The Hunter
With the wrapper and the rabbit mascot costume removed, the full form of the doll mask stood revealed.
It was the familiar rabbit mask from Seonhwa Animal Cafe.
As he lifted the body of the mask, Ko Sung-yoon spoke.
“My boss lent it to me. He said it would be best to show you myself.”
With a simple explanation, he slipped the mask on. He did it with perfect ease, exactly as one would dress for everyday wear.
Next, he raised the mask’s head and settled it onto his own head.
Click. Click. The two pieces locked together with a satisfying snap.
“……!”
Choi Yeon’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
The presence of the man standing in front of him had changed without a single warning.
If this had been an ordinary training field instead of a dungeon, Choi Yeon would have leaped backward and given the massive distance a wide berth. A giant rabbit monster had appeared, after all.
“Yeon-i hyung?”
A familiar voice rang out from inside the rabbit mask. Ko Sung-yoon’s voice.
“Why is that?”
“…Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
“……?”
“Um… Sung-yoon. Want to move around a bit?”
“Move around a bit?”
“Yes. I wanted to check whether the mask feels heavy or awkward when you move.”
“Ah, yes!”
With an energetic reply, Ko Sung-yoon lifted both arms and lowered them. He bent his knees and straightened them, then swung his arms forward and back. But that was not all. He twisted his neck, arched his chest, and swayed his entire body to the side.
All the movements were instantly familiar. After all, they were the exact routine taught and distributed by the South Korean government as national calisthenics.
“Hyup! Hup!”
Even after finishing the calisthenics, Ko Sung-yoon did not stop. He drew the Taegeuk eight-trigram pattern in the air, symbolizing heaven, origin, and the beginning of all things. It was, of course, the first chapter of Taekwondo.
“Ha!”
He punched forward, then stepped into his finishing stance. After that, he looked straight at Choi Yeon.
“Is this enough?”
“…Yes. Excellent.”
Unexpected national calisthenics and Taekwondo forms, yet they had perfectly served their purpose.
To Choi Yeon, Ko Sung-yoon’s range of motion showed no hindrance from the mask at all. His flexibility had remained completely intact.
“You’ve studied Taekwondo?”
“Only the first chapter when I was young.”
“You weren’t trained professionally, then?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s learn it now. If you’re going to become a hunter, you should learn some martial art at least. Most people recommend swordsmanship, but…”
Choi Yeon swept his gaze over Ko Sung-yoon’s hands.
Even if the mask didn’t interfere while moving, those hands would never grip a weapon properly.
Feeling the stare, Ko Sung-yoon replied.
“I can grip it, but I probably miss when I swing. The doll mask is slippery, so I’ve dropped it a few times.”
“As I thought…”
Choi Yeon nodded at once.
In his mind, he could already see the rabbit mask missing its target as he swung a sword.
Luckily, the imaginary colleague in his vision had not been injured.
“…Let’s start learning hand-to-hand combat, then.”
“Yes, I’ll do it!”
Ko Sung-yoon answered brightly.
Probably because his own image of the future had matched Choi Yeon’s exactly. Or perhaps even more terrifyingly vivid.
“And….”
Choi Yeon had started to speak when his eyes fell on the door.
When Ko Sung-yoon turned to look as well, the training hall door opened and a man entered.
The man’s face lit up the moment he saw Choi Yeon.
“Hunter Choi Yeon! You’re here?”
“Hello, Sung-joon. Did you come to practice control?”
“Yes. I think I can feel it after just a little more.”
The man who had answered—Sung-joon—shifted his gaze to Ko Sung-yoon.
Why is he wearing a mask?
Confusion was written plainly on his face.
Choi Yeon introduced the two of them.
“This is Ko Sung-yoon. He obtained the new skill Animal Mascot Costume Mimicry and is testing it right now.”
“Eh? What’s a mimicry skill?”
“This side is Sung-joon. He got a tattoo on his shoulder, and he can use skills with that tattoo.”
“Skills with tattoos? Is that even possible?”
“It seems so.”
Choi Yeon shrugged as he answered.
Looking at the pair side by side, it really was strange.
Both men exchanged awkward greetings, their faces clearly as bewildered as each other.
Ko Sung-yoon pulled the mask off and tucked it under his left arm and beside him.
“Hello! I’m Ko Sung-yoon!”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Sung-joon. But, is it really true? A mimicry skill?”
“It’s true! Sung-joon, do you really use skills with tattoos?”
“Yes.”
Wow, Ko Sung-yoon let out a short gasp of admiration. Sung-joon was no different.
While each stared at the other in wonder, Choi Yeon issued a warning.
“Just so you know, don’t talk about either of you outside of this place.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful with my mouth.”
“Me too!”
Both men answered seriously. They did not notice that Choi Yeon was the one who had leaked their information first.
Choi Yeon pointed to the far end of the training hall.
“Sung-joon. Can I use the space over there for training? I have something I need to do.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about me.”
With a gentle smile, Sung-joon made way for him.
Watching Sung-joon walk away, Choi Yeon turned to Ko Sung-yoon.
“Sung-yoon. Shall we spar?”
“Spar?”
“Yes. I want to see how effective your mimicry ability actually is. You should check it for yourself too.”
“Oh… All right! Let’s do it!”
“Smart. Also, I assume you know you’ll have to go all out, right?”
The man who had been wearing the mask stopped. A cautious worry settled on his face.
Seeing that expression, Choi Yeon tossed the words out casually. The slight upward curve of his lips looked mischievous.
“Why? Worried I’ll get hurt?”
“W-what do you mean?!”
Ko Sung-yoon waved both hands wildly in the air.
“It’s not that… I can’t control my strength properly, can I? I’m afraid I’ll break something again like I did at the cafe… That’s why I’m worried…”
“In that case, it’s fine. The training hall has a D-rank shield magic cast on it. Nothing to worry about.”
“Ah….”
After hearing the explanation, Ko Sung-yoon looked around the training hall. On his face was the honest relief of someone who had just remembered the awkward moment he had smashed the cafe lamp.
Click.
Relieved, Ko Sung-yoon put the mask back on.
“I’m ready!”
“Good. Come whenever you want.”
“Yes!”
Ko Sung-yoon answered with full energy.
Thud. His feet pounded forward as if trying to match the cheerful reply.
He leaped straight in front of Choi Yeon in a single bound. It was as if he had simply become a giant rabbit. If he had not pulled his right arm back, the resemblance would have been even stronger.
Sneak…
Choi Yeon’s body slid leftward. His eyes were locked solely on Ko Sung-yoon’s right arm, waiting to observe the fist that was about to be thrust forward.
Whoosh!
Ko Sung-yoon’s fist sliced through the air.
“……”
Wait, this isn’t a normal person’s punch…?
Choi Yeon was honestly impressed.
In his view, the power of the punch just delivered was at E-rank hunter level. More precisely, the level of an E-rank hunter swinging wildly.
Thinking about it, the rabbit mask was F-rank. So what would happen if he wore a higher-rank doll mask?
Pop! Thud!
Ko Sung-yoon kept swinging his fists. A little Taekwondo mixed in as well, of course. He was clearly trying to kick, but nothing reached Choi Yeon no matter what he did.
Then.
“Waaah…!”
Clatter!
Ko Sung-yoon collapsed. In the middle of attacking, both feet tangled.
He tried to push himself up again, bracing on the floor and raising his upper body,
“Hoo, hoo!”
But he only managed to breathe raggedly. He had been holding it in for far too long.
Why was he this out of breath even though he hadn’t moved much?
Curious, Choi Yeon soon figured it out.
While Choi Yeon breathed evenly, Ko Sung-yoon was gasping for air.
The difference between the two men rested on the most basic mistake one would never make as a hunter.
“Sung-yoon, you didn’t breathe properly when you attacked, did you?”
“I-I’m sorry… I don’t know when I should, hoo!”
“Um….”
Choi Yeon scratched his head.
It was unbelievable, yet somehow understandable.
How was someone who had only learned the first chapter of Taekwondo supposed to know breathing techniques for attacks? Even people who naturally breathed right sometimes had the opposite problem.
With a crouch beside him, Choi Yeon said,
“Breathing is important. No matter how strong you are, if you can’t breathe you can’t use it.”
“Yes! I’ll remember…!”
“You should practice with real dungeons. Even back then, you lasted much longer even though you weren’t tired like you are now. There weren’t even any skills involved back then.”
“Uh, actually… I wasn’t myself back then. I was only thinking about having to save Chae-eun…”
“……”
“I was wrong….”
Thud.
Ko Sung-yoon dropped his forehead to the floor.
He missed the tiny smile that had curved Choi Yeon’s lips. It lasted only a moment.
“…Rest. I’ll talk to Sung-joon and come back.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you!”
At those words, Ko Sung-yoon answered with a loud voice.
His attitude was that of a trainee obeying an instructor’s command. For some reason, Choi Yeon felt a little burdened. Unaccountably, he felt uneasy.
It’s just an illusion. It’s just an illusion. It has to be an illusion.
Choi Yeon’s mind kept repeating the words as Sung-joon’s figure came into view.
“Oh….”
Sung-joon was sitting upright, training.
He was poking and prodding his own mana with the casual precision of someone who had been doing this for a while.
He had spread his arms wide in every direction, but considering he had only been training for two days, the result was rather impressive.
Standing beside him, Choi Yeon asked,
“How is it?”
“…What?”
“The spar just now. You were watching, weren’t you?”
“Whoa… You were watching me?”
Sung-joon stuck out his tongue.
He had known he was breathing normally, but he had never imagined Choi Yeon could see that far away.
Choi Yeon answered with a gentle smile.
“You’re amazing. I was surprised when I saw you dodge the attacks so closely.”
“Really? What about Sung-yoon?”
Choi Yeon asked again.
He had wanted to hear about Sung-yoon from the start.
Even if a skill had been obtained, this was a spar with an ordinary human. If he couldn’t handle that much, he should return his hunter license.
“Of course Sung-yoon was amazing too. He seemed to have never learned martial arts, but his attack speed was terrifying.”
“That speed is E-rank hunter level.”
“E-rank…? That was it?”
“Even if I swung it randomly. An F-rank hunter wouldn’t have blocked it anyway.”
“……”
Sung-joon’s mouth fell open.
He recalled the spar in his mind.
Could he have dodged or blocked that overwhelming attack from Sung-yoon aimed at Choi Yeon?
The answer came the moment he thought of it.
He could not have dodged even the first punch that had been thrown.
“And, this is my guess.”
Choi Yeon added.
In his own mind, he had already imagined Sung-yoon continuing his attacks.
“If I wear a high-quality doll mask, maybe my stats will rise.”
“Eh? Just by switching to a better mask?”
“Yes.”
“No, what does that—?”
Disbelief spilled from Sung-joon’s mouth.
He could not believe that wearing a good mask would raise stats.
“Sung-yoon showed E-rank hunter movements. That must be because he was wearing an E-rank mask. Then, what would happen if you wore a higher-rank mask?”
“…You mean he would be able to use the abilities of that rank, right?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Sung-joon stared ahead.
There lay a rabbit mask sprawled on the floor, its huge head unable to lie flat.
If that mask was B-rank, no, A-rank, then Sung-yoon would…
“Hunter-nim.”
“What is it?”
“Is it all right to tell me something like this?”
“No. Originally, it isn’t.”
“Then why—?”
“Well.”
Choi Yeon shrugged. Without adding anything else, he looked only at Ko Sung-yoon. By now Sung-yoon had removed the mask and lay flat on his back.
Thoughtful ideas began to swirl in Sung-joon’s mind.
Choi Yeon would not have said something so casually without reason. There had to be a reason.
The reason was probably…
“Hunters aren’t supposed to dream?”
“Eh? Is that how it sounded?”
“No?”
“…Arden is still a good skill. You can manage your hunter life with just that.”
“……”
“The real problem isn’t the skill—it’s physical ability. Even without Arden, Sung-joon would barely scrape by as an F-rank hunter.”
“Ah….”
Sung-joon sighed.
He had never once thought his own body was weak, but of course he was only speaking as an ordinary person.
The problem was not the skill—it was physical ability…
While Sung-joon was lost in thought, the white rabbit raised its upper body and sat up. Its shoulders no longer shook; its breathing had evened out.
Choi Yeon took a step forward.
“You’re leaving?”
A surprised voice came from behind.
Choi Yeon felt the same surprise as if his own emotions had transferred.
So what—did he keep standing here?
Sensing Choi Yeon’s thoughts, Sung-joon muttered in a strained voice.
“No, well… or maybe I wanted more advice…?”
“Isn’t it enough already? From now on, the problem will be deciding what to think yourself.”
“But…”
Thud.
Sung-joon’s gaze dropped.
Still, Choi Yeon kept stepping forward.
As he had said, it was enough. From now on it was his own problem to think about.
“Wait! I have one more question!”
“…What is it?”
“Hunter-nim, what would you have done?”
At the question, Choi Yeon’s eyebrows furrowed.
Is my opinion that important?
Though it sounded that way, unlike before, Sung-joon did not look away.
“I really want to hear.”
“…If it were me.”
“You’d do it? You only have one skill!”
“I wouldn’t have had any anyway?”
“……!”
Sung-joon’s eyes widened.
The face showing surprise vanished at once. He had turned and walked toward Ko Sung-yoon.
Clang.
Ko Sung-yoon put the mask back on and stood up. Then he began jumping in place.
“I’ve rested enough! I can do it again!”
“…Instead, let’s go find a better doll mask first.”
“Eh? A doll mask?”
“Even as a hunter, I can’t just borrow one from the cafe, right?”
“Haha, that’s true…”
Thud, thud, thud.
The feet that had been jumping in place stopped.
Choi Yeon’s words lingered in his mind.
As a hunter, even as a hunter…
Then, the rabbit suddenly leaped up.
“Waaaaah!”
Kaboom!
Uncontrollable joy smashed into the ceiling.
Luckily, the light had not broken.