NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Unskilled Hunter
Disclaimer: This is an edited MTL. Thus, I can’t guarantee that my editing to be proficient. But I hope you enjoy this story with me. If there are any corrections, it is highly encourage to leave a comment.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a Worker class.”
The day he succeeded in awakening; the Seoul branch of the Hunter Management Center experienced chaos.
The receptionist tilted her head and held out the documents.
“Look. Only about 30 classes have been identified so far. But I do not see the Worker class.”
The 20-year-old young man kept looking at the content of the documents.
Swordsman, Magician, Thief, and other highly recognized classes were listed, but no Worker is seen.
“Then am I the first to awaken with a Worker class?”
“Awakening is still awakening, but skills and characteristics are important. What did you get?”
The receptionist’s glasses flashed, but Yoo Ji-Ha didn’t say anything.
Because he didn’t get any.
“Nothing.”
The receptionist who was just about to write something on the application paper stopped her hand.
“You didn’t get any skills? How about Characteristics?”
“None.”
“That’s strange. Usually, when you awaken, you get one or two combat skills… You should be able to go inside the dungeon and fight.”
“I know.”
The receptionist informed him that he was the only exception.
In the end, only the most basic things such as personal details and class were written in the document.
“What will happen in this case?”
When Yoo Ji-Ha questioned, the receptionist’s pen stopped, and she gave an inconspicuous smile.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Do you know what I do? Registering and managing awakened hunters. We also accept complaints. I can introduce you to a suitable company or guild, but it might be a little difficult for Mr. Yoo Ji-Ha, who has no skills.”
“Is that so?”
Unexpectedly, Yoo Ji-Ha’s expression was dull.
The receptionist thought he must have been too shocked and said hurriedly.
“I don’t know, but should I schedule an interview with the manager?”
She recommends an interview with a manager-level official at the management center.
However, everyone knows that a hunter without skills is useless on the battlefield inside the dungeon.
“No need. Do I still have to pay taxes? I have no income.”
“For once, it is. The hunter tax is generated from your income…”
“Then that’s it.”
Yoo Ji-Ha became the first unskilled hunter.
Everyone in the management center was shuddering at the birth of a hunter who was no different from an ordinary person.
“Shouldn’t we celebrate? I looked at your eyes and you did awaken.” (NB. Awakened hunters’ eyes turn golden.)
“I’m a hunter with no skills, why would you celebrate? I can’t even enter the dungeon…”
“But you don’t seem to be disappointed.”
“My face is burning on the inside… It would’ve been better not to awaken this late if I can’t even enter the dungeon.”
“But can’t you still join the latecomers group?”
“It would hurt my pride to become a hunter and join them.”
“Yes, yes. It’s the lowest decision.”
The staff at the center looked at Yoo Ji-Ha’s back. Thus, the lowest ranking Korean Hunter was born.
That day came.
The day the dungeon opened; monsters poured out.
But almost at the same time, some people who succeeded in awakening were called Hunters.
Society changed rapidly.
Various resources from within the dungeon brought a ray of hope to mankind who were exhausted and defeated in the war against monsters.
The Ether stone that comes out after hunting monsters has come into the spotlight as a next-generation fuel.
Someone said this “In the future, the ranks will be divided into hunters and non-hunters.”
It was not known whether that would happen, but it was true that a number of privileges were granted to the hunters who hunted monsters inside the dungeon.
It is because they are what sustains human society.
***
10 years after the first dungeon was opened.
Two hunters entered a general store in Seoul’s District 7.
Yoo Ji-Ha, a 25-year-old young man with glasses, looked up from reading a book.
“Welcome.”
“This is a place that sells potions, right?”
“It’s him. The person who awakened as the Worker class.”
As the two hunters entered the store, their gaze briefly focused on Yoo Ji-Ha’s golden eyes.
“Yes. It is a general store. And as you can see, we sell potions and stuff.”
Yoo Ji-Ha answered with a smile at the two hunters who looked like rookies.
“Stamina potion… Here it is.”
On the wall full of shelves, various potion bottles, scrolls in jars, maps, etc. were arranged in an orderly manner.
As the male hunter picked up a potion bottle with a red liquid, the female hunter whispered in his ear.
“Will this work well? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for items in the Hunting Grounds and buy them?”
“When do you expect the items to arrive? And he said that the interior here is a little bit bad, but the potion effect is good.”
“Who?”
“SeongHo Hyung.”
“Oh.”
When the name SeongHo came out, the female hunter kept her mouth shut.
For her, after graduating from the academy and becoming a rookie hunter, the words of the Top 100 hunters were like gold.
The male hunter whispered to her.
“Even if the store looks a little sloppy, overall, the quality of the items are fine.”
“But why are there so few customers?”
“Oh, there’s a well-known place nearby.”
He meant the Hunting Ground, a good supply store dedicated to hunters.
As a franchise of a large corporation, it provides high-quality services and has opened chain stores nationwide.
With such a large chain store nearby, it is unlikely that a lot of hunters would be interested in such a small general store.
As the two hunters talked and put some potions into the basket.
The female hunter’s curious gaze scans Yoo Ji-Ha as he closes the book and stands up.
‘Hunter, non-Hunter.’
The owner of this general store was called that.
It is said that he succeeded in awakening but had no Characteristics or Skills.
No one knows what being a Worker class means.
The current Hunter ranking is up to 12,782nd, so if you want to know the number of registered hunters in Korea, you can look at Yoo Ji-Ha’s rank.
“Hey, you really don’t have any Skills?”
“I don’t have any Characteristics either.”
“How many years have you been without Skills? How do you hunt?”
“I can’t hunt. I go with the latecomers and dig up resources.”
“AHA! So that’s how you’ve been doing.”
She can barely guess.
He doesn’t seem to be the kind of person that lives on the various resources that come out of the dungeon.
As she was about to ask more questions, there was a loud noise outside.
Kurreung- (rumbling)
A long-wheeled armored car equipped with various heavy weapons was driving down the road with a loud noise, followed by a police car and an ambulance.
“I think a Category 3 dungeon opened.”
“Yeah. I haven’t seen an ambulance in a long time. Ha… I also want to go into a dungeon like that one day.”
“We can’t even dream of it with our skills.”
“Ah, hey, please total this.”
The male hunter held out a basket and a card to Yoo Ji-Ha.
This black card issued only to hunters was like a dream for Yoo Ji-Ha, a small business owner.
After finishing the transaction, the two hunters left the store.
Yoo Ji-Ha stood on the doorstep of the store and gently pushed up his glasses.
If it was a Category 3 dungeon, a lot of resources would come out, but no one is going to call for him.
“It can’t be helped.”
Asking a proper alchemist or pharmacist would be more important than someone who wasn’t even treated like a hunter.
He smiled bitterly and went back to his seat and opened the book.
It was late in the evening before he knew it.
***
Five years have passed since Yoo Ji-Ha awakened.
He got a unique class called a Worker, but it was useless because he lacked Skills and Characteristics.
He couldn’t even dare to dream about entering the dungeon with other hunters and hunting monsters.
Instead of that, he was faithful to his work as a latecomer.
It was a job to rake up scraps of resources from the dungeons that companies or guilds had searched and sell them at the general store.
It’s something that no one notices, but it did not interfere with him purchasing old books, which is his pastime and an occasional hobby.
As usual, after closing the shop, he washed up, laid down on the bed, and opened an old book he had bought at the wholesale center.
It was an original copy from the ruins inside the dungeon.
It was dirty and old, but it is what he likes.
An unknown word appeared in his eyes as he carefully turned the pages.
Obviously, the main character of this illustration… seems to refer to a tree, but it is not written in the official language of the dungeon, so he couldn’t read and understand it.
“How do I read this?”
Even when he stared intently, no sound came out of his mouth.
Yoo Ji-Ha continued to read the contents.
In the world inside the dungeon, the gigantic tree seemed to boast the majesty of a god.
Time flies when reading the myths of each race related to the gigantic tree.
He fell in love with the book and forgot the time.
The whole place became completely silent, and his consciousness was becoming clouded, ‘Should I just sleep?’
He didn’t want to refuse the sweet temptation.
It was already his daily routine to fall asleep while reading a book. He closed his eyes without taking off his glasses.
He didn’t notice when the word that interpreted the giant tree within the book shone brightly.
His consciousness was sucked into somewhere.
Soon after, he felt like he was falling endlessly, and when he opened his eyes.
“Hyuk!”
He woke up in a forest.