Chapter 6 - Oppa, Want to Go to a Gate Together?

After that romantic morning, we went to the local government office to have Sia's canceled registration restored. I'd wondered whether someone already declared dead could get her legal identity back, but South Korea's administrative system was more thorough than we'd imagined.

"Oppa, it's called an application for resurrection. Isn't that hilarious?"

"Yeah. I'd heard about them before, but I thought it was a joke. I can't believe they actually exist."

I'd heard they had the form because missing people occasionally turned up alive. I never imagined my Sia would be the one filling it out.

Once the paperwork was done, we headed straight to a rank assessment center run by the Hunter Agency.

"Anyone who used to be a hunter has to update their rank as soon as their resurrection application is approved? What kind of law is that?"

"Right? Why are there so many weird laws in the world?"

I seemed to recall hearing that in some American state, if students rode horses to school, the principal was required to look after them all day. This law seemed just as bizarre and useless.

Anyway, having to go to the assessment center the moment her application was approved was a pain, but at least Sia could use Teleport. We teleported there, and she began filling out the paperwork as soon as we arrived.

"Excuse me, do I have to go in alone for the rank assessment?" Sia asked the receptionist as she filled out the form.

The receptionist at the assessment center gave her a helpful answer. "You can bring someone in with you if you'd like. The law changed recently."

"Really? That's a relief."

Even as she spoke to the receptionist, Sia pressed herself against my arm. Then she set down her pen and turned to me.

"Oppa, since we're here, want to get your rank reassessed too?"

"Me too?"

"Yeah. We have to update our ranks every two years anyway. How long has it been since you last did yours?"

I hadn't thought of that. I'd spent the past year living like a wreck, forgetting everything to do with being a hunter. When was the last time I'd had my rank reassessed?

"A year... and ten months."

"Then it's almost time! Perfect. Let's get yours done while we're here."

Sia got another form from the receptionist and handed it to me. She had a point, so I decided to follow her lead and get reassessed. Once we'd finished the paperwork, we headed for the assessment room.

'What rank will I get?' Unless something unusual happened, I'd probably stay at D-rank. I might get E-rank if I was unlucky, but I'd heard ranks almost never went down. My awakening type wouldn't change either.

What I was really curious about was Sia's rank, not mine. She'd been D-rank like me. But that was before. Back when she was human, Sia had only been a D-rank hunter. Now she was a dragon who'd lived for 2,500 years, a being beyond any normal scale.

She used a mysterious power called dragon speech, something I'd never even heard of, and could cast high-level magic like Teleport without a formula or any apparent effort. Her power was unprecedented. And if my guess was right, everything she'd shown me so far was only a tiny fraction of her full strength.

Considering all that... 'What if the result comes back unmeasurable?'

Normally, someone received an "unmeasurable" rank only when their power was so faint that measuring it was pointless. But there was another case, one few people knew about and that existed only in theory: someone so powerful that the current ranking system couldn't classify them. They would also receive an unmeasurable rank. Not a single case like that had ever been reported, though.

'It'll cause a sensation around the world, not just in Korea.' At the very least, it would make international news. Full of anticipation, I looked at Sia.

But while I was bursting with excitement, Sia didn't seem particularly interested in her rank. She just stared at me as we walked.

"Sia, is there something on my face?"

"No. It just feels strange to be here with you, Oppa. I'm happy, but it feels a little odd too."

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, I feel the same way."

There'd never been any reason to bring someone along for a rank assessment, so I'd always come alone. Hearing Sia say it made the moment feel a little strange to me too.

When we reached the examination room, an employee called our names. "Yoon Minjun, Jeong Sia."

"Yes!"

"You've come together. Which of you would like to go first?"

"Sia, want to go first?"

"No, you go ahead, Oppa. I'm fine."

Thanks to Sia, I got to be reassessed first. "The procedure is the same as when you first had your rank measured, so just make yourself comfortable."

I went into the examination area, and Sia waved to me from the waiting seats. My reassessment began soon afterward. I wasn't particularly nervous; I didn't expect any dramatic changes.

The employee's voice came through a speaker in the room. "Channel mana into the ring we gave you, then strike the training dummy when you get the signal."

As instructed, I channeled mana into the assessment ring and gripped the wooden sword. A moment later, the signal came. I immediately ran toward the dummy on the other side of the room. As I closed the distance—

WHOOSH!

I swung the sword with all my strength.

CLANG! CLANG!

My first blow didn't seem to land properly; I'd lost my feel for combat. But... 'This is going better than I expected.' With each strike, I could feel my long-forgotten instincts returning.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The assessment dummy made a peculiar noise when struck, one I rarely heard outside a rank test. It wasn't a pleasant sound, but I ignored it and kept swinging as hard as I could until time ran out. For that moment, it really felt as if I'd gone back a year.

"The measurement is complete! Please wait a moment."

At the employee's direction, I took a seat beside Sia.

"Good work, Oppa! You did great! You haven't gotten rusty at all."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I was worried you might not be able to show what you can really do, but except for the first minute or so, you looked just like the Oppa I know."

I'd felt the same way, and hearing Sia say it made me more confident about the result. It didn't take long to come back.

[Yoon Minjun / D / Swordsman

Strength: 28

Stamina: 24

Agility: 24

Mana: 16

Average: 23

Special Skill: X (+0)

Final Average: 23]

An employee opened the door and came in. "There has been no change to your rank or type. Thank you for your time."

"Thank you. Whew, that's not bad."

Apart from my mana stat dropping by one point, nothing much had changed. Considering I'd spent the past year away from hunting, the result was especially good. Sia seemed to understand how I felt and patted me, telling me I'd done well.

"Next is Jeong Sia. Hmm, one moment." But as the employee examined Sia's paperwork, she suddenly startled as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Sia... you're here for reassessment following an awakened person's resurrection application?"

"Yes."

"Oh my goodness. Then are you... a returnee? Wow! I've never met a returnee before!"

The employee, who'd been perfectly composed until then, became suddenly chatty when she realized Sia was a returnee. Her dead-fish office-worker eyes lit up with the curiosity of a young girl.

"I've only ever heard about returnees on the news now and then. I've never met one in person! Wow... how did it feel when you returned—"

Then, apparently noticing our looks, the employee caught herself, cleared her throat, and returned to her professional manner. "Ahem. I'm sorry. That was rude of me..."

"Not at all. I'd have reacted the same way. Returnees aren't exactly common."

"Thank you for understanding. Reassessments for returnees like you take a little longer to prepare, so I hope you don't mind waiting."

Back to her usual demeanor, the employee began preparing Sia's assessment. During the brief wait, I found myself imagining the outcome before we even had a result.

The system would say her power was unmeasurable. The assessor would panic. A second test would produce an unbelievable record... Higher-ups from the Hunter Agency would come to interview her, while major guilds would offer her blank checks and start competing to recruit her...

'I'm proud of you, Sia.' How should I congratulate her when it happened? Maybe I'd pretend I wasn't impressed at first, then give her a proper celebration once she got flustered.

While I was lost in that fantasy, Sia's assessment began.

Sia could probably play with that assessment dummy like a toy. Its special materials made it sturdy enough to resist so much as a scratch under normal circumstances, but surely its maker hadn't accounted for a being as extraordinary as a dragon. I wondered how she'd smash it to pieces. Eager to find out, I watched her reassessment.

Except... "...?" Where was the overwhelming power she'd shown me when we reunited? Sia was striking the dummy with ordinary spells, like any ordinary mage. She looked just as she had before her reincarnation: a run-of-the-mill D-rank mage.

'Why...?' Why was she hiding her power? As I watched her test, unable to work out what she intended, her results came back.

"... Huh?" The employee checked the results first and tilted her head at the report. "That's odd. Your stats haven't changed?"

[Jeong Sia / D / Mage

Strength: 15

Stamina: 21

Agility: 23

Mana: 29

Average: 22

Special Skill: X (+0)

Final Average: 22]

The estimated stats the employee showed us were almost identical to Sia's from when she was human. The employee scratched her head in confusion, but Sia merely smiled serenely.

"It's not a common situation, but returnees like you generally come back stronger than before. Their stats might rise a little, or they might gain a special skill. But you... haven't changed at all." The assessor looked at her sympathetically.

[Jeong Sia / D / Mage

Strength: 15

Stamina: 21

Agility: 23

Mana: 29

Average: 22

Special Skill: X (+0)

Final Average: 22]

"Am I an unusual case?" Sia asked, feigning ignorance while I was still thoroughly confused.

"Yes. Returnees usually show some improvement, whether their stats rise or they awaken another power. The degree varies, but... just to be sure, we'll measure you once more."

The assessor tested her again. The result was the same.

[Jeong Sia / D / Mage

Strength: 15

Stamina: 21

Agility: 23

Mana: 29

Average: 22

Special Skill: X (+0)

Final Average: 22]

The assessor tilted her head over the result, then handed Sia the paperwork to have her hunter license reissued. "You must be disappointed. We'll contact you separately later, but if any problems come up before then, please let us know right away."

"Okay! Let's go, Oppa!" Sia took my hand and led the way, seemingly without a trace of regret about her assessed rank. "..."

After we handed in the paperwork at the counter and had Sia's hunter license reissued, I couldn't contain my curiosity. "Sia, why did you deliberately get a low rank?"

I checked that no one was nearby, then whispered, "Was it because of me?"

"That's right. It's just what you think, Oppa." Sia didn't deny it. Could she have matched my D-rank to spare my pride?

Apparently noticing my expression fall, Sia cast Silence around us as she had yesterday, then continued. "What are you thinking, Oppa? If our ranks are too far apart, we can't enter gates together!"

"... What?" It wasn't written into law, but hunters had an unwritten rule against clearing a gate together if their ranks differed by two or more levels, barring gate breaks or other special circumstances.

"Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" So that was the adorable reason she'd faked her assessment. I turned toward her, and she gave me a shy little smile as if it were no big deal.

Even so, if she'd shown her true strength, she could have rewritten the history of hunters. Didn't she think that was a shame? That was my first thought. But then it occurred to me: what did an empty title or reputation matter to a dragon? If she cared about such things, she could simply have stayed in that other world. Instead, Sia had crossed dimensions and come here for me alone.

Grateful that she'd done this with me in mind, I surprised her with a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Hee-hee." Embarrassed, Sia twisted bashfully from side to side. Then she said,

"Oppa, since we're talking about it, why don't we try going to a gate right now?"

"A gate...?" Not a date?

"Yeah. Since it came up, we could revisit old times. We've gone to gates together since our Hunter Academy days, remember? Can't we?"

A gate instead of a normal date? It was a little strange, but... 'If Sia wants to go, then let's go.'

The only problem was that I'd been out of action for a year without her. Whatever my reassessment said, I might not pull my weight in a real fight, and my psychological issues might come back to haunt me. With Sia the dragon there, that wouldn't be a serious problem, of course, but...

'I don't want Sia, of all people, to see me fall short.' I knew that no matter what I did, I'd come up short beside a transcendent being like her. Still, if I showed her I was doing my best, I wouldn't have to be ashamed in front of her.

So I should stop overthinking and go. After all, Sia had made her feelings perfectly clear by coming back to Earth. Instead of worrying about what she might think of me, I'd do my best so I could hold my head high in front of her.

"Why not? Let's go now."