SWNOVELXO Chapter 3 - Awakening (3)
“Tsk. There’s nothing.”
Kang Ian clicked his tongue after searching the area.
Finding the half-dead Earthworm had been a stroke of luck.
Normally, it would be difficult to avoid the watchful eyes of the hunters dispatched to close the sudden gate. Even if it managed to evade them, it would have crashed to the ground and died instantly.
Kang Ian clicked his tongue again and prepared to head home.
He could go further, but that would put too much distance between him and his house.
Having a safe retreat location was crucial in dangerous situations, so going further would be greedy.
– Chirp
“!”
A faint sound caught Kang Ian’s ear just as he was about to turn.
Holding his shield in front of him, he cautiously advanced towards the source of the sound.
Soon, he spotted a relatively intact Earthworm wriggling in the ground.
‘It fell onto the recycling pile.’
Boxes were neatly stacked for the recycling truck, and it seemed the Earthworm had landed on top of them.
The surrounding area was a mess, but the creature was in much better shape than the first one he’d encountered.
It was even capable of slight movements, making it a threat he couldn’t underestimate.
Kang Ian shielded his upper body, peering at the creature from behind his shield.
– Screech!
The Earthworm noticed him.
Unlike the first one, which was practically immobile, this one crouched low.
‘Here it comes.’
Kang Ian instinctively knew how to react.
It was like second nature.
He knew how to wield his sword and shield as if he were a true Valhalla Knight.
The Earthworm lunged like a spring, and Kang Ian angled his shield, deflecting the creature upwards.
Crack!
With a follow-up strike, he sliced it clean in half.
Green blood mixed with the falling rain, staining his leather armor.
– Ding!
[You have defeated evil.]
[Evil Soul + 1]
“Are you a Hunter?”
“?”
A voice called out from behind.
Startled, Kang Ian turned around. A man in his thirties, wearing a coat, was standing in the alley, looking at him.
“Ah, I should introduce myself first. I’m Lee Jigwang from Ohseong Guild. I was on standby for this Sudden Gate incident. I didn’t expect another hunter to show up besides our standby team.”
Lee Jigwang shrugged.
He assumed Kang Ian was a Hunter who happened to be nearby.
With the sword, shield, and leather armor, it would be weirder to think he was an ordinary citizen.
More importantly, there was his gaze.
The calm and collected way he’d dispatched the Earthworm, the unwavering look in his eyes throughout the encounter, and the lack of surprise when suddenly being spoken to.
‘What’s his rank? He seems quite skilled.’
It wasn’t unreasonable for Lee Jigwang to think this way.
However, he wasn’t particularly wary.
“I didn’t expect to find a hunter like you these days. Haha.”
“A hunter like me?”
Kang Ian tilted his head but quickly realized what he meant.
‘He thinks I’m volunteering.’
Kang Ian’s guess was spot on.
Lee Jigwang assumed that Kang Ian was patrolling the area voluntarily to protect civilians.
It was a natural conclusion.
This was the area where the Sudden Gate had appeared.
Why else would a hunter be fully equipped and present in this area if they weren’t part of the standby team?
‘He looks young. There are still hunters like him these days.’
Lee Jigwang looked at Kang Ian with an approving expression.
It was even raining, and his expensive items were getting wet. What hunter would willingly be out in this weather?
“This is what it means to have a sense of community.”
“It wasn’t anything difficult.”
“That’s the problem, everyone finds it ‘not difficult’ yet no one does it. Sigh.”
Lee Jigwang shook his head and tossed something towards him. Kang Ian caught it.
[Ohseong Guild – Gate Raid Team 3]
– Team Leader Lee Jigwang
“My business card.”
Ohseong Guild was one of the top hunter guilds in the country.
They were backed by the largest corporation in Korea and were known for attracting skilled hunters with their generous support.
Back when Kang Ian was job hunting, Ohseong Guild had been one of his targets.
Out of habit, he instinctively held the business card with both hands.
“I have to go report the Gate’s closure now, so if you need any help, feel free to contact me.”
Lee Jigwang waved as he said this.
‘It’s best to be kind to people like him.’
These were harsh times, devoid of human warmth.
It was heartwarming to see someone selflessly serving others, even when no one was watching. He felt compelled to help such a person.
* * *
‘In the end, I only managed to get two Evil Souls.’
Back home, Kang Ian took a quick shower and sat down.
He needed at least ten Evil Souls to claim the quest reward, but he only had two.
It was good to know he could obtain Evil Souls by hunting monsters in reality, but the efficiency was abysmally low.
‘I can’t just keep searching for Sudden Gates like this.’
Sudden Gates were unpredictable, like natural disasters.
There was no way to know where they would appear.
Even if he tracked them down, he would likely arrive too late to make a difference.
More importantly, as a civilian, it was difficult to even gain access.
In other words, if he wanted to hunt monsters freely, he needed a hunter’s license.
His mind in turmoil, Kang Ian turned back to his monitor.
The Devil Lord 3 lobby screen was displayed.
“First, I need to figure out what else I can do with this.”
He could now bring Devil Lord items into reality.
He couldn’t get quest items yet due to the lack of Evil Souls, but Devil Lord had more to offer.
‘Gold,’ the in-game currency, and ‘Nobility,’ occasionally obtained upon completing quests.
The gold obtained from hunting monsters could be used to purchase low-level items from the in-game shop.
It was a feature rarely used by players.
The items were significantly inferior to those obtained through monster drops and farming.
At best, they were useful only in the early stages of the game.
“As expected, it doesn’t work.”
Kang Ian tried purchasing items from the shop, but they only filled his character’s inventory; they didn’t appear in reality.
He’d anticipated this.
His skill window only displayed ‘Evil Soul’ and ‘Nobility’; there was no mention of gold.
And as for Nobility…
“I can’t use this yet.”
[Skill: Communication with Valhalla]
– A Knight of Valhalla can communicate with Valhalla.
– Evil Souls possessed: 2
– Nobility possessed: 10
Kang Ian currently possessed ten Nobility points in reality.
His game character, however, had much more, as Nobility could be obtained randomly by completing quests.
So, what could he do with Nobility?
With enough Nobility, he could purchase special items from the Valhalla Shop, which catered exclusively to Valhalla’s knights.
The problem was that even the cheapest item in the Valhalla Shop was beyond his reach.
[Valhalla’s Compressed Mastery]
– Required Nobility: 50
‘An item that requires 50 Nobility…’
It was out of the question for now.
The real issue was figuring out how to acquire more Nobility.
Evil Souls could be obtained by hunting monsters in reality, but Nobility was different.
‘I need to complete quests, but there are no NPCs giving out quests in reality.’
After pondering late into the night, Kang Ian, unable to find a solution, eventually fell asleep.
* * *
The next day, Kang Ian woke up early, washed up, and headed out.
At precisely 9:00 AM, he arrived at the Hunter Association government building in Myeongdong.
To obtain Evil Souls, he needed to hunt monsters.
And to do that, he had to acquire a hunter’s license.
“Welcome. How can I help you?”
“I’d like to apply for a hunter registration certificate.”
“Understood. Please follow the green line on the floor to the testing area. You can take the aptitude test there.”
An Awakened individual’s abilities couldn’t be determined simply by stepping into some fancy machine.
It didn’t work like that.
In the early days, some people kept their abilities a secret, while others exaggerated them wildly.
Scammers were everywhere.
And because the hunter industry dealt with immense wealth and prestige, fraud was even more rampant.
There were mages who claimed they could incinerate a city but could only conjure a fireball the size of a human head.
There were swordsmen who boasted of cleaving mountains but struggled against a few monsters.
Therefore, the Hunter Association granted an F-rank license to anyone who passed a basic aptitude test.
Further advancement depended on a cross-evaluation of performance and abilities.
Basic strength measurements, speed tests, cardiopulmonary endurance tests, and so on.
The test seemed basic, but it had standards that an unawakened person could never meet.
100m under 6 seconds, grip strength over 80kg, cardio checks, etc.
One needed to be capable of feats impossible for ordinary humans to qualify as a superhuman.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, thank you for your time. Please collect your certificate on your way out.”
Kang Ian completed all the tests without difficulty.
He held back just enough not to break a sweat, yet he still stood out among the other test-takers.
However, he didn’t let it get to his head.
‘Am I naturally strong? …Or were the others just holding back?’
He hadn’t used his full strength.
There was no point in trying too hard; they’d all be F-rank regardless. Meeting the minimum requirements was enough.
Besides, Awakened with magic-related skills usually had weak physical abilities.
Those with combat-related skills seemed to receive an invisible bonus to their physical abilities.
If his fellow test-takers specialized in magic, then outperforming them wasn’t much to brag about.
Or perhaps those with combat skills were also holding back.
[Kang Ian]
-Hunter Rank: F
After carefully storing the small certificate in his wallet, Kang Ian left the building to head home.
He planned to decide which Gate to enter once he got back.
‘Even an F-rank Hunter is still a hunter, so I should be able to enter Gates.’
While waiting at a traffic light, he mapped out his plan.
His mind was racing, trying to figure out the fastest way to obtain Evil Souls.
‘Hm?’
At that moment, he noticed an elderly woman collecting discarded cardboard near the crosswalk.
She was clearly quite old and appeared to have difficulty moving.
Even loading the cardboard onto her cart made her arms and legs tremble.
“Oh dear.”
An accident happened.
The elderly woman lost her balance and fell.
She sat down abruptly on the pavement but didn’t seem to be injured.
However, the pedestrians waiting at the crosswalk didn’t even glance up from their smartphones.
It wasn’t surprising.
How many people bother to get involved in others’ affairs these days?
“Tsk. Are you alright, ma’am? You should be careful. Should I load these onto your cart?”
However, Kang Ian approached the old woman, helped her up, and loaded the cardboard boxes onto her cart.
It wasn’t a difficult task.
They were so light that even an ordinary person could manage.
“Young man… thank you! My body isn’t what it used to be…”
“It’s no problem.”
Kang Ian brushed off her gratitude.
He genuinely hadn’t thought much of it.
He wasn’t particularly altruistic, but he didn’t want to ignore someone struggling in front of him.
What was so hard about looking away from a phone for just a moment?
If anything, ignoring her would only leave him feeling uneasy later.
He’d helped her mainly because he didn’t want to feel uncomfortable.
“Please be careful, ma’am. The light’s changed, so I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you so much, young man!”
“Yes!”
Kang Ian smiled, feeling unexpectedly good.
It hadn’t even been a difficult task, but the simple act of helping someone filled him with satisfaction.
Now, he understood why people volunteered.
‘If I had more time, I’d do more good deeds.’
Wouldn’t that make his life more fulfilling?
As he crossed the street, lost in thought—
– Ding!
[You have obtained +1 Nobility.]
‘Huh…?!’
Kang Ian stared at the sudden message in surprise.