NoveLight ™
Korea Hunter Association
As the Hunter community and the anonymous boards of the academy were heating up with the Black God Cult issue, the vice president of the Hunter Association, Jeong Na-yoon, felt a sense of unease regarding the incident.
“It’s strange. How could the mana be this dense in a mere practical dungeon? Even if that monster Kim Seung-jun was the source, humans shouldn’t be able to endure it.”
“Hmm? Didn’t those girls manage to hold on?”
Surely, Hunter Kim Beom-mi, along with first-year students Reina and Han Su-ji who had gone to that dungeon, seemed fine.
“According to Han Su-ji and Reina, they barely fought back against it and almost died, while Yoo Eun-ha fought alone.”
“Could it be that Yoo Eun-ha is more capable than we thought?”
She was the same student who had achieved a score of 9999 against a wooden puppet on the first day. It was not just that she was Yoo Jin-seok’s sister; she was already surpassing him, and all the guilds were keeping an eye on her. Rumors even circulated that villain organizations were trying to recruit her.
“Archers or mages like Reina and Kim Beom-mi might have captured Kim Seung-jun from a distance if they were B-rank or above, but Yoo Eun-ha is a close-range fighter. She had no choice but to directly engage with the mana. How could she push the monster back at a speed so fast that active hunters couldn’t even see her?”
In terms of strength alone, she had already surpassed Yoo Jin-seok if we only considered speed. The vice president was troubled by this fact.
“They said she fought and collapsed, didn’t they? It could be due to the mana, right?”
“According to Han Su-ji, it was because of nicotine deficiency, and Reina said it was due to overusing her abilities. At her age, it’s unlikely she would be a chain smoker to the point of collapsing from a nicotine shortage. It’s probably the latter, which is evidence that she wasn’t significantly affected by the mana to the extent of overusing her abilities.”
In the first place, mana interferes with a person's mana circuits, hindering the use of their unique abilities or skills. The longer one is exposed to mana, the more their mana circuits become tainted, and eventually, they may awaken as a monster.
What are you trying to say then?
“By the way, what exactly do you mean?”
“I mean that the mana detected in that dungeon is at a density that even A-rank hunters can barely endure. No matter how outstanding Yoo Eun-ha is at her young age, she wouldn’t have the capabilities of an S-rank or higher, which means she wouldn’t have collapsed.”
Upon hearing Jeong Na-yoon’s words, the face of the association president, Choi Cheol-sik, turned pale.
He was beating around the bush, but ultimately, the meaning of his words was clear.
“So you’re saying you think Yoo Eun-ha, Yoo Jin-seok’s sister, might be a monster?”
“Not exactly, but I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to monitor her with some capable hunters from the association or guilds. After all, there’s a possibility that the Black God Cult could retaliate. Hunter Yoo Jin-seok would likely accept this.”
“If Yoo Jin-seok hears the truth, he might become quite troubled.”
Choi Cheol-sik sighed. How unfortunate it was that Yoo Jin-seok's sister had to be suspected of being a monster. However, there were undeniably aspects of her that warranted suspicion. Thus, the association could justify sending a hunter to protect her under the pretense of safeguarding her from the Black God Cult’s retaliation.
“But what about Kim Seung-jun’s family?”
“His mother is in a vegetative state due to the attack by Kim Seung-jun that morning, and his sister, Kim Ji-sun, who used to cause trouble for the association, said it was better that he had died as a monster. It seems she had been paying for Kim Seung-jun's tuition all along because of their mother.”
Kim Seung-jun came from an ordinary family. He didn’t possess the capabilities of an outstanding hunter. Naturally, he had to enroll in the Hunter Academy through the general admissions process, which wouldn’t be cheap.
It was understandable that his younger sibling had poured a lot of money into him, only for him to turn into a monster of the Black God Cult.
“Well, that’s a relief. Make sure to send some condolence money.”
“Yes.”
Even if he was a monster, a son had died, and a brother had died. It was only natural for the association to provide condolence money. Of course, that was significantly less than what Yoo Eun-ha would receive as a reward.
I ultimately couldn’t ask anything of the protagonist. The world was too twisted compared to the original. I was afraid of getting answers I didn’t want if I asked. Surely, it wouldn’t be that way.
The protagonist wouldn’t regress. At least, not in the original story I knew. Even after being discharged from the hospital, my questions remained unanswered.
What difference would it make to find out anything?
“It must just be a simple coincidence.”
Should I read a book?
Thinking back, the previous Yoo Eun-ha was such a bookworm that the shelves were filled to the brim with books. What kind of novels did she have?
Curiosity suddenly struck me. I pulled one out and began to read; it was all about mythology.
Myths from Europe or religions that originated in the Persian region.
“What is this? Did Yoo Eun-ha really have such a keen interest in religion or mythology?”
Atropos? Nyarlathotep? What’s this? Why is she reading such boring things?
The evil dragon Azhdaha?
What’s going on here? No, I shouldn’t read this. My head is starting to hurt. There’s no need to delve into such profound topics.
I’m struggling just to live my life; what use is it for me to know what the previous Yoo Eun-ha was into?
I didn’t know what Choi Si-woo had said, but Reina and Han Su-ji kept sending messages. All of them were filled with affectionate words.
As someone who wasn’t a part of this world, I had no reason to receive such love. So, I deleted all the messages that felt affectionate.
“In the end, it means I don’t know when an event will occur.”
Kim Seung-jun’s transformation into a monster was essentially the beginning of the main story. From that point on, Choi Si-woo would start to grow stronger at the academy.
I hope he doesn’t turn into a weakling just because he caught one Kim Seung-jun. That guy is already overly worried.
“Now that I think about it, the atmosphere outside feels oddly different.”
I wasn’t an oblivious fool. Ever since I was discharged, I hadn’t stepped outside my house. I had truly become a homebody.
From the day I was discharged, I felt like someone was watching me from outside.
If it were the Black God Cult, they might be here for revenge for killing their follower, or it could be someone from the association.
“A forced school break isn’t so bad.”
What about Choi Si-woo? To survive, he ultimately has to do his duty as the protagonist.
No, why should I listen to him? Logically, I had no reason to stay home.
Since they didn’t ambush my house, those presences were surely people the association sent to protect me. Shouldn’t I be watching over Choi Si-woo instead?
Yes. I simply had the duty as a third party to observe how the original story unfolds. So I must go to the academy.
Why should I be treated like a patient, preventing me from going to the academy?
“Suddenly pissed off?”
I changed into my academy uniform, which I had carelessly tossed aside, and left the house.
As morning passed, I arrived at the academy just before I would be late. I casually scanned the first-year A class students in the classroom.
My story had spread quite a bit, so the students’ eyes were focused on me. Among them were gazes filled with kindness and affection, while others were sticky or wary.
“Hey? Aren’t you supposed to not come today?”
“Ah, Class Rep. Hello.”
A girl with short hair and glasses welcomed me. I didn’t even bother to remember the names of extras since they were too trivial, but she had a face suitable for a class representative.
“Are you okay? That shock must have been quite something.”
“I’m fine.”
After all, Kim Seung-jun was dead.
It was probably for the best that I killed him before the Black God Cult could recover their core. Instead, I should proudly become a hero in class A.
“Yoo Eun-ha. Are you okay?”
“Was it tough?”
The students’ reactions were polarized. One side saw me as the hero who defeated a monster, while the other viewed me as the merciless girl who killed a fellow student, even if he was a monster.
The latter likely felt a greater sense of inferiority about the achievements. Still, the fact that Yoo Eun-ha killed a fellow student would linger.
On the other hand, many in the first and second years were present. First-years were newbies who didn’t understand the resolve required to become hunters, nor were they aware of the existence of the Black God Cult or what kind of world this was. However, the second and third years were more prepared and knowledgeable about the Black God Cult’s existence; they envied the accomplishment of hunting down a monster.
“Oh, by the way, Eun-ha. Are you interested in joining a club?”
That was the class rep’s question, following me around.
“I’m not entirely uninterested.”
Club activities might be the essence of youthful school life. Naturally, I wanted to try it at least once, as I had never done so when I was younger.
“If you get five members, you can create a new one or join an existing club.”
“Can we really create one?”
“Well, the club budget is overflowing anyway. The Hunter Association funds it.”
Still, joining an existing club wouldn’t be a bad idea. Looking at the list of clubs, there were swordsmanship clubs, magic research clubs, magic gear research clubs, film appreciation clubs, gaming clubs, and many more.
“Even in this era, internet broadcasting is popular, huh?”
The internet broadcasting club. It wasn’t just about games or mukbang that the world knew; it was an internet broadcast for hunters.
Given that it was a club at the Hunter Academy, it made sense. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t they be filming broadcasts while exploring dungeons?
“This could be fun.”
“Internet broadcasting? I didn’t know you were into that.”
I didn’t particularly like internet broadcasts.
In fact, I had watched some gaming streams at first, but I had deeply realized it was a waste of time.
“Is it popular here?”
“Well, it’s apparently on the verge of being shut down. Because of the Black God Cult. There are rumors that they are appearing in dungeons, so now to film broadcasts, you can only go to guild dungeons, but the labor costs aren’t being covered.”
“Ah, the Black God Cult.”
Those guys were certainly not helpful.
It might be better not to do anything at all. Huh? Wait a minute. The president of the internet broadcasting club is Lee Yoo-jung.
Lee Yoo-jung is one of the heroines of the protagonist Choi Si-woo. In the original story, Choi Si-woo joined the internet broadcasting club under the pretense of entering dungeons, and thus began a connection with Lee Yoo-jung.
Despite the threat of the Black God Cult, she stayed strong, relying only on the Sword God, and began to explore dungeons together, which blossomed into a budding romance.
Especially the moments they rolled around in the clubroom…
“...Damn it.”
I envy that brat.