Chapter 35

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

Yu Seong-un explained to me in a completely enclosed Chinese restaurant.

“Job, Aptitude Skill and Level.”

“…….”

“The Hunter class I’ve been talking about is assigned by comprehensively evaluating these three things.”

“Are classes evaluated by people, like a civil service exam?”

“No, a ‘System,’ presumed to be with the help of the Source, evaluates it. That’s why sometimes an Awakener who looks incompetent to human eyes can manifest as an A-Class.”

Yu Seong-un chuckled softly.

“Back when the system was chaotic and there was a lack of common knowledge about Hunters, there were people who faked their classes. But since class itself isn’t something humans can bestow, those who faked it were quickly found out and….”

“They must have been criticized.”

“It didn’t end with criticism. Hunters back then were like powerful figures you couldn’t carelessly challenge. In an era when force was much closer than law, even more so than now, superhumans who could even hunt monsters were treated well in many ways.”

They had deceived others about their class to receive special treatment for themselves when everyone was going through a hard time.

“There was no way it could have ended well for them.”

Yu Seong-un returned to the main topic.

“Classes are usually indicated by the alphabet.”

“Is there a reason?”

“I think it was probably a hassle to standardize it by country. You might think numbers would have much more global uniformity, but apart from that, it was confirmed that the first Awakener came from the United States, so….”

“So it was tailored to the American perspective.”

“It’s not like the entire system is in English, though. Anyway, the lowest class is F, and from there it goes up through D, C, B, A, with the highest class being marked as S.”

After saying that, Yu Seong-un’s eyes shifted for a moment.

“…Well, the current opinion of scholars is that this probably isn’t the whole story. In the case of the F-Class, they’re already a bit tougher than ordinary people, so they wonder what the point would be of going any lower, but it’s only been 31 years since the Great Catastrophe.”

“You mean it’s too early to be certain.”

“Right, and there are actually rumors that the association president of the Republic of Korea is hiding a higher class.”

Even Yu Seong-un, who was the research team leader at the Association, didn’t know the exact truth.

“Surprisingly, there aren’t that few S-Class Hunters. That’s probably another reason why rumors are circulating that a higher class is being hidden. Because it’s obvious to anyone that one S-Class is far superior to another S-Class, yet they’re marked as the same class.”

This class system also affects social perception.

“First of all, there’s a law that S-Class Hunters must become public figures.”

“Public figures… Do you mean they disclose their personal information?”

“Not their full personal details, but they mostly show their faces or appear on TV programs, so you could see them as a type of celebrity. An S-Class can, if they put their mind to it, devastate a whole country, so they are restricted in many ways.”

“That must be inconvenient.”

“There are plenty of people who enjoy that popularity.”

Though, as I said, there were also many Hunters who found it inconvenient.

“That should be enough about classes, now shall I explain the Job you asked about earlier?”

“So the Priest and Tamer the student mentioned earlier are classified as such Jobs.”

“That’s right.”

Yu Seong-un nodded.

“Manifesting a Job isn’t a requirement.”

“Then there are people who get jobs and people who don’t?”

“Correct. Not everyone can have one, but it has a considerable effect on one’s class, so a culture of giving preferential treatment to Hunters with Jobs emerged.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“Because an Awakener with a Job gains the influence to manipulate the rules of the world. To a mere human, that feels very attractive.”

Even if it wasn’t a matter of class, a ‘Job’ has a major image associated with it.

“There are a total of 10 jobs.”

“That’s fewer than I thought.”

“I think this is plenty… if there were any more, it would have been difficult to distinguish them.”

Doctor, Priest, Knight, Teacher, Spy, Architect, Artist, Magician, Chef, Tamer.

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

“Not really, if you consider the jobs that exist in the world….”

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

“That is true.”

“The Priest and Tamer you heard about earlier are not very common jobs.”

A Priest uses the power of a god to influence reality and a Tamer exerts influence over intelligent beings.

Both are considered tricky jobs because they require the help of a contracted party to begin full-fledged activities.

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

This tendency is especially strong for Priests.

“A Tamer can train a target as much as they want by developing their own capabilities, but a Priest can’t. They have to patiently wait for a god to notice them and bestow grace. The initiative is not their own.”

“But didn’t you say that a Priest who doesn’t serve a god cannot operate in earnest?”

“It’s a job with that kind of unreasonable aspect. But in the first place, it’s about wielding the power of an alien god on Earth, so I see this frustrating aspect as a stroke of luck for humanity. It could easily become a disaster.”

Of course, the people who awakened as Priests were probably quite vexed.

“Still, once you manifest as a Priest, your divine affinity increases. Even if you can’t wield the god’s influence on their behalf, you can still use holy power as a single believer.”

“Holy power, you say.”

“The Bungeoppang youth you saw earlier mistook you for a ‘Tamer who is a believer,’ right? The only Job that can openly walk around with a monster like this is a Tamer, but holy power can be used by any devout believer, not just a Priest. That’s why he made that mistake.”

“Then it seems that the Job is not the only thing that is valid.”

“Right, there’s no need to evaluate a Hunter solely on that. In the first place, Jobs can manifest innately upon awakening, but they can also be obtained through later efforts, so they’re quite fluid.”

The remaining Jobs also had their own rules.

“With just this Job, that Awakener can exert influence on the rules of the world. To put it simply, a Priest’s divine affinity improves, and a Tamer gains affinity towards things other than humans.”

“Is it all affinity?”

“Well, unlike a skill, awakening a Job doesn’t just suddenly grant you a new ability. However, you do gain a potential that would be impossible for an ordinary person, and shouldn’t that usually be expressed as affinity?”

Yu Seong-un moved on to the next topic.

“But an Aptitude Skill is not like that.”

“In what sense is it not like that?”

“This is an element you basically get when you awaken, and it doesn’t increase with individual effort. Of course, your proficiency with it will increase as you use and understand it, but….”

That said, there are no Awakeners with no Aptitude Skill at all, or with more than one Aptitude Skill.

“At least until now? I don’t know what kind of exceptions will appear in the future, but even if there are such exceptions, this regularity is quite universal among Awakeners.”

You can think of an Aptitude Skill as the hand you're dealt. In that an Awakener has no choice, but with that one thing, you could roughly predict how that Awakener’s life would turn out.

“Because with that skill alone, you can get a rough idea of Awakener's tendencies and abilities.”

“Can you also know their future?”

“Wouldn’t it be roughly similar? An Aptitude Skill, once manifested, is something you have to live with for the rest of your life, so there’s no way it wouldn’t affect the Awakener’s own life.”

Most people who have awakened first study this Aptitude Skill. A Job is something you’re born with if you’re lucky, but an Aptitude Skill becomes an inseparable community of fate.

“There are many people who cry their eyes out because it doesn’t match their own aptitude.”

How absurd would it be to awaken, only for your skill to be picking up trash.

“Right?”

“…Does such a skill actually exist?”

“Such a skill really does exist, and there are even cases where it’s an Aptitude Skill. I heard he’s currently working as a city beautification public servant, but I don’t know the detailed circumstances.”

“Still, he made good use of his Aptitude Skill.”

“He’s a positive fellow.”

For reference, skills are divided into ‘Aptitude Skills,’ which one is born with upon awakening, and ‘General Skills,’ which are acquired through later effort.

The content of the skills themselves isn’t vastly different, but….

“Naturally, the Aptitude Skill is valued more highly.”

“If the content is the same, why is one valued more highly than the other?”

“An Aptitude Skill is a benchmark for evaluating a person’s soul and qualities, so it can’t be helped.”

For example, there are Hunters 1 and 2, and an identical skill, A.

Even with the same skill A, for Hunter 1 it’s an innate Aptitude Skill, and for Hunter 2 it’s a postnatally learned General Skill.

“Then the starting point is different from the beginning.”

“I see.”

“Above all, an Aptitude Skill has no level. It means you can use the skill from the moment it manifests with the highest proficiency, but proficiency is something that actually increases the more you use it. Even with the same skill, there’s bound to be a big difference depending on the user.”

And here lies a petty side of humanity.

‘It’s a kind of class system, but….’

Perhaps the fact that it was innately inherited tickles a corner of people’s hearts.

Awakeners who manifested highly useful or rare Aptitude Skills became arrogant and people had a strong tendency to look up to them.

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

He didn’t want to corrupt me, who, despite having an aristocratic and intimidating aura, still had a pure side like a child who believed in Santa Claus from a fairy tale.

For the sake of humanity’s peace, it was better for me to know a little less about human ugliness.

“You can learn General Skills by applying at the Center. Even an Awakener without a Job or a good Aptitude Skill can raise their class through postnatal effort.”

“There is flexibility.”

“And as I’ve been mentioning little by little, the thing that evaluates the proficiency of all of this with a visible index is the ‘Level.’”

The level evaluates Job, skills, and physical ability.

“The lowest level is 1, and the highest level is 10. I do wonder why they didn’t use the alphabet for this… but since the level can be expressed down to the decimal point, I guess that detailed fellow was necessary.”

“Is it expressed down to the decimal point?”

“Well, like 2.8, 4.9….”

“Are you like that too, Mr. Yu Seong-un?”

“Uh….”

Yu Seong-un, after a moment’s hesitation, added.

“The class is fine, but for your information, people usually don’t ask each other for the specific details of their system.”

“Is that so?”

“There’s a strong perception that it’s polite.”

“…….”

Though my expression was still blunt and chilly, Yu Seong-un thought I seemed a little shocked.

“…I am sorry.”

Sure enough, I soon apologized. Indeed, I had a side that valued politeness.

“I was not aware of these things, so I have been rude.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t do it knowingly. It’s not like we curse each other for asking.”

There was no actual harm, but it was just a kind of culture.

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

“I am truly sorry.”

“I was a bit over the top, so don’t try to shake a jewel out of Honey. Put Honey down. Uh oh, he’s getting squashed. I don’t think trying to give a jewel every time you do something wrong is very normal.”

Only then did I gently put down Honey, whom I had been shaking.

Honey was pecking and swallowing the jewels that had already fallen out.

It was so natural that my mind went dizzy.

“Honey will get sulky if you act like that.”

“We play like this sometimes….”

“Just how on earth are you two playing.”

It didn’t seem to be a lie, as Honey looked quite satisfied.

‘Where did I even find satisfaction in that round face.’

They were both expressionless, yet their emotional expressions were very clear.

It was certainly fitting to call them a father-son relationship.

Is this what they call a child born from the heart?

Though it would be more accurate to say a child made from a brush.

‘…But certainly, much more than when he was inside the portrait….’

He was like a human.

“…Anyway, people usually don’t ask about the details related to a Hunter’s system. Should I say it feels like prying for the exact numbers of one’s height or weight. It’s personal information, so people tend not to disclose it openly.”

“I will be careful from now on.”

“Oh, then I’d be grateful.”

Being of the Source this cooperative was like a miracle, more than just a welcome sight.

As a Gardener, his heart felt warm.

“Since you seem curious, I’ll tell you. I don’t have a job. My Aptitude Skill is ‘Emotion,’ and I’ve learned several General Skills. My proficiency with the General Skills is maxed out. My overall class is A.”

“Is it alright for you to tell me?”

“What does it matter if the person themselves tells you?”

“I see.”

“Well, I don’t tell people easily. Jobs are so obvious on the outside that such a cautious culture doesn’t apply, but if someone tells you about their class, that’s a huge sign of goodwill.”

To explain it simply, it’s like this.

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

“…….”

“Well, it’s something like that.”

“That is romantic.”

“You like this kind of thing, huh.”

He really was a creature with a pure side.

“Did you tell me with the same meaning, Mr. Yu Seong-un?”

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

And the fact that the other party wasn’t human also had a big influence on his ability to confess so freely.

Since it was ignorant of human culture, there was no awkwardness in telling it anything.

If anything, dealing with humans was more uncomfortable.

“If you’re curious about anything else, I’ll get you a book separately. There’s a textbook used at the Awakener education center. There are also textbooks for beginners who have just awakened, so tell me if you need one.”

“I think I will be fine thanks to your good explanation, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

“If you say so… hmm.”

Yu Seong-un asked.

“Are you thinking of returning to the portrait soon?”

“Yes.”

I nodded as if it were a matter of course.

“The outside world has many people, many fun toys, and many things to see and feel, but….”

“…….”

“I do not think this is the place for me.”

Yu Seong-un understood those words.

‘It’s amazing that he’s maintained that state for this long.’

A normal Awakener wouldn’t have been able to endure it for even a second.

My stature was not something that could be compared to a human’s.

A being who enjoyed god-like authority, at least within the painting, had suppressed his stature, cut off his arms and legs and hung weights on his torso to wander through the noisy world of humans.

It was a very terrible thing.

“Of course, it was enjoyable.”

“I’m grateful for that. By any chance, are you thinking of seeing the initiation ceremony the Bungeoppang youth mentioned?”

“Yes, I would like to see it.”

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

And so, I returned to the portrait.

***

Having returned to the cabin, I slept for a whole day.

“It’s dangerous outside the blankets.”

“Kyurureung.”

Completely drained, I needed time for myself.

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