"Ji-hoon?"

"Yes."

"I think we're all set. Should we head to the Hunter Assessment Center?"

"Hmm. Sure."

After spending quite some time organizing everything and distributing points, I was finally ready. While I wasn’t officially an S-rank Hunter yet, I was effectively at that level.

"Let’s go quickly and get your rank updated at the assessment center."

"Alright."

"So, you want to get closer to Ji-hoon hyung...?"

"Yes..."

Lee Soo-ah seemed unusually submissive in front of Park Hyung-seok.

"And that’s why you’re trying to get closer to me?"

"Ha... It’s not like we were close to begin with."

Lee Soo-ah maintained a firm tone, making it clear she wanted to set boundaries.

"But if you’re calling me and asking to meet, that means we’re getting closer, right?"

"No."

She was resolute.

"Ha. So, what you want now is to get closer to Ji-hoon hyung..."

"Yes... That’s right... What should I do?"

"What should you do? Well, if you’ve made mistakes, you need to face the consequences."

Park Hyung-seok spoke bluntly.

"What? But I didn’t do anything wrong..."

"Really?"

Park Hyung-seok looked at her intently.

"Uh... well... no...?"

"In just a week, you’ve done quite a bit, acting like a spoiled brat who does whatever she wants, haven’t you?"

"N-No..."

Lee Soo-ah tried to avoid answering directly, her eyes darting nervously.

"Anyway, here’s my advice."

"Okay."

"Go to Ji-hoon hyung right now, bow your head, and let him train you however he sees fit."

"T-Train me...? That sounds... a bit... inappropriate..."

"What are you thinking?"

Park Hyung-seok rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I’m saying you should let him lead and follow his instructions."

"Oh... but I’m S-rank Hunter Lee Soo-ah."

"So? Are you not going to do it?"

"Ha..."

Lee Soo-ah felt increasingly cornered. Chief Cha had also suggested something similar...

‘Is that really the only way...?’

She started to think deeply.

"Where are you going, Ji-hoon?"

As Yoo Hana and I were about to head out, I heard Lee Soo-ah’s voice. She seemed to have been talking to Hyung-seok, so I was just going to pass by, but...

"We’re going to the assessment center. I’m just going to get everything done at once."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I heard that with an S-rank Hunter's endorsement, you can skip several ranks at once."

I said it casually, though I was a bit nervous. The idea of becoming an S-rank Hunter was still a bit surreal to me.

"What? The assessment center? Uh... I’m coming too!!!"

Lee Soo-ah quickly clung to me.

"Oh my gosh. Hunter Lee Soo-ah and Hunter Yoo Hana."

The Hunter Assessment Center was in complete chaos. Typically, even one S-rank Hunter showing up would cause a stir, but today, two had arrived together.

"What brings you here...?"

The director of the center personally came out after hearing the news.

"We’re here to go through the rank upgrade process."

"Oh, is it for this gentleman?"

He pointed at me, clearly realizing that the two S-rank Hunters flanking me couldn’t go any higher.

The director looked puzzled, as if unsure who I was.

"Yes, that’s right. It’s for him."

"Please, come this way. Haha."

"What? Four ranks at once?"

The director and the others around him were visibly confused.

"Yes~ I’ll vouch for him. It would be great if we could process the upgrade all at once."

Yoo Hana spoke calmly.

"No, I’ll vouch for him. I’m the team leader of Team A. It should be under my name."

Lee Soo-ah snatched the papers out of Yoo Hana’s hands.

"Excuse me, Lee Soo-ah? What are you doing?"

A tense standoff began between Yoo Hana and Lee Soo-ah.

"Yoo Hana, didn’t you say you were just going to assist him? Usually, the senior member should be the one vouching, right? Since I’m the team leader of Team A, it should be under my name."

"Lee Soo-ah?"

"Yes?"

"Put the papers down. Don’t cause unnecessary trouble."

"Hmph..."

Lee Soo-ah reluctantly placed the papers back down.

The person most shocked by this was the director of the assessment center.

He looked like he was thinking, What on earth is going on?

"Director, is it possible to have two guarantors?"

"Uh..."

He looked quite flustered, clearly unsure how to handle the situation.

"We’ve never had that happen before..."

The director’s attitude toward me suddenly shifted. He seemed to have realized the significance of the situation.

A moment ago, he had been treating me like a regular D-rank Hunter, but now he was clearly aware of the connections I had with these two S-rank Hunters.

"Let’s just allow both to sign as guarantors."

"Uh... I’ll see what I can do."

The director of the Hunter Assessment Center held a fairly high position, equivalent to that of a vice minister in a government organization. He was responsible for maintaining the order and management of Hunter ranks. Except for S-rank Hunters, no one else could afford to cross him, lest they risk losing access to the extensive government support provided to Hunters.

"Thank you."

"But... whose name will go first?"

Lee Soo-ah asked with a tone that suggested this was of utmost importance.

"Since you’re being so loud, Lee Soo-ah, we’ll put your name second."

"Oh, Ji-hoon..."

It seemed she wanted to say more, but perhaps realizing that arguing further might result in her name being left off altogether, she decided to hold back.

"Alright, let’s move on."

After quickly filling out the paperwork, we were guided to the next step.

"What the...?"

The director of the Hunter Assessment Center couldn’t stop shaking his head, disbelief written all over his face.

"I just don’t understand. Why haven’t you upgraded your rank until now? Why? According to the records, you were still an E-rank last week. Why?"

His confusion was understandable. Keeping that many points while remaining at E-rank would make anyone think I was crazy.

Of course, the issue was that until two weeks ago, those points hadn’t been in my possession.

"I’ve been busy."

I brushed it off with a nonchalant excuse.

"Everything is done. You’re now officially registered as an S-rank Hunter. Congratulations, you’re the 15th S-rank Hunter in the country. Haha..."

He continued to stare at the results, clearly still in disbelief.

"Director."

"Yes?"

"I’d like to delay the official announcement."

Lee Soo-ah spoke in a trembling voice.

"Why? It’s good news."

"Well... um... uh..."

She glanced at me, clearly hesitant.

"Ji-hoon, could we delay the announcement?"

"Why?"

"Um... if other S-rank Hunters find out... it might not be ideal..."

"No, it’s great."

"Ah..."

I shut her down with a single word.

‘We should announce it. I want to see how that will drive Chae Soo-hyun crazy. I’m curious about her reaction.’

"Then we’ll proceed as usual. This is quite unprecedented, so it’s very exciting."

The director couldn’t hide his amazement.

"Ji-hoon?"

Yoo Hana was beaming at me.

"Yes?"

"This is all thanks to me, right? I mean, I made you an S-rank Hunter in no time, didn’t I?"

She looked at me with a proud expression.

"Hmm. You’re right."

Things had changed so quickly, much faster than I had anticipated.

"Hmph~ Of course. I wonder what Lee Soo-ah has been doing for the past week, leaving such talent by the wayside..."

Yoo Hana clung to me, her touch becoming more familiar, as she threw a disdainful look at Lee Soo-ah.

"Oh, no, Ji-hoon. It’s not like that. You know how much I care, right? I’ve been doing everything to support you this past week... Hey, Yoo Hana, that’s not fair! You can’t just take credit for all my hard work!"

Lee Soo-ah started to argue, clearly upset.

"What hard work?"

Yoo Hana asked with a look of disbelief.

"I mean, building rapport and trust... you know... working hard on that..."

Lee Soo-ah fumbled for words, her eyes darting around as if searching for a convincing explanation.

"Let’s go. Shall we?"

"Yes!"

"Hmph..."

"What...?"

Chief Cha’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Wh-what did you just say... Ji-hoon...? I must have misheard... That can’t be right, can it? It’s not possible, right?"

He looked like he might collapse, trembling with disbelief.

"I just came back from being promoted to S-rank. It’ll probably be officially announced tomorrow."

"H-Hah... Hah... Hah..."

Chief Cha’s face turned red, and he seemed unable to breathe properly.

"Ch-Cha Chief!!! Get a hold of yourself!!! Chief Cha!!!"

The assistants nearby rushed to loosen his tie so he could breathe.

"W-we... have three S-rank Hunters in Blue Guild...? Ha... Hah... Hah..."

Chief Cha looked like he was about to die of happiness.

‘Hmm. I guess this is a good thing, right?’

Hunter Division 6 was in complete disarray, with everyone trying to help Chief Cha regain his composure.