The Hunter is Good at Alchemy

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 1

Chapter Title: The Golden King

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"Kraaak—!"

"—S-Save me!"

A wasteland littered with corpses.

Screams echoed from the distance—impossible to tell if they came from enemies or allies.

In the heart of this brutal battlefield, a man lounged on a makeshift throne of enemy bodies, tilting his head toward the sky.

"────!!!"

A piercing cry sliced through the chaos of war.

Crows feasting on the dead scattered into the air all at once.

A single wyvern hurtled toward them from beyond the horizon.

The man narrowed his eyes slightly and rose to his feet with deliberate slowness.

Clink, clink—

Sometime between moments, glass vials filled with potions of varying colors appeared in his hands.

Without a second's hesitation, he gulped down one of them and let out a short burp.

The wyvern, a mere speck just moments ago, had ballooned to the size of a house.

Even the rider atop it came into view now.

Eyes blazing with madness, swallowed whole by the heat of battle.

The wyvern charged straight at the man, who stared silently into the rider's gaze.

"KRAaaaaa—!!!"

A screech that tore at the eardrums.

The man didn't flinch in the face of the beast's ferocious advance.

Thud—

He calmly hurled a potion bottle at the wyvern as it landed before him.

Whoosh—crash!

"KIAaaaaa—!!!"

"Gaaah!"

Human screams pierced through the wyvern's roars.

Roar—

The man watched impassively before turning away.

What lay before him now was a sky choked with dozens, hundreds of wyverns.

"...Ahh—!"

A sigh slipped from someone's lips.

The man's glance caught a soldier huddled among the corpses.

Caked in dirt and blood, his face was hard to make out, but he looked awfully young.

A poor boy dragged into conscription against his will?

Or some hotheaded kid who dove into war without a clue?

In truth, his reasons didn't matter much.

What counted was that the boy was here now, despairing in this hell.

The man gazed indifferently at the young soldier before clicking his tongue.

Whish—thud!

A potion rolled right up to the boy's nose.

With that, the man cut off any further interest in him.

If he survived, good luck to him. If not, that was that.

"──────!"

A chorus of eerie cries from the wyvern horde.

The man stood tall beneath their countless glaring eyes.

"Peeeee───!"

As the lead wyvern shrieked, the flock dove in unison.

"These damn flies are getting annoying."

Another potion from the man's hand summoned Thunder Flame once more, sending the wyverns plummeting from the sky like rain.

Years ago, rifts appeared out of nowhere, turning people's lives upside down.

Monsters poured out from within them.

Cities crumbled. Countless died or were maimed.

Thankfully, 'Awakeners'—so-called Hunters—emerged alongside the rifts, gradually restoring order. But the tragedies could never be undone.

E-Rank Hunter Yeon Sung-hun, a non-Awakener himself, knew this all too well.

In a cleared E-Rank rift, as others hurried with cleanup, he slipped away quietly.

Then, as if it were routine, he rummaged through the nearby brush.

Raid Leader Park Kwang-yeol spotted him and approached softly.

"Digging up roots again today?"

"Gotta do something to eat."

Hunters could live far wealthier than civilians thanks to rift-exclusive byproducts.

But that was only for a select few.

For an E-Rank like him—unawakened to boot—it was a pipe dream.

"...Fine. Do what you want. Just don't stay too late."

The rift was cleared, monsters gone. No real danger, and he could linger until it closed.

Not that the time left was long.

"Got it. You handle your stuff, Uncle."

"Work hard."

Park Kwang-yeol waved casually and walked off.

Yeon Sung-hun glanced at his back before resuming his search.

He wasn't some herb expert.

It was just two years of rift-diving, picking things up by eye.

Or rather, he could instinctively spot useful herbs and materials better than most from the start.

A talent? Maybe. But he chalked it up to desperation for cash.

"...Not this, not that. Nope."

Maybe because it was a low-rank rift? Or just bad luck?

Despite digging around, nothing worthwhile turned up.

"Totally skunked today."

With a sigh, he stood slowly.

He wanted to keep looking, but it was time to go.

E-Rank rifts like this didn't last long post-clear.

The cleanup crew hauling monster corpses was already thinning out.

He smacked his lips regretfully at the brush before turning away.

Getting trapped inside? No thanks.

Family was waiting.

A rundown neighborhood of old one-rooms, two-rooms, and villas, far from downtown.

Yeon Sung-hun strolled the alleys after parting with his raid mates.

Not the place for a proper Hunter, even an E-Rank.

Still, better than their old shadowy slum. Small mercies.

"I'm home! Mom! Hae-eun! Back!"

"Welcome home."

His mother greeted him as he entered.

She wasn't young, with a grown son, but the deep wrinkles told of hardships endured.

Her gaunt, pallid face screamed poor health.

Yeon Sung-hun stared at her a moment, lips twitching.

"...Why'd you come out? I was coming in anyway."

"Can't greet my hardworking boy? Oh, what's all this?"

"Park Uncle... er, Raid Leader hooked me up."

He fended off her grab for the bags and stepped inside.

Worn and shabby in spots, but clean and tidy.

His sister sat quietly in one corner, smiling at him.

"Oppa, you're back?"

"Yeah. You good, Hae-eun?"

He smiled back at her bright grin, eyes drifting to her legs.

A wheelchair and thin blanket came into view.

Slim legs poking out beneath.

Paralyzed from the waist down.

The rift disaster years ago had stolen so much from Yeon Sung-hun and his family.

His mother's health. His sister's legs.

And their father.

Growing used to it didn't stop his face from crumpling. He fought it back.

"...Eaten yet? Got something tasty."

"Whoa! Really?! What?!"

"Your faves: chicken and pig's feet."

Yeon Hae-eun clapped at the bags he lifted.

He remembered.

The bright, lively Hae-eun before the rifts.

She still was, but back then, she brimmed with even more vitality.

They'd bickered like typical siblings.

Still, she was better off then. Much better.

'I'll fix this. For sure.'

Not just her.

His mother's health, lost raising kids alone after losing her husband.

Impossible now, but keep grinding like this? One day.

Yeon Sung-hun believed it utterly.

"Tasty?"

"Yeah! So good! Which place?"

"Hidden gem only Park Uncle knows. Go together next time?"

"Yes! With Mom too!"

He smiled softly with his beaming sister.

He prayed every day would be like this.

No—better.

Amid the warm family, Yeon Sung-hun prayed quietly.

Days later, Park's Raid Team gathered for rift scouting.

This E-Rank rift was on Gyeonggi-do outskirts.

Like last time, no one tensed much.

A man approached them at the rift entrance.

Dark circles under eyes clashing with his neat suit.

Hunter Association staffer, always complaining about understaffing.

"Na Seong-sil from Rift Management. Park's Raid Team?"

"Yep."

"Five members. Hunter IDs... uh, you all have 'em?"

"Yup~"

True to form for a Korean civil servant, no actual check.

Na Seong-sil skimmed their faces and nodded.

"...Good. Commence scouting on Gyeonggi-do Gapyeong-gun 375-001 rift. Good luck."

"We'll be quick—grab a coffee!"

Park Kwang-yeol laughed it off heartily, and Yeon Sung-hun and the others vanished into the rift.

Na Seong-sil shrugged at their figures.

True to E-Rank form, the scout went smoothly.

The ordinary forest-type rift matched countless others Park's Team had cleared.

After dusting an orc pack, they rested in a clearing.

"Mapping about done?"

"Bit wide for E-Rank. But at this pace, 30 minutes tops."

"Good, no issues. Thought orcs up front were bad news."

"E-Rank's a stomp anyway."

"Try D-Rank next?"

"Ugh... D-Rank? That's hell from there."

"Not till we all level up. Wait till Sung-hun Awakens, at least."

"Mm. When you Awakening, Sung-hun? Hitting two years soon?"

"Yeah. Basically there."

Park Kwang-yeol propped his chin, humming as Yeon Sung-hun nodded.

Rifts boosted Awakening odds—not guaranteed, but higher.

Park's Team started as non-Awakeners except the leader; rifts changed that.

Only Yeon Sung-hun left.

"..."

Everyone Awakened but him. Lately, it stressed him out.

Was he dead weight?

"...You're late-bloomer, but no sweat. Late ones get killer skills, right?"

"Yeah, hyung! You'll get something OP!"

"Heard stats say late Awakeners have better skills..."

"Me too. Don't stress, Sung-hun."

Noticing his darkening mood, the team comforted him one by one.

He'd switched raids before for various reasons, but these guys? First like this.

He could trust them with his back.

"Oh! Sung-hun-hyung, your fatigue potions? The rift-plant ones?"

"Right, haven't had one yet. Hyung, gimme!"

Fatigue Recovery Potions from cheap herbs.

Yeon Sung-hun hadn't studied; just tinkered and it worked great.

Not true potion-level, but way better than energy drinks.

"Ahh~ That's the stuff! Feeling alive! Only Park's Raid gets this! Sung-hun, don't ditch us post-Awakening?"

"Stay with us, Sung-hun."

As their cheers lifted his gloom—

"──────!!!"

A massive roar shook the forest.

"W-What?!"

"No way!"

Mana-sensitive ones trembled.

"That in an E-Rank?!"

"They scouted right?"

"Tax thieves... Slacked off again!"

"No time—run!"

Panic short-lived; veterans bolted.

No fighting that thing.

Whatever it was, beyond E-Rank scrubs like them.

Luckily, they reached the exit unscathed.

But.

"It's... closed!"

"Clear condition?"

"Now?! Bullshit!"

"Did Management even check?!"

The team raged at the sealed exit.

Yeon Sung-hun scanned the forest instead.

No further movement from the source.

Not pursuing, seemingly.

But the heavy killing intent blanketing the woods remained.

Even unawakened, he felt it sharply.

Staring intently—

"Get down!"

A giant lizard burst from the trees.

Yeon Sung-hun knew it.

First live sighting, but from monster manuals: Violent Lizard.

The kind real Hunters handled—not rookies like them.

Panic inevitable.

"Damn! Everyone okay?!"

"Y-Yeah... We're good!"

His warning saved them, but changed nothing.

Untouchable foe.

Park Kwang-yeol pondered grimly before yelling.

"Shit! Run!"

"Now?! Where?!"

"Just run! Survive somehow!"

Screeching, they sprinted.

Yeon Sung-hun ran with them.

Uphill terrain hellish, but he pushed.

The lizard pursued leisurely.

Glancing back, he gritted his teeth.

Threw a bag of monster-repelling plants—slowed it a tad.

Only option: run.

But it wasn't shakable.

"KIAaaaaaaO—!"

Slam! Tree beside Yeon Sung-hun snaps.

No crush, but lizard closed in, jaws gaping.

"─KIAaaaa!"

Razor teeth dripping saliva.

Black maw beyond.

Frozen, Yeon Sung-hun—

"Sung-hun-hyung!"

Slam—Kim Jun-su bashed its head, hauled him up.

"Don't zone out! Wanna die?!"

The shout snapped him awake.

"Th-Thanks..."

"Shit! Both, dodge!"

Before gratitude finished, Shin Jae-jun's cry rang.

And then—

Splat—

"Guh...!"

Heavy impact hurled Yeon Sung-hun far away.

"Sung-hun-hyung!"

"Sung-hun—!"

"Sung-hun!"

Teammates' calls echoed as he flew, fading.

His body tumbled down the slope.

Thud—

Splat—

Roll—

How far?

Snagged by a tree root, he stopped. A groan escaped.

"Ngh..."

Blurry vision scanned: no lizard, no team.

Tinnitus drowned all sound.

No body sensation.

He blinked slowly.

Blood from forehead?

Wiping it, he realized his arm wouldn't move.

Eyes shifted: still attached, but numb. Unresponsive.

Only eyes obeyed.

Even those dimmed.

"Ugh..."

Fading sight, blurring mind—he sensed death.

'Can't die like this...'

What of family if he died?

Mom and sister waiting?

He forced heavy lids open.

But vision hazed worse.

Teeth clenched.

'Won't die here.'

Absolutely not.

Screams useless; consciousness slipped.

"Grk...!"

Resentment surged.

At sudden monsters.

Association's failed scout.

Rifts wrecking the world.

Father abandoning them.

The whole damn world.

Too bitter to bear.

Why us?

Why only us?

Grinding teeth, Yeon Sung-hun blacked out.

Something glimmered beyond thick darkness.

A vast city blanketed in dazzling gold.

A towering spire at its edge.

An aged sage perched at the top, gazing imperiously over the world.

Frail with age, yet golden eyes sharp with vigor met his.

He knew instinctively.

Head of the Tower of the Sage.

Master of all alchemists.

Empire's hero. Continent's legend.

Greatest alchemist in history.

The supreme, the strongest.

Pinnacle of alchemy.

All titles embodied one.

Golden King Faust.

.

.

.

That is me.

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