Hunter Dane
Hunter Dane
"Have I actually gotten used to life here?"
I thought to myself while boiling soup.
It's been ten years since I crossed over to this other world.
Since I flew here right after being discharged from the military, I've basically lived here for about half the time I spent on Earth. Since I don't remember much of my childhood, the time spent in this other world feels longer.
When I first crossed over, I was clueless about how to live, but I learned firsthand that humans are animals of adaptation who can survive if they really want to.
Starting with getting a job by using every gesture, facial expression, and chin-nodding technique imaginable to persuade people who didn't speak my language, I even endured being persecuted as an outsider to work under someone.
Just like I used to suck up to my seniors when I was a private, I smiled and fawned even when faced with insults, verbal abuse, and physical violence that seemed intended to humiliate me.
After all, the people on that side were best friends with the boss who took me in, and they could kick an outsider out with just a single word.
I was in no position to do anything about it, having no blood ties, local connections, or academic background, and the guards—who were supposedly the police—didn't care about outsiders.
They said they only had a duty to protect those with Citizenship.
If an outsider without Citizenship met a robber, no one would help.
"It was a suffocating start."
Still, after the first year passed, the attitude of the guys who ostracized outsiders changed, and my efforts bore fruit.
If it was within the realm of what's allowed as a joke, it became possible to pay back the insults I'd suffered at the beginning.
However,
"The start was because of a house."
The chance to get a house I stumbled upon flew away because of that damn Citizenship.
To get a house, you had to have Citizenship.
Citizenship is the right to enjoy life as a citizen.
If you were a city kid from birth, you were granted Citizenship at your baptism, but outsiders who weren't had to either buy it with money or be bestowed it for achievements to be accepted as a member of the city.
Citizenship was absolutely necessary to settle down and live in one place.
Even in remote villages, if you don't have Citizenship, they charge double the taxes when you settle.
Citizenship was almost essential for a settled life.
As an outsider, that's how I started as a hunter.
Why a hunter? Because there was no job market that accepted outsiders without discrimination other than hunting.
You have to work in a job officially recognized by the Lord for 10 years to get Citizenship.
There was a way to buy it with money, but the calculation showed that with a part-time job, it would take 20 years.
Being a hunter meant putting your life on the line, but deep down, there was a part of me that was young and desperate enough to want to end this terrible life in another world.
And I didn't want to get racially discriminated against again if I joined as the youngest member.
So, I emptied out the money I'd saved to buy equipment to become a hunter, and I received teachings from a hunter who visited the shop.
A hunter here was a different concept from a hunter on Earth.
It was much more comprehensive. Warriors, knights, archers, mages—if you hunt monsters, all those combat professions are included in "hunter."
I learned everything to find what suited me.
But I was vaguely good at everything, so I ended up learning everything vaguely.
The hunters who taught me said that even if I used various skills alone, I wouldn't be able to handle any of them properly, so no one would accept me into a party.
"They were right."
No party would take me in.
Parties didn't hire hunters who took on the same skills or roles unless necessary, and they didn't welcome it either.
The reason was simple.
It was because they had to split the contribution to the party.
The pay was naturally distributed equally. Bonuses were given to those who did exceptionally well. But unlike Earth, there were a lot of people here who wanted to prove their worth.
More than greed for money, it was a desire for recognition.
It wasn't just about the money; they had a strong attachment to their roles, wanting to fulfill them.
It must be because natural deaths are extremely rare.
Even I, a modern person, felt like I wanted to achieve something before I died if I wasn't going to live out my natural lifespan anyway.
Anyway, I started as a hunter in the worst way and went solo.
"I lived roughly."
It was by no means a detailed life.
I lived as scheduled.
I went through a rigid routine.
The prey was always similar.
Repetition of work.
Because I had to hunt alone, I had to prioritize safety.
But the idea that the same life always flows on was just a delusion.
Life on Earth was a gentle uphill slope where anyone could move forward by their own will if they just had the motivation, whereas,
Life in this other world was a steep downhill slope. It was a dangerous downhill slope of death where anyone couldn't stop moving forward, and if you tripped even a little, you'd roll down and die.
Days that were so dynamic that it was impossible to look back and ruminate on the past.
I used to hunt alone, but,
"I almost died."
It was one day when I was safely hunting rabbits.
A party called the Rabbit Slayer acted territorially.
They asked if I was the one who was hunting their prey as I pleased. They tried to kill me without warning, and those guys, who couldn't see anything in front of them, ran into a magical beast, and thanks to that, I barely survived.
If you meet a magical beast, you usually have to consider yourself dead, but I lived thanks to the Rabbit Slayers drawing aggro.
"So I formed a party."
I became the party leader.
"Being an all-rounder is convenient at times like that."
It cost some money to form a party, but I somehow gathered the straggler hunters.
I had heard rumors about hunters who had been ostracized by others before me, so I hired them, and as much as they had been ostracized, they all had a hole somewhere.
They were extreme guys who sacrificed one thing for specialization.
A warrior who went all-in on agility and couldn't wear armor. An archer who went all-in on strength and had slow feet. A mage who used powerful magic but got magic-sickness. A cleric who was an all-rounder like me but believed in a god that didn't exist.
Thinking about it now, it was terrible.
Still, once gathered, the party ran somehow.
I, who was an all-rounder, supported them and covered their weaknesses.
The agility-all-in warrior didn't have to worry about his back, the strength-all-in archer became free from enemy approach, and the vomit-prone mage got a warning when to use magic and was made to retreat at the right time.
"What about the cleric?"
"The cleric had nothing to complain about."
With a gentle personality contrary to his sturdy physique, he even ran an orphanage.
The cleric's skills, as well as his ability to manage the party, were comparable to Platinum-ranked ones if you looked at his comprehensive abilities.
It was just that the god he believed in didn't exist.
The fact that the party could reach Platinum was largely due to the stability the cleric provided.
Anyway, by becoming a hunter, I was able to save money. I had already saved enough money to buy Citizenship, but I served the full term.
Citizenship is bestowed just by applying once you fulfill the 10-year term of the profession.
I hadn't filled the 10 years, but the Lord personally resolved it as an achievement for leading a Platinum Party.
And that's how I retired.
But since I'd spent almost half my life as a hunter, there was nothing to do but hunt even after retiring. I was blankly planning my future, wondering if I should just hole up in my room like an old man.
Then one day, the Lord, who heard the news of my retirement, requested that I manage the empty hunting ground.
"The Lord-nim himself?! As expected of a Platinum-ranked hunter! Was it to the point where the Lord-nim sought you out personally?"
"Platinum is the party. Well, anyway, it means I'm that kind of person. Make sure to impress me. The hunter you sought teachings from is a much greater person than you imagined."
I taught Hans how to shoot a bow on days when there was no hunting.
Resting just meant maintaining, cleaning, or replenishing equipment, so I played the role of a master to Hans on my days off as a pastime.
I taught him how to use a sword and gave him a bow to use, but...
"You're amazing."
"Do I have talent?"
"Yeah, you sure do."
I nod my head.
"The talent of a village chief."
"Yes? What does a village chief have to do with shooting a bow? Ah, you mean the village chief has to step up like a hunter if the situation arises?!"
"I'm saying you shouldn't be a hunter. I've never seen anyone as talentless as you in my life."
Hans had terrible lack of talent.
"If you shoot a bow, it's one thing that the arrows miss every time, but how do you shoot them into the sky? You're a guy who breathes well and has good strength."
"Still, if I fix it for a few more days, I can hit it! I'm just now getting the hang of it! Look!"
Hans placed an arrow on the bowstring, pulled it, and released. The shot arrow soared high into the sky and curved with the wind.
"Look at that. What if you accidentally hit someone..."
"Eek!"
My head turned to where the arrow was about to fall.
A scream erupted from the bushes there.
Moisture permeated the wind.
Fog seeped in thickly.
"Th-this is..."
"Damn it. Did you forget that I told you not to shoot based on momentum?"
"I-I'm sorry... It's, it's better to leave it and stay far away. You'll die."
"Tsk."
I gestured with my chin to Hans.
To go.
Hans, unable to stop me as I walked toward the place where the fog had thickened, returned to the hunter's house.
Even if he hadn't experienced it himself, Hans feared the Fairy's rampage, as if he had heard about the endings of those who harmed the Fairy since he was young.
He ran away with a face full of self-reproach, thinking the village was going to be ruined because of him.
He shot it because he was upset about being told he had no talent, but it happened to fly at the Fairy.
He has no talent, but he also has no luck at all.
The fog thickens, and water droplets form on my skin, mixing with cold sweat. It takes away my body heat. I feel a chill like death.
I met the Fairy.
The Fairy was being protected by spirits beside where the arrow had fallen.
The fog swirled and created a small sphere like a barrier. I faced the startled Fairy and the fog barrier between us.
The Water Spirit blocked the way, but my questioning didn't stop and went toward the Fairy.
"Are you okay?"
"...."
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"...."
The Fairy, who was covering her body with an umbrella, shook her head, umbrella and all.
She was saying there wasn't.
The Fairy crawled on the ground, approached, and extended a trembling hand from under the umbrella to hand me something.
"Did you wash it?"
It was the bowl I had put soup in the other day.
"Thank you."
"...."
"Was it delicious?"
"...!"
The umbrella nods carefully.
"I'll make it for you next time, so you can come and play secretly when there are no people around."
"Ah... Ugh..."
The Fairy opened her mouth.
She couldn't finish her words.
The Fairy, who hadn't been able to speak for a long time, couldn't get human words to stick to her mouth right away. The Fairy, who had only communicated with spirits,
"...Yes."
Barely managed to let out the human words she had forgotten.