… How does she know Mr. Verdiol’s magic…?’

Deneb felt jealousy alone.

The relationship between Verdiol and the girl bothered him.

How could that girl use Verdiol hyung-nim’s magic?

“Whoa! What the hell?!”

“Did you see that?”

“Even if it’s just data… she sliced a D-Rank Demon Beast Mandragora in one blow?”

“Is that really an E-Rank Hunter?”

It happened while Deneb was distracted for a moment, suspicious of the relationship between the two.

Deneb, snapped back to reality by the shouts around him, turned his gaze back to the broadcast screen.

“…!”

The Mandragora on the broadcast screen was torn apart wretchedly, as if it had run into a massive storm, and the girl standing before it was staring at the supervisor with a blank expression, as if this was only natural.

At that sight, everyone watching felt awe toward the girl. Someone started clapping.

Even though she was an E-Rank Hunter, she had cut off the breath of a Demon Beast that was among the more troublesome of the D-Rank ones in a single blow, so her pass was practically confirmed.

And that wasn’t all.

The guild scouts watching the broadcast screen were probably desperate to recruit that girl too.

Maybe even those Five Great Guilds might show interest. The girl had put on that level of performance.

So everyone watching the broadcast thought that even if the girl looked expressionless on the outside, she must be happy.

But that was the illusion of those watching.

‘I’m fucked.’

In truth, this girl was currently very panicked.