A revolutionary rank-assessment simulator that might shake up the hunter world. The chance to try it before its official release was thrilling.

<Oppa, today’s your test, right? I hope you get a good result :)>

<I’ve got a good feeling about today!!! I’m not just saying that—I had a good dream last night too, haha.>

<I wish I could be there to watch, but you’ll have to tell me all about it later... T_T>

Sia must have known how much I’d been looking forward to this day. She kept texting me encouragement all the way to the Hunter Association for the simulator test. Then, just as I was getting out of the taxi, she sent me an adorable selfie of herself striking a cheering pose.

How could anyone be so lovable?

Once I arrived at the association, I went through a few security checks. A staff member then guided me down to the basement, where the prototype simulator was housed. As soon as I got there, a warm-looking man who appeared to be in his late thirties greeted me enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Team Leader Jeong Woohyun, the head of this project. You’re Hunter Yoon Minjun, correct?”

“Yep.”

“I look forward to working with you today.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, Team Leader Jeong launched straight into an explanation of the simulator.

“Put simply, you can think of it as a virtual-reality game set inside a gate.”

The simulator recreated a virtual gate environment using data gathered from gates to date. All I had to do was clear it as I would a real gate. My stats, skills, and combat ability would all be reproduced faithfully, making the experience almost indistinguishable from the real thing. By analyzing how I fought in these virtual battles, it would provide detailed data.

“Depending on how things go, we expect to have your results after a minimum of two and a maximum of four simulations. Do you have any questions?” Team Leader Jeong asked when he finished his lengthy explanation.

“You said you’ve recreated the environment inside a gate. Can you tell me what kinds of monsters will appear?”

“Since we’re also assessing your ability to respond to different situations, I can’t tell you in advance.”

“I see.”

Fair enough. That would make for a more accurate assessment of my abilities. Even from what I’d heard so far, it certainly seemed more systematic than the old rank-assessment process. They never had anything like this before.

“How long will the assessment take?”

“Given the nature of the test, we can’t specify an exact number of hours... but you can expect anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours at the very most.”

It would definitely take longer than the old rank-assessment test, too.

“Should we start now?”

“Yep.”

Following Team Leader Jeong’s instructions, I put on some unfamiliar equipment and entered a huge, cocoon-shaped machine. Inside, strange devices I’d never seen before were arranged around a cushioned chair. With goggles and gloves connected to the simulator, it really did feel as though I was about to play a virtual-reality game. I put on the goggles and gloves, then sat down.

“We won’t intervene again until the assessment is complete. If you need to end it urgently, raise both arms above your shoulders and make a large X.”

“Yep.”

“Then we’ll begin the simulation now.”

After that final instruction, the capsule door closed.

* * *

While the simulator started up and the program was being configured, Team Leader Jeong Woohyun glanced over a document containing Minjun’s basic personal details.

“No matter how many times I look at it, it’s astonishing.”

In little more than two months, Minjun had risen from D-rank to A-rank. As if that weren’t enough, his assessment showed that he possessed an unidentified skill ordinary assessment equipment couldn’t detect. He was a hunter who defied everything they thought they knew. There was no comparable case anywhere in the world, and Minjun was already famous among hunters.

Team Leader Jeong had heard the rumors about him some time ago. Hoping Minjun would participate in this simulator test, he’d tried to track down his contact information. He’d been unable to find it and was close to giving up.

“I’ll have to treat Assistant Manager Yejin to a meal sometime.”

If Seo Yejin, the staff member who handled Minjun’s rank reassessment, hadn’t let him know about Minjun, he might never have had this opportunity.

Every bit as curious about the results as Minjun, Team Leader Jeong turned eagerly toward the screen showing the simulation.

“Miru, make the display a little bigger.”

“Yes!”

After adjusting the display, the intern, Kim Miru, sat beside him to watch Minjun’s test.

The first theme of the test was “Quick Reactions.” Unidentified monsters that had never been reported could appear at any time inside a gate, and the scenario was designed around that possibility. Accordingly, the monsters Minjun would face had been created solely for the simulation.

The virtual monsters were called Gales.

They looked like eagles with golden feathers, but they were as large and powerful as wyverns. They could also use magic. The reason Minjun had been given flying monsters from the outset was that sword-wielding hunters like him were at a disadvantage against them. The scenario was designed to test how he handled the most difficult conditions.

“Let’s see just how much of a monster this guy is.”

* * *

When the simulator started, Minjun opened his eyes in an unfamiliar place: the summit of a rocky mountain so high he couldn’t judge its height. Far below his feet lay jagged, emerald-colored peaks. Looking down made him dizzy; he couldn’t even see the bottom. When he turned to face forward, countless enormous rocky mountains rose there too, their heights just as impossible to gauge.

‘Oh, great.’

Of all the gates Minjun had entered, this was easily among the ten with the most vertigo-inducing terrain. As if that weren’t enough, fierce winds made it hard to stand, and a fine mist of rain obscured his vision.

Despite his frown, Minjun was inwardly impressed by how faithfully the simulator reproduced reality.

“It really feels like I’ve entered a gate.”

He opened his pocket dimension and took out his gear. He’d wondered whether it would work when he first reached for it, and seeing that even the pocket dimension had been perfectly reproduced impressed him all over again.

The strong wind kept changing direction, making it hard enough to stay upright, let alone put on his gear, but Minjun managed it. No sooner had he finished than a flock of virtual monsters—Gales—emerged through the thick clouds.

“What... are those?”

At first, he thought they were familiar flying monsters like wyverns. A second look told him he’d never seen anything like them. Wondering if he’d simply forgotten a monster he knew, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but he was certain he’d never encountered such strange creatures.

Of course he hadn’t. They’d been invented for the simulation. But Minjun didn’t know that, so he couldn’t help feeling flustered. How was he supposed to work out a way to clear the gate without knowing what kind of monsters they were?

His confusion lasted only a moment before he calmly began analyzing the situation. This was a virtual-reality simulation, not a real gate. It was entirely possible that the developers had modeled the monsters themselves.

‘Then I’ll have to find a way to deal with them as I fight.’

He had barely finished the thought when several Gales broke away from the flock overhead and accelerated toward him like hawks diving for prey. They were moving too fast for most hunters to react. With the fierce wind constantly shifting direction, predicting their movements was all but impossible.

Minjun instinctively swung his sword in a wide, powerful arc. A faint, galaxy-colored aura sliced through the charging Gales, and blood sprayed from those grazed by its sharp edge. Considering all the factors at play, it wasn’t a bad result for their first clash, but Minjun knew it wasn’t enough.

To make matters worse, the already powerful wind grew stronger.

‘... Wait.’

As the wind intensified, Minjun noticed something odd. Why could he sense such a high concentration of mana in it? It was definitely different from the mana fluctuations that heralded a gate break.

Unless... Could it be?

Minjun quickly opened his pocket dimension and pulled out an artifact with a protective effect. The moment it activated, mana gathered in the air, formed small spheres, and began raining down on him like hail.

‘They can use magic too?’

Flying monsters that could also use magic. In more ways than one, they were a difficult match for Minjun.

Should he take the fight into the air, as he had against the wyverns in Elysium?

‘No.’

For one thing, the wind hadn’t been nearly this strong back then. Though it had been his first time flying, he’d had little trouble with the flight itself. But now the wind was almost as strong as a typhoon. One wrong move, and it might sweep him away.

That left him little choice but to stay where he was and rely mainly on his sword’s aura and his artifacts. The conditions were terrible in every way, but he still had to find a way to make something work.

‘Or...’

He could use dragon power.

Naturally, Minjun had relied heavily on the Dragon Bone Sword. He was a swordsman by training, and he still couldn’t use the power of the dragon race to its full extent. So he’d used the Dragon Bone Sword as a medium to wield and amplify that power.

But if he wanted to achieve his goal of fully mastering dragon power, he would have to become less dependent on the Dragon Bone Sword, little by little.

‘Don’t rely too much on the sword.’

It wasn’t a real fight, after all—only a simulation. If he didn’t try something daring now, when would he get another chance?

Don’t think of it as swinging a sword. Don’t think of it as borrowing the sword’s power. Imagine being a dragon in its true form, slashing with a foreclaw. Don’t even think about using dragon power.

‘Just convince myself I’m a dragon, not a human.’

With that, Minjun decided to try something new: turn the mana the Gales had scattered through the air against them and send it back. He’d never done it before and didn’t know if it was possible, but he decided it was worth a try.

Like a batter knocking away a baseball hurtling toward him, Minjun swung his sword as though it were a bat. The instant he slashed through empty air, the currents around him began to shift. The clustered masses of mana changed direction and flew toward the flock of monsters.