Chapter 10 â The Big Test
Inside the examination room.
Eire swallowed hard as she looked around the cold, empty place.
âDaddy⊠is it going to hurt?â
She asked nervously, her small voice trembling a little.
Michaelâs lips twitched in amusement.
âHm. Well, if you were still a baby, youâd cry because it hurt. But if youâre a big girl now⊠you can handle it, right?â
âEekâŠâ Eireâs face turned pale in an instant.
âWhy? Are you scared?â
âN-no! Iâm not scared!â
Michael had to hold back a laugh as he followed her into the room.
The staff member was busy talking on the phone with someone important.
âYes, sir. Itâs true. The Director himself? Y-yes, I understand. But thereâs still one more person left to testâyes, right now. OkayâŠâ
His voice was anxiousâvery different from before.
âDo I go in now too?â
While the worker was distracted, Eire peeked curiously at the testing capsule.
Michael gently patted her worried little face.
âYep. Letâs see if our Eire is a real big girl now.â
He helped her lie down in the capsule and stepped back.
âClose your eyes. Itâll be over when you count to thirty.â
âTh-thirty?â
Eire only had ten fingers! That sounded like a huge number to her.
But she decided she could do it.
âIâll just count to ten three times!â
She squeezed her eyes shut and began counting on her fingers.
âOne, two, threeâŠâ
Her tiny lips moved nonstop.
ââŠnine, ten.â
Then she did it again. And again.
Finally, when she reached thirtyâ
Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep!
âHuh? Wait, what?â
The staff member looked up, dropping his phone.
The machine lights were flashing wildly, and the numbers on the screen started shooting up faster and faster.
âWhat⊠whatâs happening?â
The mana level was skyrocketing far beyond the normal limit.
Michaelâs expression hardened.
âIf it gets dangerous, Iâll take her out immediately.â
But the numbers just kept climbing with no sign of stopping.
âThis⊠this canât beâŠâ
The worker stepped back, pale as a ghost.
POP!
The fluorescent light above them sparked loudly.
The screen glitched, the numbers vanished, and only two words blinked repeatedly:
[Unable to Estimate]
âWhatâwhat do you mean unable to estimate?! Aah!â
And thenâdarkness.
The entire building lost power.
People screamed in confusion.
But just ten seconds later, the lights flickered back on.
The testing screen lit up again, now showing:
[Mana Level: Unable to Measure]
[Estimated Rank: S-Class]
The worker collapsed weakly to the floor.
Michael calmly lifted the capsule lid and picked up his daughter.
âIs it over, Daddy?â
âYeah. You did great.â
âEire did good?â
âYup. You didnât cry and stayed brave. Very impressive.â
âHehe, Eireâs a big girl now!â
While the father and daughter chatted happily, the worker stared at them in disbelief.
âWhat are they?!â
Two people awakening as S-Classâat the same time.
And they were father and daughter!
There had never been a case like this in the entire world.
âYou can leave now, right?â
Michael asked calmly, as if nothing big had happened.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Harin jumped at the noise shaking the whole building again.
âWhat now? Why are they shouting again?â
âPrincess!â
Eire ran out, holding Harinâs hand tightly.
âOh, Eire! Youâre done? So what did it say?â
âMm? S-Class!â
ââŠHuh? What?â
âBut itâs weird. It also says Iâm Myth-Class tooâŠâ
ââŠWhat?â
Harin turned to look at Michael with wide, unfocused eyes.
He just shrugged like it wasnât a big deal.
âAre you serious?!â
Harinâs scream echoed through the entire floor.
***
The real chaos began when they came out to the lobby.
âHunter sir! Iâm from Titan Guild! If you join us, weâll give you a private training center and your own healer!â
âOur guild can match any offerâplease consider us!â
âWeâll support you better than anyone else!â
Everyone swarmed around them, shoving business cards forward.
Eire blinked, overwhelmed.
âWhy do they keep giving me these little papers?â
Her tiny hands could barely hold them all.
At one point, Michael even had to hold one in his mouth because they were giving too many.
âWhat are these papers for?â Eire whispered to Harin.
âTheyâre asking you to join their guild! I mean, two S-Classesâof course theyâd want you. Excuse me! Let us through!â
Harin shouted at the scouts, forcing a path open.
âJoin their guildâŠâ
Eire stared down at the handful of cards, thinking deeply.
Then she suddenly lifted her head.
âWait!â
Her little voice cut through the noise, and the crowd went silent.
âUncles and aunties! Look here!â
Everyone stared.
Eire took a deep breath and shouted,
âIâm gonna make my own guild! So stop giving me papers!â
She squinted and glared fiercely at everyoneâher special âTiger Eyes Attack.â
âThere are too many! I canât even carry them home!â
The room fell completely silent.
Thenâ
âPfft.â
Michael burst out laughing.
âDid you all hear that? My daughter saysâpfftâstop already!â
He chuckled, bumping his forehead gently against hers.
Just thenâclick!âsomeoneâs camera flashed.
âThis is front-page news,â someone muttered.
***
[Breaking News: Koreaâs Second S-Class Hunter Appears⊠a Shocking Father-Daughter Awakening!]
[âIâll make my own guild!ââConfident Words from 4-Year-Old S-Class Child]
[Hero of the Seoul Station Dungeon Break Officially Registered as S-Class Hunter]
[Comments:]
- S-Class? What the heck?!
- How does this small country keep producing geniuses? Grandpa Dangun, are you watching? Koreaâs on fire!
- Father and daughter S-Class?? Is that genetic or what?
âNo way, lol. - They kinda look foreign though. Mixed blood?
âYeah, Korean-Canadian, apparently.
âCanadian genes are OP. đ - That kid is so cute. Whatâs her power? Attack type or support?
âSheâs âCuteness type.â đ
âAgreed. - Wait, isnât that E-Class Hunter running a guild now? Howâs that even possible?!
âBut that E-Class is the granddaughter of Daebang Confectionery!
âWHAT?! The Strawberry-Soaked Choco Roll company?! Sheâs a Hunter?! She shouldâve just run the bakery!
âHer skillâs hilarious. One of them literally just cleans things.
âThatâs the most useful skill for office workers, tbh. I want it. - And her nameâs Kim Daebang?? LOL sounds like a 1970s comedian.
âRight? She looks like some foreign aristocrat but her nameâs Kim Daebang. đ - Anyway, Korea now has THREE S-Classes! National pride, baby!
âNah, more like two. The first oneâs in isolation.
âActually the first oneâs dead. Delete your comment.
***
Meanwhile, inside a black car parked nearby, a man watched the same news flash across a giant billboard.
âDid they accept the special recruitment offer?â he asked quietly.
âNo, sir. They refused. Said they plan to run their own guild, so national service isnât possible.â
âI seeâŠâ
The white-haired man brushed his slicked-back hair with a sharp motion.
âContact Taesan Guild. Tell them to prepare that item.â
âSir? That item? Are you sure thatâs wise, Director?â
âHave you ever seen an S-Class listen to ordinary unawakened humans?â
The secretary sighed. âNo, sirâŠâ
âWe already lost one because of hesitation. We canât make that mistake again.â
The Directorâs eyes stayed fixed on the screen showing the smiling father and daughter.
âThatâs the only way to control those foolish Hunters.â