episode_0001

The first episode is basically a background explanation.

That’s the rule of web novels.

anyway.

Republic of Korea at an unknown time.

The world has turned upside down.

It was because of the strange buildings that reports started coming in from all over the country at some point.

There was no warning, no foreshadowing.

The strange buildings suddenly appeared as if they had always been there.

But did the existence of the building distort people’s consciousness? People who originally lived in the area did not even know when the building was built.

No, I thought it was like that from the beginning.

That’s why no one felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Until someone pointed it out.

And that point was made by none other than foreigners.

People who are visiting the area for the first time or for the first time in a long time.

Ironically, they were unaware of the buildings that were built in the area where they lived, but instead recognized and pointed out buildings in other areas.

Only then did people feel uncomfortable.

I’m talking about the feeling of discomfort when you find out one day that an object that was always there in your house is something that no one ever brought.

Something seems strange.

Why is this here all of a sudden?

And finally.

I’m scared.

The more fearful a person is, the more likely he is to cling to something.

A child to his parents, a citizen to his king, and a religious person to his god.

And those who belong to the Republic of Korea clung to their own country.

In a short period of time, numerous reports were received.

In fact, if you think about it, the number of those strange buildings was not that many.

However, even in one building, there are situations where numerous callers report to different locations multiple times.

As a result, numerous reports were received at various government offices, paralyzing their work.

If we had responded appropriately and identified the material at this time, things would have been completely different from now.

However, due to the nature of government offices, if there is even the slightest relevance, they simply transfer it to another place or bury it.

As a result, it was ‘slightly’ late to identify the locations of the buildings in time.

It may be unfair to point out that it is a little late.

It’s a very valid opinion.

In the midst of all this confusion, one could even say that it deserves praise.

However, if the price paid is so high, all blame and responsibility tends to fall on those who are clearly at fault.

***

The buildings varied in size, but they all had something in common.

A square building with a circular hole in the middle, like a donut.

Strictly speaking, it could be seen as similar to the Arc de Triomphe with slightly thinner pillars.

And then one day, suddenly, a blue light began to glow from the circular openings in some buildings.

What emerged from there were various beings that you would only see in fantasy.

Elves, dwarves, beastmen, etc.

The appearance of new beings had a greater impact on the world than when the existence of buildings was first noticed.

There were large and small armed conflicts in the beginning, but as is the case with all things in life, it was able to end with appropriate negotiations and active exchanges.

It was later confirmed that the building was a kind of door or passageway connecting to another dimension.

And the government called it a gate, and its existence became a part of everyday life.

The National Institute of the Korean Language suggested the words “transfer gate” and “chaewon gate,” but in order to avoid confusion since similar cases have occurred in other countries, it was only a minor incident called “gate.”

Before long, people began to get used to the current appearance.

That’s why I was complacent.

Drunk on the poison of familiarity, I forgot the existence of the gate that was not yet in operation.

This time, out of the blue, the remaining gates that had not been working began to flash red.

And what came out of that was.

They were completely different from any other beings I had ever met.

Monsters that attack people without warning, only doing destruction, and are completely incapable of communication.

Their types were diverse and their number was even greater, from animal-like shapes to unknown amorphous forms.

These days, it is a being called a monster or a monster.

The beginning wasn’t bad.

Since firearms were effective, the military was initially deployed to wipe them out, which had good results.

Because there’s no better target than enemies who just rush in with ignorance.

But as time went on, things started to get stranger.

A being that avoids the military and hunts only civilians.

A being that attempts to defeat each enemy individually by assassinating them using terrain features.

Beings that perform human-like tactics, etc.

With the appearance of intelligent beings, a fight that was thought to end with a proper slaughter quickly results in enormous damage.

Only then did the government quickly proceed with and complete the investigation into the whereabouts of the gates, but as mentioned earlier, it was ‘a bit’ late.

The damage has already reached an uncontrollable level.

In the end, if you had arms or legs, you were unconditionally conscripted, and even if you were missing one or two limbs, you were sent in without any problems to carry out the operation.

This cannot but be a truly incompetent decision.

And the decisions of incompetent higher-ups only result in the suffering of innocent people.

As a result, the population began to decline dramatically.

***

Just wait.

This is not the introduction to the apocalypse.

I didn’t realize the first part would be over 1800 characters. Seriously. I’m sorry.

Anyway, from the time the monsters appeared, people began to change little by little.

As fantasy-like creatures appeared, equally fantasy-like things happened to people.

Some, if not all, people suddenly began to develop abilities.

Representative examples include the abilities of ignition, freezing, and acceleration, which are common in creative media.

These are abilities that everyone dreams of having at least once, but not everyone gets the abilities they want.

The arms can be moved freely, and fingernails and toenails grow quickly.

It was a situation where the saying that life is a game of luck where you can’t reset was exactly right.

As a result, the situation was reversed again thanks to the active monster hunting through the joining of those with such abilities.

The origin of the term “hunter” is that people who actively hunt monsters are called hunters.

Anyway, thanks to the hunters’ efforts, there are still monsters, but unlike before, the situation is somewhat peaceful.

And as peace sprouts, people begin to turn their eyes to other things.

A representative example is discrimination based on differences.

The difference in the presence or absence of ability is the discrimination between the capable and the incapable.

Among those with abilities, there is discrimination between those with abilities due to differences in strength and weakness.

For hunters, it was worse than this, if not worse.

They differentiated themselves from others by using the word “hunter”, and they gathered together to establish the Hunter Association.

And even within that, discrimination and lining up between each other continued, and in the end, the lining up was finished by putting up signs called ranks.

And the sign was borrowed from the ratings of the most popular games.

Iron, copper, silver, gold, and platinum.

This was the starting point for the greeting, “So, where’s your tier?” to spread among the hunters.

***

Areas chosen by the gates connected to other dimensions show quite different sights.

The gates through which monsters emerge have naturally been destroyed, and the only ones left are those that allow communication with other dimensions.

That rarity alone is enough to create a distinctive character and attract people, which in turn leads to the development of commerce.

A representative example is Nonsan Training Center.

Fucking scarcity created a fucking commercial district.

Anyway, most of the people who gather in the gated area are hunters who have permission to go in and out of the gate.

And in such gates, a lifestyle that is different from that of other regions is shown.

A simple example would be obtaining an extremely rare weapon that is only available in another dimension.

“Aren’t there still idiots who haven’t bought a magic sword from a dwarf?”

“……Get out of here you piece of shit. That’s just uranium.”

“The word ‘magic sword’ is correct because it is definitely used to manipulate users.”

It’s like the development of shade.

“Rabbit window is awesome. You can chew it in 3 seconds.”

“You little shit.”

“Call me a speedster.”

“I think he is better than the ace elf singer with 300 years of experience.”

“Mommy, this kid has really good taste.”

Of course, there are not only good things.

Didn’t you say that there’s a fucking commercial district in Nonsan Training Center too?

There is no difference.

“This is…food?”

“Nimi…Where did our 200-year-old traditional Chinese elf chef go?”

“I was deported because of the Self-Employment Protection Act.”

“This chicken is so undercooked, if I blitz it, it’ll come back to life, fucking shit.”

Although it was a relatively peaceful time, wounds tend to leave large scars.

In proportion to the shrinking population, the power to defend the country was woefully inadequate.

Hunters belonging to Korea could be used as reserves in times of emergency, but most people who had the ability preferred general occupations over hunters.

Because life is more precious than anything else.

Because of this, in the early stages there was a shortage of hunters.

The current situation is that he has lost a lot of support due to his past incompetent actions, and has lost some of his shares to the Hunter Association.

A solution was needed.

That’s why the government throws out two baits.

One was that it gave enormous benefits to hunters.

It’s such an outrageous benefit that you’d think, ‘Is this worth risking your life for?’

The other is to run a professional training institution with an irresistible reward.

On the surface, they put forward things like job diversity, but in reality, they wanted to raise hunting dogs whose job was fighting.

This is the beginning of a state-run Hunter Academy.

The era of the Hunter has begun.

***

The abyss in my head speaks.

Kill that bastard.

“I’m a hunter starting today.”

“Why would a hunter do that, you crazy bastard.”

“To break your head. Your life’s work? You piece of shit?”

“You won’t forget it in your life, right?”

The old man kept giggling, saying it was funny.

But does laughing make your head break?

no.

I have to break it with my own hands.

“Anyway, please keep this in mind. Take care of your head.”

“Shall I give you one more? This time it’s a real masterpiece.”

“I’m behind, really.”

At the time, I was in the second year of middle school.

It’s a point where words carry no weight at all.

So, no matter what decision you make, most of the time it won’t be considered sincere.

But if that statement is consistent up until the point of entering high school, then it can be seen that you have entered the realm of sincerity.

“Are you really going to do a stupid job like a hunter? You’re going to the academy too?”

“Free tuition, no military service. Conditions are over.”

“Don’t go. You’ll fall behind right after you graduate, really.”

I knew this would happen, so I prepared a comment.

But the old man was a little faster.

“‘As long as it’s not me!!’ This won’t work.”

“What is it? Give me back my lines.”

“Hey, these days, college tuition isn’t expensive.”

“But…”

“But what.”

I looked straight at the old man and said.

“But… Oni-chan… I have to break your head.”

“Isn’t it time to move on now?”

“Fuck, I’m still suffering.”

Should I kill you, Master?

Hold on. HAL inside me.

“Well, it was a masterpiece that will remain in my memory for a long time.”

“I’ve never even seen you, you piece of shit!!”

“……I already know everything.”

The old man suddenly looked haggard and continued speaking.

“Let’s say you went to the academy. Do you have any skills or tiers?”

“Just go and get it.”

“Can I get mutual aid insurance? The recipient is me.”

That was the end of the conversation that day.

But every time the old man saw me, he would ask for my opinion and keep nagging me.

Of course, the seeds didn’t work either.

Because every time I thought about following the old man’s words, an abyss came to mind.

Eventually, the old man gave up and made another offer.

“Okay, if you want to go, then go. But at least I won’t let you die.”

“Wow… I really respect you for the first time.”

“If you die, it’ll be a bit weird to eat side dishes at your house.”

“개새끼가, 진짜.”

The old man said as he returned to his house.

“First, eat and come to the gym/training center behind the large mart.”

“You won’t be able to get in because you haven’t registered at the gym there.”

Suddenly, it was a man who showed me a card the size of an ID card between his index and middle fingers from his wallet.

“You can go because you have a certificate.”

“…You didn’t return it? You said you retired. ”

“Show this and they’ll give you a discount at the store. It’s super sweet.”

I quickly ate dinner and went to where the old man told me to go.

As it happened, the old man was holding his license up to the training ground’s entrance.

The door opened with a small notification.

“It really works. This is my first time using it since I retired”

“No, I came without a plan if it didn’t work out.”

The old man scratched his head and spoke sheepishly.

“I was going to grab someone I knew and ask them to open it for me.”

“You don’t seem to have any friends, but how many people do you know?”

” It’s a fuck.

As soon as the door opened, numerous exercise machines and measuring devices caught my eye, probably because it was clearly a place used as a gym and training center.

Of course, since we didn’t come to work out, we went straight to the training hall.

The old man who arrived at the training ground started operating a strange machine.

When I went closer to look, the following phrase appeared.

『Please set the location, time limit, and equipment.』

And the old man was operating the machine very naturally and entering the settings.

He was the first old man to show himself as a hunter.

『Location: Default』

『Time Limit: Unlimited』

『Equipment: All』

After all inputs were completed, a slight loud noise was heard and a guidance voice began to flow out.

『Physical damage in the relevant training arena does not affect reality.』

『However, the mental damage will persist, so please be careful when sparring.』

『Please enjoy the match while following the rules and manners.』

The background of the training ground had not changed, and the left corner of the training ground was now filled with weapons.

There the old man pulled out two wooden swords and handed one of them to me.

“Good news and better news. What’s good?”

“Good news first.”

“I will teach you myself.”

Then, all of a sudden, an old man was swinging a wooden sword in the air.

Somehow that sound sounded especially uneasy today.

“……Fuck, doesn’t that mean you’re just going to get beat up?”

“Hey, where can you find a one-on-one lecture like this? Normally, you wouldn’t do it even if I got on my knees and begged.”

“Then what’s the better news?”

At that moment, the wooden sword that the old man was swinging stopped.

“The fact that I can learn every day. Wow! It’s so great!”

“……Should I quit being a hunter?”

“It’s too late. You don’t have a girlfriend anyway. I’m going to drag you around every day, so don’t even think about running away.”

“I like obsessive black-haired women, obsessive old men are shit.”

But I’m still a minor.

That means you’re not an adult.

So, if anything happens, you have your parents as a shield.

“Oh, and your parents asked you to take good care of them.”

“What the fuck?”

“Thanks to you, I got the pork cutlet today.”

“This is fucked up.”

It doesn’t exist anymore.

The old man, who had been moving his body around as if he had just finished stretching, grabbed the wooden sword.

And then he came running towards me with a dirtier smile than ever before.

“So. Let’s get it right first.”

That day, only screams, groans, and cries for help echoed through the training grounds.

Of course, it all came out of my mouth.

And that day, I received three broken wooden swords.