Chapter 1.1
It’s been about 10 years since dungeons appeared in the world, and a new profession called ‘Hunter’ emerged.
What have I done in those 10 years? To be honest, nothing.
Whether it was luck or something else, I’d never once been caught up in a dungeon, and all the people I vaguely knew were the same.
Since I had never entered a dungeon, I couldn’t become a Hunter.
It was a profession I had no interest in, so I had excluded it entirely from my career path.
But what would you do if that profession suddenly fell into your lap like a star falling from the sky?
The system is recognizing an Awakened.
[ Awakened : Baek Youngha ]
Would you like to Awaken?
[ Yes / No ]
Even when my foot got stuck in a sewer on the way to first period, or when a perfectly fine umbrella flipped inside out in the wind, or when all my new clothes got soaked, I’d never been this flustered.
What terrible luck I’m having today, I thought.
I pondered while looking at the system window that moved following my gaze.
A hunter’s salary… How much was it again…..?
I’m 25 years old, and graduation was delayed because I took a leave of absence once.
Of course, most of my classmates have already graduated and gotten jobs.
On the other hand, I don’t think I’ll be able to make use of my major, nor do I think I’ll be able to get a job in another field.
Then wouldn’t becoming a Hunter be better?
As long as it’s not the trash-tier G-rank, I could make a living anywhere.
With trembling hands, I pressed the ‘Yes’ button.
Hwaaaah–!
[ Awakened: Baek Youngha
Rank: S
Trait: Affection View (S)
Title:
Skill: Affection Measurement (S) ]
Only a faint light spread out and nothing around me had changed, yet there it was, an S-rank stamped loud and clear across the system window out of nowhere.
S-rank? Not even F-rank, which is the highest after G-rank, but the next, next, next, next, next, next one…S?
My head went rigid. I’d read in a lot of dungeon reviews that when you’re faced with an unbelievable, unrealistic situation, your body stiffens up from tension.
I used to think that was nonsense, but now I finally understand.
When faced with something outside the bounds of expectation, the body freezes. The mind too.
I stood there blankly, forgetting I was inside a dungeon, until the whale-like cry echoing through the narrow tunnel finally brought me back to my senses.
“Ah… right. I’m in a dungeon.”
Remembering the first period lecture I’d forgotten about, my body moved on its own.
A reaction typical of a college student who’s survived in Korea, where students still show up even during typhoons.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the fear of possibly encountering a monster to freeze my body again, and I pressed my back against the wall.
First period. A class where attendance is important. I had never once been late for that class, and now I might miss it like this?
That can’t happen. I have to make it, no matter what.
Even if I end up late, I have to show up. I’ll just lie and tell the professor I was at the hospital so it won’t affect my attendance record.
It’s not perfect, but for the sake of the report card I’ve worked hard to maintain, I have to get out of here.
I carefully peeked around the long, bent corner.
Wuuung—
I could only hear a small mechanical sound similar to tinnitus. Nothing special was visible.
What was that whale sound earlier?
No matter how I looked at it, there’s no way a whale would be in this tunnel dungeon, one of the most well-known dungeons.
Whales live in water. There’s no way they’d live in a tunnel like this.
And besides, a famous streamer once fell into this kind of tunnel dungeon while broadcasting, and there were no whales in that footage.
The only notable thing in that video was the existence of something called a Safe Zone.
The Safe Zone was a space where you could rest comfortably without being attacked, but it came with a time limit.
I watched that streamer’s broadcast live, so I knew the time limit very well.
10 minutes. The Safe Zone only stays active for 10 minutes. So it’s best to locate it in advance and not enter.
I confirmed there were no monsters in the path I had to take and carefully walked forward.
Mimicking the crawling posture I often saw in variety shows, I crawled and carefully scanned the curved alley.
“Phone, where’s my phone…?”
“Over here, miss!”
“Ah, thank y…Aaahh!!”
“Aaaahhh!!”
Startled by the sudden voice, I fell back instinctively, and the other person also flipped over just the same.
It must have looked ridiculous, so I quickly cleared my throat and got up to see who it was.
It was a person.
Aside from being a bit grimy, they were completely uninjured and looked fine.
Judging by the heavy backpack and familiar school uniform, she was likely a student from a nearby high school.
“…Why don’t you stand up first?”
“Thank you! What about my phone?”
“I’ve got it right here.”
“Then please check over there with your phone. I came from that direction, and there was nothing there. You’re… Unnie, right?”
“Probably…”
“I’m a senior in high school.”
“Right.”
“Then Unnie, please check over there. I’ll check the path I came through one more time!”
I nodded without thinking and turned on the flashlight the student gave me.
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