The Hunter Association was in chaos.
"Have you tracked down the buyer yet?!"
"Forget that! Scour all the nearby CCTV footage first!"
Some shouted, and some broke out in a cold sweat.
It was a frantic scene reminiscent of a battlefield.
Amidst the pandemonium, Association Chairman Seunghoon Kim stared intently at the recorded footage.
The video captured the snow-dusted meadow surrounding a Tower located near Namsan.
A bulletin board stood alone in the quiet field.
It was the Auction House board—an indestructible anomaly that had materialized alongside the Tower, blending into the landscape as if it had always belonged.
The CCTV caught what appeared to be a humanoid figure approaching it.
It was a fleeting silhouette, visible for a fraction of a second as the mysterious item, [The Unnamed Ring], was listed on the Auction House.
Other than that tiny figure, nothing else could be discerned.
Seunghoon moved his mouse and zoomed in on the paused video.
And yet…
…It's distorted.
Dark red static and hazy halos of light masked the view.
Before becoming head of the Hunter Association, Seunghoon had been an A-rank Hunter.
Because of that background, this visual interference was all too familiar.
Nothing belonging to the Tower could be recorded by any medium.
Not with high-end cameras, mana-infused crystal orbs, or even…
Extracted human memories.
Because of this absolute rule, records of the Tower relied entirely on the accounts of former Climbers.
And the static blurring the screen at that moment was identical to the phenomenon he had witnessed firsthand.
"Still… something's off."
That visual distortion was a phenomenon that should never occur outside the Tower.
Monster drops and gear obtained inside usually became crystal clear the moment they left the Tower.
Seunghoon let out a sigh and turned toward the window.
Outside, even in the dead of night, lights flickered across towering skyscrapers, illuminating Seoul's skyline.
Though they should have been off the clock hours ago, the staff trapped in the emergency investigation had exhaustion etched onto their faces.
"Sigh… all this fuss over a single weapon…" an employee muttered.
"It isn't just any weapon."
Seunghoon glanced toward the voice.
Soohyeon Han, Head of the Appraisal Management Department, approached the subordinate who was clutching his head in sheer frustration.
"It's an item with effects that defy logic. Now that we know it was crafted domestically, securing this anonymous creator is a national priority before other nations catch wind of it."
"Even so…"
Pouting, the employee grumbled loudly.
He was a rookie hired only a few months back.
Before being a Hunter or an association employee, he was an ordinary person in society who had gotten lucky enough to Awaken and achieve overnight success.
"Besides," Soohyeon added, "we still have Hunter Daon Lee's case to account for."
Two unprecedented anomalies—the mystery weapon in Daon's possession and this new listing on the Auction House—had surfaced within thirty days of each other.
"Of course, it might be a coincidence… but if we fail to figure that out accurately, we have no reason to exist."
Hearing this, Chairman Seunghoon rested his chin on his hand, sinking deep into thought.
A coincidence? Definitely not.
Ever since the appearance of the Tower, coincidences no longer existed.
At least, that was what Seunghoon believed.
Everything was driven by inevitability—or fate.
Whether this unclassifiable anomaly would prove to be a blessing or a curse, he had no way of knowing.
* * *
I had run into a massive obstacle.
"If you don't have an ID… what about your parents?"
"…"
Needing a place to stay for a while, I walked into a hotel carrying a sack of cash, only to hit a wall right at the front desk.
"Beastkin, and no identification either… She must have just come out of the Tower, right?"
"Looks that way…"
I overheard the staff whispering behind the counter.
Beastkin without identification…
Fortunately, this didn't seem to be an entirely unprecedented situation.
"Your name is Dan, right? Would you mind taking a seat over there while we figure things out?"
I nodded at the smiling receptionist and plopped onto the designated sofa.
So soft…
My body practically melted into the plush cushions.
I should try leatherworking later.
Whether back in the forge or here in the modern world, steel was the only material I had ever worked with.
Compared to cold, rigid steel, the feel of plush leather and soft padding was heavenly.
As I closed my eyes to savor the feeling, I heard multiple footsteps echoing from a distance.
A group of people in suits walked into the hotel.
"Is this the child?"
It was a face I had seen near the Tower earlier.
Receiving a nod from the staff member, the suited man turned his attention to me.
"Then… could you follow us for a moment?"
The man extended a hand, his posture polite and cautious.
Whether because I was a child or simply lacked identification, his attitude carried a strange gentleness.
Instead of taking his hand, I pushed myself up from the sofa on my own.
Parting with the plush leather was heartbreaking, but my instincts told me this was a necessary formality now that I was out in the real world.
Pat, pat.
Stepping onto the carpet with soft footsteps, I followed the group outside and climbed into a sleek black sedan.
Towering skyscrapers and flashing neon signs blurred past the window.
"Whoa…"
I was staring intently at the scenery when, before I knew it, the car pulled up in front of a massive glass building.
[Korean Hunter Association]
A large sign was visible in front of it.
It seemed these people belonged to this place called the Association.
"I'm dead tired... How many days has it been?"
"They said we get two days off once this is over. Hang in there, senior."
Guided by the employees encouraging each other, I stepped inside the tall building.
"I received the report."
"Yeah, good job."
The security grew tighter the deeper we went inside.
Passing through a door marked 'Restricted Area,' I was brought before two figures seated around a large conference table.
"Thank you for coming all this way."
The woman in the center seat spoke first, her long, straight hair falling neatly past her shoulders.
"Shall we introduce ourselves first? I am Soha Han, head of the Species Management Department."
Instead of answering, I looked around.
Pristine white marble floors and a solid hardwood table.
It had quite an elegant feel.
"…Right. I actually heard your name already. Dan, was it? You were found near Namsan Tower without any registered identification… and as a beastkin, no less."
"…"
Momentarily taken aback by my silence, Soha rested her chin on her palm and continued reading the document placed before her.
"Sometimes exposure to the Tower mutates a person's body. In rarer cases, children are born inside and eventually cast out. I take it you belong to the latter, right?"
Since that wasn't entirely wrong, I nodded.
"There's a standard procedure to issue identification for people in your situation… but there is something we have to do before that. Is that alright?"
Soha then carefully handed me a sheet of paper.
[Comprehensive Examination Form for Unregistered Tower-Affiliated Person (Child)]
I skimmed the document.
Bright, colorful illustrations immediately caught my eye.
There were also rows of boxes asking for basic details like name and sex, followed by questions about my former living environment inside the Tower, physical condition, and unique abilities.
Half of it consisted of things even I didn't know, while the rest felt way too embarrassing to write down.
"Ah, if you don't know how to write, feel free to answer out loud."
"Umm…"
I could answer her if I wanted to.
Except…
Sex…
It was still utterly embarrassing.
Since I had lived as a man for countless ages, my pride simply wouldn't let me blurt out 'Female' in front of these people.
Watching me knit my brows for a long time, Soha mistook my agony for confusion and nodded sympathetically.
"You must not remember much from your time inside the Tower… Don't worry, it's not a rare case."
She muttered under her breath, filling in my name and sex herself before looking back up.
"It's just a formality anyway, so don't stress. More importantly, we have one last thing to check…"
She gestured toward the center of the hardwood table.
A blue crystal orb was sitting there, humming with subtle vibrations.
"Children born under the strong influence of the Tower's energy often have unstable mana levels. Would you mind placing your hand lightly on that measurement device over there?"
A familiar scene suddenly flashed through my mind as I stared at the measurement device.
"It's a mana overload!"
"W-what?! S-rank?!"
I had seen those scenes countless times, and they still occupied a corner of my memory—even after enough time had passed for me to forget my own name.
This is going to be annoying.
I believed it without a shadow of a doubt.
After all, this body was the absolute finest masterpiece I had ever forged.
Sure, I was let down once before, but there's no way in hell I'm weak.
Bracing myself to deal with the impending commotion, I pressed my palm against the crystal orb.
At that exact moment—
BEEEEEP!!!
A sharp, piercing chime echoed through the room.
It seemed the 'impossible' had arrived.
I beamed a smug, triumphant smile and looked up at Soha.
"It's alright. You don't need to be scared. That's just the sound it always makes when reading mana."
"Eh…?"
Instead of shock, all I got was a completely routine response.
Feeling sheepish, I turned my eyes away and noticed another crystal orb resting on the round table.
"…What's that one for?"
"Ah, that is used to measure the rank of equipment, not people. Awakened individuals can view their stats through something called the 'System,' but normal people need tools."
Then shouldn't I be measured with that…?
I did not bother voicing my sudden doubt.
Moments later, the beeping subsided.
"Ah, the results are out."
Right on cue, a printer in the corner issued a sheet of paper.
Soha and another employee immediately walked over to check the results.
"Hmm."
"Oh…"
Scanning the printout, the two exchanged contemplative hums.
"I want to see too!"
Unable to contain my curiosity, I hopped off my chair and trotted over to their side.
Standing on my tiptoes with my ears perked, I strained to peek at the results.
Strength: 2
Durability: 1
Agility: 5
Mana: 2
…Ah. The baseline stats in this world must be incredibly low.
If I was at this level, the average Hunter had to be straight 1s.
Which meant I was actually pretty strong and super fast!
Just as I was nodding along, completely sold on my own logic…
The employee beside Soha glanced between me and the paper, then muttered under his breath.
"…What a scrub."
"W-what?"
"Hey, that's rude."
Soha narrowed her eyes and scolded the employee, but her reprimand only hammered the final nail into my despair.
Get the latest chapter and best reading experience at www.novatls.com
Comments