Chapter 1
Ā One Bite?
The world changed when towers began to rise from the ground and Gates started opening.
As a result, Hunters appeared. They began climbing the towers and closing the Gates…
I envy them. Hunters.
They make tons of money. They deck themselves out in awesome gear and use flashy skills.
And what about all the items and spoils they bring back from the towers?
What could be cooler than watching them fight to close Gates?
In this world, there are plenty of people who don’t know any celebrities, but everyone knows the S-Rank Hunters.
It’s a world where everyone wants to become a Hunter.
Dangerous? Frequent injuries? One wrong move, and you could die?
As if other jobs were any different. Life is a constant struggle anyway.
I’d rather become a Hunter and get rewarded for my efforts, even if I end up dying someday.
Just look at Son Jeong-ho.
He’d spent three years working himself to the bone, coughing up blood from sheer exhaustion countless times, and he still hadn’t found a job.
The problem was, wanting to become a Hunter didn’t mean you could.
First, you had to Awaken.
But how? Nobody knew. It was entirely a matter of luck. An elementary school kid walking down the street could Awaken as an S-Rank Hunter. A terminally ill old man with only a day or two left to live could Awaken as an A-Rank Hunter and suddenly leap out of bed. A retired special forces soldier could Awaken as a D-Rank Hunter, and…
Flash!
[You have Awakened!]
Son Jeong-ho, who had been cooking ramen in his kitchen, could Awaken, too.
“Awakened? Just like that?”
He’d heard that Hunter Awakenings happened suddenly, but was it really this abrupt?
His first emotion wasn’t joy so much as anxiety.
He wondered if he’d finally gone insane after years of living alone, endlessly bouncing between part-time jobs.
It had been three years since he’d left home to live independently, yet he was still preparing for job interviews in a tiny studio apartment while working part-time just to cover his living expenses. Anyone in his position could lose their mind.
‘I guess I’ll know once I open my status window.’
Every Hunter could view their own status window.
It showed who they were, how strong they were, and what skills they possessed.
Jeong-ho turned down the heat under his pot and opened his status window.
Flash!
[Name: Son Jeong-ho]
[Unique Skill: Enter the Tower of Heroes]
[Stats] [Level: 1]
Strength: F
Agility: F
Defense: F
Senses: F
Magic: F
Luck: F
[Common Skill: Enter the Tower of Trials]
‘…?’
He really had Awakened.
The problem was that every single one of his stats was F-Rank. Even having just one F-Rank stat could knock a Hunter down two ranks.
The Tower tested every aspect of a Hunter’s abilities, while Gates were full of unpredictable variables. The fewer weaknesses a Hunter had, the better.
‘But all of mine are F.’
In other words, he was useless even as a Hunter.
His Unique Skill was strange, too. Enter the Tower of Heroes?
Every Hunter had one Unique Skill.
Since Unique Skills never overlapped, they were the most important factor in determining a Hunter’s career path.
If your Unique Skill involved ranged attacks, you could become an archer, marksman, or gunner.
If it involved magic, you could become a mage. If it involved healing, you could become a healer.
But what if your Unique Skill was Enter the Tower of Heroes?
Jeong-ho looked out the only window in his studio apartment.
The building across the street blocked most of the view, but through a narrow gap, he could still see a towering structure rising into the sky.
“That’s the Tower of Trials. So, Enter the Tower of Heroes…”
[Skill Activated: Enter the Tower of Heroes]
[Entering the Tower of Heroes.]
“Wait! I haven’t even eaten my ramen yeā!”
Flash!
A blinding light. The sounds around him faded. Silence settled over him, as if he’d been cast out of the world.
As the light gradually dimmed, a cold stone hall came into view.
Jeong-ho turned toward the voice.
A massive shadow stood before him, draped in an enormous hood. Only a pair of blazing red eyes floated within the darkness.
“W-Who are you?”
For a moment, Jeong-ho thought the shadow had chuckled.
More importantly, what? The hundredth floor of the Tower of Trials?
“I haven’t even climbed the first floor yet.”
The shadow’s gaze changed instantly.
It looked him up and down with undisguised contempt.
“Is something wrong?”
The shadow muttered to itself and spun around a full 180 degrees.
Jeong-ho felt a little irritated.
There was a limit to how much someone could look down on another person. As if he’d come here because he wanted to!
“Fine. I’ll leave. After I eat my ramen.”
If he stayed here any longer, his ramen would turn into a soggy mess.
And he might as well get a little revenge on the guy for looking down on him.
‘I’ll splash plenty of ramen broth around before I go.’
Slurp, slurpā
Fortunately, the ramen was cooked to perfection.
Thanks to the frigid air inside the Tower of Heroes, the piping-hot noodles cooled rapidly, leaving them pleasantly chewy.
Jeong-ho might have F-Rank stats across the board, but after years of living alone, he’d become a first-rate ramen cook.
“It’s instant food. It turned out really well. Want to try some?”
The shadow slowly turned its head.
For a moment, Jeong-ho thought he’d made eye contact with those blazing red eyes. He could almost sense a flicker of curiosity.
“Just one bite?”
Why would he refuse a gift?
Jeong-ho examined each item one by one.
Original Cold Iron Shortsword (Legendary): A cold iron sword forged in the frigid depths of winter. It freezes its target before contact, slices through it upon contact, and shatters it into pieces afterward.
That was one brutal description.
But he couldn’t use a sword. Both his Strength and Agility were F-Rank.
Original Fruit of Life Extension (Legendary): Upon consumption, instantly cures all diseases and adds 30 years to the consumer’s remaining lifespan.
What a terrifying effect.
Immortality and eternal youth were dreams shared by everyone. This was an item whose value was beyond calculation, but…
‘What’s the point of extending my life here?’
He couldn’t even get a job, and his future was uncertain. What was the point of simply living longer?
All his Hunter stats were F-Rank, too.
He’d like to live a long, quiet life, but that was only possible if he had at least the ability to survive in the first place.
Now that he’d Awakened as a Hunter, what he needed was something useful to a Hunter.
Original Skill Book: Fire Bolt (Legendary): Learn Fire Bolt (Original).
After considering everything, the skill book was clearly the best choice.
Fire Bolt was one of the most basic offensive magic skills.
Even Hunters with F-Rank Magic occasionally used it. They might use it to lure enemies from a distance or, at the very least, light a cigarette.
“I’ll take the skill book.”
“All right, Mr. Daeyeong. What exactly is the Tower of Heroes? Isn’t the Tower supposed to be the Tower of Trials?”
The shadow’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then why can I enter?”
“Got it. I won’t come back.”
Before Jeong-ho could respondā
Flash!
[Your time in the Tower has expired.]
[You have exited the Tower of Heroes.]
Jeong-ho returned home as though he’d been kicked out.
At first, he’d thought the whole thing was a dream, but the empty ramen pot and the skill book in his hand proved otherwise.
“He must really like ramen.”
It was still unbelievable.
The guy had gone on about the pinnacle of fine dining, then proceeded to steal someone else’s ramen and eat every last drop of the broth.
At least he’d gotten a skill book in exchange.
Jeong-ho opened the skill book.
As he briefly scanned its contents, information automatically flowed into his mind.
[Skill Acquired: Fire Bolt (Original, Legendary)]
– Fire Bolt (Original, Legendary): Fires an arrow made of flame.
Even though it was Legendary, the description was simple.
He wondered just how powerful a skill used by F-Rank Hunters could possibly be.
Besides, if the original was weak, wouldn’t the imitations be weak, too?
‘I’d like to test it out once. But climbing a Tower seems a little too risky.’
Tower climbing required entering alone.
If Jeong-ho went by himself with all his stats at F-Rank, he might not make it back. There were plenty of traps, and one wrong step could mean instant death.
Gates, on the other hand, were more like group projects. Other Hunters would be there, too. It was the perfect environment for someone like Jeong-ho, who was practically below an F-Rank Hunter, to sneak in and test out his skill.
‘I wonder if there’s a Gate somewhere. Oh, wait, sorry. Please let there be a weak Gate somewhere with no people around and minimal property damage…’
Bzzzzzzzt!!
His smartphone vibrated unusually long.
[Emergency Disaster Alert: Gate Appearance Warning!]
[A Gate has appeared in a mountainous area 134 meters southwest of your current location!]
[Estimated Gate Rank: B. Main monster type: Unknown. Please evacuate to safety until Hunters arrive.]
A Gate had appeared right on cue. And it was close by, too.
The only problem was that a B-Rank Gate might be a little too much to handle.
Bzzzzzzzt!
[A-Rank Hunter Kwon Min-gi is en route. Please evacuate to safety.]
An A-Rank Hunter was on the way, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
Until recently, Kwon Min-gi had been a top-tier B-Rank Hunter, famous for his powerful fire magic. People said his raw firepower was already comparable to that of an A-Rank Hunter.
BANG! BANG! BOOM!
āāā!
The battle had already erupted into chaos.
People were shouting, skills were being unleashed, and explosions rang out one after another.
‘I’ll just go test my skill and come right back.’
Jeong-ho cautiously approached the Gate.
The moment he got close, the devastation became apparent.
‘Huh? Why… why are the Hunters…?
Most of the Hunters had been knocked to the ground, covered in injuries.
The situation was horrific for a B-Rank Gate. What kind of monster could have caused this?
‘W-Wait! Are those Blood-Tearing Statues?!’
They were among the strongest monsters that could appear in a B-Rank Gate.
The plaster statues moved around like robot vacuum cleaners, their eyes flashing with a crimson glow as red lasers swept across the area.
BOOM!!
The places the lasers swept through exploded, sending flames shooting into the air.
The Hunters couldn’t even approach the monsters. They were being overwhelmed without a chance to fight back.
Even A-Rank Hunter Kwon Min-gi was struggling.
“Headquarters! We need backup! Backup!!”
His voice was desperate as he found himself cornered.
Since the statues were made of stone, fire attacks weren’t very effective against them.
The Blood-Tearing Statues slowly closed in around him.
“E-Everyone who’s still alive, run!!”
Kwon Min-gi shouted.
Running away was the right choice if he wanted to survive, but Jeong-ho couldn’t bring himself to flee.
Was it because he wanted to test his skill?
No.
He might be able to save Hunter Kwon Min-gi.
Fire Bolt was originally a skill used to lure monsters away.
He’d fire just one shot and run immediately. That alone would be more than enough for someone with his F-Rank stats.
“Fire Bolt.”
[Skill Activated: Fire Bolt (Original)]
A ball of fire appeared above Jeong-ho’s head.
It was big.
No, it was really big.
Actually, wasn’t it way too big?!
KA-BOOOOOOM!!
A rain of fire poured down from the crimson sky.
Was this what it had looked like on the final day when Mount Vesuvius erupted over Pompeii?
The Blood-Tearing Statues crumbled one after another.
[Blood-Tearing Statues Destroyed: 17/17]
[B-Rank Gate Cleared!]
[Contribution: Son Jeong-ho (100%)]
“…It ended in one shot?”
“It’s not over yet! Everyone, stay alert!! That was Inferno! At least an Epic-grade skill!”
Kwon Min-gi shouted.
He was even more terrified now than he’d been while fighting the Blood-Tearing Statues.
His bloodshot eyes darted around as he desperately tried to figure out what was happening. Even if he was going to die, he was determined to find out what kind of monster they were dealing with.
“There are no Hunters in Korea who can use Inferno! Whoever cast that must be at least a high-ranking A-Rank Hunter! And if we’re unlucky, an S-Rank monster might have come out of the Gate!”
Uh.
That’s me, actually.
