Sweet Home (5)
As Alpha Male leveled up to 2, the skill now granted half the usual stat multiplier even against male or male-type enemies. Thanks to turning Shin Jiyeon into his familiar, he could now apply the Alpha Male effects to humans as well. Because of that, he was currently receiving the stat boost and stiffness debuff against Kang Sigyeong, whom he had marked as an enemy.
Kang Sigyeong’s stats were barely in the upper range of E-rank—nowhere near D-rank. Compared to Kang Sigyeong, who had awakened as C-rank with average stats exceeding 100, Jihun’s were only half as high. Even so, the stiffness locked up his body, and the intimidation effect slightly lowered those stats that were over 100.
Alpha Male (Lv. 2) — Partial stat multiplier and stiffness applied to male target.
“What the… why isn’t my body…”
Kang Sigyeong was momentarily flustered, but he never once suspected it was Park Jihun’s doing. On top of that, he was completely off guard—after all, there was no way an F-rank hunter could possibly push him off or fight back.
THUD!
“…Ugh?!”
Suddenly, Jihun’s leg swept into his thigh. Kang Sigyeong couldn’t react in time. The impact was far stronger than he’d expected; his balance collapsed and one leg flew into the air. In that instant, Jihun grabbed the wrist that had been holding him and yanked it hard in the opposite direction.
“Whoa…?”
Kang Sigyeong’s body pitched forward. He stared at Jihun in utter disbelief. Jihun looked at his face, let out a small snort, and drove a knee straight into the falling man’s nose.
The movement still had a few rough edges, but it was smooth enough that anyone without martial training would struggle to dodge. It was all thanks to his boosted agility stat and the Martial Arts skill.
CRACK!
There was a sickening sound like something actually breaking. Kang Sigyeong’s head snapped backward violently. He collapsed face-first onto the ground with a dull thud.
An intense, dizzying pain radiated from his nose. “Krrgh…” He instinctively reached up to touch it and felt something wet and sticky.
“Wh-what…?”
When he looked at his hand, it was drenched in bright red blood. His broken nose was pouring.
What the hell? Why am I bleeding? Why does it hurt? Why the fuck am I on my knees in front of this bastard…?
He couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to him.
“Dude, I told you to let go when I asked nicely. This is self-defense, right? I got attacked first by a hunter stronger than me.”
Jihun’s tone was openly annoyed. The moment Kang Sigyeong heard those words, he finally realized that this F-rank piece of trash had just smashed his nose.
“Y-you… you son of a bitch!!”
The humiliation of being beaten by an F-rank hunter far weaker than himself burned in his chest. The question of how an F-rank could even injure a C-rank’s body never crossed his mind. All he wanted was to erase this shame and rage.
He shot to his feet and swung a furious punch at Jihun.
But right then—
Huh…?
Kang Sigyeong realized something was wrong with his body. His movements were slower than usual, and every few seconds his muscles would stiffen for a split second. On top of that, the shattered nose bone and the blood pouring out, combined with the first broken-bone agony of his life, completely ruined his posture.
“……”
Even though it had only been a single day, Jihun had been trained by B-rank hunter Shin Jiyeon and possessed the Martial Arts skill. There was no way he would miss that opening.
GRAB!
An amateur punch with zero technique. No matter how fast the stats made it, a wild swing from an off-balance body was easy to dodge. Jihun caught the arm and twisted it viciously behind Kang Sigyeong’s back.
“Gaaargh?!”
His arm spun unnaturally, forcing his whole body to twist with it. Jihun pressed himself against Kang Sigyeong’s back while still gripping the trapped limb.
“A-aaaagh! Aaaagh!”
The pain of his arm being wrenched and the fresh agony shooting through his broken nose left Kang Sigyeong completely disoriented. All he could do was scream.
If Jihun applied just a little more force, he could snap the joint clean regardless of C-rank durability.
…Guys like this who don’t know when to quit need to have their buds nipped early so they never crawl back up.
Jihun felt zero hesitation about breaking the man’s bones. Maybe it was because he had already fought humanoid monsters. Or maybe he simply saw Kang Sigyeong as a beast or monster rather than a human. Either way, he poured on the strength.
CRUNCH!
A C-rank’s body was tough and his muscles were strong, so the arm didn’t break easily. But the more force Jihun applied, the further the limb bent in a direction it was never meant to go until the joint gave out completely.
“GYAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
Kang Sigyeong let out an ear-splitting scream. The few onlookers nearby all turned their heads toward the noise.
“What the—what’s going on? A fight?”
But no one approached. They didn’t want to get dragged into it and become the next target. Even though there weren’t many people around, they figured drawing attention could be dangerous. Still, a few citizens did the responsible thing and called the police.
“Hello? There’s a fight happening right in the middle of the street… Yes, right here…”
Since no one seemed inclined to intervene or had recognized Jihun, he calmly finished the job on the already-broken arm.
CRACK!
“Ghhk…”
Bending an arm that was already broken produced pain beyond imagination. Kang Sigyeong couldn’t even scream properly anymore. A normal person would have passed out from shock, but a C-rank hunter’s mental fortitude was far above average. He was forced to endure every second of the agony without the mercy of unconsciousness.
“If you act up again, I’ll break your legs next.”
Jihun gave the trembling, tear-streaked Kang Sigyeong one final warning.
“Hiiik…”
The pain had completely broken Kang Sigyeong’s spirit. The arrogant bastard who had been shouting about “worthless F-rank trash” was gone. All that remained was a shivering wreck who could only nod frantically at Jihun’s threat.
“Huu…”
Only then did Jihun finally release the arm. Modern medicine and a hunter’s recovery ability would heal the bones, but the terror carved into Kang Sigyeong’s mind would never fade. And by the time that injury fully recovered, Jihun would be far stronger than he was now. Even if Kang Sigyeong came back gnashing his teeth and fully prepared, Jihun was confident he could crush him head-on.
No matter how much he knew or prepared, as long as Kang Sigyeong wasn’t some genderless golem-type monster, he would never be able to escape the stiffness and intimidation effects.
“Hey, you two!”
Right on cue, police officers who had received the citizens’ reports arrived on scene.
“……”
The moment he saw the police, Jihun briefly considered running. If he was taken in, people—and the Association—would learn that an F-rank had broken a C-rank’s arm. That would be extremely inconvenient for someone trying to hide his rapid growth. The Association might even demand a re-measurement.
Wait a second.
A pretty good idea suddenly popped into his head.
If I work with the Association to keep it hidden… then nobody will actually know, right?
After all, every hunter rank measurement and public announcement went through the Association.
Alpha Male has reached Level 2.
Partial stat increase and control effects now apply to male targets.
Human targets can now be affected due to the familiar contract with Shin Jiyeon.
“Yes… Yes, I understand.”
Lee Hyeondong, the Bupyeong branch manager of the Korean Hunter Association, wore a grave expression as he ended the call.
Park Jihun Hunter…
The person he had just spoken with was none other than Park Jihun. The hunter had called to inform him that he was currently at the police station. But why call the Association instead of a law firm? Jihun had explained everything.
He had gotten into an argument with his former classmate Kang Sigyeong. The other man attacked first, so he had simply responded in self-defense.
This is going to be a massive incident.
Just the fact that Park Jihun was involved was enough to shake the entire country. Considering the insane amount of attention currently focused on him, the hunter who had initiated the attack—Kang Sigyeong—could very well be socially buried forever.
Luckily, it seemed no one had recognized Jihun yet. But if this story got out, Kang Sigyeong was finished. The Association couldn’t ignore public opinion. In that case, Kang Sigyeong would almost certainly lose his hunter license. In the worst-case scenario, he might even receive a prison sentence.
People might wonder how you could even arrest a hunter, but the process was different from ordinary criminals. The moment a hunter was detained, they were immediately shipped off to the United States. There, they were sent to what was known as the “Prison Guild”—a facility that gathered the world’s most responsible and righteous top-tier hunters to imprison hunter criminals. The security was so tight that even an S-rank hunter could forget about ever escaping.
Anyway, it was that serious. And according to Park Jihun, the Yongmun Guild—that headache of a guild—seemed to be involved as well.
The Yongmun Guild was a large organization that constantly dragged ugly rumors behind it. In reality, they were behind countless ethically questionable incidents. The Association and major guilds had been watching them closely, waiting for just one solid excuse to strike.
If they used this incident as a pretext, the Yongmun Guild itself could be completely destroyed.
But that wasn’t the real big news.
What Lee Hyeondong considered the true bombshell was something else entirely.
“He won.”
Park Jihun had beaten Kang Sigyeong. An F-rank had defeated a C-rank.
It was as absurd as an average elementary school student knocking out a professional boxer. Logically, it should have been impossible.
Of course, Park Jihun had already cleared two gates with the Another Guild, while Kang Sigyeong hadn’t entered a single gate since his rookie training. Still, that kind of experience gap couldn’t possibly bridge the overwhelming difference between F-rank and C-rank.
And there hadn’t even been any familiars present—only Another Guild Master Shin Jiyeon.
Did Shin Jiyeon help him?
That was Lee Hyeondong’s first thought. But what Jihun said next was something he could never have imagined.
…A growth-type hunter.
Jihun already possessed E-rank level stats and had used a special skill to defeat a C-rank. In other words, he was a growth-type hunter. And he had risen from F-rank to E-rank in just three days since awakening—an insane growth speed.
Even if he was growing, the existence of a special skill that allowed an E-rank to beat a C-rank was the real shock. With this, Park Jihun’s already unique value as the world’s one and only tamer skyrocketed tenfold—no, twentyfold.
Until now he was just a unique existence we could use for national pride. But now…
Because of the F-rank limit, no matter how good his taming skill was, Jihun’s value had been capped at “useful for propaganda.” But if he kept growing at this pace? If he reached D-rank, C-rank, B-rank… maybe even S-rank or beyond?
“…Insane.”
The world’s first and only tamer skill, combined with the fastest growth rate in history. Of course, like every other growth-type hunter before him, Jihun might eventually hit a wall. But honestly, even reaching B-rank would multiply his value by more than ten times. A B-rank hunter could be deployed into the most dangerous A-rank and higher gates—the greatest threat to humanity—and could tame C-to-B-rank monsters.
When you considered how valuable and important high-rank hunters were, his worth was astronomical.
Lee Hyeondong wanted to announce this fact immediately. But Jihun had a different idea.
He had told the Association because he wanted them to help hide it. He also didn’t want the world to know he had beaten a C-rank hunter. It was to prevent anyone from trying to interfere with his growth.
Of course, if he wanted, he could have Shin Jiyeon claim she had taken care of everything. But that would eventually be exposed as a lie and only raise more suspicion. So instead, he had chosen to ally with the one group that could turn a lie into the truth.
The Association had nothing to lose by staying on friendly terms with a hunter who would one day wield global influence. That was why they had immediately brought him in and given him every convenience the moment he awakened as a tamer.
And when the time came that Jihun judged himself strong enough to go public, he had promised to speak in ways that would benefit the Association as well.
Most importantly—
If I report this to the higher-ups, won’t it greatly strengthen the branch manager’s position?
It was an offer Lee Hyeondong simply could not refuse.
“Then I suppose I should live up to those expectations.”
Lee Hyeondong immediately relayed the information to his superiors without omitting a single detail. After receiving approval faster than he thought possible, he picked up the phone and dialed a junior colleague who worked at the Hunter Crime Response Division.