Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter

Smack!

Another punch came flying without warning.

“Speak up, Bones! You little bastard! Are you saying my words mean nothing? Huh?!”

Gaon couldn’t remember the last time he’d been beaten so senselessly.

He had to go all the way back to his school days to recall a similar experience.

Although the situation would normally have made him furious, Gaon simply took the hits without resistance.

Trying to grasp what was happening around him was overwhelming enough.

In truth, there wasn’t much to figure out.

When he came to his senses, he realized he had become the man they called Bones, and all of Bones’s memories were now his.

He found himself in a city where countless races coexisted.

However, even in this diverse metropolis, beggars were treated with utter disdain.

And among the beggars living in the slums, the most pitiful and despised of them all was none other than Bones—Gaon’s new identity.

From sunrise to sunset, he had to beg tirelessly. And at the end of the day, whatever scraps of food or coins he managed to scavenge had to be handed over in full.

Wham!

“Well? Say something, Bones! Say it!”

Thwack!

“Do you think I’m a joke?!”

Bones was subjected to violence whenever someone felt even slightly displeased.

“I’ll throw you out of this dump if you don’t watch your mouth! You hear me?!”

Even in the filthy, rat-infested corner of the sewers that he called home, the fear of losing that miserable space kept him from fighting back.

But—

Grab!

“Oh? You’re blocking me now?”

That was Bones’s life, not Gaon’s.

Bones may have endured it all, but Gaon was a different person.

Of course, Gaon’s actions weren’t reckless.

With Bones’s memories, he fully understood that this was a world far removed from the order and laws of modern society.

In a place where action trumped words and violence outweighed rules, Gaon wouldn’t act without reason.

And he had a reason—a hidden card up his sleeve.

“I can see it.”

As the thug leader swung his fist, Gaon deftly sidestepped.

Then, with a sharp jab, he struck the thug’s torso, causing him to lose his balance and crash to the ground.

“You little—! You’ve lost your damn mind! Fine! If death is what you’re after, then so be it… Die!”

The leader drew a dagger from his waistband.

“Knife!”

“Don’t stop me! You all saw what this bastard did to me!”

Just as Gaon had earned the nickname Bones for his skinny frame, the thug—known as Knife—had earned his moniker for his reliance on blades.

Knife, now blinded by rage, charged recklessly.

Gaon narrowed his eyes.

“I can dodge it.”

Gaon hadn’t entered Bones’s body empty-handed.

Just as he instinctively realized he had been pulled into the world of the game, he also discovered another truth: the latent potential of the character he had created had been transferred into Bones’s body.

Sure, he could die if he was stabbed or cut.

But once he stripped away the primal fear of being wounded by a blade, Knife’s dagger wasn’t much of a threat.

Its arc through the air was clumsy, and the trajectory of the blade was painfully obvious.

Why bother taking a hit when it was so easy to avoid?

Gaon dodged the knife with ease.

“You little bastard!”

That seemed to strike a nerve with Knife.

Now seething with anger, he turned to the onlookers and shouted.

“Get him!”

“…Huh?”

“I said, catch him! What’s wrong? You don’t want to? Fine, then how about I carve you up first!”

“N-No, we’ll do it!”

Under Knife’s menacing threat, the beggars—who were in the same pitiful situation as Bones—began to move hesitantly.

“S-Sorry, Bones,” one muttered.

“But we don’t have a choice.”

Fearfully, they advanced toward Gaon, encircling him.

Gaon didn’t blame them.

For them, this slum was their entire world.

If they were cast out of even this wretched place, they’d have nowhere else to go.

Naturally, they were forced to submit and do whatever they were told.

Of course, understanding their plight didn’t do much to improve his situation.

Remaining calm, Gaon mentally mapped out a route through their ranks that would take him straight to Knife.

Then, suddenly—

“Aaaagh!”

A scream of pain tore through the air.

Every head turned toward the source of the sound.

It had come from the cluster of beggars who had been ignoring Knife’s commands, those in the mid-tier of the slum’s hierarchy, who were treated similarly to him.

They had been laughing and enjoying the spectacle of Knife’s predicament, like spectators watching a fire across the river.

And now, out of nowhere, disaster had struck.

“A m-monster! A monster is here!”

“Why the hell is a monster here?!”

“Help me!”

Shock. Fear. Panic.

The piercing emotions radiated outward, enveloping the beggars who had been closing in on Gaon.

“Run for it!”

A voice—its owner unclear—shouted, triggering chaos.

The beggars scattered in all directions.

“Help us, Knife!”

The mid-tier beggars, who had found themselves directly in the monster’s path, now ran toward Knife.

“You crazy bastards! Why are you running this way?! Get lost! Stay away from me!”

Knife screamed in terror.

But they had no intention of stopping.

“You said you’ve fought one before, right? You said there’s no way to lose to a low-rank monster!”

“You idiots! That’s not true! It’s not true!”

“What did you just say?!”

“Damn it. If I had what it takes to hunt monsters, do you think I’d still be a beggar? I’d be a monster hunter instead!”

Trust is a double-edged sword.

It can strengthen and solidify relationships, but when betrayed, it can lead to an overwhelming rage, just like this.

“So all that boasting you did was a lie?!”

The beggars, furious at having been deceived, momentarily forgot their dire situation and erupted in anger.

“W-What are you doing?! Keep your voices down, please!”

Knife desperately tried to calm them down, but it was too late.

“Grrrrr.”

The monster, which had been hesitating as it decided where to attack among the scattering beggars, now locked its gaze on the direction where Gaon and the others stood.

“Graahh!”

The monster kicked off with its four powerful legs, charging forward.

“Aaaah!”

It reached them in no time.

Crunch!

One beggar, who had tripped on a rock sticking out of the ground as he fled, had his head swallowed whole by the monster.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Crimson streams of blood erupted from the neck of the now headless body.

The monster charged again.

Crunch!

Another beggar fell victim.

Its legs were strong and swift, while the beggars’ movements were far too slow.

At this rate, who knew how many more beggars would be sacrificed?

Among the running beggars, silent glances were exchanged.

“Now!”

A beggar near the front shouted and nodded.

“Aaahhh!”

Suddenly, the group of beggars turned around and shoved Knife—and Gaon—toward the monster.

Though Gaon realized what they were doing, it was already too late to react, as his attention had been focused on the monster behind him.

“What… what are you doing?!”

Knife, who had been pushed to the ground, screamed in panic.

But the beggars didn’t respond.

They were using all their energy to flee as far as possible.

“Graahhh!”

Crunch!

Though their actions were far from noble, they were undeniably effective.

By offering Knife as a sacrifice, they managed to divert the monster’s attention away from themselves.

“Aaaahhhh!”

With a single strike, Knife’s left shoulder was torn off, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony.

That scream would be his last words.

Thud!

The monster’s forepaw came crashing down, shattering his skull.

“Grrrrr.”

The monster raised its forepaw leisurely.

Squish.

Thick brain matter dripped down its claws.

Gulp.

Gaon swallowed hard, a curse slipping from his lips instinctively.

“…Damn it.”

A world that had thrown him into chaos out of nowhere.

He hadn’t expected to wake up as a beggar.

He hadn’t expected to be nearly lynched by beggars.

And he certainly hadn’t expected to end up face-to-face with a monster, fighting for his life.

Though he realized he was endowed with exceptional physical talent, this wasn’t exactly the way he had hoped to confirm it.

“…I’m going to kill it.”

Suddenly, the beggars who had shoved him and fled came to mind, and Gaon clenched his teeth in anger.

Of course, it was a resolution he could only fulfill if he managed to survive the monster first.

The sight of the monster standing over Knife’s body was nothing short of horrifying.

At a glance, it resembled a wolf, but its grotesquely developed lower jaw took up nearly half its face, and its shark-like rows of menacing teeth completed the terrifying visage.

The moment Gaon took a good look at the monster, he realized a truth that no one had explained to him.

This wasn’t a game. It was reality.

From now on, he wouldn’t be returning home after work, cracking open a can of beer, and debating which game to play to relieve the stress of the day.

Instead, he’d be worrying about how to fill his empty stomach, how to find a safe place to sleep without trembling in fear, and how to survive.

But those concerns couldn’t take priority right now.

“Graahk!”

The monster lunged without warning.

If it had been the Gaon of the modern world, what would he have done in such a situation?

He probably would’ve started crying.

And more than likely, he would’ve frozen in fear, watching the grotesque creature lunge at his head without doing anything.

But now?

Though his mind was overwhelmed and unable to make sense of what to do, his body moved instinctively.

“Hup!”

Gaon held his breath, eyes wide open.

At the same time, he tightened his muscles and gathered strength throughout his body.

Strategies for how to evade the monster’s attack began to naturally surface in his mind.

Though its movements were fast, he felt he could dodge them.

He swung his left hand upward and tilted his body diagonally to the right.

The space he vacated was immediately occupied by the monster.

Snap!

The sound of teeth snapping shut on empty air echoed sharply in his ears.

It was a dangerously close call.

The creature’s pungent scent filled his nose, instantly erasing any lingering hope that this might all be a dream.

Grind, grind.

The sound of the monster’s teeth grinding together filled the air.

Its low growl carried something primal and fear-inducing, while the murderous glint in its eyes was enough to send shivers across Gaon’s entire body.

Survival.

Under that single, all-encompassing imperative, Gaon’s mind became simple and focused.

Left? Right? Straight ahead? Or maybe it’ll leap over me?

All such thoughts disappeared.

He instinctively understood that he had to block out anything that could distract his concentration.

He watched the monster’s charge and dodged.

By observing the movements of its muscles, he could predict its attack trajectory.

That was all there was to it.

And just that alone calmed his nerves, turning his previously clumsy actions into smooth, calculated movements.

For someone whose body had been more suited to e-sports than physical sports, such feats would’ve been impossible before.

Yet now, his joints moved with a natural precision, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He didn’t question how.

After all, wasn’t the very idea of falling into the world of a game itself absurd?

But since that had already happened, any further miraculous developments seemed almost logical by comparison.

Eyes that had once needed glasses to read a large sign could now track the monster’s minute movements.

A sense of spatial awareness, which had been so poor that parking a car often required multiple attempts, now allowed him to map out the monster’s trajectory with pinpoint accuracy.

And a body that had been mocked for its cursed athleticism was now evading the monster’s attacks with ease.

The character he had crafted before falling into this world—one with maximized stats in strength, endurance, agility, flexibility, reaction time, and dynamic vision—was now saving him from this dire situation.

Though he had sensed some of its capabilities when fighting Knife, he hadn’t realized they were this extraordinary.

Thanks to this, the fear that had gripped his heart began to recede, replaced by a growing confidence.

He was certain now—no matter what kind of attack came his way, he wouldn’t die.

As a result…

Thud!

Gaon didn’t stop at merely dodging the monster’s attacks—he managed to land a counterattack.

With a clenched fist, he struck the monster’s side as it missed its own attack and brushed past him.

However…

“Grrrr.”

All it did was alert the beast, rather than causing any meaningful damage.

“Hmmm.”

A low hum escaped Gaon’s lips.

The monster, which had been on an all-out offensive, halted its charge. But its bulging muscles still twitched with tension.

His attacks weren’t effective, while each of the monster’s attacks remained lethal.

Could I escape?

Naturally, that thought came to mind first.

But it didn’t seem like a fundamental solution.

More than anything, he wasn’t confident he could shake off the monster even if he chose to flee.

In the end, it was clear the problem had to be resolved here and now.

“Hoo…”

He took a deep breath.

If the decision was made, it was time to act.

Hesitation would only lead to regret.

“Graahk!”

The moment he took a step forward, the monster lunged as if it had been waiting for this.

To flee, one would naturally turn and run, but Gaon moved in the opposite direction—straight toward the charging monster.

As they closed the distance in an instant, the monster lunged with its grotesque teeth bared, but Gaon twisted his body, slipping effortlessly out of its attack range.

Then, he ran even further.

After several clashes, the distance between him and the place where the fight first began had grown significantly.

Gaon had chosen to return to the scene of the initial incident because that was where the key to ending this battle lay.

There, on the ground, was the dagger that Knife had been holding, abandoned after losing its owner.

It was a fact now: this was the world of a game.

In a world maintained by violence rather than law, developing a habit of running away would only lead to others looking down on him.

Grasping the dagger was his way of rejecting that fate.

And charging at the monster first? That was a declaration.

Slash!

The dagger swept across the monster’s side, leaving a long gash.

Using the dagger felt natural to him.

The moment he gripped it, he instinctively knew how to wield it.

“Grrrr!”

The monster’s rage deepened, its fury palpable.

But Gaon didn’t care.

The world he had to survive in would undoubtedly be far more brutal than this.

Slash!

Another cut.

Slash!

And another.

Slash!

He kept cutting, over and over, until…

“Yelp!”

At last, the monster succumbed.

The pungent stench of blood filled his nostrils, but he paid it no mind.

How long had it been since he’d opened his eyes in this new world? Thirty minutes, maybe?

It hadn’t been a long time, yet it felt like he’d already experienced so much.

Straightening his back, Gaon stood tall.

And then, he looked out at the world he’d have to live in.

A bloodstained world welcomed him.

The prodigious monster hunter of this dark fantasy had been born.