Chapter 001
[Chapter 001]
< E-Class Hunter >
One day, it rose up in the middle of every city in the world.
The Tower.
A black skyscraper piercing the sky with an unknowable height.
With the appearance of the Tower, the world changed.
[You have obtained the qualification to challenge the Tower.]
Opportunity was given to humanity as well.
The only hope for the survival of humanity, climbing the Tower and hunting monsters.
Awakeners, Hunters.
I was an E-Class Hunter in that world.
An Awakener without talent. Barely at the level of sensing Mana without a single skill.
Far from combat, my job was to clean up the monster blood spilled by the great Hunters.
Still, I thought I was on the lucky side.
Because I received a much higher annual salary than non-Awakeners who couldn't even awaken.
Most of my salary was hazard pay, but still, I was grateful to receive it.
I was truly fine with just that.
Really.
But then.
“Mr. Jang Kang-hyun, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave.”
Overnight,
I was laid off.
“Anyway, the Bureau runs just fine without untalented people like you, Kang-hyun.”
[...]
[...E-Rank Mana Core, limit break.]
[Potential at a Measurement Impossible level is being unlocked.]
[Re-evaluating final rank...]
[Determined as EX-Rank.]
Without realizing I had awakened.
1
“Hey, E-Class.”
I knew who it was without even looking back.
B-Rank Tanker, Cha Jin-seok.
He was the man most high-spirited right now, having participated as a mercenary in today's Rift and taken charge of one of the Hydra's heads.
“Yes, Hunter Cha Jin-seok.”
I stopped what I was doing and turned my head.
Cha Jin-seok pointed to his feet with a flick of his chin.
Military boots covered in thick Hydra blood and guts.
“Clean this and return it to the equipment team. The smell is disgusting, I don’t even want to touch it.”
They were boots encrusted with dark blood scabs and unidentified green visceral fragments.
The fishy smell of blood and the stench of rotting guts stung my nose.
It was a terrible sight, looking like I’d catch a skin disease if I touched it with my bare hands.
I looked at him without answering.
Cha Jin-seok’s brow furrowed.
“Are you ignoring my words right now? Just an E-Class.”
“No. I cannot process it right now.”
“What?”
“It’s neurotoxin from the 3rd head. If not neutralized within 15 minutes, it will melt the asphalt and flow into the sewage pipes.”
At my words, Cha Jin-seok’s face hardened.
Only then did he notice the neutralizer sprayer I was holding and the faint purple smoke spread around.
If that poison flowed into the city through the sewage pipes, it would be recorded as the worst biochemical terror.
“...Tch.”
Reluctantly, Cha Jin-seok chewed out a curse and turned away.
Sssss-
As the neutralizer was sprayed over the poison, the purple toxin bubbled and turned black.
This was my job.
The place where the spotlight was turned off.
Cleaning up the dangerous debris left behind after the heroes departed.
The Tower appeared and the world changed.
Talented Awakeners climbed the Tower without exception.
Inside the Tower were wealth, fame, and power surpassing humanity.
The work of being a hero who saves the world and gaining the glory of earning massive amounts of money.
But not everyone could climb the Tower.
For an untalented E-Class Hunter like me, the threshold of the Tower's 1st floor was higher than Mount Everest.
And, fortunately, there was a place where people like me could work.
‘National Hunter Management Bureau.’
The Bureau's main task was not the Tower raid.
Managing the Rifts that occurred irregularly in the human world due to the Tower's influence, and handling the aftermath after the Tower raid.
In short, it was a place that did the back-up work for the flashy Hunters.
National Hunter Management Bureau, Field Support Team 3, E-Class Hunter Jang Kang-hyun.
That was me.
I did this work for 6 years.
At first, I also had a dream.
A dream that I could climb the Tower, hunt named monsters, and become a hero who saves the world.
But my talent stopped at E-Class.
A half-Awakener without a single skill, just sensing mana slightly better than others.
But it was okay.
Either way, isn't it a better life than a non-Awakener?
“Jang Kang-hyun! If you’re done with that, come over here and collect the mana stone fragments!”
Team Leader Park Jin-soo shouted from afar.
He was pointing at the small fragments formed from hardened Hydra blood.
It seemed like I could just sweep them up, but that wasn't the case.
‘The most dangerous one is the fragment over there, next to the 7th head.’
A small piece that contained uniquely dark mana inside, unlike the other fragments.
If treated like general waste without knowing, it would explode during transport and cause mana interference nearby.
“Just a moment.”
I approached the most dangerous fragment first, carefully picked it up with special tongs, and placed it in a containment vessel.
“What are you doing over there so slowly! Just do what you’re told properly!”
Team Leader Park’s shouting flew at me again, but I silently did my job.
Someday they will recognize it.
No, it didn't matter if they didn't.
As long as the salary came in properly, that was enough.
* * *
“...So, you’re quitting after this month?”
Late at night, long after clock-out time.
I was sitting across from Hunter Lee Seok-ju in the Bureau breakroom with coffee cans in front of us.
One of the few Hunters in the Bureau who worked out of patriotism.
Other guilds offered double the annual salary, but he stayed here with a single sense of mission to protect the people.
That man was trying to leave.
“I have no choice, Kang-hyun. I have to make a living too. Do you know how much my daughter’s academy fees are? Nowadays, they say you have to do pre-learning, ballet, and this and that. It’s a bit tight for my family of four to survive.”
Even so, a B-Rank Hunter like Lee Seok-ju would have an annual salary well over a hundred million won.
“It’s not just because of the money that you made the decision, is it?”
“...The Bureau takes us too much for granted.”
The problem was respect.
The gap between the reward and treatment received for risking one's life was widening compared to other guilds.
“Hazard pay? Equipment support? This isn't even half compared to other guilds. Making us endure this in the name of the country only works for so long.”
It was an undeniable fact.
Of course, there were advantages to being part of the state.
A stable pension, exceptional support for bereaved families in case of death in the line of duty, and the respect of the citizens.
But in the field where one might die tomorrow, those things were gradually losing their luster.
Talented Hunters left looking for better treatment, and the situation was that those remaining were decreasing.
Power here was entirely about the number and quality of Hunters held.
“Hunter Lee Seok-ju.”
“Don’t stop me. My mind is already made up.”
“Just look at one announcement tomorrow morning and then decide. It won’t be too late. Otherwise, you might regret it.”
“Announcement?”
“A bill to expand special support funds and child education support for B-Rank or higher Hunters. It passed this morning.”
At my words, Lee Seok-ju’s eyes widened.
“That actually passed? Wasn’t it pending for years?”
“Yes. It was so frustrating that I nagged a lawmaker I know a bit. Isn't it natural for people rolling in the field to be treated well?”
“You did? How did you know a lawmaker...?”
I just smiled without saying a word.
An E-Class field agent. I had nothing to show, but the network I built by running with my feet for 6 years was my only weapon.
Whether it was processing monster remains or transporting equipment, if you run with your feet, you’re bound to leave an impression here and there.
Environment Ministry researchers, National Assembly security team leaders, the picky old master at the equipment workshop, the veteran nurse at the Hunter-exclusive hospital.
Having seen them for 6 years, they were people I’d miss if I didn't see them periodically.
‘Of course, no one would think it’s my doing.’
Lee Seok-ju was silent for a long time, then let out a deep sigh.
“...Alright. I’ll look at the announcement tomorrow and decide.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be thankful. But why do you go that far, Kang-hyun? You’re not even eligible for support since you're an E-Class anyway.”
“Because it makes me uncomfortable.”
“What?”
“If you quit, Hunter Lee Seok-ju, the work I have to do will double. We’re already short-staffed, and I hate annoying things.”
I replied bluntly and pushed the cake box I had placed next to me.
“And this. I heard it’s your daughter’s birthday today.”
“Cake? No, when did you get all this...”
“I bought it to eat, but I happened to think of you so I’m giving it to you. I don't really like sweets.”
“It’s an obvious lie.”
It was okay even if they didn't recognize it.
I just didn't want to see people who silently kept their places leaving after receiving unfair treatment.
And I just cared a tiny bit about his shoulders, which would return with a heavy expression even on his child's birthday.
“Really, there’s no one but you, Kang-hyun.”
Seeing Lee Seok-ju take the box and smile brightly while thanking me, well, it wasn't bad.
It was then.
Vrrr-!
My terminal rang like crazy.
The caller was Team Leader Park Jin-soo.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
-You haven't clocked out yet, right?
“Yes, but why.”
-A Rift appeared. It’s C-Rank! Get over here right now!
“Mr. Kang-hyun, what is it? Should I go with you?”
“No, your daughter must be waiting for you at home with a long neck. Go quickly.”
And I ran without looking back.
* * *
The scene was a mess.
Ominous red light was leaking from a torn gap in the middle of the asphalt road.
Police were blocking people behind the civilian control line.
“Team Leader! What’s the situation!”
When I arrived panting, Team Leader Park rushed at me as if he was going to grab my collar.
“How long has it been since I called? You just got here?”
“I’m sorry. The Rift scale is....”
“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s getting bigger! If that thing pops, a 500-meter radius is just gone!”
Team Leader Park’s face was pale with fear and anger.
It was a face pale with the fear that his own neck would fly as the person in charge of the field when the Rift exploded.
“...Jang Kang-hyun.”
“Yes.”
“You’re an Awakener, right?”
“Pardon?”
In an instant, a cold smile appeared on Team Leader Park’s face.
“You, go in there and install the mana stabilization device.”
“Team Leader, that thing is on the verge of berserk. According to formal procedure, a B-Rank or higher Hunter....”
“Shut up!”
Team Leader Park shouted.
“If we wait for a Hunter to come, it’ll already be after everything has exploded! Is there any other way now? Or should I go in?”
“But with my rank....”
“Even an E-Class is an Awakener! And this is an order!”
Then he pushed my shoulder and placed the cold stabilization device in my hand.
“If you don’t go in now, we all die. You don’t want that, do you?”
I knew it wasn't right for him to speak as if it was all my fault.
But.
“...Understood.”
At those words, it didn't take long to firm up my resolve.
I slowly approached the torn gap in space.
The mana wind blowing from inside.
The sensation like it was carving my skin was something I could never get used to.
‘I heard high-ranking Hunters don't feel anything.’
One step, one step.
I approached the very center of the Rift.
The very moment I held out the stabilization device toward the shimmering red abyss that seemed like it would suck everything in.
K-RRRRRRRR-!!
The Rift exploded.
“Kugh...!”
I couldn't even scream.
A pain like being pierced through my whole body by iron skewers.
The sensation of every cell in my body being torn apart by the torrent of mana.
The weak E-Rank mana core screamed and shattered.
‘Am I... dying like this?’
The face of my only family, my younger sister, came to mind.
Her heart-wrenching appearance lying on the hospital bed, trying hard not to look out the window.
I thought if even a talentless guy like me struggled for 6 years, something would change.
Even if the world didn't recognize it, I believed my efforts wouldn't betray me.
Was it a foolish thought.
Still, if possible... I wish I had been a more talented person.
As my consciousness was sinking into the pitch-black darkness.
[....]
[...E-Rank Mana Core, destroyed. Afterwards, reconstructing.]
[Breaking through the limit.]
Something was being reassembled inside the debris of the shattered core.
[Potential at a Measurement Impossible level is being unlocked.]
The torrent of mana that was tearing my body apart was calming down like a lie.
[Re-evaluating final rank....]
I reflexively reached out my hand.
“...?”
The berserk Rift before my eyes subsided like a gentle lamb as if it had been waiting for my gesture.
The torn space healed smoothly and the red light disappeared.
As if it had never happened, the asphalt regained its tranquility.
“Heugh....”
I slumped on the spot, drenched in sweat.
I had no strength left in my body.
Then, a shadow fell in front of me.
“...Ha, really. This bastard.”
It was Team Leader Park Jin-soo.
As if he hadn't even seen the disaster just now, he looked back and forth between the intact road and me slumped there, soaked in sweat.
“Look at this? You didn't even go in because you were scared, and you were just putting on a show outside?”
< E-Class Hunter > END