Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: If Not Beside Her, Then from Behind
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If it wouldn't work from the side, then even from behind.
In the game, I'd started out as a hunter right from the beginning, so I hadn't given much thought to the exam process.
With help from Rolling, an A-rank hunter auntie, and since I'd scored above the cutoff on the written test...
I figured becoming an E-rank hunter in the prologue would be a piece of cake.
That was before I personally experienced the caliber of the exam participants, who were called "superhumans" in society.
"Pfft?!"
"...Huh?"
"Participant number 1004, Han Shin-woo. Sparring record: 2.4 seconds. Fail!"
"That guy's really here to become a hunter?"
"He went down with just one punch?"
Even the lowest E-rank hunters started with base stats of 3.
In other words, for someone like me—a monsterization hunter saddled with an experience penalty, who'd grown from an original stat of 1 to just 1.1 over ten years—passing the test was impossible from the start.
"Sigh..."
Maybe it was because Sophia had called me a "liar" the other day.
It brought back memories of the Hunter Association's practical exam a week ago, where I'd flunked.
The arena, thick with tension, had turned into a sea of laughter the moment I got knocked out at the start.
Even thinking about it now made my face burn with embarrassment.
But that didn't mean I was giving up on "getting employed" at the Hunter Association.
"Kid! You're doing great. Did you train somewhere beforehand?"
"Haha, no. I just... studied in advance from games... I mean, books!"
"Hahaha. Unlike today's young folks, you're not slow at all—quick hands, a joy to watch!"
"Thank you!"
I couldn't become a combat hunter for the Association.
So, at the very least, I'd aim to be support staff—backing up those hunters.
After they deployed and everything wrapped up, I'd repair and upgrade their used gear.
I set my new goal: "Hunter Meister," also known as the blacksmith for hunters.
Of course, it was a job with its own knowledge requirements and fierce competition, if not quite on the level of hunters.
'In the game, I did crafting side jobs like crazy for the sweet rewards.'
From mass-produced gear to custom high-end hunter equipment.
I'd succeeded in reinforcing and repairing them all, each time seeing that glorious "Perfect!" message.
Plus, compared to my pro-gamer days, I'd trained in Kyokushin Karate and had hands-on experience with stuff like welding—basically similar to weapon crafting—and all sorts of other odd jobs.
"Hunter mass-produced longswords, 50 units—all repaired."
"Whoa, you're fast...!"
"Shin-woo, you're a real prodigy!"
"Haha, you think so?"
In the Hunter Association's mid-level workshop—
or "forge," as others called it.
The Meister uncles who'd eyed me suspiciously at first were now giving me thumbs-ups like pros.
"Um... Team Leader. If I keep doing this well, could I get hired at the forge right after graduating?"
"Haha, of course! No—don't even think of wasting that talent elsewhere, Shin-woo."
After three grueling hours in the forge, finishing nearly every job...
As work ended and I stepped outside, the clear sky had turned to a red sunset.
"Whew. Good work, everyone!"
"Yeah, you too, Shin-woo!"
"Shin-woo. Call anytime using the card I gave you if you want more work! Actually, I'll call you when jobs come up—just keep your phone on!"
"Haha, yes! Thank you, Team Leader."
The day wrapped up on a high note.
I headed with the Meister uncles to a nearby bathhouse to wash off the forge sweat.
Letting the hot shower spray over me, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
I couldn't become a hunter.
But I'd proven that an ordinary human like Han Shin-woo could make it as an equipment crafter.
A smile crept onto my face.
"By the way, Shin-woo. Mind if I ask something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
We'd all slipped into the steaming tub.
The team leader was humming and dozing off.
A muscular, capable-looking middle-aged uncle between him and me flashed a kind smile and asked.
"Nothing big, just curiosity. Why'd you apply for equipment crafting?"
"Uh... Did I do something wrong?"
"Hahaha, not accusing you! You're still young, after all."
He laughed at my worried question.
"Makes sense. No matter how good the pay, Hunter Meister is basically a 'dangerous job' at its core."
"Yeah, true."
I knew why they called a job like modern blacksmithing "dangerous."
The setting from the original story came to mind.
Forges belched constant smoke, but this was the 21st century, long past the Industrial Revolution.
Hunter gear—even mass-produced—was all specialized, requiring handmade crafting.
Crafters had to handle everything manually, no automation. And it was gear used by hunters, superhumans even at E-rank.
Incidents and accidents happened that you'd never see in regular factories.
That's what the lore said about Hunter Meisters.
"You're still in high school, right? Prime age to try everything, fail, gain experience. Equipment crafting probably wasn't your dream job. What's your motivation?"
"Motivation, huh..."
I couldn't become a hunter.
Still, I wanted to join the Hunter Association, so I applied for the risky Hunter Meister role.
My goal was obviously to follow the original protagonists and craft this world's happy ending...
But now there was another reason I had to join the Association.
"Truth is, I know one hunter."
"And that kid's super shy, so I have to stick by her side."
"...Wait, you became a Hunter Meister just for that?"
"Haha, yeah... Compared to you all, it might sound silly, but that's me."
Even if it was just an equipment crafter.
I couldn't fight beside her, but I wanted to at least clean up after her—at the very least.
To keep 'that day's promise,' I had to become part of the Hunter Association.
"Haha... Pretty weird, right?"
I scratched the back of my head, scanning the suddenly silent bathhouse—like a faucet turned off mid-stream.
But then.
"You little punk...!"
"That's romantic!"
"Shin-woo, was it? Kid, you've got romance!"
"Youth is wasted on the young."
No way, these guys...
Had they mistaken my 'worried brother' feelings for a little sister as a man's love for his beloved?
Tears in their eyes for me, cheering me on like I was the best.
"Love her pretty!"
"Even if you say love her... she's just like a little sister!"
"Sure, sure. Got it. Anyway, fighting!"
"No one's listening to me anymore, are they?!"
Even the dozing team leader woke up, and they all cheered on my non-romantic "love" however they wanted.
That was already three days ago.
In the meantime, the team leader called me a few more times, and I even repaired a B-rank hunter's custom gear. I was blowing up as the new prodigy in the field.
"Heh, my eye never fails! Here's a bonus!"
"...! Thank you, Team Leader."
Just two gigs total, including the first, and I pocketed 500,000 won—bonus included.
With money saved up, it was time for that.
Sophia had been back in Korea for a week already.
Surprisingly, I hadn't seen her once.
As a Meister fixing gear after hunter ops, I figured we'd bump into each other, but nope.
It was like she was deliberately avoiding me. The only glimpses were on her TV appearances.
"Korea's top promising hunter! And a Beast Hunter who can even communicate—hello, Sophia Hunter!"
"Yes, hello! I'm Sophia, the B-rank hunter back in Korea after two years~!"
Sophia greeting viewers with a fresh smile on my phone screen.
But I could tell.
That smile was a perfect fake.
It was her tell I alone knew: when forcing an expression, she'd scratch her neck.
She was doing it right there on the broadcast.
"Gotta cheer her up soon."
I'd prepared for this—for Sophia.
Who am I?
A vet of [Hunters Blood], where after action genres, visual novels were core content.
I'd conquered heroines with way more personality issues than current Sophia—found them cute, even.
"This one? Or that?"
In this world, if I wanted, I could be a Casanova, toying with any woman's heart.
If only I had a convenient "status window" like typical isekai protagonists.
"D-Do women like... this...?"
First-time crafting unfamiliar gear? Nailed it straight from graphics to reality.
But gifts for a heroine with dropped affection? No clue—I'd lapped the department store dozens of times, hands shaking.
Guess conquering countless girls from my room still left me a virgin at heart?
Even before she left for America, on birthdays or Christmas, when I'd try gifting...
"I don't need that stuff. Just stay by my side, Shin-woo."
...She'd stick to me all day, substituting herself as the gift.
"U-Um, e-excuse me..."
"Yes?"
"G-Giving women... king crab... isn't good, right...?"
"......Pardon?"
Done for.
I really was the worst guy ever.
Imagining Sophia feeling burdened by any gift from the department store... I worried we'd never meet again.
But at that point, I still didn't know.
Ten years after the [Smiling Monster Incident] in Busan safely resolved.
In 2024...
Weeeoooowooo—!!
"Siren?!"
"M-Monster!"
"Everyone, please evacuate to the department store basement in an orderly line!"
The prelude to the original story's prologue had finally begun.