Park Si-hun.
He was a 39-year-old C-grade Hunter in the year 2088.
Since awakening as a child, he was convinced that his life was special, believing, like many famous Hunters, that a smooth path lay ahead of him.
Becoming an Awakened One was already a rarity, so when he received the designation, the village where he lived, including his parents and peers, was turned upside down.
When he first manifested his abilities, it was pure chaos.
The elders in the small town danced with joy, proclaiming that a Hunter had appeared in their village.
His parents and the village elders celebrated, carrying Si-hoon on their shoulders, throwing a party that would send their little village flying.
His parents proudly boasted of having a talented child, while his peers looked at him with envy, which Si-hoon reveled in.
“Yeah, I’m an Awakened One.
I’m the future Hunter.
I’m the pride of this village.”
At that time, Si-hoon felt like he held the entire world in his hands.
He had long heard about the exploits of the first S-grade Hunter, Yeonseo. He read textbooks detailing her accomplishments in saving humanity, thinking, “I will become like Yeonseo. No, I will become an even greater Hunter than her.”
He wanted to lead a new era, and it felt like the vision he had only dreamed of was approaching reality. Day by day, he was filled with ecstasy and joy.
“Yeah, I definitely wanted to be that.”
However, as soon as he entered the Hunter Academy, he realized that his skills and vision were worse than that of a frog in a well.
Awakened Ones were certainly rare, but Awakened Ones with talents and abilities superior to his were as numerous as the stars in the night sky.
Classes at the Hunter Academy were incredibly intense.
During the day, they trained their enhancement powers while wielding weapons or practiced in real combat against monsters captured by the academy.
While skilled students got to undertake practical training in real dungeons, unfortunately, Si-hoon was not classified as a “skilled student.”
He could easily catch one lone Goblin, the trivial kind he had only read about in novels or comics, but when it came to two, he found himself gasping for breath, caught between life and death.
“This can’t be happening.
Something’s wrong.”
While he rejected reality, his peers continued to grow.
When Si-hoon barely managed to take down three Goblins, his peers were hunting fairies solo and defeating Kobold packs.
Still, he worked hard in his own way.
He woke up early to train and stayed up late to hone his body and powers.
And at a young age, Si-hoon learned that effort doesn’t always yield good results.
271st place among 309 students in his academy, he graduated with a report card that barely reached average, nearing failure.
But he did not despair.
A Hunter’s life truly begins the moment they step into a real dungeon, not inside the academy.
He worked hard.
He did not give up.
Of course, with poor grades from the academy, he could only dream of joining a large guild.
The guild Si-hoon entered was a typical small guild, mostly just filling numbers for grunt work.
It was so poorly reputed and skilled that it was referred to as the “Sh*t Guild.”
No, this isn’t the end.
Just by becoming a Hunter, he belonged to the top 1% in Korea.
However, since Si-hoon was not strong enough to tackle dungeons alone or slay Goblin mobs, he had to party up with other Hunters in similar situations within the guild.
Having never served in the military, Si-hoon understood the meaning of real hardship. The B-grade Hunter guild master strutted around, draining the lifeblood from Si-hoon and other guild members day in and day out.
“If you have no skills, have guts. Have tenacity.”
Giving him rags for equipment and refusing to maintain them, he smugly deducted fees, saying, “Our guild is a family guild; this fee is really reasonable. Be grateful to your brother,” which Si-hoon got used to hearing every day.
Of course, despite your adjustments, nearly half of the monster drops Si-hoon barely managed to secure were siphoned away by the guild. Nevertheless, Si-hoon had to continue transmitting a plausible front, regularly sending an allowance to his parents to show he was managing.
Yeah, still, he did not give up.
He was okay.
“Today will be the day.
Surely I will achieve something.
This time, I can do it.”
If he leveled up, he would earn more money and perhaps even aim for an A-grade.
He pledged that upon leveling up to B-grade, he would smash that jerk guild leader’s face and then switch to another guild, putting up with everything and persevering every single day.
However, one day, while gazing at his unchanged C-grade Hunter license after fifteen years, he abandoned the guild and locked himself back at home.
He ignored the contacts from his parents, who had once taken pride in him, and even dreaded messages from childhood friends who had once been close to him.
It felt as if they were mocking him.
Not just his parents and childhood friends.
The academy peers, academy professors who looked at him with disdain, the pitiful small guild leader who had greeted him with a “gotcha,” and the trainee personnel from the Hunter Association who looked at him with sympathy—all made him feel scared and resentful.
Who could comfort him?
Naturally, there was no one.
What consolation could a loser who couldn’t even lift his head up to his parents give?
Girlfriend? Partner?
Still a virgin at 39.
Once upon a time, there was probably a childhood friend who fancied him back home, but that was more than twenty years ago.
Since moving to Seoul to attend Hunter Academy, he hadn’t even managed to make lasting connections with anyone, let alone find a girlfriend.
Thus Si-hoon naturally became less inclined to go outside.
He solved his meals through convenience stores and delivery apps, communicating with the world through his smartwatch, computer, and TV in his room.
In his room, he chuckled away his life, consuming humor from limited community spaces.
Sometimes, he caused chaos in the Jangheon Gallery, while other times, he would post mischievous content or adult material when he felt bored.
And in this era where countless Hunter streamers broadcast, Si-hoon’s gaze inevitably turned towards the streamers.
What he failed to become—perhaps if things had gone differently, he could have been one of those Hunter streamers.
Filled with unrestrained jealousy, rage, and spite, Si-hoon became one of the worst trolls among Hunter streamers.
Whenever he got banned due to excessive trolling, he would use his Hunter license to create a new ID and continue his malicious deeds.
His notorious antics had grown to the point where even Jangheon Gallery and some streamers would say, “Oh, that guy’s back again,” becoming an unintended celebrity.
For Si-hoon, that was both a source of light and glory.
“Wow, nobody knows me outside, but they know me here!”
This maliciousness had become the driving force that kept Si-hoon alive.
In his already shattered life, deriving joy from tormenting others’ feelings felt the most exhilarating.
So today too, he engaged in mischief. He got kicked, banned, and suspended, only to create a new ID or conduct more mischievous antics again with an unbanned account.
“It’s fun.
This is my joy.
This is all I have.”
Then one day, a new streamer shone in, like a star, catching his eye.
Isia.
Returnee.
Mangja Seongnyeo.
Assumed grade: S-grade.
Incredible Seongnyeok pouch.
With the nickname “the Divine Maiden” and various unique traits, she was a supernova who seized the title of Gallery Master in the Hunter Gallery less than half a year after starting her broadcast.
Kind. Cute. Big-chested. Strong. A woman who seemed to have it all.
Naturally, it made him jealous.
However, upon first seeing Isia, Si-hoon couldn’t act out like he usually did.
The reason was simple.
She was just too beautiful.
On top of that, it seemed like Isia deliberately engaged in outrageous antics, but she couldn’t quite hide the holy aura of a divine maiden or her inherent kindness.
Even if the viewers matched the streamer’s intention with their responses, most people likely understood.
This “Divine Maiden” was pretty, strong, and even kind—someone who seemed to have it all.
When the depth of jealousy reached a certain level, a person exhibits intense hatred and envy.
But if the gap becomes impossible to compare, feeling like that person is akin to a god, that turns to awe, admiration, and affection.
Thus, Si-hoon fell head over heels for Isia at first sight.
Whether it was genuine affection or something else, he didn’t know.
But Si-hoon understood.
That woman didn’t even know he existed.
If only he’d contented himself with being a passionate viewer of her stream, nothing would have happened.
But…
[Do you want it?]
A sweet temptation arrived.
[I’ll help you.]
Having lost everything already, he took the hand offered to him.
Yeah, it was time to be rewarded.
It was about time some rays of sunshine pierced through this sewage-like life of his.
○○○○
Stalker.
What is a stalker?
In short, it’s someone who secretly follows and approaches victims continuously.
“Wow! A stalker! A stalker!”
To actually experience something seen in movies or novels, I can’t believe this day has come for me!
I was overjoyed.
The existence of a stalker is, of course, a terrifying crime and something that should not be done, but doesn’t it also mean that my broadcast has somehow spread to many people?
In a good way, even! (?)
What is a stalker?
It means someone loves me so much that they don’t know what to do and want to kidnap me.
Then I must already be receiving love and affection from countless people.
How could I not be happy about that?
“But what should I do…?”
The moment a handkerchief, soaked with anesthesia, covered my mouth and nose, it felt like time accelerated.
No matter how happy I was about having a stalker, this is undeniably a bad thing.
I don’t know much about the laws of Korea in 2088, but this would definitely be classified as a crime. If it were a normal person, I would have immediately hunted the malicious stalker down, confronted them, caught them again, and handed them over to the police without a second thought.
“…This isn’t ordinary anesthesia.”
The taste is bitter.
How do I know? I vaguely felt the taste of mana in the anesthesia.
By the way, mana has a unique sweetness like drinking an ion drink.
It was definitely not regular anesthesia but rather a monster-specific tranquilizer or a potent sedative meant for Hunters.
Should I hit back now?
No, perhaps this could turn into a grand saga of thwarting a cinematic crime syndicate.
What if there’s a criminal group targeting me… Is that going too far?
Anyway, let’s assume there’s a female or Hunter-targeting criminal syndicate.
Then indeed, that organization would presumably consist of Hunters or Awakened Ones, and who knows, there might be other potential victims besides me?
Simply using such an unusual tranquilizer is already enough to raise suspicion.
Then I, as the Seongnyeo, must ought to save them, right?
Hehe, I didn’t expect to stumble upon such luck just for stepping out of boredom!
It’s like I’ve become the protagonist of a movie.
Having made my decision, I relaxed my body and pretended to be unconscious as I fell backward.
Thud!
“Cough!?”
Uh… Am I okay?
Did I act too realistically?
But someone who’s fainted feels heavier and weaker than expected…?
“Ugh… what kind of weight… cough…”
Hearing that heavy breathing from the kidnapper, it seems that my head collided quite forcefully with his stomach as I fell backward.
At least I’m glad I relaxed my body.
Had I not and had I hit him hard before being kidnapped, I’d have ended up doing a healing spell on him before pretending to be unconscious!
In a kidnapping, that would seem quite unflattering…
By the way, my weight is… well… not light.
According to Teresa, the density of each cell in my body is about five times that of an ordinary human…I don’t recall the complicated details, but my body weighs significantly more than it appears.
“Ugh, what an extreme weight…”
By the way, judging by the voice, it’s a guy.
Hey! How long are you going to leave me lying here on the ground?
“Phew… you’re sure you’re unconscious, right?”
Whoosh whoosh
As I saw shadows sweeping over my closed eyes, it seemed like the guy was waving his hand in front of my face.
No, it’s broad daylight; people might be passing by.
Hurry up and kidnap me!
Whether my thoughts were transmitted, he grunted as he lifted me onto his shoulder.
It seemed he meant to carry me like a princess, but he clearly lacked the strength, making me feel tossed about like luggage.
Clatter
And then, like a pitiful princess, I was placed on the unrecognizable black rear seat of a vehicle.
Ah!
So scary.
This is terrifying.
Am I going to be utterly ruined, captured so helplessly surrounded by scary uncles?
If they are organ traffickers, they would probably dismantle my body before selling my organs to China while meddling with my Seongnyeok pouch!
I won’t forgive these creepy guys.
“Haah, why is she so heavy…”
Excuse me? You tried to kidnap me, and now you’re complaining about my weight?
But despite his complaint, I felt some muscle in his grip, so he might be a decent work out hunter or Awakened One.
“Wow, she’s really pretty…”
With my eyes still shut, it felt like his hand was creeping towards my hair with an unsettling texture.
That’s a no-go.
Bang!
“What the—!?”
Just by releasing a bit of Seongnyeok at my palm towards the ground to make noise, the kidnapper, who already seemed anxious, withdrew his hand that had been reaching for my hair, likely fearful he might be caught.
Good, just as I thought.
If he had really touched my hair, I wouldn’t have held back; I’d have gone straight to laying him flat before bringing him back with a healing spell.
My hair, including Menelapie, can only be touched by people I permit.
Well, Yeonhwa or Yeonseo Unnie would be okay…but no matter how much I tried to let things slide, there are lines that must not be crossed.
If anyone crosses those lines, I’d instantly go from playing pretend to smashing them and then healing them back up for some retribution.
“Let’s move, then…”
The kidnapper then laid me down in the backseat, grabbing the wheel.
In that interim, I took out a round sphere from my pocket.
What’s this?
It’s a Drone Camera!
[Stealth Mode]
[Mute Mode]
[Hologram Transformation]
[Broadcast Starting]
Now, a ridiculously fun broadcast is about to begin.
Honestly, I think it’s going to be one heck of a riot.
Oh, the title…
[Stalker Home Cooking Session]
This should do, right?
Is there anything better?
Hmm…
Vroom
Let’s think while we’re driving.
