WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 49: Oppa, I’m So Happy for You!

──────

“Rank... reassessment?”

“Yes. Your current level is far beyond D-rank.”

I knew well that I was growing at an unprecedented rate.

But it had only been about a month to a month and a half since my last rank reassessment.

Wouldn't it look strange to anyone if I went for another reassessment after such a short time?

And besides.

“...Have I really grown that much?”

I knew I had improved, but I thought it might still be too early for a rank reassessment.

Looking at what had happened in the Dragon Sword Garden, that performance had not come from my own strength alone. A number of factors had worked out in my favor.

“Sometimes you seem like a genius, but when I see you like this, you seem rather slow-witted too.”

Rokan apparently saw things differently.

“You still seem to think of yourself as an ordinary Hunter. Do you truly think everything you have accomplished so far is within the level of a D-rank Hunter?”

“...”

Honestly, I could not think that.

Even the dragon power I had drawn from the Dragon Bone Sword had already gone far beyond that of an ordinary D-rank Hunter.

But I did not consider that to be wholly my own power.

Could power that came with risks every time I used it truly be called my own?

Maybe that was why I had been underestimating myself.

Without that power, I had wondered whether what I had achieved so far was not all that impressive.

But at that moment, Rokan vouched for what I had accomplished.

That made me realize those concerns had been pointless.

If Rokan said that much, then I must have made remarkable progress even without counting those things.

“I'll do it. Since we're talking about it, I'll go get reassessed right away.”

“Yes, you should. Since we're on the subject, I'll take you near the rank assessment center.”

With that, Rokan used Teleport to take me near the assessment center, then vanished without a trace.

Everything happened so quickly that I was left a little dazed, but first...

I should contact Sia.

I messaged Sia to tell her I was going for a rank reassessment. Less than a minute later, she called me.

[Oppa, are you going right now?]

Her voice seemed to hold both wonder and pride.

“Yeah. Since it came up, it's better to do it as soon as possible.”

[Aww. I wish I could've been there with you.]

Come to think of it, Sia and I had been together when I got my previous rank reassessment.

She probably wanted to share the joy of me receiving a new rank by my side, so I could understand why she was disappointed.

“Hmm, then... if recording is allowed, I'll record the assessment and send it to you.”

I tried to comfort Sia by telling her we could at least make do with that.

[If livestreaming is allowed too, video call me! You have to!]

She must have been quite disappointed that she could not be there. She put particular emphasis on the words “you have to.”

“Yeah. I will.”

[You can do it, Oppa! I'm sure you'll get a great result!]

With Sia cheering me on, I entered the assessment center and filled out the necessary paperwork.

When I submitted it, the receptionist looked it over and asked me with a puzzled expression.

“Mr. Yoon Minjun, it hasn't been long since your last reassessment, has it?”

“No.”

“Only a month and a half ago... Hmm.”

There probably were not many cases like this.

I knew it could look strange.

Still, was it really necessary to make that so obvious right in front of me?

After organizing the documents, the receptionist spoke again.

“Since it has not been three months since your previous assessment, regulations require us to charge an assessment fee.”

It was the first I had heard of it, but thinking about it from the Hunter Association's perspective, it made sense.

“How much is the fee?”

“Two hundred and fifty thousand won.”

It was not an amount I could not afford, but it was more expensive than I expected.

“If the reassessment confirms that your rank has risen, the full assessment fee will be refunded. Though that is rare as well.”

“I see.”

Then I just had to get the refund.

After paying the fee, I headed to the testing room for my reassessment.

Hmm, this familiar atmosphere.

Maybe because I had been here recently, but I remembered that wooden sword and the dummy clearly.

By coincidence, it was even the same testing room where I had been reassessed last time.

The staff member was different, though.

“Mr. Yoon Minjun.”

“Ah, yes.”

The staff member who entered the testing room glanced over my paperwork and spoke.

“I see it has only been a little over a month since your last rank assessment.”

“Yes.”

Like the receptionist, she seemed surprised that I had come for another assessment after such a short time, so she brought it up again.

Fortunately, though, she did not make any further comments. After checking the documents, she handed me a rank-measuring ring and spoke in a businesslike tone.

“I assume you know the procedure, but please let me know if you need an explanation.”

“I'm fine. But if it's all right... may I record my rank assessment?”

“Are you a YouTuber?”

It seemed more people did this than I expected, since she asked in an uninterested tone.

“No. It's just that... my girlfriend wants to see it.”

“You may record a video, but livestreaming is not allowed.”

“Okay.”

Once I had set up all the recording equipment, I entered the testing room where the assessment would take place.

“I'll signal when the assessment begins.”

I poured mana into the rank-measuring ring. As soon as I received the signal, I began striking the dummy.

What had I been like when I underwent my previous rank assessment?

I could not remember clearly, but when I tried to recall it, I felt that I had definitely been much slower than I was now.

Not only could I feel that my movements had become noticeably more agile, but the vibration running through the wooden sword was clearly stronger than before.

That stronger vibration probably meant that more force was going into my sword than before.

I could not fully display my abilities because I was using a wooden sword instead of the Dragon Bone Sword I normally used.

Still, as I swung my sword, I could feel it.

A power entirely different from what I had possessed before was stirring within me.

The faint gray aura rising from my sword's tip at that moment was proof of it.

Every time I struck the dummy, gray aura danced through the air, tracing lines from my blade.

Carrying into my sword the feeling I had experienced in Minos's Tomb, I attacked the nearly indestructible dummy with the determination to shatter it to pieces.

Then.

Though I knew it would not produce the same result as before, I poured intense will into my sword's tip as if I were using Dragon Speech.

I swung my sword in a frenzy, so deeply absorbed that I did not even notice my entire body becoming soaked with sweat.

And finally.

“Your assessment is complete. Please come out and wait.”

An announcement over the speaker informed me that the assessment was over.

My whole body ached and my breathing was ragged after pouring out everything I had in such a short time, but an unfamiliar exhilaration also welled up inside me.

Gulping down bottled water from one corner of the testing room, I calmly waited for the results.

Then, after a while.

“...That's strange?”

After seeing the results, the staff member muttered to herself and began typing on the keyboard again.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, it's just... please wait a moment. I think the results may have come out incorrectly.”

She tilted her head and continued typing while muttering, “This can't be right.” Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with the results did she display them on the monitor.

[Yoon Minjun / B / Swordsman

Strength: 47(+3)

Stamina: 41(+3)

Agility: 44(+3)

Mana: 48(+3)

Average: 45(+3)

Special Skill: [EX]??? (+3)

Final Average: 48]

“...!”

The moment I saw the results, I was so shocked that I even forgot to cry out.

B-rank.

Not just B-rank, but a high B-rank.

Only a month and a half ago, I had been an ordinary D-rank Hunter. Now, I had reached B-rank.

But that was not the only surprising thing.

A new, unidentified skill in the Special Skill section caught my attention.

[??? (EX)

Skill Description: ???]

It was an EX-rank skill with neither a name nor a description.

Until now, this mysterious skill had existed only in my status window. It had never once been detected during a rank assessment.

Whenever I told my companions about it, they treated me like I was crazy, so I had eventually forgotten about the skill entirely.

Yet this time, it had not only been detected. It even had a (+3) beside it.

I still had no idea what kind of skill it was, but perhaps it was only now revealing its true value.

“Here are your assessment results. If you show this sheet where you submitted your paperwork, you'll receive a full refund for the assessment fee.”

While I was lost in my thoughts, the staff member handed me the results sheet.

Her voice was as calm as before, but the faint trembling in her eyes showed that she was quite surprised as well.

“Thank you.”

I took the results sheet and returned to the receptionist who had accepted my paperwork.

She too seemed greatly surprised when she received it.

Anyway.

Once I had finished everything, I immediately called Sia.

As if she had been eagerly waiting for the results, she answered before the first ring had even ended.

[Oppa! How was it? Did it go well?]

“Yeah. The results were better than I expected.”

[What did you get?]

Excitement and anticipation filled Sia's voice.

“B-rank.”

[Really?!]

Sia's voice suddenly grew so loud that I thought my eardrums might burst.

I told her the detailed stat values, along with the unidentified EX-rank skill that had not been found during my previous assessment.

“What could that skill possibly be...?”

[Right. You told me about it years ago too, Oppa. You said you had a skill like that, but nobody believed you.]

After thinking for a moment, Sia spoke.

[Could it have something to do with dragon power?]

“Dragon power?”

[Yeah. Considering the circumstances, doesn't that seem the most likely? If the system is only starting to recognize it now, it might be related to how you used Dragon Speech in that dungeon before.]

Sia thought that, through the experience of using Dragon Speech then, I might have reached a new level as if a blocked energy channel had opened.

It sounded quite reasonable to me too.

[We'll have to ask Grandpa for the details, but... this is really great!]

“Exactly. At this rate, it might not take as long as we thought to achieve our goal.”

I should not get ahead of myself already, though.

[I guess so. Oh, Oppa, I have something to do, so I'll call you later. Have a good day!]

Unlike usual, Sia suddenly said she had something urgent to do and ended the call.

...What could that be about?

Since we had reunited, Sia had almost never ended our calls first.

No, now that I thought about it, it had happened rarely.

Even so, I did not think she had ever ended a call first after we had spoken for less than ten minutes.

Could it have something to do with the plans Rokan said he had this afternoon?

I was not sure, but perhaps she wanted to spend some quiet family time with Rokan.

Or... what else could it be?

Something felt uneasy, but I decided not to think about it any further.

My reassessment had gone well, so I should go home and rest for now.

Normally, on a happy day like this, I would have had a drink with Sia to celebrate.

What a shame.

* * *

Sia's lair on Jeju Island.

Unlike usual, a large number of people had gathered there.

There were ordinary citizens, famous entertainers, chaebol magnates, and politicians.

Their nationalities and occupations were all different, and they did not seem to have anything in common. Why, then, had they gathered in her lair?

At first glance, they appeared to have no common ground at all.

But in truth, they shared one thing.

They were all dragons in human form.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried