[Blood Truth] doesn't work on the dead.

What I initially saw as a limitation or drawback of the ability turned out to be a useful feature for determining whether an opponent was truly dead or not.

If drinking their blood triggers a skill, it means they're still alive.

'I've drunk quite a bit, but that skill hasn't shown up yet.'

[Minor Strength Increase]

[Minor Agility Increase]

[Hunting Instinct]

...

As I was directly feeding from the wound, quickly accumulating skills due to the substantial amount of blood consumed, the one I was hoping for hadn't appeared yet.

Given the Silver Wolf's primary advantages were its speed and physical defense thanks to its dense fur, I was expecting 'that' skill to show up...

Ding!

[Medium Physical Resistance]

'There it is! Finally!'

Having consumed a significant amount of blood, I had copied most of the Silver Wolf's skills. I was growing anxious for the most important one when it finally appeared.

Resistance skills are always beneficial, with medium and above offering substantial efficiency.

With medium physical resistance, bullets would likely not pierce me, as seen earlier, and high resistance could probably leave me unscathed even from a plane crash.

"Ahem, excuse me."

I had learned over the past five years that it's best not to be seen openly consuming monster blood, otherwise I would've just placed my mouth on the wound and sucked directly, possibly achieving [Complete Replication] by now.

So, trying to be discreet, I faced away from the hunters, pretending to examine the Silver Wolf, which seemed to keep their suspicions at bay.

The woman's large Fireball had driven civilians and even police officers away, leaving just the two hunters to watch for. No one else would notice me consuming the Silver Wolf's blood.

As the woman approached, I quickly wiped my blood-stained mouth and turned around.

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Thanks for finishing it off, but this kill is ours. You're not trying to claim it just because you dealt the last blow, are you?"

In Rayon, a monster's corpse could be sold for a high price. This Silver Wolf's fur could be made into excellent armor, so it's natural they'd be protective.

"Of course."

I had no interest in a dead body. It wasn't my kill, and I had gotten the blood I needed, so if anything, I was grateful.

"Haha, thank you. Oh... I'm Hong Sun-young, and this is Ju Wan-ho."

They introduced themselves, evidently inviting me to share my name as well.

"Hello. My name is Sky Chan."

"Nice to meet you. Sky Chan, can I call you that? What's your ability?"

While Hong Sun-young's greeting felt genuine, Ju Wan-ho seemed more cautious of me.

Thud, thud.

Someone approached our group.

"Were you a Hunter? If you had just said so earlier, there wouldn't have been any misunderstanding... I'm sorry."

It was the officer who had interrogated me, his demeanor completely changed. It seemed he now mistook me for a Hunter, likely because I hadn't fled from the monster and had even contributed to the fight, not to mention my friendly interaction with the other hunters.

His apology gave me a glimpse of the respect Hunters receive here—.

"No need to deny it, I suppose."

"It's okay."

I accepted his apology with a friendly smile, navigating the awkward situation with ease.

Just then, the sound of a ringing phone pierced the air.

Hong Sun-young frowned and looked annoyed, but the call was for Ju Wan-ho.

"Yes, we've handled it. We'll take care of the body..."

"Oh, they always have to check in by phone, can't they just trust us to report back?"

Hong Sun-young grumbled, but since it didn't really concern me, I was just looking for a polite way to excuse myself and leave.

"Yes, I'm right here with them. Yes, yes, we'll return together shortly."

After Ju Wan-ho ended the call, Hong Sun-young eagerly asked,

"What did they say? We need to head back soon?"

"Yeah."

"Ugh, they're so impatient."

"Well, aside from being a bit hasty, they're decent folks."

"Even so, I don't like being rushed like this!"

Their discussion seemed irrelevant to me, so I prepared to slip away.

"Sky Chan?"

"Yes?"

Hong Sun-young stopped me as I was about to leave.

"Would you like to come with us? We'll keep the body, but we can share some of the points with you?"

Points? It sounded like you earn points for hunting monsters.

While accumulating points might be beneficial, I was more interested in other matters than in gathering points, so I declined with a smile.

"No, thank you. I'll be on my way..."

"Where are you headed?"

"I have some errands to run elsewhere."

With the police officer nearby, I was eager to leave the scene.

"That's a shame. But, as fellow hunters, I'm sure we'll meet again, right?"

She offered a handshake, but I showed her my blood-stained right hand, politely declining. My [Claw Swipe] was already deactivated, but—

"Ha, likely so. But my hand's covered in blood right now... Let's save the handshake for next time. Take care."

With that, I quickly left.

'I can't just shake hands with blood like this.'

Shaking hands would mean transferring some of the precious blood onto her hand—a waste I couldn't afford.

With much to contemplate, I hurried off to a quiet place, making sure not to waste a single drop of the blood smeared on my hand by carefully licking it clean.

<Real Monsters>

*Document Writing Guidelines:

◆This document should only contain monsters whose corpses have been retrieved by hunters, thus confirming their existence.

◆Do not assess the strength or "grade" of the monster. For discussions on [Monster Grades/Controversies], refer here.

◆If there's no corpse but credible evidence such as multiple witnesses or CCTV footage exists, document it here.

◆For cases with neither corpses nor concrete evidence, only anecdotal sightings, document them here.

"Real Monsters, huh? This is huge."

I couldn't help but marvel at the wealth of information displayed on the monitor.

Returning to Earth, I found myself dressed exactly as I had been five years ago, though the clothes felt a bit tighter, likely due to my increased bulk. Fortunately, the wallet in my pocket was still there—a stroke of luck.

There wasn't much money, but it was enough for a brief visit to an internet café.

After a long time away from computers and the internet, curiosity drove me to search for monsters on GoomuWiki.

And there it was—pages upon pages of information on real, existing monsters.

It was astonishing enough that these creatures truly existed on Earth, but even more surprising was how closely they matched the ones I had grappled with in Rayon for five years.

Truth be told, there were many more creatures I had encountered that weren't listed in this compendium.

I hadn't counted exactly, but recalling my experiences, I must have encountered hundreds of different monsters in Rayon, yet here there were only listed 84 types. Moreover, there was no mention of demons, which were far more terrifying than any monster.

Of course, there were separate lists for unconfirmed sightings or those based solely on witness accounts, but even adding those, the number barely surpassed 100.

Still, what's crucial is that the creatures listed here broadly match those I knew, which is a significant revelation. It meant that the strategies I used in Rayon could potentially apply here on Earth.

'But why has Earth turned out like this? Does this mean I could have been killed by monsters even if I had just stayed on Earth?'

I had thought I was undergoing a unique struggle, surviving alone in another world.

In fact, until the Demon Lord's resurgence, the most significant threats in the Rayon continent weren't monsters.

As mentioned, staying within village boundaries meant you wouldn't encounter monsters.

However, that didn't make life any easier for someone accustomed to 21st-century South Korea. The environment was brutally harsh.

Even the ability granted by the goddess felt like a "trap card" due to my frailty at the time, leading me through a tremendous struggle just to stay alive.

Countless miserable moments come to mind, but if I had to pick the two hardest challenges, they would be water and disease.

Compared to Korea, where clean, drinkable water flowed freely from taps, Rayon was always short on water.

With even drinking water scarce, bathing was out of the question.

About two months after arriving in Rayon, the first time I managed to wash myself was during a brief shower, and I remember how itchy my entire body had been.

Living on animal feed, hardly drinking clean water, and barely bathing inevitably led to disease.

But with no hospitals and magical healing far beyond reach, all I could do was lie in my shack, clench my teeth, and hope for recovery.

Interestingly, the locals seemed immune to even common colds in such conditions, though injuries were another matter.

After all that hardship, returning to Earth only to find it overrun by monsters and hunters was a shocking turn of events.

Would my life have been a constant state of fear from monsters even if I had stayed on Earth?

'Well, even so, just having running water feels like a miracle.'

As I sifted through the monster compendium, I switched my focus to "Hunters" and initiated a new search.

Hunters

*Document Writing Guidelines:

◆ This document exclusively discusses hunters that exist in the real world and hunt monsters.

• Hunters emerged almost simultaneously with monsters; they are individuals who awakened to special abilities specifically for hunting these creatures. The term originates from the English word "Hunter," which means huntsman.

• In Korea, these individuals are sometimes referred to as "Awakened," but globally, the term "Hunter" is more widely used, so this document will stick with "Hunter."

• The exact origin or cause of their emergence is still unknown. The first known hunter is Jaden Richmond from the USA, who wields powerful electric magic. More about Jaden Richmond here.

• Hunters possess at least one special ability, though they typically have access to 3-4 abilities. Some are known to wield over ten abilities. These powers are referred to as skills or magic. For Hunter/Skills, refer here.

• Hunters are ranked from the highest S to the lowest F, not based on the type of skills they have, but on the power of those skills. Hence, possessing many skills doesn't matter if they're weak; that would still classify one as F-grade. Conversely, having a single but extremely powerful skill could qualify for S-grade, though no such case exists yet. Note that the same skill can vary in power between individuals, affecting their grade. This discrepancy often leads to controversy, as non-combat hunters typically rank lower. In fact, hunters with combat skills start no lower than D-grade...

The information about hunters matched pretty much what I had anticipated. After all, in Rayon, those who made a living by hunting monsters were also called hunters.

The main difference seemed to be the grading based on power rather than just the type of monsters they could defeat.

In Rayon, a hunter's worth was determined by the monsters they could take down, whether solo or in a group.

'Finding good comrades to form a party with is considered a skill in its own right, after all.'

Shaking off the fleeting memories of Rayon, I meticulously went through all the related documents.

I gathered as much information as I could about the skills and ranks used by hunters and the known monsters to date.

Not satisfied with just documents, I watched every available video related to monsters and hunters on NuTube.

My main focus remained on how similar this world was to Rayon.

The more I delved into it, the clearer it became that the skills used by hunters here were very much like those in Rayon.

It was a relief that I could continue to apply my knowledge... but could this even be possible?

Monsters appearing on Earth was baffling enough, but their resemblance to those from Rayon?

Moreover, monsters first appeared around 5 years ago, around the same time the first hunter emerged, precisely when I had been dropped into Rayon. Too coincidental to be mere chance, right?

'Should I find this intriguing, or...?'

For a moment, I wondered if Earth's monster situation was somehow my fault, but then I dismissed the thought. Did I possess some grand ability that could cause this? After all, I was more of a victim, dragged to another world; it couldn't be my responsibility.

Even if it were somehow my fault Earth had changed like this, the blame would lie with the goddess who dragged me away, not me.

'Thinking about it makes me angry again.'

The goddess who I had nearly forgotten about re-entered my thoughts, reigniting my irritation.

After all the struggles and defeating the Demon Lord, not even getting to enjoy the rewards because I was sent back here was frustrating.

'If only I had been given even just one week, or a month, to enjoy being treated like the hero who saved the world!'

But dwelling on the past changed nothing, and cursing the goddess wouldn't make her listen. So, I focused on gathering more information.

Years of fighting monsters in Rayon taught me the value of accurate information—it's as crucial as having an extra life.

Especially for me, since just causing a monster to bleed increases my chances of winning significantly.

Thud.

Thud! Thud!

As I continued my research, I felt the building shake slightly.

Glancing around, everyone else in the internet café seemed engrossed in their games.

'An earthquake?'

In a world like this, I almost hoped it was just an earthquake—

"Screeeeech!"

'Great.'

Because a monster capable of shaking the entire building would be a much worse problem.