Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 18

18. Ability User Exam (1)

Yu-min had arrived while I was showering. She must have gone out for a bit.

Yu-min’s eyes widened as she saw Hyun-woo coming out of the shower. Her gaze naturally drifted downwards.

Yu-min quietly moved the potato chip she was chewing into her mouth. Hyun-woo grumbled, wrapping a towel around his waist.

“Could you at least look away?”

“I was too surprised to look away. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for days.”

“Working out.”

Yu-min stared intently at Hyun-woo. She had seen Hyun-woo’s body several times already. But for some reason, his body seemed to have changed a lot in just one day.

If he looked like an athlete before, now he had an alien aura, like an ancient warrior. And he had many scars.

“Um… I knew you were in good shape, but, um, was it this much?”

“Muscles always get pumped up after a workout.”

“It’s almost grotesque.”

“The muscles are offended.”

Yu-min laughed and turned her gaze to the TV. Hyun-woo put on his clothes and put water on to boil. It was time for a proper meal for the first time in a while: ramen.

While Hyun-woo was boiling the ramen, the evening news was on.

[The opposition party today commented on the interim investigation announcement regarding politician N…]

[KDI [Korea Development Institute] has revised its economic growth forecast for the second half of this year from 2.3% to 2.5%…]

[Team Leader Lee Ji-tae of the Taesung Clan announces expedition plan to Baekdu Dungeon…]

“Yu-min, turn up the volume.”

Yu-min turned up the TV. The news was reporting on Lee Ji-tae’s new expedition plan. Lee Ji-tae himself was at the podium, announcing the new expedition that would take place next year.

[Sealing the Baekdu Dungeon is not only a long-cherished project of our Taesung Clan, but also the greatest goal for the peace of the Korean Peninsula and the safety of our people. Our Taesung Clan has completed sufficient preparations after a long-term plan, and we plan to approach the core of the Baekdu Dungeon in a total of 2 years, in 3 stages. The government has announced that it will actively support this announcement by the Taesung Clan…]

“Wow, sealing the Baekdu Dungeon. Are they really going to do it this time?”

Yu-min muttered in amazement. Hyun-woo honestly felt the same way. Many countries have become chaotic since the dungeons opened, but no country has become as chaotic as North Korea.

At the time, North Korea was very closed off, and it was not known that there was a 5-star dungeon inside. The 5-star dungeon, Baekdu, was revealed when the first Flood phenomenon occurred in the world.

Monsters, monsters from a 5-star dungeon, pouring out in an unprecedented phenomenon. Moreover, the higher the monster’s level, the harder it is to defeat them with weapons that are not imbued with mana.

North Korea, which had not properly trained Hunters, had no choice but to collapse.

And the armistice line remained as a barrier, blocking the monsters pouring out of North Korea instead of the North Korean army.

The Northern Expedition plan came up every time the government changed. But in the end, it was impossible without the cooperation of the ability users, and of course, all the clans refused.

It wasn’t just a matter of protecting themselves, but a judgment that it was impossible.

Clearing a 5-star dungeon is difficult enough, but infiltrating a place where monsters are dozens or hundreds of times more numerous than other dungeons? It’s absurd.

But Lee Ji-tae of the Taesung Clan succeeded in conquering the 5-star dungeon for the first time in Korea, and finally announced the Baekdu Dungeon expedition.

“People must be happy.”

“Yes? Of course. There’s even a petition to send Lee Ji-tae to the Blue House [the presidential residence], and more than 500,000 people have signed it.”

It’s not even a vote, what are they going to do with a petition… That must mean he’s that popular. It’s a bit ambiguous from the Blue House’s point of view, though.

Hyun-woo looked at Lee Ji-tae’s face on TV and felt complicated.

‘Damn, he’s handsome.’

While Hyun-woo was rolling around like a dog in hell, Lee Ji-tae was born with everything in his hands. He was judged to be a 4-star ability user from the start, and he swept up all sorts of rare items based on his immense wealth, and even has a clan filled with his followers.

Moreover, he graduated from Korea’s top university, Gwanak University [Seoul National University], due to his father’s will that he should finish his studies in Korea, and completed his ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps] service. He’s even a good person with a strong sense of patriotism.

He felt like the complete opposite of Hyun-woo, who was twisted beyond recognition.

Even after the news moved on to the next segment, Hyun-woo couldn’t take his eyes off the TV. He thought he was running fast enough, but it was still too late.

He felt like the people who had gone ahead of him were walking with giant strides. Hyun-woo wanted to catch up with them as soon as possible.

Then something caught Hyun-woo’s ear.

[The ability user registration exam is just three days away. This year’s exam is the largest ever, and the Taesung Clan is expected to hire on a large scale in accordance with its Baekdu Dungeon expedition plan next year…]

Ability user registration exam. All ability users of 1-star or higher are recommended for civilian/dungeon/military jobs through this exam. At the same time, it was also a debut place to announce the appearance of new faces. A gateway that any ability user should naturally go through.

Hyun-woo threw a caramel into his mouth.

“I should check it out.”

“Oppa [term used by younger women to address older brothers or close male friends].”

Hyun-woo lowered his head. Yu-min was looking at him with a strange expression. She pointed to the kitchen.

“The ramen’s getting soggy. And don’t eat snacks before eating.”

***

The Ability Management Bureau, the agency that makes ability judgments, was holding the registration exam in a large gymnasium in Yongsan.

Unexpectedly, many ability users were gathered.

Taesung Clan said they would be hiring new recruits in preparation for next year’s expedition, so I expected a lot of people to come, but I didn’t expect this many.

‘It’s a good thing it’s not hot.’

Hyun-woo thought, looking up at the cloudy sky. He didn’t like crowded places, but Hyun-woo, who was ostensibly a complete novice, had no choice.

“Hey, mister! Move up a little!”

The line had shortened while Hyun-woo was looking up at the sky for a moment. When the gap between Hyun-woo and the person in front of him widened by about half a step, a large man behind him spoke to Hyun-woo in a quarrelsome tone.

When Hyun-woo turned around, the man flinched and took a step back.

“Oh, mister, you didn’t look like it from behind, but you’re in good shape. Have you been working out?”

Hyun-woo didn’t answer, just turned his head. It’s understandable to be annoyed when there are a lot of people. But he doesn’t have to be considerate to that extent. Hyun-woo remembered the man’s face for now.

“You look like you’re here for the first time, are you here to get your ability judged?”

The man behind him spoke again, as if he was bored. Hyun-woo hesitated for a moment before answering.

To be exact, it wasn’t his first time. When the ability user craze swept through Korea, Hyun-woo was the only one in the orphanage who was graded.

‘Come to think of it, why was I the only one who got it?’

It was a memory from a time he didn’t want to recall. At that time, Hyun-woo, who was graded as a 0-star incompetent, was treated more harshly than the other orphans. As if to say, ‘You shouldn’t have made us expect anything.’

“Yes.”

Hyun-woo replied with a bitter expression.

“I knew it. Ah, honestly, shouldn’t they separate the people who are getting it for the first time from the other Hunters? Damn it.”

Hyun-woo suddenly thought it was strange. There were people who looked old and experienced scattered throughout the line.

He thought there were too many, but it seemed like not all of them were new. When Hyun-woo was puzzled, the man, who was full of explanatory spirit, began to tell him.

“Since Taesung Clan is doing a large-scale recruitment, even experienced guys are flocking here. Rather than being affiliated with a mediocre clan or a large organization like Jeonneungryeon [All-Powerful Alliance], Taesung treats them well and they have experience. Even if you’re just trying to get in with them, if you say you’ve been trying to get in with Taesung Clan, people will recognize you.”

“Are you here to join Taesung Clan too?”

When Hyun-woo asked, the man snorted.

“I’m here to renew my registration level. Only you can know your level, so you have to get it judged by the Ability Management Bureau and officially recognized. If your evaluation goes up, your market value will naturally go up. But it just so happens that I’m overlapping with the guys who are trying to get in with Taesung Clan.”

Hyun-woo chuckled.

‘Level registration, huh? It’s a scoring system.’

Ability users are, in some ways, more dangerous than gun owners. Because it’s hard to hide a gun.

But if the state scores ability users like this, the ability users will become obsessed with the score and naturally respond to control. Hyun-woo found it amusing.

‘Whoever made this system is good.’

It was clear that he was someone who knew how to control people. If Hyun-woo did anything noticeable, he would notice it right away. But Hyun-woo had no intention of holding back.

‘If I want to leap forward, I don’t have time to go slowly.’

Of course, he didn’t intend to show all his skills. If you see someone rising quickly, there will always be guys who try to hold you back.

“Next group, come in!”

Before he knew it, it was his turn. Hyun-woo took a step towards the first step.

***

The first ability judgment required a total of three tests.

Identity verification, ability test, and skill test.

To Hyun-woo’s dismay, he was blocked from the first identity verification, which he thought would be the easiest. The public official who saw the ID card Hyun-woo presented compared the photo on the ID card with his face several times and became suspicious.

“Isn’t this your younger sibling’s photo?”

“No, it’s not.”

“No, but it’s a photo taken when you were in high school, but why do you look younger? People don’t age backwards.”

Hyun-woo had a complicated expression. He looked a bit older because he had suffered a lot when he was in high school. He even showed signs of hair loss.

But now, Hyun-woo’s skin was flawless and he looked like a young man in his prime.

‘No, maybe it’s because I was in hell.’

Since when was it? Every time he died and came back to life, his body seemed to get better and better.

It was subtly different from the way the body gets better through the destruction and recovery of muscles. It seemed to be a change that occurred after he obtained the Poison Blood. Is it because the Poison Blood absorbs all the bad things?

It was a slow change, so Hyun-woo didn’t notice it, but when he compared it to a photo taken when he was struggling with the 채취꾼 [resource gathering] job, the difference was clear.

‘I must have really suffered at this time.’

Above all, he was most happy that the signs of hair loss had disappeared. He had heard that hair loss was genetic, so he thought his father was really useless in his life.

But that was that, and he was in danger of failing the screening right away.

“Why would I fake my identity? Do I have a criminal record or a mental illness? It’s not like I’m hiding that I’m an ability user.”

When Hyun-woo argued, the public official flinched. In fact, identity verification is not a big problem.

It was just a ceremonial act of a bureaucracy mired in inertia, and in the end, ability users would be quickly eliminated if they didn’t have the skills.

The fact that his face was completely different, and that he looked a little younger, was just the public official’s unnecessary quarrel.

“No, well… it’s good to look young. You should change your ID photo often. Your parents wouldn’t even recognize you.”

“You don’t have to worry about my parents not recognizing me because they’re not here.”

At Hyun-woo’s answer, the public official stammered and stamped the pass stamp.

The ability grade judgment that followed was simple. The whole process ended with drawing blood and dabbing it on the test paper.

Of course, the ability user knows his grade, but it takes several weeks to get it verified by others with a reliable system. He was told that he would be contacted by phone later.

The grade itself doesn’t make a big difference between ability users. Even a 1-star ability user may be worse than a 4-star ability user. However, there was a difference in the limit level.

Considering the future, it is natural that ability users with higher grades will be treated better. This is especially true considering that the rate of increase in ability stats and skill levels becomes steeper as the level increases.

‘I’m a 1-star, but…’

He had gone up one level from 0-star to 1-star, so there was no reason why he couldn’t go up further. This is because the higher the exposure to high-density mana, the higher the probability of the grade increasing.

“Those who have finished the grade judgment, come this way!”

Next, he was guided to a place with a machine that looked similar to a blood pressure monitor. When people put their arms inside, the machine activated and something appeared on the public official’s PC next to it.

He remembered seeing it on YouTube. It was a machine called a status check. But people mainly liked to call it a combat power measuring device.

It was a machine that measured the total of ability stats, but it didn’t check in detail and even had errors.

It wasn’t severe, but there were complaints. In some cases, it came out high, so they just passed it over.

The number that came out of it was called ‘combat power’ by people, taken from a certain comic.

‘Adult men usually get around 100.’

The man who had spoken to him in line earlier, much further ahead of Hyun-woo, received his combat power measurement first.

“140.”

The man clenched his fist and raised it. Hunters would laugh at it, but a level 1 person with an ability stat of 140 meant that he was born with a truly blessed body.

As if to prove it, the next people had 104, 110, 87, etc., and in some cases, even lower than the average person.

But Hunters don’t just fight with ability stats. Even if they were disappointed, they didn’t seem to care much.

“Next.”

Soon, it was Hyun-woo’s turn. Hyun-woo put his arm inside the machine.

“Squeeze the bead inside tightly.”

A bead?

There was nothing inside. But at some point, he felt something soft brush past his fingertips. Hyun-woo reflexively grabbed it.

콰직 [sound of something breaking/crushing].

“Huh?”

A sound that shouldn’t have been heard was heard, and at the same time, the public official’s eyes widened.