“Oh dear, a gate has appeared.”

Kim Songcheol, still in the driver’s seat, craned his neck to look ahead.

Traffic was heavily backed up. If the radio hadn’t announced the gate’s appearance, he wouldn’t have known what was happening.

[The Olympic Expressway section will be closed due to a gate appearance. Drivers, please…]

According to the radio, the exact location was about 700 meters ahead.

Kim Songcheol glanced at his watch.

8:20 AM.

At this rate, he wouldn’t make it to work on time.

‘I should probably call…’

It wasn’t a busy season, but being on time for work was still an important commitment.

However, there was also a possibility the gate would disappear.

A gate is simply a place where monsters emerge, and it’s handled by deducting points earned from dungeons to remove it.

This meant that if the Republic of Korea had enough points, they could remove it immediately.

Kim Songcheol waited about three more minutes before calling on his mobile phone.

It seemed they couldn’t remove it right away after all.

“Hello?”

-Mr. Kim Songcheol?

“Yes. The thing is, a gate opened, and traffic is completely stalled. I apologize, but I’m going to be a bit late.”

-Ah, that one on the Olympic Expressway?

“Yes, yes.”

-There’s nothing we can do. Take your time coming in.

“Yes, I apologize.”

-It’s fine.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

-Okay, okay.

Kim Songcheol hung up the phone and, feeling a bit lighter, turned up the radio volume.

The emergency broadcast about the gate’s appearance ended, and music began to play again.

It was a peaceful morning.

***

Kim Songcheol is an accountant.

It might sound arrogant, but he was naturally intelligent.

Extremely so.

Perhaps to maintain balance, he didn’t have grand ambitions.

He just casually studied, graduated from Seoul National University’s business administration department, and then casually studied again to become an accountant.

Kim Songcheol himself knew it.

The path to becoming an accountant wasn’t particularly difficult, and he had never once used 100 percent of his abilities.

Nevertheless, he was satisfied with the title of a professional.

Isn’t this enough?

That was Kim Songcheol’s motto.

“Oh, I’m a bit late.”

Kim Songcheol entered the office, his whole body expressing apology. It was an office set up at Geosong Steel.

Currently, Kim Songcheol and Choi Daeseong were conducting an audit of Geosong Steel.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Choi Daeseong, who had been leisurely sipping coffee, turned around.

There was no sign of anger. Choi Daeseong, who would be sharp during the busiest season for accountants, would relax once work became a bit lighter.

“Yes. I apologize. Traffic was backed up.”

“Haha, I told you it’s fine.”

Kim Songcheol discreetly sat down and set up his laptop.

As he unfolded his laptop stand and set up his secondary monitor, Choi Daeseong spoke.

“Oh, by the way, did you see the news?”

“Huh? What news…?”

“Our country is also doing mana affinity tests for up to 35-year-olds. Mr. Kim Songcheol, aren’t you thirty this year?”

“I am thirty in international age.”

“Then you’ll have to do it this year.”

Kim Songcheol was thirty-one in Korean age.

He always narrowly avoided being a subject for the testing.

The first mana affinity test was only for soldiers, and it was implemented the year after Kim Songcheol was discharged.

Next, it was for soldiers and civilians aged 18 to 23, and at that time, Kim Songcheol was 24.

“Didn’t you get a text message for the eligible candidates?”

“No, not yet. It seems there’s a shortage of Hunter personnel these days?”

“When has there ever been enough Hunter personnel? At most, there are thirty… There have been many close calls, and one time it even erupted.”

If Hunters don’t close a gate with points, monsters pour out of it.

It had erupted once in Korea as well.

It was a C-grade gate.

Currently, C-grade was the highest-grade gate on Earth, and it erupted in Ulsan.

The Hunters of the Republic of Korea worked incredibly hard to collect points, but they ultimately couldn’t gather enough to dispel the gate.

If a gate cannot be dispelled, there is no choice but to endure the damage.

The Republic of Korea government evacuated the entire population and then showered the area with missiles to deal with the monsters.

The property damage incurred during that process was astronomical.

“Still, isn’t up to 35 years old a bit much? I heard mana affinity decreases with age.”

“The news says it varies by person. It seems they re-researched after that Hunter appeared in America.”

Recently, a rather elderly person becoming a Hunter in America had become a hot topic.

Thanks to this, the theory that mana affinity is highest between 18 and 23 and decreases afterward was partially disproven.

While the general trend was indeed a decrease, there were rare cases where exceptionally talented individuals maintained their affinity.

It had been eight years since gates and Hunters first appeared.

Earth still lacked sufficient research data related to mana.

“Tsk, this is annoying. Where do you think they’ll do it, at a community center?”

“Probably? I wish I could get tested too if I were younger. If I were just one year younger, I’d be testing.”

“Isn’t that just wanting to be younger?”

“Haha, you caught me.”

Ding.

Just then, Kim Songcheol’s mobile phone rang. He opened the screen to find a text message about being eligible for the mana affinity test.

It instructed him to visit a designated testing center within three months to be tested.

***

‘Ugh, how annoying.’

Kim Songcheol left his house feeling as if he were going to a civil defense drill.

He was casually dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie.

He didn’t feel like driving, so he took the subway.

Thirty minutes to the testing center.

The testing center was farther than he expected. He thought it would be at some community center.

‘I think there was a good Tendon restaurant near here.’

Kim Songcheol came out of the subway exit and looked around.

It was 11 AM.

It would be just in time for lunch after the test.

Kim Songcheol, who had planned to finish quickly and eat lunch, frowned the moment he arrived at the testing center.

‘Why are there so many people?’

The testing center was a district office, and people were swarming from the parking lot to the entrance.

“Why call busy people here and then do this?”

“They should have made the measuring devices in advance!”

Chaos was already breaking out. The District Office Employees with name tags were flustered, trying to calm people down.

“The number of machines is limited, so there’s nothing we can do. Please try to understand. Also, if you can’t get measured today, you’ll have to come back another time. Please cooperate with us a little!”

“Come back another time? This fucking…”

He was on the verge of swearing.

Kim Songcheol’s blood pressure rose a bit, but he joined the line first.

He had to prevent the unfortunate event of having to come back another time.

After lining up, a long wait began.

What was he doing on a peaceful weekend?

Time kept flowing.

12 o’clock, 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock.

Lunchtime had long passed, but neither the District Office Employees nor the applicants could even dream of eating lunch.

Kim Songcheol stood at the entrance of the District Office and looked back.

Even though hundreds of people had been measured and left, it was still bustling.

At this rate, it seemed like there would truly be people who would leave without being measured.

‘It’s a good thing I came early. I can have tendon for dinner…’

He comforted himself, but that was Kim Songcheol’s delusion.

“Next applicant.”

The Employee gestured. It was Kim Songcheol’s turn.

First, he verified his identity with his resident registration card, then entered the examination room.

Inside the examination room, there was a large machine that looked like an MRI and a person in a white gown.

They weren’t a doctor; they seemed to be a researcher.

“Is this Kim Songcheol?”

The researcher looked back and forth between the computer screen and Kim Songcheol.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Please sit here. Take off your coat and put your arm in here.”

Kim Songcheol followed the instructions, took off his hoodie, and put his bare arm into the machine’s opening.

“Please wait like that.”

Vwoom!

A rotating sound came from the machine.

It was the sound of collecting Mana particles.

Measuring Mana Affinity is incredibly simple. It’s just about irradiating Mana particles onto the skin and measuring the absorption rate.

However, the technology to collect Mana particles is very difficult, and a special mineral called Mana Stone is required, so not many machines could be made.

Vwooom…

After buzzing for about 10 seconds, the machine’s noise quickly stopped.

The researcher looked at the monitor and tilted their head.

“Huh? This shouldn’t be happening.”

Kim Songcheol glanced at the monitor. The numbers were so complex that it was hard to understand.

“Is there a problem?”

“It seems there was an error. I’ll measure again. Just a moment.”

“Yes.”

The researcher tapped on the keyboard and pressed enter, and the machine started running again.

As expected, the noise stopped after 10 seconds.

“…”

This time, the researcher’s expression hardened. He even craned his neck and looked closely at the monitor.

It was clear that something was wrong.

“Mr. Kim Songcheol?”

The researcher looked back at Kim Songcheol with a very suspicious expression.

“Yes?”

“Please wait in the next room for a moment.”

“Excuse me? Why?”

“Well… the value is a bit high.”

“The value is high? How high…?”

“…It’s 100.”

“100?”

It was an unheard-of number.

Wasn’t the highest Mana Affinity Hunter in Korea 52?

“We’ve never had a result like this before… Hmm, I think it would be good to get a precise examination.”

“…Excuse me?”

He was dumbfounded.

He had planned to eat tendon after the examination.

“Please wait in the next room.”

The researcher’s tone became a little stiffer. There were also some soldiers in the District Office. It seemed like they wouldn’t hesitate to use force if he didn’t comply.

“Yes, well…”

Kim Songcheol picked up his hoodie, put it on, and followed the Employee’s guidance to the next room.

Judging by the coffee pot and instant coffee, it seemed to be the District Office’s pantry.

Kim Songcheol sat down heavily on a chair with a blank expression.

‘What is this? Me, a Hunter…?’

He had never even considered it.

In the first place, people with high enough Mana Affinity to learn magic and swordsmanship were extremely rare.

Furthermore, Kim Songcheol was an accountant.

Even if he didn’t earn as much money as a Hunter, he was a person who lived quite well.

‘No, it must be wrong. 100 is impossible.’

As Kim Songcheol sat there, trying to mentally reassure himself, the door burst open and a middle-aged male staff member in a suit entered.

“Hello, Mr. Kim Songcheol. You must be very flustered, aren’t you?”

He appeared alone and spoke in a friendly manner.

“I am flustered, yes…?”

“I completely understand. Oh, by the way, I am Kim Myeongju from the Special Tactical Training Institute.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I don’t know if I should say it’s nice to meet you…”

“It’s nice for me, haha. I heard your Mana Affinity score was 100.”

“Yes, that’s right, but the person earlier said a precise examination was needed…”

“Yes. I’ve come to perform that precise examination. Your hand, for a moment.”

Kim Myeongju quickly grabbed Kim Songcheol’s hand. The moment their palms met, Kim Songcheol felt a refreshing energy flow into his palm.

But that sensation didn’t last long. Kim Myeongju flinched and let go of his hand.

Kim Myeongju’s expression was not what he expected.

“…The Mana Affinity score doesn’t seem to be an error.”

He straightened his posture and continued speaking.

“This may be sudden… but I earnestly ask for your cooperation. Please help us for the future of the Republic of Korea.”

Kim Myeongju bowed deeply. His forehead almost touched his knees.