Ra Si-hyun
Ra Si-hyun. The most outstanding mage South Korea had ever produced. Alongside the Necromancer Gain and Battle Mage Bellatrix, she was one of only three mages to reach 10 stars. In the future, Gain, Bellatrix, and Ra Si-hyun would be collectively known as the Archmages.
The problem was her personality. While most top-ranked hunters were generally unpleasant, mages were notorious for being especially rotten. Ra Si-hyun was hypersensitive, arrogant, and suffered from anger management issues. She had a habit of indiscriminately firing spells at the slightest provocation, and her mood swings were so unpredictable that trying to stay on her good side was nearly impossible. On top of that, she was infamous for her extensive romantic entanglements, keeping multiple handsome men around like concubines. Of course, that was all several years in the future. Right now, she was nothing more than a high school student in uniform.
“Ra Si-hyun is in the same class as me?”
“Ah? Have you already met Ms. Si-hyun?”
“No, I just remembered hearing her name that day.”
“I see. Yes, you’re in the same intake as Ms. Si-hyun.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
Thinking back, Ra Si-hyun’s special forces intake was two classes ahead of mine. We had both awakened around the same time, but my registration had been delayed while I dealt with my father’s affairs.
“As I mentioned earlier, Ms. Si-hyun is a mage. I’m sure you’re well aware of how valuable that role is, so I won’t go into further detail.”
“She’s valuable, all right.”
“Ah, of course, not quite on your level, Mr. Eun-seong. Haha.”
Major Im quickly added the remark, as if realizing his slip. True—mages might be rare, but none compared to me.
“Anyway, I wanted to let you know this is a good opportunity. Building a rapport with Ms. Si-hyun now could prove very helpful in your future activities.”
“I’m not so sure.”
It would certainly be helpful—if I could stomach her foul temper. Knowing what kind of person the future Ra Si-hyun would become, it was only natural to want nothing to do with her. There was a reason I had killed her with my own hands.
“Well, I understand. When is it?”
“Next Monday.”
“Today’s Friday, so… three days from now.”
“If your schedule is too tight, we could push it back by one intake.”
“It’s fine. I’ll join on Monday.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Major Im smiled. He had clearly been worried I would refuse to go to the special forces training center.
“No need. I’m the one who should apologize for making you come all the way out here. At least let me treat you to a meal before you go. The food here isn’t bad.”
“Would that be all right?”
“Of course.”
“Then I’ll take you up on that. Haha.”
Major Im turned to fetch a tray. It seemed he had been pulling all-nighters on duty without proper meals. I felt a twinge of guilt for keeping him late unintentionally.
Entering the special forces training center in the same class as Ra Si-hyun, huh. Heh.
Maybe life there would actually be entertaining. I would get to see the past version of the villainess I had personally killed.
After Major Im left, I sat at the desk and focused my mind. Shrrrk! The Hunter Link bulletin board UI unfolded before my eyes. When I only needed the board, I could summon it directly without a full login. Almost no one in this era knew that trick.
“Already 75,000 comments.”
By conservative estimates, the global hunter population was around 100,000. That might sound like a lot, but it wasn’t. With Earth’s population at roughly 8 billion, 100,000 hunters represented only about 0.00125%—one in 80,000 people. 75,000 comments meant that, at minimum, half the world’s hunters had replied.
Even prominent hunters were posting under their call signs, openly discussing me. Someone had even put up a bounty?
They’re definitely interested. I should write one more post.
Since everyone was waiting with bated breath for my next appearance, I decided to throw them a bone—a genuinely useful tip they could all benefit from.
Post successfully registered!
The tip I posted was:
The reaction was instantaneous.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding……
Ding!
Every time I refreshed, dozens—sometimes hundreds—of new comments appeared. Since it was now morning in Korea, Korean hunters’ replies were scarce; most came from foreign hunters.
This should be enough.
It felt like tossing a pebble into a calm lake and watching the ripples spread—except the lake had already been in the middle of a storm thanks to my previous post. Hunter Link had never been a quiet place to begin with.
I’ll stay offline for a while and focus on what I need to do.
The longer my hidden 10-star hunter identity remained unknown, the less influence it would exert. I planned to train the hunters at a leisurely pace.
Let’s write it all down first.
I pulled out a notebook and pen and began recording my memories from the past ten years. No one could remember everything perfectly, and recalling details on command was impossible. Writing them down would help me post reliable information on Hunter Link’s anonymous board later.
Three days later.
“I’m off.”
Receiving my family’s send-off on the rooftop, I boarded the helicopter bound for the special forces training center. In the past, we had gathered at a rendezvous point and taken a bus. Being sent by helicopter made the change in treatment palpable. At this rate, I had practically been promoted from commoner to noble.
“Then we’ll depart.”
Thudududududu!
The helicopter carrying me flew straight west. Our destination was Jebudo Island. Once a popular tourist spot, it had become completely off-limits to civilians after the Gate Incident, now serving as the site of the Defense Strategy Department’s Special Forces Training Center.
After about twenty minutes—
— We’ll make a brief landing.
The helicopter touched down somewhere in Incheon’s Jemulpo district.
Are we picking someone else up?
I wondered who else warranted the same special treatment as me. A female student in a school uniform climbed aboard.
Of course.
Only someone like Ra Si-hyun would be sent a helicopter. There couldn’t be another top prospect in the same intake as me or her, so wondering who else might board had been a mistake from the start.
“Huh? You’re that guy from before?”
Ra Si-hyun recognized me and spoke first, looking noticeably surprised. She seemed twice as shocked—first that another trainee was on the helicopter, and second that it was me.
Yeah, it must be surprising that someone other than a mage was receiving special treatment.
“Are you a mage too, mister?”
Ra Si-hyun suddenly asked.
“No?”
“Then a ranged DPS?”
She probably assumed I was a ranged DPS from the Warrior class, since Guardians were usually large and bulky.
“Not that either.”
“Oh. Whatever.”
Ra Si-hyun wrinkled her nose in clear disappointment.
“They’ll let anyone on, huh. My standards are dropping.”
Well, well. Her personality hadn’t changed one bit. She had been twisted from the moment she was born. The fact that she was already flaunting privilege and superiority so soon after awakening meant she had been rotten to the core from the very beginning.
I might end up killing her again.
Of course, I wouldn’t be exploited, insulted, or cursed at by her like before, so a direct grudge was unlikely. But since both of us were destined to become top-tier hunters, we would cross paths often even if we didn’t travel together. Given her temper, conflict was inevitable. Honestly, I wasn’t confident I could avoid killing her.
But not now. If it were anyone else, I would have quietly eliminated them to nip the problem in the bud. Right now, however, Ra Si-hyun was a second-year high school student. No matter what, I couldn’t kill a minor.
As long as she doesn’t cross the line.
I’ll watch her for now. If she really becomes unbearable, I’ll kill her. In two years.
Ra Si-hyun, clearly displeased at receiving the same treatment as someone she deemed worthless, put on her headset, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes—completely unaware that the Grim Reaper was sitting right across from her.
There’ll be plenty of chances to teach her a lesson during training.
I had no desire to talk to her either, so I closed my eyes until we reached our destination.
Thudududududu!
The helicopter flew for another ten minutes with Ra Si-hyun aboard before landing at the Special Forces Training Center’s helipad on Jebudo Island.
“Welcome, both of you.”
Major Im was waiting and greeted us.
“I hope the journey wasn’t too inconvenient.”
“Thanks to you, it was comfortable and quick.”
Unlike me, who responded with a smile to Major Im’s consideration, Ra Si-hyun looked like she had plenty to say.
“Excuse me, soldier.”
“Yes, Ms. Si-hyun.”
“Why am I on the same helicopter as that guy—”
Just as Ra Si-hyun was about to complain, pointing at me with her chin—
“Kyaaaaah!”
From the distant main gate came the sound of a pterosaur’s cry mixed with all sorts of shouting.
“Oppa! Fighting!”
“Look over here just once!”
“I love youuuu!”
Thanks to that, Ra Si-hyun’s words were drowned out. I, however, heard them loud and clear.
“Haha.”
Major Im gave an awkward smile and explained the situation.
“One of today’s new trainees is a current idol, so it’s a bit noisy.”
“A current idol? Who are you referring to?”
“His name is Ho-bin. He’s the lead vocalist of a group called Eclipse. I don’t know much beyond that.”
“That Ho-bin guy?”
“Yes……?”
“No, it’s nothing……”
As expected. Among the incidents I had recorded in my notebook three days ago, there had been one that occurred at the Special Forces Training Center.
Jeong Ho-bin. The male idol Eun-ha liked. She was always singing “Our Ho-bin oppa, Ho-bin oppa” whenever she had the chance. Not that I disliked him. The problem was that we were in the same intake.
Because Jeong Ho-bin would die—swept up in a Gate Incident while training at the Special Forces Training Center to become a hunter.