Hoarding in Hell Novel

Chapter 18 Ability Test (1)

After taking a shower, Yumin was there. It seems she had been out for a while.

Yu-min looked at Hyunmoo coming out of the shower and widened her eyes. Her eyes naturally turned downward.

Yu-min moved her potato chips, which she was quietly chewing on, to her mouth. Hyunmoo grunted as she wrapped her towel around her waist.

“Don’t even close your eyes.”

“I was so startled I couldn’t even look away. Where did you go? I haven’t seen you for days.”

“Exercise.”

Yu-min stared at Hyunmoo. She had already seen Hyunmoo’s body several times. But somehow, in just one day, Hyunmoo’s body had changed a lot.

In the past, he was at the level of an athlete, but now he is so heterogeneous that he feels like an ancient warrior. Besides, there were a lot of injuries.

“Uh… I thought you were in good shape, um, was it this much?”

“Originally, after working out, my muscles are pumped up.”

“It’s a little creepy.”

“The muscles hear and sprain.”

Yumin smiled and turned her gaze to the TV. Hyunmoo put on his clothes and put water to boil. It’s been a long time since I had a meal that was like a meal, it was time to cook ramen.

The evening news was in full swing on TV while Hyunmoo was making ramen.

[The opposition is today about the announcement of the special prosecutor’s interim investigation against N-mo politicians… … .][KDI raises the economic growth rate for the second half of this year from 2.3% to 2.5%… … .][Lee Ji-tae, the leader of the Taeseong clan, announces the Baekdu dungeon expedition plan… … .]

“Yoo-min, turn up your voice.”

Yumin turned up the TV sound. In the news, she was reporting on Lee Ji-tae’s new expedition plan. Lee Ji-tae himself stood on the podium and was announcing the new expedition to be made next year.

[Baekdu dungeon blockade is not only the long-awaited project of our Taeseong clan, but also the biggest goal for peace on the Korean Peninsula and the safety of the people. Our Taeseong Clan is fully prepared after a long-term plan, and plans to approach the core of the Baekdu Dungeon over a total of 2 years and 3 stages. The government has announced that it will actively support the announcement of the Taeseong Clan… … .]

“Wow, the blockade of the Baekdu Dungeon. Are you really doing it this time?”

Yumin muttered as if it was strange. Hyunmoo honestly felt the same way. After the dungeon was opened, there are many countries that have been opened up, but no country has been as open as North Korea.

At that time, North Korea was very closed, and it was not known that there was a 5-star dungeon inside. The 5-star dungeon Baekdu was revealed when the world’s first flood phenomenon occurred.

An unprecedented phenomenon in which monsters, even those from 5-star dungeons, pour out. In addition, the higher the level of the monster, the more difficult it is to defeat it with a weapon that does not contain mana.

Without proper hunter training, North Korea had no choice but to collapse.

And the demarcation line became a deterrent against the monsters pouring out from North Korea instead of the North Korean army.

The North Expedition Plan came out every time there was a change of government. But in the end, it would be impossible without the cooperation of talented people, of course, all clans expressed their displeasure.

It wasn’t just a matter of saving the body, it was determined that it was impossible.

In a country where it is difficult to clear a 5-star dungeon, it is said to penetrate a place overflowing with monsters several tens or hundreds of times compared to other dungeons? That’s absurd.

However, Lee Ji-tae of the Taeseong clan succeeded in attacking the 5-star dungeon for the first time in Korea, and finally announced the attack on the Baekdu dungeon.

He said, “People will like it.”

“Yes? Of course. There was also a petition asking for Lee Ji-tae to go to the Blue House, but more than 500,000 people signed it.”It’s not even a vote, so what do we do by petitioning for it… … . That would be a testament to its popularity. It would be a little subtle from the Blue House point of view.

Hyunmoo was immersed in a complicated feeling when he saw Lee Ji-tae’s face on TV.

‘Baby, you’re handsome.’

Hyunmoo rolls around like a dog in hell, while Lee Ji-tae was born holding her everything from her birth. From the outset, she’s been judged as a four-star talent, and she has a clan filled with their own followers, sweeping up all sorts of rare items with her fortunes.

In addition to her father’s insistence that she should finish her studies in Korea, she graduated from Korea’s top university, Gwanak University, and served as a ROTC. Even her humanity is good, and her patriotism is strong.

She felt like the complete opposite of Hyunmoo, who was twisted to the point.

Even after moving on to the next news, Hyunmoo couldn’t take his eyes off him. He thinks he’s running fast enough, but it’s too late.

He felt as if those who were ahead of him were striding in the footsteps of giants. Hyunmoo wanted to catch up with them as soon as possible.

Then something stuck in Hyunmoo’s ear.

[The registration test for competent persons is three days away. In this test, which is held on the largest scale this year, it seems that the Taeseong Clan will hire a large-scale according to the Baekdu dungeon expedition plan next year… … .]

Ability Enrollment Test. All those with more than 1 star ability are recommended for jobs such as civilian/dungeon/military through this test. At the same time, it was also the debut location announcing the appearance of the New Face. Of course, if you are capable, it is a gateway you must go through.

Hyunmoo threw a piece of caramel into his mouth.

“I’ll have to check it out.”

“brother.”

Hyunmoo lowered his head. Yumin was looking at me with a strange expression. She pointed her finger towards the kitchen.

“Blow ramen. And don’t snack before you eat.”

***

The competent person management agency, an institution that makes the determination of competent persons, was taking the registration test at a large gymnasium in Yongsan.

Unexpectedly, there were many talented people gathered.

The Taeseong Clan also said that they would open new recruits for next year’s expedition, so I expected a lot of people to come, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.

‘I’m glad it’s not hot weather.’

Hyunmoo looked up at the cloudy sky and thought. He didn’t like crowded places, but on the surface, Hyunmoo had no choice but to do it.

“Mister, Mister! Go ahead!”

As Hyunmoo looked up at the sky for a moment, the line decreased. As the distance between Hyunmoo and the person in front of him was about half a step, a big man behind him started talking to Hyunmoo.

When Hyunmoo turned around, the man flinched and took a step behind him.

“Ugh, when you look at him from behind, you didn’t look like that, but you’re in good shape. Have you been exercising?”

Instead of answering, Hyunmoo just turned his head. There are a lot of people, so I can get annoyed. But there’s no need for him to take that into consideration. Hyunmoo first remembered the man’s face.

“I think it’s the first time you’ve been here, sir, so I guess you came to be judged as a capable person?”

The man behind him spoke again as if bored. Hyunmoo hesitated for a moment to answer.

To be honest, it wasn’t the first time. At one time, when the talent craze swept Korea, Hyunmoo was also the only one to be graded at an orphanage.

‘Then why did I only get it?’

It was a memory of a time when I did not want to recall much when I listened to it. At that time, Hyunmoo, who was judged 0-star incompetent, was treated more harshly than other alumni. If he hadn’t made him excited, he said.

“Yes.”

Hyunmoo answered with a bitter expression.

“I thought so. Oh, honestly, the first people who receive it, shouldn’t we have to set it apart from the other hunters? Damn.”

Hyunmoo suddenly thought it was strange. In the line, there were people who seemed to be old and experienced.

Somehow I thought there were too many, but not all of them seemed to be newcomers. Hyunmoo was puzzled, and a man with a good descriptive temperament began to tell him.

“Because the Taeseong Clan is conducting large-scale recruitment, many experienced people have flocked to it. Rather than belonging to a large-scale clan or Almighty Ryeon, Taeseong treats him well and has a career. If you say you’ve been rubbing, you’ll know.”

“Did you also come to join the Taeseong clan?”

When Hyunmoo asked, the man snorted.

“I’m here to renew my registration level. Because only I can know my level, the Talent Management Bureau decides and officially recognizes it. As the evaluation rises, the ransom in the market naturally goes up. Overlaid with this.”

Hyunmoo chuckled.

‘Level registration. I’ll give you a score.’

Powerful people are in a way more dangerous than gun owners. Guns are hard to hide.

However, when the state assigns a score to the capable people, the talented people naturally respond to control by tying their necks to the score. Hyunmoo found it fun.

‘I don’t know who it is, but the system is well designed.’

It was clear he knew what the controls were. If Hyunmoo does something that stands out, he’ll notice it instantly. But Hyunmoo had no intention of buying himself.

‘You don’t have time to take it easy if you want to take off at once.’

Of course, he has no intention of showing all his skills. If you see someone climbing fast, there will always be people who want to hold you back.

“Come in next group!”

Soon the turn came. Hyunmoo took his steps towards his first stairway.

***

For the first ability determination, a total of three tests were required.

Identity check, ability check, skill check.

Hyunmoo was bewildered by his first background check, which he thought would be the easiest. A public official who saw Hyunmoo’s ID card was suspicious after comparing his face with the ID photo several times.

“Isn’t this your brother’s picture?”

“No.”

“No, it’s still a photo I took when I was in high school, but how do you feel younger? I’m not saying people don’t age backwards.”

Hyunmoo made a complicated expression. He suffered a lot when he was in high school, so he was a bit presbyopic. He also showed signs of baldness, to a lesser extent.

However, the present Hyunmoo looked like a young man who had just reached his prime, with no blemishes on his skin.

‘No, maybe it’s because he was in hell.’

When was it? He seemed to get better every time he died and came back to life.

It was subtly different from merely destroying muscles—recovering the body to get better. He seemed to have changed since he got poisoned blood. Is it because the poison absorbs all the bad things?

It was such a slow change that Hyunmoo didn’t notice, but the difference was quite noticeable when compared to the photos taken during the hustle and bustle of the miner’s work.

‘It must have been really hard at this time.’

Most of all, I was most pleased that the signs of hair loss had disappeared. Hearing that hair loss is hereditary, his father thought that it was really not helpful in life.But that was it, and it was in danger of being rejected from the judgement immediately.

“What am I going to do to deceive my identity? Do you have any criminal or mental history? It’s not like I’m deceiving that I’m a capable person.”

When Hyunmoo spoke up, the official flinched. Actually, background checks aren’t a big deal.

It was just a ceremonial act of a bureaucratic society wet with inertia, and in the end, it was the talented people who would be eliminated in an instant if they didn’t have the skills.

The fact that his face was not completely different and that he looked a little younger was just an arguing with a public official.

“No… it’s good because you look younger. I change my ID photo often. Even my parents probably don’t know.”

“You don’t have to worry because your parents aren’t here.”

At Hyunmoo’s answer, the official was stunned and stamped the pass.

The procedure for determining the ability level immediately following was simple. The whole process was completed by drawing blood and stamping it on the test strip.

Of course, the person with the ability knows the grade, but it takes several weeks for the system to be verified by others as a reliable system. After that, he said that he was contacted by cell phone.

There is not much difference between the abilities by the rank itself. There is no way that even a 1-star person can be inferior to a 4-star person. However, there was only a difference in the limit level.

Considering the future, of course, it is inevitable that high-ranking people will be treated better. This is especially true considering that the higher the level, the higher the ability level and the steeper the skill level.

‘I’m 1 star, but… … .’

Since I went up one level from 0 to 1, there was no law telling me not to go up any further. This is because the higher the exposure to high-density mana, the higher the probability that the grade will rise.

“Those who have completed the grading, come here!”

There was a machine that looked like a blood pressure monitor where I was guided. As people put their arms in it, the machine started working and something popped up on the PC of the official next to him.

I remember seeing it on YouTube. It was a machine called a status check. But people mostly liked to call it a combat power meter.

It is a machine that measures the sum of the abilities, but it was not possible to confirm it in detail, and even an error occurred.

It wasn’t serious, but it wasn’t without complaints. There were times when it came out high, and there were times when it just passed.

The number that appeared there was taken from a certain cartoon and called ‘combat power’.

‘I said that an adult male usually comes out around 100.’

Far ahead of Hyunmoo, the man who spoke to me on the line earlier took the combat power measurement first.

“140.”

The man clenched his fists and lifted them up. Hunters would laugh at it, but the fact that a level 1 person had a stat of 140 meant that they were born with a truly blessed body.

As evidenced by that, the next people came out 104, 110, 87, etc., even lower than the general public in some cases.

However, Hunters don’t just fight based on their abilities. Although it was a pity, it was not an atmosphere of great concern.

“Next minute.”

Soon, Hyunmoo’s turn came. Hyunmoo put his arm inside his machine.

“Grab the marble inside.”

marble?

There was nothing inside. But at one point, he felt something soft brush his fingertips. Hyunmoo reflexively grabbed it.

Kwajik.

“Huh?”

The official’s eyes widened as he heard a sound he shouldn’t have heard.