The Anatomy of a Hunter
About ten days into the Hunter Academy, we finally started learning some actual, practical content. In the beginning, they focused mostly on history, explaining things like the evolution of Gates. It was useful for me, but to people living in this era, it was common knowledge and practically worthless. The subsequent lessons followed a similar pattern, covering the changes in the Hunter system and the history of corporate guilds.
Among those, the guild called the Murim Alliance caught my interest. It was quite fascinating. Apparently, it was the guild of South Korea's number one S-Class Hunter. It used to be the top-ranked guild overall, but its ranking had slipped recently. They said it wasn't a corporate guild, but rather a social, fellowship-based one... and because it was filled with more righteous people than other guilds, they quietly took on all the dirty work. A social guild that used to be ranked number one... quite impressive.
And the most recent thing we learned was about the Status Window. I don't know exactly when it appeared, but a Status Window had indeed manifested for me as well... Though, it was a bit of a vague thing. What was displayed on the Status Window was basically just my name and skills, making the information incredibly sparse. The skills themselves were equally ambiguous; only the skill names were listed, with absolutely no explanation of their effects, meaning you had to figure them out yourself. Fortunately, over the past ten years, data had been gathered and analyzed to some extent. The classes taught those findings, which made them highly informative and helpful.
First, an Awakened's skills are broadly divided into two categories: Single Skills and Category Skills... A Single Skill is a skill with a single, specific effect. For example, if you have the skill Fireball, the only thing you can use is Fireball. However, if you possess the Category Skill Fire Magic, you can naturally use the fire magic spell Fireball, and through training, you can learn to cast various other fire-attribute spells.
To look at another example... If you have the skill Sword Qi, you can use Sword Qi, but that's it. On the other hand, if you have the skill Swordsmanship, you gain a general talent for handling a sword, and through training, you can eventually manifest Sword Qi.
We also learned that an Awakened can possess multiple skills, not just one... and the more skills you have, the higher your potential as a Hunter. Of course, they also mentioned that if you have too many skills, it becomes difficult to utilize them all effectively. This was something I already knew from personal experience, given my own bloated skill list. Anyway, based on the explanation alone, Category Skills seemed superior, but... they had a major drawback. To use that power properly, the skill holder had to put in significant effort. Compared to Single Skills, which allowed you to use power without any major prerequisites, the difference was stark. Thus, it was hard to say which was strictly better. Single Skills were great for simple, immediate use, while Category Skills offered a much higher ceiling. The lecture on skills was truly excellent, and I appreciated how they used various skills as examples. Explaining the common skills acquired by many Awakened one by one was also a great touch. It was a perfect opportunity for the students to understand their own skills in greater detail.
But... the skills I possessed were barely even mentioned. Demigod, Saintess, Divinity... Why on earth did I have these skills? At first, I was puzzled, but... I quickly realized the reason. They said that besides the skills obtained upon awakening, new ones could manifest as you active in Gates. And the skills that appear then are usually based on your actions and disposition. Looking at it from that perspective...
Demigod? Well, my physical form itself could be considered that of a demigod. It was a body sculpted by a Goddess, a literal manifestation of her image... And Saintess? I suppose that was given to me because I actually worked as a Saintess. I had no idea what its effects were, but at least I could understand why I had it. However, Divinity was a bit ambiguous. This was because I had a separate skill called Divine Arts. Having both Divinity and Divine Arts separately... After some contemplation, I figured Divine Arts was the technique, while Divinity was probably the resource, like mana.
Aside from those, I also had skills like Weapon Mastery, Insight, and Charm. I had so many skills that it was hard to even list them all... Still, most of them were related to my past actions. Weapon Mastery? That was likely because my main weapon, All Master, could transform into any shape, forcing me to use a wide variety of weapons. My proficiency with each was debatable, but... anyway, it seemed to reflect my experience with various armaments. Something like Insight was probably forged from roaming the battlefields for ten years. But what the hell was Charm? Regardless, the things taught at the Academy were genuinely helpful in understanding my current self.
And as another ten days passed...
“Ah, Nix, you're early today too.”
I had begun exchanging casual greetings with the others. At first, because I was completely bundled up, people were wary and kept their distance... But on the second day, my voice was heard, revealing that I was a woman, and the situation shifted slightly... The few women in the class started approaching me warmly, simply because we were of the same gender.
“You really study hard, Nix.”
Since the others already knew most of the material, they barely paid attention, but... to me, almost everything was brand-new information. At least everyone had been focused during the skill lectures, but now...
“I don't know much, so I have a lot to learn,” I replied with a polite smile.
I meant it as a humble remark, but for some reason, their reactions were a bit odd.
Today's class was about protocols of conduct inside Gates. Apparently, different Hunters have different roles, and because their roles differ, their actions must differ as well. It sounded so blindingly obvious that I wondered why they even bothered teaching it. Anyway, they explained that Hunters inside a Gate usually operate in several specialized teams.
First was the Scout Team, whose role was to locate enemies or find missing persons. Even if they spotted an enemy, they were instructed to prioritize reporting the situation over engaging in combat... Since electronic devices worked inside Gates, they said this was naturally the correct approach. Well, for a scouting unit rather than a commando squad like the Hero's party, that indeed made sense.
They also mentioned that the Subjugation Team shouldn't just mindlessly rush into battle with monsters... Since these guidelines were built on the real-world experiences of veterans, there was plenty of useful advice. However, to someone like me who had survived actual warfare, most of it was painfully obvious.
Ah... listening to all this talk makes me reminisce about the days I traveled with the Hero.
Among the Demon King's subordinates, there were enemies referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings. It wasn't an official title within their ranks, but rather a term humanity used to designate the four strongest demons they frequently encountered. Since I wasn't a demon, I didn't know if such a title actually existed, though they did seem to divide their forces into legions. As a commando unit, the Hero's party moved stealthily, avoiding most enemies. Our ultimate goal back then was the Demon King, so there was no need to stir up a hornet's nest unnecessarily. Of course, we fought and defeated them when the situation demanded it.
Anyway, hearing that lecture brought back memories of one of the Four Heavenly Kings: the Succubus Queen. She was a demon legion commander who led the Nightmares and Succubi. Her strategic and tactical maneuvers using her subordinates were incredibly cunning, making her a formidable foe who tormented humanity. The demons under her command consisted entirely of Succubi and Nightmares. Individually, the Succubus Queen, the Succubi, and the Nightmares weren't exceptionally strong. However, they operated as spies, plunging humanity into chaos. Through espionage, assassination, bribery, appeasement, subversion, and intelligence gathering, they infiltrated human society, ruthlessly exploiting our softest, most vulnerable spots.
During our journey to the Demon King's castle, the Hero's party discovered the fortress where the Succubus Queen's legion resided... We didn't strictly have to fight them, but because it was the Succubus Queen, we decided to infiltrate the castle and engage. We believed it was necessary to eliminate her right then and there. Honestly, it was a perilous endeavor... Who would have thought the Succubus Queen had laid a trap and was waiting for us? We never saw it coming. Acting as if she had anticipated our arrival, the Succubus Queen's schemes drove the Hero's party to the brink of death.
Looking back, we were incredibly lucky. Every single one of my companions, except for me, fell into the Succubus Queen's dream trap and nearly died right there. Since the Saintess's body was crafted by the Goddess, half-baked tricks didn't work on me. So, I had to fight desperately on my own to protect my party members. No matter how weak individual Succubi and Nightmares were... their numbers easily exceeded dozens, hundreds, and eventually thousands. Holding them all off by myself was an uphill battle. If only the Succubus Queen hadn't been there, it might have been different, but with the Queen and her executives present, my life was on the line. Fortunately, the Hero managed to break free from the Succubus Queen's spell and woke up from the dream, allowing us to turn the tide of battle.
The lesson we learned then was... we had to act with our specific roles in mind. As a commando unit, our absolute priority was defeating the Demon King, yet we had recklessly entered the Succubus Queen's territory. Although her legion had inflicted massive damage on humanity, we should have bypassed them. We won out of sheer luck, but it was a choice that could have easily resulted in a total party wipe. We should have treated the Succubus Queen's forces as a massive army, not a small elite squad. We should have lured her subordinates away to scatter them, isolated her inner circle, dismantled her traps one by one, and then taken her down. Well, it's all in the past now...
To sum it up, what the lecture was advocating was to stay faithful to one's role. Don't disrupt the party's synergy by acting out of turn, and adapt to the situation. What followed next was a discussion on party positions. Even within a party, individual roles were crucial. This was no different for the Hero's party. A Hunter party is typically divided into the Frontline, Midline, and Backline—or Tank, Dealer, and Supporter roles.
The Hero's party was similar... We had the Barbarian and the Dwarf on the Frontline, the Hero and me in the Midline, and the Elf and the Mage in the Backline. Though, when actual combat broke out, our positions were completely different... The Dwarf and I were the ones charging ahead on the Frontline, while the Hero coordinated the battlefield from the Midline. The Barbarian? He acted as a shield to protect the Mage and the Elven Archer. Technically, the Barbarian and I should have swapped places, but... anyway, I need to focus on the class for now.
They explained that some skills can taunt monsters to draw aggro, and Hunters with these skills usually stand on the Frontline. The Midline is typically occupied by those with high speed or stealth skills, who protect or support allies while delivering fatal blows to the enemies. The Backline consists of Mages, Archers, and Healers, who support the team from safety.
“You must thoroughly understand your skills to determine your path as a Hunter. Choosing a path that doesn't align with your skills will not only make things difficult for you but will also burden your entire party.”
Uh, well... that felt like a personal attack on me, the Saintess who always charged ahead on the Frontline. This time around, I had no intention of doing that. I wanted to hide my strength moderately, make a decent amount of money... and live a comfortable, peaceful life. Looking back, those ten years in the Other World were incredibly grueling. I've suffered enough, so I deserve to live a little easier from now on.