How To Survive as a Class a Hunter

6. Academy Student Kim Geuk – [4]

The same phenomenon repeated the next day, and the day after that.

I had to keep seeing the horrific corpses of the students I encountered at the academy.

Lee Jong-ho. His arms were torn off, bleeding profusely as he died.

Kim Jin-jun. His head was crushed, his brain exposed in a twisted mess as he died.

Sung Moon-young. Several large holes were pierced through his chest…

Of course, it was all hallucinations. In reality, they were all alive and well. But it was hard to feel relieved. Every time I snapped out of a hallucination, I had to feel terrible anger and depression.

And the dream, that damned dream continued, and today was no different.

*

“Damn it…”

I woke up gasping for breath. Wiping the drool off my mouth, I had this thought.

This doesn’t seem normal, should I see a psychiatrist?

As I washed up and got ready to go to the academy, that thought solidified. Should I really go to the hospital?

The aftermath of the dream continued. My heart kept pounding, and even cooking a single packet of ramen gave me a sense of déjà vu that made my head spin.

But I had no money to go to the hospital, and if I went just because of nightmares and déjà vu, the doctor would probably laugh at me, calling me a fool…

I don’t know. To clear my troubled mind, I habitually turned on the computer.

When I logged into HuntWeb, which I had become quite familiar with, a user with a familiar nickname had posted something strange.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: I exterminated three generations of a non-Awakened family because they didn’t bow to me as I passed by. Praise me.

This guy keeps posting similar nonsense on the board, even though it’s against the rules. How is that possible?

BabyBerserker: Hey guys! Isn’t it a warning and then a ban if you post nonsense on the Hunter board? Why isn’t syberMagneto getting banned?

HuntWeb has an inexplicably large number of users. Even in the morning, comments come in immediately.

Anonymous: Because he has an A badge.

BabyBerserker: What’s an A badge?

Anonymous: If you act democratically, will the spirit of democracy descend and catch the monster instead?

Anonymous: There are many cases where a random daily post by an awakened person is more valuable information than the hunter information written by a hundred porters like you, you idiot.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: If you’re dissatisfied, go hang yourself with your mother.

While the spiteful comments kept coming, I looked for a way to verify that guy’s awakening and put it into action.

When I entered the document submission page, there was a guide message. It said that if you download the dedicated app and take a picture of the awakening documents, a part-timer would verify it and issue a badge.

In the meantime, the phrase at the bottom made me frown.

– As of January 5, 2011, badges will no longer be issued for 16 types of abilities deemed unsuitable for hunter duties. We ask for your understanding.

At the top of the list of abilities deemed unsuitable for hunter duties, for which badges are not issued, was my sister’s ice ability. It was shocking and appalling to see such meticulous discrimination.

Of course, my ability is not one of those unsuitable for hunter duties. Absolutely not.

I took a picture of the specified documents with my phone camera and submitted it.

It seemed the site part-timer was already on duty. Shortly after, a system message arrived saying the badge had been issued.

Ⓐ BabyBerserker: Does the A badge suit me well?

As soon as I posted a bragging message, comments started pouring in.

Anonymous: This guy was pretending to be a non-awakened person in the post he just uploaded, but he was preparing to show off? Wow.

Anonymous: The deception is so natural…

Ⓐ syberMagneto: I thought you were a non-awakened trash, but you were one of us? Welcome!

Comments kept coming, and I laughed as I read each one.

Envy and jealousy. The reaction to me proving that I was awakened was unexpectedly intense. Suddenly, all sorts of people started acting friendly, from those calling me “brother” to those asking for my nickname to register as friends in a certain RPG.

Even a message from someone claiming to be an active hunter came, offering to buy me a meal and share industry information if I contacted them.

Oh, another message came. This one was more serious. Judging by past posts, it seemed they weren’t an active hunter yet, but they sent me their phone number and resume, asking if I would consider adding a veteran hunter to the hunter team I would form later. It seemed they wanted to work with me. Cute.

I was enjoying reading each comment and message.

Then, I felt like I was being sucked in somewhere, and other comments caught my eye… Damn it.

Suddenly, a wave of discomfort surged. I clenched my fist.

Anonymous: You motherless b*stard. You’re doing all sorts of things, pretending and deceiving. Do you think you’re great just because you awakened by luck?

Anonymous: Follow your dead parents to hell soon and take the bus to hell.

Why is this guy suddenly cursing? Feeling angry, I looked at the comments again and frowned.

Where did that filthy comment go?

Looking again, the offensive comment was gone. I hadn’t refreshed the page, so it should still be visible even if the commenter deleted it. Why?

Could it be another hallucination?

It seemed so. Thinking back, I felt the unique sensation of falling into a hallucination again. So, it seems those comments were never posted in the first place.

I sighed and refreshed the page. Then, as I was enjoying the new comments, I widened my eyes.

Anonymous: You son of a b*tch. You keep deceiving and pretending. Do you think you’re great just because you awakened by luck?

Anonymous: Follow your dead parents to hell and take the bus to hell yourself.

The comments I had just seen in my hallucination were exactly the same.

I tried to suppress my anger while trying to understand what was going on. What is this? What the hell is this?

Unable to find an answer, I went to the academy.

And it was the same on the way to the academy. I experienced similar things over and over again.

“Ah, damn it!”

I got angry after stepping on some feces while walking, but when I came to my senses, I hadn’t stepped on anything.

It was another hallucination.

Still, just in case, I carefully looked at the ground as I walked, and my body stopped on its own.

What the hell is this…

I saw a coiled piece of feces in front of me with wide-open eyes. It was as large as the one I saw in my hallucination, hiding in the shadow of a tree. If I had just walked on, I would have definitely stepped on it.

As I continued walking, this time a vending machine made me angry. I got frustrated when the vending machine didn’t dispense a drink even after I inserted a coin.

And again, it was a hallucination. When I came to my senses and looked around, there wasn’t a single vending machine in sight.

The vending machine appeared about ten minutes later.

When I tried inserting a coin as a test, sure enough, the vending machine didn’t dispense a drink.

*

I experienced similar things even after arriving at the academy.

The hallucination I experienced during the criminal law class was particularly vivid.

The criminal law instructor was very dissatisfied with the fact that students rarely attended his class, and when they did, they just played with their smartphones.

So, whether he wanted to express his rightful annoyance or assert his presence, he occasionally asked random students questions related to the class.

This time, I was the target.

‘If a hunter arrests or detains a criminal, it’s considered arrest or detention, right? A hunter’s criminal law status is merely that of a private person… Of course, there are always exceptions in the law. What are those exceptions, Mr. Kim Geuk? Can you answer?’

I swear it was a question I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know what criminal law status or private person meant, so how could I answer?

But I answered.

‘In cases where the act of arrest or detention is self-defense, emergency evacuation, or self-help?’

The reason I could recite those words I didn’t know was simple. I had seen the answer in my hallucination.

“Mr. Kim Geuk? You were really good during class. Keep it up like this!”

As a result, the criminal law instructor seemed to think I was a better student than he had thought, and after the class, he bought me a cup of coffee, but I wasn’t particularly happy. I had to endure the anger and frustration that came after each hallucination.

After all the emotions had settled, I began to ponder.

The hallucinations I’m experiencing right now might not be a mental illness but some kind of superpower.

I mean, if teleportation is possible, why wouldn’t precognition be?

Maybe I’ve awakened again without realizing it. And perhaps I’ve become a not-so-great prophet.

Of course, I also thought that it might be schizophrenia, manipulating my memories to make me believe I’m seeing the future, but I decided not to consider this possibility for now. I don’t have the money to visit a psychiatrist anyway.

Anyway, if I’m seeing a moment in the future in advance…

Could the death of a student at the academy that I saw earlier be a future event that will eventually come?

If so, it’s hard to ignore. I’m not a psychopath who can pass over the fact that someone around me will die horribly, and even if I try to think as calmly as possible, didn’t I feel my own anger and despair in every hallucination?

If so, their deaths are likely related to me, not something happening in a distant place unrelated to me.

Why would they die? Would they die fighting alongside me? So, they die because I couldn’t protect them? Is that why I feel anger and despair every time I fall into a hallucination?

I don’t know.

But I think I have a rough idea of what I need to do.

*