How To Survive as a Class a Hunter

1. The Awakened Kim Geuk – [Prologue]

Lately, I’ve been experiencing déjà vu frequently. So frequently that I wonder if I should see a psychiatrist.

While doing something, an unknown sense of déjà vu flashes through my mind, making me pause. Even when playing a game, it feels like something I’ve already experienced, and when having trivial conversations with someone, it feels like a conversation I’ve already had, driving me crazy.

Even now, while attending a class at the academy.

“If a hunter arrests or detains a criminal, it’s considered illegal detention or arrest, as I mentioned before. A hunter’s criminal law status is merely that of a private individual…”

The instructor is babbling about a boring class topic. It’s content that will appear on the hunter’s written exam, and there’s nothing special about it.

Normally, I would have just dozed off. It’s well known that the written portion of the hunter exam is not significant. Everyone knows that the government prefers hunters who are not smart but are willing to charge at any monster for money.

Yet, I’m listening to this class attentively right now. Why?

It’s certainly not because the class is interesting today. My entire nervous system is just inexplicably focused on this moment.

“If the apartment security guard receives a noise complaint and breaks into a resident’s house to beat up the noisy resident, he would be arrested, right? It’s the same for hunters. They would be fined or jailed.”

This strange sensation…

“Do you all watch the news? These days, many hunters are being prosecuted for acting like they are police officers. I don’t know why they do that.”

I feel like I’ve experienced this class before. The same time, the same situation, with the instructor repeating the same words.

That damned… déjà vu. It’s so intense that I wonder if it’s a mental illness or a superpower.

“Of course, there are always exceptions to the law.”

While I was confused, the instructor looked at me. As his mouth opened, I felt uncomfortable.

“What could that exception be, Mr. Kim Geuk? Would you like to answer?”

Why is he asking me that? Does he want to get punched?

I was about to answer ‘I don’t know’ to the instructor’s question.

The moment I made eye contact with the instructor, I felt my consciousness being sucked in somewhere. At the same time, I thought.

Ah, it’s that again.

*

“If a hunter arrests or detains a criminal…”

As soon as I heard the instructor’s voice, I judged. It’s a hallucination.

I’ve experienced it a few times, so it’s not confusing anymore. This has been happening frequently lately.

“A hunter’s criminal law status is merely that of a private individual…”

In the hallucination, the instructor is conducting that boring and useless class. Then he asks me that annoying question at the end.

“Of course, there are always exceptions to the law. What could that exception be, Mr. Kim Geuk? Would you like to answer?”

In the hallucination, I answer blankly.

“I don’t know.”

The instructor squinted his eyes and sighed. Then he mumbled.

“In cases where acts of arrest and confinement are self-defense, emergency evacuation, or self-help, the illegality is negated… I told you last time that this would definitely be on the test. Mr. Kim Geuk, is this how our academy’s savior behaves? I’m really disappointed.”

I immediately clenched my fist in anger. That damn b*stard.

How dare he, as a teacher, give me a hard time? That bespectacled, skinny b*stard, who wouldn’t even dare to complain if we bumped shoulders on the street…

The urge to punch that wrinkled face of his was overwhelming.

*

The hallucination ended in an instant. Back in reality, I wasn’t even particularly surprised.

Wasn’t this already a familiar occurrence? I quickly assessed the situation.

I looked at the instructor’s face. He was waiting for my answer, so I recited what I had learned from the hallucination.

“In cases where acts of arrest and confinement are self-defense, emergency evacuation, or self-help?”

He seemed to like it. The instructor smiled slyly.

“Oh, Mr. Kim Geuk, are you reviewing properly? I actually thought you weren’t paying much attention in class, but this is impressive.”

The instructor scanned the other students with a voice full of laughter.

“Did you see Mr. Kim Geuk just now, memorizing each word? Even an A-class awakener studies this hard, so shouldn’t everyone else be studying too? Everyone must memorize this…”

I was being treated like a model student, which was out of character for me. But it was hard to be purely happy about receiving some praise.

As the instructor continued the lesson, I took a deep breath. It was a deep breath to suppress my anger.

Even though the instructor’s reprimand was just a hallucination, the unpleasant feeling towards him still lingered in my mind. As if it had actually happened…

Of course, I know that these emotions are abnormal. I also know that I should ignore them.

But it’s not easy. It’s much harder than I thought.

*

After that, it was a day in the life of a diligent hunter aspirant.

I did strength training at the academy gym with the help of a trainer. I continued until all the muscles in my body were torn.

As soon as I finished exercising, my super-regenerative ability began to repair all the physical damage.

The pain of the newly formed muscle fibers swelling larger and stronger than before was terrible, but as always, I endured it. I didn’t take any painkillers that wouldn’t even work on my body. I just drank protein shakes as if they were high-proof alcohol.

When I got home, I washed up and fell asleep as if I had collapsed.

And as usual, I dreamed.

I dreamed of detonating a nuclear bomb in Seoul. Creating a bright red mushroom cloud, killing hundreds of thousands of Koreans, and then dying myself…