The Mimic's Prank
“Father! Watch out!”
“Don’t move!”
Father’s gun barrel swung toward me.
Damn.
Even after everything I’d been through, having my own father’s gun pointed at my chest sent a chill down my spine. He was a marksman—the best of the best in the special forces. One wrong twitch and at least three rounds would punch through my chest before I could blink.
Slowly, very slowly, I raised both hands. I had no intention of dying to my father’s bullet, no matter how many times I’d faced death before. I needed to grow stronger, fast, until no gun could threaten me again.
“Haha……”
The other me laughed awkwardly.
“Why’s the mood so heavy in here? I can’t even joke around. Son’s got an axe, father’s got a gun. Sir, that man over there is your son.”
The other me pointed straight at me.
What the hell is going on?
“Then who are you?” Father’s gun shifted toward the other me.
“As for me…… I suppose I’m no one, yet I could become anyone.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Allow me to demonstrate.”
The other me dragged a palm across his face.
“……!”
Father and I both flinched. The face staring back at us was now Father’s own.
“What kind of monster are you……?”
“Monster? That’s rather harsh.”
The copy wearing Father’s face looked genuinely hurt.
“I’m no monster, I assure you.”
“Then what are you?”
“Who knows. Even I’m not entirely sure. Who I was, where I came from…… All I know for certain is that I know you, Master.”
“Master……?”
“You are my master, and I am your loyal servant.”
“Stop spouting crap and answer the question.”
“Heh. Very well.”
The copy smirked, then dissolved into swirling particles and vanished. In the empty space where he had stood, a single golden card floated gently in the air.
[Mimic]
Magic Card ★★★
Imitation and Transformation
“N-no way……”
I approached the card as if drawn by a spell, finally understanding what had happened.
The card…… was pretending to be me?
Not exactly pretending. I was just having a little fun.
The card’s voice echoed inside my head.
Fun? I almost got shot because of you!
Did you really think I’d let that happen?
……?
Nothing happened in the end, did it? So it’s fine, right?
Are you insane?
I was speechless at the card’s shamelessness. You and I are going to have a talk later.
Father’s voice cut through the silence.
“What just happened? What is that card?”
“It…… seems to be part of my ability.”
“Your ability?”
“It’s a long story……”
“Long is fine. After nearly shooting my own son, I deserve to hear the whole thing.”
How was I supposed to explain this? Even I was still reeling.
“What’s going on?”
Mother appeared in the doorway, her face anxious.
“It’s nothing,” Father and I answered at the same time.
* * *
In the end, I had no choice but to explain my powers to the whole family over dinner.
“So…… your ether blade doesn’t take the form of a weapon, but a deck of cards, and the cards absorb runes?”
“Yes.”
“And the cards can also take human form?”
“Apparently.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“Because I don’t fully understand it yet. I still don’t know exactly what my ability is……”
“I suppose that makes sense. You’ve only just become a hunter.”
Father nodded, accepting the explanation.
“From now on, train hard. Understanding your own power is the most important thing. You need to know what you can and cannot do…… Anyway, be careful.”
He glanced at Mother and quickly changed the subject. I could tell he had wanted to say more about survival, but he held back so she and Eun-ha wouldn’t worry.
“What are you two talking about?”
“I have no idea, Mom.”
Mother and Eun-ha looked thoroughly confused.
“So you’re saying people can pop out of Oppa’s cards?”
“Maybe?”
“Whoa. Is it like summoning?”
“It feels like it, but also not really.”
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s an interesting ability. I’ve never heard of a hunter who uses cards before.”
“It’s new to me too, so don’t go spreading weird rumors.”
“I know that much.”
Eun-ha pouted.
“By the way, people are saying you’re really handsome.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The comments are going crazy. They keep saying you’re super good-looking. Geez, maybe hunters just look handsome to everyone. There’s already a fan account for you on social media.”
“Stop talking nonsense and eat. Don’t play with your phone at the table.”
Mother and Father, however, had very different reactions.
“Our son really is handsome.”
“Ahem. I wonder who he takes after……”
Eun-ha frowned at them.
“Mom, Dad, where exactly do you think Oppa is handsome? He looks completely average to me. If you keep hyping him up like that, he’ll actually start believing it.”
Oh, this little……
“You’re not exactly in a position to talk. Just eat.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You only think you’re pretty because Mom and Dad keep telling you so.”
“Who? Me?”
“Exactly.”
“People tell me I’m pretty all the time. It’s annoying how often I hear it.”
“That’s because people are being nice.”
“Should I stop random strangers on the street and ask them?”
“Just don’t threaten them with a gun while you do it…… Pfft!”
I couldn’t help laughing. It wasn’t because teasing Eun-ha was funny—it was because I couldn’t remember the last time we had bickered like this. Before I regressed, after Mom and Eun-ha died, we had lost the ability to laugh together. And now here we were again, squabbling at the dinner table while our parents watched.
“Are you done talking, Cha Eun-seong?”
“Yeah. Let’s just eat.”
“You tease me all you want and then say that?”
“Just let it go today. I’m tired.”
I wasn’t tired at all, but I felt tears threatening to spill. Crying in the middle of a childish argument would have been far too embarrassing.
* * *
After dinner, I returned to my room and began maintenance. Any proper hunter knew how vital this time was. Equipment had to be kept in top condition if you wanted to survive the next fight.
Everything’s basically consumable.
I tossed my combat uniform, plate carrier, and tactical boots into a large trash bag. If they were only dirty I would have kept them, but monster blood had soaked too deeply into the fabric. Some monsters had an extremely keen sense of smell; they would track the scent straight to me.
Can I really protect my family?
I thought as I cleaned my gun.
It won’t be easy.
Most people would call me crazy for saying it, but right now was the most peaceful and livable period humanity would ever know. Society was still functioning. Gates existed, but they hadn’t yet begun to multiply uncontrollably.
Once the full-scale incursions began and the gates started to fracture and overflow, everything would change. Hunter mortality rates would skyrocket. The number of awakened hunters would be dwarfed by the number of deaths. From that point on, there would be no turning back. No matter how strong the hunters were, they would be pouring water into a bottomless bucket, slowly bleeding out.
When [that incident] happened……
Wait.
What day is it today?
I checked the date on my phone.
One year left.
[That incident]—the worst calamity in human history—would occur roughly one year after I became a hunter. The Day of Lament. Over ninety percent of the top-ranked hunters perished in a single day. After that disaster, humanity lost almost all ability to respond to high-rank gates and large-scale incursions. The next generation of hunters rose to fill the void, and a generational shift began.
I had been one of those hunters who rode that wave.
“I have to stop it.”
The words slipped out before I realized it.
Preventing humanity’s extinction? Honestly, I wasn’t sure it was possible. But if I could at least stop the Day of Lament……
“Maybe…… it’s doable.”
If the current top-ranked hunters survived, there was still a sliver of hope. At the very least, we could buy humanity a few more years. But I couldn’t stop the Day of Lament alone. The solution itself was simple: if the top hunters used the information I possessed, the disaster could be avoided. Spreading that information was easy too—just post a few lines on the Hunter Link bulletin board.
The real problem was making them believe me. Right now, my words were worthless. Who would trust a freshly awakened rookie? And even if they did believe me, it would create a new problem. If word got out that I possessed future knowledge, every faction would try to claim me. Very few hunters fought purely for humanity’s sake.
I need to make the hunters believe me without revealing who I am. In that case…… the Hunter Link bulletin board is still the best option.
The information-sharing board was flooded with fake news and deliberate misinformation, but it was the only place where I could post anonymously and repeatedly.
If I keep posting, maybe one or two people will start to believe.
Since no better idea came to mind, I logged into Hunter Link and opened the information board. I wrote down two major incidents I remembered happening around this time, posted them anonymously, and hit submit.
Post has been registered!
With tens of thousands of posts uploaded every day, mine would be buried instantly. Still, if I kept writing whenever I had time……
Ding!
A notification popped up.
A comment has been posted!
Already? It had to be hate comments……
Ding!
Another one……?
But that was only the beginning.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding……
Ding!
The notifications kept coming, hundreds of comments flooding in within seconds.
“What…… what’s going on?”
I was bewildered. Why would anyone swarm a completely ordinary post like this? Curious, I opened the comment section.
“Ah.”
I finally understood why the post had caught fire. It wasn’t the content. The reason users were rushing to comment was the star rating displayed next to the author’s name.
★★★★★★★★★★
10-Star Hunter
A rank that didn’t exist yet. At this point in time, the highest-ranked hunter was only 7 stars.