Alpha Male (1)
Gates that connected to other dimensions. Monsters that came bursting out of them. And the hunters who awakened with the power to step inside those gates. Thirty years ago, the chaotic world that people had only read about in novels became reality.
It was pure pandemonium at first, but thanks to the emergence of superhuman hunters and the governments’ swift response, the world regained peace almost overnight. Of course, the threat of gates never truly disappeared. No one could predict when or where one would open and spill monsters into the streets. Still, the Hunter Association and active hunters stayed vigilant, responding to every incident and protecting civilization as best they could.
“Holy shit, the King of Power is so badass, right?”
“Hunters are the main characters these days.”
Naturally, becoming a hunter turned into the most glamorous career on the planet. They were celebrities and heroes rolled into one. On top of that, the magic stones discovered inside gates had become the ultimate alternative energy source, sending their value skyrocketing even further. Fame, popularity, and now obscene amounts of money; the job had it all.
“Fuck… I’m so jealous.”
The man staring blankly at the ceiling with genuine envy was Park Jihun, twenty-five years old. He was barely scraping by, paying rent on a tiny studio apartment with part-time jobs. It was the perfect age to feel crushing jealousy toward hunters who were strong, rich, and drowning in popularity.
“Male hunters probably fuck a ridiculous amount of women, don’t they?”
With money and celebrity-level fame, women would line up for them. It couldn’t have been more different from Park Jihun, who barely even held a conversation with a woman outside of work.
“Goddamn, I’m jealous!”
He let out a heavy sigh. Abandoned the moment he was born and raised in an orphanage, he had gone independent at twenty and worked as hard as he could. Average looks, a background worse than most people’s, and a high-school diploma because studying had been impossible in his environment. After that, it was just one dead-end part-time job after another, barely enough to keep food in his mouth. He didn’t have nearly enough to dream about romance.
That was why he felt both petty resentment and burning envy toward hunters. They earned more money in a year than most people would see in a lifetime simply by awakening, then basked in insane popularity on top of it.
“...If I became a hunter, could I fuck a whole bunch of women?”
He let his imagination run wild. Becoming an overwhelmingly powerful hunter with women lined up waiting for him. Picking any one of them, dragging her back to a luxurious mansion, and making the bed creak until dawn.
“Whew~ Hunters really are something else. Main job: hunter. Side job: female hunter.”
It sounded perfect.
Sleeping with countless women was great, but Park Jihun had a far more specific taste.
“...I’d finally get to see real monster girls.”
Thirty years ago, after the gates first opened, humanity suffered three major shocks. The appearance of the gates. The appearance of hunters. And finally, the ecology of the monsters living beyond those gates.
The stronger a monster became and the more magical power it possessed, the closer its form evolved toward humanity. A wolf-type monster that grew powerful enough to become a named or a boss would transform into a wolf beast-girl. Goblins and orcs evolved into human-like forms with slightly greenish skin.
Because of that, people who already harbored certain sexual preferences for anthropomorphized monsters lost their minds when those fantasies stepped into reality. Park Jihun was one of them.
“Fuck yes. A gorgeous monster-girl orc. Actual beast-girls! Real succubi!!”
Just imagining it made his face light up completely. Back in high school he had spent entire days in heated debate with a junior who shared his tastes over which monster girl was the hottest. If he became a hunter, he would finally be able to meet those living embodiments of his sexual fantasies.
And if things went well… maybe even with one of those monster girls…
“...Shit, I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”
Exactly as he said, his cock had risen ramrod straight from nothing but imagination. More than popularity, power, or wealth, this was what Park Jihun envied most.
“If I were a hunter, I’d go straight for it.”
If a beautiful monster girl appeared in front of him, he was confident he would pounce without a second of hesitation.
While he was giggling to himself with those dirty fantasies—
“But I’m not a hunter, am I?”
Reality crashed back down and self-loathing flooded in.
“...Sigh. Let’s just sleep.”
Thinking he needed rest for tomorrow’s part-time shift, he lay down on the old, yellowed bed in his studio apartment.
“Mmm…”
Deep in the night, as Park Jihun tossed and turned in his sleep, a semi-transparent window began to float before his eyes.
You have awakened as a hunter.
“Ugh… mm?”
When Park Jihun sat up, he tilted his head at how strangely refreshed he felt. Normally the cheap mattress left him stiff and groggy, but today his whole body felt as if he had slept in a luxury hotel bed.
“Did I sleep like a baby or something?”
But the clock said eight in the morning. Since he had gone to bed at two, that was only six hours. Yet he felt this good? Something was off.
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
“...What the hell is this?”
He finally noticed the semi-transparent window floating in front of him. It looked like a sheet of ice suspended in mid-air with black letters engraved on it. The text read:
You have awakened as a hunter.
The status window and skill window have been activated.
“...Huh?”
It was far too shocking to process right after waking up. He frowned and slowly turned the situation over in his mind. A semi-transparent window like something out of a system message. The phrase saying he had awakened as a hunter.
“...Hunter? Awakened?”
Only then did his brain fully wake up and accept what was happening.
“Whoa, whoa, holy fuck! For real? I actually awakened as a hunter?!”
His cheer was practically a scream. He even started jumping around the room in excitement. It was understandable. Hunters earned insane money, enjoyed massive popularity, and were literally objects of envy. Everyone wanted to be one. But not just anyone could awaken.
Only the tiniest fraction of humanity who awakened and received the System could become hunters. It was a genuine miracle with ridiculously low odds. And that miracle had just happened to him.
“Th-this isn’t the time to stand around! What… what do I do first? Do I have to register as a hunter right away?”
The suddenness left him flustered and pacing. Most people fantasized about winning the lottery or awakening as a hunter, but when it actually happened, all their neat plans usually collapsed into chaos. Park Jihun took a deep breath, steadied himself, and slowly organized what he needed to do.
“Okay. First, register as a hunter. Then take the training…”
After awakening, the first step was registering with the Hunter Association. Failing to register was illegal; if caught later, the state would treat you as a criminal and hunt you down. There were unregistered shadow hunters who operated illegally, but Park Jihun had no intention of becoming one of them.
“Besides, if I did that I’d have a hard time meeting monster girls.”
Every gate that opened fell under government and Hunter Association control, so unregistered hunters could hardly enter them. That would ruin his lifelong dream of meeting beautiful monster girls. The biggest reason he had been so happy upon awakening was the thought of finally seeing them in person. There was no way he would throw that away.
After registering, new hunters were required to attend the official training program run by the Association. It was meant to prevent fresh awakeners from charging into gates and dying screaming on their first raid. Veteran hunters taught rookies the ropes. Since hunters were extremely rare and valuable human resources, raising their survival rate inside gates was a top priority.
“Yeah, and after that’s done… hehehe.”
Monster girls. Of course, to meet ones that were truly close to human you needed to enter high-rank gates, but that was still infinitely closer than he had been as an ordinary civilian. Park Jihun couldn’t hide his glee. The lewd smile on his face made it obvious.
“Oh right, I should check my stats and skills.”
When someone awakened as a hunter, they received stats and skills. Stats represented physical specs—including the magical power that let them enter gates. Skills were special active abilities or passive traits that enhanced their bodies. These factors decided a hunter’s strength, and since the initial stats and skills you received upon awakening usually stayed with you, the first check was incredibly important.
“Hehehe, I hope they’re fucking strong.”
The stronger he was, the higher-rank gates he could enter, which meant a higher chance of meeting beautiful female monsters. It was a slightly… no, a very different reason from ordinary hunters who dreamed of earning more money, power, and fame.
“Status window!”
With high hopes, he called out for his status.
“Hmm…”
The numbers were mediocre. Nothing was catastrophically low, but nothing was impressive either. Hunters usually kept their exact stats and skills secret, so he had no way to compare, but he could tell these weren’t top-tier values.
“...Tch.”
Park Jihun clicked his tongue in disappointment, but quickly pulled himself together. There were still ways to raise stats. …Of course, that usually meant spending tens of thousands of dollars on stat-raising elixirs or accomplishing incredible feats inside gates. Or possessing one of the ultra-rare skills that could raise stats. Still, there was hope.
“Hope isn’t dead yet! Skill window!”
Skills were more important than stats anyway. He called up the skill window with that thought.
Alpha Male / Level 1
When facing female monsters or female-type monsters, all stats are doubled. Inflicts stiffness, fear, hesitation, and loss of fighting spirit on the target.
Female Hunter / Passive
Permanently increases stats upon defeating or completely subduing female monsters or female-type monsters. The amount varies depending on the situation.
“...Huh?”
An unimaginable phrase filled his vision.