Creator’s Favoritism

I opened my status window in confusion. Among the familiar list of skills, I saw that the hidden skill and the additional skill had been newly updated.

One hidden skill and one additional skill. I really awakened two skills in one go.

Since I had only killed four or five monsters this time, it seemed I unfortunately hadn’t met the conditions for awakening the skill I’d been aiming for.

But trying to get everything at once would be greedy.

「Tito notices that every time ‘Maeng Sun-woo’ appears in the story, things develop in ways he never imagined.」

As I read the narration, the footsteps of paramedics who had spotted Yeo Wook and me grew louder as they hurried over.

「Unlike the characters he’s created so far, ‘Maeng Sun-woo’ feels almost alive, sparking a special affection. Tito decides to allocate new skills that will allow ‘Maeng Sun-woo’ to play an active role in the story.」

Reading the following sentences, I felt an inexplicable sense of pride.

‘Is this what they call tough love…?’

I had resented Tito a lot, but hearing such words after surviving a life-or-death situation, I felt a bit of affection growing even for my god.

I decided to quietly examine my new skills while two paramedics, a man and a woman, transferred me to a stretcher. 

As the ambulance doors closed with me inside, I opened my status window again using inner speech.

[Skills] Blackout (S-grade/Hidden Skill): When the caster falls asleep or loses consciousness, they witness the main story of that they haven’t experienced.

It wasn’t clear exactly how it would activate, but it was certain that this skill would make it easier to know future developments in the main story.

Since it seemed to activate when I sleep, it was impossible to check the skill right away. I decided to postpone using until tonight and looked for the additional skill that had awakened in my status window.

The second awakened skill was nestled between and . My mouth opened slightly as I confirmed the skill’s name and grade.

‘Wow… this is D-grade?’

Indeed. The newly awakened skill was a D-grade.

Given that my unique skill was F-grade, it was obvious that even if I had awakened , it would have been the same F-grade.

But a D-grade additional skill? Even though I failed to awaken , I could say I gained an even greater benefit.

[Skills] Hell’s Miner (D-grade/Random Skill): Can randomly select and use skills awakened by other hunters that have a usage rate of 5% or less. Selectable skills change daily and can be used for 24 hours.

‘I can use other hunters’ skills?’

Even though my head felt like it was about to split open, I felt wide awake.

Copy-type techniques that often appear in shounen manga are usually ridiculously versatile.

It was hard to believe that such a skill was only D-grade.

With my brow furrowed in concentration, I activated in my mind. Soon, energy resembling blue sand gathered in my palm. 

It was thanks to the practice I’d had activating skills a few times before.

[SYSTEM: activated. Please select the skill you wish to use.]

‘What’s with these names…’

The only information provided was the skill names. I carefully examined the three options.

Perhaps because they were all low-usage skills, none of the names seemed particularly strong or useful at first glance.

It was difficult to predict what abilities all three skills might have just from their names.

I decided to exclude number 1, which seemed likely to be the weakest of the bunch. Number 2 didn’t appeal much either, as it was impossible to even guess what kind of skill it might be.

‘Let’s go with the third one.’

Just as I thought that and raised my right arm to make my selection, the paramedic sitting to my right grabbed my hand.

[SYSTEM: As an effect of activation, has been temporarily awakened.]

“You shouldn’t move.”

Her touch was firm as she rolled up my tactical uniform sleeve and tightly wrapped a rubber band around my upper arm.

I looked at the paramedic. In her hand, which firmly held my arm, was an empty syringe.

“Patient, I’m going to draw some blood.”

[SYSTEM: activated. Your animal instinct to avoid being restrained awakens.]

As an incomprehensible system message appeared, bluish energy enveloped my entire body.

The instantly condensed energy dispersed along my blood vessels, then exploded at my fingertips where the paramedic had grabbed me.

Bang!

The paramedic tumbled down at once, her back hitting the ambulance’s inner wall. It was a monstrous strength that made the vehicle shake.

As I hastily raised my upper body in shock, the Velcro straps securely fastening my limbs to the stretcher snapped with a ripping sound.

I swear to heaven, I didn’t mean to do this.

The paramedic, suddenly thrown aside, had a dazed look in her eyes. The driver’s pupils shook wildly as he looked back at the commotion.

“Hunter, why are you doing this…?”

“I’m not doing this on purpose…”

Thud!

I merely waved my hands to indicate ‘no,’ but the entire body of another paramedic who was hurriedly trying to hold me down was effortlessly flung away.

As medical equipment mounted on the vehicle’s inner wall came crashing down, a reflexive scream burst from the paramedic’s mouth.

“Aah!”

“Oh, I’m sorry! Are you alright?!”

This is a completely insane skill!

Blue energy surged vigorously from my outstretched hand as I tried to stop the skill. Objectively speaking, my behavior in the ambulance was nothing short of a rampage.

I broke out in a cold sweat, feeling terrible for the paramedics. The female paramedic who had just managed to stand up looked on the verge of tears.

“What are you doing? Please calm down!”

“It’s, it’s a misunderstanding!”

I was distracted by the paramedic in front of me. The male paramedic suddenly grabbed me from behind.

The force with which he jabbed a syringe into my neck was so strong that I felt muscle pain in my squeezed nape. He pressed the plunger to inject the drug just before he was about to be thrown off again.

I shuddered as the ice-cold drug entered my bloodstream through the needle. The resistance lasted only a moment before my vision darkened and all strength left my body.

Ah, I should’ve just gone with .

Regret washed over me like the ebbing tide. A system message appeared before my fading consciousness, as if to mock me.

[SYSTEM: The effect of activation has disappeared.] [SYSTEM: activated.]

* * *

The gradually brightening view revealed Nam Hanju talking with Sung Kyung-min.

Smoke rose from various spots where monster corpses were being burned, with the setting sun over Cheongdam Bridge as a backdrop. Countless glass shards were embedded in the zombie bodies strewn messily across the asphalt road.

My body watching them had no form. I couldn’t move anywhere or touch any objects. I could only observe the situation before me, my viewpoint fixed like a movie audience.

Nam Hanju, her hair tied up, spoke with a serious expression.

“The frequency of gate occurrences has doubled this year. And what’s this about gate waves? I’ve never heard of this type of gate before.”

“Yeah. It’s fortunate the waves stopped at the third…”

Judging from Sung Kyung-min’s words, it seemed the waves had continued up to a third after I lost consciousness. Looking at the even more chaotic surroundings, I could imagine how intense the last wave must have been.

Sung Kyung-min, a cigarette in his mouth, muttered gloomily. His wistful gaze was directed at a pile of ashes that looked like it wouldn’t even be accepted at a junkyard. Nam Hanju, leaning her backside against the guardrail, asked,

“What are you going to do about your car?”

“…Since the girl was driving, it’s awkward to file for compensation from Samun Electronics, and it feels wrong to try and squeeze money out of the Children’s Foundation.”

“That’s true.”

Nodding in agreement, Nam Hanju asked if he planned to get a new car. Sung Kyung-min’s brow furrowed deeply at her words.

“No, forget it. It would take at least 6 months to wait for a new one. I guess I’m just not destined to drive foreign cars.”

Sung Kyung-min spoke in a flat voice and took a deep drag of his lit cigarette. Nam Hanju laughed out loud.

“That Maeng Sun-woo, she’s a good driver? Does Haniyeong teach driving too?”

“No way…”

“Well, anyway… the situation these days doesn’t look good. I have a really bad feeling.”

Nam Hanju murmured in a chilling voice as she looked down at the Han River, tinted by the sunset. Sung Kyung-min stood beside her, silently exhaling white cigarette smoke.

My vision faded to black once again.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was on a bed in the school infirmary. The view of the playground outside the window was familiar. As I tried to sit up, I paused momentarily to endure the pain.

The aftereffects of the car accident manifested as aches in various joints throughout my body. Perhaps due to side effects from the drug I was given in the ambulance, my head also throbbed dully.

I looked around the infirmary with a grimace. In the silence, the wall clock’s second hand ticked. The late afternoon sunlight coming through the uncurtained window wasn’t enough to brighten the darkening room.

Under a shelf lined with various medicine bottles, I saw a wooden desk with a nameplate that read [School Nurse Park Hun-min]. Only an empty chair guarded the desk.

On the opposite bed, Yeo Wook lay in a deep sleep with thick gauze stuck near his temple.

I had a rough idea of what kind of skill was. It was an ability to see the content of where I don’t appear while I’m asleep.

「As it approaches 11 PM when the new work is first revealed, Tito refreshes the webtoon site every 5 seconds.」

It seemed that in the meantime, it had become the day when the first episode of would be revealed to the world for the first time in the divine realm’s timeline.

I found myself focusing on the narration box, thinking, ‘I hope it gets good views.’

「5 minutes before the release, Tito, hunched over his computer desk, lets out an ‘Ugh’ groan. He regrets not buying anxiety relief pills in the morning.」

I didn’t know Tito would be this nervous waiting for the launch.

I quietly read the narration box with a somewhat strange feeling. As soon as I finished reading the text, another narration box appeared.

「Feeling a bit nauseous, Tito clicks on the thumbnail of his new work. Even though he clicked as soon as it was uploaded, the first episode is already recording a 4 out of 10 star rating.」