EP.9 Golden Hunter of the Hunter Academy
Fifteen years ago, a major catastrophe occurred on Earth, and humanity faced a grave threat.
Monsters ran rampant, and in these dark tis, Awakeners erged like a ray of hope.
Around the ti when their presence began to bring stability to the world, the governnt sought an effective way to nurture these Awakeners.
Hunter Academy.
Packaged as the nurturing grounds for Awakener hunters, the true motive was to attract substantial investnts by emphasizing that, even though they had Awakener, if they died too quickly, it would result in a massive national loss.
Regardless of the actual agenda, the academy garnered significant support.
Who would oppose the idea of nurturing specialized hunters who would protect their lives?
The sentint resonated across the political spectrum, and it didn’t take long from the establishnt of the academy to admit its first batch of students.
And I am a graduate of Hunter Academy, known as the 4th generation Golden Hunter.
[Hunter Academy 4th Generation Graduate, Lee Kang Hyun]
Of course, I ranked last. Still, a graduate is a graduate.
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If I graduated as the last-place student from the Hunter Academy’s Golden Hunter program, it ant that there was a first-place student as well.
“Today, we have a very special guest. I’m sure you’re all curious about who it is.”
As the host spoke, the TV screen displayed the Top Graduate, who was about to appear.
“It’s none other than Kim Soo Ho, the Holy Knight who protects our country, just as his na suggests!”
The host’s announcent, along with prompting applause, created a lively atmosphere among the audience.
“Ha-ha-ha, it’s an honor to be welcod.”
The young man with a sowhat epheral appearance smiled and spoke, prompting even louder applause.
With his light brown hair and a face that seed evenly divided, along with his impressive skills, who wouldn’t like him?
Kim Soo Ho.
An A-ranked hunter.
The eldest son of the guild leader of the country’s top-ranked Divine Guild.
Top graduate of the 4th generation of Hunter Academy.
Just considering these credentials was awe-inspiring, yet, as always, life was unfair.
He had all of that and had even traveled to the El Dorad Continent, unlike , who was kicked out for being incompetent.
Moreover, Kim Soo Ho had entered the continent’s only religious order, the White Order, and officially received the title of a Holy Knight.
It was well-known that he had received the Holy Sword during the process, even if it was a common-grade one.
Of course, the Holy Sword had a significant impact on his achievent of A-rank hunter status.
Since his return to Earth, it was only natural that he would be called a Holy Knight.
He even carried the title of a promising future leader for our country.
“Kim Soo Ho recently single-handedly conquered a C-rank dungeon, an incredible achievent…”
The host listed Kim Soo Ho’s achievents one by one, reminding the audience.
I had no intention of belittling his accomplishnts.
Dungeons were places with many variables, and clearing a dungeon alone was an incredibly difficult feat.
Unless there was a severe gap in strength, it was nearly impossible.
However, defeating a C-rank dungeon alone was praiseworthy even to a kindergartener.
It was undoubtedly an achievent worthy of applause.
But still…
“Oh! By the way, there were rumors during your ti at the Academy that you were known as an angel. It was said that you helped struggling fellow students. How did you…”
“Haha, an angel, you say? That’s not the case at all. I simply did what needed to be done.”
As Kim Soo Ho slightly stepped back, the host joked about being too modest, drawing laughter from the audience. It irritated .
What? He was known as an angel during his ti at the Academy? He helped struggling students? What nonsense…
I had a good reason to be so sure. If the Kim Soo Ho on the screen had really been that kind of person, I wouldn’t have spent my entire four years at the academy being beaten down.
He was a person deeply entrenched in an elitist mindset. Those without abilities were like insects to him, and he tried to squash like a bug whenever he saw .
I had endured my entire academic life receiving treatnt that was less than human just to avoid getting kicked out.
“Well, could you send a ssage to the friend who received your help once? If that friend is watching the broadcast sowhere, they’d surely be delighted, right?”
No, not at all.
Far from feeling delighted, it made nauseous. The host’s words had caused Kim Soo Ho’s lips to twitch slightly. Then he looked straight into the cara.
“Yeah. Hey, my friend, are you doing well? It’s been three years since we graduated from the academy. When can we et up…”
Without listening to the end, I turned off the TV.
I didn’t need to hear that nonsense. Pretending to be good sowhere.
I’ll say it again, Kim Soo Ho occupied the position of the elite among the bullies who led violence within the academy.
Kim Soo Ho, who led violence within the academy, was now appearing on TV and talking like that? What a shaless guy. He had no conscience and had no qualms about speaking freely on television.
I wanted to write a revealing post about Kim Soo Ho on the internet right away.
If I had lost my rationality, I would have already written and uploaded it.
However, my rationality prevented from taking action.
Whether in a regular school or at the Hunter Academy, the Awakener were top predators.
Even those who had been treated like might beco targets.
But staying quiet wasn’t because they were foolish. Among the Awakener, rankers were so powerful that ordinary people beca powerless in their presence.
What would happen if I exposed what had happened to in such a world?
Maybe if I were lucky, it would end with my death.
But the world wasn’t so kind.
What if I posted an article about Kim Soo Ho right now?
Imdiately, it would gain attention.
But that would be it. Soon, the interest would wane, and Kim Soo Ho’s guild, the Divine Guild, would begin moving secretly.
I’d be dragged sowhere, and I might end up begging for death while being tortured.
The world was too harsh for a single topic to keep burning. Above all, those who protected people from monsters were Hunters.
If they were rejected, the consequences were evident.
Everyone knew that.
So, the past was just buried in one’s heart, and people like Kim Soo Ho went on living with a glorified image of the past.
“Sigh…”
I let out a sigh.
I resented myself for not being able to do anything even in this situation.
Even if the status window appeared late, I still couldn’t reach the level of Kim Soo Ho’s toes.
Just a few days ago, after receiving a magic power test, I t Kang Jin Soo, a fellow student.
He was in the lower-middle class during his ti at the academy, but now he had beco an existence beyond my reach.
He had beco a governnt official working at the Awakening Center.
He didn’t do anything beyond speaking to , but I felt powerless once again.
“Still, this is just the beginning.”
What gave comfort was that at least the status window had appeared.
If it hadn’t, there would have been a 0% chance of catching up.
Now, even though it was a ager 0.1%, it was not impossible.
It might be a distant dream, but I still had the potential to beco stronger.
So, now I needed to prepare. Hunting monsters imdiately as an F-rank Hunter was impossible.
For the ti being, I had to work as a porter to earn money. The money I earned would turn into equipnt, and that equipnt would be used to target the lives of monsters.
Dead monsters would leave experience points.
Little by little, I would move forward. I would build my strength.
If the day ca when I surpassed them, I would beco the predator who devoured them.
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Celia was busy moving around the dungeon.
“Yes, please make this area a little wider and in a circular shape.”
A few days ago, she had successfully contracted with the Council, and construction was in full swing inside the dungeon.
Celia’s top priority was expanding the size of the dungeon. In her opinion, the dungeon had to be large in the first place.
That way, it would take ti for intruders to reach the center of the dungeon, and she would have an easier ti defending it.
To achieve her goal of expanding the dungeon, she had hired craftsn affiliated with the Council. The labor force consisted of skeletons, orcs, golems, and the like.
The only individuals who could be considered craftsn were two dwarves who served as overseers.
‘As expected, selling the Holy Knight was the right choice.’
The priest and the Holy Knight who dared to invade her master’s dungeon had done so without fear.
The priest had been offered as a sacrifice, and the Holy Knight had been left imprisoned in a dream.
The Holy Knight was sowhat of a nuisance.
Celia couldn’t release him, yet there was no clear way to make use of him.
Then, suddenly, Celia thought about selling the Holy Knight when she was doing business with the Council.
Celia also had so knowledge that humans were not a significant trading commodity from the Council’s perspective, as there were plenty of humans all over the continent.
However, humans belonging to organizations like the Holy Knights were different. They were considered rare and valuable commodities.
Furthermore, the Holy Knight she had prepared was in perfect condition, utterly flawless. Manipulating the dream had subdued him, so it made sense.
As expected, the Council expressed its intention to purchase the Holy Knight at the highest price. Celia then made a counteroffer.
She requested that the Council provide dwarves, including overseers, for the construction work she needed.
The Council, being profit-driven, was hesitant to readily dispatch premium labor like dwarves to a dungeon they were dealing with for the first ti.
However, Celia managed to lure the dwarves into participating in the dungeon construction by using the Holy Knight as bait.
The presence of the dwarves had a significant impact.
Thanks to them, the construction ti was drastically reduced, and the quality of the work improved considerably. Celia could feel the difference in real-ti.
“Hehe, I hope Master is pleased with this.”
She couldn’t help but smile when she thought about the newly transford dungeon.
Celia’s loyalty was unwaveringly devoted to Master. Therefore, she considered Master’s happiness to be her own happiness.
“That aside, it won’t be long now.”
In a few days, the concealnt effect on the dungeon would end.
The ongoing dungeon construction was also expected to finish similarly soon.
On the day when all preparations were complete, Celia would comnce her activities in earnest.
With the anticipation of being able to offer nurous sacrifices to the owner, her expression brightened even more.
“I will create the day when everyone looks up to our great Master.”
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