Chapter 1: 100 men vs. one gorilla

“Hmm… This is a dilemma.”

I was currently facing the biggest dilemma of my life.

Perhaps no one could easily find an answer.

“Who would win between 100 unarmed men and 1 gorilla?”

Sigh.

It seemed like the men would win since there were 100 of them, but thinking about the gorilla’s muscles, the outcome might be different.

If about 40 men sacrificed themselves to get close and poke its eyes or something, the 100 men might be able to win.

But then again, if the gorilla grabbed one man and swung him around like a human-calibur, the result might change again.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Having reached the truth that I couldn’t come to a conclusion, I tossed my phone aside.

And then I threw myself onto the fluffy bed with a flop.

My flowing hair got caught under my back, which felt uncomfortable.

‘Ah, it’s so annoying.’

I had no choice but to sit up to fix my hair.

Hair that flowed down like soft silk.

After arranging my hair to what I thought was an acceptable degree, I turned my head and noticed a hand mirror on the desk.

And in it, a beautiful woman with long black hair and red eyes was reflected.

As I faced the woman in the mirror, a familiar yet alien feeling washed over me.

‘It’s already been a year.’

It had been a year since I started living in this body.

To think that I, who was once a healthy adult man, had become such a beautiful woman.

At first, I couldn’t accept it at all, but now I’ve grown so accustomed to this body that it feels like my own.

‘Well, to be precise, it is my body…’

If I had to pick one reason for this, it would undoubtedly be the final battle with the Demon King a year ago.

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S-class Hunter Kim Yeonwoo, also known as Haerang (Sea Wolf).

The world’s greatest Hunter, and the last remaining Hunter.

All of those were terms used to describe me.

“Haerang!!!!!!”

“You don’t have to shout so loudly; I can hear you. I’m right in front of you.”

“If it weren’t for you!!!! If only it weren’t for you!!!!!”

“You really don’t listen, do you?”

The Demon King, wailing while shedding tears of blood.

Thanks to him, my ears started to hurt, and I had no choice but to pick my ear with my pinky finger.

What powerful lungs he has.

Even if I killed all his subordinates, defeated his Four Heavenly Kings, and half-destroyed his Demon King’s Castle, was there really a need to scream like that?

And he seemed more talented in sound magic than dark magic; I wondered if he’d chosen the wrong career path.

The Demon King, still shedding tears of blood, enveloped himself in darkness and lunged at me.

‘He’s fast, but…’

To me, he was far too slow.

I blocked his incoming fist with my left hand and then used my right hand to slam him into the ground.

CRASH!

The darkness gathered around his face dispersed as the Demon King vomited blood.

I pressed down on his face with one foot.

‘Ha, this is the Demon King?’

Looking at the Demon King lying like an insect beneath my foot, I couldn’t hide my sense of futility.

To think the world was destroyed because of a bstard like this.

It was so absurd I could only let out an empty laugh.

A world of nothing but ruins, swept over by Gates.

Every time I closed my eyes, that scene flashed past like a nightmare.

Colleagues, friends, lovers—

The images of them falling one by one became nightmares that tormented me every night.

“Yeonwoo. You are our last hope.”

My comrades who said that as they burned themselves away.

I would never forget their final moments for the rest of my life.

But the Demon King who dragged us into that hell was merely this much?

This b*stard who couldn’t even handle me alone and was crawling on the floor?

My anger was already uncontrollable.

Just like that, I put strength into my foot, intending to crush his head.

“Kuaaaaargh!!”

The Demon King writhed in agony.

If possible, I wanted to tear his limbs apart over and over, but it was a pity that it wasn’t feasible.

Crack.

An ominous sound came from the Demon King’s forehead as it cracked like splitting ice.

And then.

SPLAT!!

His head burst like a watermelon.

It was an anticlimactic end for the one who destroyed the world.

“Is it… finally over?”

It had been a long time.

Gates, monsters, and war.

In the end, I was the final victor.

‘Though, what meaning is there when all of humanity is already dead…’

I slumped down on a nearby rock and slowly began to catch my breath.

“What should I do now…”

A sense of hopelessness filled me.

Just then.

“Haerang!!!”

I heard the voice of the Demon King, whom I thought was dead.

At the silhouette that appeared with hazy smoke, I reflexively raised my weapon.

As expected of the Demon King.

To think he was still alive even after his head exploded.

I gripped the weapon in my hand tightly, preparing for the final, final battle.

“I hate you!!! If it weren’t for you, we could have easily conquered this world!!!”

How absurd.

Does the perpetrator usually say that to the victim?

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You’re the ones who invaded first, so cut the bullsh*t. And you already said that earlier, didn’t you?”

“I curse you! I will burn every last fragment of my soul to curse you! An eternal, undying curse will bind you, trapping you in suffering for your entire life! No one will remember you, and no one will recognize you! Everything you have built up until now will turn to nothingness, and in that despair, you will ultimately suffer!!!!”

“Everyone but me is already dead, you b*stard.”

“Uwaaaaargh!!”

A dark light burst forth with the Demon King’s scream.

“Kugh.”

I reflexively covered my eyes with my arm against the surging light.

The light gushing out swallowed me whole.

When I opened my eyes.

“Where… am I…?”

I could only stare blankly at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

Before everything was destroyed.

The scenery from when the world was still intact was spread out before me so vividly, as if time had been turned back.

I couldn’t help but falter for a moment from the shock.

But I soon became convinced that the Demon King had cast a curse on me to see illusions.

If so, there was only one way to wake up.

I climbed onto a bridge and, without hesitation, threw myself off.

Because the easiest way to break free from an illusion was to inflict a strong shock.

Having fallen to the ground like that, I naturally expected to wake up from the illusion.

‘It’s not breaking?’

I was bewildered that the illusion didn’t break even after receiving an impact strong enough to crack the ground.

It seemed the Demon King’s curse was more powerful than I thought.

Thinking that once or twice wouldn’t be enough, I threw myself off the bridge several more times.

As the repeated impacts gradually created a human-shaped crater in the road.

Weeoo weeoo-

Hearing police sirens nearby, I had no choice but to quickly leave the scene.

‘What is this? Why am I not waking up from the illusion?’

No matter how strong the illusion, it should have broken after this much repeated shock.

While fleeing with such doubts, I couldn’t help but stop abruptly at my reflection in a windowpane.

‘What the…’

The robust young man was gone, and in his place was a woman about 165cm tall.

Soft black hair that seemed like obsidian spun into threads.

Beautifully shining red eyes, like embedded jewels.

And sinfully alluring lips.

Wondering if this too was an illusion, I pinched my cheek, but only felt a soft, mochi-like texture.

‘F*ck… what is this…’

It was only later that I realized this place wasn’t an illusion, but actual reality.

The reality of a ‘Parallel World,’ at that.

A world so peaceful it was unbelievable, with no Gates, no monsters, no Hunters, and no Mana.

And in it, I was living not as a robust man, but as a delicate woman.

‘To be precise, the ‘me’ of this world-line was a ‘woman’ from the very beginning.’

Among the Demon King’s curses, there was the line, ‘No one will remember you, and no one will recognize you! Everything you have built up until now will turn to nothingness, and in that despair, you will ultimately suffer!!!!’

I never imagined it would mean something like this.

A forced gender swap, of all things.

(TL Note: TS refers to transsexual, implying a gender swap.)

Still, thankfully, perhaps due to my experience clearing numerous Gates, I was able to accept this absurd reality faster than I expected.

‘I’ve been through so much, after all…’

This is a peaceful world where there’s no need to fight, and no need for anyone else to die.

I was worried that Gates might open again.

But the time when the first Gate appeared in my previous world had long since passed.

This was truly a timeline where Gates didn’t open!

And I…

After 15 years, I could finally lay down the burden in my heart.

Unlike the Hunter me, the ‘me’ in this world was an ordinary office worker.

I quit my job without hesitation.

I’d lived my life breaking my back to save the world, so now I wanted to rest a bit.

Fortunately, it seemed my previous self had lived much more meticulously than I did, as there was a decent amount of money in my bank account.

‘Most importantly, I’ve become younger too.’

The ‘me’ here is 25, not 35.

Lighter in body and mind, I could start my second life.

As an unemployed person.

For reference, when I saw the news report about a human-shaped crater found in the road, I was so shocked I almost spat out the milk I was drinking.

‘If I had known this place was real, I wouldn’t have done that.’

In the end, for a year, I lived like a hikikomori, just eating, sleeping, and scratching my belly at home.

However.

‘I’m bored…’

I felt like I was dying of boredom.

It wasn’t something I wanted, but my brain, which had been steeped in combat for 15 years, was completely pickled in dopamine.

It was quiet for a year, more or less, but now it started to struggle, seeking dopamine.

More, more dopamine!!

My body had become unable to endure without it.

So I tried various things, but they were all useless.

There was nothing in this world that could give me as much dopamine as combat.

Moreover, perhaps because I had transmigrated to this world, even in this ordinary human world without Mana, I still possessed physical abilities ‘beyond human.’

Things like exercise couldn’t even make my heart beat properly.

Just as I was wondering what to do—

“Nyua!!!”

A cute sound came from beside me.

When I turned my head, Nyua, the spirit who came to this world with me, was there, engrossed in a phone, bobbing along.

Bopping bopping!

The sight of the black, ball-shaped creature riding the rhythm was cute in many ways.

“What are you watching so intently?”

“Nyuaaat!!”

“A game stream, you say?”

Come to think of it, I’d mostly been thinking about physical activities, so I hadn’t considered gaming.

Would it be fun?

Intrigued by Nyua’s reaction, I gently pushed Nyua aside with my hand and peered at the phone screen.

Of course.

“Nyuat?!”

Poke.

Poke.

Nyua, angry at being suddenly pushed away, poking me from the side was just a minor incident.