Tests II

About five minutes later, Steve was standing before one of the large equipment which looked a bit like an exaggerated bench press while Jin Woo was on the large threadmill.

"Please step under the bench press, you have nothing to worry about, it is enchanted so you have nothing to worry about in regards to your safety" 

"Sure" Steve replied before doing as he was told.

As much as he found it weird revealing this much information to the people here but then again, even he was curious on exactly how fast or strong he was.

Getting under the machine, he waited until he got the go as he immediately tried to lift. Without augumenting his strength with mana, he push against the steel rod as the massive weights were lifted off their stand.

"Damn… impressive enchantments" Steve noted

The weights werent set, it magically gets heavier as it senses its user's strength. He had lifted it a little too easily so it had increased its weight.

However, he still wasnt pressured one bit. It was heavier… much more than he would like but he was still lifting it with ease. While he lifted, the others watched.

"How much is he lifting now?" Gunhee asked 

"Four tons sir" the examiner replied.

"I thought his record stated that he was physically weak when he was first tested" Henry asked 

"They can grow" Gunhee stated as he began to laugh.

He knew about Jin Woo but Steve?... he had absolutely no idea. This changed everything, whatever it was that they encountered in that dungeon definitely changed the very course of our history ever.

"What do you mean?"

"It means, you are never getting any of them" Gunhee replied with a new resolve as a look of determination appeared on his face.

There was hope for the second time since they were found in that dungeon, he missed his chance with Jin Woo last week but today, he would ensure he won. 

"Um, Isnt the strength test done?" 

They all heard Steve call out from under the excessively large device. Gunhee too remembered undergoing this test, it was one of the most annoying amongst all because of how impractical it looked but even he understood that this was simply information the government required.

"How much now?" Henry asked 

"15" 

"What?!" Gunhee and Henry shouted at the same time.

Was that even humanly possible?... What situation would a Hunter need to be able to lift 15 tons, Cave-type dungeons dont collapse even after intense combat.

There were very few monsters that weighed within that weight class… Karmish was probably the only one he could think of and there were very few hunters who he could think of that coould match such a feat.

"You can stop now sir?" The examiner said 

"Sure" Steve replied as he dropped the weight back on its rack and stood up.

"That was okay, right?" he asked almost as soon as he stood up

"Yes sir, now we move on to the next test, Jin Woo is done on the threadmill" The examiner said as he began walking to the other side.

At the center of the room, they could see Jin woo now standing just beside the massive threadmill, he was done with his own tests on it.

"Can  i see his results?" Gunhee asked as he turned the examiner who was in charge of Jin Woo's test.

"Here sir" tHe lady said as she handed over the clipboard in her hand.

"8 tons, thats impressive" the man said before passing it back to her

Despite how curious he was, Steve still held himself back, it was not his place and he believed that Jin Woo wouldnt like his results like that.

Choosing to mind his own business, Steve went along with the remender of the tests. From the Weights to the threadmill and later on a mana test which unsurprisingly got destroyed when it tried to test his mana.

An hour later, the group was standing back in the original room they were initially in, the S-ranks could stil be seen here and beside them were various examiners he saw within the room.

'As expected of them" Steve thought

With just a glance he could tell what had just taken place, their results had leaked but he couldnt blame the institiute for this. It was to be expected.

It would be weirder if the guilds as big as they were didnt have any sort of spies in the hunter evaluation process. Even he planned on doing the same in the future when the business was fully established.

It was true that any weapon created by him could probably go for several millions of dollars but that wasnt how a successful business was run.

He still needed to hire craftsmen type hunters if they exist.. Even if they didnt, he still needed to recruit hunters because the resources used would need to come from somewhere.

Judy could create them but there was no bigger waste than letting her spent her time doing so. Which meant that he too would eventually have some spies in the Association as well.

"I believe that's all, right?" Steve asked as he turned to the examiner who had followed them out of the room

"Not yet sir, Your results are still being processed" The man replied 

"Oh, i see" He replied as he turned back to the S-ranks.

Looking at them again, he saw one of them, probably the most popular of them all, Baek Yoonho looking at him with his eyes glowing gold.

Even from such a distance, he could spot it easily. Normally he wouldnt care but he felt naked before those glowing eyes. He was being assessed… a more accurate assessment thant the tests.

"Mr. Grant, if possible may i have a bit of your time" Henry called out as he approached him.

"Dont waste your time, i'm not joining any guilds or associations" Steve said knowing what the man was after.

Turning to the young man who had just undergone the re-evaluation with him, Steve could see about two of the four S-ranks present trying to appraoch him.

Baek Yoonho though still remained looking at him, His eyes still glowing. At this point, Steve felt he should act but held himself back, if he was being assessed then Yoonho was probably frozen in fear.

....

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