The First Snipe
The health bar of the Black Minotaur flickered in the air, only four slots remaining.
With the gate having appeared just a minute ago, Seoul’s hunters were already making quick work of it.
The bar had dropped below half, and even though most of the high-rankers had rushed to Gangneung, this much firepower was already being poured out.
Soon the beast would be dead, but—
—KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
The Black Minotaur charged forward with terrifying momentum, muscles rippling like steel cables.
—KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
“Damn it!”
I gritted my teeth and raised the barrel of the practice sniper rifle with everything I had.
—DRRRRR!
I flung the apartment window wide open, dropped into a low crouch, and draped my elbows over the sill to steady the shot.
“Practice sniper rifle, huh.”
Green stock, gray barrel. A completely unfamiliar design, but it had to be the starter weapon the tutorial gave me.
“Still, thank God.”
The rifle’s structure wasn’t that different from the bolt-action I’d learned during my military days.
—KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
“Hiiik!!!”
Because it was a tutorial weapon, the magazine was already loaded. I racked the bolt in a panic.
—CHAK!
Chambered!
[Chambering successful!]
“Ten years of FPS. Two years in the military. I know how to shoot.”
A little off? Who cares. The chambering was done. Now all that was left was pulling the trigger!
“KUUUAAAAA!”
“Kuuuuck!”
It was right in front of me now. The roar was deafening.
I didn’t hesitate. I pressed my eye to the scope.
“Basic magnification scope.”
Didn’t matter. The thing was huge and close, so I didn’t need fancy optics.
“Huuu.”
I exhaled slightly and whispered under my breath.
“I believe in 100,000x attack power! Please, just let this work!!!”
I pulled the trigger.
At that moment—
—TA-A-A-A-A-A-AANG……!!!
“Kuuu!”
A deafening boom filled my entire apartment. A ringing sound exploded in my ears. Was my hearing okay?
Flames suddenly erupted from the muzzle.
The recoil was stronger than I expected, but nothing compared to a real rifle.
—TANG-GRURURU…
The ejected casing bounced across the loose floor of my 6-pyeong sweet house, sending a chill through the air.
So where did the bullet go?
“KUUUAAAAA…….”
“Hit!”
Direct hit!!!
Technically, I wasn’t sure, but I saw the massive head take the bullet.
Why?
[Critical Hit!]
The cheerful damage message popped up. At least I knew I’d hit the head.
I had no idea how much damage my “critical hit” had done to the Black Minotaur. I didn’t even know how to calculate DPS.
I was still barely familiar with the act of “shooting” itself.
But one thing was certain.
“KUUUAAAAA…….”
The Black Minotaur stopped dead in its tracks.
The wild eyes that had been glowing with madness slowly lost focus.
“Eh… eh… eh…?”
At that moment—
----------------------------
[Black Minotaur]
□□□□□□□□□□□□□
----------------------------
The remaining four slots on the health bar emptied instantly.
“Kuuuuer…”
The massive body of the Black Minotaur staggered backward a few steps, then toppled over with a heavy thud.
—KUGUGUGUNG…
Gray dust clouds rose from the spot where it fell.
The monster’s body dissolved into ash and was sucked upward like a vacuum cleaner toward the still-floating gate in the sky.
“It… it’s dead. Definitely.”
That was certain.
Then—
“Did I get it?”
A question popped into my head, but the fact that my bullet had taken the last four slots was undeniable.
Still, I couldn’t say with absolute certainty that I’d been the one to finish it. Maybe someone else’s powerful attack had landed at the same time.
But the timing suggested my shot had been the killing blow.
“100,000x attack power… It might be even stronger than I thought.”
Even at LV 1, a headshot with a sniper rifle’s single-target damage could be absurd.
—SHUUUUUUK…
The gate began to shrink like a whirlpool, then vanished from the sky as if it had never existed.
“I survived!”
I forgot all about my fixed 1 HP and collapsed onto the floor with a thud, finally able to savor the joy of staying alive.
“Haa… haa…”
My whole body was soaked in sweat.
My breathing was ragged. I felt like I’d run 10 kilometers.
—THUD.
I lay sprawled on the floor and stared at the ceiling.
Thanks to the Black Minotaur’s disappearance, my mind was clearing.
Finally, it felt real. I had awakened. I had a job as a sniper who hunted monsters. And—
“This is more serious than I thought…”
The fear that my life was in danger couldn’t be ignored.
I made a new resolution.
Live without risk. Don’t face enemies head-on.
Live as safely as possible.
What was the first step?
“First, don’t reveal myself.”
Even among hunters, battles happened constantly because of competition and power struggles.
“I’ll hide the fact that I awakened too. If I’m S(EX)-rank, I might be swamped with slander.”
Especially since my job was sniper.
Where on Earth was there a sniper who exposed their own information?
I would hide. I would never be exposed.
That was my vow.
At that moment—
—Ring!
[You have defeated the Black Minotaur!]
A message appeared right in front of my eyes while I was staring at the ceiling.
“What? Me?”
Did I really kill it?
“Still, it only had four slots left. I can’t just say I finished it,”
Was this the “last hit”?
I sat up, confused.
The congratulations message for defeating the Black Minotaur glowed brightly in purple and began to fade.
[You have defeated the unique boss of a high-rank gate.]
The next message appeared without me asking.
It said the Black Minotaur was the unique boss. Of course a high-rank boss gate would spawn a single monster. That was why it was so strong.
And I was the one who killed it.
“No way…”
While I was thinking—
The radio-like chatter from the system channel started ringing in my ears again.
—Who the hell are you?! How did that insane damage pop up out of nowhere!
—What? I’m not the one! I already poured all my mana into—
Apparently the other hunters didn’t know the cause of the four-slot disappearance either.
It really felt like I was the main character who erased four slots.
—How the hell are you supposed to delete an upper-rank boss health bar of four slots in one shot? This is weird!
—Even Cheon Seung-hyuk would have trouble dealing that much explosive damage. What the hell happened? Anyone see it?
Wait, maybe it wasn’t me after all.
Cheon Seung-hyuk was Korea’s rank 1.
—I didn’t see it. It just… suddenly stopped… Thanks to that person, we cleared it fast. I don’t know who it was, but they saved thousands of civilians. That crazy Black Minotaur suddenly started running… and its defense was insane.
—Who could it be? Wait, does “who” even exist right now? The system might have interfered, or maybe it was a gate error… That explanation sounds more plausible.
“Huu…”
Good. More importantly, no one would know about this.
I hadn’t even figured out how to survive with 1 HP yet,
but if word got out that I was the one who killed the Black Minotaur, it would be a disaster.
I needed to prepare dozens or hundreds of survival cards before I could consider going public.
Thankfully, no one knew I had killed it.
—I guess you’ll find out soon. The result message is about to pop up!
—Got it.
“Ah!!!”
Oh no!
There was a result message.
The result message neatly summarized how much each player had contributed after the gate was cleared.
It was terrifyingly clear right in front of me.
Result message.
----------------------------
[Gate Clearance Result for Player ‘Kim Yu-hee’]
• Attack contribution = 1st
• Defense contribution = — (none)
• Support contribution = — (none)
• Boss contribution = 1st
.
.
• Overall contribution = MVP
----------------------------
[Boss defeat reward will be issued!]
[MVP additional reward will be issued!]
“I did it.”
It even said MVP.
Whenever a gate was cleared, the MVP was always hyped up like a celebrity on news and YouTube.
And this time, it was me.
—Someone definitely put in damage. It’s real.
—Eh?
—I’m second in damage. Second in boss contribution too. Someone else is first.
—The guild leader is second? Then who erased those four health bar slots?
—Otherwise it doesn’t make sense anymore.
—Haa.
The chatter continued, but they still didn’t know it was me.
“Good… good.”
At least they didn’t know who the first place was. This way I could stay hidden.
—Who’s the MVP!
—It’s coming up! MVP name!
—Got it.
“Ah!!!”
Oh no!
The MVP was displayed right in front of all the hunters who participated in the battle, just like an award ceremony at the end of the year.
[MVP: Unregistered]
[Player who has not yet officially registered.]
[Player who has not yet officially registered.]
[Player who has not yet officially registered.]
“Eh?”
—Eh?
—Eh?
----------------------------
[Position-based Detailed Rankings]
• Attack 1st = 【Unregistered】
• Defense 1st = Park Chaegwang
• Support 1st = Yoon So-i
• Boss 1st = 【Unregistered】
.
.
• MVP = 【Unregistered】
----------------------------
A chorus of dumb sounds escaped my lips.
Only then did it click.
“I still haven’t been exposed.”
Confirmed.
[Tutorial complete!]
[Generate a player ID and officially register with the system.]
Along with various reward and experience notifications, messages floated in front of my eyes.
“Huuu…”
I stood up, closed the window, and looked around my 6-pyeong apartment that had once been filled with the warmth of an ordinary single life.
It was no longer ordinary.
At least the risk of my identity being revealed had been removed for now.
I took a deep breath and properly used the “time for growth and rewards.”
***
I needed to register an ID to start receiving rewards and unlock various system functions.
And if I didn’t register with the official Hunter Management Bureau, I would be “guaranteed anonymity.”
In fact, there were already many hunters who hid their identities and operated without registering. They were called “independent operators.”
Fortunately, I had found a breathing room.
“For now, stay anonymous.”
For now. Until the day I overcome the 1 HP.
“What ID should I use?”
An ID that couldn’t be traced back to me would be best.
One that came to mind was—
[Unregistered]
This was good. My ID would be “Unregistered”…
Even a small thing like this showed how much I cared about even the smallest disguise. That was the basics of acting.
“My ID will be ‘Unregistered.’”
I decided without much thought since I didn’t have time to overthink.
[Available ID.]
No one would ever choose an ID like that, so it was instantly approved.
Officially registered with the system.
At that moment—
—Flash!
“Oooooooooo…”
The main screen that felt like a homepage appeared in front of my eyes.
At the very top of the homepage was a bold, elegant black font.
【Hunter Universe】
News, advertisements, information boards, and even minor galleries from the hunter world.
“So this is the world of awakened people!”
It was the moment I truly felt that I had officially become an awakened person.
[Real-time search terms]
[Overall rankings]
[Position rankings]
[Player shop]
[Auction house]
The main screen was the very thing that sustained the hunter world, and every single thing needed for “hunter life” had been implemented.
“I don’t know much yet. I’ll have to learn slowly from my room.”
While I was making that vow—
—WHOOSH!
Rainbow light burst from my body again.
[Experience from gate reward will be provided.]
[Experience from boss defeat will be provided.]
[MVP additional experience will be provided.]
“Ooo…”
The time for rewards had begun. The first thing given was experience.
I was LV 1, and I definitely wasn’t anymore. After all, I had killed an upper-rank unique boss.
[Experience has exceeded the level-up limit per gate clear.]
[Level-up is possible up to a maximum of 10 per gate clear.]
[Remaining experience will be saved for the next gate reward.]
Along with a notice that the system itself had limits—
[LV 1 → 11]
My level shot up to 11 in an instant.
“Was the world rank 1 at level 819?”
Max level was 999, so I was still a fresh newbie. But gaining 10 levels at once was amazing.
Also, the remaining experience would be saved for the next gate. That was fair.
“Huu…”
But my body was still frail. HP 1 was a fixed value.
[A new skill can now be learned.]
The first thing that came to mind was the guide for “new skill.”
“It seems every skill has a required level.”
Basic at low levels, core at high levels.
Would I learn sniper-related skills this way?
“Good. I’ll learn as much as possible from what’s given.”
There were many things I needed to learn and get used to.
It felt like the heart of a newbie starting a new game.
Of course, the fact that my life was on the line was the problem.
“I’ll take it slow.”
While I was trying to check the new skill—
[Boss defeat reward will be sent via mail.]
[MVP additional reward will be sent via mail.]
[Gate clear reward will be sent via mail.]
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
[Check your mail!]
【Mail】 (3)
“Ah…”
The second round of rewards had begun. This time it came via mail.
“Wow, rewards are piling up nonstop.”
Still—
“I found another good thing.”
This system was similar to a game, and rewards were sent via mail. There were even items that could be dropped on the floor,
but given my job and 1 HP trait, field farming would be too dangerous…
“Good.”
Skill training, checking and using rewards.
Slowly.
If it was urgent, I could just ignore it.
At that moment—
—Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
“Hm? What’s this?”
[New mail.]
[New contract request.]
[New donation.]
【Mail】 (217)
【Contract requests】 (11)
【Donations】 (3)
“?”
There were way too many.
Did this happen when you first awakened?
Or—
“Did they already find out I officially registered?”
Was my “Unregistered” disguise that sloppy?
—Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
More mails, contract requests, and donations kept coming without stopping.