The system surely hadn’t expected this outco.
It had intended to leash with a quest, restricting my abilities and repurposing —a pest—as a beneficial insect contributing to society. But who would have thought the sa society would condone my actions, allowing to succeed in the quest?
That’s why contracts with demons should always be handled cautiously.
If the system had at least tied the quest to clear standards of “good” or “evil,” it might have been different. But perhaps it concluded that such distinctions are inherently ambiguous. Or maybe, as a collective intelligence, the system prioritized societal consensus over tiless notions of morality—reflecting the spirit of this era.
Or, more cynically, it might simply reflect humanity’s penchant for declaring whatever the majority approves as "good," even if it’s objectively "evil." A deeply human tendency, after all.
“And it’s not like this society fears private retribution all that much.”
Of course, vigilantism and violence are technically illegal and considered wrong. But for society to universally condemn such actions, there must be a deeply ingrained belief that justice is applied fairly and impartially, regardless of the perpetrator's status.
But how is society today?
The saying "justice for the rich, punishnt for the poor" has deeply taken root.
That guy bullied specifically because he knew I had no parents to protect . Even if I reported the bullying, the school wouldn’t bother convening a disciplinary committee. His parents were deeply involved in his school life, willing to invest both money and effort. They attended every PTA eting.
And if that’s the state of a school—a microcosm of society—then the wider world is undoubtedly worse.
Without money, even cri victims can’t seek justice. So people naturally see private retribution as “just.”
After all, the law isn’t about justice.
It’s just that there’s no other way for the weak to punish the strong.
That’s why people cheer for the underdog’s revenge.
What a world. So convenient for a demon like .
“Of course, if I actually committed murder, there’d be consequences.”
But if I just hit him once, people would probably think, Serves him right.
I looked at the sparks flickering at my fingertips. Compared to the magic I wielded in my past life, it was feeble… but enough to make one ordinary person suffer.
And this idiot standing before surely understood that.
Whoosh!
The mana at my fingertips finally coalesced into flas. The fire burned bright blue, mirroring my anger.
“Eek! Eek!”
“Shouldn’t we be running?”
Even the other students, who had been laughing and chatting a mont ago, stepped back at the sight of the flas. If they were scared, there was no way the idiot in front of would remain calm.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
His desperate screams reminded of unpleasant mories from my past life. If soone saw this, they’d think I was torturing him.
I simply stared silently for a long mont.
A sour stench hit my nose.
“I-I was wrong! It was my inferiority complex! I was just so anxious about my grades!”
“What does that have to do with bullying for three years?”
“I-I was insane! Really, I was jealous! I’m sorry!”
Sorry? Not a chance.
I frowned.
“What a stench.”
It wasn’t the sll of urine from his fear. It was the stench of his soul.
A soulless apology devoid of sincerity.
If he were genuinely remorseful, he wouldn’t reek like this. But soone who mocks and bullies the weak from a safe distance can’t possibly have a decent soul.
“Should I just half-kill him?”
Society had already deed my actions reasonable. There was no reason to hold back.
Just as I clenched my fist around the flas, preparing to strike—
“Now, now, Jung Da-on!”
The examiner, who had been observing the situation, intervened.
“I understand what’s going on, but you need to calm down, okay?”
He spoke as if soothing a child.
“Especially right after awakening, it’s hard to control your strength. I get it, I really do. But as a hunter, you know there’s harsher punishnt for using violence against ordinary people, right?”
... Of course, I knew.
And I also suspected the examiner had stepped in to assert so control over the situation.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
In South Korea, hunters ranked C or higher must serve 39 months of mandatory duty. Afterward, they often remain under the Hunter Managent Agency’s jurisdiction, taking on roles like examiners.
One of their roles, beyond ability testing, is monitoring newly awakened hunters.
After all, young hunters, especially those just awakening, are prone to reckless behavior. And when you gather kids in confined spaces nationwide for ability testing, accidents are inevitable. That’s why the agency sends hunters as supervisors—to prevent and mitigate such incidents.
Still, they couldn’t have expected to find an S-rank hunter at a school like this.
“He’s probably C-rank at best. There’s no way he could handle an S-rank going berserk.”
Despite his casual tone, the examiner’s stiff expression betrayed his tension.
But I had no intention of causing more chaos.
I’d already humiliated this guy in front of the entire school. His embarrassnt would linger for a while, especially once this video inevitably made its rounds online.
That wouldn’t settle the debt of three years of bullying, but there’d be more chances later. No need to pay it all back here.
I glared at the still-trembling idiot as I slowly dispersed the flas at my fingertips.
Sigh.
I heard the examiner let out a relieved breath. How pitiful.
“Sniff, sniff… Mom!”
The idiot, now assured of his safety, started crying. What an eyesore.
“For now, I’ll deal with him later… Let’s check the results of my experint.”
"-Querying abilities for ‘Jung Da-on’."
"-Abilities are displayed as levels for convenience. Dungeon and monster compatibility is also displayed accordingly."
"-Jung Da-on (Status: Normal)"
"-Potential Ability Grade: S-rank"
"-Health: LV. 3 (No cap)"
"-Strength: LV. 3 (No cap)"
"-Mana: LV. 12 (No cap)"
"-Overall Level: LV. 6"
"-Recomnded Dungeon Compatibility: E~F-rank dungeons"
The stats were still modest, but considering my overall level was 1 just minutes ago, this was an impressive jump.
The system, true to its purpose of supporting humanity’s survival, was remarkably thorough. It was even more user-friendly than the system guides I’d seen in my past life. Perhaps Earth’s humans, accustod to gas, influenced its design.
“Mana is fine, but strength and health at level 3… Barely above average for a normal person. Is this the limit of Jung Da-on’s body?”
Even with an S-rank potential ability, my current stats were lackluster.
Potential ability asures innate talent’s ceiling, not current capacity.
Humans, unfortunately, are constrained by their innate limits, no matter how much they strive.
Still, my S-rank potential ant infinite growth possibilities.
But for now, the restriction on my abilities hadn’t been lifted significantly despite eting “societal standards.”
“Why is that?”
As I pondered, a system ssage popped up.
"-Quest: Do Good Deeds and You’ll Be Rewarded¿"
"-When ‘Jung Da-on’ ets societal standards, ability restrictions are lifted."
"-Restrictions are lifted proportionally to societal approval rates."
I smirked.
“So that’s how it is.”
The system had been vague about how restrictions would be lifted. By accepting the ambiguous quest, I’d given it room to hedge.
My actions had garnered so societal approval but weren’t passionately endorsed. There were also dissenters. Hence, the minor restriction lift.
Had I struck the idiot, the dissent might have increased: Violence is wrong, Vigilantism isn’t justified, Hunters shouldn’t harm civilians.
“The system got this ti. It seems peace has dulled my edge.”
But this was still within expectations.
What mattered more than the quest details was sothing else entirely.
“Examiner.”
“Huh? Oh, yes! What is it?”
“Since I’ve been certified as an S-rank, you’ll handle the registration. I can leave now, right? The Hunter Managent Agency will contact later anyway. You don’t have the authority to hold here.”
“Well, yes, technically, but—”
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Wait a mont!”
The examiner called out urgently.
“This awakening was unexpected. Don’t you think we should discuss this first? I’m a senior hunter, you know. I could give you advice, guidance, and—”
“No, thanks.”
Advice? No need.
“I have plans with my brother.”
I’d arranged to et him before my part-ti shift. This ability test had already taken too long, and I was running late.
There was no reason to stay here any longer.
Finally, this tireso group activity was over. How liberating.
“Plans with your brother? Can’t you delay them for a bit? If he hears you’ve beco an S-rank hunter, surely he’ll understand—”
“No way he’d wait.”
I smiled brightly at the examiner.
“Not for sothing this trivial.”
If these people understood the crisis they’d narrowly avoided today, they’d worship my sibling as a hero. And who would dare make a hero wait?
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