"Upgrade my blade," Seung said, a hint of desperation in his voice. To his astonishment, the screen displayed something different. He mumbled, "What? Why can this mana upgrade my stats, but the recent one couldn't?"
[Are you sure you want to use the entire mana on weapon improvement?]
Lee Seung kept silent and stared closer at the screen, uncertainty carved on his face. He rubbed his chin frequently, thinking of doing the improvement and at the same time, the latter one.
[Options: Weapon Improvement/ Stats Improvement]
He then made a tut. "Forget it, I need to summon more clones quickly. I will definitely level up with that amount of mana."
His thought alone was able to make the screen choose stats improvement. Seung kept on getting excited, until his eyes fell back on the bluish platform.
[1000 external mana = 1 point]
"What the heck is this?? I never knew this AI is such a load of stress!" He exclaimed. He fell back to the bed and wrapped the blanket around himself.
However, the more he thought about leveling up, the more his desire to submit to the non-worthwhile offer heightened.
Eventually, Lee Seung sprawled to his feet and thought, 'Invest the five points into Mana content.'
The screen then switched to the stats section:
[Lee Seung]
[Mana content: 7.03**12.03]
Silence filled the room. Seung's eyes fixated on the screen for seconds, hints of tears lining up on his eyelids.
He asked gently, "Wh-why isn't the section changing? Haven't I still been qualified to level up...?"
Ding-ding!
He glanced at the phone on the bed, and it had already turned on automatically.
[Sender: Manager Choi Minho]
- I hope you have seen the money I wired to your account. The reason for messaging is that the W.H.A has made a ridiculous announcement for Hunters to do a stats test. I will give more information tomorrow. We'll move in the morning, ASAP.
Lee Seung turned off the phone and peeped out at the cloud through the open window. It was already enveloped in faint darkness.
"I should go to bed now. But first, I have to tell my second clone something," he said to himself then walked out to the sitting room.
The clone was engrossed in an anime playing on the TV, his eyes glued to the screen without blinking, completely childlike.
"The house is neat now," Seung said with a gentle sigh. He said to the clone, "Second, leave the video for now."
"Ok-okay, sir," the clone said, rising from the chair and facing Seung. Meanwhile, he was still peeping back at the television.
Lee Seung smiled as he noticed that. He said, "Go join First at the gym. Don't stop working out till the next day."
"Yes, sir!" the clone said, dashing out of the house. Seung then went back to his bedroom and went to bed, wrapping the blanket around himself.
The sun shone faintly in the sky, casting a warm glow on all the residences. A gentle breeze blew around, accompanying the melodic sounds of nature.
The gym manager, dressed in a brown turtleneck, arrived at the door of his gym. He stopped upon seeing that it wasn't locked, although his expression wasn't that of someone who's highly surprised.
"They haven't left yet?" He mumbled and proceeded inside. His movement paused, lips drawing apart.
Inside were two masked men doing pushups, their arms looking watery. In fact, small puddles of water were on the ground where they positioned themselves.
"Don't tell me you guys have been at this since YESTERNIGHT!" the man exclaimed.
At Starfall Estate, the teenage young man exited his apartment and locked the door. His lips twisted into a smile when the warm glow from the sun cast on his face...
Whirr!
The sound caught his attention.
"You look different today, Mr. Lee."
When Lee Seung heard the familiar voice, he walked forward, and in no time, he entered the passenger seat of Mr. Choi's car.
"Good morning, Mr. Choi," Seung greeted, bowing his head a little.
Mr. Choi made an unpleased expression on his face. He pointed back at where Seung once stood, saying, "I just said you were looking different. No...no response?" A hint of a smile played around his lips.
Seung, realizing his joke, grinned and nodded. "Yes, yes, thanks. Can we move now?"
"Sure," Mr. Choi said, starting the vehicle.
Lee Seung looked at him for a while. He thought, 'What has gotten into him? He never used to be funny.'
A few minutes later, the two masculine figures stood in a white-walled room and looked seriously at something in the front.
While they were at it, Seung broke the silence between them. "I am curious about something."
The man glanced at him and asked, "What's that?"
"There are the Eclipse Hunters guild members doing the test, and I am the only outsider here," he said, not looking away from the front. "Why do I seem like an intruder here?"
"It's like that because my guild isn't yet independent. Normally, the W.H.A President ordered that every guild should handle its Hunters personally, but since my own hasn't been fully recognized, you are undergoing the test here," Mr. Choi replied. "Other independent guilds have taken their members to the nearest dependent one."
Lee Seung asked, curiosity wrapping his face, "Why is this necessary, though?"
"Lower your voice, Mr. Lee," the man whispered to him. He looked around, and in the next second, he whispered again, "There's a rumor among peasant guildmasters that an Awakened has stolen advanced war tech that belongs to the W.H.A. This test is supposed to identify the person because they will surely have rare and extraordinary strength."
Silence....
'An extraordinary strength? That's it?' Lee Seung thought. For some reason, he felt like everyone was looking at him as well as Mr. Choi was jesting him with the statement he just made.
Seung rubbed his eyes and thought, 'Why am I feeling uneasy all of a sudden?'
Few seconds to that moment, he heard his name.
"The next person is Mister Lee Seung. Please, step up before the machine," said a soft and calm feminine voice.
Lee Seung glanced at the source and saw a tall, young lady wearing a white blouse and standing with the other personnel conducting the test.
"Is he the last on the list?" asked the lady, to a man beside her.
"Yes, Miss Eunji!" the man replied respectfully.
Lee Seung's eyes locked for a while with the lady's. He was busy running his mind through the potential reason why he had hallucinations after Mr. Choi uttered his last word.
'Maybe I have been too worked up.'
"Please, come stand before this machine, Mister Lee Seung," Kim Eunji said, sounding a little cold.
Seung swallowed down. He moved forward and walked up some little stairs to a circular platform.
There, a massive machine, about five meters tall, was placed.
"The test will begin as soon as you place your hand on the screen," said Eunji.
Lee Seung looked at the screen with mixed emotions, then he saw the stats of a Hunter who had done the test before him.
[Name: Park Yul, D-rank Hunter]
[Strength: 15.70]
[Reflex: 13.40]
[Mana content: 17.34]
[Endurance: 16.00]
[Stamina: 18.29]
His shoulders dropped, and he sighed silently. He thought, 'My stats are not too high, are they? This person is clearly stronger than me... so, I think I am nowhere near being abnormal. Right..?'
"Could you please do as you're told?" Kim Eunji said to him, loudly.
Thus, Lee Seung gently placed his hand on the screen. It was smooth and warm to feel. Suddenly, a greenish light on the screen drew around his palm...
Buzz...
[Name: Lee Seung, F-rank Hunter....]
[....]
"What?! How can an F-ranker have this kind of strength! Miss Eunji...!" the older man beside the lady whispered.
Kim Eunji cut in, whispering back, "No worries, Mr. Chu. I think we have found the culprit."
Mr. Choi, sensing the tense atmosphere, walked closer to Kim Eunji, at the front of the machine.
His eyes widened in shock. He muttered, "I thought he was still an F-rank Hunter."
Lee Seung didn't look at the back nor remove his watch from the screen. Even though he heard the murmurs, he knew no one would be crazy to say he was overpowered.
"Besides, I am not stronger than a D-rank Hunter."