The office of the Intelligence Management Headquarters located in Seoul. A middle-aged man in a suit was sitting in front of a computer, continuously replaying a video.
It was the incident that happened during the Cerberus attack last time. The video had gained quite a bit of attention on YouTube, already surpassing 5 million views.
“Wow. The more I watch, the more fascinating it gets. Does this even make sense?”
Avoiding both Cerberus without taking a single hit seemed almost like a trick. That’s why the protagonist in the video was given the ridiculous nickname “Cerberus Trickster.”
Everyone thought this man was a skilled veteran hunter. In fact, anyone would think so after watching this video.
However, he saw it differently.
Having seen numerous skilled individuals, what he noticed in the video was somewhat awkward.
Sure, it was impressive. Incredibly agile and quick-witted. Most hunters would find it difficult to do the same.
But he caught it. The subtle trembling throughout the video.
It was a fear response.
Clearly, that man was gripped by fear.
“A seasoned pro hunter, demonstrating such remarkable agility, trembling in fear…”
Furthermore, there was something else that felt off to him.
Despite the exceptional agility, the movements were oddly awkward.
Closer to an amateur’s movement rather than a pro’s.
Taking all of that into account, he arrived at his own conclusion.
“This person is a rookie hunter.”
That person wasn’t a veteran. It was undoubtedly a rookie.
“That’s talent.”
A talent as an excellent close combat specialist.
If that person was indeed an inexperienced rookie hunter, just starting out in the hunter industry.
It wouldn’t be long before they rose to prominence.
It was his intuition, built from years of observing hunters.
“Team Leader Kim. Any progress? Any leads?”
“No, not at all.”
Team Leader Kim, who was working behind him, spoke up.
“Most of the footage is from the dashcam, that’s why the quality is poor, making it… practically unidentifiable.”
“I see. I had a feeling it might be like this.”
“Plus, it’s not even caught on nearby CCTV. So we can’t confirm anything. But, Chief Choi, why are we looking for this person?”
“Talent acquisition.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’re scouting.”
“Oh.”
Team Leader Kim muttered with a bewildered expression.
“Chief Choi, what’s the point of doing this? People trying to enter our Intelligence Management Headquarters are already tough and stubborn.”
“Remember, Team Leader Kim. Talent is something to be pursued.”
“Pursued? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kim Team Leader grumbled quietly, feeling quite exhausted with her boss.
Why on earth does he keep giving pointless tasks?
“Our Intelligence Management Headquarters always lacks talent. But I want the real deal, not just anyone.”
“Sure, I understand.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“Got it.”
“Well, that aside, how are the underworld folks doing?”
“Oh, them? So far, there hasn’t been any significant response.”
The underworld. Recently, it was the name of a villain organization that the Intelligence Management Headquarters was paying particular attention to.
It would be great if they could wipe them out in one fell swoop, but unfortunately, the core members of the underworld weren’t in Korea. No, they weren’t even on Earth.
They were in the Afroxia dimension.
“Keep an eye on them. Team Leader Kim, from now on, focus only on the dimensional portal. If they return to Earth, inform me immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Team Leader Kim nodded and resumed monitoring the monitor.
“Cerberus Trickster. How can I find you?”
Chief Choi muttered, replaying the video of that peculiar character.
***
Taehyung was browsing through the HunterNet’s open forum.
[It’s me. I’m here to brag after a long time.
Wasn’t it like a month or two ago? I am the guy who claimed to awaken as a summoner and raised an orc. I’m not sure if anyone remembers.
Actually, it doesn’t matter. I’m just going to write this post. There’s no one like me to brag to except here.
Did I mention how far I got last time? Ah, right. I talked about my orc becoming a chief. Do you know how much my cute little orc buddy has grown during that time? He’s already merged several tribes, and the orc population has exceeded 4,000.
Did you think that’s all? Not only are there many subordinates, but they’re also damn powerful. They’re not just orcs; they’re high orcs.
…
Oh, right. And recently, I got another summon, and this one is really cute, you know? It’s both brave and adorable. Ah, I’m not going to tell you what it is. It’s my secret weapon.
…
It’s getting so long as I write. I wanted to brag so badly, and now I feel relieved. Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll be back again. Bye.]
The post Taehyung made a few days ago when he was bored and wanted to brag had gathered many comments during that time.
– Who cares?
– Ah, this guy’s trying to stir up trouble again. Stop it already.
– This guy always comes out of nowhere with his boasting. Can’t get rid of him from my memory. Delete him from my head.
– So when is this guy going to get beat up?
└ Will he? He won’t leave his room. He’ll probably live a long life, enjoying his luck while cursing.
– This story is quite intriguing, isn’t it? Hurry up and serialize the next episode.
└ Seriously. So, what’s the ending of this story? Do the orcs conquer the world?
└ Haha, it’s obviously fake, but I’m curious about the follow-up. lol
└ Yeah lol
└ Is it really fake? Didn’t this guy get promoted to a real hunter?
└ Huh? Did he? Why did this guy become a real hunter?
└ Wtf?
– Are all these guys BS (bullshit)? Just because they became hunters, does that make their BS true? They probably exaggerated a lot about summoning a creature like that.
– No, but what’s a high orc? Is it like a high elf?
└ Never heard of it either. Probably something he made up. Just to make it look like he has something.
└ It’s just an ordinary orc. Lol.
└ lol
└ F**k, this is so lame.
└ Die a bit, will you?
There were some serious discussions in the article, but mostly it consisted of insults towards the author.
Starting from sarcasm to downright offensive language, but Taehyung didn’t care at all.
Instead, he chuckled.
“Hehe. Good reactions.”
He felt a sense of satisfaction welling up from deep within.
Indeed, boasting about oneself once in a while is quite satisfying.
Now Taehyung completely understand why mothers gather in cafes to brag about their children.
With a contented heart, Taehyung turned off the internet and lay down on his bed. Then, he checked on the two fellows.
Karim was spreading out the legacy of his ancestors he had newly acquired at his home and studying it intently.
According to the explanation, the item called ‘Will of the High Orc’ was a massive encyclopedia containing various knowledge accumulated by High Orcs. So, Karim must be studying it now.
And, Gloki was fiercely waging a war against acid frogs alongside giant wasps.
No, it wasn’t a war. It was a massacre.
Unbelievable, how wasps kill frogs and roam around.
“Living truly shows you amazing things,” Taehyung thought, nodding satisfactorily.
“Yeah. They’re both doing well.”
There’s nothing I need to intervene in.
Taehyung diverted his gaze from the two summoned beings.
“Let’s do my part.”
Since his Link skill had upgraded, there was something Taehyung did consistently every day.
That was practicing mana manipulation.
While there was a thought of improving his own skills, it was more fundamental than that.
“This, is really fun.”
It was indeed fun.
Manipulating mana was really enjoyable.
Time passed without notice.
Taehyung understood why Karim practiced mana manipulation whenever he had a chance.
Thus, what Taehyung was doing wasn’t just practice.
He was simply playing around.
“Yeah. Let’s try this.”
Closing his eyes, he felt mana all around him.
To him, mana was like clouds. Now, there were fluffy clouds all around Taehyung.
The types of clouds were quite diverse. White clouds, storm clouds, red clouds, blue clouds, yellow clouds, and so on…
Each cloud felt different.
For example, storm clouds were thick and sticky. It felt similar to the stickiness after being drenched in rain.
Grasping the blackened storm cloud, he molded it into various shapes, like kneading clay.
This time, the shape Taehyung made was a small, elongated nail shape. Looking at it, it resembled a long spike. Not just any spike, but an entirely dark one.
Taehyung went to the balcony, opened the window, and casually tossed the dark mana, shaped like a spike, into the open air.
Swoosh!
The elongated spike flew swiftly.
Bang!
It exploded in the air soon after.
The explosion was akin to bursting dark ink.
Was it because of the loud noise? People passing by under the apartment all looked up.
“Eek!”
Taehyung quickly closed the window and bowed his head. Fortunately, it seemed like no one noticed.
“But, this has considerable power, doesn’t it?”
It seemed quite plausible. Even though he used just a bit of mana, it had destructive power.
If he had intentionally tried, it would have been a powerful attack technique.
“A few more and they’d collapse. Ah, I feel drained.”
Just doing that much made him feel weak.
“But, is this right? Isn’t mana supposed to be used differently?”
Each dimension had slightly different names and methods. Whether it’s Mana Cultivation, Qi Cultivation, or Core Training, they all referred to the same thing. Mana was supposed to be used only through those methods. Awakening hunters used mana through a system. That’s how it was explained. With various dimensions interconnected, mixed methods, it didn’t seem meaningful to distinguish anymore.
Anyway, using mana required a refining process.
Mana in its natural state was so uncontrollable that using it was difficult. And even if you could, it was highly inefficient.
“Then what am I?”
How am I supposed to use this?
“Maybe it’s because of the Mana Mastery skill, thanks to the system?”
But, the system message clearly stated otherwise. He used mana solely through his own efforts, without the system’s help or correction.
Then, was the system’s correction applied to him now?
Or not?
“Could it be… am I a genius?”
A thought struck him suddenly.
Taehyung chuckled and shook his head.
“Genius my foot. There’s no way.”
Taehyung shook off those thoughts and refocused on manipulating mana.
“Anyway, attacking isn’t really my style.”
He tried it several times, but every time he used it, it required a lot of effort and wasn’t very effective. He wasn’t drawn to it. Frankly, it seemed useless. He wasn’t going to explore dungeons or hunt monsters himself, after all.
Something else seemed better than that.
Taehyung decided to continue what he had attempted yesterday.
If it was storm clouds before, this time it was white clouds.
White clouds were the opposite of storm clouds. They were fluffy and fresh. Just feeling them made you feel good.
He grabbed a white cloud and stretched it out as much as possible. Like kneading pizza dough, flat and thin.
As he did, mana floated above Taehyung’s head. It looked like he had put pizza dough on his head.
Taehyung closed his eyes in that state.
And, focusing on the pizza dough mana floating above his head, he strongly wished.
“Get stronger.”
“Get powerful.”
“You can do it.”
Every encouraging thought came to mind, and he repeated them.
There was no immediate response. But Taehyung persisted, tenaciously.
After more than 10 minutes, when he was about to give up…
There was a response.
The mana above his head emitted a golden light and enveloped Taehyung.
Woah!
Taehyung felt somehow revitalized.
“Huh?”
Not only that, despite feeling drained from manipulating mana, he felt refreshed again.
As if his energy had been restored.
“Did it really work?”
Just as an experiment, wanting to create some kind of buff magic?
[You have created a new skill!]
[Incredible achievement! You have accomplished something that no one else could! Truly remarkable talent! As a reward, 20000pt will be awarded to the store!]
“Uh… um…”
Looking at the result of his creation, Taehyung was speechless.
“Am… am I really a genius?”
Taehyung scratched his head, perplexed.
The office of the Intelligence Management Headquarters located in Seoul. A middle-aged man in a suit was sitting in front of a computer, continuously replaying a video.
It was the incident that happened during the Cerberus attack last time. The video had gained quite a bit of attention on YouTube, already surpassing 5 million views.
“Wow. The more I watch, the more fascinating it gets. Does this even make sense?”
Avoiding both Cerberus without taking a single hit seemed almost like a trick. That’s why the protagonist in the video was given the ridiculous nickname “Cerberus Trickster.”
Everyone thought this man was a skilled veteran hunter. In fact, anyone would think so after watching this video.
However, he saw it differently.
Having seen numerous skilled individuals, what he noticed in the video was somewhat awkward.
Sure, it was impressive. Incredibly agile and quick-witted. Most hunters would find it difficult to do the same.
But he caught it. The subtle trembling throughout the video.
It was a fear response.
Clearly, that man was gripped by fear.
“A seasoned pro hunter, demonstrating such remarkable agility, trembling in fear…”
Furthermore, there was something else that felt off to him.
Despite the exceptional agility, the movements were oddly awkward.
Closer to an amateur’s movement rather than a pro’s.
Taking all of that into account, he arrived at his own conclusion.
“This person is a rookie hunter.”
That person wasn’t a veteran. It was undoubtedly a rookie.
“That’s talent.”
A talent as an excellent close combat specialist.
If that person was indeed an inexperienced rookie hunter, just starting out in the hunter industry.
It wouldn’t be long before they rose to prominence.
It was his intuition, built from years of observing hunters.
“Team Leader Kim. Any progress? Any leads?”
“No, not at all.”
Team Leader Kim, who was working behind him, spoke up.
“Most of the footage is from the dashcam, that’s why the quality is poor, making it… practically unidentifiable.”
“I see. I had a feeling it might be like this.”
“Plus, it’s not even caught on nearby CCTV. So we can’t confirm anything. But, Chief Choi, why are we looking for this person?”
“Talent acquisition.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’re scouting.”
“Oh.”
Team Leader Kim muttered with a bewildered expression.
“Chief Choi, what’s the point of doing this? People trying to enter our Intelligence Management Headquarters are already tough and stubborn.”
“Remember, Team Leader Kim. Talent is something to be pursued.”
“Pursued? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kim Team Leader grumbled quietly, feeling quite exhausted with her boss.
Why on earth does he keep giving pointless tasks?
“Our Intelligence Management Headquarters always lacks talent. But I want the real deal, not just anyone.”
“Sure, I understand.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“Got it.”
“Well, that aside, how are the underworld folks doing?”
“Oh, them? So far, there hasn’t been any significant response.”
The underworld. Recently, it was the name of a villain organization that the Intelligence Management Headquarters was paying particular attention to.
It would be great if they could wipe them out in one fell swoop, but unfortunately, the core members of the underworld weren’t in Korea. No, they weren’t even on Earth.
They were in the Afroxia dimension.
“Keep an eye on them. Team Leader Kim, from now on, focus only on the dimensional portal. If they return to Earth, inform me immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Team Leader Kim nodded and resumed monitoring the monitor.
“Cerberus Trickster. How can I find you?”
Chief Choi muttered, replaying the video of that peculiar character.
***
Taehyung was browsing through the HunterNet’s open forum.
[It’s me. I’m here to brag after a long time.
Wasn’t it like a month or two ago? I am the guy who claimed to awaken as a summoner and raised an orc. I’m not sure if anyone remembers.
Actually, it doesn’t matter. I’m just going to write this post. There’s no one like me to brag to except here.
Did I mention how far I got last time? Ah, right. I talked about my orc becoming a chief. Do you know how much my cute little orc buddy has grown during that time? He’s already merged several tribes, and the orc population has exceeded 4,000.
Did you think that’s all? Not only are there many subordinates, but they’re also damn powerful. They’re not just orcs; they’re high orcs.
…
Oh, right. And recently, I got another summon, and this one is really cute, you know? It’s both brave and adorable. Ah, I’m not going to tell you what it is. It’s my secret weapon.
…
It’s getting so long as I write. I wanted to brag so badly, and now I feel relieved. Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll be back again. Bye.]
The post Taehyung made a few days ago when he was bored and wanted to brag had gathered many comments during that time.
– Who cares?
– Ah, this guy’s trying to stir up trouble again. Stop it already.
– This guy always comes out of nowhere with his boasting. Can’t get rid of him from my memory. Delete him from my head.
– So when is this guy going to get beat up?
└ Will he? He won’t leave his room. He’ll probably live a long life, enjoying his luck while cursing.
– This story is quite intriguing, isn’t it? Hurry up and serialize the next episode.
└ Seriously. So, what’s the ending of this story? Do the orcs conquer the world?
└ Haha, it’s obviously fake, but I’m curious about the follow-up. lol
└ Yeah lol
└ Is it really fake? Didn’t this guy get promoted to a real hunter?
└ Huh? Did he? Why did this guy become a real hunter?
└ Wtf?
– Are all these guys BS (bullshit)? Just because they became hunters, does that make their BS true? They probably exaggerated a lot about summoning a creature like that.
– No, but what’s a high orc? Is it like a high elf?
└ Never heard of it either. Probably something he made up. Just to make it look like he has something.
└ It’s just an ordinary orc. Lol.
└ lol
└ F**k, this is so lame.
└ Die a bit, will you?
There were some serious discussions in the article, but mostly it consisted of insults towards the author.
Starting from sarcasm to downright offensive language, but Taehyung didn’t care at all.
Instead, he chuckled.
“Hehe. Good reactions.”
He felt a sense of satisfaction welling up from deep within.
Indeed, boasting about oneself once in a while is quite satisfying.
Now Taehyung completely understand why mothers gather in cafes to brag about their children.
With a contented heart, Taehyung turned off the internet and lay down on his bed. Then, he checked on the two fellows.
Karim was spreading out the legacy of his ancestors he had newly acquired at his home and studying it intently.
According to the explanation, the item called ‘Will of the High Orc’ was a massive encyclopedia containing various knowledge accumulated by High Orcs. So, Karim must be studying it now.
And, Gloki was fiercely waging a war against acid frogs alongside giant wasps.
No, it wasn’t a war. It was a massacre.
Unbelievable, how wasps kill frogs and roam around.
“Living truly shows you amazing things,” Taehyung thought, nodding satisfactorily.
“Yeah. They’re both doing well.”
There’s nothing I need to intervene in.
Taehyung diverted his gaze from the two summoned beings.
“Let’s do my part.”
Since his Link skill had upgraded, there was something Taehyung did consistently every day.
That was practicing mana manipulation.
While there was a thought of improving his own skills, it was more fundamental than that.
“This, is really fun.”
It was indeed fun.
Manipulating mana was really enjoyable.
Time passed without notice.
Taehyung understood why Karim practiced mana manipulation whenever he had a chance.
Thus, what Taehyung was doing wasn’t just practice.
He was simply playing around.
“Yeah. Let’s try this.”
Closing his eyes, he felt mana all around him.
To him, mana was like clouds. Now, there were fluffy clouds all around Taehyung.
The types of clouds were quite diverse. White clouds, storm clouds, red clouds, blue clouds, yellow clouds, and so on…
Each cloud felt different.
For example, storm clouds were thick and sticky. It felt similar to the stickiness after being drenched in rain.
Grasping the blackened storm cloud, he molded it into various shapes, like kneading clay.
This time, the shape Taehyung made was a small, elongated nail shape. Looking at it, it resembled a long spike. Not just any spike, but an entirely dark one.
Taehyung went to the balcony, opened the window, and casually tossed the dark mana, shaped like a spike, into the open air.
Swoosh!
The elongated spike flew swiftly.
Bang!
It exploded in the air soon after.
The explosion was akin to bursting dark ink.
Was it because of the loud noise? People passing by under the apartment all looked up.
“Eek!”
Taehyung quickly closed the window and bowed his head. Fortunately, it seemed like no one noticed.
“But, this has considerable power, doesn’t it?”
It seemed quite plausible. Even though he used just a bit of mana, it had destructive power.
If he had intentionally tried, it would have been a powerful attack technique.
“A few more and they’d collapse. Ah, I feel drained.”
Just doing that much made him feel weak.
“But, is this right? Isn’t mana supposed to be used differently?”
Each dimension had slightly different names and methods. Whether it’s Mana Cultivation, Qi Cultivation, or Core Training, they all referred to the same thing. Mana was supposed to be used only through those methods. Awakening hunters used mana through a system. That’s how it was explained. With various dimensions interconnected, mixed methods, it didn’t seem meaningful to distinguish anymore.
Anyway, using mana required a refining process.
Mana in its natural state was so uncontrollable that using it was difficult. And even if you could, it was highly inefficient.
“Then what am I?”
How am I supposed to use this?
“Maybe it’s because of the Mana Mastery skill, thanks to the system?”
But, the system message clearly stated otherwise. He used mana solely through his own efforts, without the system’s help or correction.
Then, was the system’s correction applied to him now?
Or not?
“Could it be… am I a genius?”
A thought struck him suddenly.
Taehyung chuckled and shook his head.
“Genius my foot. There’s no way.”
Taehyung shook off those thoughts and refocused on manipulating mana.
“Anyway, attacking isn’t really my style.”
He tried it several times, but every time he used it, it required a lot of effort and wasn’t very effective. He wasn’t drawn to it. Frankly, it seemed useless. He wasn’t going to explore dungeons or hunt monsters himself, after all.
Something else seemed better than that.
Taehyung decided to continue what he had attempted yesterday.
If it was storm clouds before, this time it was white clouds.
White clouds were the opposite of storm clouds. They were fluffy and fresh. Just feeling them made you feel good.
He grabbed a white cloud and stretched it out as much as possible. Like kneading pizza dough, flat and thin.
As he did, mana floated above Taehyung’s head. It looked like he had put pizza dough on his head.
Taehyung closed his eyes in that state.
And, focusing on the pizza dough mana floating above his head, he strongly wished.
“Get stronger.”
“Get powerful.”
“You can do it.”
Every encouraging thought came to mind, and he repeated them.
There was no immediate response. But Taehyung persisted, tenaciously.
After more than 10 minutes, when he was about to give up…
There was a response.
The mana above his head emitted a golden light and enveloped Taehyung.
Woah!
Taehyung felt somehow revitalized.
“Huh?”
Not only that, despite feeling drained from manipulating mana, he felt refreshed again.
As if his energy had been restored.
“Did it really work?”
Just as an experiment, wanting to create some kind of buff magic?
[You have created a new skill!]
[Incredible achievement! You have accomplished something that no one else could! Truly remarkable talent! As a reward, 20000pt will be awarded to the store!]
“Uh… um…”
Looking at the result of his creation, Taehyung was speechless.
“Am… am I really a genius?”
Taehyung scratched his head, perplexed.
