- Another Beginning
It had already been 15 years since Rohan was born as Han Seol in Seoul, South Korea.
‘He said an eccentric god? This world’s god is certainly not in his right mind either.’
Seoul, South Korea.
To be precise, he had been born and lived in underground Seoul without ever setting foot on the surface.
It was not Han Seol’s fault.
Simply put, the surface was dangerous, so civilian access was controlled.
Not too long ago…
A large-scale invasion of monsters, the likes of which one would only see and hear about in fantasy, suddenly began.
Where they came from, what their purpose was, how to deal with them – the people at the time knew nothing.
However, modern weapons were not very useful against them.
Firearms were effective only against small monsters similar to humans, but for those with even slightly thick skin or hard shells, not even heavy weapons like bazookas had much impact, let alone firearms.
Of course, it was possible to push them back with firepower weapons like tanks, fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and missiles.
If human casualties were taken into account as well…
But even that all-out offensive that took human casualties into account only bought time.
No matter how many of them were killed, they kept appearing from somewhere.
On the other hand, modern weapons, which were just consumables, steadily decreased in stock the more they were used.
Even the United States, called the world’s largest arms market, surrendered and raised the white flag, shocking even the people of the world.
In the end, people had no choice but to abandon the surface they had settled on and take shelter underground.
Around that time, the being called God gave humans a glimmer of hope.
He created a system for humans that allowed them to purchase desired skills or stats.
However, the currency that could be used for this system was not ordinary money.
Only currency obtained by hunting monsters could be used for this system.
Using skills obtained with this currency, it was possible to easily hunt with arrows monsters that were difficult to catch even with firearms.
Shells too hard to cut even with a chainsaw could be easily sliced with a sword using skills.
The currency earned this way could even be converted and used for other resources.
By using an item called a resource converter, the currency could be used as needed resources such as light with heat, clean oxygen, soil rich in nutrients, clear water, etc.
Naturally, the money used until then became scraps of paper rolling around on the streets.
And the occupation that could hunt monsters and simultaneously acquire this currency soared to become the occupation that could gain the greatest popularity, fame, and wealth.
The people of this world called this occupation ‘Hunter’.
“I’m sorry, Seol. Your mom and dad don’t have the ability…”
Before leaving, Han Seol’s mother hugged her son tightly one last time with tears in her eyes.
“No, Mother. Just giving birth to me like this and raising me all the way here, I am already grateful enough.”
Han Seol’s words were sincere.
For him, being born again like this and being alive in this moment was the biggest opportunity and luck above all else.
Only by being alive and becoming much stronger than his past life could he have a chance to take revenge on that man.
“One thing I always felt while raising you is that this father never once thought of you, Seol, as the same as ordinary children. From now on, although we’ll be living apart, I believe you can definitely achieve what you want. You can do well, our son, right?”
“Father…”
Han Seol’s eyes reddened.
The warmth of a father he had never felt once in his past life.
He didn’t know then that it was this warm and reliable.
Although Han Seol’s parents were kind and good people like this, to speak coldly, their family was in a very poor situation.
The rich-poor divide in South Korea was severe even on the surface, but as people moved underground, that gap became even more serious.
It was due to the limit of resources and supplies people could use being reduced.
Because of that, even those who were middle class on the surface often fell into poverty underground.
So, whether their children wanted to or not, they hoped for their children to become hunters.
If their children became hunters, it was only a matter of time before the parents turned their lives around.
Thanks to that, a new educational institution called an ‘Academy’, which had a department specializing in teaching practical combat integrated into middle and high school, popped up like mushrooms after rain.
There were also many parents who enrolled their children straight into academies after completing elementary school to forcibly raise them as hunters.
However, Han Seol’s case was different.
Although his parents strongly opposed it, saying it was dangerous, Han Seol himself persuaded the two to enroll in the academy.
‘As long as I can obtain a hunter license, it doesn’t really matter which academy I choose.’
Although he could train alone at home, the reason he chose the academy was to obtain a hunter license.
For Han Seol to become strong, the existence of skill books was indispensable.
But in order to hunt monsters, earn money, buy skill books, and become strong with the purchased skill books, he first needed to be able to freely go back and forth between the surface and underground.
And there were largely two ways to go from underground to the surface: become a soldier or become a hunter.
Here, Han Seol had no intention of belonging to the military, so naturally, he planned to become a hunter, but in order to become a hunter, he had to obtain a certificate proving he was a hunter… a hunter license.
And the most basic way to obtain a hunter license was to graduate from a hunter academy.
So Han Seol chose Cheongsol Academy, a public school that was far from home but had dormitories and very low tuition.
If selected as a scholarship student, he could even attend for free, so the conditions were even better.
“If there’s anything dangerous, avoid it if possible, and if you must do it, make sure to contact us first. Understand?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll come to see you often. Then I’ll be back.”
With that, Han Seol left his parents’ side, with whom he had been for 15 years, and headed to Cheongsol Academy after completing his enrollment.
* * *
Cheongsol Academy.
It was one of the public academies that popped up like mushrooms after rain, riding the boom of hunter academies.
The number of public academies was increasing every year under the pretext of nurturing talent, but the national budget support invested in each academy was decreasing year by year.
Cheongsol Academy was also such a case.
Because of that, it was a place where people without money or backing enrolled their children with the mindset of a last gamble.
‘Incredible.’
Han Seol naturally looked around at the entrance ceremony.
According to the principal, the number of new students enrolled in the academy this year had broken records.
Even without the principal’s words, it seemed obvious, as there were quite a few new students standing because there weren’t enough chairs prepared.
However, the appearance of the faculty lined up on the podium that Han Seol scanned did not seem particularly motivated.
‘Although they say they’re former hunters, they’re all just dregs who were active on the outskirts and then retired. They probably had no choice but to scrape together to fill the increasing number of academy faculty.’
Students desperately clinging to their last hope by enrolling in this academy and unmotivated teachers.
It was unknown what they could accomplish by gathering, but it didn’t matter.
From the beginning, the enrollees and teachers had nothing to do with him, so there was no room for any particular interest to arise.
In the end, Han Seol lowered his head and fell asleep while half-listening to the principal’s boring speech.
A while later.
The tedious entrance ceremony ended and class assignments finally began.
“Congratulations on your enrollment at our Cheongsol Academy, little greenhorns. If you don’t want to die without even knowing it after going out into the field, learn with all your focus without letting your guard down for even a minute or second here. Just keep this one thing in mind. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Fifty new students, including Han Seol, became the same class.
A whopping fifty students per class, with ten classes.
This year alone, five hundred new students had enrolled at Cheongsol Academy.
After the somewhat rough homeroom teacher’s admonishment ended, a short break time arrived.
The new students gathered in twos and threes and chattered away, getting to know each other.
It was the typical appearance of students during break time that could be seen anywhere, but Han Seol had no particular interest.
He simply laid his head on his desk and fell asleep.
Like that, from the beginning of the school year, Han Seol made himself an outsider.
* * *
The academy’s morning education taught ordinary school subjects. The teachers were also ordinary teachers who would be found in any middle or high school.
And from the afternoon, practical combat training began under the instruction of teachers who were former hunters.
“First, new students should each apply for the branch they want. I think many students already know, but for those who don’t, magic skills are affected by mana force, action skills by aura force. And holy skills like healing or buffs are affected by divine force, that is, divinity. However, once you choose a force and master it, you can never physically master another force again, so choose with utmost care. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Whether magic skills or action skills, an applicable force was essential to use them, and if one didn’t have the applicable force, related skills could neither be learned nor used.
In other words, no matter how much mana one has, action skills cannot be used, and no matter how overflowing with aura, holy skills that use divinity, such as healing or buffs, cannot be used.
The price of force skill books varies greatly depending on the grade, but force skill books are usually classified according to the total amount of the applicable force, the force recovery speed, the reduction in force consumption when using skills, etc.
However, families affluent enough to prepare force skill books and related active skills before enrolling in Cheongsol High School were extremely rare.
Especially divine force… Divinity was different from other forces, so most students were deliberating over their specialty while choosing between mana and aura.
Of course, Han Seol was also pondering such a dilemma.
‘The element I lack…’
Even in his past life, Rohan was a magic swordsman who had mastered the sword and magic to the point where it was difficult to find a match except for the emperor and empress.
However, his abilities were ones he was able to possess thanks to bone-cutting efforts and pouring support.
He couldn’t come close to a true genius of swordsmanship or a monster blessed with mana.
‘Swordsmanship and magic alone are not enough. Something else…’
At that moment, something among the many branches caught Han Seol’s eye.
Han Seol raised his hand without hesitation and asked the instructor.
“Instructor!”
“What?”
“If one masters divinity, is it possible to simultaneously learn healing and buff skills?”
At Han Seol’s question, the gazes of all the classmates except him turned towards him.
‘Healing and buffer skills together?’
‘Is money rotting…’
‘If that were possible, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place. There are always these absurd guys.’
‘Let’s not get involved with that guy.’
The reason Han Seol specifically had divinity in mind was that mana and aura skills were not of much help to him anyway.
Most mana skills would be magic, and Han Seol had already learned magic from the disciples of the empress, who was an 8th circle archmage in his previous life.
Even if he increased his mana capacity and learned a few more spells here, it would not be easy to go against the empress.
A 1-on-1 battle with a high-level mage was not a fight of quantity but of the mind.
For the same reason, aura skills were also similar.
For Han Seol, who could convert mana into aura, aura itself had little meaning.
Even if he learned a few more aura skills, it was difficult to think that they would work against Jebius, who was already a genius of the sword.
But divinity was different.
In particular, buff skills using divinity easily allowed one to transcend lacking physical limits.
Also, in urgent situations, various healing skills were no different from carrying extra lives.
The students immediately ignored him and began to earnestly ponder their own futures again, but as a teacher who had received the question, he had no choice but to answer.
“It’s not impossible, as a result. However, divine force skill books are ten times more expensive than other force skill books of the same grade. Because the quantity is low. The same goes for additional skill books related to divinity recovery and reduction of divinity consumption when using skills.”
Even if it’s expensive, it’s not impossible!
That was the teacher’s answer, and Han Seol’s heart also started to flutter at the positive response.
‘Perhaps the Grim Reaper also sent me here hoping for this.’
“And that’s not all. Healing skill books and buff skill books are also very expensive compared to other active skill books of the same grade because the quantity is low. Moreover, divine force skills don’t have particularly outstanding combat abilities compared to mana force or aura force skills, so reliable comrades are essential.”
This was the second reason Han Seol specifically had divinity in mind.
Buff skills using divinity strengthen not only oneself but also allies.
‘In my past life, I spent more than half my stamina just reaching the front of Jebius. But if I can strengthen my allies through buff skills and augment our forces, it’s not impossible to fight him with full stamina and in top condition!’
“For the above reasons, divine force is usually chosen by talented individuals who can receive the full support of large guilds, but I know there aren’t many of them. After all, divine force, which can only be chosen once in a lifetime and forces one to sacrifice for others, is not something many people can easily choose. Anyway, that’s all I can explain. Any more questions?”
“…”
The instructor’s warning no longer reached Han Seol’s ears.
That’s because the answer that it wasn’t impossible was enough.
In the world of his previous life, one could not become a priest unless chosen by God.
Even the emperor, a genius of the sword, and the empress, blessed with mana… could not encroach upon the domain of priests.
‘Those bastards must not even be dreaming of my current situation. Wait for me, Jebius. And Elysiel! I will become much stronger than you guys here. And I will definitely return and make you pay for your sins.’
A world where even divinity could be bought with money.
That place was the world Rohan was reincarnated into.
