The S-Rank Character Is My Alt

Chapter 2: Shin Bitnari (1)

“Who lives and reigns forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit…”

Inside the quiet church where the priest’s prayer was being offered, a blonde young man sitting in the front row shifted uneasily in his seat.

His aunt, who was praying beside him, whispered without turning her head.

“Ihyun?”

In the hushed church, not wanting to cause a disturbance, the young man whispered back with an awkward look.

“Um… there was an emergency message from the Hunter system, Aunt.”

“I know. But your shift ended today. Even your partner has already gone home. Are you going to go alone?”

“W-Well, still… it’s nearby.”

“It’s past ten. That means it is already Lude’s active time. Do you really have a reason to go?”

“I have to. I am a Hunter…”

His aunt glanced at him for a long time, then closed her eyes again, focusing on the priest’s prayer. She whispered once more.

“Just know you will not get any overtime pay. And if your grandfather finds out, he will not be pleased. If you don't want to attend the evening mass, then simply say so.”

“...That’s not it, Auntie. I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow.”

The young man gave a sheepish smile, whispered softly, and slipped out of the church with careful steps. When he opened the small chapel’s door, the night sky greeted him.

He was Kang Ihyun, the second highest-ranked Hunter in Korea, a holy knight beloved by everyone. He pulled out his phone to check the map app. Thankfully, it was nearby. A golden indirect message floated in front of his eyes.

[The Constellation, Staff of Purification, pats you on the back, saying the gate has finally appeared.]

‘The priest must have been trembling badly.’

[The Constellation, Staff of Purification, shakes its head, saying there is no clergyman who can preach freely while it is watching.]

It was true. Smiling faintly at the thought, Ihyun walked while watching the map.

[The Constellation, Staff of Purification, shrugs its shoulders, saying this might finally be the time you meet him.]

…Right. Reading the golden message, Ihyun froze.

‘It is ten o’clock, a sudden class four gate, and it happens to be nearby…’

As his Constellation said, it was true. If he hurried, he might actually meet the famous “Lude.” Ihyun’s steps quickened.

* * *

“This is class four? Honestly… this system is a mess.”

Nari… no, now as Lude, he frowned slightly.

In web novels, the system is portrayed as flawless and omnipotent. Reality was nothing like that.

It was full of bugs, certain areas were unaffected, and even the ranking updates were slow. Of course, Nari had taken advantage of that looseness to hide her strength behind her alt character, but still…

Anyway, the place where he now hovered was a stage-type gate. The broad meadow at the entrance was stage one. Beyond it lay a dark forest for stage two, and then a black castle for stage three.

The presence of a castle meant the boss monster was intelligent.

The moment an intelligent being appeared inside a field, the difficulty jumped to at least class three. So while this was labeled as class four, it was actually at the very edge of that classification.

[The Lord of Chaos rolls up his sleeves, saying our Nari will have to work a little harder this time.]

“It feels like the rank of these sudden gates keeps going up...”

[The Lord of Chaos munches popcorn, asking if our Nari is finally becoming a hero.]

‘Nope, never. I will only do what I can handle.’

On paper she was unmatched as ranked number one, but the power she could bring out in her alt character had limits.

On top of that, her “social aversion” status effect stacked debuffs onto her whenever she was not in disguise.

[The Lord of Chaos shrugs, saying your condition comes from trauma, so not even healers can remove it.]

‘Well, what Hunter these days doesn’t have at least one status ailment?’

The world was harsh. And modern Hunters’ conditions usually came from themselves rather than from others.

A Hunter’s body and mind were consumed quickly, no matter how glamorous the surface looked.

Because of that status, acting as “Nari” came with restrictions, and she had no wish to fight under her real name Shin Bitnari.

As “Lude,” she could only clear up to class three gates alone. Still, she never had any intention of working with other Hunters.

So she had decided to do only what she could with her alt character.

If a class two or higher gate opened, she would pack up with her manager and flee overseas. That was her first rule. Whether Korea collapsed or not, it had nothing to do with her. That was her attitude.

“Anyway, I should get started.”

Lude lowered from the air toward the ground. His expressionless face shifted into a playful smile as he landed lightly at the gate entrance where survivors had gathered.

There were around ten people who had been caught at the starting point. That meant more were inside. Lude’s eyes swept over the survivors.

“Sob, sob… We are all going to die…”

Nari’s gaze turned to the weeping man nearby.

‘He looks handsome even in despair. You pass.’

Nari gently took the man’s hand.

“Alright, don't cry, young master. I came to save you. This gate will be cleared in twenty minutes, so please be at ease, okay?”

“W-What…? A-Are you perhaps…”

The man’s face flushed bright red as Lude held his hand. The surrounding people widened their eyes.

“Lu… Lude!”

“Lude is here! Lude is… W-We are all saved! Hurray!”

Voices praising Lude rose around them. Responding in kind, Lude drew the golden half-scissor from his inventory and waved it extravagantly with both hands.

“Now! Don't worry. Your hero, Lude, has arrived!”

[The Lord of Chaos laughs, saying your roleplay is perfect.]

Oh shut up. Running an alt character means you have to do it properly. Hiding his irritation, Lude acted playfully as he activated his skill.

[Exclusive Avatar Trait :: Fragment of the First Dream]

[You use the authority of Constellation ◼◼◼◼.]

[You borrow the skill of the Sub-King.]

[You borrow the skill of the Herald.]

[Sub-King ◼◼◼◼ Exclusive Skill :: I exist everywhere. I exist here.]

[Herald ◼◼◼◼ Exclusive Skill :: Chaos is always born from the human subconscious.]

As he cast his mental domination, the terror-stricken people quickly calmed. Their expressions changed as if they were no longer in a deadly gate but strolling through a beautiful forest.

Srhhhh, confirming that everyone was under his control, Lude brought down a lattice-like prison from the air, separating the survivors from the field. The place where they stood turned into a shelter in an instant.

It was not an illusion, but reality manipulation. Now they were cut off from the monsters’ perception.

Most Hunters believed all of Lude’s skills were illusions, but in truth he mixed various abilities.

“L-Lude… sir! Thank you, thank you…!”

“Think nothing of it. Enjoy a sweet dream and forget the horrors you have seen. Everything will be fine now.”

[The Lord of Chaos chuckles, saying a wink would make them even happier.]

Because the survivors squealed with delight, Lude did not feel entirely bad. Once he confirmed they were safe, he turned and walked toward the dark forest with a blank face.

The black woods stretched ahead. To reach the castle and face the boss, he would have to cross it…

‘It’s kind of a hassle… should I just destroy the whole thing?’

[But then what about the survivors inside? The Lord of Chaos looks at you.]

‘Sigh… rescue jobs are always such a pain… Is it really a big deal if everyone falls together at the starting point?’

The Constellation Nari had contracted with was pure evil itself. That meant ordinary people who directly witnessed her skills suffered much greater damage than from normal evil powers.

That was why Lude always cast mental domination, to soften the impact.

Inside the woods there would be countless monsters as well as survivors. How to… handle them…

‘Do I really have to grind through this? Or just ignore them and wipe everything? But that would weigh on my conscience...’

Crossing his arms, Lude thought for a long time, then opened his eyes.

“I decided.”

[Oh, what will you do? The Lord of Chaos blinks.]

“Whether I rush to pull them out or they collapse mentally from staying too long, the result is the same so I will just wipe it all.”

It was a clear choice. If both ways hurt her mind, at least this way her body would remain intact.

And beyond the forest stood that ominous blackened Cinderella-like castle, surely crawling with intelligent monsters. If not cleared quickly, it would be dangerous.

For an ordinary guild, crossing this forest would take a week. Even the elite squads of the Four Great Guilds would need three to five days. Fortunately, the Hunter inside was Lude.

Lude lifted his golden half-scissor. Black mist poured from his body, the manifestation of a first-rate illusionist’s willpower. It seeped into the dark forest.

Illusionists always performed a specific act when using skills. This was called a “signal”.

The first step in learning illusions was to choose that signal, since illusions were the overlay of thoughts onto reality through mental power. Without a signal, strong illusionists would unconsciously distort reality without even noticing.

The stronger the illusionist, the more necessary it was to set a signal. For Lude, it was swinging the half-scissors.

He swung it downward.

[Trait :: Natural Lucid Dreamer has activated!]

Lude’s alias, “Black Illusion,” came largely from this skill.

Black willpower filled the forest. Lude relaxed his body. To enter a dream state, he needed to release tension.

[Approaching the transitional stage. Please loosen your body.]

Clack, clack, clack. At the threshold of the dream, black camera lenses filled the sky. Keeping his eyes closed, Lude took a deep breath and sank deeper.

[You exit the transitional stage. Entering the dream.]

He opened his eyes and looked at his hand. Seeing his clean wrist, he clenched a fist.

“Reality check, complete.”

Now this space was his dream and under his control. He swung the golden half-scissor again.

Booooom! The dark forest rose like a wave pool before collapsing. The monsters’ screams rang endlessly.

At the same time, the survivors floated upward above the woods, drifting gently as they all fainted from Lude’s skill.

[The Lord of Chaos spams “like,” saying that was refreshing.]

‘It’s not good to spam that button you know…’

[The Lord of Chaos grumbles, saying it was an odd number so it is fine.]

Lude snapped his fingers. The monsters’ items flew straight into his inventory. It was a convenient skill that automatically looted low-tier drops.

“Now only that blackened Cinderella castle is left.”

[The Lord of Chaos points a leg, saying survivors must be inside that as well.]

“I know. Still, it can’t be helped. Let us work a little harder and get home quickly.”

And then hurry back to eat a lunchbox with beer! Resolute, Lude raised his hand and gathered willpower. Energy surged into the half-scissor, black force spreading into the air as he called the signal.