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n10. Spot

nKo Byeong-gap’s morning was a little earlier than others. It was 5 am, and the sun hadn’t yet fully dawned. It was the time he woke up.

nAmong the many advantages of the awakeners was that they controlled their needs better than ordinary people. Ko Byeong-gap quickly shook off his hunger for more sleep and got out of his bed.

nHe didn’t like the cliché that the early bird ate the worm. That was because it was just like any wise sayings, proverbs, and idioms. However, it was quite right to say that a hunter who woke up early was more likely to win a good crack.

nHe brushed his teeth and checked his cell phone. It was to tour the cracks that broke out across the country last night. He avoided cracks located near Seoul as much as possible because large guilds set up districts that acted as strongholds. In other words, there would already be an owner.

nThe scope of Ko Byeong-gap’s activities was mostly outside Gyeonggi Province or Gangwon Province. The smaller the population and the more remote the place, the lesser the crack competition was.

nHe felt like he wanted to go to Yangpyeong today.

n“I haven’t been able to find F or E-rank cracks lately…”

nThe number of cracks per day in South Korea was about 300 to 400. It seemed to be a lot at first glance, but the number of active hunters had surpassed 23,000, so it wasn’t that much.

nIn arithmetic terms, each crack had a competition rate of 65:1 per crack.

nThe number of D-class hunters, such as Ko Byeong-gap, was around 4,800 nationwide. It was the second-highest after the 7,100 C-class hunters.

nThe E and F-rank cracks, the main hunting grounds for D-class hunters, accounted for about 15% of the total cracks. About 45 to 60 cracks appear in a day, with 8,500 hunters competing for them.

nHe had to break through a competitive ratio of 160:1 to occupy a crack. So he had to get up earlier and go to a remote place that was more difficult to reach.

nOf course, there There would be people who were registered as hunters but weren’t active, and there would be people who had retired unknowingly. Also, although there were fewer cracks than the number of hunters, not all cracks were subjugated every day. If that were the case, there would’ve been no unattacked cracks.

nAfter he washed up and got ready, Ko Byeong-gap left home in a hurry. One more load was added to his old light car. It was his number one treasure… The long sword. He was determined to use his sword properly that day.

n“Let’s finish just one thing neatly today.”

nHe started the car and prayed that the marked crack wouldn’t be preoccupied.

nAfter passing a shrine and Bangbae, he crossed Banpo and was about Ko Byeong-gap found police officers blocking the vehicle’s entry from about 50 meters ahead.

n“What’s going on?”

nHe grunted and threw the cigarette he bit into the ashtray. Moments later, the car stopped in front of traffic controllers.

n“What’s the matter?” Ko Byeong-gap asked, lowering the window.

nThe young policeman, who wore a fluorescent vest, looked like he was complaining about something.

n“There was an A-rank crack near the Dongjak Bridge. There’s a risk of an accident, so please take a detour and pass through.”

nCracks radiated a force field. When an ordinary person entered the force field, they fell into lethargy as if they were given an anesthetic. In severe cases, it could cause a nervous breakdown or even death.

nAn A-rank crack radiated a force field of several hundred meters. If the driver of a vehicle was exposed to the force field, it was highly likely that it would lead to an accident.

nHowever, that wasn’t the case for Ko Byeong-gap. He was a low-level hunter, but he was also an awakener.

nHe said and stuck out his Hunter ID from his wallet, “I’m an awakener. There’s no problem, let me through.”

n“Ah! Yes, no problem. Please pass.”

n“Thank you. Good luck.”

nThe police officer cleared the way. Ko and it didn’t matter since that happened occasionally.

nWhen he tried to run down the open road, he saw the Han River on the left. As the police officer said, there was a crack about 2 meters above the water between Dongjak Bridge and Banpo Bridge. It was quite big since it was an A-rank crack. There would already be hunters in there.

n“How much would it be for one A-rank crack?”

nThe pure profit from the A-rank crack depended on the monetary value of magic stones available, which was only about 45 million won. If he added up all the loot, would it be around 60 or 70 million won?

nFive to six S-class hunters were usually deployed for each A-rank crack, so it cost at most 10 million won per person. One might think that it was small as a daily wage for the top 2%, but the reality was completely different.

nS-class hunters earned billions of dollars a year. They were different from ‘free hunters,’ who collected magic stones one by one and sold them to the association to generate profit and the system of making money.

nThat was why one could find the face of a famous hunter from time to time just by turning on the TV.

nHe recalled how much debt he had left and soon gave up thinking. He accumulated it ahead of the subjugation, so there was no need to feel bad.

nAfter he left Seoul and ran for a while, he was in Yangpyeong-gun. It was around 9 am when he reached his destination.

n-You will arrive at your destination shortly.

nThe navigation guide led him to an abandoned vacant lot, and as he drove there, he slammed on the brakes. He cursed spontaneously.

n“Damn…”

nSeveral luxury cars stood in front of the crack. Eight people were inspecting their equipment in front of him, and they were all middle-aged people in their 40s. They looked clean, and their equipment showed off.

n‘I think they’re hobbyists.’

nApparently, they weren’t hunters for a living. Some of the E and F-class awakeners enjoyed hunting as a hobby. Weak monsters could be easily caught with guns, and hunters had a wide range of gun and ammunition regulations, so some found it fun to go around looking for cracks.

nIt was sort of a leisure sport. They relieved stress by shooting and used the magic stones that they earned with a particular main job, so there was no hobby like that for low-ranking awakeners.

nOf course, it was like a thorn in the eyes to someone who made a living out of hunting, like Ko Byeong-gap.

nHe drove his car further and went inside. Suddenly, a middle-aged man in military-patterned activewear came up to him, waving his arms.

n“Spot’s taken. Go back…”

nKo Byeong-gap responded by lowering his window and pulling his body halfway out.

n“Do you have all your Hunter IDs, and are you going to subjugate the crack?” Ko Byeong-gap, who couldn’t go back as it was, asked out of curiosity.

nIf even one of them didn’t have Hunter’s ID, they could be thrown out with a charge of illegally possessing and renting weapons. He was going to use it as a threat to claim ownership of the crack.

nThe middle-aged replied with a snort, “Yeah, we have everything, so look elsewhere.”

n“Please show me. I’d like to check it out.” Ko Byeong-gap got out of the car and approached the people.

nA bald, middle-aged man who checked his equipment looked at Ko Byeong-gap with a very annoyed look.

n“No, you… What, you’re from the association? Why do you want to see someone else’s Hunter ID, hmm? What are you?”

n“There may be some of you who aren’t hunters, so I’m asking just in case.”

n“No, so who are you? What right do you have to ask for that? What kind of person are you?”

nKo Byeong-gap was speechless. Frankly, he didn’t have the right to look at other people’s Hunter IDs.

n“Oh, Mr. Kim. Take it easy.”

n“No, Mr. Choi. Am I being angry for no reason? I’m not, am I? This person…!”

n“Awww, but it’s only Mr. Kim’s loss if he gets angry. Hahaha.”

nThe gentle-looking man next to him dried the bald, middle-aged man. He then laughed and cheered the people up.

n“Come on, don’t you think it’s okay to show your Hunter ID instead of making a mess? We came out to get a good spot, so let’s not blush. Heh heh, look. It’s a proper Hunter’s ID, isn’t it?”

nMr. Choi presented his Hunter ID. Each of the others showed off their own Hunter’s ID provocatively.

n“…”

nKo Byeong-gap couldn’t say a word when he saw it because they were all hobbyists registered as hunters.

n“I understand how you feel, but we’ve been waiting for a few days for this position. Look elsewhere.”

n“Oh my God! The young man isn’t cool. You have to keep your manners on this floor, too.

n“Oh, Mr. Kim, that’s enough. Hahaha.”

n“… Excuse me.”

nKo Byeong-gap meekly rolled up his tail and returned to his car.

n“Sigh, that’s a shame.”

nFeeling frustrated, he took out his cell phone with a cigarette in the other hand. His fingers and eyes moved in a hurry. Finding the right crack was as difficult as picking up and moving around a bean curd with chopsticks.

n“It’s far. It’s too close to Seoul. Maybe someone’s already in it… Tsk! This is a C-rank crack.”

nHe looked at his phone screen for a long time. Meanwhile, a crack with a distance of 20 minutes caught his attention.

n“Ew, it’s a D-rank…”

nD-rank crack. It was a crack consisting of D-rank boss monsters and E-rank subordinate monsters. He didn’t consider cracks beyond the D-Rank because the risk of subjugation alone was too high.

nMistakes in E and F-rank cracks could be tolerated once or twice, but only one mistake could lead to death from D-rank crack.

n‘What should I do?’

nHe hesitated for a moment, then changed his mind.

n“Wouldn’t it be possible for me now?’

nThe person he was currently was different from the one he used to be. He also had Goblins he could use as his limbs, and through the growth potion, he gained greater power than any other low-level awakener.

n‘How am I now? C-class? Maybe even a B-class?’

nWell, since the gap between C-class and B-class was so large, it was unclear whether he could even aim for B-class. Still, he wanted to be able to get at least a C-class.

n‘Let’s do it.’

nIn order to go up, he would have to take the stairs even if it was hard. Having made up his mind, he drove to where the D-rank crack was.

n* * *

nKo Byeong-gap sped up with the thought that he couldn’t lose his spot. He quickly crossed the national highway and arrived at his destination. Fortunately, there were no signs of anyone else.

n‘Is this an abandoned factory?’

nThere were a lot of factory buildings with barely any shape left. There was the smell of scorched oil on the ground.

nKo Byeong-gap put a cigarette in his mouth and hurriedly prepared for the subjugation. His weapons, potions, and other equipment were all fine.

nFinally, he put the karma meter against the crack. After completing his own calculation process, the measuring instrument concluded, ‘This is a D-rank crack.’

n“Huh. Ha…”

nEven smoking a cigarette couldn’t calm his complex emotions. It had been a long time since he went inside a D-rank rift on his own.

n‘I used to go there a lot.’

nKo Byeong-gap also served as a member of a team in the past.

n… He corrected himself. Not a member of a team, but a slave. A vicious team that seduced ignorant new hunters and turned them into slaves!

nKo Byeong-gap, a 22-year-old who had just become a hunter, was burned there by the people for money.

nWhen he managed to get out, all that was left was the lesson not to trust money or people carelessly. That was why Ko Byeong-gap worked alone.

n“It’s all in the past, now.”

nKo Byeong-gap brushed off his butt and stood in front of the crack. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

nWhat monsters would appear? That was his main concern.

n‘Would there be a Goblin Ghost? Or Wood Devil? I don’t want any Hedgehogs…’

nKo Byeong-gap exhaled and threw himself into the crack. After a brief flash of his vision, it returned to normal. The gloomy sky and heavy air welcomed him. The back world never had a sunny day.

nHe quickly scanned the front, maintaining a shooting position. Just a few seconds later, he felt drained.

n‘Ha! I’m…’

nHe grinned and then shouted in front of him, “Everyone, get down on your knees, you sweet children!”

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