The morning after I found out I had beco a new S-rank Hunter.
“There is a way to refuse mandatory service.”
With her eyes heavy from lack of sleep, Jung Da-jeong shoved her phone in my face.
“There’s the religious exemption, proving you have a physical disability, or other reasonable personal reasons that prevent service. I got exempted from the military, so what makes you think you can’t get exempted?”
“You were an orphan and had to support family mbers. I don’t need to support you, though.”
“Oh, so you’re going to quit your job and beco unemployed, huh? Then you’re going to have to support , right?”
“Why would I feed a healthy man in his mid-20s? Get a job. Aren’t you going to work today?”
“Is that really the issue right now?!”
Just two days ago, she was whining about wanting to quit her job, and now she’s talking nonsense.
I sighed deeply.
Since yesterday, Jung Da-jeong had been like this.
“Normal military service and being a Hunter are different. The governnt would love to have an S-rank Hunter working for free. And with Hunters, the only way you can refuse mandatory service is if the test results are wrong.”
“Yeah, but you could also be a mistake! How are you an S-rank Hunter?!”
Jung Da-jeong scread, her dark circles deepening.
“You always got an F in the physical education exam!”
“Didn’t you see the video? I wiped out the Ant Monster with one hit...”
“It’s probably a fake! No, even if not, just insist that it’s fake! Ask the boss to help you lie!”
“Ugh, enough already.”
I kicked her in the back as she rambled on, making a loud noise with my foot.
“Stop thinking nonsense and just go to work.”
“You think work is the problem right now?!”
“So, what’s the problem, then?”
“My little sister might be in danger of dying, and you’re worried about work?!”
I blinked.
“Yesterday you said the S-rank Hunter was lucky.”
“Oh, I misspoke. I was crazy. Who would want to push soone into danger just to make so money? Especially their family!”
There are many people like that.
Well, Jung Da-jeong wasn’t one of them.
If she were, my new life would have been a lot easier.
I kicked her harder with my foot, pushing her out of the front door.
“Just go to work.”
“Stay ho today, okay? I’ll take a half-day and be back later!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Bang!
The old iron front door barely closed.
I sighed again.
After staying up all night looking for cases of Hunter mandatory service refusals, I was worried if I’d get scolded by my boss at work.
At least, it was lucky that Jung Da-jeong didn’t insist on using her leave. To be honest, I had a lot to do today too.
First off, I got a call from the Hunter Managent Bureau yesterday.
Since my potential was rated S-rank in the Awakened Ability Test, I now had a duty to serve as a Hunter, and they asked to co to the central bureau for proper registration.
They offered to send a car if I didn’t have transportation, but I declined. It wasn’t that hard to take public transport to the Gwanghwamun area where the central bureau was located.
But then, an unexpected person offered to pick up.
Actually, it wasn’t that surprising.
I only understood why they texted to et tomorrow after they contacted again.
“Hello, Da-on.”
At the appointed ti, I heard a knock on the front door.
It was Yoo Han-ul.
Standing in front of the crumbling multi-family house, his shoulders sticking out over the wall, he looked like a toy soldier standing alone on a broken castle. His white hair shimred in the sunlight.
The hero who once killed was now waiting in front of my house to take sowhere.
To , it was quite a dazzling sight.
“You weren’t supposed to bring the car?”
“Yeah, it’s parked down the alley. Are you feeling okay? You look fine, but I was worried because your injury was serious.”
“They gave a potion right away at the Hunter’s ergency room.”
“Physical injuries aren’t the only kind. After your first dungeon raid, you’d also have to deal with psychological aftermath. You had your arm nearly burned off, and your body was covered in bruises and poison.”
“Now that you ntion it, it sounds serious.”
If I were a first-ti fighter, maybe I would have been bedridden for a month. Physical pain definitely leaves a mark on the mind.
“Yeah, it was serious. Even I was worried seeing it, and I’m a stranger.”
“You still kept texting even after I ignored your ssages?”
“Well, maybe for so reason, my ssages were a burden?”
“A burden?”
“Maybe because I’m too famous, or maybe because I’m too handso... Well, I know it’s not the second one, so please don’t glare at like that?”
Even though he knew I felt uncomfortable, he still made plans to co pick up?
That was fascinating in its own way.
Chuckling awkwardly, Yoo Han-ul scratched his cheek.
“The Hunter Managent Bureau, well, especially the central bureau, has a bit of a tense atmosphere. I’ve been a Hunter since I was young, so when I see soone in that situation, I want to help out.”
Listening to the man who had been a hero in his past life, I tilted my head.
“Do you think you’re a pushover?”
To offer the kindness he wished to receive without expecting anything in return? How has such a person survived in modern society without being wiped out?
“I don’t think I’m a pushover... but, haha.”
“Don’t laugh like that, it’s getting personal.”
“Isn’t it good when you get close to people?”
Well, from the perspective of a demon, “getting close” is one of the most useless things.
Just look at —I’ve been obsessed with Jung Da-jeong for 19 years just because I’ve seen her face.
‘If Yoo Han-ul is actually in league with the people who attacked , there wouldn’t be a single person in the world I could trust.’
Anyway, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Even if he wasn’t connected to the current enemies targeting , if he learns my true identity, he might decide to eliminate for the greater good.
Just like how I was treated in my past life.
“The car’s parked down there. Let’s go.”
The car Yoo Han-ul brought, despite being the highest-earning person in South Korea right now, was an ordinary compact car, the kind that could be mocked by street racers. However, the tinting was very dark.
When I asked why he chose this car, Yoo Han-ul grabbed the wheel and smiled.
“This is a real secret.”
“I love secrets.”
“Hmm, then I’ll tell you.”
Yoo Han-ul whispered in a quiet, low voice. My ears tingled.
“When you drive a car like this, in this color, people love to start argunts with you. Even when you stick to the speed limit, they honk at you. If you follow the traffic signals, they honk. If you give way when rging, they open their windows and shout insults. Even when it’s clearly their fault. They all do the sa thing. If it gets worse, they get out of their cars and start banging on the windows, telling you to get out.”
“And?”
“So, how do you think their faces would look if I got out of the car?”
They’d probably think they were in trouble.
Looking at Yoo Han-ul, who must have been over 190 cm tall with a build so big that even his longsword looked small, it was easy to imagine how terrifying it would be for anyone thinking he was just so ordinary person when they realized who he really was. Anyone who didn’t know Yoo Han-ul’s face in South Korea would be rare. I couldn’t help but smile. It was fun just imagining it.
Naturally, they’d think the person behind the wheel was weak and try to intimidate them, but when they found out it was South Korea’s top Hunter, it’d be a different story.
Yoo Han-ul sure had an interesting hobby.
I asked, heart pounding with excitent.
“So what happens next?”
“I either get an apology or handle it legally.”
What I had been expecting deflated quickly. I sighed and sank into the seat.
“How boring.”
As a modern person drenched in dopamine and a forr demon, I was hoping for a more exciting situation, but it seed that wouldn’t happen.
Yoo Han-ul laughed awkwardly.
“Well, at least after people et once, they won’t start argunts with compact cars anymore.”
“If they see a different compact car with that license plate, they’ll probably vent their frustration on that car. If people are trying to fix their tempers with sothing like that, they probably wouldn’t have started in the first place.”
Humans are animals that naturally dominate when they think the other person is weaker than them. Even if they have a remarkable experience, it’s hard to change their nature with a short interaction. If they’ve been intimidated by a stronger person, they might beco psychologically smaller in front of others like that, but genuinely inspiring respect is even harder. Humans aren’t machines you can just modify.
“Is that so? Well, I hope you’re right.”
Yoo Han-ul didn’t deny or affirm my words, simply chuckling softly.
I found his reaction quite interesting.
Most people would judge the current “Jung Da-jeong” based on her outward appearance and would probably think I was still in my rebellious phase or try to scold for talking back to an adult, but Yoo Han-ul was neither of those.
Maybe he was just dismissing the rude, unfamiliar teenager he had t a couple of days ago in a form of respectful disregard, but that too seed rare.
‘Still... he’s a rare type.’
Honestly, in this society, it’s extrely hard for a man who’s achieved this much success—socially and materially—not to beco arrogant. Especially in a society like South Korea.
It’s no wonder that people online call Yoo Han-ul “god-like” and all sorts of things. At 190 cm and with such a big fra, combined with a gentle personality, I never thought such a person could exist.
Of course, saying he was gentle didn’t fit a person who’d slaughtered hundreds of monsters.
“Now that you’ll be registered as a Hunter, you’ll receive training. By the way, Da-on, are you planning to be a wizard?”
“Probably. Look at this arm. Do you think I can hold a sword?”
I raised my soft, flabby arm to show him, and Yoo Han-ul gave a slightly awkward smile.
“That’s because you haven’t trained. Of course, I’ve seen your combat videos, so I know you have a genius talent for magic, but it’s a bit unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate? What do you an?”
“I thought it would be great if you ca over to the physical combat side. Of course, if you’re not into magic, I’d be more surprised, but with your genius talent, it makes sense.”
I squinted and glanced at Yoo Han-ul’s profile.
Of course, today’s Yoo Han-ul must have seen my videos all over the internet.
‘Genius talent...’
Could that video really be enough to describe it as a ‘genius’ level?
Maybe for an ordinary person, but any Hunter who saw that would imdiately know that magic of that power isn’t sothing a ‘genius’ can easily pull off. Even though the monsters were low-level, that kind of destructive magic isn’t common.
So knowledge isn’t gained through talent, but through experience and ti. The magic I created was one of those things.
Of course, Yoo Han-ul, being a swordsman, probably doesn’t know much about wizards... but at least, he should realize that what I did wasn’t sothing ordinary.
‘He should’ve at least raised suspicions, but he’s not even questioning it.’
I thought Yoo Han-ul was deliberately trying to hide sothing.
When he saved , I had looked like a ss and he couldn’t doubt anything, but if he had seen my magic videos, it would have been natural to start questioning .
In fact, the kindness he was showing might not be the usual goodwill. After all, we had only t a few days ago.
But... he still hadn’t questioned it.
I couldn’t help but feel that there was sothing else going on here. Perhaps it was a form of kindness, or maybe he was trying to keep an eye on . Either way, it wasn’t entirely clear.
Still, it was hard not to feel a certain unease about the situation. Was he truly just being helpful, or was there sothing more to his sudden interest in ?
I shook my head slightly and decided not to dwell on it for too long.
"Anyway, I should be heading out. Thanks for the ride."
Yoo Han-ul smiled as we reached the compact parking space.
"Yeah, let's go."
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