Ch.1I Became a National Disaster-Level Monster

Games without save points are fucking terrible.

“Hmph! I’m sulking!”

[Yoo Sihyeon’s affection has decreased by -10.]

“How could you step on an ant while walking? That’s disgusting. You fail this exam.”

[Main Quest: You have failed the Intermediate Hunter Exam.]

[As penalty, your exam fee of 1,500,000 won will be forcibly deducted.]

[Additionally, Kim Minah’s affection has decreased by -50.]

“Hunter. Thanks to you not sacrificing yourself, my grandfather died. Couldn’t you have died in his place?”

[Sub-Quest: Lee Heejeong’s redemption route has failed.]

[This will cause many changes in the future…]

[Additionally, Lee Heejeong’s affection has decreased by -100.]

“Seriously, why is this so damn difficult?!”

A vast open world that perfectly replicates modern Earth.

Freedom to interact with every single NPC you pass by.

Plus realistic graphics and authentic storytelling.

This game I bought, “Hunter’s Blood,” was clearly destined to be a masterpiece with a Metacritic score in the 90s.

That is, if it weren’t for the lack of save points and the excessively realistic character narratives.

“Ah, that crazy Lee Heejeong went dark side again. No, no. Gotta delete this route too!”

How many times have I restarted characters trying to get a happy ending?

If you die midway, all your progress gets deleted, and even when I do reach an ending, it’s always a grim one where only the protagonist survives.

Still, I could confidently say I was in the top 0.01% of “Hunter’s Blood” players.

Because on the Hunter’s Blood Gallery forum—nicknamed “HunBul-Gal”—that appeared right after the game’s release, all the trending posts were from people who couldn’t even reach the grim ending I had.

[Title: They made this game absolute garbage]

[Title: Why P-Gura is Korea’s representative game]

[Title: Anyone know how to access the Japan route instead of Korea?]

[Title: I’m gonna kill that bitch Lee Sujin]

[Title: Hold me, Hunter]

Humans naturally find comfort in looking down on those worse off than themselves.

I realized this while creating my 39th character, reading posts from people who couldn’t even reach an ending.

There’s always someone lower than the lowest.

“Now, what kind of Hunter should I build this time…”

I’ve already raised so many Hunters:

Shadow Hunter.

Assassin Hunter.

Mage Hunter.

Beast Hunter.

Cleric Hunter.

Gunner Hunter.

Avenger Hunter.

Lance Hunter.

Archer Hunter.

Sculptor Hunter.

Equipment-focused Hunter, and so on.

This Hunter, that Hunter, all kinds of Hunters combined…

“Huh?”

It seemed I had finally played through all the classes available since the game’s initial release.

“Hmm… so I have to repeat?”

A second playthrough would be one thing.

But starting from scratch with the same class would be boring. Like going from fully aroused to completely deflated.

Classic trash game problem.

The “what now?” feeling just one month after release. While browsing the forum to see if any new DLC had been released:

[Title: Found hidden class code]

“…What?”

Zero upvotes, zero comments.

It looked like clickbait, but I was intrigued enough to click on it.

[Method is super simple. Just press up-up-down-down-left-right-left and space.]

“…Does this idiot think this game is Tekken or something?”

I immediately downvoted the post that was asking me to input fighting game combos on my keyboard.

“…I’ll try it anyway.”

Click-clack-click.

It was just pressing a few keys, so I decided to humor it. Then, making me regret my downvote, a system window I’d never seen before appeared on the game’s title screen.

[Command input complete]

[Special Class: Kaijufication Hunter is now available to play!]

“Whoa!”

Forum browsing truly is essential education for gamers.

“So this is the Kaijufication Hunter?”

I carefully examined the information about the Kaijufication Hunter that had newly appeared at the bottom of the character creation screen.

—–

Class: Kaijufication Hunter

Strength: 1/20

Endurance: 1/20

Agility: 1/20

Magic: 1/20

Skill: 1/20

Ability: Kaijufication (Unique)

Advantage: When using Kaijufication, all stats can increase by up to +18.

Disadvantages: When Kaijufied, you become a target for extermination by Hunters; Cannot use skills other than Kaijufication; Cannot equip special equipment; Stat growth rate 0.01x; Very high chance of international manhunt if identity is discovered by humans while Kaijufied.

—–

“Wow…”

The starting stats were extremely low.

Even the “Beggar Hunter,” known as the pick for veteran players, started with stats of 2, but this was even worse.

Plus, I’d never seen such a long list of disadvantages for any other class.

At most, other classes had simple disadvantages like “vulnerable to bleeding” or “no ranged attacks.” Indeed, there’s always a lower bottom.

Growth rate designed to prevent leveling up, no equipment or skills to compensate for low stats, and even Hunters who normally fight monsters become your enemies. A truly cursed existence.

“…This sounds incredibly fun!”

Wow, seriously.

WOW!

Why did I only discover this content now?

Despite the numerous disadvantages, I gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the Kaijufication Hunter’s single advantage, clapping my hands in excitement.

All stats increasing by up to 18 points.

Among the 38 Hunters I’d raised so far, the one with the highest stats, “WannaSuckMommysMilkers,” only had a maximum stat of 14 at the ending.

And that was just one out of five stats.

But all stats potentially reaching 19?

This might actually work.

With this Kaijufication Hunter, I might finally be able to see the happy ending of “Hunter’s Blood” that even a veteran like me hadn’t witnessed yet.

With that thought, I immediately created a Kaijufication Hunter.

[Please set a name.]

[Warning! Warning!]

[Names cannot be changed later, so please choose carefully.]

[Human name: …]

[Monster name: …]

Fitting for a Kaijufication Hunter, there were separate fields for human and monster names.

“I’m going to take this seriously this time…”

Click-clack.

[Human name: Han Shinwoo]

I entered my real name in the human name field.

After thinking for a moment about the monster name:

Click-clack.

[Monster name: Urogal]

I entered the name of my favorite protagonist from another monster manga.

“Great. Now to create…”

I’d selected the class, entered the names, and it was time to start the game.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, my head felt dizzy. A wave of fatigue washed over me.

Come to think of it, how many days had I gone without sleep?

My forehead hit the keyboard with a thud.

There was a strange metallic smell entering my nostrils. What was it?

Something warm seemed to be trickling down, but I couldn’t tell what.

My body wasn’t functioning normally enough to figure it out.

“This isn’t good…”

I felt like something terrible would happen if I fell asleep like this.

I wanted to at least make it to my bed, but I couldn’t fight the heaviness of my eyelids.

***

Whoosh.

“Mmm…”

Whoooosh.

“Cold…”

I thought I was going to eternal rest, but surprisingly, when evening came, I woke up refreshed by the night breeze coming through the window I’d left open for ventilation.

“Ah. Slept well.”

What time was it now?

Looking out the window of my small studio apartment, I saw a bright full moon in the sky.

It was a beautiful sight, both realistic and exaggerated, like game graphics.

“Oh… photo time.”

Thinking it would make a great forum post with some strategy tips, I reached for my phone in my pocket.

But something felt off.

“Huh?”

Fumble, fumble.

When I put my hand on my waist, I felt a hard shell-like surface. It felt like touching the untreated skin of a live alligator.

That wasn’t all.

“Did I… sleep without pants?”

The other side of my waist, my legs below, and even my chest and shoulders all felt hard, as if covered in armor.

This wasn’t the kind of firmness you get from working out. It was a completely different level of hardness. It was definitely my body, but it didn’t feel like a human body.

Feeling uneasy, I swallowed hard and slowly walked toward the window.

I closed the window and met my reflection in the glass.

A face like a skull mask.

Piercing red pupils visible through slits and sharp eyes.

And a jet-black armor-like body covering me from head to toe.

Cosplay? …It felt too realistic for that.

As I touched my skin in a daze, I realized this wasn’t decoration but my actual body.

“Is this… me?”

I wanted to play as a Kaijufication Hunter, not become one myself.

As I sighed in confusion, wondering whether the game had possessed me or I had been transported into the game:

Click.

“Huh?”

As if things weren’t chaotic enough.

Suddenly, harsh propeller sounds filled the air as bright lights surrounded me from beyond the window.

This was the 10th floor.

A helicopter rose to my window in an instant, and its door opened. Inside was a machine gun too heavy to be aimed at a human.

It looked similar to the monster-targeting guns I’d seen in the game… no, they were exactly the same.

But why were they pointing them at me?

As a veteran player of the original game, I immediately understood why.

Disadvantage: When Kaijufied, you become a target for extermination by Hunters.

It seems I’ve become an extermination target.