Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: 011. Hunter Department
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Oh Jun-hyuk looked at me with eyes full of envy and tossed all sorts of questions my way. I answered him sincerely at first, but it gradually started to get annoying.
Then, right on cue, the professor walked in and the lecture began.
"Today, we'll be lecturing on B-rank dungeons."
I stared at the professor with bored eyes. The middle-aged professor continued the lecture calmly.
I looked around. Fewer than half the students were paying attention to the lecture. Most of them were messing around on their smartphones. Hunters could drop out of university and live worry-free anyway.
If it weren't for the university's hunter support policies, the Hunter Department would probably have no students at all.
I rolled my eyes sideways and looked at a woman sitting a little ways away. She had her arms crossed, watching the lecture with an arrogant gaze.
Silky black hair, snow-white skin, and slightly upturned eyes.
Han Ha-rin.
She was the prettiest girl in the department. No, her beauty was the best in the entire university. And she was also my first love. Of course, it was unrequited.
A 17th class senior, one year ahead of me. Currently a D-rank hunter with the ability Gravity Manipulation. She was also famous as the younger sister of A-rank hunter Han A-young.
'Even though she's wearing clothes that don't show off her figure much... with my long gaze, I can tell. At least E-cup.'
Her body was lewd compared to her pure face. Exactly my type. Honestly, the moment I first saw her, it felt like a lightning bolt of thrill hit me.
Back then, I approached her like I was possessed and tried to talk to her, but her response was colder than a north wind blizzard: buzz off. I later found out one of her nicknames was Ice Queen.
My first love ended that day. And what took root inside me was ugly lust.
'I want to pin her down and fuck her senseless.'
I wanted to twist that haughty face with pleasure. In my imagination, she was already my personal sex slave.
But reality was pathetic compared to my fantasies. I was just a hunter wannabe who hadn't become one, and she was a genius hunter who had reached D-rank at a young age.
'No. Wait a minute. I've awakened my ability too.'
My ability was unique, but tremendous. In my opinion, it had infinite possibilities depending on how I used it.
A fierce flame ignited in my chest. I had given up on her before. Because our levels didn't match. I had turned my head away, calling that grape sour.
But if there was potential.
'If I get strong enough to stand on the same level as Han Ha-rin.'
I believed the root of Han Ha-rin's arrogance was her power. If I became as strong as her, she wouldn't be able to ignore me so easily.
Then, Han Ha-rin turned her head toward me. Our eyes met.
Han Ha-rin suddenly frowned and glared at me. Startled, I quickly turned my head forward and desperately pretended not to notice.
Just our eyes meeting made my heart race. Whether in a good way or bad.
'...Fuck. I'm going to fuck her someday.'
After the lecture ended, I brushed past Han Ha-rin and used Erogenous Zone Detection. I couldn't hold back my curiosity about that haughty Han Ha-rin's sensitive spots.
'...Ha.'
She had a whopping three erogenous zones. I didn't know if she was a virgin, but I could tell she had the makings of a slutty woman.
'But knowing her erogenous zones doesn't help if I can't fuck her.'
I suddenly felt depressed.
Rape? This was reality. And Han Ha-rin was a D-rank hunter. Physically and ability-wise, she was superior to me.
If I fought Han Ha-rin, I was confident I'd lose in 10 seconds.
'...Should I try hacking her smartphone.'
Thinking I should at least check if she had a boyfriend, I hacked Han Ha-rin's smartphone at an opportune moment.
I fiddled with the smartphone screen visible only to me, scouring every corner of her personal information.
10 minutes was plenty of time for that.
'Huh...?'
But nothing special came up on Han Ha-rin's smartphone. I checked her contacts first—no boyfriend, and hardly any friends.
'Well, with her shitty personality, only 2 or 3 girls in the department hang out with her.'
I felt relieved. Excluding those girls' contacts, there wasn't a single one that looked like a boyfriend. Same with her messenger.
'Photos are just family pics and ones with friends. Nothing special.'
I grew increasingly anxious. It would be great if there was some clue to target her with. But there wasn't much.
'...Internet history is key in times like this. Search history reveals a lot.'
I examined the frequently repeated searches. There were things like restaurants or hunter gear, but the keywords I focused on were different.
-Han A-young
-A-rank hunter
-Ability enhancement
-Gravity ability usage
-Mana awakening method.
-How to get strong fast
'...Inferiority complex?'
It seemed Han Ha-rin had an inferiority complex toward her older sister, Han A-young. Or maybe it was too early to judge. I had searched "how to awaken hunter abilities" multiple times a day not long ago.
'I don't know how to use this yet... but it's important info.'
I quietly memorized it so I wouldn't forget.
Combat training room.
Oh Jun-hyuk and I faced each other with swords in hand.
Around us were Hunter Department students and the professor, but no one paid attention to us. The combat training room was spacious, and we were only using a part of it.
"Huh?"
Oh Jun-hyuk tilted his head.
"What?"
"No, until recently, you could barely hold a sword. Got stronger?"
"Built some muscle."
"You bastard. Looked like you were playing around every day, but you were training in secret. Next you'll be using mana too?"
"Nah, no way."
Mana.
A type of power different from abilities. Also called ki.
If abilities were innate power, mana was acquired. Through talent and training, one awakens mana and gains superhuman strength.
Most high-rank hunters C-rank and above could handle mana along with their abilities. They said once your ability reaches a certain level, you naturally learn it. Of course, that sounded like bullshit to me.
In other words, to reach C-rank, you needed not just an ability but also mana usage.
Except for a few exceptions, mana awakening was a requirement for C-rank hunters.
"Begin."
Oh Jun-hyuk swung his sword and charged. Before, just seeing the sword was hard, but now I could not only see it but block with my own sword.
Probably the effect of my agility stat.
Clang!
"Oh?"
"I'm not the old me."
I spoke cockily, but the situation gradually turned against me. Oh Jun-hyuk was F-rank, but a close-range hunter. His ability hardened parts of his body like steel. So despite appearances, he trained his body consistently.
My stats had improved a bit, but I couldn't suddenly match Oh Jun-hyuk, who was already active as a hunter.
I focused solely on defense, blocking his sword. That was all I could do.
"Hoo. Fuck. I lost!"
Oh Jun-hyuk grinned at my words. Not a hint of fatigue. I was reminded anew of a hunter's physical prowess.
"Hey. You lasted 3 minutes. Before, you couldn't even last 1. You're improving. Looks good. Awaken your ability and you'll beat a scrub like me easily?"
I had already awakened my ability but didn't say so. Even after awakening, my physical abilities hadn't skyrocketed. That was a bit disappointing.
"As if."
I sighed and walked to the bench. Just then, far away, Han Ha-rin was sparring with the professor. If it weren't the professor, she probably wouldn't even come to the training room.
Han Ha-rin threw a black spherical orb at the professor.
"Gravity Sphere! Good! But Ha-rin, too slow. They'd just dodge."
"......"
The professor was a professor for a reason. He handled even Han Ha-rin with ease, teaching at the right moments. Han Ha-rin's arrogance worked on him too, but he didn't mind the attitude.
'Because Han A-young is behind Han Ha-rin. The professor can't say shit.'
A-rank hunters numbered fewer than 10,000 in Korea. Among them, Han A-young was top-tier in skill and part of one of Korea's top 10 guilds. She had celebrity-level fame. One word from Han A-young could bury the professor in the hunter world. No wonder she was a next-gen S-rank candidate.
"Hey. Staring at Han Ha-rin again? Didn't you give up?"
Oh Jun-hyuk handed me a water bottle and said. I gulped it down and replied.
"......Thinking about it, seems too early to give up."
"Too early my ass. She and us live in different worlds. Not an unreachable tree—she's a whole other dimension."
"Then I'll just go to that dimension."
"Crazy bastard."
Oh Jun-hyuk laughed once, then continued.
"Chicken and beer tonight?"
"...Nah. Gonna be busy for a while."
My eyes didn't leave Han Ha-rin.
Back home, I immediately opened my smartphone and launched the Playful Life app.
'If I gain superpowers in the Playful world, can the real me use them too?'
I still hadn't figured that out.
But one thing was certain.
'I was able to bring Kutomo Ri A's panties. That means I can bring other items from the Playful world too.'
What if I brought an insanely powerful weapon that only exists in fiction to reality?
'Even if it's item luck, I can get strong fast.'
For the first time, instead of my lust, I browsed the Playful list to get stronger.
The first world that caught my eye was Absolute Throne. This novel had dramas and games too, with magic and special powered items. But monsters made it a filthy dangerous world.
'Worried if I can survive with my abilities.'
The second was Star Oz. A sci-fi movie set in space where aliens and humans battled fiercely. A pretty fun movie I'd watched.
'I could fully utilize my hacking ability... but too dangerous.'
In Star Oz, human lives were like ants. More dangerous than Absolute Throne.
And I didn't just want a powerful weapon. Ideally, something that granted permanent abilities.
'Vampire Detective... this seems good.'
The Korean drama Vampire Detective was about a detective who became a vampire. In the latter half, there's an item called the Orb of Life—if a vampire eats it, they become human; if a human eats it, they stop aging and gain superhuman physical abilities.
'Modern Seoul setting, so I can use hacking skill, and the vampires in the drama aren't transcendent monsters.'
I knew the content of the recently ended Vampire Detective. In the Playful world, that was like knowing the future. If I moved carefully, getting the Orb of Life shouldn't be hard.
'My goal is to get the Orb of Life and return to reality immediately. Fucking the actresses from the drama is just a bonus.'
Really just a bonus.
Only one setting.
'......Is this the only choice?'
Not a bad setting. Pretty good for blending into the original story too.
'Fucking women is still just a bonus.'
I resolved myself. But honestly, it was a promise I wasn't too confident in.
"......"
I opened my eyes on a chair in a dimly lit room. In front of me were three glowing monitors, and next to them, a large computer tower hummed as it ran.
I looked around the room. Beer cans and cup ramen containers scattered everywhere. And an unmade bed behind me.
'Basement hikikomori's room.'
First, I hacked the computer in front of me.
I needed to learn about the avatar I'd possessed, 'Kang Yu-jin', and the computer was a treasure trove of personal info.
"......Oh?"
While checking high-security files, I found something that piqued my interest.
Client list.
A familiar name was listed there.
Moon Ji-hyuk.
The protagonist of the drama, Vampire Detective.