NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Eunha (1)
"Haah... Alright. I failed again."
The eternal F-rank Hunter,
Eunha, let out a deep sigh as he left the Hunter Association.
It was because he had failed the 'E-Rank Hunter Promotion Exam' held on the first of every month.
How many times had he failed now?
He had been taking the exam every month without fail for the past three years… so had it been about 30 times?
Or maybe even more?
If someone failed their driver's license test 30 times, even the people laughing at them would eventually just distance themselves like they were looking at a crazy person.
Eunha let out a self-deprecating chuckle and patted his own shoulder.
'It's okay, I'm getting the hang of it little by little... I should call Bangwool when I get home.'
It was lunchtime in May.
The cool spring breeze had disappeared, leaving behind the blazing midday sun.
Dragging his heavy body, which mirrored the weight on his mind, he sat down on the fountain ledge in front of the Association.
A refreshing breeze swirled around the fountain.
As he exhaled lightly and reached out toward the water, the stream shooting high into the sky shattered like jewels at his fingertips.
Swaa—...
Though he had failed the Hunter Promotion Exam and his heart felt heavy,
the sound of the wind swirling around the fountain lightened his body.
And as a result, his stifled emotions also eased.
'……Will I be able to pass next time?'
Thanks to that, he was able to smile again today.
That was what he thought.
Beep-beep—.
Just then, as he was sitting by the fountain, gathering the pieces of his shattered mental state,
his phone chimed with a message notification.
Startled, Eunha quickly pulled out his smartphone.
A single message was displayed on the screen.
It was an email from the Hunter Association, informing him of today's test results.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[(web) Hunter Promotion Exam Pass/Fail Notification]
This is the Hunter Association informing you of the results of the 'Hunter Promotion Exam.'
Test Date: May 1st, 20XX (Tuesday)
Name: Eun Ha
Hunter Rank: F
Skill Name: Self-Healing
Risk Grade: F
[Comprehensive Written Exam: 352 / 400 (Passed)]
[Comprehensive Practical Exam - E-Rank Combat Division (Failed)]
- Basic Physical Fitness
3km Run: ---- / Stopped due to injury
100m Sprint: 32 seconds
Sit-ups: 0 reps
Push-ups: 0 reps
- Pass/Fail Status: Failed
[Reasons for Disqualification]
- Insufficient basic strength.
- Unable to sense mana, insufficient mana utilization skills.
- Skill's healing effect applies only to self.
- Unable to control skill. Constantly active.
- Overall Evaluation: Unfit for Hunter activity.
Office work recommended.
Eunha, seriously, stop coming already.
Isn’t the registration fee a waste?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"……What do I even do now?"
A rejection email from the promotion exam.
Faced with the devastating results sent by the Hunter Association, Eunha’s vision darkened.
Throb.
For a moment, a memory flashed in his mind—him lying flat on the mat, unable to do a single sit-up, and the test examiner looking down at him with utter disappointment.
The examiner’s nagging voice, telling him that if he ran 100 meters like that, he’d end up in a hospital.
With a bitter smile, Eunha looked down at his bandaged left hand.
The bandage, stained red with blood, was wrapped tightly around his hand.
It was the result of falling and scraping his palm during the 3km run earlier.
Though he had disinfected it quickly, the wound was deeper than expected, so the examiner had given him first aid.
The face of the examiner, who had rushed over in a panic at the sight of blood gushing from his hand, remained vivid in his mind.
They had scolded him, asking why his skin was so soft, and told him that if he wanted to become a combat Hunter, he should start by building calluses on his hands.
'Strict and foul-mouthed, but a good person… I hope they go bald.'
Muttering to himself, Eunha unwrapped the bandage from his left hand.
As he did, his palm, revealing fresh, pink skin, was exposed.
The bleeding had already stopped, and as if time was fast-forwarding, new skin was forming in real-time, closing up the wound.
'[Self-Healing] skill…'
Watching his ever-reliable skill activate once again,
Eunha forced a smile onto his face.
The wound on his scraped palm healed visibly before his eyes.
His stamina also recovered quickly, so no matter how much he ran, he hardly ever got tired.
Ever since he awakened this skill, he hadn’t even experienced so much as a minor cold.
At first glance, it seemed like an incredibly useful skill.
The only flaw… was that it also reverted any 'positive physical changes' back to their original state.
In simple terms, he couldn’t build muscle.
No matter how much he worked out at the gym every day, [Self-Healing] considered muscle growth a 'change' and restored Eunha’s body to its 'original state'—
in other words, back to his soft, squishy limbs.
As a result, he maintained the impressive record of 0 push-ups and 0 sit-ups, continuing to fail the promotion exam.
(Are you an idiot? Why do you even want to be a Hunter with a body like that?)
A question someone once asked.
A perfectly reasonable doubt.
So Eunha had answered the question honestly.
And the moment people heard his answer, they would look at him as if he were insane before silently walking away.
He didn’t know why.
No matter what anyone said, he wanted to be a Hunter.
That was all there was to it.
"Haha."
Feeling the crushing weight of reality, Eunha laughed.
If only he didn’t have this [Self-Healing] skill, E-rank would be a breeze… That thought crossed his mind.
He swept a hand over his stifled chest.
"That guy's here again."
"Wow, unbelievable. Isn't he actually a ghost? Why is he always here?"
Sitting by the fountain in broad daylight with a face of resignation, he could hear the murmurs of passing Hunters.
Were their words simple curiosity, or were they mockery?
Surely, it must have been encouragement.
Thinking positively, Eunha subtly turned his head away, pretending not to have heard their words.
Lately, more people had started recognizing Eunha and taking an interest in him.
He didn’t know why. Maybe because he had failed 30 times.
If he browsed Hunter-related online communities, he would occasionally see posts about himself.
Perhaps he was the most famous F-rank Hunter in the country.
If fame influenced Hunter rankings, Eunha might have already reached C-rank by now.
The Resident Ghost of the promotion exam site.
Soft-Fist of Euncheon District.
The nicknames were too much.
Eunha honestly wanted to quit being a Hunter altogether, but he thought positively.
To succeed as a Hunter, some level of fame was necessary.
Emptying himself of negative emotions, he gazed at the transparent streams of water shooting from the fountain.
'Why... did I want to become a Hunter in the first place...?'
There was mana, and there were monsters.
There were Hunters who had awakened skills.
Hunters, monsters, and villains—worse than monsters.
A world where they clashed and fought.
A society so accustomed to killing that the weight of life became meaningless.
And for an F-rank Hunter, as powerless as a civilian, life was nothing but hardship.
'……Alright! Enough sulking! Time to go home!'
After contemplating in front of the fountain for a while, Eunha stood up.
Releasing his emotions so openly had lightened his heart.
Sulking wouldn’t solve anything. Thinking positively was key.
He had taken enough exams, built up enough knowledge… In June, he would definitely rank up to E-rank.
Leaving behind the stares of onlookers,
Eunha headed toward the bus stop in front of the Association to go home.
Kwaaaang—!!!
And at that moment,
a sports car plowed through the crosswalk and slammed into his shin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His ears hurt.
Maybe it was because he had hit his head on the car’s hood,
or maybe it was because of the screams ringing around him.
"Kyaaah—!"
A sharp, searing pain.
The chilling sensation of bones breaking.
Distant screams echoing from afar.
All of it felt hazy, like a dream, slipping away like a mirage.
Thud! Crack!
His legs struck the bumper, sending his body tumbling. His head smacked against the windshield, and he flew through the air like a ragdoll.
For an instant, his vision went completely white.
By the time he came to his senses, hard asphalt stretched out before him.
Crunch—!
With the sickening sound of bones snapping, he rolled across the rough pavement.
He must have forgotten how to breathe; his chest felt suffocated.
Then came the pain, creeping in.
Pain, which had trailed behind his airborne body, finally caught up and latched onto his startled heart.
What the hell just happened?
Screeeeech—!!
Forcing open his heavy eyelids, he glared at the car that had hit him.
A red sports car.
He didn’t know the exact model—he wasn’t interested in cars.
The only thing that registered was how ridiculously expensive it looked.
The sports car sped off from the accident scene without slowing down.
'I memorized the license plate… you bastard.'
His body felt heavy.
When he tried to breathe, his ribs screamed in agony, as if they were fractured.
He couldn’t feel anything below his neck, nor could he move a single finger.
Surprisingly, the pain wasn’t as overwhelming as he expected.
His mind just felt numb, as if he were about to fall asleep.
From his gaping mouth, thick blood spilled out like filthy water.
"Hit and run! That bastard didn’t even brake!!"
"Resident Ghost! Wake up! What are you doing?! Get a potion, now!!"
He felt cold.
Cold asphalt. Lukewarm blood.
His body was freezing.
Starting from his hands and feet, a winter-like chill crept in, slowly freezing him.
'Ugh… Cold. Need to be careful not to catch a cold.'
His senses were so distant that useless thoughts floated through his mind.
"What do we do? He’s not breathing! Should I do CPR? Would it even work?"
"This isn’t a prank call, you bastard! Someone’s dying!!"
"This is the Hunter Association! Step back!"
The surrounding noise dragged Eunha’s consciousness back from the brink.
A hand shook his shoulder, and the nickname ‘Resident Ghost’ drifted past like a passing breeze.
Was something happening?
As if in response, he coughed up more blood, prompting someone to shove a stiff tube deep into his throat.
A ridiculously expensive potion was poured in, and chest compressions began—yet no sign of recovery appeared.
Eunha sneered at his own skill, [Self-Healing].
It had always interfered with his future, but now, when he actually needed it, it refused to activate.
Or maybe he had sustained injuries beyond what his skill could recover from, and it had simply broken down.
A useless skill, reaching its limit just from getting hit by a car.
"It’s no use, he’s dead on impact. Even the recovery potion isn’t working."
"Do something! If he dies, we’re dead too!"
"Shit… I thought being near the Association meant nothing bad would happen! I just looked away for a second, and now this…"
He heard people arguing.
His ears were ringing, making it hard to make sense of the words.
He only felt drowsy, and the thought of 'Maybe I should take a nap first…' swallowed him whole.
'Bangwool… I was supposed to cradle her…'
Like sand slipping through an hourglass,
like a tiny white sailboat drifting beyond the horizon,
something precious was silently slipping away.
Step. Step.
And just like that,
as Eunha was about to close his eyes, lying in the pool of his own blood…
someone approached from beyond the crosswalk.
……
Step. Step.
Footsteps—heavier than dress shoes, resembling combat boots.
He couldn’t make out the features of 'that thing.'
It was just black.
Pitch-black.
『When life and death meet, severed fate shall also intertwine.』
And with those enigmatic words,
Eunha’s consciousness sank into the depths of the abyss.
……
……
Swaaah…
"……Huh?"
When he came to, he was sitting by the fountain in front of the Association, staring up at the sky.