Chapter 35

“There are three main things that determine a Hunter’s rank.”

Yu Seongun explained to Jio after they arrived at a Chinese restaurant closed off on all sides.

“Profession, aptitude skill, and level.”

“...”

“The Hunter ranks I’ve been talking about are assigned after evaluating those three things as a whole.”

“Are ranks evaluated by people, like civil service examinations?”

“No, they’re evaluated by a ‘system’ presumed to work with the help of the Root. That’s why an Awakened who looks useless to human eyes can sometimes manifest as A-class.”

Yu Seongun laughed quietly.

“Back when there was no real system in place and common knowledge about Hunters was lacking, there were people who manipulated their ranks. But since ranks aren’t something humans can assign in the first place, the people who did that were exposed pretty quickly, and...”

“They must have been criticized.”

“It didn’t end with criticism. Hunters back then were like powerful figures you couldn’t carelessly defy. In an era when force was much closer at hand than the law, even more than now, superpowered people who could beat monsters to death were treated well in all sorts of ways.”

They had lied about their own ranks to receive special treatment alone, at a time when everyone was struggling together.

“There was no way that could end well.”

Yu Seongun returned to the main point.

“Ranks are usually written with letters.”

“Is there a reason?”

“I suspect it was because unifying them by country would have been troublesome. You’d think numbers would have been much more universal worldwide, but separately from that, it was confirmed that the first Awakened appeared in America, so...”

“They adjusted it from an American perspective.”

“That doesn’t mean the whole system is in English, though. Anyway, the lowest rank is F, and from there it goes up through D, C, B, and A, with the highest rank written as S.”

After saying that, Yu Seongun rolled his eyes for a moment.

“... Well, current scholars believe that probably isn’t all there is. People say F-class is already only a little sturdier than an ordinary person, so what meaning would there be in going any lower, but only thirty-one years have passed since the Cataclysm.”

“You mean it feels too early to make a firm conclusion.”

“Right. There are even rumors that South Korea’s Association President is hiding a higher rank.”

Even Yu Seongun, who had been a research team leader at the Association, did not know the exact truth.

“Surprisingly, S-class Hunters aren’t that rare. That’s probably part of why rumors go around that a higher rank is being hidden. Anyone can see that one S-class Hunter is far superior to another, but they’re both written as the same rank.”

Ranks like this also affected social perception.

“First of all, there’s a law that says an S-class Hunter must become a public figure.”

“By public figure... do you mean their personal information is disclosed?”

“Not their personal information, no. Mostly, their faces become known or they appear on TV programs, so you could see them as a kind of celebrity. If someone is S-class, they can more or less devastate an entire country if they set their mind to it, so restrictions are placed on them in various ways.”

“That sounds inconvenient.”

“There are plenty of people who enjoy that popularity in their own way.”

Though, just as Jio said, there were many Hunters who found it inconvenient as well.

“That should be enough about ranks. Should I explain the profession you asked about earlier now?”

“So the priest and trainer the student mentioned earlier are classified as those professions.”

“That’s right.”

Yu Seongun nodded.

“Manifesting a profession isn’t mandatory.”

“Then some people obtain a profession, and some people don’t?”

“Correct. Not everyone can have one, but it also has a fairly large influence on rank, so a culture of favoring Hunters with professions developed where possible.”

“How interesting.”

“An Awakened with a profession gains influence that can manipulate the rules of the world. To mere humans, that feels incredibly attractive.”

Even aside from the issue of rank, a “profession” came with a strong image of its own.

“There are ten professions in total.”

“That’s fewer than I expected.”

“I think that’s actually a lot... If there had been any more, it would have been hard to distinguish them.”

Doctor, priest, knight, teacher, spy, architect, artist, magician, chef, trainer.

“Now that you’ve heard them, doesn’t it seem like a lot?”

“If we’re talking about professions that actually exist in the world, not particularly...”

“That’s true too, but these are very different from those professions.”

“That is true.”

“The priest and trainer you heard about earlier are not very common professions.”

Priests use the power of gods to exert influence on reality, while trainers exert influence over intelligent beings. Both are considered difficult professions because they essentially need the help of a contracted target before they can truly operate.

“Which means the praise they receive when they succeed is that much greater.”

This was especially true of priests.

“Trainers can train others as much as they want if they improve their own abilities, but priests can’t. They have to patiently wait until a god turns their gaze on the priest and grants them grace. In other words, the initiative isn’t in their own hands.”

“But didn’t you say a priest who does not serve a god cannot truly operate?”

“That’s the sort of unreasonable aspect the profession has. But in the first place, it’s a matter of exercising the power of an alien god on Earth, so I actually see that frustrating aspect as fortunate for humanity. One wrong move and it becomes a disaster.”

Of course, people who Awakened as priests would feel rather impatient.

“Still, once someone manifests as a priest, their divine affinity increases. Even if they can’t exercise a god’s influence on their behalf, they can use holy power as one believer.”

“Holy power.”

“The fish-shaped bread young man we saw earlier mistook you for ‘a believer who is a trainer,’ right? The only profession that can openly walk down the street with monsters like this is trainer, but holy power can be used by a devout believer even if they aren’t necessarily a priest. That’s why he made that mistake.”

“Then it isn’t only professions that are effective.”

“Right. There’s no need to evaluate a Hunter by that alone. To begin with, professions can manifest innately when someone Awakens, but they can also be obtained through later effort, so they’re fairly flexible.”

The other professions each had rules of their own as well.

“Just by having one of these professions, that Awakened can exert influence over the rules of the world. Put simply, priests gain better divine affinity, and trainers gain affinity toward things other than humans.”

“Are they all affinities?”

“That’s because, unlike skills, Awakening a profession doesn’t make an ability you never had suddenly pop into existence. It just gives you potential ability to a degree impossible for ordinary people, and usually, I think you’d have to call that affinity.”

Yu Seongun moved on to the next topic.

“But aptitude skills aren’t like that.”

“In what sense are they not like that?”

“This one is something you basically receive when you Awaken, and it doesn’t increase just because you put in individual effort. Of course, the more you use and understand it, the more your proficiency rises...”

Even so, there were no Awakened with no aptitude skill at all or with two or more aptitude skills.

“At least, so far? We don’t know what exceptions might appear in the future, but even if such exceptions exist, this regularity is quite universal among the Awakened.”

An aptitude skill was a kind of first-birthday fortune grab. The Awakened had no choice in it, but that one thing alone could give a rough prediction of how that Awakened person’s life would turn out.

“Because that skill alone lets you roughly understand that Awakened person’s tendencies or stats.”

“You can also know their future?”

“Wouldn’t it be roughly similar? Once an aptitude skill manifests, they have to live with it for the rest of their life, so there’s no way it wouldn’t affect that Awakened person’s life.”

Most people who Awaken first study this aptitude skill above all else. A profession is something you’re born with if you’re lucky, but an aptitude skill becomes an inseparable partner in fate.

“There are plenty of people who sob because it doesn’t match their actual aptitude.”

If you Awakened and the skill just happened to be something like trash picking, how ridiculous would that be?

“Right?”

“... Does a skill like that actually exist?”

“A skill like that really does exist, and there are even cases where it’s an aptitude skill. I heard that person is currently working as a municipal sanitation civil servant, but I don’t know the details.”

“Still, they made good use of their aptitude skill.”

“A positive fellow.”

For reference, skills were divided into “aptitude skills,” which one was born with at the same time as Awakening, and “general skills,” which were acquired through later effort. The actual contents of the skills themselves were not particularly different from each other, but...

“Naturally, aptitude skills tend to be valued higher.”

“Why is one side valued higher when the contents are the same?”

“Because an aptitude skill is a benchmark for evaluating that person’s soul and qualities, so it can’t be helped.”

For example, say there are Hunter No. 1 and Hunter No. 2, and they both have the same skill, A. Even if it is the same skill A, for No. 1, it is an aptitude skill they were born with, while for No. 2, it is a general skill they learned later.

“Then their starting points are different from the very beginning.”

“I see.”

“Most importantly, aptitude skills don’t have levels. It means they can use the skill from the moment it manifests with the highest level of proficiency already obtained, but in truth, proficiency is something that grows the more you use it. Even with the same skill, there’s no choice but to see a big difference depending on who uses it.”

And here, there was also a petty side of humanity.

'It’s a kind of class system, but...'

Was it that the fact that they were born with it by nature tickled some corner of people’s hearts? Awakened who manifested highly useful or rare aptitude skills became arrogant, and people tended to look up to them.

'I don’t really want to tell him this.'

Jio was aristocratic and intimidating, but he also had a pure side, like a child who truly believed in Santa Claus from a fairy tale, and Yu Seongun did not want to taint him.

For the sake of humanity’s peace as well, it was better if Jio knew a little less about humanity’s ugliness.

“General skills can be learned if you go to a center and apply. Even an Awakened without a profession or with a poor aptitude skill can raise their rank through later effort.”

“That is flexible.”

“And as I’ve been mentioning here and there since earlier, the thing that evaluates the proficiency of all of this as a visible indicator is the ‘level.’”

Level evaluated professions, skills, and physical abilities.

“The lowest level is 1, and the highest level is 10. I do wonder why they didn’t write this one with letters too... but in the case of levels, since they can be written down to decimal points, I think that kind of detailed indicator was needed.”

“They can be written down to decimal points?”

“Well, like 2.8 or 4.9...”

“Is it the same for you, Yu Seongun?”

“Uh...”

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Seongun added,

“Ranks are fine, but for reference, people usually don’t ask each other about the specific contents of their system.”

“Is that so?”

“There’s a strong perception that it’s a matter of etiquette.”

“...”

His expression was still blunt and cool, but Yu Seongun had the thought that Jio seemed a little shocked.

“... I’m sorry.”

Sure enough, he soon apologized. As expected, Jio had a side that valued etiquette.

“I knew nothing about such things and behaved rudely.”

“It’s fine. It’s not as if you did it knowingly. It’s not like we’ll curse each other just because you asked.”

There was no actual harm at all, but this was simply a kind of culture.

“Like how you don’t ask what color underwear someone is wearing today...”

“I’m truly sorry.”

“I put it a little too strongly, so don’t try to shake Honey out to give me jewels. Put Honey down. Whoa, whoa, you’re squashing him. I don’t think trying to give jewels every time you do something wrong is very normal.”

Only then did Jio gently set down Honey, whom he had been shaking out with little rattles. Honey was pecking up and swallowing, one by one, the jewels that had already pattered down. It was so natural that Yu Seongun felt dizzy.

“If you act like that, Honey will get sulky.”

“We sometimes play like this...”

“How exactly do you two play?”

As if that hadn’t been a lie, Honey looked quite satisfied.

'Where did I find satisfaction on that round face?'

Both of them were expressionless, yet their emotions were very clear. They could indeed be called father and son. Was this what people called a child born from the heart? Strictly speaking, it would be a child made with a brush.

'... But certainly, compared to when he was inside the portrait, he’s much more...'

Human.

“... Anyway, people usually don’t ask much about the contents related to a Hunter’s system. Should I say it feels like prying into exact numbers for height or weight? It’s personal information in its own way, so people tend not to openly tell others.”

“I will be careful from now on.”

“Oh, then I’d be grateful.”

A Root entity this cooperative was not merely welcome; it was practically a miracle. As a Gardener, Yu Seongun’s heart grew warm.

“Since you seem curious, I’ll tell you. I don’t have a profession. My aptitude skill is ‘Appraisal,’ and I’ve learned several general skills as well. The proficiency of my general skills is maxed out. My overall rank is A.”

“Is it all right for you to tell me?”

“What does it matter if I’m the one telling you?”

“I see.”

“Of course, people don’t usually tell others easily. Since professions show on the outside so much, that cautious culture doesn’t apply to them, but if someone tells you about their rank, that’s a tremendous act of goodwill.”

To explain it roughly, it was like this.

“I trust you. You are my friend, my lover, my family...”

“...”

“Well, something along those lines.”

“That is romantic.”

“So you like things like this.”

He really was a guy with a pure side.

“Did you tell me with the same meaning, Yu Seongun?”

“Of course. I told you about my system as a sign of goodwill and trust.”

And the fact that the other party was not human also had a great influence on why he could tell him so freely. Since Jio was an existence ignorant of human culture, Yu Seongun did not feel uneasy no matter what he told him.

If anything, dealing with humans was more uncomfortable.

“If there’s anything else you’re curious about, I’ll get you books separately. There are textbooks used at Awakened education centers. There are also textbooks for beginners who have just Awakened, so tell me if you need them.”

“I think I’ll be fine, thanks to how well you explained it.”

“If so, never mind... Hmm.”

Yu Seongun asked,

“Are you thinking of going back to the portrait soon?”

“Yes.”

Jio nodded as if it were obvious.

“There are many people outside, and many enjoyable toys, and many things to see and feel, but...”

“...”

“I do not think this is where I belong.”

Yu Seongun understood those words.

'The fact that he maintained that state for this long is incredible in itself.'

An ordinary Awakened would not have been able to endure it for even a single second.

Jio’s caliber could not be compared to that of a human. At least inside the painting, he was an existence who enjoyed authority like that of a god, yet he had suppressed his own caliber, cut off his arms and legs, and wandered through the noisy world of humans with weights tied to his torso.

It was an utterly terrible thing.

“Of course, I enjoyed it.”

“I’m grateful for that. Do you intend to watch the induction ceremony the fish-shaped bread young man told us about?”

“Yes, I would like to see it.”

“When the time comes, I’ll let you know, so rest in the portrait until then.”

And so, Jio returned to the portrait.

* * *

After returning to the cabin, Jio slept for an entire day.

“It’s dangerous outside the blankets.”

PURR.

Having had all the energy drained right out of him, Jio needed time of his own.