Slightly Crooked Gods
The place was Unlimited — South Korea’s premier Hunter City, where awakened individuals gathered. The entire city had been built with one purpose: to let the nation’s awakened awaken their powers, interact with one another, and grow stronger. Located in the heart of the southern peninsula, it covered roughly the same area as Sejong City and housed about 350,000 people.
Just as students in Seoul’s prestigious Gangnam school district dreamed of getting into a top university, the students of Unlimited dreamed of becoming hunters and joining an elite guild. And at the center of that dream stood Raven Academy — the world’s first and most prestigious hunter academy. It had never once fallen out of the global top ten rankings. A private institution founded entirely with the personal fortune of Korea’s late first-class hunter, Kim Chong-yeol. Its symbol was the same as the man’s old nickname: the great raven.
Anyway.
I was also a freshman at Raven Academy. Even though it was the start of a new school year, the scenery didn’t feel particularly fresh or exciting. The academy ran a six-year program that was simply split into middle and high school divisions, so there wasn’t any real “new student” atmosphere. That was why, despite this being the freshman orientation, I could confidently say I already knew most of the faces here.
That was when the current principal, Kim Chong-jae, appeared.
“Dear proud students, I sincerely welcome you all to Raven Academy.”
A middle-aged, balding man took the microphone. As expected, the principal’s long, boring speech began.
“With cutting-edge technology and the world’s finest faculty, we will guide you down the path of the hunter. Raven Academy will do everything in its power to help you explode with the potential you possess.”
Naturally, there wasn’t a single student listening with genuine interest. I was no exception, but apparently Cheol-i next to me was different.
“Hey! Ha Yeonjun, wake up! It’s Principal Kim Chong-jae!”
“So what?”
“Then the person standing next to the principal… isn’t that Hunter Seong Ji-eun?! No way!”
Cheol-i kept nudging me and making a fuss while scanning the line of professors. The speech finally ended about ten minutes later.
“Lastly, I hope that while you devote yourselves to training, you also enjoy a fulfilling academy life. That concludes my remarks.”
Clap, clap, clap—!
The professors’ applause snapped the students awake. The next event started immediately. A young female professor stepped up to the podium and took the microphone.
“Next, we will hear from the freshman representative. Kim Jeong-a, please come forward.”
A girl with a ponytail sitting in the very front row stood up. She was well-known as the daughter of Principal Kim Chong-jae, yet she looked nothing like him — a textbook beauty. Whispers rose from the seats ahead of me.
“They say this year’s freshmen are especially monstrous.”
“I heard that too. Some of them already caught the scouts’ eyes and jumped ahead of the third-years.”
“I’m so jealous. They must feel like they own the world right now.”
She was right. Beautiful, handsome, rich, and insanely talented… Those kinds of elites were the real protagonists of this world.
For example, the male student with the sporty haircut sitting in the front row. With his warm looks and reputation as the greatest prospect already, he was a genius among geniuses.
“March has arrived, the month when new buds sprout! As one of the new freshmen, my heart is already pounding at the thought of sharing new experiences with all of you.”
Of course, there were also students who didn’t possess overwhelming potential but still came close. The so-called children of chaebol families. The girl with the golden bob sitting at the front left was the noble young lady of Korea’s second-ranked guild. And the handsome guy lounging with his legs crossed in the back right seat was supposedly the young master of the number one guild… Anyway.
Students good at studying, students talented in magic skills, students who excelled at fighting — this freshman class was packed with exceptional elites.
“I consider it an honor to meet all of you. Let us work together so that, through the process of living side by side and learning from one another, we can all become outstanding hunters.”
On the other hand, I was just an ordinary student. The kind of guy who sat in the corner and only clapped. A person’s life is decided the moment they’re born. Appearance, family background, genes — they dictate everything. Since I had none of those things, I was nothing more than common Student A, swept along in the turbulent waves those elites created.
While watching the scene, I suddenly glanced down at the smartphone in my hand. The power was off. Yet the internet broadcast I had been watching earlier still seemed to flicker across the dark screen.
Hunters — or rather, people — who received the attention of the constellations. I still didn’t fully believe it, but if the streamer’s words had been true, then maybe there was at least one god out there willing to look my way.
……So I had muttered it half-jokingly.
“Is there really no god who would make someone like me stronger?”
Before I knew it, freshman representative Kim Jeong-a had finished her final remarks.
“Then, with the promise of an unforgettable academy life together, I will conclude my speech. Freshman Representative Kim Jeong-a.”
Kim Jeong-a stepped down from the podium amid thunderous applause. Among all those countless elites, she was the first to make her name known. She was one of the people I genuinely admired.
Ha Yeonjun has received the trait Broadcast Genius.
Huh? What was that sound just now…?
I looked around, but all I could hear was the students’ laughter. And with that, the freshman entrance ceremony and orientation at Raven Academy came to a successful close.
Due to the trait’s effect, multiple constellations are showing interest in you.
……Or so I thought.
Dormitory assignments started tomorrow. Students who came from far away or had urgent circumstances could receive early placement, but I didn’t need to, so I headed outside. My smartphone vibrated.
—Congratulations on becoming an academy student! Can you pick up some tofu from the supermarket on your way? I’ll make you something delicious!
A text from my sister. She was my only family member, and the only reason she had gone through the trouble of finding a house in Unlimited was to live with me. Since I would be moving into the dorms tomorrow, today would probably be the last time I saw her for a while. She had said she would head back up to Seoul once I entered the dormitory.
Anyway, tofu? There was a supermarket right nearby, so…
That was exactly when I bumped into someone.
“Hm?”
A woman in a black suit was blocking the path in front of the supermarket, controlling access to the building beside it.
“Student! I’m sorry, but this street is currently restricted.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s been a rift that appeared here. It’s dangerous, so could you please stay back?”
I looked toward the bank entrance she was guarding. Through the transparent glass doors, I could see it — a wound-like tear in space. That was a Rift. The entrance to a den of monsters. The best way to describe it was that space itself had twisted and ripped apart.
The woman guarding it was probably a Guard. Students at the academy with poor grades couldn’t become hunters and were assigned as guards instead. Their job was simple: check the rift’s grade and control the perimeter. Only after hunters cleared the rift and came out did the guards enter to finish the cleanup.
There was no such thing as a lowly job, but… almost no academy student dreamed of becoming a guard. I was the same. Anyway.
Following her instructions, I took a detour around the block and headed for the supermarket. The moment I opened the door, a middle-aged woman with a perm greeted me warmly.
“Aigoo, look who it is! Our cute little hunter has arrived!”
“Hello.”
Cute. Not exactly the most pleasant thing to hear. I got that a lot because of my short height.
“Who would’ve thought our Yeonjun would become an academy student! So you’re really going to be a hunter now?”
“Well… I’ll have to work hard.”
“Hard work? Just do it. What’s there to stop you?”
Easy for her to say. Of course, my dream had always been to become a hunter, and I had worked tirelessly toward it. But unfortunately, for awakened people, the most important factor wasn’t effort — it was innate talent.
“I’ll pay for this.”
I set a pack of tofu on the counter. That was when an unfamiliar voice rang inside my head.
The Constellation, Servant of Slaughter, is showing interest in you.
It was the clear, businesslike narration of a woman’s voice. Immediately afterward, a translucent rectangular blue window appeared before my eyes.
Synchronizing with Cheon-gye TV…
Beginning broadcaster eligibility evaluation.
Genre: Slasher, Crime, Horror
📍 Mission Objective: The slaughter-loving killer wants to see your cruelty. Kill the supermarket owner using a tool.
[Hwang Ok-soon (0/1)]
🎁 Reward: 1,000 points
🎁 Additional Rewards: Broadcaster contract, divine grace
⏳ Time Limit: 1 hour
⚠ Penalty: —
What… what the hell is this?
I stared at the unidentified translucent window and immediately froze mid-action. Right after that, the words Mission Sponsorship from the internet broadcast flashed through my mind.