ALL NOVEL C13
The next day.
I woke up to sunlight piercing through my eyes.
‘The alarm didn’t go off.’
My phone was turned off.
No wonder the alarm didn’t ring.
I sighed lightly and turned my phone back on.
**Buzz! Buzz!**
The moment I pressed the power button, the phone started vibrating uncontrollably.
I blinked in disbelief.
“What the…?”
**[Missed calls: 306]**
**[Text messages: 560]**
90% of the numbers were unfamiliar.
I couldn’t muster the courage to start calling people back, so I began reading the texts.
“Unbelievable.”
I frowned as I skimmed through them.
– *The Eagle Talon Guild is looking for talented individuals like you!*
– *Top benefits! Best treatment guaranteed! The Hero Guild offers…*
– *The Dragon Guild is ready to meet all your demands…*
Hundreds of messages.
Most were guild advertisements.
“Wow, being a popular guy sure is exhausting.”
It seemed the barrage of calls had drained my phone’s battery while I was asleep.
Seriously, these people don’t know when to stop.
Privacy is practically a public commodity in this country.
**Buzz!**
The phone in my hand started vibrating again.
An unknown number.
‘Another guild, I bet.’
I guess being the top scorer in the Hunter License exam really was a big deal.
Back when I registered as an Awakened, nobody cared.
But seeing all these missed calls and texts made me not want to touch my phone.
I tossed it onto the bed.
**Knock, knock!**
Oh, great. Now they’re coming straight to my house?
“Hunter Jeon Min-cheol, this is Ellie from the Interstellar Union.”
“Ah. Hold on a moment.”
I hastily grabbed some clothes.
It was summer, so a t-shirt and shorts lying on the floor would do.
When I opened the door, I was greeted by the stunning woman who had escorted me yesterday.
“Such a distinguished guest in such a humble place.”
“I thought it would be best to speak with you in person.”
“You could’ve called first.”
“I did send you a message.”
Oh, did she?
There were so many texts, I hadn’t noticed.
But this lady doesn’t let a single thing slide, does she?
“Sorry, I must’ve missed it.”
**Buzz!**
Even at that moment, my phone continued to vibrate noisily.
“It’s understandable. I see why you didn’t notice.”
“If this is going to take a while, why don’t you come in?”
“Then I’ll accept your hospitality.”
A single man’s studio apartment.
She might’ve felt uncomfortable, but Ellie stepped inside without hesitation.
“Is this perhaps an experiment in experiencing common life?”
“What?”
“VIPs like you usually don’t live so modestly.”
“Modest, my foot. You’ve already looked into how I live, haven’t you?”
“Of course not. We wouldn’t dare do anything you might dislike.”
“And yet you showed up at the license exam?”
“Well, we guessed you’d take the exam since you presented your Awakened registration at our building.”
Oh-ho.
‘Not bad. I like her.’
Reading between the lines without stepping on my toes.
This kind of tact must be thanks to that stout guy.
A competent partner benefits me, too.
“Ah, there’s nowhere to sit.”
“That’s fine. I’m comfortable on the floor.”
Ellie sat gracefully on the floor. Despite wearing a suit and skirt, she didn’t appear disheveled at all.
I sat on the edge of my bed and faced her.
“By the way, I have a gift to commemorate our contract.”
Ellie handed me a smartphone.
“It’s a work phone. If you need anything, please use this to contact me.”
“What the… You even prepared this?”
“Of course. I figured you’d be bombarded by guilds.”
“This will come in handy.”
I didn’t hesitate to accept it.
“So, let’s get to the point, shall we?”
“Sure, let’s hear why you came to see me first thing in the morning.”
“I’m here to discuss forming a support team for you and to adjust the terms for gate assignments.”
“All I need from the support team is a corpse collection unit.”
Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What about tanks, ranged attackers, or support hunters?”
“I can handle it alone.”
“Understood. Then I’ll assign dismantling experts and porters.”
Ellie asked about gate assignments, conditions, and timings as well.
“…Alright. We’ll proceed as per your instructions, Hunter Jeon Min-cheol.”
“When can I start gate raiding?”
That was my main concern. My body was itching for action.
*The Player’s Authority. Level Up.*
I had obtained the trait but hadn’t been able to use it yet.
I had passed the license exam purely on my own strength.
‘I want to enjoy the perks of being a Hunter, too.’
The anticipation of checking out the Player’s trait made my heart race.
It felt like waiting to open a Christmas gift.
“Once the team is assembled and the gate is secured.”
“That’s going to take a while, isn’t it?”
“It won’t take long. I’m efficient, you see.”
Ellie flashed a confident smile as she stood up.
—
Not long after, I received a message from Ellie.
**[Ellie]**
*2 PM. We’ve secured a D-rank gate near Amsa-dong.*
That was quick. Too quick!
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
**[Min-cheol]**
*Are the support team and gate assignment all set?*
**[Ellie]**
*Of course. Didn’t I tell you I’m efficient?*
**[Min-cheol]**
*You’ve proven your confidence. Fair enough.*
**[Ellie]**
*I’ll pick you up at 1:30 PM. Please be ready.*
Right on time, Ellie arrived at my house in a large black van.
As we traveled, she briefed me on the gate details.
“The gate we’ll be tackling is near Amsa-dong. It’s D-rank with a forest terrain.”
“Forest, as in woods?”
“Yes. Here’s a list of potential monsters we might encounter.”
Ellie handed me a tablet containing the gate information.
**[Amsa-dong Gate]**
– **Grade:** D
– **Terrain:** Temperate Forest
– **Size:** 2-3 kilometers
**Monster Types:**
Goblins (D), Thorn Boars (D), Wisdom Monkeys (D), Creature Eaters (D)…
**Break Scheduled In:** 36 hours, 58 minutes
—
*Another forest, huh.*
The license exam had taken place in a tropical rainforest.
This time, it’s a temperate forest.
*I seem to have quite the connection with woods.*
I skimmed through the monsters that appeared in temperate forests.
*It’s my first raid. I’ll make it flawless.*
As I reviewed the gate information, Ellie handed me something.
“Take this.”
She gave me a gold card and a bankbook.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the card with your signing bonus.”
I had completely forgotten about it.
*But how much did I even ask for as my signing bonus?*
*No way they gave me the full 5 billion won, right?*
I opened the bankbook.
—
**[IC Bank]**
**[Account Holder: Mincheol Jeon]**
**[Account Number: 7XXXXX-XX-XXXXXX]**
**[Remaining Balance: 4,775,000,000 KRW]**
—
“Huh?!”
I couldn’t help but gasp.
Wait.
I blinked multiple times.
*So this means…*
*4.7 billion won.*
Even if I ignored the last digits, it was still an astronomical amount.
Ellie bowed her head slightly.
“Apologies, but there wasn’t much we could do about the taxes.”
“You mean… you’re really giving me all of this?”
Forget demon kings or champions—my financial instincts were still tied to the 23-year-old me from my current life.
A balance I could never have dreamed of seeing in my lifetime was now in my name.
My heart pounded relentlessly.
“You requested it, so of course, it’s yours.”
“Phew… Phew… Breathe, Mincheol, breathe.”
*Geez, some warning would’ve been nice before dropping this on me.*
I took deep breaths, trying to calm my startled nerves.
Ellie chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d be this shocked.”
“I told you, I live frugally.”
“Yes, well, the signing bonus is yours to use however you wish, Hunter Jeon.”
“Never mind that. For now, I need to focus on the gate raid.”
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of the overwhelming 4.7 billion won.
As I kept reviewing the data on the tablet, we eventually reached the gate’s location.
—
A small mountain on the northern side of Amsa-dong.
Ellie guided me up the slope.
About halfway up the mountain, a blue oval shimmered into view.
*So that’s the gate.*
A portal connecting Earth to another dimension.
The interior was a dangerous zone filled with monsters driven purely by destructive instincts.
In both my past and current lives, this was my first time seeing a gate in person.
*Even in other dimensions, we didn’t have anything like this.*
Pandemonium had directly and indirectly dominated countless dimensions.
Yet among all the controlled realms, phenomena like gate appearances had never been observed.
The same held true for Celestia and Elysium.
The **Towers** and the **Gates**—
They were the reasons Elysium and Pandemonium had turned their eyes toward Earth.
By the gate, a group of lightly armed individuals awaited us.
“These are the support team members who will assist you, Hunter Jeon,” Ellie explained.
“I see.”
A burly man with a thick beard approached me.
“So, you’re the rookie who turned the license exam upside down?”
“That’s me.”
“Heh, looking forward to seeing your skills up close. Name’s Younghyun Jung. Nice to meet you.”
The bearded man extended a hand.
I reached out and shook it.
—
This was my first gate raid as a hunter.
It was time to get started.
The moment I stepped into the gate—
The blue oval rippled and pulled me in like a whirlpool.
For a brief moment, darkness enveloped my vision.
When I blinked, an entirely different world stretched out before me.
“So this is the inside of a gate.”
**Temperate forest.**
The landscape matched the briefing perfectly.
Scattered trees,
grass and flowers brushing against my ankles.
The crisp air was unlike Seoul’s polluted atmosphere, carrying a refreshing fragrance.
*I wonder if the interior will be the same.*
The **Heavenly Veins Martial Art** stirred within me.
A sense of murderous intent floated from deeper within the forest.
*It’s not directed at me.*
*Just the primal bloodlust of monsters driven by destruction.*
“It’s just as described in the briefing,” I murmured.
“Forests aren’t my favorite, though,” Ellie replied.
“Monsters have plenty of places to hide, but at least it’s better than a swamp or jungle.”
The support team began entering the gate one by one.
I gave them instructions.
“I’ll handle all the hunting. Once it’s over, collect the remains.”
Monster corpses and rare materials unique to gates—all of these fell under the term **byproducts.**
The support team, already briefed on their role, nodded without question.
—
[**Heavenly Veins Martial Art activated.**]
[**The Chaos Aura envelops your body. All stats except Chaos Energy increase by 40%.**]
[**The Chaos Aura consumes 2 energy per second.**]
—
Enhancing my senses, I stepped deeper into the forest.
A monster quickly came into view.
**Thorn Boar.**
Its upturned snout revealed sharp incisors. The creature was about three meters long—
a beast twice the size of a normal boar, with a body covered in countless spines.
“Kyiiiik!”
The Thorn Boar flicked its tongue.
Thud, thud!
After scraping the ground, it charged at me.
—
[**Dark Star – Spear**]
—
“Coming straight at me, huh? I like it.”
Gripping the spear shaft in my right hand, I pulled it back as far as it would go.
The Thorn Boar barreled toward me with heavy steps.
“Wait, that’s dangerous!”
“That’s way too reckless!”
Behind me, the support team let out cries of alarm.
I smirked and stepped forward with my left foot.
—
[**Akga Spearmanship – Javelin Throw activated.**]
[**Consumes 8 Chaos Energy.**]
—
I thrust the spear forward with all my might.
*Shwooosh!*
The black spear flew through the air and embedded itself squarely in the boar’s forehead.
“Kii…”
The Thorn Boar froze mid-step and collapsed, lifeless.
The momentum of its charge carried the Thorn Boar forward as it rolled across the ground, breaking the spines embedded in its body.
I turned slightly to avoid the carcass of the already dead Thorn Boar.
—
**– Gained 7.5% EXP.**
—
“He took down a Thorn Boar in a single strike?!”
“Thorn Boars are infamous among D-rank monsters for being especially ferocious!”
“So this is what the top scorer of the license exam is like?”
The support team buzzed with astonishment behind me.
But their voices barely registered in my ears.
*I did it!*
For the first time since awakening as a Hunter, I had gained experience points.
For some reason, the system notification sounded as sweet as a heavenly aria today.
*As I thought, the Player trait only awards experience for killing monsters.*
I’d seen enough to confirm my abilities.
There would be plenty more battles ahead anyway.
“Looks like we’ll be busy from now on,” I called out to the support team, unable to hide the excitement bubbling within me.