"Rather than wasting time introducing ourselves, how about we just show each other our hunter cards?" asked a man who looked no older than 25 years old. He had blonde hair that was so close to being considered long.
What is a hunter card that he was referring to?
These were the cards that were granted to a hunter when they awakened their ability. They actually aren't created by any organization or anything.
It's inherently a part of a hunter's body that they can materialize at will.
It stated your name, your rank, which is based on how much mana you have, and your character art, which can evolve and change as you develop more as a hunter. For example, if you used a sword a lot, it would probably display you wielding a sword, but if you were to switch to a hammer, it would likely switch to a hammer as well.
The hunter card also displayed what ability you have, but only the ones that you allowed others to see. If you desire to keep them hidden for whatever reason, that is possible.
And if you become a famous hunter who is known by a title, the card even displays that.
One by one, everyone pulled out their cards.
The truth is that Kwon Moon was the only newcomer to the group, so nobody else needed to look at the cards other than him.
[In Jaesang] [48] [D]
[Moonlight Blade]: The blade in your hands becomes unbelievably sharp. As you swing, moonlight shimmers and sings, making every attack of yours extremely powerful.
This was the middle-aged man who was leading the group. His character art displayed him wielding a sword in one hand while he was drinking a health potion in the other. There were goblins surrounding him, but he had a cocky smile as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Nice to meet you. Don't worry. I'll make sure that you get home to your family safely," he said before taking another sip of his coffee.
[Gi Minjee] [39] [F]
[Heal]: Can heal others and yourself. Not powerful enough to regrow limbs, but good enough to close up wounds and recover most basic damage.
Her character art was of her healing someone while kneeling, a cigarette in her mouth.
"I'm warning you right now, kid. Don't get hurt. I don't have enough mana to heal everyone all the time."
"Don't worry about this old lady. She's actually the kindest person here. She'd put her body on the line before letting any of us die."
The person speaking to him was the one who suggested showing the cards.
[Seon Tae] [24] [D]
[Multishot]: With one draw of the bow, fire three arrows that accurately target your enemies, whether it is three arrows for one enemy or three arrows for three enemies.
[Power Shot]: With a fully drawn bowstring, fire a powerful arrow with enough force to blast open walls.
His character art depicted a red-haired man leaping in the air, firing off three arrows with a creepy smile, like a clown, and his tongue out, as if he were a delinquent riding a motorcycle rather than a hunter.
"Got a girlfriend?"
"No," Kwon Moon responded.
"Really? Even though you are blessed with these genetics?" Seon Tae asked as he grabbed Kwon Moon by the cheeks and began moving them around as if to analyze his facial texture.
"Let go of the kid," said Gi Minjee.
Slap.
"Ouch. Granny, no need to be so aggressive," Seon Tae said while shaking off the sting in his hand that was hit.
There were five more hunters in the party. All F-ranks.
One of them was a tank who wielded a shield and hammer.
There was another archer.
There was a thief who wielded two daggers.
One of them was a mage who could cast [Shock], which electrocuted the enemies enough to stun them but not enough to kill them.
And the last hunter was a basic hunter who wielded a sword and a small shield. They could repair tools, which made them more valuable the deeper into the dungeon they went, since their weapons would get damaged over time.
After Kwon Moon greeted all of them, In Jaesang crushed the coffee that was in his hand and tossed it into the air, landing it perfectly inside a trash can nearby.
"Since we're done with introductions, let's get started with the raid, shall we?" he said as he stood up.
"Just follow our lead," Seon Tae told Kwon Moon. "It'll be a little difficult at first getting used to everything, but as long as you observe, learn, and listen to orders, we'll make you a fine hunter by the end of today."
"Thank you."
And like that, the nine hunters entered the dungeon.
* * *
"This kid is a fast learner," Gi Minjee said to the leader who had his arms crossed as he watched Kwon Moon deal with a large purple snake.
"Yeah. It's only been an hour and he's already grown to the point that he could be mistaken for a veteran."
Gi Minjee was healing the injuries of the F-rank archer.
The two of them had seen firsthand how fast Kwon Moon had learned the flow of hunting in the party, but also his techniques with the sword in his hand.
At first, there was a lot of wasted movement, but with each encounter with monsters, his skills got sharper and sharper.
Now, it seemed like he had been wielding a sword his entire life.
What they didn't know was that Kwon Moon had only been pretending to have terrible sword skills at first.
It's not that he had anything to hide, but for the sake of the story he wanted to create about himself, he needed to demonstrate that he was a prodigy, even if it meant that he had exaggerated certain feats and shared a few lies here and there.
"Good work."
"Nice job, Kwon Moon. I thought you would hold us back, but no, you're already better than me."
"Thank you."
"Nice work out there."
High-five.
Seon Tae, who had been cleaning up some of the monsters who had been injured badly but not killed all the way, walked over to In Jaesang.
"Jaesang… that boy over there might become somebody big someday."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. It's just a hunch, but the rate at which he's growing, the way that he used his ability to assist others and finish off his own opponents with the least amount of effort… I think we have a monster in our hands," Seon Tae commented with a large smile.
"...I think so too," In Jaesang agreed.
"I should go get as many autographs from him before he becomes too big to contact."
Before Seon Tae could walk over there to annoy Kwon Moon, his wrist was grabbed by Gi Minjee.
"Leave the kid alone."
"...Okay. Whatever you say, Granny."
Thunk.
"Ow…" Seon Tae muttered as he rubbed the bump that was on his head.
"Alright, everyone!" In Jaesang called out to the entire party. "Let's collect the monster cores before moving deeper. Take your time. Get some rest and recover your mana."
"Okay!"
"Got it, boss!"
The monster core he was referring to was a sphere that resided in every monster. It was extremely valuable, and each core corresponded to the rank of the monster. The core has many usages, from being a substitute for energy sources to being a key ingredient in making tools, armors, and weapons.
The monsters' bodies themselves also had value, but it wasn't worth it to pay people to drag the bodies out and refine them, as the monsters were only F-ranks.
In higher-ranked dungeons though, the hides, teeth, organs, etc., of the monsters were extremely valuable, and a raid team would typically have another team that was solely dedicated to extracting the monsters.
Half an hour later and they were finally in front of the doors that would lead them to the boss room.
"Kwon Moon, you know how boss rooms work right?" asked In Jaesang.
"Yeah. Unlike the monsters in the dungeon that are typically equal or one rank below the dungeon ranking, the boss is a rank above. Meaning that the boss on the other side of these doors is a D-rank monster. And they might also have minions at F-rank."
"Good job," said Seon Tae, rubbing his hair as if he were a child who got the correct answer when doing simple multiplication.
'Does he see me as a little brother?' Kwon Moon wondered.
Although he may be a regressor, mentally he was only sixteen years old, so the way he was being treated didn't make him feel uncomfortable.
All of these people were kind. Even Gi Minjee who had a cranky attitude.
'I hear that new hunters can often join the wrong party in their first raid and be mistreated due to their lack of knowledge. Guess I got lucky in that department.'
He could tell in the hour and a half that he was with them that they had hunted so many times together as a party that they were practically family and treated each other as such.
The only reason they accepted a newcomer to their party was that one of them saw his online post about being a high-schooler who had just awakened and needed guidance in their first raid, and they felt compelled to take him under their wing.
'These are the kind of people that I'm doing all of this for. It's why I returned to the past. They are who I need to protect and save.'
Although he was prepared to do what was necessary and murder everyone to get to where he needed to go, he wasn't going to be a mindless killer and steal the abilities of everyone around him without taking into consideration their character.
That task of being pure evil was reserved for someone else. Or rather, his avatar, Fletcher Green.
He, Kwon Moon, was going to be the beacon of hope. The light that shines in the darkness. The soon-to-be only hunter who could fend off the attacks of the villain, Fletcher Green.
Of course, that didn't mean he was going to be a saint.
Even as Kwon Moon, if there was an ability that he needed to acquire by any means, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the person, even if they were the nicest person in the world.
It's just that right now, nobody in the party really has that kind of ability that would warrant such an action from him.
"Shall we head inside then?"
"Yes!"
"Let's do it."
"Don't get hurt, everyone."