The Newbie's Meeting
It seemed to have completely won Noah's heart.
"Hmm... There's some reason I can't reveal my identity, huh? Did I commit a crime or something?" Noa-ang asked, sounding intrigued.
"No, nothing like that at all," I replied quickly.
"Then... Did your face change a lot after awakening? If you want, I can do it simply. Creating one completely new person in the world... It's not that hard at all."
"Lmao," I typed back, though a part of me wondered if she was being serious.
"I have connections at the Association too, so if you register, I'll help."
"Ehehe, thanks. What do I need to do?"
"Hmm, it would probably be best to meet in person. How about it?"
I hesitated for a moment before typing, "Do I really have to meet in person?"
"Yeah. I'll send you the address, so come over."
Fortunately, when I asked whether registration with the Association was possible without anything to prove my identity, Noa-ang immediately offered to help. Meeting her in person made me nervous, but if it was necessary for registration, I had no choice.
'After awakening, if an awakened person does not voluntarily register with the Association within two days, they are designated as a target. If caught, they suffer terrifying things at the hands of the so-called "Executors"—a city legend I found absolutely terrifying. How alarming.'
The address Noa-ang sent was a short distance from here, about an hour's public transportation ride. Since I was already going out, I figured I should buy some clothes too. The clothes I was originally wearing had changed size appropriately along with my body. I wished even the clothes in the closet had changed completely, but things can't be that convenient. *Sighing,* I stepped out the door.
With my reduced field of vision, this was the first time breathing in the outside air. Ah, it felt so unfamiliar. First, I needed to let her know I was on my way.
"Started. It takes about an hour to get there," I messaged.
"That's not far at all? Just open the door when you arrive."
"Okay, got it."
Searching the address Noa-ang gave brought up a standalone house with a small yard. They said they had connections at the Association and were skilled... That would probably make them at least A-grade. Considering the status of a successful hunter, it was surprisingly modest. 'Or do they live here and have several apartments in their possession?'
Reaching the bus stop, a bus arrived just in time. After boarding, I had nothing to do, so I connected to the Hunter Nadenade Gallery—a hunter-only community. My heart fluttered. 'Was it really okay for me to check it out?'
Speaking of which, I hadn't read all the notices yet. This place was completely different from other ordinary forums. This was the exclusive gallery for awakened people and hunters! If I accidentally broke any rules and got scolded by real hunters... Ugh, it wouldn't be like being blocked on a normal derivative gallery. I wouldn't even be able to lift my head.
I scrolled down slowly and started reading, just like when I went through my skill window. It was basically the common etiquette found in other online spaces. The Hunter community was just like everywhere else, but then, something strange caught my eye:
**[4. Counseling Services]**
This gallery is a space for communication and building intimacy among hunters. However, we hope it ultimately becomes a place where hunters can freely share their worries and troubles as hunters.
Accordingly, we have opened a counseling tab. Since many people are skeptical about sharing personal worries or secrets in a public community, we have posted links to counseling services where you can speak with the manager or sub-manager at the bottom. Just think of it as a kind of 1:1 counseling booth.
At the bottom, there were indeed links to contact Noa-ang or the sub-manager. I clicked Noa-ang's link just in case, and was instantly moved to the private conversation room I had been in before. I had awakened, but the minds of hunters were still hard for me to understand. Doing something like this at the gallery level... Well, everyone here was probably a kind and decent person, so maybe it wasn't bad.
Since it was for the purpose of building intimacy, I didn't think there would be a problem. If so, I had something else I wanted to try. According to the nickname 'Wolha', they said that a *pa-ttak* (sub-manager) like them had also flowed into the Nadenade Gallery. We seemed to be in a similar situation, so I wondered if I could talk to them. I clicked the link to contact the sub-manager, changing my gallery nickname first. 'Hmm, what should I start with? A casual greeting?' I was a little tense, but I gathered my courage and sent a message.
"Hello."
There was no quick reply. After about two minutes, as the bus passed one stop, a notification popped up.
"Hello," Kawaralade replied, followed quickly by, "Oh, new kid. New kid."
"Yup, new kid here."
"Hey, just think of me as a friend and talk comfortably."
'Whoa, she has absolutely no hesitation at all.' First, I needed to get to the main topic, so my fingers started tapping rapidly across the screen.
"I have one thing I want to ask..."
"Yeah, yeah, tell me."
"I saw a comment on my post. It seems like you came to the gallery through the same route as me. How did you come?"
"Ah, that one. Before I awakened, I was just lurking in the Hunter Gallery, but suddenly Noah told me to send a gallery log. So we talked."
"Did you have any specific conversation?"
"Roughly, 'What do you think it'll be like after awakening...' Something like that. I said it sounded good."
'We were exactly the same. Though unlike me, she showed a positive attitude toward awakening, so the Nadenade Gallery accepted her. Hmm... So did I win? It felt a little weird.'
"After that, Noah told me the link, so I came to the gallery~ Then I volunteered because I wanted to be a pa-ttak. Even if I'm a pa-ttak, there's not much to do. It's not like hunters are posting weird memes or something. I go to referee UFC matches sometimes... and I accept people who come for counseling like this. That's basically it."
"Counseling is what exactly?? I've never seen a gallery that does something like this."
"I haven't seen one either. When people just awaken, things like this are complicated and hard... They don't know how to survive with their abilities. It's just answering those kinds of questions. Noah said it's definitely necessary. It's not that grand." Kawaralade continued typing, "It's not some boring, standard counseling. I have a talent for short-term future prediction, and Noah has a talent that increases the persuasiveness of her words. She just uses those talents to say nice things or give advice. I used to wonder why we do that... But since I'm getting help myself, I think it's good."
"Oh, I see."
"By the way, have you registered at the Association yet? Are you heading there now?"
"Ah, it's because it's a bit hard to reveal my identity, so I decided to get Noah-ang's help with registration."
"What kind of crime are you talking about?"
"No, it's just... I wanted to meet in person, so I'm on my way to meet Noa-ang."
"Everyone says they can't reveal their identity, so you must have committed a crime," Kawaralade teased, before adding, "The information that my gender changed, I never want to reveal in any case."
'Of course, if they start a detailed investigation, it will come out immediately. Until then, I'll hide it somehow. At least until I become comfortable enough with the awakened life to stand proudly in front of people's eyes!'
"Meeting Noa-ang directly? Oh... I haven't met her a few times either. Anyway, anything else to talk about?"
"I've pretty much finished what I wanted to ask."
"Oh, and from now on, talk comfortably. This place is just an extension of the gallery, why the polite speech?"
'I met Noah in the Hunter Gallery, not this one, so I started with polite speech from the beginning and kept using it even after learning I was an awakened person. But here, I felt something wrong.' I realized my inner thoughts were holding me back: 'The moment I think "the person I'm talking to is an awakened person," I automatically start treating them with deep respect. This habit won't be easy to change. I really admired hunters, so it's hard to stop. Mmm...'
Instead of saying all that, I just sent a vague reply. Kawaralade noticed, replying, "Your nickname gives it away. Talk however you like. Being polite is good too."
"Thank you for understanding!! I'll go now!"
"Yeah, register well. Contact me again later if you have time."
"Haha, sure."
"Saying you'll contact me later... If you say that, I might not be able to contact you first..."
***
The red-haired woman sitting in front of the computer stopped typing and stretched her back. "Haaam... It's true that more new kids are coming. Back then, I didn't get even one new kid a week."
Mirai, a B-grade hunter managing the sub-manager position of the Hunter Nadenade Gallery—also known as Hunna-gal—under the name 'Kawaralade', was staring at her computer screen with her eyes wide open while sipping convenience store coffee.
'The nickname "HunterJawayo" had a cute cat name. Whenever I talked to that user, my heart felt at ease, like petting a kitten. At least, they were clearly different from other people. Talking to someone who just awakened for the first time... It's been a while. The kid is kind and cute and nice. They said they were going to meet Noah directly. Should I contact them?'
Mirai picked up her phone and dialed the number saved as 'Noa'. It rang even before the dial tone finished, as if Noah had been looking directly at the device.
"What’s up? You called first."
"It’s not anything urgent. I just heard that the new kid who came today is meeting you."
"Ah~ They're trying to help with Association registration. There's something you have to meet in person for, right. Did they contact you?"
"Yeah. Well, they're friendly and kind, so it's fine."
A faint smile came from the other side of the phone. Mirai made a pouty face, as if she didn't like that smile. "What? Why are you laughing?"
"Ah, no. Anyway, I called Sora to help with the Association registration. After registration is done..."
"After that?"
"Are you thinking of becoming a sub-manager... I mean, pa-ttak. Of course, I'm not going to take your pa-ttak away."
Mirai furrowed her brows, looking troubled. It was definitely a good thing to gain one more helper besides herself. Still, a feeling of reluctance lingered because the position of sub-manager in a community for awakened people was a point of pride for her. "...Hmm, I guess if the work decreases, it's good for me."
She wanted to say, 'Isn't one person enough?' But saying that would be no different from revealing her insignificant pride to Noah.
"I decided too unilaterally, sorry. But I thought I shouldn't miss this opportunity."
"Do they have some amazing ability? The new kid."
"I don't know if that's accurate... But your ability to see the future is just as great as theirs. Still, for smooth gallery operation, it seems both will be needed."
"...Yeah~ If the main manager says so, I have to follow. I'll take good care of them. If they become a pa-ttak, I'll have to guide them... as a senior."
"Yeah. I'll leave it to you. Sorry."
Mirai looked at the chat room where she had talked with 'HunterJawayo' with complicated eyes, and then hung up the phone.