The only Hunter who had no hunter-skills [1]. Kwon Moon.
That was a secret that nobody other than Kwon Moon himself knew.
As an F-rank Hunter, no one expects you to have any powerful hunter-skills, but everyone has at least one. The only reason no one knew that he was skillless was that he pretended to have a hunter-skill that boosted his mana recovery.
Thankfully, the physical ability boost that came with awakening as a Hunter allowed him to hunt in dungeons despite his massive flaw.
If his mother knew that he was hunting even though he had a grand total of zero hunter-skills, she would yank his ear and drag him from one end of the world to the other.
But she didn't know. Rather, she couldn't ever find out because she was dead.
It had been ten years since the incident where Kwon Moon had lost his entire family to a Dungeon Collapse [2].
An orphan, the last remaining survivor of his siblings, Kwon Moon hunted regardless of the risk because it was the only way he could get revenge for the monsters that ruined his life.
Now 22 years old, he could've given up many times since his awakening three years ago, but he didn't.
The nightmares that would haunt him every night were a reminder of the scars that he carried.
So, regardless of how many times he stared death in its face, he never stopped hunting.
In a way, he was the true definition of what a Hunter is.
With the same determination as always, Kwon Moon got dressed, grabbed his sword and shield, and left his tiny apartment that was riddled with cobwebs and dust.
"I'll be home in a bit," he said as he bowed at the door.
Beyond the door, in the only bedroom in his apartment, was an altar for his family.
❖ ❖ ❖
"Hey there kid, it's good to see that you're still alive."
The one greeting was Mr. Moo, an E-rank Hunter who had been around in the hunting region that Kwon Moon was in since he had first awakened. Unlike higher-ranked Hunters, most F and E-ranked Hunters weren't members of Guilds [3] and instead, they hunted in small parties that were formed through a website where Hunters could use their Hunting License [4] to apply to join parties that were looking for members.
"I'm not dying any time soon Mr. Moo," Kwon Moon responded before shaking his hand.
"Come join the rest of us. We're just having a light breakfast before heading out."
One by one, the Hunters waiting by the dungeon entrance greeted him.
"Kwon Moon, you looking sharp like always."
"I try my best."
"Do you remember Ma Ji from a while back?"
"Yeah. What about him?"
"One of my Hunter friends told me that he just recently got reassessed as a B-rank Hunter."
"Whoa. Wasn't he just F-rank a while ago?"
Kwon Moon was a little jealous when he heard, but he didn't show it on his face. He couldn't let it affect him too much. Comparison was the thief of joy and he couldn't let it consume him like it did some other Hunters.
Kwon Moon stood in front of the dungeon entrance, a blue portal that resembled fire, except no heat was being emitted. To a non-Hunter, they wouldn't feel anything near it, but for Hunters, they could sense the mana and aura that was being emitted.
"It's just another F-rank dungeon. What is there to observe?" Mr. Cho asked.
"Nothing. Just trying to get a feel for what we're about to get ourselves into."
"Mmm, I see. Here," he handed Kwon Moon a beef jerky.
"Thank you."
He didn't reject the gesture.
"How long before the start of the Raid?" Kwon Moon asked.
"We're just waiting for the last member. He texted Mr. Moo a few minutes ago that he was on the way. So we should be starting soon."
"Who's the final party member?"
"I'm not sure. Some new Hunter who just awakened a week ago. I hear that they are C-rank, but because it's their first time Raiding, they want to get a feel for what a dungeon is before they attempt a higher-ranked dungeon."
Kwon Moon immediately sighed. He wasn't worried that the new Hunter wouldn't be able to adapt to the dungeon. It was only a measly F-rank dungeon that posed very little danger to a C-rank. Every C-rank Hunter in the world could solo an F-rank dungeon.
"I hope they don't have a massive ego," he said.
Although it was nice in terms of danger, getting carried by a Hunter who did all the work, it could also create problems, such as the Hunter wanting the entire cut of the profit made since they did all the work. Usually, the unwritten rule was that everyone tries to contribute as equally as possible.
"Let's cross our fingers," Mr. Cho said. The two of them shared the same opinion.
As the two chatted and ate a little, Mr. Moo walked a little bit away from the rest of the party. He was greeting someone who had just gotten out of a car.
After speaking for a little bit, Mr. Moo brought them over to the rest of the party to introduce them.
"Hey, everyone. I want you guys to meet the last member of our party. C-rank Hunter, Jin Haneul."
Jin Haneul was a very well-dressed woman who had a soft and round-shaped face with cheekbones that were present but not overly sharp.
Her skin was fair with subtle orangeness, and between her left eye and mouth, there was a small beauty mark that was easy to miss from afar.
She had bedroom eyes that were hazel in color. Her hair was a vibrant reddish-brown color that leaned more towards red than brown.
The Hunters looked at Jin Haneul with looks of envy, awe at her beauty, or complete neutralness.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Jin Haneul greeted with a bow.
The bow was a simple gesture but it was a sigh of relief for some who were worried about her ego.
Briefly learning who her party members were, once everyone was finished with their introductions, Mr. Moo clapped his hands and said, "Alright. Shall we get started?"
"Kwon Moon, how old are you?" Jin Haneul asked.
"22."
"Oh. You're a year older than me. I was worried that when I joined the party that everyone was going to be older, but it's a relief to know that someone here is in the same age group as myself," she chuckled.
Kwon Moon's immediate impression of her was that she was a friendly person who wasn't hesitant to socialize — not bad qualities to have in an environment where trust and teamwork could be the difference between life and death.
"So, is it true that you joined this party to get a feel for what a dungeon is?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "Better safe than sorry."
Again, more good qualities to have as a Hunter. Although some would argue that this was a bad quality because the higher the risk, the higher the rewards.
The two of them continued chatting as they crossed through the Gate.
❖ ❖ ❖
"You know, Oppa, I'm surprised that you're still alive after all these years," Jin Hanuel said.
It had only been half an hour and she was already referring to him with an affectionate title, although they weren't really all that close.
"Why?"
"Has no one ever told you that you have a very reckless way of fighting?"
Some Hunters did mention this in the past but he didn't tell her.
"You charge into the battle as if you have zero regard for your life. It also looks like you're chasing something."
She was strangely accurate in her analysis of Kwon Moon, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Kwon Moon shrugged as his hand dug into the chest of a monster. He pulled out the monster core [5] inside and handed it over to Mr. Moo.
At the end of the Raid, he would split the cores and whatever loot they got from the dungeon equally amongst the Hunters. Mr. Moo would get extra, but only enough to cover the cost of how much he paid for the rights to the dungeon.
"I guess I must be lucky," Kwon Moon said to Jin Haneul.
"I guess you are."
"How are you feeling so far? Too easy?"
She was about to nod, but refrained from doing so at the very last second.
"Don't worry about my feelings. Just because you find this dungeon a breeze won't offend me."
After he reassured her, Jin Haneul answered, "Yeah. It's a little too easy. But like I said before—"
"Better safe than sorry."
Their entire party consisted of a dozen Hunters. One C-rank, two E-rank, which was standard for F-rank dungeons, and the rest were F-rank.
A general rule of them is that to safely clear a dungeon, you usually require Hunters who are a rank above, as well as filling out numbers with Hunters that matched the rank of the dungeon.
Other than Mr. Moo, who was a Swordsman, the other E-rank was a Healer.
Kwon Moon had probably received the most amount of healing since they had entered. But in terms of damage contribution, he wasn't the last, even though he had no hunter-skill. The Healer was obviously at the bottom but surprisingly, there were two more Hunters underneath Kwon Moon.
This was because of his reckless style. He put his body on the line without a care, so while those two got one strike in, he got two. Each of his strikes was weaker than theirs, but he made up for it with quantity over quality.
'I'll be making enough money to pay a quarter of my rent,' he thought. This was just an estimation once they completed the Raid.
But if he was correct, he would need three more Raids of similar value to pay his rent. And once he included food and other necessities, he had to go hunting a few more times to survive.
'If only I were E-rank at the very least. I could go hunt in E-rank dungeons…'
He quickly shook his head.
It was rare that he thought like this. But being around Jin Haneul for some time, these thoughts were bound to leak into his mind.
❖ ❖ ❖
"Good work today everyone!" Mr. Moo said.
It was another successful Raid, but there was never a doubt about it. Even without the C-rank Hunter, Jin Haneul, the chances that they failed were close to one percent.
"Oppa, could I get your number?" she asked.
"Mine? Why?"
Kwon Moon was a nobody. She was only a part of the party because she wanted to see the dynamics and inside of a dungeon for her first Raid. Now that she knew how it worked, she would likely be hunting in D-rank or C-rank dungeons, places that were out of reach for him.
"I thought we became friends," she said as she clutched her heart, pretending to be hurt but making sure that it was exaggerated enough to know that it was an act.
"...Alright."
The two of them exchanged numbers and went their separate ways.
Sitting on the bus, Kwon Moon was tired. Although the Healer made sure he didn't leave the Boss Room with any injury, mental fatigue still built up and he would need to rest for the rest of the day.
With his head against the window, he was close to falling asleep when he heard someone on the bus scream.
"What the! Stop the bus!"
His eyes immediately darted towards the voice.
It was a lady who was looking out of the bus on the other side.
"It's a Dungeon Collapse!" another person screamed.
The mention of it instantly made Kwon Moon's hands start to shake. Images of that day flashed before his eyes. His breath became uneven.
"Stop the bus!"
"No! Don't stop the bus! Turn the bus around!"
The bus came to a stop as the driver pushed down on the brakes as hard as possible. He was about to begin turning the bus around when suddenly—
BOOM!
—their bus was sent flying into the air, and when it came down, it slammed onto its side with a deafening crash, metal screaming as the frame twisted in on itself.
The windows exploded outward in a storm of glass, seats tore free from their bolts, and the interior was thrown into chaos as bodies were hurled violently against walls, ceilings, and one another.
The bus skidded several meters across the asphalt before finally grinding to a halt.
For a few long seconds, there was only ringing silence and then came the sound of pain.
Kwon Moon's vision was heavy but he forced his eyes open. The taste of iron was thick in his mouth as he spat out the blood.
Pain was flaring everywhere at once and his ribs were screaming as he breathed. Blood was running down his temple. If he weren't a Hunter, he would've been dead from the way that he had crashed.
Slowly getting up, he looked around his surroundings.
A few passengers lay motionless, their bodies bent at angles that made it clear they would never stand again.
Others were still alive, but only barely; they were groaning softly, coughing, or struggling to breathe as they clutched broken limbs and bleeding wounds.
Nearby him, someone whimpered before falling silent. Another passenger twitched weakly, fingers scraping against the glass.
And outside the wreckage, something powerful was flying in the air.
He could hear the sound of their wings flapping. It was the same monster that had attacked their bus. It let out a low but loud screech that sounded like rumblings.
Kwon Moon's chest tightened as images of his dead parents and siblings sent his body down to its knees.
"Help," he gasped, barely able to breathe. "Someone help us."
❖ ❖ ❖
[1] Hunter-skills: Skills like the ones you see in MMORPG games. Allows a Hunter to do things like use magic, heal others, boost their damage temporarily, etc.
[2] Dungeon collapse: When a dungeon hasn't been cleared by a certain time, it will collapse and the monsters that were inside the dungeon will pour out into the real world.
[3] Guilds: Organizations created and consisting of Hunters. They are responsible for completing dungeon raids, allocating resources amongst their Guild members to get them stronger, and representing Hunters in official affairs.
[4] Hunting License: A license you receive after measuring your mana level. It lists your name and your rank.
[5] Monster core: a spherical core inside a monster that is packed with mana. Can be sold for money or used to create items like weapons, potions, etc. Valuable even to non-Hunters due to mana's ability to be converted to energy.