My Skillbook, My Way
Chapter 30
Chapter 30
The S-Rank Hunter Exam.
There was only a single rank difference, but the gap was incomparable to that between a B-Rank and an A-Rank.
For one, the way society treated them was different.
While A-Rank Hunters could try submitting guild applications, S-Rank Hunters were personally scouted by major guilds.
That was because a guild’s power depended on how many S-Rank Hunters it possessed.
Even if a guild had just ten S-Rank Hunters, it could place within the top thirty percent, which meant increased opportunities to earn raid participation rights and high-paying quests.
This was why Atlas couldn’t break into the top ranks despite having an unusually high number of Hunters at S-Rank and above—five S-Rank and one SS-Rank—for a small guild.
The restrictions on dungeon entry were also greatly loosened.
While A-Rank Hunters earned the qualifications to enter 4-star dungeons, S-Rank Hunters could enter dungeons ranging from 5- to 7-stars.
Common knowledge held that S-Rank Hunters were on a completely different level from D- to A-Rank Hunters and just as difficult to become.
"Someone like you, Hwajin, could easily become an S-Rank Hunter. You're already stronger than I am, aren't you?"
There was no trace of pretense or mockery in the Vice Guild Master’s words.
Ever since I had helped the Vice Guild Master when he was being attacked by a Giant Golem in that strange world, he had treated me with extreme friendliness.
He looked as though some lingering doubt had been cleared.
"Me, stronger than the Vice Guild Master? You're flattering me too much."
The Vice Guild Master, who had been the first to enter the portal, had been fighting only the Giant Golem.
In other words, he had cleared out the normal monsters, elites, and bosses summoned by the Giant Golem all by himself before we entered.
I even began to suspect that the Vice Guild Master might not be a tanker at all, but an all-rounder like me.
'After all, I saw him attacking monsters with his skills too.'
"Unlike the Hunter Exams up to A-Rank, the S-Rank Hunter Exam is held twice a year. The next one should be in about a month."
The Vice Guild Master told me that if I was planning to take the exam, he would help me in any way he could, and to come find him anytime before ending the conversation.
'The S-Rank Exam.'
I knew two pieces of common knowledge regarding the requirements for becoming an S-Rank Hunter.
One was that average stats had to be 7.
The other was having three or more skills.
'I've already cleared both of those.'
After absorbing refined magic stones several times, my average stats were currently around 7.5, and even excluding the ones I no longer used, I had far more than ten skills.
'There's nothing to lose by becoming an S-Rank Hunter, so maybe I should take the exam like the Vice Guild Master suggested.'
As I was thinking this while sitting in the guild hall, I saw Gang-il and Hyeri entering.
"Ah, Gang-il, Hyeri."
I approached the two to greet them.
"Oh, Hwajin."
"Hello, Hwajin."
After exchanging greetings, I asked about their plans for the day.
I was planning to ask them to do a quest together if they were free.
"Ah, sorry. I think we'll be busy today."
"We have some business to attend to……"
But after answering as such, they stopped by the counter and immediately went outside.
'……So this is what happens after all.'
Unlike me, who had grown stronger rapidly thanks to my changed unique skill, Gang-il and Hyeri were ordinary Hunters.
Not long ago, we had taken the A-Rank Hunter Exam together, so they must have felt the difference even more acutely.
'I expected it, but it's a bit bitter now that it's reality.'
It hurt even more because I considered them comrades despite the growing gap.
It was two days later that I realized my assumptions about the two of them had been nothing but a misunderstanding.
"Hwajin! I heard. You're thinking of taking the S-Rank Exam?"
Gang-il burst into the guild hall and said that the moment he saw me. Hyeri was with him too.
"Yes. There's an exam next month, so I thought I'd give it a shot……. Why do you ask?"
Their expressions were strangely serious—no, they even seemed resolved.
"Hwajin. We're planning to take that S-Rank Exam too."
For a moment, I almost asked, "Huh? Really?" but stopped myself. It might have sounded like I was looking down on them.
But it was such a sudden statement.
From what I knew, Gang-il had two attack skills and stats averaging a little over 4—the level of an A-Rank Hunter.
In Hyeri's case, she had one more skill than him, but her average stats weren't much different.
In short, they were somewhat lacking to take the S-Rank Hunter Exam.
Had they read my doubts?
Gang-il and Hyeri smiled playfully and pulled something out of their inventories.
"This is……"
Familiar red and blue stones sat in their hands.
They were magic stones.
"Traveling with you, Hwajin, made us realize something clearly."
"Realize something?"
"That the gap in levels between you and us has grown too wide."
My heart sank a little at Hyeri’s words.
"I was disappointed because I felt that if things continued like this, I wouldn't be able to run with you anymore. But just sitting still didn't feel right either. When I thought about what we could do, it came down to raising our stats."
"For a week, we only ran high-paying quests. And from that money, we kept only what we needed and converted the rest into magic stones."
The two of them had about ten magic stones in total.
With each magic stone costing tens of millions of won, the amount they had spent naturally amounted to hundreds of millions.
"But if that was the case, it would have been better if I had gone with you……"
If they had gone with me, they could have finished far more quests, and much faster.
"If we went with you, you'd do everything yourself."
The answer that came from Gang-il was something I hadn't expected.
"We're Hunters too, so when we meet someone stronger than ourselves, we feel envious, jealous, and even frustrated."
"Even if we can't catch up to you, we're trying to follow. But if we borrowed your strength even for that, I felt like we wouldn't be able to do anything on our own."
"The Hunter Exam is in a month, so we'll try to raise our stats as much as possible until then. We don't know if we'll pass, though."
The moment I heard their words, a resolve formed within me.
I summoned my book.
"Gang-il, Hyeri. I've actually been hiding something."
I showed them my stats.
Their faces were dyed with shock.
"Wh-what? Strength 13 and Vitality 10?"
"It's low compared to those two, but even my mana is 6……"
I got up from the sofa.
"Let's move elsewhere."
We entered the first floor of a nearby 3-star dungeon where no one else could overhear us.
I revealed that I had absorbed magic stones, that the absorbed magic stones were different from normal ones, and that I could create such stones with my skill.
"It's a skill called Refining. It uses lower-grade magic stones as materials to create higher-grade magic stones. It increases the bonus stats and reduces the penalties."
After receiving their permission, I demonstrated by refining the magic stones they had.
The ones Gang-il had raised strength and vitality, while the ones Hyeri had raised mental strength and mana.
When I returned the higher-grade stones to them, the two exclaimed in admiration.
"These kinds of magic stones only appear in dungeons of 6 stars or higher, and they're far more expensive than ordinary ones……. If word got out that something like this was possible, every Hunter would come running with fire in their eyes."
I nodded at Hyeri's words.
"So please keep the Refining skill a secret from other Hunters."
They both nodded. Perhaps still surprised, their gazes remained somewhat blank.
"Now for the main point……"
I said, trying to put on a serious expression.
"If you two gather magic stones, I'll refine them for you."
They were people who had secretly saved up money to buy magic stones, insisting on doing it with their own strength.
If I had offered to help them from beginning to end, it would have backfired.
Gang-il's lips twitched.
"I want to keep working together with you, Gang-il, and with you, Hyeri."
Seeing that he was about to say something, I cut him off.
"Let's pass the S-Rank exam together in a month. And we'll surprise everyone in the guild. How about it?"
The two were silent for a moment before soon nodding.
"Alright. If you're going that far, Hwajin, we can't refuse. Since it's come to this, we'll do whatever it takes to gather as many magic stones as possible."
"Honestly, I wasn't confident we could gather enough magic stones in the remaining month. This is what we gathered by pouring in not just the money earned from quests, but our savings too……. But with your Refining skill, Hwajin, we can get high effects from a small amount……. I think it's possible."
Seeing the motivation reflecting on their faces, I smiled inwardly.
***
A month later, Gang-il and Hyeri had gathered magic stones related to the stats they wanted to prioritize raising.
They had worked so hard running quests to earn money for magic stones that they didn't even realize their names had dropped from the top of the electronic board in the guild hall.
I refined higher-grade magic stones for the two of them.
Gang-il's strength and vitality each rose by 7, while Hyeri's mana rose by 6 and her mental strength by 8.
Unfortunately, neither of them reached the average stat of 7 required for S-Rank. But there was no doubt they had grown much stronger than before.
In a 4-star dungeon they explored as a test, Gang-il hunted every monster except the boss without using a single skill.
Hyeri, with her enhanced mana and mental strength, became able to apply her slow debuff skill to elites and bosses as well.
Her other buff skills, like mana recovery enhancement and strength enhancement, also became more effective than before.
"I feel like I've become a completely different person."
Gang-il spoke while swinging the large axe he usually wielded with just one hand.
"It's really true. Now that my mana and mental strength have risen, I can clearly feel the mana flowing through my body."
Hyeri said, waving her staff. She demonstrated a feat by condensing mana at the tip of her staff, leaving behind a blue trail.
I watched the two, lost in thought.
'There are only three days left until the exam. We've raised our stats somewhat, but they're still slightly short of the average. Skills are fine since there's a solution. What more can we do now……?'
I called out to them.
"There's somewhere I'd like us to go together for a bit. Do you have time?"
"Huh? Where?"
Gang-il asked.
"The guild smithy."
***
"Hwajin hyung!"
As soon as we entered the guild smithy, Seono came running.
Seono's face was covered in soot, damp with sweat.
It seemed he had been working for some time.
"Seono, is the Smithy Master in?"
"Yes. He's in the research room."
I took Gang-il, Hyeri, and Seono into the research room at the back of the smithy.
Inside, I saw a large old man wearing a gown sitting in the research room.
"Oh? Aren't you the rookies who've been making quite the name for yourselves lately? What brings you here?"
I spoke to the smithy owner.
"We've come because we need new equipment."
"New equipment?"
"Yes."
I informed him that Gang-il, Hyeri, and I were preparing for the S-Rank exam.
"I see. You want to arm yourselves with better gear for the exam."
That was exactly it.
"Let's see here."
The smithy owner asked us to show him the equipment we were currently using.
"Hah, isn't this Ja-in's Axe-Spear? It's a double pain weapon—hard to obtain and hard to raise the stats to wield—and yet here you are using it, Hwajin."
"Hahaha……. It just sort of happened."
"Hyeri, I'll overlook yours since it's a staff I made myself. Gang-il. Let me see that axe of yours."
"Yes."
Gang-il handed over the axe, and the smithy owner received it with ease.
I was surprised by that. He had clearly said he was a normal person, not a Hunter.
"Hmm. This is an axe made from the byproducts of the Knife Ghost from the Scrap Iron Mine dungeon in Yongsan. You bought it at the Twin Brothers' Smithy in the Yongsan weapon market, correct?"
"Yes. That's exactly right."
This time, it was Gang-il who looked surprised.
"What are your current strength, vitality, and sense stats?"
"Strength 11, vitality 10, and sense 3."
"Hmm……"
The smithy owner returned the axe to Gang-il and told him to follow.
Following him, we arrived at the second floor of the smithy. The door only opened after the smithy owner unlocked all five locks.
Inside, various equipment—weapons, armor, protectors, and more—were displayed in abundance. The variety was even greater than what was on the first floor.
"Here."
The smithy owner handed the axe on the display shelf to Gang-il.
"This axe uses monster materials that slightly raise your sense. While it's easy to neglect sense in favor of strength and vitality, it's crucial for a warrior engaged in close combat to be able to perceive danger."
"Ooh."
Gang-il exclaimed, examining the axe he received from the smithy owner.
"Hyeri, take this."
What Hyeri received was a long staff.
"This one has a much better MP consumption reduction effect. It also has a self-defense function that lets you strike using mana. No matter how much of a buffer you are, you need to be able to protect yourself in dangerous situations."
Hyeri smiled upon receiving the staff.
"Hwajin, I don't think you need a new weapon. This should do."
The smithy owner pulled out a box from beneath the display shelf and opened the lid.
What came out of the box was a monocle.