Ch.12If Not From the Side, Then From Behind

In the game, I was already a Hunter from the start, so I didn’t think deeply about the exam.

With the help of Rolling, an A-rank Hunter, I managed to score above the cutoff line on the written test.

I thought becoming an E-rank Hunter, just the prologue part, would be easy.

That is, until I personally experienced the level of the exam participants who were called “superhumans” in society.

“Gah?!”

“…Huh?”

“Pa-participant number 1004, Han Shinwoo. Match record 2.4 seconds. Failed!”

“Is that guy really here to become a Hunter?”

“He went down with just one punch?”

Even the lowest E-rank Hunters started with a basic stat of 3.

In other words, the test was impossible for me to pass from the beginning—with the Kaijufication Hunter’s experience penalty, my original stat of 1 had only grown to 1.1 after ten years.

“Sigh…”

Maybe it’s because Sophia called me a “liar” the other day.

I remembered the practical exam at the Hunter Association that I failed a week ago.

The tense arena erupted in laughter when they saw me get knocked out the moment the match started.

Even thinking about it now makes my face burn with embarrassment.

But that didn’t mean I’d given up on “getting employed” at the Hunter Association.

“Student! You’re doing so well. Did you learn somewhere?”

“Haha. No. I just studied in advance from games… I mean, from books!”

“Hohoho. Unlike most young people these days, you’re not clumsy at all and your hands are very quick. It’s good to see!”

“Thank you!”

I couldn’t become a Hunter, part of the Association’s combat force.

So instead, I set my sights on becoming support personnel who assist Hunters.

A Hunter Meister—also called a Hunter’s blacksmith—who repairs and modifies equipment used by Hunters after their missions are complete.

Of course, this profession also boasted its own knowledge requirements and fierce competition, though not as much as becoming a Hunter.

‘I did tons of crafting part-time jobs in the game for the juicy rewards.’

From mass-produced equipment to specially crafted gear for high-ranking Hunters.

I had experience successfully enhancing and repairing everything with a “Perfect!” message.

Plus, compared to my athlete days, I had plenty of experience with welding and other skills similar to weapon crafting to train my “Kyokushin”… among many other things.

“I’ve completed repairs on all 50 mass-produced Hunter longswords.”

“Oh! That was fast…!”

“Shinwoo, you’re really a prodigy?!”

“Haha. You think so?”

Middle level of the Hunter Association.

In the crafting room, or “workshop” as they called it.

The Meister men who had looked at me with uncertainty when I first arrived were now giving me thumbs up for a job well done.

“Um… Team Leader. At this rate, could I get hired at the workshop right after graduating school?”

“Haha. Of course! No, rather, don’t even think about wasting this talent elsewhere! Shinwoo.”

After three long hours of workshop work, when almost all tasks were completed.

When I left the building after the workday ended, the once bright sky had already turned into a red sunset.

“Whew. Good work everyone!”

“Oh, yeah! Good work to you too, Shinwoo!”

“Shinwoo. If you want to work again, call me anytime with the business card I gave you! No, I’ll call you directly when work comes up! Just keep your phone on and wait!”

“Haha. Yes, thank you! Team Leader.”

The work wrapped up in a good atmosphere.

I headed to a nearby bathhouse with the Meister men I’d worked with to wash off the sweat from the workshop.

Letting my body relax under the warm shower, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although I couldn’t become a Hunter.

It was proven that even an ordinary human like Han Shinwoo could become an equipment craftsman.

It made me smile with satisfaction.

“By the way, Shinwoo. I’m curious about something. Mind if I ask?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

It was when we all entered the hot bath together.

The Team Leader was dozing off, humming a tune.

A muscular, capable-looking middle-aged man sitting between the Team Leader and me asked with a friendly smile.

“It’s nothing much, just curiosity. Why did you apply to become an equipment craftsman?”

“Um… Did I do something wrong?”

“Hahaha. I’m not trying to criticize you! It’s just that you’re still young.”

The man laughed at my worried question.

“Even though the pay is good, a Hunter Meister is fundamentally a ‘dangerous profession.'”

“Well, that’s true.”

I recalled the setting from the original work when he described this modern blacksmith job as “dangerous.”

The workshop was always filled with hazy smoke—we’re well past the Industrial Revolution in the 21st century.

Hunter equipment, even mass-produced items, was so specialized that everything had to be handcrafted.

So equipment craftsmen had to manually inspect everything without automation, and even E-rank Hunters were considered superhumans in society.

Handling such equipment led to all kinds of accidents that wouldn’t happen in ordinary factories.

That’s what a Hunter Meister was, according to the setting guide.

“You’re still in high school, right? This should be a time when you want to try many things, fail, and gain experience. Equipment craftsman probably wasn’t your dream job. What motivated you to apply for this?”

“My motivation…”

Well, it was because I couldn’t become a Hunter.

I still wanted to belong to the Hunter Association, so I applied to become a Hunter Meister, a job where you could easily become disabled.

My goal was naturally to follow the original protagonists and create a happy ending for this world… but.

“Actually, I know one of the Hunters.”

Now I had one more reason why I needed to be part of the Hunter Association.

“And that person is really shy, so I need to stay by their side.”

“…Don’t tell me you became a Hunter Meister just for that?”

“Haha. Yes… Compared to everyone else here, my motivation might seem silly, but that’s how it is for me.”

Even if that position was just an equipment craftsman.

I might not be able to fight alongside her, but I at least wanted to play a small role in cleaning up after her.

To keep “that day’s promise,” I desperately wanted to become a member of the Hunter Association.

“Haha… weird, right?”

I scratched the back of my head, looking around the suddenly quiet bathhouse.

But.

“You bastard…!”

“That’s romantic!”

“Shinwoo, was it?! Kid, you’re crazy romantic!”

“Ah, to be young.”

Don’t tell me these people…

Did they mistake my “older brother worrying about his little sister” for a “man’s love worrying about his lover”?

Suddenly they were crying on my behalf as if I was the greatest.

“What a beautiful love!”

“Even if you say love… she’s just like a little sister to me!”

“Sure, sure. I understand. Anyway, good luck.”

“Is nobody listening to me right now?!”

Even the dozing Team Leader woke up to cheer on my non-existent love.

***

About three days had passed since then.

In the meantime, I was called by the Team Leader several more times and even repaired special equipment for a B-rank Hunter, becoming known as a new prodigy in the field.

“Hoho. My eye for talent was right! Here’s a bonus for you!”

“…! Thank you! Team Leader.”

Including the first job, I had only worked twice but earned about 500,000 won including the bonus.

And now that I had money, it was time to do that.

It had already been a week since Sophia returned to Korea.

Surprisingly, I hadn’t met Sophia even once during that time.

As a Meister who repairs equipment after Hunter operations, I naturally thought we’d run into each other occasionally, but that wasn’t the case at all.

As if she was deliberately avoiding me, I could only see Sophia on broadcast TV when she appeared.

“You’re Korea’s most promising Hunter! And you’re also a Beast Hunter who can actually communicate! Hello, Hunter Sophia.”

“Yes, hello everyone! I’m B-rank Hunter Sophia, who returned to Korea after two years~!”

Sophia greeted viewers with a bright smile through the phone screen.

But I could tell.

That smile was a perfectly forced one.

This was a habit of hers that only I knew—when Sophia tried to force an expression, she had a habit of scratching her neck.

Of course, she was doing it now in the broadcast I was watching.

“I need to cheer her up quickly.”

I prepared something for Sophia.

Who am I?

I’m a veteran of Hunter’s Blood, a game where dating sim genres are the main content after action.

While playing the game, I’ve conquered all kinds of heroines with broken personalities who would make the current Sophia look cute in comparison.

“Would she like this? Or this?”

In other words, in this world, I should be a Casanova who could play with women’s hearts whenever I wanted.

That is, if I had convenient abilities like a “status window” like typical possession protagonists.

“I-is this something women like…”

I handled unfamiliar equipment crafting well when graphics became reality.

But now my hands and feet were trembling as I circled the department store dozens of times, not knowing what gift to choose for a heroine with decreased affection.

Does this mean that no matter how many women you conquer in your room, a virgin is still a virgin?

Even before she went to America, whenever I tried to give her gifts for birthdays or Christmas.

“I don’t need things like that. I just want you to stay by my side, Shinwoo.”

…That was how Sophia would stick to me all day and substitute that for a gift.

“E-excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“W-would ‘king crab’ be inappropriate as a gift for women…?”

“……Pardon?”

I’m screwed.

I really am the worst man.

Imagining Sophia feeling uncomfortable with any gift from the department store, I was worried we might never meet again.

However, at this point, I still didn’t know.

Ten years after the safely concluded “Smiling Monster Incident” in Busan.

In the present year of 2024.

Weeeeeeee-!!

“A siren?!”

“M-monster!”

“Everyone please evacuate to the basement of the department store in an orderly line!”

It was finally the beginning of the prologue where the original story starts.