LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 22. Awakening Re-examination (2)
Seonwoo-yeon is just one of the numerous staff members in the association, but Jeong Ha-seong is a different story.
The iconic hunter of Korea, called the people’s hero, Jeong Ha-seong.
How could he have been attacked by some lowlife?
As a result, the association’s investigation department also got involved.
The first thing Jeong Ha-seong did upon regaining consciousness was report Kim Gi-ryeo.
‘I knew this would happen!’
The smoldering suspicion was reignited.
A hunter registered illegally might resist in any way possible if a re-examination determination is made, trying to hide their crimes.
That means there are various risks involved when contacting them.
So ordinarily, the staff would take a step back from the re-examination, but Seonwoo-yeon, unlike the rest, didn’t shun the dirty work.
“That hunter is assumed to be C-rank or higher, so I’ll handle this personally.”
Diligent and sincere.
This earthling’s identity can be summed up with such words.
Ding dong, ding dong.
Eventually, every butterfly effect culminates today.
Ding dong, ding dong.
The staff dispatched from the association stood in front of a studio to reveal the secrets Kim Gi-ryeo hides.
They were tense, worried he would either flee or create a scene.
“I understand. I’ll just grab my mobile phone and come right out, so please wait for me.”
The worst they feared didn’t happen.
The man who greeted them accepted the situation surprisingly willingly.
Kim Gi-ryeo flung open the door, secured it with a doorstop, and returned to his room.
It seemed he was looking for his mobile phone.
‘Does Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo live here?’
While waiting for him, Seonwoo-yeon casually looked around inside the studio.
It was the same view she had seen through the door earlier, but again, it looked so cramped and old.
‘Why would someone like him live in such a place…?’
Even a D-class Awakened could live in a much better place.
Thinking about it, Kim Gi-ryeo’s suit seemed odd too.
Unlike Seonwoo-yeon’s tailored suit, his looked like it was bought at the lowest price on some online open market.
He always wore cheap clothes.
Could it be that Kim Gi-ryeo is just frugal?
‘No way, a person like that wouldn’t commit illegal acts by falsifying their rank. He must be hiding some assets or something.’
Seonwoo-yeon shook her head as she tried to compose herself.
There’s no need to rush. All lies will be revealed today anyway.
*
[After a moment, Awakening Test Center Main Building]
What’s this out of nowhere?
‘Who reported me? Could it be Ahn Yoon-seung? No way, I should’ve been caught by now if that was the case.’
Caught off guard by the sudden summons, I was already in front of the Awakening Test Center.
I stopped briefly in front of the main gate and asked a nearby staff member.
“Excuse me. But I have no money, and isn’t the cost of the awakening re-examination expensive?”
That was my biggest concern.
I heard the re-examination fee would easily go over 400,000 won since there’s no government aid.
“Re-examinations conducted for investigation purposes incur no costs.”
“Aha.”
So it’s actually a benefit?
Internally, I cheered at Seonwoo-yeon’s answer. An Awakening Level test also serves as a magic power test…
I could check Kim Gi-ryeo’s specs in advance!
‘Just like one might struggle to smell their own scent, one can hardly gauge their own magic power until they use it.’
But while I was happily lost in thought, Seonwoo-yeon stared blankly at me before dryly saying,
“Just so you know, the costs won’t apply if the re-examination confirms the same rank.”
“Eh?”
“If guilt is confirmed, you will have to pay both a fine and examination fees, correct?”
I promptly sealed my lips.
Wait, that means I’m in a precarious situation right now…?
‘What to do? I can barely scrape by with meal costs as it is.’
Before I could protest, the tribunal was right in front of me.
At the end of the corridor. I entered a room through a translucent glass door.
In there, I encountered a device I had never seen before.
“Is this the Awakening Tester?”
“…You did this last year, remember?”
“Oh! Right, right.”
So it’s kind of like…
If I had to express it using the memories from Kim Gi-ryeo’s brain, there were three capsules resembling the hibernation capsules from movies.
It had “PIXY” written in big letters on the side. Is that the company name?
“Please lie down comfortably here, supporting your neck on this side. The measurement takes about a minute.”
I laid down in the capsule as directed by Seonwoo-yeon.
Soon, the front glass covered me like a lid, and the space I was in was temporarily sealed.
Chik-chik. Chik-chik. Chik-chik.
The sound of the air pump activating echoed rhythmically.
‘Ah.’
I immediately figured out how the earthlings measure magic power.
The thick external mana surged inside the capsule.
In other words, it combines the external mana particles coming in naturally through a mage’s breath with the internal mana particles to determine their concentration…
Biiiiiing.
“Finished. You can come out now.”
Oh no, I didn’t even finish my thoughts before it was over.
As I straightened up, adjusting my flattened hair, I asked,
“What’s the result?”
Of course, the measuring values were as expected.
“You’re in the F-class normal range. Top 60%.”
Seonwoo-yeon read off the value displayed on the side panel.
This was a foregone conclusion since this method of testing has a significant flaw.
“It’s likely due to your lungs.”
This method of testing can’t accurately reveal the magic power of someone with a respiratory disease.
The foolish garbage chain smoker Kim Gi-ryeo ruined his lungs in his lifetime!
I mean, is it possible to even measure the breath alcohol level when you can hardly breathe?
‘Using such a shoddy device to measure magic power, how primitive. So primitive!’
No wonder Kim Gi-ryeo got an F in life.
I clicked my tongue, lamenting the underdeveloped technology of the earthlings.
“I’m aware of that possibility. That’s why today we plan to measure the awakening level with the latest device as well.”
“……”
“Of course, those with respiratory issues have already been informed to re-examine since last year. If you think that excuse would hold water now…”
Only three seconds later, my composure shattered.
“What did you just say, Ms. Seonwoo-yeon?”
Earthlings already know there’s a problem?
Honorifics slipped out of my mouth without me noticing. She gave me a cold look and said,
“Kim Gi-ryeo has already missed the chance to voluntarily correct his rank.”
For some reason, my mouth felt incredibly dry.
“How many years does one get for falsifying a rank?”
Great. What kind of explanation is this?
I gave up on everything, murmuring with vacant eyes.
“Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo.”
However…
The next words that spilled from Seonwoo-yeon’s mouth were even more shocking.
“The Awakening Level is 14. In the F-class range.”
“…?”
“Specifically, 14.08Aw… No charges, none at all.”
I successfully passed the re-examination without having to pay any fees!
For a moment, I felt joy at not having to pay the re-examination fee.
Yet gradually, I came to realize what this news meant.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, how does this latest tester work?”
“Eh?”
“You don’t know? No, this isn’t the time. Give me back my mobile phone.”
I quickly took back my mobile phone.
Finding the desired information wasn’t hard.
Searching online about the principles behind the latest Awakening Tester, explanations popped up on the first page.
And after reading the explanations, I could confirm, as someone at the pinnacle of Magic Studies, that this testing device is quite accurate.
In theory, significant errors shouldn’t occur.
Cold sweat began drenching my forehead.
“Why are you like this? Is the result unusual?”
“Well, it’s a bit….”
“This is the best product among existing testers; it has no error margin.”
Seonwoo-yeon calmly stated without understanding why I was flustered.
“Oh, I see why you’re concerned. It seems to have increased by 2 from last year’s result. Looking at the readings, it’s likely you measured with this kind of machine last year as well, even if there’s no label…”
Do they consider this an improvement?
“Anyway, such a change isn’t something to be concerned about. Don’t worry.”
Hastily, I asked,
“Could it keep rising in the future?”
Alphauri typically don’t see much change in their magical power. That capability is determined from the fetal stage.
But Kim Gi-ryeo is an earthling. Perhaps he could keep growing and escape from F-class?
“No. Usually, once such an increase occurs, it stops.”
But Seonwoo-yeon’s calm voice quickly shifted to delivering a grave warning.
“Natural changes in innate awakening levels are absolutely impossible.”
Let’s think this through slowly.
Initially, I thought Kim Gi-ryeo’s lungs were the issue.
I believed that due to smoking, the output device, the lungs, were damaged, causing the inability to use magic.
But what if it wasn’t an output device problem?
What if this body had an empty fuel tank from the start, causing repeated failures in casting magic…?
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, what’s the matter with you?”
That was it.
The answer to the question I had forgotten surfaced.
‘That time, that golem.’
Once before, I passed through the same path yet failed to encounter the golem, while Ahn Yoon-seung’s team awakened it by accident.
Why did that happen?
Kim Gi-ryeo wasn’t even recognized as an intruder. His internal mana was simply too low.
“Kim Gi-ryeo? Are you feeling any side effects from the examination? Dizziness or anything?”
As all the pieces fell into place, I felt a laugh bubbling up.
I pocketed my hands and blankly stared at the testing device.
All along, I’ve been impressively positive.
The thought that lost powers would return once the lungs were fixed, that I could conquer the earth alone…
Honestly, even right before stepping into that latest tester, I thought I’d flaunt the incredible magic power I kept hidden.
But the body I claimed was hiding such a cute defect.
“No. No problems at all.”
It’s time to slowly accept it.
My reincarnation magic was a failure.
A critical error occurred during the selection of the corpse, and as a result, I ended up living as the weakest low-class mage on earth.
Hahaha.