"..."
Did he just awaken as a Hunter?
[Correct. The user has just awakened as a Hunter.]
What rank was it again?
[S-Rank Archer.]
S-Rank?
Min-jun was speechless, never expecting that he would become an S-Rank Hunter.
If it were in a large country with a large population, it might be common, but in South Korea, it was rare!
Although Korea originally had ten S-Rank Hunters, only six are still alive; the other four were all killed in action.
Korea is also known for having some of the weakest S-Rank Hunters in the world and for being the only country to have ever lost a portion of its land (Jeju Island) to an S-Rank Gate. As a result, the Korean hunting community was widely regarded by foreign society as weak and incompetent.
So, when another S-Rank Hunter was awakened, what would happen?
Would he work for the country?
Don't be kidding!
He didn't want to be a hero, a government dog, manipulated to fight till he was wrecked for something called honor, and besides, it wouldn't give him many benefits. He would just be given a civil servant's salary (peanuts compared to Guilds) to clean up the messes that private guilds refuse to touch.
No, there were some benefits, but the price and the restrictions were huge, so he knew well that, unlike the main character, Sung Jin-woo, who seemed to waver when he was asked to fight to defend the country for patriotism, he wouldn't think twice to refuse.
He wouldn't deny the feeling of wanting to protect the homeland. Still, there were many ways to do so, and being a civil servant, being ordered around by incompetent people, was definitely not on his list.
Still, he quickly calmed down and realized that his path to glory was open.
He wouldn't have to work that hard anymore, and he could rest, yet—
No, he still had to work hard, as he knew that as an S-Rank Hunter, he would be on the frontline, becoming the defender of the people, even if he might lose his life.
However, let's think about those things later, as he needed to adjust himself. He had just awakened his power. While he had to admit that being an S-Rank Hunter was good, when he thought of the plot of Solo Leveling, and how an S-Rank was as good as an ant in front of those beings on the higher caste, as they could practically rewind the world again and again like it was a toy, he knew well that the government wasn't the problem that he needed to watch out for the most, especially when this world was as good as a playground for those higher beings; the death of humans was nothing, like how a child kills an ant just for fun.
"It's good that I learned psychology..."
If he didn't, he was afraid he would be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pressure of what was happening around him.
Regardless, he knew that this wasn't the time for him to work on his live streaming.
After the blinding light of his awakening faded, he looked at the camera, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Well, it seems my mana capacity has exceeded the standard metric. I have a Psychology midterm tomorrow, so I'm ending the stream here. Don't forget to like and subscribe." Then, he just turned it off, ignoring the explosion of chats on his live stream.
His inbox was bombarded, but he ignored them and put his phone on 'Do Not Disturb'.
Most newly awakened Hunters would panic or call the government immediately.
However, he decided to play differently to raise his value.
Min-jun knew his value well, how rare and important the existence of an S-Rank Hunter was for the country. Still, it was also because of that that, by making him inaccessible, he drove the Guild Masters and the government absolutely insane. He didn't act like a rookie begging for a job; he acted like a monarch who couldn't be bothered.
Yet, frankly, he couldn't care less about them since at this moment, he just wanted to test the "Manager," making various adjustments, and also various plans together on how he should live as he was awakened as an S-Rank Hunter.
Only—
Knock! Knock!
A harsh knocking sound was heard at his apartment door.
"Oppa! Oppa! Min-jun Oppa! Are you okay?!"
"Min-jun! Did you just awaken as a Hunter?!"
"...."
Min-jun knew that those two were worried about him, but he needed time to calm down by himself. "I am fine, Jinah, Hyung. I need some time for myself. It's dangerous to be on my side. I will be fine."
"Oppa!"
Sung Jinah looked at her older brother, crying, hoping for Sun Jin-woo to do something, but Jin-woo also understood that the scale of Min-jun's awakening was on a different level than his, who was known as the weakest hunter in the world.
Yet, despite being the weakest hunter, Jin-woo also understood that those with a high rank as hunters were dangerous. Whenever he met them, he had to bow down. While he didn't think his little brother-like neighbor would become arrogant, he also knew that Min-jin's words were his way of caring. If Min-jun somehow hurt them due to uncontrollable power, Min-jun would regret it and feel guilty.
Moreover, while Jin-woo didn't want to admit it, he knew, despite being older, that he wasn't as smart as Min-jun, so he decided to trust Min-jun.
"Min-jun, if you need help, just call us, okay?"
"Thank you, Hyung. Tomorrow, I should be fine. Let me calm down first. You two should go to sleep."
Min-jun knew that those two siblings cared about him, as he was suddenly awakened as a hunter, yet it surprised him that those two were still awake.
"There you hear him. You know who he is, right, Jinah? Just trust him."
"But, Oppa..."
"His power..." Jin-woo was helpless yet somehow felt quite inferior "I feel like he is beyond all of the hunters that I have seen, and he probably understood that, so if we are by his side, he is afraid that he might hurt us, so just wait for him tomorrow, since if he really needs our help, we're by his side, after all."
"Okay..."
Jinah knew there was nothing she could do, and she knew she was weak, but because of that, she wanted to help Min-jun more, as she felt like... he might go far away.
Still, when everything calmed down, Min-jun quickly analysed what the hunter's origin was, and all other things, which made him also wonder how he became an S-Rank Hunter all of a sudden.
As for his class, the archer, frankly, as long as he was strong enough, it didn't matter.
Yet, without a doubt, being a hunter meant he had evolved as a human, and his body could bear the mana in the environment.
The origin of everything, why there were Hunters, and everything in this world, was all due to the creatures from other worlds that emerged from the dungeons and portals that randomly appeared in various places around the world, causing something known as "Mana" to leak into the world.
And, when those humans adapted to mana, they became beings known as hunters.
As for why he became an S-Rank, he looked at the "Manager," and asked, "Is it because of you?"
[Affirmative. To optimize the user's life, and considering the best path for the user, it is advised for the user to be as strong as possible.]
"..." Min-jun.
Then again, yes, it was good, but it was impossible for him to be low-key from now on.