[You have absorbed <Duplicated E-Grade Skill Rune – Magic Arrow>.]
The next day.
As soon as Hyun-jun opened his eyes, he duplicated the Skill first and absorbed it.
Next, he duplicated Runes of Agility.
With this, he gained a combat Skill for the first time, and his Agility became 21.
‘I finally have a combat Skill too!!’
Hyun-jun was thoroughly excited and waved his arms wildly.
He wanted to run around screaming, but it was still 6 a.m. He couldn't ruin the sleep of his sister, who would be sleeping in the room across.
‘Let's see. Do I use it like this?’
Hyun-jun murmured quietly.
“Magic Arrow”
Whirr.
Mana drew a blue circle in the air.
Then, from within the completed circle, a blue arrow of light revealed itself.
“Wow, that's insane.”
Hyun-jun put his hand on the arrow.
Hummm.
The arrow vibrated faintly and made a sound as his hand touched it.
Hyun-jun flinched and pulled his hand away.
A smile spread across his lips.
“Heh-heh-heh. Let's get along from now on.”
While he was at it, Hyun-jun decided to try controlling the arrow too.
There were two ways to handle it.
‘They said you can grab it and throw it yourself, or give it commands in your head.’
He wanted to try it right away, but wrecking the house was out of the question.
Hyun-jun calmed his excitement for a moment and dispelled the arrow for now.
‘Let's go out first.’
Hyun-jun put on his armor, grabbed his weapons, and left the house.
He headed straight to the F-Grade grassland hunting ground not far from his house.
He planned to test the Skill and hunt at the same time to get the most out of it.
“Let's see.”
Hyun-jun entered the grassland.
He rolled his eyes around, searching for his glorious first test subject.
Perhaps because it was early, there weren't many people in the hunting ground.
Even just a little way in, there were quite a lot of monsters to catch.
“That one would be good.”
The Grassland Mushroom, one of the lowest-Grade monsters in the grassland.
It looked like a mushroom made bigger, and its distinguishing feature was the grass leaves growing densely on its green cap.
‘It's a popular one because of its looks and its distinctive waddling movement.’
A cute appearance.
So much so that there was even merchandise of it.
‘Sorry, but you'll have to be my test subject today.’
Hyun-jun blocked its path.
The Grassland Mushroom stared blankly at Hyun-jun with its round, button-like eyes.
“Magic Arrow!”
Hyun-jun summoned one arrow and fired it immediately.
It felt like controlling something connected by a thin thread.
It was his first time feeling it, but the sensation wasn't all that unfamiliar.
THUNK!
The arrow, slicing through the air, pierced deep between the Grassland Mushroom's eyes.
At the unexpected power, Hyun-jun's eyes widened.
“I-It pierced it in one shot?”
THUD.
The Grassland Mushroom collapsed just like that.
Its button-like eyes turned into X's.
“It's not a creature with high defense, but I never thought I'd take it out in one shot.”
That wasn't the only surprising thing.
The accuracy of flying in a straight line and piercing right between the eyes.
The arrow moved exactly as he thought and controlled it.
He'd been worried because it was said that when someone without a magical Trait first used a magic Skill, their accuracy dropped greatly, but there was nothing like that at all.
“Did I get lucky?”
Maybe he'd hit it easily because the distance was short.
Hyun-jun kept hunting other Grassland Mushrooms.
He gradually widened the distance, which had been short at first.
As expected, the accuracy gradually began to drop.
But the control itself didn't become very difficult.
‘If I concentrate just a little, it hits pretty well.’
Hyun-jun focused on firing arrows the whole time, catching monsters indiscriminately.
Then, in the middle of it.
“Ugh.”
Suddenly his head spun, and his vision flickered.
He tried to regain his balance, but in the end, he lost it and fell.
“Kuuugh.......”
Sitting on the ground, Hyun-jun pressed his forehead.
A headache came along with dizziness.
The reason was obvious.
“I got too carried away just because I learned to use magic.”
Overusing the Skill.
His mana had hit its limit.
“Is it because my Willpower stat is low?”
If the Mana stat determined the maximum strength of magic, the Willpower stat was related to the number of times magic could be used.
He had only lasted this long because he was E-Grade; if he had been F-Grade, he would have collapsed long ago.
“I did use it a lot.”
Hyun-jun carefully got up and looked around.
Monster corpses were strewn all over.
Not just mushrooms, but other monsters too.
“I didn't even try the rabbits because they're fast, but I think I could catch them with a little practice.”
A remarkable result for the first day.
Hyun-jun grinned and took out his dagger.
He had killed a lot of prey, so now it was time to celebrate.
***
A winter dawn, when the sun rose late.
Despite the cold winter, there were a few scattered people taking walks in the neighborhood park.
Pew-shoo!
Pew-shoo!
In a corner some distance from the walking trail where people came and went.
Whistling sounds rang out continuously from beyond the dense trees and bushes.
“What's that sound?”
An old man who had been taking a walk stepped between the bushes.
As he went farther in, faint streaks of light kept appearing and disappearing in the darkness.
-Hup!
Rough breathing could be heard in time with them.
The old man peeked beyond the bushes and his eyes went wide.
That was because dozens of blue arrows of light were stuck in a target hung on a tree.
‘A Hunter was training. His accuracy is remarkable even at quite a distance.’
The arrows were all clustered near the center of the target, and the Hunter was nearly 10 meters away from it.
Even now, arrows appearing in circles in the air were continuously lodging themselves into the tree.
‘This country's future is bright, heh-heh.’
The old man briefly sent his support to the back of the young Hunter devoted to his training, then turned around.
“Whew.”
Hyun-jun wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.
Even though the temperature had dropped to minus 10 degrees, focusing all his nerves on using the magic Skill repeatedly made him sweat naturally.
“Not a single miss today.”
It was already day 4 since he'd learned Magic Arrow.
Going to a hunting ground every time to combine hunting and training was economically inefficient.
So whenever he had time, he came out to a park near his house to practice the Skill.
“At first, I missed a little here and there.”
As time went on, his accuracy rose along with it, and now he had become a sharpshooter who never missed.
“At this rate, maybe I really do have talent?”
It was clearly different from when he watched other people practice magic in videos.
Most of them sent their magic flying all over the place from the first day, then quickly ran out of mana and struggled.
There was only one exception to that majority.
Those who had Awakened magical Traits.
They handled magic more easily than anyone from the very first time they used it.
“I'm doing this well without even having a Trait like that. Isn't this not just simple talent, but the birth of a genius of the century?”
Hyun-jun, who had been muttering with a serious face, soon burst out laughing.
“Genius isn't exactly a name you'd give a neighborhood dog.”
Still, he could be certain of one thing.
That he had a little talent for magic. Given what he'd seen until now, that much was clear.
“I never imagined I had a talent like this.”
Hyun-jun fired a few more arrows, then collected the target he'd hung on the tree.
The arrows stuck in the target scattered into the air with a single wave of his hand.
He put on the outerwear he'd taken off beside him and headed home with light steps.
‘Today's finally the day.’
Today was the day he would enter a dungeon.
To be precise, it was the day of Michuhol Guild's practical test.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried, but he wasn't entirely anxious either.
After all......
‘My Soul Circuit is E-Grade.’
Heh-heh.
He'd even learned a magic Skill.
And not only learned it, but he could cast it quite accurately.
So much so that while he couldn't catch Rune Rabbits yet, he had caught a few rabbits.
‘And I've raised my stats quite a bit.’
While he was at it, Hyun-jun opened his status window and checked.
[Name: Go Hyun-jun]
[Trait: Primordial Eye]
[Primordial Soul Circuit<E>]
Stats▽
-Strength: 1/100
-Agility: 61/100
-Stamina: 1/100
-Mana: 1/100
-Willpower: 1/100
Skills▽
<Trait Skill>
-Duplicate
<General Skill>
-Magic Arrow(4/100)
He had absorbed one Magic Arrow per day.
He had invested the other 10 duplications all into Agility, and today too, he had raised his Agility before coming out for dawn training.
His Agility stat had already passed the halfway mark.
The rest were still at 1, but it didn't matter.
Agility alone could make up for the shortfall.
‘At least it worked in hunting grounds. There shouldn't be a huge difference just because it's a dungeon.’
Let's clear it safely and come back.
Hyun-jun returned home, got ready, and set off for his destination.
***
In front of a building in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.
Crowds filled the large building's outdoor parking lot.
They were all F-Grade Hunters who had come for Michuhol Guild's recruitment test.
“Wow, there really are a lot.”
Baek Je-jung, who had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, was also watching the scene through the car window.
“Do you really have to go?”
A deep, dignified voice.
The man sitting in the driver's seat, who looked past middle age, turned to Baek Je-jung and asked.
“Don't worry, Uncle. I really prepared properly this time.”
“I don't really understand why you keep trying to be a Hunter. Won't you tell me?”
“Ah, I told you it's a secret.......”
“I could just tell your father everything about yesterday......”
“Ah, okay, okay!”
At the mention of tattling to his father, Baek Je-jung hurriedly spoke.
“B-Because it's cool.”
“......What?”
“Isn't it just like being a hero? Monsters that threaten the world...... and heroes who protect people from those monsters.......”
Baek Je-jung had admired such heroes since he was young.
That was why he always named his father whenever he was asked about someone he respected.
“Such a childish...... no, more importantly, didn't you say it was just for fun when you first said you'd become a Hunter?”
“That's how it was back then. I was just lying to myself. Telling myself I couldn't be a hero with this kind of ability. But I changed my mind.”
First, he had been stirred by seeing a Hunter of the same Grade show off strength far superior to his own.
Second, he owed his life to that same person.
Going through those things, he realized his true feelings.
“I want to be someone who inspires others and saves others too.”
“Does it have to be a Hunter?”
“Yes. For me, it has to be a Hunter.”
“......All right, I understand.”
Baek Je-jung's uncle and the head of the Awakened Police Bureau, Baek Gang-jun, nodded.
There wasn't the slightest wavering in his nephew's eyes as he spoke of his dream.
He was no longer an immature boy.
He was a young man who knew what he wanted and was prepared to move toward that goal.
“Then from now on, at least buy plenty of Runes. It's not like you don't have the money.”
“I'll try to compromise on that. I just feel uncomfortable achieving my dream with money I didn't earn.”
“So stubborn...... don't tell me that's why you're participating in this, too?”
“Well, yeah. Ah, it's time. I'm going.”
Before Baek Gang-jun could say anything, Baek Je-jung got out of the car and ran toward the crowd.
Watching his back, Baek Gang-jun let out a light sigh.
“Exactly like his father.”
.
.
.
“Everyone! Today is Day 1! Those who received a text for Day 2 need to go back!”
A Michuhol Guild official shouted at the Hunters gathered in the parking lot.
There were so many test applicants that the test was divided across several dates.
Even so, there were well over 300 people.
“Get your IDs checked and stand with the group you were assigned!”
There were a lot of people, but controlling them was easy.
A large Guild was something F-Grade Hunters would normally have no connection with.
That was why everyone moved briskly, trying not to get on the bad side of Guild officials for no reason.
‘I'm in Group 23.’
Hyun-jun also checked his group on the name tag he'd just been given and headed that way.
“Huh?”
As he got in line, a voice came from beside him.
When he turned, a familiar face was standing there.
“Oh.”
The man who had nearly been Rune Killed at the hunting ground a few days ago. Was his name Baek Je-jung?
“We meet again here!”
Baek Je-jung greeted him very warmly.
“Right. What a coincidence.”
“I was actually looking for your contact info so I could thank you properly, and now we meet like this...... could you give me your number? I'll contact you later.”
“Come on, handing all that loot over to me back then is more than enough.”
“No. That's not enough! You saved my life!”
Baek Je-jung chattered excitedly.
Hyun-jun found himself swept along in the flow too.
“Hmm.”
And there was someone watching the two of them.
At the very back of Group 22.
Baek Je-hyeok, his cap pulled low, disguised as an F-Grade Hunter.
From what he roughly overheard, it seemed the man in Group 23 was the person who had saved his younger brother.
‘He's supposed to be a good fighter.’
How much of a fuss Baek Je-jung had made. He had even said it would be good if that person participated in this.
‘He's probably just at F-Grade level anyway...... should I take a look?’
Baek Je-hyeok tapped a Guild member who had slipped into Group 23.
“What?”
“Let's switch places.”
“All of a sudden?”
“There's someone in that group I'm curious about.”
“You're not going to protect your brother?”
“What dangerous thing could happen in an F-Grade dungeon?”
“The Vice Master will be furious if word gets back.”
“So let them be.”
The Guild member shrugged and willingly switched places with him.
“Keep a good eye on Je-jung.”
“Yes, yes. Don't worry.”
Baek Je-hyeok gave a few more warnings, then fixed his eyes on Hyun-jun up ahead.
‘Let's see just how well he fights.’