Chapter 2
“Ugh!”
When I came to, for some reason, I was sprawled on a dirt ground instead of asphalt.
Huh? Wait, dirt?
‘What the hell is this?’
I was being chased by Balrog and threw myself into a warp gate that appeared in front of me.
So why am I lying on dirt right now?
At that moment—
“Baek Kang-hyun, you idiot. Get up already!”
Someone called my name from ahead.
I slowly lifted my head, and a vaguely familiar face came into view. It felt like I should know him, but… who was he?
‘Ugh, I think I know…’
That sharp, slanted gaze and brown-dyed hair… He was definitely that delinquent from middle school…
“…Kang Woo-hyuk?”
“Goddamn, you’re really pissing me off. Are you insane or what?”
Kang Woo-hyuk kicked my torso lightly, as if exasperated.
I lost my balance and flopped backward. Still unable to process the situation, I looked around while lying on the ground.
‘…What the hell? A school?’
A huge zelkova tree, neatly lined-up flowerpots, and the bold letters spelling out “Mokdong Middle School.”
Now that I think about it, for some reason, both Kang Woo-hyuk and I were wearing school uniforms.
‘Middle school uniforms? Why all of a sudden?’
I had thrown out my middle school uniform when I entered high school.
Something was definitely off.
I remembered diving into the warp gate, but where I lived wasn’t Mokdong—it was Apgujeong.
There was no reason for me to be at Mokdong Middle School right now.
But then—
“Ugh!”
A sudden pain shot through my stomach.
I grimaced and looked up to see Kang Woo-hyuk slicking his hair back, looking at me with disdain.
“Ha, a talentless nobody like you dares to ignore me?”
“You little…!”
This jerk was throwing around the one word I hated the most.
I was about to stand up in a fit of anger when a message appeared before my eyes.
[Conditions have been met!]
[Congratulations on awakening your talent!]
[Inventory has been created!]
[Talent awakening: ‘Fateful Opportunity’ has been activated!]
“Gasp!”
Wait, what? Talent awakening?
My breath caught in my throat.
I blinked, but the words I’d been waiting for my entire life didn’t disappear.
Is this real? Is it actually happening? Did my talent just awaken!?
“Whoa, holy crap. Whoa.”
I couldn’t even form words.
The moment I’d only dreamed of, the one I’d imagined countless times, was unfolding right in front of me, and I couldn’t believe it.
“Man, this guy’s really pissing me off. Ignoring me again?”
“Hey, shut up for a second!”
I don’t have time to deal with you right now!
The words I’d been longing for my whole life were right in front of me!
“You little—!”
Unfortunately, Kang Woo-hyuk raised his foot again.
What’s with this guy, kicking me over and over?
No matter how you look at it, taking hits like this isn’t my style. Two kicks were more than enough, right?
Thwack!
I grabbed his foot with both hands and yanked it toward me.
Caught off balance, he faceplanted spectacularly into the ground. Perfect landing.
Smack!
He’s just a middle schooler, after all.
Meanwhile, I’d spent years preparing for my talent to awaken, learning all sorts of things—including basic self-defense.
Plus, I’ve got experience on my side. Taking down a middle schooler with a quick hand strike should be—
“You… you bastard…!”
…Not working?
Kang Woo-hyuk lifted his head, looking way too fine, and I was the one caught off guard.
‘Oh right—he’s one of the Awakened too.’
It was hazy, but it came back to me.
I clearly remembered him strutting around in middle school, bragging about awakening his talent. That’s the Kang Woo-hyuk etched in my memory.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s kinda pissing me off.’
Here’s this guy, strutting around as an ability user since middle school, acting all high and mighty, while I’ve been stuck with nothing all this time…
At that moment, a window popped up in front of my eyes.
```
Name: Kang Woo-hyuk
Level: 1
Hunter Rank: TBD (Estimated Rank: D)
Skills:
- Strong Against the Weak, Weak Against the Strong! (D)
- Sturdy Endurance (D)
Stats: Stamina (D), Strength (D), Agility (F), Mana (F), Willpower (F)
```
As expected, Kang Woo-hyuk’s stats were pathetic.
But still… isn’t this a bit too stereotypical for a delinquent?
I could already see his future—doing manual labor or something.
But that’s his life, not my concern.
‘Why can I see his stats? How is this possible?’
Stats aren’t something you can just see on a whim.
Normally, to check someone’s abilities, they have to voluntarily go to a talent assessment center and share their results.
It’s basically personal, private information.
At that moment, Kang Woo-hyuk gritted his teeth and turned toward me.
“Baek Kang-hyun, you… you little…!”
“Okay, but why do you keep coming at me like this?”
Looking at myself, it seemed my body had reverted to my middle school days too.
If that’s the case, overpowering this guy with sheer physical strength is out of the question.
I quickly slipped my hand into my pocket.
He’s a middle schooler, and so am I.
If I’ve really gone back to my school days, then there should definitely be…
‘Got it!’
In my hand was a black, portable stun gun.
“W-Wait, hold on!”
“Hold on, my ass.”
Kang Woo-hyuk shouted in a panic, but I wasn’t about to show mercy.
He’s the one who started this fight, and I’m the one getting hit.
By any measure, this is self-defense, right?
Zzzzap!
The electric shock hit him square, and his body went limp.
I shoved him aside, brushed the dirt off myself, and stood up.
The stun gun went back into my pocket.
This wannabe delinquent isn’t what’s important right now.
‘Could this ‘Fateful Opportunity’ really be an S-rank talent?’
I’ve studied every publicly known hunter talent out there.
I’ve pored over them endlessly to make sure I could use any ability efficiently when my time came.
But I’d never heard of a talent called ‘Fateful Opportunity.’
‘Okay, okay, calm down. Let’s check the details.’
I was trembling—either from excitement or nerves, I couldn’t tell.
Like always, if I don’t know something, I just need to look it up.
This feeling of unwrapping a gift? I love it.
I know exactly how to check a skill!
‘Fateful Opportunity, Fateful Opportunity…’
I swallowed hard and cautiously focused on ‘Fateful Opportunity.’
Then—
```
Fateful Opportunity [Rank Under Adjustment]
An opportunity to test your human affinity!
Humans are social animals. They can’t survive alone—that’s what makes them human! So, what exactly is a ‘connection’?
You, the one seeking the answer, are the true owner of this [Fateful Opportunity]!
Target: None
```
A new window appeared before me.
“…What the hell is this?”
I knew skill descriptions could be vague, but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things.
Now that I’m looking at it with my own eyes, I finally get why so many hunters complain that these descriptions are impossible to understand.
‘But this is a bit too much.’
What’s this about “an opportunity to test your human affinity”?
And why does the tone feel like it’s forcing me to make connections?
Why would a skill description include something like that?
And…
‘What’s with ‘Rank Under Adjustment’?’
All known talents so far go up to S-rank.
‘Rank Under Adjustment’ is something completely unheard of, even for someone like me who’s obsessed with studying talents.
At that moment—
“…Baek Kang-hyun?”
A voice called out from behind me.
It was a familiar voice from my childhood, one I’d heard countless times.
I froze for a moment before slowly turning my head.
There, standing before me, was a friend I both longed to see and dreaded facing.
A neatly pressed school uniform and sharp, piercing eyes.
A slightly upturned nose paired with meticulously styled black hair.
His deep, dark eyes seemed to draw in anyone who looked at them.
If there’s such a thing as a “sculpted” handsome guy, it’s definitely this guy.
His striking appearance was nothing short of perfection.
But…
“Yong Sang-jae, why are you here?”
“…I’m on my way home.”
It came back to me.
Now that I think about it, Yong Sang-jae always stayed late at school because of the talent enhancement class. Yeah, it’s starting to make sense now.
The fact that Kang Woo-hyuk was beating me up at this hour when most students had already left, yelling about me ignoring him—it all clicked.
Yong Sang-jae was probably held back by a teacher, while Kang Woo-hyuk, with his measly D-rank talent, got out early.
I glanced down at Kang Woo-hyuk.
‘In the end, this guy was just going crazy with his inferiority complex, wasn’t he?’
For some reason, I felt a strange sense of kinship.
That feeling of inferiority you get when you’re around Yong Sang-jae.
From elementary school, he had already awakened his talent, and not just any talent—an S-Rank.
It captivated everyone’s attention and became the object of envy and jealousy among our peers.
And, of course, I wasn’t an exception.
“Baek Kang-hyun, what’s going on here?”
As soon as Yong Sang-jae saw Kang Woo-hyuk sprawled out beside me, he approached with a puzzled look.
That stiff, formal way of speaking—I haven’t heard it in forever.
At first, I thought it was because he was half-German, but I later found out he was raised that way by his tutor.
‘If I remember right, his private tutor was German.’
So, his Korean came out like this because he was taught by a German.
Back then, I just brushed it off, but now it makes him sound like some cringey, overly dramatic middle schooler.
Though, to be fair, with his looks, that vibe actually suits him later on—it’s ridiculously cool.
But still…
‘I really wish he wouldn’t come over here.’
To be honest, Yong Sang-jae was a bit overwhelming for me.
His future? He becomes Korea’s top-tier hunter, the absolute pinnacle.
If my memory is correct, the last time I saw him was about seven years ago. After that, I never met him in person again.
Because I deliberately avoided him.
Sure, he didn’t see me, but I saw him all the time—on countless TV broadcasts and media outlets.
“…Baek Kang-hyun?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a sec.”
Back when Yong Sang-jae awakened as S-rank, I was incredibly proud of him.
Having such an amazing person as my friend felt great. But that feeling didn’t last long.
'I ended up becoming a ball of inferiority.'
Yong Sang-jae and I were childhood friends who grew up together.
So, when we went to get our first aptitude tests, we went together.
‘Yeah, I remember it clearly.’
Both of us got S-rank results.
We were jumping up and down, holding hands, thrilled.
But that happiness lasted only a moment.
The next day, Yong Sang-jae awakened his talent, while I didn’t.
The one thing holding me back was none other than Yong Sang-jae’s existence.
Just yesterday, we were playing together as equals, but now he was soaring ahead while I was stuck in place, and that reality kept suffocating me.
“…Did you do this?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Looking back, Yong Sang-jae always looked out for me from then on.
The stun gun in my pocket?
That was actually a gift from him.
Though, back in school, I never used it.
‘I probably just threw it away later.’
I figured my talent would awaken soon, and I didn’t want to resort to something as cowardly as a stun gun.
I thought it’d be cooler to dominate with my awakened talent.
‘The problem is, that talent never awakened.’
If it weren’t for Yong Sang-jae, my school days would’ve been miserable.
It’s not like he ever looked down on me after that.
In fact, the more successful he became, the kinder he was to me. At first, I was grateful for his kindness.
But the longer it went on, the more pathetic I felt.
While he kept moving forward, I was stuck in place.
So I cut contact.
Even though he was busy, Yong Sang-jae kept trying to reach out. But I avoided him, cutting off every point of connection.
I wanted to meet him again only after I’d made something of myself.
But…
“…Baek Kang-hyun, are you hurt anywhere?”
That same Yong Sang-jae was now standing in front of me, looking like his middle school self.
And at that moment—
[‘Fateful Opportunity’ is activating!]
For someone who’d never had any connection to talent until now, a new ‘encounter’ had come my way.
****
TL Note:
Illustrations of Baek Kang-hyun and Yong Sang-jae are available on my Ko-fi!
Check them out here: [https://ko-fi.com/i/IA0A71JBZVQ]