I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 38

Yoo-shin’s throat felt like it had a knot tied up inside. He tried to gulp it down as Gyu-ha’s hands continued moving, roaming around his face.

“I’m just trying to get an eyelash that’s stuck on your face.”

As if that was all he had to say, Hyeon Gyu-ha removed his hand from his face, but strangely, In Yoo-shin’s heightened senses didn’t subside easily.

I thought I should try to distract myself with a conversation.

“Are you sure you’re okay with calling me every two hours, even after our break up?”

“Well, before we part ways, I need to fully recharge my energy batteries with Master.”

It was a natural and virtuous response that left no room for doubt.

“Alright. Now that we’ve rested, let’s go do the lower body workout again.”

“You’ve already tested me on the same items that are on the physical fitness test, so I should be able to pass by now……”

“This is both a workout and a date. We’re not preparing for a test—we’re on a date.”

This time, he ended up dangled next to Gyu-ha’s side all the way back to the fitness room, being bullied into indulging him by nonsensical sophistry as the clock slowly ticked on. It was three days before the physical fitness test.

*

If you are determined to be class D or higher in the awakening ability assessment, a hunter license will be issued immediately. It is a gateway for awakened people of lower levels.

For people who are awakened but lack ability, they are commonly accepted for jobs like labor, assisting in dungeons by transporting magic stones and monster corpses. The test is essentially for proving that you have the minimum self-defense skills required in a dungeon.

The physical fitness test was conducted at a sports center. As a rule, only relevant personnel were allowed to observe, but……

“Yoo-shin-ah! Do your best!”

The guild staff, including employees from the Ministry of Ability, were truly excellent personnel.

Staff from the Ministry of Ability and from the guild frequently visit centers that test awakened abilities to scout new hunters. In principle, it is possible to scout at a hunter license test, but so far it has only been a formality because there is no need to scout low-level hunters.

Hyeon Gyu-ha confidently came in under the pretext of a previously forgotten rule, and Lee Hye-yeon followed behind him. In any case, this physical fitness test was also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Ability.

In Yoo-shin bowed his head to Lee Hye-yeon, who was running a signboard app on her phone to cheer him on. Although he was so embarrassed that even the back of his neck turned red, he was secretly happy that everyone had come all this way to support him.

〈The physical fitness test on Sunday? Umm…… I don’t mind! Oh well, I guess I can miss church for one day. It’s not like I’m doing anything bad. I’m going to cheer someone on, so I’m sure Jesus will understand.〉

〈Church? Are your grandfather or grandmother US citizens?〉

〈Uh. My grandfather was in the US military. His last name was Lee, so even after he was become a citizen, he just kept it.〉

Just like with Islam, most of the few believers in Christianity were descendants of those who became a US citizen during the Korean War. If it weren’t for them, most people would hardly see cathedrals, churches, or mosques in Korea.

Although In Yoo-shin didn’t know much about Christianity, he did know that they held services every Sunday. It must have been an important day for the believers, so he was very thankful that they came despite skipping the service.

“Do your best, man!”

Park Seung-gi was beside Lee Hye-yeon, who even cheered in Kwon Seong-gil’s stead, as he was too busy to attend. Today, he once again escaped from the lab room using the cheat key ‘Hyeon Gyu-ha’s lover is sick.’ The two social butterflies had hit it off within minutes of meeting.

Next to him was Choi Jin-hyeok. He seemed to hate hanging out at gatherings just as much as Hyeon Gyu-ha did, but he surprisingly had a high attendance rate.

‘Is Gyu-ha-ssi the only one who doesn’t have social skills?’

Hyeon Gyu-ha was standing with his arms crossed, away from all of them. The expression on his face seemed a bit uneasy. He was repeatedly tapping his fingers on his forearm.

While waiting for his turn, In Yoo-shin secretly glanced at the status window and became shocked.

[Current Status: Murderous Intent. ??. Dissatisfaction. Anxiety. Separation Anxiety. Desire for Contact. Light Sticks.]

…… What’s with all this stuff now? And what’s with the light sticks?

Even the desire for contact was something I had never seen before. In the meantime, Gyu-ha was diligently using the skill to erase his presence in fear of drawing attention to In Yoo-shin.

‘I really need to pass this time…… If I have to take this exam again, I don’t think Gyu-ha can handle it……’

In Yoo-shin took a deep breath and clenched his hand gripper with all his might.

*

BRING IT ONㅋㅋㅋ I WILL TEAR IT ALL UP ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

In Yoo-shin chuckled when he saw the graffiti someone had left on the locker room closet.

The test ended with a 100-meter run in an outdoor playground. He barely passed the absolute cutoff point, but he cleared the test. I felt very satisfied, as if I had torn up my textbooks after an exam.

“Hey, from what I heard earlier, it turns out Lee Hye-yeon and Choi Jin-hyeok weren’t the only ones who came here?”

“What’s the big deal about them coming to the hunter exam that’s for small fry like us?”

“If this continues, won’t I get scouted too?”

“Damn.”

In Yoo-shin, annoyed by the chatter of other awakeners, hurriedly changed his clothes and left the locker room.

As soon as he reached the corner of the playground where he had agreed to meet up, his vision became dark, and a familiar body temperature enveloped him.

“I missed you.”

In Yoo-shin patted Hyeon Gyu-ha’s back, easing the anxiety inside him.

“You’ve held on well.”

“Actually, I bought 30 different types of cheering sticks to cheer Yoo-shin-ssi over his head when he was taking a test. When I took them out, Noona said that if you saw them, you would get distracted and fail the test.”

“…… You’ve held on very well.”

It was really fortunate to have Lee Hye-yeon, a person with common sense, here with him. With brightly shining cheering sticks flashing everywhere, I would’ve had no confidence in concentrating on the physical fitness test at all.

“It’s good that Master passed the exam, too. All you have to do now is wait for your license to be issued. And after that, a dungeon date awaits us.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha buried his face in the top of Yoo-shin’s head, smiling happily.

“Yoo-shin-ah! Congratulations on passing!”

“Oh, it’s Hunter In Yoo-shin-nim now.”

“Look at him, passing with flying colors..”

The three people who came late also each offered their congratulations. Park Seung-gi was in the middle of hailing Lee Hye-yeon as ‘Noona’ after she proclaimed she would buy lunch to celebrate In Yoo-shin’s success.

“Are you In Yoo-shin?”

It was an unfamiliar voice. Before In Yoo-shin could turn around, Hyeon Gyu-ha blocked his path as if to shield him. Even though the skill to erase his presence was still in effect, the man who approached stared straight at Hyeon Gyu-ha as if he was not affected by it at all.

In Yoo-shin’s eyes were round as his face peeked around Hyeon Gyu-ha’s chest.

The man’s age seemed around mid to late thirties, the stubborn jawline and sharp eyes made him look strong, but he also felt strangely impatient; his angular and toned body hugged the wide wall.

In honesty, his appearance wasn’t average, but to In Yoo-shin, it wasn’t as handsome as Gyu-ha. His face seemed familiar to In Yoo-shin, who was someone with little interest in hunters, so that meant that this man was very famous.‘Isn’t that the guild leader of Narsha, Gong Tae-seong?’

In other words, he was second in the ranking system.

Gong Tae-seong, who combed his hair with pomade and wore a suit despite it being a holiday, had the air of a strict, elite businessman.

‘He called me earlier, right? Should I say hello?’

While hesitating about what to do, Hyeon Gyu-ha opened his mouth first.

“No thanks. Not going. Too much trouble.”

Gong Tae-seong frowned.

“What nonsense are you babbling about now?”

“Don’t need that Japanese sword. Don’t wanna join the Narsha guild. Talking to you is a waste of my time. In short, get lost.”

“When are you going to fix that damn personality of yours?”

“Seeing as you were looking for Yoo-shin-ssi, I assume that you came here to seduce me to the Narsha guild anyway?”

“My purpose is similar but different. This time, I came to say hello to the Master who is hiding behind you and holding your leash.”

“Aren’t you crazy to eye Master in front of his pet?”

“Fuck! Listen to what I’m saying!”

Gong Tae-seong, whose responses were seemingly calm, ended up cursing.

Watching that scene, In Yoo-shin came to a realization. Until now, I thought that Hyeon Gyu-ha’s social skills were at rock bottom, but that wasn’t the case. The fact that he used honorifics to others was his way of being polite……!

In Yoo-shin felt a little proud.

“Why are you looking like a master who successfully trained a cat to be an obedient dog in five months? Nu-nim, want some popcorn?”

“They really don’t get along. I think the reason Tae-seong is trying to recruit Gyu-ha is not for the sake of his guild, but rather to secretly kill him on his turf and become First Rank.”

“Lee Hye-yeon-ssi, we heard everything till now, you know?”

“Anyway, you said you came to see Yoo-shin, right? Now that you’ve seen him, just leave for today and properly visit the Ministry of Ability later. Gyu-ha is a bit on edge today because of Yoo-shin’s exams.”

In Yoo-shin thought it was time to say hello, so he took a step to the side.

“I’m In Yoo-shin. If you’re here to scout me, I want to tell you that I won’t be going to the Narsha guild.”

No sooner had he finished his greeting than Hyeon Gyu-ha again used psychokinesis to lift In Yoo-shin and swiftly hid him behind his back. Gong Tae-seong looked dumbfounded at that, and even Choi Jin-hyeok stepped forward and waved his hand dismissively.

“Kong Tae-seong, if your business is over, hurry up and get out of here. We have to go eat grilled meat.”

“It’s Gong!”

“You said your name was Gong Tae-seong?”

“Ha, fuck it. I didn’t come here to talk to people from the Ministry of Ability.”

On the receiving end of Gong Tae-seong’s gaze, who was rubbing his temples, In Yoo-shin inadvertently flinched his shoulders slightly. I didn’t know why, but I felt like I was being scanned through, and that feeling was never pleasant.

“Gong Tae-seong.”

And Hyeon Gyu-ha sensed In Yoo-shin’s mood more keenly than anyone else. His expression turned cold, and his low voice rumbled.

***

Editor M: One of the paragraphs in this chapter mentions that Hyeon Gyu-ha uses honorifics, which for obvious reasons is hard to convey properly in English. Hyeon Gyu-ha speaks politely usually to In Yoo-shin and people associated with his master. ^^

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Credits:

Translator: Hoshi Miya

Editor/Proofreader: Editor M

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