---
I really enjoy reading comics with Hunter or system-like themes, even before the big catastrophe that hit 10 years ago.
I used to read them after school. Actually, it wasn't specifically about Hunters; rather, it was comics that told stories of someone gaining special powers. A character who gains incredible strength, enough to protect both themselves and the world. I used to think such characters were very naive, trying to protect the world when their power wasn't enough to do so. Characters who always thought positively no matter what, even to the point of being oblivious to their surroundings. Back then, I thought it was really cool—protecting people by sacrificing oneself. But the me now thinks that's a very naive mindset. Yeah, although as times have changed, people's interest in main character traits varies. Nowadays, there are even terms for specific traits, whereas before people only knew "Hero" and "Villain"; now we have terms like "Anti-hero," "Anti-Villain," and many more.
Once again, I used to like naive characters... but not anymore. If I could, I would kill those naive, empty-headed fools. Ugh, this reminds me of those times.
"Queue numbers 236 to 240, please proceed to the examination room." A voice announced over the sound system.
I snapped out of my brief daydream, and since it was almost my turn, I had to mentally prepare myself for entering the room. Well, no matter what, I'm not a perfect character who can handle every situation calmly. But I'll still try to keep my mind and emotions steady.
"Status". I said.
A status screen appeared in front of me. I needed to check my status again to get used to it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Name: Lathan Louvain
||Level: 1
||Age: 18
||Race: Human (??)
||Job: None
||Affiliation: None
||Str: 7
||Agi: 8
||Int: 24
||End: 13
||Luck: 20
[|Main Skill: OverLimit (?)|]
||Subskill: Observe (lvl 1), Inventory (lvl 1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmm, still the same as before... Oh right, I have the observation skill I got today. Why don't I use it to observe Faiz's status? Well, there's always another time to do that.
That should be enough.
I raised my right hand and made a gesture to swipe from the top right corner of the status screen to the bottom right corner. That's one way to close the status screen aside from letting it close on its own.
Ten to twenty minutes passed, and the sound system's voice rang out again.
"Queue numbers 241 to 246."
Ah, that's my number. Finally, it's my turn.
I began to enter the testing room, which was guarded by security personnel from the association. There were several separate rooms here used to check each individual's power level in order to be registered as a Hunter.
Let me explain briefly what the tests are here.
There are several stages of testing, including:
1. Status screen and inventory check
An individual's status screen cannot be seen by others. They will only see a plain window with a blurred and glitched surface since personal information is protected by the system. For the inventory, the test involves placing items in the separate dimension. This is a basic requirement for someone to be considered a "Player" by the general public.
2. Physical tests like strength, endurance, and agility
This test is conducted using the association's prepared equipment, which looks advanced and futuristic. For strength, it's measured with a machine, similar to a punch strength tester you might find in an arcade. Endurance is tested with a robot that delivers electric shocks equivalent to human punches. The intensity depends on the output input, affecting how much pain the evaluation target feels. Agility is tested on a treadmill. These are measured in numbers and calculated by the association's robots.
3. The final test is checking the output of magical power within a player.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the machines used here are modified with dungeon stones.
For magic checks, they use a machine similar to the one used to measure the magic output of a dungeon, called "Dexiver." But for testing newly awakened players, they use an alternative version called "Dexiver Ω" or "Dex-Omega."
With this device, "Dex-Omega," the association can create a hologram similar to a status screen. Unlike Dexiver, which only displays results on a regular electronic screen.
"Dex-Omega" is shaped like a thin rectangle with a round hole in the middle. In the center, there's a mixture of magical energy emitted from dungeon stones and electromagnetic waves produced by it.
.
.
.
I entered the test room labeled 241. Before entering, I noticed that the door itself was high-tech, with a digital display that could change the room number according to the queue number. Inside the room were one guard and one guide who welcomed me.
"Hello, Mr. Lathan Louvain. Welcome to the testing room," the guide greeted me.
"Hello," I responded.
"My name is Senia. I'll be your guide through the various checks conducted by the association," she introduced herself.
"Please, Mr. Lathan, step into the area with the blue circle," she instructed.
After she said that, a blue mark slowly appeared beside where the guide was standing. The mark slowly formed a circle.
Once the circle was fully formed, I stepped into the area.
"Alright, the first check is for your status screen and inventory. Mr. Lathan, please display those here," she said.
Damn, I just remembered my status screen is different from most people's... how do I explain that to the guide here?
Ah, whatever, I guess it'll sort itself out.
.
.
.
.
.
Ding*
[Due to the effect of the skill "Overlimit," the host's wish has been realized.]
[We have added the "Hide status display" feature to the host's status screen. This functions to hide the host's conspicuous status display from this world.]
[We hope this feature satisfies the host, and may luck always be with the host.]
...Well, my Overlimit skill really is helping me a lot. I haven't even entered the battlefield, and I've already received this much assistance.
"Alright," I said.
"Status."
The status screen appeared with a glitchy effect, like in a video game. As I mentioned before, my status screen is different from most people's. Let me explain again: the system here is shaped like a blue-green rectangle and floats like a hologram screen. But my status screen and display are slightly different—it's a reddish-purple display, with red being more dominant.
But now, there's an "Hide status display" option at the bottom left of my status screen, and it's already active. Even though my status screen is different and stands out, thanks to this feature, people will only see the standard system colors and display.
"I've displayed my status screen. What's next?" I asked the guide.
"Alright, Mr. Lathan, give us a few moments to review your status screen," she said.
Several staff members entered the room, carrying clipboards to record all sorts of information about the player registering with the association.
Hmm, I guess this is fine, right? They're seeing my status as if it were a regular one, after all.
"Alright, Mr. Lathan, we've reviewed your status screen. As expected, your screen is the same as other players'," she said.
"Oh, okay," I responded briefly.
"Please close your status screen for now, Mr. Lathan. Next, we'll check your inventory," Senia, the guide, instructed.
Without a word, I raised my right hand and made a gesture to swipe from the top right corner of the status screen to the bottom right corner.
"As part of the player association's procedures, we'll explain what inventory is," she continued.
"Inventory is a subspace room measuring 1x1, a reward given to those who awaken. Its size will be small at first, but as your level increases, the capacity of this interdimensional space will also grow like a skill. It's important to note that the inventory is not like a skill that appears in the skill menu—it's a subconscious command that the system has implanted into awakened humans," the guide explained.
It's pretty much the same as what I've read online.
"Do you already know how to summon a player's interdimensional space, Mr. Lathan?" she asked.
"Yes, I've seen my friend do it, and I've read about it online," I replied.
"Alright, but before that, let us explain once again how to summon the interdimensional space," she continued.
"So, to activate it, you can imagine an empty room while saying the word 'inventory.' That will trigger the appearance of the interdimensional room in front of the player," she explained.
"That concludes our explanation. Mr. Lathan, you can try summoning your inventory here," the guide said.
"Alright," I replied.
.
.
"Inventory".
Since my inventory is already part of my skills, I just needed to say the word without imagining anything first.
An empty status screen appeared in front of me, indicating that the inventory had successfully been summoned.
"Alright, Mr. Lathan, to confirm, please store some of the items that the association has prepared for the players," the guide said.
The items that had been prepared earlier had arrived in the room. These items weren't particularly special, so the items given to each player were random. This time, I received some fruit, a few books, and one magic-type dungeon stone.
---
Since the items had already been prepared, I began placing them into my inventory. My hand, which was holding the items, entered the system as if it disappeared into a void. At the spot where I inserted my arm, it looked like a swirling wormhole. This was the second time I had seen it, and it still looked pretty cool to me.
One by one, I put the items inside, and after a minute, I had stored everything.
"I've stored everything," I said.
"Good, Mr. Lathan. The first inspection phase is now complete, so we'll proceed to the second phase, which involves checking the player's attribute levels," she said.
"Wait a minute, what about the items in my interdimensional storage?" I asked.
"Oh, those will be given to players as a gift. So feel free to keep them or use them as you wish, Mr. Lathan," the guide, Senia, replied with a smile.
A gift, huh? That's pretty nice. Even though it's not much, it's still a decent bonus.
~~To be continued~~