Episode 16: I Need to Stop Faking

Convinced that he cannot tackle the S-rank Demon Castle at his current standing, Jinwoo resolves to have his hunter rating officially re-evaluated so he can take part in tougher raids. He travels to the association's testing facility, where Hyun is busy scouting talent and phones Baek to report that Jinwoo has arrived for an assessment. A staff member shows Jinwoo to a waiting area, where two hunters chat about how the process works before he is called inside.

The evaluation goes wrong almost immediately. The technician running the test cannot get a reading, so a colleague comes in to look at the equipment. He concludes that Jinwoo's energy exceeds anything the machine can register, and on that basis declares him an S-rank, the tenth person in the nation to reach that tier. Nearby, Choi and Woo are talking over the Red Gate incident, with Choi eager to identify the outsider who joined that raid, though Woo admits he lacks the full record.

Drawn by the commotion, Choi and Woo head to the lobby. There a worker tells Jinwoo the device is malfunctioning and asks him to come back in three days for a retest. Choi greets Jinwoo and tries to open a conversation about guilds, but Jinwoo brushes him off and leaves. When Baek arrives wanting to speak with Jinwoo too, Choi pieces together that Jinwoo was the mystery hunter behind the Red Gate clearance.

Visiting his mother in the hospital afterward, Jinwoo runs into Woo, who introduces him to Go Gunhee. Go congratulates him on the S-rank, insisting no instrument is needed to confirm it, and offers him a position within the association. Go warns that joining any of the five major guilds would upset the existing balance of power, but Jinwoo turns the offer down, explaining he simply wants to keep hunting beasts in dungeons. Go accepts his answer and lets him go.

In a separate hospital scene, a deputy chief questions Dongsoo about whether Il-Hwan is a magic beast, which Dongsoo affirms. The official notes that people are searching for Il-Hwan but doubts he will be found, then leaves. Dongsoo dwells on his earlier clash with Il-Hwan, who had warned him to leave his family alone, and begins planning to recover artifacts he can use in a rematch. Jinwoo, meanwhile, researches flawless gear online, intent on equipping himself fully before returning to the Demon Castle, and spots a job posting.

Jinwoo signs up to recruit for an A-rank gate expedition. As Go and Woo dig into his background and notice he has taken a mining role, Jinwoo speaks with a site manager and walks the audience through how high-level dungeon work splits into strike, mining, and collection duties. Once Choi, Hae-In, and their group finish clearing the beasts inside an A-rank dungeon and exit its gate, Jinwoo remarks on the pair's reputations and enters the dungeon with his fellow laborers.

Sensing the A-rank boss, Jinwoo wants to test himself against it. When break time is called, he tells his coworkers he would rather finish his task first. After they leave, he makes his way toward the boss chamber. He understands he should not kill it, yet the urge to fight remains. Hae-In then steps in to stop him, and the episode closes on her asking what exactly he plans to do.

Jinwoo decides to raise his rank specifically so he can join higher-tier raids. During his reassessment, the association's machine cannot read his magic power, prompting a worker to declare him an S-rank and the tenth in the country to reach that level. The news draws attention from Choi, who connects Jinwoo to the Red Gate event, and from Baek, both of whom take interest in recruiting him. Go Gunhee offers Jinwoo a job with the association, which he declines in favor of solo dungeon work. Dongsoo, still nursing his grudge against Il-Hwan, resolves to arm himself with artifacts for another fight. Jinwoo then joins an A-rank dungeon expedition as a porter and, against warnings, heads for its boss, only for Hae-In to intercept him.

The installment adapts Chapters 61 through 66 of the webtoon and is titled I Need to Stop Faking. It was written by Noboru Kimura and directed by Makiko Hayase under A-1 Pictures, airing in Japan on January 25th, 2025 and in English on February 8th, 2025. The episode sits within the Retesting Rank Arc. Featured items include the Orb of Avarice and mana crystals.