Hunter Academy Entrance Exam (2)

“Alright~ Let’s see. Next is participant number 323, Ma Hana~ Please come out~”

At the female professor’s words, Ys Seha clenched his fist tightly.

‘The time has come.’

Finally, it was time for our Meowi to prove what she had built up until now.

“Meow. I’ll be back.”

Ma Hana smiled brightly without a hint of tension.

Krrk…! I really wanted to say ‘Well done~’ and hug her, but in this situation where everyone was watching us, that wasn’t possible.

“Do your best!”
“Okay!”

Clenching her fists, Ma Hana glanced sideways at the person next to her.

“……”

Moon Bora, upon making eye contact, quickly averted her gaze.

Ma Hana’s tail drooped slightly in disappointment.

But with the next words, it bloomed brightly.

“…Good luck.”
“…Meow! Yes!”

Step, step.

Ma Hana stepped forward.

Moon Bora, who was watching her back, soon frowned at the words she heard.

There weren’t many.
Even if we combined all the test takers gathered here, it wouldn’t be more than ten.

But like how one loach could muddy the water, the infectiousness of their words was intense.

―Hey, hey, I know that one, Jae. Didn’t I mention it before? The dropout from [Guild 3 Branch].
―Ah… that trash?
―Yeah, yeah, Jae. She somehow passed the first test.
―Most likely, they just gave a high score after seeing the [Guardian] tag. She’ll be pathetically defeated, I bet.
―Hey, but her equipment looks good. It’s probably bought on credit…
―So what~? The owner is trash. Hehe.

At the clearly malicious words, Moon Bora clicked her tongue without realizing it.

‘…The ones who know nothing are actually themselves.’

So clueless.

Do you still find that girl in front of you pathetic?

Or do you refuse to acknowledge what you see?

‘…It’s obvious at a glance.’

Ma Hana.

She has grown to a different level compared to two months ago.

The flashy equipment visible on the surface?
It’s important, but that’s not all.

As they whispered, weapons also need the owner’s skill to truly shine.

And now Ma Hana has grown enough to fully demonstrate that true value.

Moon Bora was convinced once again.

‘She is no longer small.’

Ma Hana’s back was no longer insignificant.

She wasn’t as anxious as she used to be.

She had an unwavering firmness that wouldn’t be shaken by anything.

It was the dignity of a ‘Main Tank’ worthy of leading, literally.

In other words, she was like a great mountain.

However…

‘…I’m not sure if you’ll be able to pass.’

It was true that Ma Hana had grown a lot.

But the status window a hunter possesses and what they show in actual combat are different matters.

Especially since she was a class, which is solely focused on defense.

The unique, almost non-existent offensive capability of the class.

Of course, some might say, ‘Isn’t it enough for a tank to just defend well?’

‘But considering only that, the wall of the is too high.’

As far as she knew, the who passed here mostly showed something special.

Like a ‘Shield’ that allows free action during its duration.

Or a ‘Taunt’ strong enough to even attract the boss’s aggro.

Or a ‘Self-heal’ that significantly reduces the healer’s burden.

‘She hasn’t learned the Taunt well enough. Just because her abilities are decent…’

Moon Bora thought it might be difficult for her to catch the eyes of the professors.

Sigh.

Moon Bora sighed briefly.

Aside from this, things related to Yu Seha kept popping into her mind.

‘…So complicated.’

At that moment, when Moon Bora lifted her gaze,

“…?”
She turned her head at the belated sensation of being watched.
And she felt appalled.

Yu Seha was staring straight at her.

‘…Gulp!’

No, No way…

‘…Did she get caught?’

“Why are you sighing so often?”

Ah, fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Oh, it’s just… I have a lot on my mind…”

Yu Seha smiled at the answer and looked ahead with proud eyes.

“You should concentrate.”
“Sorry?”
“You couldn’t have forgotten it, right? Saying that you will look forward to the changes. Please keep watching.”

Ah… yes, that is right.

Since she had responded to his words, she had an obligation to see Ma Hana’s changes.

The person who said such harsh words to Ma Hana…
She had the responsibility to see her growth till the end.

Moon Bora decided to clear all the complicated thoughts from her mind.

All eyes were on Ma Hana, who was raising her shield on the battlefield.

‘…Show me, Ma Hana.’

And please prove it.

‘That I was wrong…’

That you were right.

Ma Hana slowly caught her breath.
She could here the voices of people whispering around her.

―Why is such a loser even here?
―They said she found a good partner? Maybe since she met a nice guy, things are working out for her.
―She doesn’t have to do much anyway, right?

She didn’t hear much, but she clearly heard the voices of those who knew her.

Ma Hana was not swayed by those words.
Because it was only natural.
She was someone who had nothing to say, even when she heard such things.

What worried her more was Yu Seha.

He, who usually didn’t care much about his own matters and was almost indifferent, strangely got easily heated when it involved her.

Sure enough.

Above the audience seats.

The voices of Yu Seha, who couldn’t hold back his excitement, and Moon Bora, who was arguing with him, saying, “Don’t fall for such cheap provocations!” could be heard.

Just as she chuckled at their banter,

Boom!

An invisible energy spread like a wave through the audience seats.

A charisma that seized the crowd.

And the faint killing intent mixed in made everyone who was being noisy shut their mouths.

‘…That person is…’

The center of the energy was the professor sitting for the examination.

To be precise, it was the beautiful female professor in the last seat.

Her name…
She didn’t know.
Because Moon Bora said she didn’t know either.

She met her eyes.

Her gaze spoke.

‘If you don’t want to be treated like this, prove it.’

Ma Hana bowed her head unconsciously.

‘…Prove it.’

A truly difficult and strenuous word.

Was she really qualified to say such a word?

Ironically, Ma Hana thought she was more familiar with the surrounding jeers than with her gaze right now.

Because her life was always a world filled with gazes that looked at those who fell short of expectations.

‘…Admit it.’

She had no talent.
She was nothing more than a rough stone rolling around on the roadside.

She knew it herself.
Perhaps even with a lifetime of effort, that stone would never turn into a brilliant gemstone.

No, let me correct that.

‘It wouldn’t have been like this.’

One day, a noble person suddenly appeared and guided her.
And crafted her beautifully.
Thanks to that, she could now emit a brilliant light.

It had always been her dream.
She had always wanted things to turn out this way.

Therefore, she should have been happy, but ironically, she felt nothing in particular.

Because her goal was no longer to shine by herself.

‘…Seha.’

Ma Hana wanted just one thing.

Yu Seha. To repay his trust that brought her this far.

And to follow him to his brilliant future, protecting him in any way possible.

For that, she couldn’t afford to lose.

‘If I lose…’

It would damage Yu Seha’s pride.

“Then~ I will start the exam~ Fighting~”

Pajijik!

Immediately after the warm female professor finished speaking, this powerful wave of magic flickered around.

Something formed with a flash of blue light.

Thud!

What appeared was a rhino with a massive body.

It was definitely a [Metal Rhino] type of monster.

“Meow!”

The metal covering its body was not the coppery color, but the distinctive gray of iron.

It was a superior species of the [Kappa Rhino], which gave Ma Hana so much trouble in the past.

The [Iron Rhino] appeared.

“…That’s bad.”

Watching from a distance, Moon Bora clicked her tongue.

“Hm?”
“You don’t think this is a coincidence, do you?”
“…Uh, isn’t it?”
“Of course not.”

Moon Bora explained.

Associations and academies were not as active as they used to be.
Still, they were the closest cooperating organizations among the four major forces.
Of course, some information about the Guild must have gone to the Academy.

“The status window information, including class and stats, is under the highest level of confidentiality [Oath of Vow], so they obviously wouldn’t know that, but they would know almost all the minor details.”

“Ah, then…”

“Yes, they would have also received the report that the three of us stopped the ‘Break Out.’”

“So, they deliberately chose the Rhino type…?”

“I should have noticed from the beginning when I got the subspecies of [Silverback]―the [Redback].”

“Aha…”

Roooaaar!

As if to interrupt their conversation, the cry of the [Iron Rhino] echoed.
It lifted its front legs and stomped down as if to smash the ground.
At the same time, a mass-like force started to gather.

Ma Hana knew well what that was.

“…[Reckless Charge]!”

It was a derived skill of [Charge], requiring a preparatory stance, but its power and speed were significantly higher.

At the same time, it was the ‘one strike’ that Ma Hana couldn’t ultimately block and was defeated by.

Stomp, stomp, stomp!

The Iron Rhino charged at Ma Hana with the same momentum that the Kappa Rhino did.

‘… So fast!’

It clearly surpassed Ma Hana’s speed stats.
She abandoned the idea of dodging halfway.
Ma Hana dashed forward.

“Meow…! [Shield Up]!”
“Roar!”

Rumble!

A formidable shockwave spread in all directions.
Most people thought it was over with this.

A boss type. Moreover, blocking a [Charge] type skill, which was among the most powerful in terms of instantaneous destruction, head-on?

The general consensus was that it wouldn’t be easy, even for a sturdy .

However, the murmurs grew louder as they watched the tense struggle emerge through the dispersing smoke.

This included the professors who were observing.

“…This is amazing. I didn’t expect her to block that head-on.”

The one offering praise was an old woman who seemed to be over 60 years old.

It was Professor Bong Mi-chun, who was in charge of [Information and Long History of Monsters].

She then spoke to the female professor sitting right next to her, who had maintained a stern demeanor since earlier.

“…Isn’t it worth giving a word of praise? Peng Jin-ah? I saw you had some expectations earlier about this. Isn’t that why you helped?”

“…You are mistaken. And it’s a hasty judgment. It’s just one charge.”

The last professor, called Peng Jin-ah.
The one who had locked eyes with Moon Bora.
Her eyes gleamed coldly.

“The test is not over yet.”

[Iron Rhino].
Now, it’s true worth will be revealed.