The Sweet Benefits of Skill Copying – Tank Registration

Choi Junhyuk, having arrived before the Association building, registered the skills he had copied from Yoo Sangjin into his skill deck.

He then immediately stepped inside the Seoul branch of the Awakened Association.

Perhaps due to the late hour, only about a dozen people were queuing inside the Association, waiting to register as Hunters.

A significant number of them were there to register as support-type Awakened, while only a few were lining up for dealer registration.

Naturally, not a single person was seen attempting to register as a tank or a healer.

This was because those who awakened as tanks or healers were exceedingly rare, unlike those who became support or dealer types.

In any case, from Junhyuk’s perspective, as someone registering as a tank, it was quite convenient not to have to wait in line.

“I’m here to register as an Awakened.”

When Junhyuk approached the tank-exclusive counter to state his purpose, the staff member looked at him with a surprised expression.

“Excuse me? This is the tank-exclusive registration counter… Are you sure you awakened as a tank?”

“Yes, I awakened as a tank.”

As Junhyuk confirmed it once more, the staff member swiftly began their work.

“Ah! You’re the first tank Awakened we’ve seen in the last six months. Congratulations, by the way. You brought your ID, didn’t you?”

“Yes, here it is.”

Junhyuk took out his ID from his wallet and handed it over, prompting the staff member to hastily begin the digital processing.

Meanwhile, those waiting to register as support and dealer types cast envious glances at Junhyuk.

After a brief moment, once the processing seemed complete, the staff member looked at Junhyuk and spoke.

“Your identity verification is finished. I’ve made a call, so someone will be here shortly. Please take a seat for a moment, and when they arrive, you can follow them for your test.”

“Ah, yes.”

Receiving his ID back, Junhyuk turned and settled into a chair located further back.

****

Soon after, the elevator doors opened, and a slender middle-aged man in a white lab coat emerged. The counter staff then called out to Junhyuk.

“Choi Junhyuk-ssi.”

Hearing his name, Junhyuk quickly rose from his seat and approached the counter.

“Yes.”

“Please follow this person.”

At the staff member’s words, Junhyuk smiled and extended his hand to the slender man, offering a handshake.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Choi Junhyuk.”

“Ah, yes. A pleasure indeed. It’s been a while since we’ve had a tank Awakened, so it’s even more delightful. Haha, my name is Im Jihun. Come, follow me. I’ve already instructed them to set things up, so we can start the test immediately.”

As the man exchanged greetings and, without any suspicion, took Junhyuk’s outstretched hand, Junhyuk immediately activated a skill, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

‘Copy!’

He had activated the skill on the off chance that the man, working at the Association, might also be an Awakened.

[Copy failed. The target is not an Awakened being and cannot be copied.]

Regrettably, the man was merely an ordinary person.

Confirming that his counterpart was not an Awakened, Junhyuk promptly released the handshake.

He then followed the man, who had introduced himself as Im Jihun, into the elevator.

Pressing the button for the second basement floor, Im Jihun turned to Junhyuk and spoke.

“As you likely already know, the test consists of three stages. Stage one measures your Vitality and Force. Stage two involves casting your unique active skill, Shield Attack, to measure your aggro rate. And the final stage, stage three, is an evaluation of your tanking ability through a simulated battle. Oh! For your information, stage three will be held two days from now, due to the need to select judges and other preparations.”

While stages one and two could be performed immediately, stage three, the tanking ability evaluation, required several time-consuming elements, starting with the recruitment of Hunters to serve as judges.

Consequently, registering as an Awakened of the combat class, including tanks, typically took a bit more time.

Junhyuk, already familiar with these details, nodded his head and replied, “Yes, I know.”

“Haha, I thought as much. Indeed, information related to Hunters used to be top secret, but these days, most of it is publicly available online, so even non-Awakened individuals possess as much knowledge as Awakened ones.”

Just then, the elevator arrived at the second basement floor.

Ding!

As the doors opened, Im Jihun quickly stepped forward.

“Come, this way.”

As Im Jihun and Junhyuk walked down the hallway and entered the test room, the staff members, who had finished preparations and were waiting, quickly stood up.

“Is everything set up?”

In response to Im Jihun’s question, one of the staff members spoke in a blunt tone.

“Isn’t there nothing much to set up? It’s the first tank Awakened in six months. The setup was already completed six months ago.”

At this, Im Jihun’s expression subtly contorted.

“Ugh, who doesn’t know that? If I ask a formal question, just give a formal answer. Why do you have to pick a fight? Aish, never mind, let’s just start the test. Mr. Choi Junhyuk, please take a seat over there.”

Following Im Jihun’s instruction, Junhyuk sat down, and the staff members brought various pieces of equipment, which they began attaching all over his body.

Moments later, the staff member who had finished attaching all the equipment looked at another staff member and said, “Ready. Begin measurement.”

“Yes. Measurement begins now.”

As the measurement commenced, Im Jihun looked at Junhyuk and said, “It will take about ten minutes, so please make yourself comfortable.”

“Ah, yes.”

‘Hmm, so this is how it works.’

In truth, this was Junhyuk’s first time registering as an Awakened.

In his previous life, before his regression, he had awakened by sheer luck, acquiring an Awakened Stone while on the run as a wanted criminal. Naturally, he couldn’t register with the Association then.

After becoming a villain, registering as an Awakened became impossible, of course.

As Junhyuk sat in the chair, waiting for the measurement to conclude, Im Jihun asked with a curious expression, “The measurement is just a formality for certification, anyway. Don’t you already know your Vitality and Force? How much is it?”

As Im Jihun inquired with palpable curiosity, Junhyuk offered a slight smile and replied, “My Vitality is 15,000, and my Force is 5,000.”

Upon Junhyuk’s candid revelation, Im Jihun’s expression shifted to one of astonishment.

“What? You mean a maximum awakening? Huh! Is that truly so?”

“There’s no reason to lie about a fact that will soon be revealed anyway, is there?”

“Th-that’s right. Haha, well, congratulations in advance. A maximum awakening…”

Given that a tank Awakened had appeared after such a long time, and a maximum awakening at that, Im Jihun offered his early congratulations.

It was clear that with the dwindling proportion of tanks and healers, a maximum awakened tank would be coveted by numerous guilds, including the major ones.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Having offered his premature congratulations, Im Jihun soon wore a bitter expression and continued, “Speaking of which, I’m worried that the number of people awakening as tanks and healers is decreasing day by day.”

Observing Im Jihun, Junhyuk asked with a curious expression, “I’ve heard as much, but has the awakening rate for tanks and healers really dropped so significantly?”

“Haa, don’t even get me started. Until now, healers and tanks were steadily replenished through natural awakenings, but even that has significantly decreased compared to five years ago, at the beginning of the Great Cataclysm.”

Junhyuk was also aware that the natural awakening rate was steadily declining, but as he hadn’t paid much attention to it, he didn’t know precisely how much it had decreased.

“Hmm… I see.”

“Some speculate that if this trend continues, natural Awakened might cease to appear entirely in as little as five years, or seven at the latest. That’s why governments worldwide are desperately trying to secure more tanks and healers.”

The declining natural awakening rate was a significantly serious issue.

This was because it could potentially lead to a breakdown in the balance between monsters and humanity.

“But aren’t there a steady number of forced Awakened through Awakened Stones?”

As Junhyuk noted, many people were joining the ranks of the Awakened through Awakened Stones.

The problem, however, was that Awakened Stones themselves were not easily found.

Especially in the case of blue Awakened Stones and white Awakened Stones, which allowed awakening as tanks and healers respectively, their drop rates were extremely low.

“That’s true, but most of them are concentrated in the dealer or support categories. Awakened Stones aren’t common to begin with, but tank and healer Awakened Stones are exceedingly rare among them. The bigger problem is that even if you obtain an Awakened Stone, it doesn’t guarantee a 100% chance of awakening.”

Indeed. Even if one managed to acquire an Awakened Stone, whether they would actually awaken was uncertain.

While support and dealer types still showed an awakening probability of 80-90%, leading to a fair number of forced Awakened, buffers had a 50% chance, and tanks and healers only had a 30% chance of awakening.

This was precisely why the importance of tanks and healers was even more emphasized.

As Junhyuk and Im Jihun were conversing, a researcher quickly approached and announced, “Measurement complete! Oh! This is a maximum awakening! Vitality 15,000. Force 5,000. Haha!”

Upon confirming that it was indeed a maximum awakening, just as Junhyuk had stated, Im Jihun spoke with a rather satisfied expression.

“Hoo, it is indeed a maximum awakening, just as you said. Congratulations. Now, shall we proceed with the second measurement? The aggro rate measurement is simple. If you enter that measurement room, you’ll find a monster-shaped dummy. You just need to cast your skill on that dummy.”

Junhyuk nodded and headed towards the measurement room.

In the center of the measurement room, as Im Jihun had described, stood a monster-shaped dummy.

[On your left, you’ll find a beginner’s shield. Please use it to cast Shield Attack. By the way, it doesn’t matter which part of the dummy you strike, so feel free to do it comfortably.]

Responding to Im Jihun’s voice through the speaker, Junhyuk nodded and immediately grabbed the shield placed on his left.

He then swiftly cast his skill towards the dummy, swinging the shield.

‘Shield Attack!’

Thud!

As Junhyuk struck with the shield, the dummy shook violently.

Immediately afterward, Im Jihun’s voice once again flowed through the speaker.

[That’s enough. The measurement results show an attack damage of 300 and an aggro rate of 98 percent. It’s quite a high measurement rate, but it’s a bit disappointing. Haha. If the aggro rate had been 100 percent, it would have been perfect. Anyway, well done. You can come out now.]

Im Jihun seemed to have expected perfection, expressing slight disappointment, but Junhyuk remained unfazed.

What was there to be disappointed about, when he intended to copy even higher-tier tank skills anyway?

“Is it all finished?”

“Haha, yes. Today’s tests are all complete. If you go to the desk on the first floor, they’ll provide you with basic equipment.”

“Ah, yes. Then, goodbye.”

Junhyuk gave a slight bow towards Im Jihun and then took the elevator back to the first floor.