“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

In the underground parking lot of the Yangjae Station Hunter Training Ground, a middle-aged male secretary stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the rear door, bowing politely.

“Thank you for your efforts, Secretary Jang.”

From the car emerged a stunning woman in a leather jacket.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with flowing wavy hair that reached her waist, sparkling eyes, and soft pink lips. Her beauty was enough to leave most men slack-jawed.

After stepping out of the car, she followed her secretary’s lead into the elevator, which took them to the training ground.

“Welcome, Hunter Jin Seoyun! It’s a pleasure to have you at the Supreme Hunter Training Ground,” greeted the receptionist with a smile as she bowed deeply to the radiant Jin Seoyun.

“Hello,” Jin Seoyun replied with a gentle smile.

“We’ve cleared the private training room per your reservation. You’re free to head in immediately.”

Acknowledging the receptionist with a slight nod, Jin Seoyun entered the training ground alongside her secretary.

However, her composed demeanor shifted the moment they entered the facility. Her brows furrowed slightly, for two reasons.

The First Reason:

‘Ugh, the smell is unbearable…’

As soon as she stepped into the training ground, the pungent mix of sweat hit her nostrils.

Jin Seoyun possessed a much keener sense of smell than most. Scents that others might dismiss as trivial often proved torturous for her, and this was one of those moments.

The Second Reason:

“Whoa, is that Jin Seoyun?”
“Jin Seoyun, the daughter of Yuseong Group’s chairman? So it’s true she became a hunter.”
“Wow, it really is her! I’ve seen her in articles, but I didn’t think I’d see her in person. She’s stunning…”

The hunters in the training ground had noticed Jin Seoyun and were whispering among themselves.

Jin Seoyun was the youngest daughter of the chairman of Yuseong Group, one of Korea’s top three conglomerates. A year ago, she awakened as a hunter and quickly became a sensation, dominating headlines, social media, and online forums.

Her exceptional beauty and luxurious equipment allowed her to level up rapidly, and she was now regarded as one of the rising stars of Korea’s hunter community.

“Excuse me, Jin Seoyun! I’m a huge fan! Could I take a picture with you?”
“Hunter Jin Seoyun, I’m also a fan! Could you please sign this for me?”
“Wow! Me too, please…!”

Initially stunned by her presence, the hunters gradually gathered the courage to approach her. Once the first person spoke up, dozens of others swarmed toward her.

But just as the crowd reached her, they froze.

Secretary Jang had stepped in front of them, raising an arm to block their path.

“Hunters, please maintain decorum. This is a training facility. Miss Jin has come here to train, so your cooperation would be appreciated.”

“It’s alright, Mr. Jang. I’m not too busy; I can spare a little time,” Jin Seoyun interjected with a warm smile.

“Oh, you’re so kind, Miss Jin!”
“Thank you, Hunter Jin Seoyun!”

Despite her secretary’s efforts to stop them, Jin Seoyun’s graciousness calmed the crowd, and she agreed to their requests.

Unable to refuse her decision, Secretary Jang sighed and relented.

“Very well, please form a line in the order you arrived,” he instructed.

The hunters obediently lined up, each waiting their turn to take a selfie with Jin Seoyun or receive her autograph.

A Fan Meet in the Training Ground

“Hunter Jin Seoyun, I’m truly a fan! If we ever meet on a raid, I promise to support you wholeheartedly!”
“Thank you. Have a wonderful day.”

With a smile, Jin Seoyun engaged with each fan individually.

But beneath her calm exterior:

‘Ugh… The smell is unbearable. My head is splitting.’

Though she kept smiling, her patience was wearing thin.

The overwhelming mix of sweat and body odor from the crowd was giving her a headache, and her heightened sense of smell only made it worse.

She wanted nothing more than to retreat to the private training room and train in peace. But seeing the excitement and admiration in the hunters’ faces made it hard for her to refuse them outright.

As she endured the grueling ordeal with a strained smile, something unusual caught her eye.

Thwack! Thwack!

‘Huh? What’s that guy doing over there?’

In the corner of the shared training ground, a man was repeatedly striking a wooden dummy with a practice sword.

Unlike the other hunters, who had flocked to Jin Seoyun, he remained alone in his corner.

He had a bulky physique, wore simple equipment, and appeared to be a low-level hunter.

And his face…

‘How can someone be that ugly?’

Jin Seoyun didn’t like judging others based on their appearance, but she couldn’t help the thought. His face was just that strikingly unattractive.

What intrigued her even more was his complete lack of interest in her.

Most hunters couldn’t resist sneaking glances her way, but this man hadn’t spared her a single look.

As she continued taking selfies with her fans, she found her gaze drifting back to the man striking the wooden dummy.

Even after the impromptu fan meeting ended, the man didn’t once glance in her direction.

“Shall we head to the private training room, Miss?” Secretary Jang prompted.

“Yes, let’s go.”

Casting one last glance at the man, Jin Seoyun turned and left.

She didn’t understand why he showed no interest in her, but it wasn’t enough to spark her curiosity further.

In the private training room, Jin Seoyun began her session.

“Mr. Jang, let’s finish the shield quest today.”
“Understood, Miss. If I recall, you have about 30,000 blocks remaining out of 50,000?”

Jin Seoyun’s talent revolved around sword and shield combat. Her current talent quest required her to block 50,000 attacks with her shield.

Equipping a saber and shield from her inventory, she took a defensive stance as Secretary Jang summoned a longsword to begin his relentless assault.

Clang! Thud! Clang!

The sharp clangs of metal echoed through the spacious training room.

Secretary Jang swung with all his might; only strong attacks registered for the quest counter.

The grueling session lasted six hours, but Jin Seoyun was unable to complete the quest.

“How much progress did we make, Miss?”
“22,000 blocks remain. Six hours just wasn’t enough.”

Realizing it was a solo effort, Secretary Jang bowed his head apologetically.

“Indeed, this is difficult to manage alone. You have a dinner meeting with the chairman tonight, so perhaps tomorrow we can recruit other hunters to assist you?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

As they exited the private training room, a familiar sound reached Jin Seoyun’s ears.

Thwack! Thwack!

Though most hunters had left by now, the ugly man she’d noticed earlier was still in the corner, striking the wooden dummy with the same intensity as before.

‘He looks so low-level, but he’s incredibly diligent.’

Glancing at him briefly, Jin Seoyun followed Secretary Jang to the underground parking lot.

She felt a fleeting curiosity but was too exhausted to act on it.

The next day, Jin Seoyun returned to the training ground to finish her talent quest.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

To her surprise, the same man was still in the same spot, wearing the same outfit, striking the same wooden dummy.

At first, she thought it might be déjà vu, but the murmurs from the new batch of hunters confirmed it.

“Wow, it’s Jin Seoyun again!”
“I can’t believe we’re seeing her in person!”
“She really was here yesterday. Can we take a picture too?”

As the new crowd of hunters approached her, Jin Seoyun glanced once more at the man, her curiosity growing.

“Miss, shall we proceed?” Secretary Jang asked.

“Let’s take care of this quickly. It won’t take long.”

Just as she had the day before, Jin Seoyun signed autographs and took selfies with her fans, graciously accommodating their requests.

And throughout the entire encounter, the unattractive man in the corner never stopped striking the wooden dummy.

Despite the commotion of the bustling training ground, he remained steadfast, focusing entirely on his practice without sparing so much as a glance at anyone else.

At this point, Jin Seoyun couldn’t help but feel a growing curiosity.

‘Why is he hitting that dummy? Should I ask him?’

Since becoming a hunter and gaining fame, she had grown used to drawing attention wherever she went. Yet, this man hadn’t so much as looked her way, and that was a first.

But then she quickly shook her head.

‘No, what am I thinking? With my packed schedule, I must be losing my mind. Showing interest might lead to misunderstandings, and he’s not even my type.’

She dismissed the thought.

It wasn’t worth her attention, and besides, the unattractive man was far from her type.

“Shall we go, Miss?” Secretary Jang prompted.

“Yes, let’s go.”

Jin Seoyun headed to the private training room, where she finally completed her shield quest. While she had a significant number of blocks remaining, hiring support hunters mid-session allowed her to finish much more quickly.

It took less than two hours.

‘He’s probably still there, right?’

Though she had resolved not to think about it, Jin Seoyun found herself glancing toward the corner of the shared training ground on her way to the underground parking lot.

But:

“Huh?”

The man who had been striking the wooden dummy was nowhere to be seen.

He had seemed like the type who would be there forever, tirelessly swinging his practice sword. Yet, in the short time it took her to complete her quest, he had vanished.

“What’s wrong, Miss?” Secretary Jang asked.

“There was someone over there, hitting a wooden dummy since yesterday, wasn’t there?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t notice… Was it someone you knew? Shall I inquire at the counter?”

“No, it’s fine. Just wait here for a moment.”

Though her curiosity had been piqued, it wasn’t strong enough to warrant making inquiries.

Brushing it off, Jin Seoyun walked over to the wooden dummy in the corner of the shared training ground.

The pungent scent of sweat from the surrounding area caused her to wrinkle her nose, but she was curious about why the man had been so fixated on striking the dummy.

However:

“There’s nothing special about this…”

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

The wooden dummy’s head and shoulders were intact, and the practice swords in the equipment rack were standard.

‘He must have just been working on a quest, like me.’

Hunters often poured themselves into completing their talent quests, just as she had with her shield training. Some quests were so unusual that they led to bizarre behaviors, and she figured the man must have been working on one of those.

With that conclusion, Jin Seoyun turned to leave.

But as she was heading back toward the entrance:

‘Hm? What’s this?’

Something strange caught her eye.

The floor in front of the wooden dummy was noticeably sunken compared to the surrounding area.

“Phew… This is it. The final stretch.”

Standing on a grassy plain with a worn longsword in hand, I let out a quiet breath, collecting my thoughts.

After countless failures and grueling training sessions, I had finally reached the end of the E-grade wolf dungeon.

This time, I hadn’t taken a single hit while clearing the mobs.

Ahead of me stood a massive wolf flanked by two subordinate wolves.

If I could defeat them:

[Absolute Beauty Quest 1]
[Clear the dungeon without taking a single hit (0/1)]

I would finally complete the long-awaited Absolute Beauty Quest.

The goal was within sight.

The thought of completing the quest after so many attempts brought tears to my eyes, but there was no time to get emotional just yet.

“They’re coming, Master!”

Just as I caught my breath, Swallow, who had been scouting from above, called out a warning.

Right on cue, following Swallow’s cry, the wolves stalking the grassy plain began closing in, forming a tight perimeter around me.

“Grrrr…”
“Bark! Bark!”

In unison, the wolves lunged toward me.