"..."
Did he just awaken as a Hunter?
[Correct. The user has just awakened as a Hunter.]
Wait, what rank was it again?
[S-Rank Archer.]
S-Rank?
Min-jun sat there completely speechless. He had never in a million years expected to awaken, let alone hit the absolute jackpot as an S-Rank.
If he lived in a massive country like the United States or China, an S-Rank popping up might just be standard breaking news. But in South Korea? It was incredibly rare. Korea originally had ten S-Rank Hunters, but only six were still alive; the other four had died in action.
Worse, South Korea was internationally famous for having some of the weakest S-Ranks in the world. They were the only country to actually lose a massive chunk of their land—Jeju Island—to an S-Rank Gate. Because of that disaster, foreign Hunter communities basically looked at Korea as a total joke.
So, what happens when a brand new S-Rank suddenly wakes up in Seoul?
Would he be a good patriot and work for the government?
Yeah, right!
He had absolutely no desire to be a "hero" or a government lapdog, getting manipulated into risking his life for something as useless as "honor." Besides, the perks were awful. Government Hunters were basically just glorified civil servants. They got paid peanuts compared to the massive private Guilds, and their main job was cleaning up the deadly, unprofitable messes the rich Guilds refused to touch.
Unlike the actual main character of this world, Sung Jin-woo—who occasionally wavered when politicians begged him to fight for his country—Min-jun wouldn't hesitate to say no. He didn't hate his country, but there were plenty of other ways to help out that didn't involve taking orders from incompetent politicians.
He took a deep breath, his mind racing. His path to real wealth and freedom was finally wide open. He didn't have to stress over tuition or corporate desk jobs anymore. He could finally rest!
...Well, no. He couldn't really rest. As an S-Rank, he would instantly become a frontline fighter.
But he could worry about all that later. Right now, he needed to get a grip on reality. Sure, being an S-Rank sounded amazing to a normal person, but Min-jun actually knew the hidden plot of this world.
In the grand scheme of things, an S-Rank Hunter was just a slightly bigger ant. The terrifying, god-like beings who actually controlled this universe could practically rewind time like it was a video game. To those higher beings, Earth was just a playground, and human lives meant absolutely nothing.
"Thank god I study psychology..." Min-jun muttered, rubbing his temples. If he didn't have a solid grasp on how to manage stress and mental trauma, the sheer, crushing reality of his situation would have definitely given him a panic attack.
Regardless, sitting in front of a live webcam glowing like a blue glowstick was a bad idea.
As the blinding light of his Awakening slowly faded, Min-jun looked directly into the camera, calmly adjusted his glasses, and sighed.
"Well, it seems I have awakened as a Hunter," he said, his voice completely deadpan. "I have a psychology midterm tomorrow morning, so I'm going to end the stream here. Don't forget to like and subscribe."
Click.
He turned off the stream, completely ignoring the absolute nuclear meltdown happening in his live chat.
His phone instantly started vibrating off the desk as his inbox exploded with messages, but he just flipped the switch to 'Do Not Disturb' and tossed it onto his bed.
Most newly awakened Hunters would freak out, call their parents, or immediately dial the Hunter Association. But Min-jun was playing a different game. He knew exactly how rare and valuable an S-Rank was. By instantly going dark and making himself impossible to reach, he was going to drive the massive Guild Masters and government officials absolutely insane. He wasn't going to act like a desperate rookie begging for a contract; he was going to act like a king who couldn't be bothered.
But honestly? He mostly just ignored his phone because he wanted some peace and quiet to test out the Manager and figure out his new life plan.
Only—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Someone hammered frantically on his apartment door.
"Oppa! Oppa! Min-jun Oppa! Are you okay?!"
"Min-jun! Did you just Awaken?!"
"...."
Min-jun sighed. He knew his next-door neighbors were just worried about him, but he really needed a minute to breathe.
"I'm fine, Jinah! I'm fine, Hyung!" Min-jun called through the door. "I just need some time to myself right now. My mana is unstable, so it's a bit dangerous to be near me. I promise I'm okay!"
"But Oppa!"
In the hallway, Sung Jinah looked up at her older brother, her eyes watering. She was terrified and hoped Jin-woo would do something.
But Sung Jin-woo just stood there, staring at Min-jun's door. Even though Jin-woo was currently known as the "Weakest Hunter in the World," he knew exactly what a high-ranking Hunter felt like. The sheer, suffocating pressure leaking through Min-jun's door was on a completely different level than anything he had ever felt.
Whenever Jin-woo met high-ranking Hunters, he usually had to keep his head down. While he didn't think his smart, quiet neighbor would suddenly turn into an arrogant jerk, Jin-woo understood why Min-jun was locking them out. It was his way of protecting them. If a newly awakened S-Rank accidentally lost control of their powers, they could easily crush a normal human just by standing too close. Min-jun would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt them.
Besides, Jin-woo knew that Min-jun was much smarter than him. He decided to trust the younger guy.
"Min-jun, if you need anything at all, just call us, okay?" Jin-woo yelled back.
"Thanks, Hyung. I'll be fine by tomorrow morning. Let me just calm down first. You two should go get some sleep!"
Min-jun smiled faintly. He was a little surprised the Sung siblings were still awake at 3:00 AM, but he appreciated that they cared.
"You heard him, Jinah. You know how smart he is. Let's just trust him," Jin-woo said gently, steering his sister back toward their own door.
"But, Oppa..."
"His power right now..." Jin-woo murmured, a rare flash of inferiority crossing his face. "It feels way beyond any Hunter I've ever met. He probably knows he can't control it perfectly yet. He's just scared of hurting us. Let's give him the night to figure it out."
"Okay..." Jinah agreed reluctantly. She knew she was just a normal high schooler and couldn't actually help, but seeing Min-jun suddenly become this untouchable superhuman made her feel like he was slipping far away into a different world.
Back inside his room, with the apartment finally quiet, Min-jun sat down on his bed to analyze his new reality.
He didn't really care that his class was an Archer. In this world, as long as your raw stats were high enough, your specific class didn't matter. You just punched through your problems.
Being a Hunter simply meant his body had forcibly evolved to handle "Mana." Mana was the magical energy leaking into Earth from the mysterious portals and dungeons that kept appearing all over the globe.
But why did he specifically Awaken as an S-Rank?
He looked up at the ceiling. "Hey, Manager. Was this your doing?"
[Affirmative. In order to properly optimize the user's life, and considering the most efficient path for long-term survival, it was heavily advised that the user become as strong as physically possible.]
"..."
Min-jun rubbed his face.
Well, the upgrade was definitely appreciated. But staying low-key and flying under the radar? Yeah, that was going to be completely impossible from now on.