All kinds of posts inevitably pour into online communities. Because of that, most posts are swept away by the countless waves, disappearing without ever drawing much attention. This post, uploaded late one night, in the early hours of the morning, was no different.
Title:
I just received my older sister’s death notice (warning: depressing)
Post:
My older sister was a D-rank Hunter. At first, I was happy because she was making good money. At first, everyone in our family told her it was dangerous, but she said it was fine these days since the equipment was good and there were proper strategy manuals.
I think our family’s situation was just too bad, so she kept working to earn money. For about two or three years, she was in a small but decent guild and nothing seemed wrong, so we thought everything was okay. Then one day, a letter arrived at our house. It was bankruptcy paperwork filed with the court.
When my parents asked what happened… she said that she and the Hunters she ran dungeons with started gambling lightly together. She won a few times at first, so she kept going. Then once she started losing, it spiraled out of control. After that, my parents, even though we barely had anything, helped pay off her debts… they did everything they could to save her, even getting her psychological treatment for gambling addiction, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t quit. On top of that, because she was a Hunter, it was easy for her to get loans, so her debt just kept growing.
Then one day she left home, and we lost contact. It’s been about two years since then…
Today, the police contacted us.
She left home in such bad shape that… I had a really bad feeling, but hearing the news for real just left me numb. My parents said they’d been living as if they’d lost a child already, but they completely broke down crying.
Turns out she got caught by a completely trash-tier illegal gambling ring.
She was trafficked. They said she was found dead inside a dungeon. So there’s no body, but thankfully, the Hunter who found her kindly took photos and brought them back for us, because of that, I got to see my sister’s final moment.
The world really feels cruel. Of course, my sister getting involved in gambling was very wrong, I know that. But from what the police said, it was a fully organized scam operation. By the time the police raided the scene, they had already fled, disappearing without a trace, so they couldn’t even be caught. They said they’ll investigate, but told us not to expect much. The police even said that even if they
do
catch them, it’ll be hard to actually make them pay for their crimes.
Internet gambling servers are overseas, so tracking is difficult, and the companies are set up using stolen identities, making it hard to prove who the real perpetrators are. In the end, only the dead are pitiful. Even if we want to investigate further, neither my parents nor I know where to even begin. I’m so busy just surviving that I regret not learning more about the Hunter industry.
Why is the world like this?
My sister really lived diligently, but we can’t even give her a proper funeral.
I hope those bastards get divine punishment.
— …Ah. May the deceased rest in peace.
— Ugh, sick of this sob story. Looks fake lol
ㄴ Not fake. There’s an article too. Link >> [The Tragedy of Low-Rank Hunters: The Dark Shadows That Prey on Them]
ㄴ Holy shit… I’m sorry.
— I heard there’s been a lot of scam gambling crimes targeting low-rank Hunters lately.
— Yeah, apparently if you browse Hunter item shops, gambling ads pop up through the algorithm.
— Human trafficking? That’s insane.
— But what do scammers even gain from pulling this kind of fraud?
ㄴ The article doesn’t go into the exact criminal purpose. Maybe they’re worried about copycats.
— She died inside a dungeon… that’s heartbreaking. May she rest in peace.
— We call them “low-rank,” but even C- or D-rank Hunters make way more than ordinary people, so they become targets for scams.
— Starting Hunter work right at 20 makes people especially vulnerable.
— Why gamble in the first place ;; It’s hard to quit once you start. Sorry, but that’s on her. Should’ve just bought crypto instead.
ㄴ Crypto bro showing up here too, lol
ㄴ This is probably viral marketing. Just ignore it.
ㄴ Honestly, it’s true though. You shouldn’t touch gambling at all.
ㄴ Exactly
because
you shouldn’t touch it, the perpetrators should be punished. Why blame the victim?
— But seriously, doesn’t it make no sense that they can’t catch scammers like this? If they really wanted to, couldn’t they catch them all?
ㄴ Lack of manpower… realistically, it’s hard. Servers are all overseas, and the identities are stolen.
— So does that mean you just have to take it and suffer?
ㄴ Just don’t gamble.
ㄴ This isn’t just an individual problem—it’s a systemic one. Hunters are pushed into life-or-death battles with zero support. They can’t even catch the criminals. What is the country even for?
ㄴ Who told you to be a Hunter? lol Just live as a normal person lol You chose to be a Hunter and now want the country to take care of you? lol
ㄴ These hateful comments are insane. I hope the OP doesn’t get hurt by this.
— Fuck… if you’re poor and have no connections, how are you supposed to live without resentment? If it were me, I’d send the people who killed my family straight to hell.
— The comments here are a complete mess. God, this is the hell I’m living in.
— If God exists, people like that will definitely go to hell.
“…Hah.”
After reading the post to the very end, Choi Miyeon let out a sigh.
There really are so many tragedies in this world. For those without power or money, everyday life itself is often a continuous string of tragedies. And especially in the world behind a monitor, shielded by the thick wall of anonymity, those tragedies are inevitably diluted.
Everyone is exhausted by their own lives. There is no room left to grieve for someone else’s misfortune because they’re tired. That is why this tragedy, too, is nothing more than a passing, ordinary sorrow to the people of this world. And the person who wrote that post likely didn’t expect much comfort or help in the first place. Or rather, they probably hoped for it, but knew all too well that, realistically, nothing would come of it. They just wanted
someone
to listen.
If there is a god, then may this prayer be heard.
Once, Choi Miyeon had also believed in a god who would solve all her problems. Do good, and you are rewarded. Do evil, and you are punished; a desperate and fleeting belief. But reality is not like that. There is no savior who will resolve everything. There are no happy endings in reality.
“Is that your wish?”
Yet, in that harsh reality, a single girl who called herself a demon had lingered by her side, if only for a moment. She despised humans and did not trust the laws humans created. Her gaze toward others was cold beyond measure, and yet, by her hand, the villains of this story received the punishment they deserved.
She called it venting her anger, but Choi Miyeon read something beyond Jeong Daon’s contempt, something like pity. Or perhaps it should be called rage.
Either way, it became a clear comfort to Choi Miyeon’s weary heart. Hoping that this comfort might reach the unnamed victims as well, Choi Miyeon left a single comment.
— Don’t worry. Those criminals have gone to hell.
Five weeks of basic military training passed like an arrow loosed from a bow.
…If only it could really be summed up in a single line like that.
The time I had desperately hoped would never come finally arrived.
“Haah…”
Jeong Dajeong, who had agreed to drive me to the basic training site, smiled slightly when she saw me sigh.
“You’re laughing right now?”
“Sorry. Do you hate it that much?”
“Of course I do.”
Being forced into group life all the way through high school had already been unbearable, now I even had to go through military training on top of that.
“Still, Hunters are exempt from the haircut rules. Isn’t that a relief?”
Right. Unlike regular soldiers, Hunters are exempt from hair regulations. When a Hunter’s mana circuits are functioning optimally, mana settles even into their hair, and it’s not uncommon for their own hair to be used as material when crafting items. In a way, it’s a directive to preserve the body, since parts of a Hunter can become item materials.
Basically, being treated as state property.
Thinking about it that way made me feel sick, but it wasn’t something I wanted to bring up in front of Jeong Dajeong, so I held my tongue.
“Meow.” Leo, sitting on my lap, licked his front paw and looked up at me.
“What about me?”
After recovering some mana in the last dungeon, he’d grown a little bigger, making my knees feel slightly heavier. Even so, he was still only about the size of two fists.
I turned to Jeong Dajeong. “Take good care of Leo while I’m gone.”
“Ah, okay. He hates me so much that I don’t know if five weeks will be fine… Won’t he get stressed?”
Only then did Leo seem to realize that he’d be separated from me and have to live with Jeong Dajeong for a full five weeks. His fur bristled. “Wroooow! Wroooow!”
“No! No! No!”
The crying was nearly at siren level, and I covered my ears.
Jeong Dajeong sighed. “See? Why don’t you just take him with you? I looked it up, apparently mages can bring their summons if they get permission.”
Even so, I shook my head. “There are things you have to do, even if you don’t want to.”
I had no intention of bringing Leo with me. No matter how much security there was, or how many defensive spells were placed on the house, I couldn’t feel at ease.
Their obsession has gone way too far.
Looking at everything that had happened since my awakening, and the dungeon where the lifeless idol was discovered last time— Just the fact that they recreated scenes from my past life and left behind letters was proof enough that the enemy wasn’t sane. I had no idea what might happen to Jeong Dajeong while I was gone.
And it wasn’t just a day or two; it would be six weeks. I couldn’t feel safe unless I left Leo behind. With Leo there, even in the worst case, he could buy time somehow.
It doesn’t seem like they’re targeting Jeong Dajeong yet…but that’s strange in its own way.
If the enemy was willing to use any means necessary to kill me, why were they still leaving my family alone?
Hmm. Do they think I’d treat Jeong Dajeong the same way I treat them?
Considering how my relationship with my blood relative in my previous life ultimately fell apart, that seemed like the most plausible explanation for now. I wouldn’t even blink if I had to kill my blood kin from that past life. So maybe they assume that my sibling in this life isn’t particularly important to me either, that even killing him would be pointless.
“Here we are.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The car soon arrived in front of the training grounds.
The place where I’d be training was a newly built facility in Paju, constructed specifically for Hunter training. In the parking lot, kids who looked to be around twenty and their parents were milling about.
By now fairly accustomed to it, Jeong Dajeong parked the car and took my luggage out of the trunk for me. “Take care. They said you can use your phone on weekends, so make sure to call.”
If I were an ordinary soldier, I’d be assigned straight to a unit after basic training, which would make this farewell a bit more bittersweet. But in my case, I’d already hinted that there was a high chance the HP Guild would take me in as a social service agent as soon as training ended. Knowing that, Jeong Dajeong didn’t seem too shaken. If I served at a guild, I’d even be able to commute from home.
“And if you feel like you’re getting too angry, you can just quit the training and come back.”
“…Just how socially inept do you think I am?”
I really did hate it, but if I was going to live as a Hunter, this was a hurdle I had to clear at least once. I planned to do it properly, no dropping out halfway and having to repeat basic training all over again.
Jeong Dajeong curled his lips into a smile. “Really? Anyone you’ve gotten close to at the HP Guild lately?”
“…Han Jaeyeong?”
“You’re terrible at lying.”
“You’re the only one who ever says that.”
“Well, obviously. I’m your brother.” And yet, despite all that, Jeong Dajeong had never once noticed when I was lying. He always fell for it.
“Go on now. Eat properly while I’m gone. Don’t wander around late, don’t do anything dangerous, and come straight home. And if your company turns out to be complete trash, just quit.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll listen to everything my Daon says. I won’t quit, though. You should quit anytime you want too. I’ll take good care of Leo.”
"Meow!" Leo, sitting in the passenger seat, shot me a resentful look, but there was no way he could disobey his creator’s orders.
I gave Leo one last instruction as well. “Protect him properly.”
“Khk.”
Judging by the way he hacked up a hairball onto the seat, he was healthy enough to throw a tantrum… thankfully.
“Then I’ll come pick you up for the graduation ceremony. I’m off!”
Since he’d taken half a day off, Jeong Dajeong had to head back to work, and he quickly disappeared with Leo in tow. I really didn’t understand why that company was always so busy.
Slipping on a backpack packed with only the bare necessities, I headed toward the training camp.
No, I was
about
to head in, until someone spoke to me.
“Sorry, but… are you Jeong Daon?”
A hand suddenly thrust itself out in front of me. The person had sun-tanned skin and was so tall that I had to crane my neck to look up.
“Yep, that’s you. You look even better in person than in photos.” A girl around my age, with short-cut hair, grinned brightly. “Nice to meet you. I’m—”
"I know."
She wasn’t as famous as Yu Hanul, but her name was still well known across South Korea. A youth Olympic fencing representative who had swept just about every competition she entered.
“Lee Pyeonghwa.”
Countless people had said that if Lee Pyeonghwa ever awakened, she’d be guaranteed an S-rank in terms of potential. In reality, she’d been evaluated as A-rank. Still impressive, though admittedly short of expectations.
Lee Pyeonghwa’s eyes widened at my words, then she smiled shyly. At least, that’s what it looked like.
“Wow. An S-rank Hunter knowing my name, that’s kind of amazing.”
“You’re way more famous than I am. What are you talking about?”
“Hey, I might be famous, but I’m still only A-rank. You can’t even compare us now.”
"..."
I stared silently at the hand she was still holding out.
This is exactly why I hate group settings.
My irritation flared instantly.
Sure, I’d become a hot topic over the past few months, but it wasn’t as if my recognition matched Lee Pyeonghwa’s.
I hated this kind of atmosphere. The way people our age meet for the first time, carefully evaluating each other while awkwardly piling on praise that doesn’t even suit the other’s face, all while cutting themselves down. What is this, senior year of high school all over again?
The “right answer” here would be something like, “No, rankings are just evaluations of potential. No one knows the future”, or “I’m nothing special, you’re the impressive one.”
And yes, I knew there was no real downside to getting along with my peers. I’d be seeing them often as a Hunter, after all.
“Wow, that’s Lee Pyeonghwa.”
“Isn’t that Jeong Daon? This training camp is insane.”
“The two most famous rookies ended up here together. Is this staged?”
“Why would the government stage something like that? It’s probably intentional.”
Just from the looks of awe the other kids were throwing our way, I could tell exactly what kind of scene this was. To outsiders, it probably looked like the two future superstars of the Hunter world bonding early on.
That was likely why Lee Pyeonghwa had approached me in the first place. But—
“If that’s what you think, then sure.”
I had no reason to choose that so-called right answer. If I cared about fitting in with people my age, I wouldn’t have caused such a scene at my high school graduation.
Lee Pyeonghwa’s face stiffened in confusion as she continued holding her hand out. “Huh? Uh…?”
I had no intention of belittling myself just to befriend humans, nor of offering forced praise to someone I barely knew.
And honestly, compared to a human who’d just turned twenty, I was far too extraordinary.
And I don’t really need to get close to another swordsman, either.
I already had Yu Hanul as a card to play. There was no need to build ties with more swordsmen. Besides, getting close to me wouldn’t do them any good anyway.
“Well then.”
With that curt response, I turned my back on her and walked into the training camp.
“…Is her social awareness for real?”
I heard the mutter from behind me, but I didn’t care. And just like that, the godforsaken basic military training began.