LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 12 - If Not from the Side, Then from Behind
Chapter 12: If Not from the Side, Then from Behind
In the game, I was already a hunter from the start, so I didn’t think much about the exam.
The fact that Aunt Rolling, an A-rank hunter, helped me also played a part, and I managed to score above the cut-off line in the written test.
I thought I could quickly become an E-rank hunter, as that was just the prologue part.
That was until I personally experienced the level of the test participants, who were called “superhumans” in society.
“Puhak?!”
“…Huh?”
“Participant number 1004, Han Shin-woo. Sparring record 2.4 seconds, which means you failed!”
“Hey, is that guy really here to become a hunter?”
“He got knocked out with just one punch?”
Even the lowest E-rank hunters started with a basic ability of 3.
In other words, the exam was impossible for me to pass from the beginning, since my original ability was 1, and it had only grown to 1.1 over the past 10 years due to the experience penalty of being a monstrous hunter.
“Sigh…”
Maybe it was because Sophia had called me a “liar” the other day.
I remembered the practical test of the Hunter Association, which I failed a week ago.
The training hall, which had been overflowing with tension, burst into laughter as I got knocked out the moment I started.
Even now, thinking back, my face felt hot with embarrassment.
However, that didn’t mean I had given up on “getting a job” at the Hunter Association.
“Student! You’re really good, have you learned this somewhere?”
“Haha. No, I just studied beforehand from… a game! No, from books!”
“Hahaha. Unlike most young people these days, you’re not frustrating and you dismantle quite well! Nice to see!”
“Thank you!”
I couldn’t become a hunter, which was the combat force of the association.
So, at the very least, I aimed to become support personnel, who assisted such hunters.
After hunters were dispatched and all situations were concluded.
I set a new goal to become a “Monster Cleaner,” a job that involved cleaning up the corpses of monsters killed by hunters.
Of course, this job was also known for its tough competition, though not as much as hunters.
“In the game, the job of a Monster Cleaner was very rewarding due to the lucrative rewards.”
From mass-produced monsters below C-rank to named monsters above B-rank.
Having dismantled them all with “Perfect!” ratings and bonus points, my skills were well-honed.
Moreover, to further hone my skills beyond my player days, I had worked part-time in butchery and fish markets, jobs that involved a lot of bloodshed.
“Dismantling of D-rank monster Pablo is complete.”
“Oh, so fast…!”
“Shin-woo, you’re a real prodigy!”
“Haha, really?”
At first, the dismantling team members looked at me with worried expressions when I entered the field, but now they were giving me thumbs up in approval.
“Um… Team Leader. Do you think I could get a job as a Monster Cleaner at the Hunter Association right after I graduate from school?”
“Haha. Of course! Actually, don’t even think about wasting this talent anywhere else! Shin-woo.”
Just when nearly all the jobs were completed after three long hours of dismantling.
The once clear sky had turned into a red sunset.
“Phew. Everyone, great job today!”
“Yeah, you too, Shin-woo!”
“Shin-woo, if you want to work again, just call me with the business card I gave you! No, actually, I’ll call you as soon as I get some work, so keep your phone on and wait!”
“Haha, yes, thank you! Team Leader.”
The work wrapped up on a good note.
I went with the dismantling team to a prearranged nearby bathhouse and immediately took off my protective suit.
Then, as I let the warm shower water cascade over me, I finally sighed in relief.
Even though I couldn’t become a hunter, I had proven that even an ordinary human like Han Shin-woo could become a monster cleaner.
Feeling good, I smiled.
“By the way, Shin-woo, I have something I’m curious about. Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
It was when we all entered the hot bath together.
The team leader was humming a tune and had already dozed off.
The muscular, hardworking middle-aged man sitting between the team leader and me smiled kindly as he asked.
“It’s nothing serious, just out of curiosity. Why did you apply to be a monster cleaner, Shin-woo?”
“Um… Did I do something wrong?”
“Hahaha, no, I’m not trying to pick on you! It’s just that you’re still young.”
The man laughed and reassured me when I asked if I had done something wrong.
“Even though the pay is good, being a monster cleaner is fundamentally a ‘dangerous job.'”
“Well, that’s true.”
His words made me recall the original setting.
No matter how dead a monster appeared, it was still a job related to monsters.
Sometimes, a monster thought to be dead turned out to be alive, or there were baby monsters living inside its belly.
In that way, monster cleaners ended up dying more often than hunters.
I remembered reading that in the setting book of *Hunter’s Blood*.
“You’re still a high school student, right? This is a time when you should be trying many things, failing, and gaining experiences. Being a monster cleaner was probably not your dream. Do you have any particular reason for applying for this job?”
“A reason, huh…”
It was because I couldn’t become a hunter.
Still, I wanted to be associated with the Hunter Association, so I applied for the potentially deadly job of monster cleaner.
My goal was, of course, to follow the main characters of the original story and create a happy ending in this world…
“Actually, I know someone who’s a hunter.”
Now, I had another reason why I had to be part of the Hunter Association.
“But that person is very shy, so I need to stay by their side.”
“…You’re telling me you became a monster cleaner just for that?”
“Haha. Yes… Compared to the other folks here, my reason might sound silly, but that’s my reason.”
Even if the position was just that of a monster cleaner.
I couldn’t fight alongside her, but I wanted to at least clean up the places she had passed through.
I wanted to keep “that promise from that day,” which was why I had to become a member of the Hunter Association.
“Haha… It’s strange, right?”
Looking around at the suddenly silent bathhouse, I scratched the back of my head.
However.
“You, you bastard…!”
“That’s romantic!”
“Was it Shin-woo?! Kid, you’re so romantic!”
“It’s great to be young.”
These people…
Did they mistake my concern for my sister as the love of a man worried about his lover?
Tears welled up in their eyes on my behalf as if I was the best.
“Have a beautiful love life!”
“Even if you tell me to love her… she’s just like a little sister to me!”
“Sure, sure. Got it. Anyway, keep fighting.”
“Nobody’s listening to me, right?!”
Even the team leader, who had been dozing off, woke up and joined the other men in cheering on my supposed love.
***
About three days had passed since then.
During that time, thanks to another recommendation from the team leader, I participated in another monster cleaning job, showing off perfect dismantling skills once again, becoming the MVP in this field.
“Haha. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you! Here, this is your bonus!”
“…! Thank you, team leader.”
With the bonus calculated from the two missions I participated in, I had earned about 500,000 won.
And with the money saved up, it was time to do that thing.
It had already been a week since Sophia returned to Korea.
During that time, surprisingly, I hadn’t met Sophia even once.
Since monster cleaners enter the field after hunters complete their missions, I thought I would naturally run into her occasionally during work, but that wasn’t the case at all.
It seemed as if she was deliberately avoiding me, and I could only see her on TV broadcasts where she appeared.
“You’re Korea’s top promising hunter! And even though you’re a Beast Hunter, you can actually communicate! Hello, Hunter Sophia.”
“Yes, hello everyone! I’m B-rank hunter Sophia, back in Korea after two years~!”
Sophia greeted the viewers with a refreshing smile from beyond my phone screen.
But I could tell.
That smile was a perfect forced smile.
This was a habit of hers that only I knew about—when Sophia forced a smile, she had a habit of scratching her neck with her hand.
Of course, she did that on the broadcast I was watching too.
“I need to cheer her up soon.”
For such a Sophia, I had prepared something.
Who am I?
I’m a veteran player of *Hunter’s Blood*, where the main content besides action was dating sim elements.
In the game, I had conquered heroines with all sorts of crazy personalities, making someone like Sophia seem adorable by comparison.
“Would this be good? Or maybe this?”
In this world, I could be a Casanova who could win over any woman’s heart if I set my mind to it… Or I would be if I had the convenient ability of a “status window” like typical protagonists of possession novels.
“Do women like this sort of thing…?”
I had no trouble dissecting the corpses of dead monsters, even when the graphics became reality.
But picking out a gift for a heroine whose affection had dropped left me trembling as I wandered around the department store for what felt like the hundredth time.
No matter how many women I had conquered from my room, I was still just a virgin.
Before she went to America, whenever I tried to give her a gift for her birthday or Christmas, she would always say,
“I don’t need that. Just having you by my side is enough, Shin-woo.”
…and would stick to me all day, substituting my presence for a gift.
“Ex-excuse me…”
“Yes?”
“Would… ‘king crabs’ make a good gift for women…?”
“…What?”
I was screwed.
I was truly the worst guy ever.
Imagining Sophia feeling burdened by any gift I gave her made me worry that I might never be able to meet her again.
However, at that time, I didn’t know yet.
From the “Laughing Monster Incident” that ended safely in Busan ten years ago.
As 2024 began, it was also the beginning of the prologue where the original story starts.
WEEEEE-EEE-EEE-EEE!!
“A siren?!”
“M-monster!”
“Everyone, please proceed to the basement in an orderly manner for evacuation!”
It was the prelude to the original story finally beginning.