The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 3.1

“I happen to have a question.”

Kim Yonghoon, who had been watching as if it had nothing to do with him, approached. With a trembling gaze, Harang faced the hunter who was striding toward him.

No, right? he asked with his eyes, but Kim Yonghoon merely smiled and did not grant Harang’s wish.

“Can you see if I’m compatible with my Gold?”

“Go-Gold?”

When Harang asked haltingly, Yonghoon nodded. Traditionally, a compatibility reading was a fortune-telling method used to see if a couple intending to marry was a good match. These days, the number of people who got readings for non-romantic relationships, such as business partners or pets, was increasing, but Gold didn’t seem to fall into any of those categories.

“You just saw it. My Gold.”

When Harang unconsciously scanned Yonghoon from head to toe, a giant sword popped out of thin air. An ornate pattern was engraved in the center of the sword, which was 40cm across. Was he really calling it Gold just because it was golden-colored?

“Is it not possible?”

Yonghoon took a step closer, causing the blade of the sword to glint in the light.

“Well…”

Instinctively taking a step back, Harang trailed off and darted his eyes around. Leaving aside whether it was possible or not, he had never even attempted it before. He desperately looked for someone to help him, but unfortunately, there were no normal people in Raid Team 1. Even the team leader, Yoogeom, was watching with interest.

“I’ll try.”

In the end, Harang had no choice but to take out his cards. After taking a deep breath, he moved his lips slightly, and his first skill, ‘The Path I Walk Becomes the Way, What Do I Care About Your Heart?’, began to activate. Harang’s small and precious mana was dwindling little by little.

“Wow, you can even read equipment compatibility. I’ll go next after Yonghoon hyung!”

Hyemin’s shout, full of anticipation, muddled Harang’s mind. Forcing himself to ignore it, Harang began to shuffle the cards with troubled hands.

There was no flashy movement or fanning the deck into an oval like when he did a reading for the day’s fortune. Although no one had ever taught him, he was the one who knew best how to use his own skill.

After shuffling the cards several times, Harang stopped his hands when one particularly prominent card came to the top. When he turned it over, the first thing that caught his eye was a huge lion’s mane.

A woman had her hand placed on the head of the lion, which had its mouth wide open as if it would leap out at any moment. The white dress she wore looked like it had not a speck of defensive power, but surprisingly, the lion was following the woman obediently.

“Ooh! It’s a lion! What does it mean?”

Ignoring Hyemin’s cheers, Harang focused on the status window. The moment he flipped the card, the reading began to unfold, as if being typed out letter by letter on a keyboard.

Client: Hunter Kim Yonghoon
The difference in rank is ignored due to the effect of a passive skill.

‘STRENGTH’
Compatibility with Gold: 80%
Synergy with the Swordsman class increases attack power by 5%. Agility decreases by 4% due to the equipment’s size and weight.
Caution: Great power is bound to come at a price. You must moderate your desires. Try to exercise control through your past experiences.

Reading the sentences being inscribed on the status window, Harang twitched his lips so no one could see. Gold, of all things. It seemed the status window had acknowledged the name Kim Yonghoon had given it.

“I think you’re a good match.”

Harang discarded the part about an 80% compatibility rate, which anyone would find suspicious, and gave a vague answer instead.

“It seems you have a desire for strength. It says that if it’s too excessive, it could bring you misfortune. It also says to try and control it with the experience you’ve accumulated.”

He was just relaying the cautionary note the skill had shown him, but he somehow felt like a con artist. Any hunter would have a desire for strength, and the advice to control it was something even a passerby could give.

Even after he finished speaking, Harang felt uneasy and furtively studied Kim Yonghoon’s expression. He thought it might have been too presumptuous for a stranger to say.

However, Kim Yonghoon did not get angry, nor did he scoff or ignore him.

“You’re right. I’ll take it to heart.”

Yonghoon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, said in a low, serious voice. He placed one hand on his chest, making him truly seem like a knight from a story.

“You don’t have to take it so seriously…”

“As expected of you, Master! Can you do a reading for me, too? I got something new recently!”

Harang had no intention of interfering in someone else’s life. He especially wanted to avoid a situation where someone made an important decision because of something he said. He had hurriedly tried to speak to Yonghoon, but a highly excited Hyemin cut in, and the distance between them only grew.

“Just a moment. Let me finish Hunter Kim Yonghoon’s reading first.”

He had planned to do their readings in order, even if Hyemin didn’t make a fuss. He just wanted to add a word of caution not to believe in it too much, but Baek Hyemin clung to him, forgetting his own size.

“I believe I’ve heard everything I need to. Still, it’s a relief that we’re a good match. I’m fine, so please do the other team members.”

Kim Yonghoon, who had been watching the two with a benevolent gaze, said with a smile. The slight bow of his head looked incredibly mature, but Harang was about to go crazy.

What was sadder was that even though Hyemin wasn’t using a skill, Harang couldn’t escape his firm grip. All he did was keenly feel the difference between him and a high-rank hunter.

“I get it, so let go of me. What are you curious about?”

It didn’t seem like Kim Yonghoon’s attitude would change no matter what he said. Harang just wanted to wrap things up quickly and was about to draw whatever card his hand happened to touch.

“That’s enough. We’ll wrap it up for today and go home.”

If Yoogeom, who had been watching until now, hadn’t stepped in. So the luck-obsessed psycho can be helpful sometimes! Harang quickly moved to Yoogeom’s side. The hand Hyemin had been holding was naturally released, and Yoo Jaei’s fierce eyes followed him.

“But… I’m curious, too.”

But that didn’t mean Hyemin had given up completely. The grown hunter pouted and pinched the hem of Harang’s clothes with just his thumb and index finger. Waving his hands to shake him off, Harang hid behind Yoogeom. As the grumbling continued, Yoogeom patted Hyemin’s shoulder.

“Do it next time. He’s tired.”

“I’m not tired! In my current condition, I could clear the 50th floor by myself.”

Hyemin cluelessly clenched his two fists. Every time he moved his arms, his bursting muscles writhed.

“Then go.”

As Yoogeom spat out the words, Baek Hyemin’s survival radar finally kicked in.

“Pardon?”

“Go into the Tower.”

“No, Boss! I mean, Team Leader. Should I really go in?”

Hyemin, who had been showing off his muscles just a moment ago, asked with droopy eyes.

“Yeah. Yoo Jaei and Mu Jeonghye, you go with him.”

“Why me?”

“Understood.”

Leaving behind the team members who were all reacting differently, Yoogeom gave Harang a look. What? Aren’t you leaving? I’m going. Within two days of meeting, they could communicate with just their eyes.

Having grasped the situation, Harang passed by Hyemin, whose mouth was still slightly agape, and Yoo Jaei, who was glaring beside him. The sound of a slap echoed from behind him. It was probably Yoo Jaei.

Even without looking back, he could picture the terrifying glare. Harang lightly scratched the back of his head and quickly escaped the storage room. Once he was completely away from his teammates, the fact that he no longer had to be hassled hit him acutely.

“Oh, man. My body aches.”

Harang hadn’t done anything physically, but the mental fatigue was considerable. By the time he turned the corner into a long hallway, his vision was genuinely swaying.

“Uh… Huh?”

Without a moment for deep thought, Harang’s body collapsed. Thanks to Yoogeom, who was following behind, catching him, he didn’t end up rolling on the floor, but his vision was blurry, and a high-pitched ringing filled his ears.

“It’s because you overdid it.”

Yoogeom’s voice, which had always been clear and distinct, was now just a blur. Harang frantically looked for his status window. His small and precious mana was already about halfway full. Just as the total amount was ridiculously small, it also recovered quickly.

‘Then why am I like this?’

Harang, who had only ever used his skill remotely, did not know the physiology of hunters. Every skill required a price. Even Baek Yoogeom, the number one ranked hunter, had a skill that could defeat an S-rank boss in a single blow, but it had a cooldown of a full week.

Just as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and the aftereffects of having read the fortunes of several hunters of a higher rank than himself were now all hitting him at once. Mana or stamina could be restored with someone else’s skills or items, but mental energy was a different story.

Fatigue that built up little by little would eat away at a hunter’s body. It was the same principle as not being able to move immediately even if one’s body regenerated in an instant. This phenomenon, which many novice Awakeners experienced, was called stamina depletion by hunters.

However, Harang, who didn’t know the truth, rubbed his forehead in bewilderment. His mana was fine, and he had been eating his meals regularly, so he had no idea why this was happening.

He wanted to say, ‘I’ll just rest for a moment,’ but his vision had already become as blurry as it could be. He couldn’t even tell if he was standing up or sitting down properly.

“Just get some deep rest. You’ll be fine when you wake up.”

Yoogeom’s hand, which had been firmly supporting Harang, moved towards his golden eyes. Once his vision was blocked, the feeling of drowsiness became even more distinct. How on earth does this person know something even I don’t? Leaning against the warm body, Harang had a silly thought.

As if to make Yoogeom’s efforts to bring him here worthless, Harang dozed off, leaning his back against the wall. It was a habit left over from his days of catnapping. His fine, chestnut-colored hair swayed every time his head bobbed on its own. Yoogeom, who had been flinching his fingers every time Harang’s neck snapped back at a sharp angle, quietly stood up as soon as he detected a change in his breathing.

When he closed the door and came out, Harang’s breathing grew deeper. It was a change an ordinary person would not be able to sense, but that was not the case for Yoogeom, a hunter beyond the standard. With the thick wooden door between them, Harang’s breathing quickened. His pulse also began to race at the same speed.

When Yoogeom reached the front of his own room, he heard a mumble, “Fuck, this is a dream, right?” Yoogeom laughed with a whoosh of air, then closed his ears so that Harang wouldn’t be embarrassed. The memory of Harang glaring at him, saying he needed his own space, was still vivid in his mind.

“It’s not a dream?”

His head drooping, Harang almost rolled off the bed but managed to avoid an unsightly scene by extending one hand. When he pinched his own cheek, he felt a stinging pain from his stretched skin. Sleeping at work, and at Saenara, the so-called best guild in South Korea, no less! Here was a person who had fallen asleep on his first day of work.

The first thought that came to him was that he was screwed, and next, he tried to recall who had been beside him last. The only ones he could remember were, of course, Raid Team 1.

“I’ve never even met a hunter before.”

Moreover, those people weren’t just any riffraff you could meet on the street; they were high-rank hunters that everyone knew. Come to think of it, they seemed to be the culprits who had made him collapse. It was embarrassing for a young man with all his limbs intact to have fainted, but it was a relief to find out on the first day.

He hadn’t known because he had only done readings for them remotely in small increments, but it seemed that using his skill on hunters caused fatigue to accumulate. The greater the difference in rank, the more severe it was. A hollow laugh escaped him at this truth he had learned after several years.

“I’ll have to be careful from now on.”

Muttering bitterly to himself, Harang worked his brain hard, wondering how he could live as quiet as a mouse. He had already intended to use his ability cautiously, but he wanted to refuse a situation where the penalty was also doubled.

Harang, who had been smacking his head for falling asleep on his first day, quickly calmed down. Then he resolved not to worry about it anymore since it was in the past. Outside the window, ignorant of Harang’s feelings, the world was rushing toward morning. The sky, dyed indigo, was clear and open.