The World Is Not Equal

The beginning of a web novel is always world-building. That's just how it is. Rule number one of the genre. Anyway.

It was some unspecified time in South Korea. The world had changed. Strange buildings had suddenly started appearing all across the country, triggering a flood of reports. There was no warning. No omens. Nothing. These bizarre structures simply popped into existence, as if they'd always been there. And somehow, the people living in those areas didn't even question it. They couldn't remember when the buildings had appeared. In fact, they acted like the damn things had been part of the neighborhood forever. No one felt the slightest sense of unease.

Until someone pointed it out, that is.

And the ones who pointed it out were outsiders. People visiting the area after a long time, or first-timers. Ironically, they couldn't notice the weird buildings popping up in their own hometowns, but they immediately spotted the anomalies elsewhere. That's when everyone else finally felt it. That creeping discomfort. Like discovering an object in your house that no one had ever bought or brought home. Something's wrong. Why the hell is this here all of a sudden? And finally... I'm scared.

People cling to something when they're afraid. Children to their parents. Citizens to their king. The religious to their god. And the people of South Korea clung to their country. Reports poured in at lightning speed. Truth be told, the actual number of these strange buildings wasn't that high. But when countless people kept reporting the same few structures from different locations, the government offices were completely overwhelmed. If they'd handled it properly and located the buildings right away, things might have turned out very differently.

But government offices being what they are, anything that didn't seem directly related got shuffled off or buried. As a result, identifying the locations of these buildings ended up being just a little too late. Some might say calling it "a little late" is unfair. That's a perfectly reasonable opinion. In the midst of all that chaos, you could even argue they deserved praise for doing that much. But when the price paid for that delay is enormous, all the blame and responsibility inevitably falls on the ones clearly at fault.

The buildings varied in size, but they all shared one common feature. They were square structures with a perfectly circular hole in the center, like a donut. If you had to compare them to something, they resembled a slightly thinner version of the Arc de Triomphe. Then one day, a blue light began to flicker inside the circular openings of several of these buildings. What emerged from them were beings straight out of fantasy. Elves, dwarves, beastkin, and more. Their appearance caused an even bigger stir than the discovery of the buildings themselves.

At first there were minor and major armed conflicts, but as these things tend to go, it all ended with appropriate negotiations and active exchange. It was later confirmed that these buildings were essentially gates and pathways connecting to other dimensions. The government officially designated them as Gates. Before long, the beings who came through them became part of everyday life. The National Institute of Korean Language suggested terms like "Transition Gate" or "Dimensional Portal," but since similar incidents had occurred in other countries, they stuck with "Gate" to avoid confusion. That was the extent of that minor controversy.

It didn't take long for people to grow accustomed to this new reality. And that's exactly why they became complacent. Drunk on the poison of familiarity, they forgot about the Gates that still weren't active. Then suddenly, without warning, a red light began to flicker from the remaining inactive Gates. And what came out this time was completely different from the beings they'd met before.

Creatures that attacked people without hesitation, that existed only to destroy, that couldn't be reasoned with at all. Monsters. Their appearances ranged from animal-like forms to incomprehensible amorphous blobs. There were countless varieties, and their numbers were even greater. These days, they're called either monsters or beasts.

The beginning wasn't so bad. Firearms worked on them, so in the early stages the military was deployed and achieved decent results. After all, there are few better targets than mindless charging enemies. But the situation gradually grew stranger. Creatures that avoided the military and hunted only civilians. Beings that used terrain for assassinations and picked off targets one by one. Monsters that employed tactics similar to humans. The appearance of intelligent creatures turned what should have been a simple extermination into a catastrophe that caused massive casualties in the blink of an eye.

Only then did the government rush to locate all the Gates. They succeeded, but as mentioned before, it was just a little too late. The damage had already spiraled out of control. In the end, anyone with limbs was conscripted without question. Even those missing an arm or a leg or two were thrown into operations if they could still function. Truly a masterpiece of incompetence. And incompetent decisions from those at the top only ever produce one result: suffering for countless innocent people. As a result, the population began to plummet dramatically.

Wait. This isn't the introduction to an apocalypse story. I didn't realize the front part would exceed 1,800 characters. I'm serious. Sorry.

Anyway. Starting from the appearance of the monsters, people began to change little by little. Just as fantasy creatures had appeared, fantasy-like things started happening to people as well. Not everyone, but some individuals suddenly manifested abilities. Classic examples included the kind of powers you see all the time in fiction: fire manipulation, ice manipulation, super speed. The kind of abilities everyone dreams about at least once. But not everyone got what they wanted. Some could freely detach and reattach their arms. Others grew their fingernails at an accelerated rate. It was the perfect example of the saying that life is a luck-based game where you can't reset your save file.

Thanks to these ability users joining the fight and actively hunting monsters, the tide of battle eventually turned. The people who hunted monsters with enthusiasm came to be called Hunters, marking the origin of the term.

Thanks to the Hunters' efforts, monsters still exist today, but the world is relatively peaceful compared to before. And once peace takes root, people start turning their attention to other things. The most obvious example is discrimination based on differences. The presence or absence of abilities led to discrimination between ability users and non-users. Among ability users, differences in strength created further discrimination. For Hunters, it was even worse, if anything. They distinguished themselves from others with the title of Hunter, formed the Hunter Association, and even within that organization, discrimination and hierarchy never ceased. In the end, they settled on a ranking system with labels. And those labels were borrowed directly from the most popular game's ranking system.

Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. This was the beginning of "So, what's your tier, bro?" becoming a common greeting among Hunters.

Regions chosen by Gates connected to other dimensions show a very different landscape. The Gates that spat out monsters were naturally destroyed. All that remained were Gates that allowed exchange with other dimensions. That rarity alone was enough to create a unique atmosphere, drawing people in and spurring commercial development. A prime example is the Nonsan Training Camp. That shitty rarity created a fucking insane commercial district.

Anyway, most of the people flocking to areas with Gates were Hunters who had obtained permission ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to travel through them. And those Gates displayed lifestyles distinctly different from other regions. For example, you could obtain incredibly rare weapons only available in other dimensions.

Things like the development of the underground scene.

Of course, not everything was good. Didn't I mention that Nonsan Training Camp has a fucking insane commercial district? It's no different here.

It was a relatively peaceful time, but scars leave deep wounds. The reduced population meant there weren't nearly enough people to protect the country. Hunters belonging to Korea could be used as reserves in emergencies, but even those with abilities mostly preferred normal jobs over becoming Hunters. After all, life is more precious than anything else. As a result, there was even a shortage of Hunters in the early days. On top of that, the government's past incompetence had caused them to lose a lot of public support, and they'd lost some influence to the Hunter Association. They needed a way to turn things around.

So the government threw out two pieces of bait. One was to give Hunters enormous benefits. The kind of ridiculous perks that made people think, 'This might actually be worth risking my life for.' The other was to operate a specialized educational institution with rewards that couldn't be refused. The surface reason was something about career diversity, but in reality it was about raising hunting dogs that would fight for a living. This was the beginning of the state-run Hunter Academy. The curtain had risen on the Hunter era.

The abyss in my mind speaks. Kill that bastard.

"I'm becoming a Hunter starting today."

"Why the hell would you do that, you crazy bastard?"

"To smash that guy's skull in. My life's masterpiece? You fucking prick?"

"At least you'll never forget it in this lifetime, right?"

The old man kept cackling like it was the funniest thing in the world. But does laughing mean your head won't get smashed? No. I have to smash it with my own hands.

"Anyway, just remember this. Keep that head of yours safe."

"Want another one? This one's a real masterpiece."

"Go die, seriously."

It was my second year of middle school. A time when my words carried zero weight. So most of the time, no matter what decision I made, people didn't take it seriously. But if I stayed consistent about it even after starting high school, then it could be considered stepping into the realm of sincerity.

"You're seriously going to do that pathetic Hunter job? You're even going to the Academy?"

"Free tuition, no military service. Those are the conditions. End of discussion."

"Don't go. You'll die right after graduation, for real."

I had prepared a comeback for that. But the old man was a little faster.

"'As long as it's not me!' That line won't work."

"What the hell? Give me back my line."

"Hey, these days college tuition isn't even that expensive."

"But..."

"But what?"

I looked the old man straight in the eyes and said,

"But... Onii-chan... I still have to smash his head, don't I?"

"Isn't it about time you got over it?"

"You fucking prick, I'm still suffering over it."

Should I kill him, Master? Hold back. My inner HAL.

"Well, it was a masterpiece that left its mark on life."

"You've never even seen it, you bastard!!"

"......I already know everything."

The old man suddenly got this haggard look in his eyes and continued.

"Let's say you go to the Academy. Do you have any abilities or a tier?"

"I'll get them there."

"Can I get funeral insurance? Make me the beneficiary."

That was the end of the conversation that day. Still, every time the old man saw me, he'd ask for my opinion and keep trying to talk me out of it. Of course, it didn't work at all. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Every time I even considered listening to him, the abyss would rise up in my mind. In the end, the old man gave up halfway and made a different suggestion.

"Fine, if you want to go, go. But at least let me make sure you don't die."

"Whoa... This is the first time I've actually respected you."

"If you die, it'd be awkward to keep getting side dishes from your house."

"You son of a bitch, seriously."

As the old man headed back to his house, he said,

"First, eat dinner and then come to the gym and training ground behind the big supermarket."

"I didn't register for that gym so I won't be able to get in."

The old man suddenly pulled out an ID-card-sized card from his wallet, holding it between his index and middle fingers to show me.

"I have a license so I can get in."

"...You didn't return it? I thought you retired."

"They give discounts at stores if you show this. It's fucking sweet."

I quickly finished dinner and headed to the location the old man mentioned. As it happened, he was already pressing his license against the training ground's entrance panel. With a small notification sound, the door opened.

"It actually works. First time using it since I retired."

"What were you going to do if it didn't work? You came here without any backup plan."

The old man scratched his head with an embarrassed look.

"I was going to grab someone I know and ask them to open it."

"You look like you don't have any friends. What do you mean, someone you know?"

"You fucking bastard."

It really was being used as a gym and training ground, because the moment the door opened, countless pieces of workout equipment and measurement devices came into view. Of course, we weren't there to work out, so we immediately headed to the dueling arena.

Once we arrived at the dueling arena, the old man started operating some strange machine. When I got closer to watch, the following text was displayed:

The old man operated the machine with surprising familiarity, inputting the settings. It was the first time I'd seen him look like an actual Hunter.

Once all the inputs were complete, there was a slight rumbling sound followed by an announcement.

The background of the dueling arena didn't change, but a huge pile of weapons had appeared in the left corner. The old man pulled out two wooden swords from the pile and handed one to me.

"Good news and better news. Which do you want first?"

"The good news first."

"I'm going to teach you myself."

With that, he suddenly started swinging the wooden sword through the air ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a whooshing sound. For some reason, that sound felt particularly ominous today.

"......Doesn't that just mean you're going to beat the shit out of me?"

"Hey, where else are you going to get one-on-one lessons like this? Normally I wouldn't do this even if you got on your knees and begged."

"Then what's the better news?"

At that moment, the wooden sword the old man was swinging stopped in mid-air.

"You get to learn every single day. Wow! Isn't that great!"

"......Can I quit being a Hunter?"

"It's too late. You don't have a girlfriend anyway. I'll drag you here every day, so give up on trying to run away."

"I like girls with long straight black hair who are obsessively clingy. A clingy old man is fucking disgusting."

But I was still a minor. Not an adult yet. So if things got bad, I still had my parents as a shield.

"Oh, and your parents asked me to take good care of you."

"What the fuck?"

"Thanks to that, I got tonkatsu today."

"I'm screwed."

There was nothing left. The old man, who seemed to have finished warming up, gripped the wooden sword tightly. Then, with the filthiest smile I'd ever seen, he charged at me.

"So. Let's start by taking a few hits."

That day, the dueling arena was filled with nothing but screams, groans, and pleas for mercy. Naturally, they all came from my mouth. And that day, I received three broken wooden swords.