Chapter 3

9%, 15%…

Watching the number continue to rise, Lee Ji finally realized what was happening.

‘Hunter Awakening?’

She had learned about it at school.

About ten years ago, when mysterious spaces called Dungeons appeared on Earth, a small number of people gained special powers.

They were called Hunters.

Hunters possessed all kinds of different abilities, but they had one thing in common.

‘They make a lot of money!’

Lee Ji’s eyes sparkled with hope.

Compatibility Assessment Complete

“Shin Lee Ji” confirmed as an Awakened Individual

Instinctively understanding how to use the system, Lee Ji waved her hand through the air.

“Status Window!”

Not every Hunter lived an amazing life.

She had heard that the thing that most determined a Hunter’s future was their Awakening Rank.

An alphabet grade that, once assigned, could never be changed.

“Hehe, I already know all my letters!”

She could immediately tell whether it was a letter from the front of the alphabet or one trailing behind.

Soon, a window appeared before her eyes.

[Awakened Individual Information]

Name: Shin Lee Ji

Awakening Rank: EX

Trait: <Undeveloped>

“EX…?”

As far as Lee Ji knew, normal Hunter ranks ranged from F to A.

The only special rank was S.

“EX is… X?”

If it was X, did that mean it was really bad?

After pondering for a while, she walked into the living room and grabbed her older sister’s tablet.

“EX, English abbreviation, meaning…”

The first search result was “example.”

The second was “ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend.”

In other words, a former lover.

“What is this?!”

Lee Ji grimaced and closed the search page.

Either way, neither explanation seemed right.

The problem wasn’t just the EX rank.

There was another factor said to determine a Hunter’s entire life—Traits—and hers was strange too.

“Undeveloped… search.”

The word wasn’t in the dictionary, but the internet posts that appeared made the meaning easy enough to guess.

I went to a flower festival and every flower was still undeveloped (not blooming) T_T
Then don’t call it a flower festival!!

How is a second-year athlete still being called an undeveloped prospect?
If he can’t perform, bench him already!

An unopened flower.

Something lacking.

Something not useful yet.

“But flowers bloom eventually. Maybe my Trait will appear later?”

Yet no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find anything about Hunters being in an “Undeveloped” state.

“Why is it only me?… Is it because I’m young?”

The one post she did find only made her feel worse.

I’m a government worker in the Hunter Management Department and these ignorant idiots are driving me crazy.

People keep asking if they can learn healing skills and re-register as healers even though their Trait is combat-type.

If you stick cow hair onto a chicken, does it suddenly become premium beef?

And stop asking if you can raise your rank.

You weren’t S-rank when you awakened? Then you’ll never be S-rank.

Believe what you see. Why are people with armpit hair trying to cling to the dreams and hopes they didn’t even have in elementary school?

The tiny dream and hope she had nurtured shriveled up instantly.

“And if it were something good, it would’ve shown up in searches.”

Combining EX with the word Undeveloped led her to a conclusion.

“I really am an example rank.”

Like those plastic food displays outside restaurants.

A sample that says, “This is what a Hunter’s status window looks like.”

Nothing more.

Just as Lee Ji’s shoulders drooped in disappointment—

A rustling sound came from the bedroom, followed by her sister’s sleepy voice.

“Lee Ji… you’re still awake?”

Her older sister blinked groggily from the bed and checked the clock.

Was she getting up?

Coming into the living room?

Going to ask what Lee Ji had been doing all this time?

If she found out that Lee Ji had awakened as a Hunter only to receive an example rank, she’d probably be heartbroken—

Then her sister said something unexpected.

“Are you too excited to sleep?”

“Huh?”

“You said you’re going to the Career Experience Center tomorrow. It was written in your school notices.”

Ah.

“That’s right!”

She had completely forgotten because she’d been worrying about her future.

Still, it gave her a perfect excuse.

“Yeah! It sounds really fun! I was looking up what they have there!”

“I see… It’s getting late, so you should sleep.”

“Okay! I’ll go to bed now!”

“Make sure you take a drink with you in the morning…”

Her sister wriggled back under the blanket.

“That was close!”

Lee Ji hurriedly searched for random jobs to create an alibi.

Teacher.

Nurse.

Bandit.

Doctor.

Magical girl…

No, that wasn’t actually a job.

Lastly—

Influencer!

“That should be enough, right?”

She really ought to go to sleep.

But now her excitement was genuine.

“Will there be Hunters at the Career Experience Center?”

Maybe she could learn about Hunters there.

Maybe she’d find out what EX and Undeveloped really meant.

* * *

The Next Day — City Career Experience Center

As soon as she saw the banners at the entrance—

“Experience Various Careers!”

“Consult with Professionals from the Future!”

—her heart began pounding.

“Will there be Hunters too?”

If so, maybe she’d learn what an EX rank was.

Maybe she’d even discover how to make money.

She wasn’t the only excited one.

“I’m going to be a martial artist! Can I fight a real athlete?”

“Ninja! Ninja!”

“I’m gonna be a lawyer! Will they teach us how to give people the death penalty?”

Faced with the chaos, the homeroom teacher shouted:

“Sparrow Elementary School, Class 2-3!”

“W-We aren’t first graders!”

“You’re noisier than the first graders! Again—Sparrow Elementary School, Class 2-3!”

“…Chirp chirp!”

“Today we’ll be trying three different careers. You don’t get to choose!”

“Aww…”

The children pouted.

The teacher continued firmly.

“If you only do things you already like, you’ll never discover what you’re truly good at.”

“Aw…”

“Alright! I’ll divide you into three groups. Have fun rotating through them!”

Of course, Lee Ji had no intention of simply playing around.

“I need to learn seriously!”

If she couldn’t make a living as a Hunter, she’d need another way to earn money someday.

The first destination was a pastry chef experience classroom.

A round-faced instructor cheerfully announced:

“Today we’re pastry chefs! Let’s make chocolate cupcakes!”

Following the instructor’s directions, Lee Ji diligently mixed the ingredients.

Or rather—

She battled them.

“Kehk! The flour is flying everywhere!”

Having a job was clearly not easy.

“Once you’ve mixed everything, divide the batter into paper cups. We’ll microwave them for two minutes!”

“Putting batter into cups should be eas—no it isn’t! This is weirder than slime!”

Brown stains covered the table.

Her hands became sticky.

Just as she started thinking she might not have any talent for this—

Ding!

The microwave beep interrupted her thoughts.

“Wow… that smells amazing!”

The cupcake looked delicious enough to eat paper cup and all.

“Finally, decorate them with sprinkles and cookies!”

After the activity ended—

Lee Ji gazed at her cupcake, which looked as beautiful as a Christmas tree, and made a solemn vow.

“If I can’t become a Hunter, I’ll become a pastry!”

Apparently this cool profession called “pastry” suited her perfectly.

Her mood improved considerably.

Carrying the cupcake she had made herself, she moved on to the next activity room.

A small basketball court.

“Today we’re basketball players! Let’s all make some awesome shots! If you score, you’ll get a prize!”

“Basketball… isn’t that for tall people?”

As the shortest student in the class, Lee Ji felt nervous.

The instructor directed the children to hoops adjusted for their height, but—

“Whoa, look at Junseo!”

“He’s already made three shots!”

“That’s so cool…”

Watching Junseo—the tallest kid in class—throw basketballs effortlessly made her feel even smaller.

Apparently his father had been a basketball player.

“Lucky. He’s tall, and he’s good at something… If I’m still the shortest next year, my sister will worry again.”

Trying to imitate him, Lee Ji jumped as high as she could and threw the ball.

Nine consecutive misses.

Then came the final ball.

“You’ll make this one for sure, student!”

The instructor cheered her on.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Lee Ji decided not to force herself to jump high this time.

“Hyaah!”

The ball flew higher than before.

“Oh… Ah, it’s a little short!”

She was certain it would hit the rim and bounce away.

Then—

Between the hoop and the ball, something flashed.

A silver thread.

As if being pulled by a spiderweb, the ball abruptly tilted toward the exact center of the basket.

Swish!

The instructor applauded.

“Wow, great job!”

“…”

“I knew you’d make this one. Here, you can choose a souvenir—”

“Teacher.”

It was rude, but Lee Ji interrupted him.

“What did you do?”

“Hm?”

“You helped that last shot go in, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean, little friend?”

The instructor smiled innocently as if he didn’t understand.

But his voice was getting quieter.

He was clearly flustered.

Probably worried the other children might overhear.

“So he definitely helped me secretly.”

Then what was that thread she had seen?

Lowering her voice as well, Lee Ji asked the question she desperately wanted answered.

“Teacher… are you a Hunter?”