B-rank monster Lab Dragon.
With a form like a miniature Tyrannosaurus, it was a hunter that wasn’t large but was incredibly fast and possessed sharp fangs.
Its intelligence was low, so it wasn’t particularly tricky to capture, making it optimal for causing a ruckus and stirring up the Center.
Ready.
[Greeting emoji]
Nayeon-noona
R.D. (It means ready, haha)
?
[Disgusted emoji]
Guild Leader-hyung
g
As the signal dropped, Gidan brought his thumb and index finger together and with a thunk, flicked the glass.
Crackle—
Cracks began to run through the 1-meter thick special glass. The liquid that seeped through the cracks vaporized instantly upon meeting the air and disappeared.
Flash.
The monster freed from the liquid opened its yellow eyes.
Gidan raised his headset volume and subtly stepped back.
Soon, a long howl echoed throughout the entire Center.
*
Upon entering the measurement room, the measurement officer recognized Shin Nayeon and bowed deeply before guiding Gru to a large machine.
As Gru stepped inside, the machine emitted a red light and scanned her body.
“There, all done.”
At that moment.
Boom—
“What?”
A bursting sound and the noise of glass shattering could be heard from somewhere.
The blue warning light in the measurement room flashed.
It was a signal for all employees with Hunter licenses to assemble.
The measurement officer took a weapon out from his inventory and gestured toward Lee Yujeong.
“Officer, please guide the complainants to the waiting room!”
“Yes!”
Amidst the busily moving staff, Nayeon smiled and picked up Gru.
*
When the Center determined whether one was an Awakened, it gathered stats extracted from the measurement device, total mana, and skill data in the server room, outputting it after a series of information processing steps.
And in that server room, hunters with Hunter licenses were stationed.
Jurim, who had been leaning against the wall of the server room waiting for everyone to clear out, approached the desk without dispelling his stealth.
“Measurement Room 1 is this way.”
In front of the small monitor, the program was interpreting Gru’s data and writing it down line by line.
Han Geuru, 4, Female
Status: F
Skill: L
Total Rank: S
“How considerate.”
Smiling in satisfaction, he placed his hand on the monitor screen.
[Activating the skill “Internal Interference (SSS)”.]
—Interferes with all internal settings recognized by the caster.
“Internal Interference” was a skill that allowed the caster to manipulate internal settings however they pleased.
Depending on the caster’s stat values and the target’s condition, the skill’s range varied, but because its conditions were demanding, its applications were endless.
Jurim was capable of anything from simple hacking to rummaging through a person’s mind, and he also applied it in combination with other skills to directly inflict pain or subdue targets.
Reading Gru’s skill had also been done using this ability.
It was just as Jurim was about to modify Gru’s skill and rank.
“Why was the ecology center suddenly in an uproar?”
The door opened abruptly.
“I heard the glass broke. They kept saying it was expensive and held off replacing it forever; I just knew this would happen.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t skimp on safety. I tell them every time, but they never listen.”
“Tsk, do you think they’d spend money when they’re already plugging gaps by rotating low-rank hunters? It’s a relief Team Leader Jin is at the Center; we almost had to waste our energy over nothing.”
After grumbling for a moment, they sat back down and checked the monitor.
“Let’s see, let’s see. Is our baby still F?”
“See, awakening early isn’t always a good thing.”
After confirming the hunters were retransmitting the modified data to the measurement room, Jurim slipped out through the open door.
“Team Leader Jin?”
He entered the restroom, confirmed it was empty, and dispelled his stealth. Then he naturally stepped out.
Glancing once at the CCTV, he smoothed the glove on his left hand and headed toward the measurement room.
He had told Gidan to buy at least ten minutes, so they must have chosen a B-rank monster or higher.
Was there a hunter at the Center skilled enough to subdue a B-rank monster in such a short time?
Furthermore, if it was Jin, there was one person who unpleasantly came to mind.
Because he was Rank 1 among the hunters of the Republic of Korea, quite a bit of information reached Jurim whether he wanted it or not.
Government agencies and figures from various fields sought his counsel or wanted to test his reactions, and that was how he had come to know about that man.
His Korean name was Jin Siwon.
He was a defected S-rank and the possessor of the Reading Skill.
*
Gru sat quietly in the waiting room, waiting for Nayeon to return.
“Gru, don’t go anywhere and stay right here, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Although they were the main culprits who had caused this incident, no one wanted any casualties.
Nayeon had stepped out to prevent any potential harm, and before long, the situation seemed to have been quickly suppressed.
Because the warning light stopped shortly after.
“It all went well, right?”
It hadn’t even been five minutes...
It was a suppression much faster than the Guild Leader had told them.
Nothing went wrong, right?
The thought that something might have gone wrong made Gru uneasy.
“Could it be... Gru failed to hide her strength?”
Strength-concealment failure = Gru’s abilities spread everywhere = Ambush by villains targeting Gru!
Thud—!
Gru, pale as a sheet, tightly hugged her duck clip and was anxiously awaiting Nayeon’s return when the quiet waiting room door burst open.
“Unnie!”
Gru ran over and hugged the figure tightly.
“Gru was being brave like unnie said...”
She was about to say she had waited obediently even though she was scared alone, but the texture felt strange.
“...?”
Why were her sister’s legs, which should be soft and slender, so...?
Gru turned deathly pale and looked up at the person with a despairing expression.
The man raised the corners of his lips in an awkward smile, looking baffled and unsure of what to do.
“Uh, um... Hello.”
Ash-tinged blond hair, slightly drooping eyes. A melancholic impression with a gentle tone.
He gave a warm impression, but his features and jawline were sharp and striking.
“I’m not your unnie, I’m Uncle Jin Siwon.”
“...!”
Gru flinched in surprise and instantly backed away.
“A villain?!”
Hiding behind the back of a chair, she trembled and glared at the man.
“Ah...”
He regretfully reached out, then withdrew.
“Sorry, did I startle you by coming in suddenly? I just came to check if the waiting room was safe.”
“...You didn’t come to target Gru?”
“Hm? I’m not a weirdo! I’m an uncle who works at the Management Bureau here.”
“Management Bureau?”
Gru cautiously leaned her head out a little more.
“I have candy, want some?”
Jin Siwon rummaged through his pocket sluggishly.
His movements were somehow unsteady, and as expected, the candies clattered to the floor.
He smiled embarrassedly and picked them up.
“Oops...”
Limp, limp. The man was as clumsy picking up the candy as a newborn giraffe.
“He doesn’t seem to be a villain. Just somehow incompetent...”
Gru hesitated, then cautiously approached and helped pick up the candy.
“Haha, this is embarrassing...”
Jin Siwon, his ears turning red, handed a candy to Gru.
“Do you like ginseng flavor?”
What flavor?
At a flavor she had never heard in her life, Gru’s mouth fell open.
Jin Siwon quickly spoke with a troubled expression.
“W-well, I don’t really know what children like.”
“...I wike it, hongsam.”
Gru nodded so that he wouldn’t feel embarrassed anymore.
“That’s a relief.”
Jin Siwon smiled again as if melting softly.
“For some reason, he’s an uncle who tugs at my heartstrings...”
“Thank you.”
Gru smiled brightly as she received the ginseng candy and held it to her chest.
He took a deep breath and clutched his chest.
It was at that moment.
Ding!
[Prospective guardian detected. Raising the attachment index will make guardian registration possible.]
“Eh?!”
This clumsy uncle is S-rank?