From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 11: Super Rookie Pt. 3

As Lee Jun-Kyeong was leaving the Hunter Association after the Tutorial, he discovered that there was a familiar face waiting for him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Guild Master Yeo had said he wanted to come as well.”

No, there were two. Yeo Seong-Gu nodded.

“We were a bit anxious while we waited for you to finish, but, as expected, it seems you’ve returned with no issues,” said Kim Su-Yeong while looking over Lee Jun-Kyeong. There were rare cases of broken limbs due to issues within the Tutorial. Therefore, it wasn’t a lie to say that he had been waiting impatiently, worried that something may have happened. As evidence, Kim Su-Yeong’s shirt had been drenched in sweat.

“Have you received an invitation from the Association?”

On the other hand, Yeo Seong-Gu’s welcome was utterly different from the other man’s. Kim Su-Yeong’s eyes widened at the implications of that question. He knew exactly what an invitation from the Association entailed. Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded in response without saying a word.

“A…Are you serious? Did you really get an invitation to join?” Kim Su-Yeong asked, bewildered, but Lee Jun-Kyeong only smiled.

“Do you have a favorite food?”

While Kim Su-Yeong was gasping in shock, Yeo Seong-Gu asked Lee Jun-Kyeong as if he had no intention of waiting for the other man to calm down.

“Hm…”

This was a more difficult question for Lee Jun-Kyeong than answering whether he had been given an invitation from the Hunter Association.

‘Was there something I liked to eat?’

No matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind. There weren’t many things he had eaten until now that he had thought were delicious.

“Cup Ramen…?”

As Lee Jun-Kyeong responded carefully, Yeo Seong-Gu shook his head as if he was a lost cause.

“Do you like meat?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded faster than he did before.

“Haha. Good. Then, let’s go eat meat.”

Finally, for the first time, Yeo Seong-Gu looked as if he was smiling genuinely.

***

"…"

Kim Su-Yeong clearly looked bewildered. On the other hand, Lee Jun-Kyeong was shoveling meat into his mouth without a single word.

“Hunter Lee…?”

Kim Su-Yeong tried to get Lee Jun-Kyeong’s, who was now in the truest sense a Hunter, attention again.

“Hunter Lee?”

“Huh?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had been devouring meat, finally realized someone was calling at him, so he looked at Kim Su-Yeong.

“In what world… What kind of monsters are the two of you?”

“What do you mean?” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied, swallowing the meat in his mouth. He couldn’t figure out what had prompted Kim Su-Yeong’s question. Then, as he shrugged his shoulders, his eyes drifted towards Yeo Seong-Gu.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

An incredible speed. Not only was his speed incredible, but he also crammed a ridiculous amount of meat into one bite.

“...”

"What's wrong?"

Yeo Seong-Gu also finished chewing the meat and stared at Kim Su-Yeong. Two sets of eyes were drilling into Kim Su-Yeong.

“It’s nothing….”

Kim Su-Yeong lowered his gaze onto the table that was completely piled with plates. All of them had been plates of meat, beef to be exact, piled high. There were too many to count, as they were piled in tall stacks.

“Is there a beggar in your stomach… No, have you been starving for a long time? No matter how good they say a Hunter’s appetite is…”

Hunters had to consume more than ordinary people due to the extensive amount of physical exercise they got. Furthermore, they required vast amounts of nutrients to produce mana. Still, this much was well beyond ordinary. Moreover, as Kim Su-Yeong glanced at the order sheet next to him, he became even more shocked.

“Thirty… five servings…”

It was an impossible amount of servings for three ordinary people to consume. On top of that, Kim Su-Yeong had at most two servings, and the two pigs consumed the rest.

“A man should be able to eat at least this much,” said Yeo Seong-Gu.

Lee Jun-Kyeong responded, seemingly somewhat embarrassed, “Delicious…”

In truth, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have the capacity to pay attention to Yeo Seong-Gu. Instead, he was only concerned with eating the ridiculous amount of meat piled on the table.

Beef.

‘Looks like my second experience with beef is with Hyung again.’

The Lee Jun-Kyeong from before had been poor. He had struggled day by day, so being able to eat pork, let alone beef, was a luxury. The first time he had ever tried beef in his miserable life had been with Yeo Seong-Gu. Again in this life, his first time having beef was still with Yeo Seong-Gu. It was ironic. However, he valued the taste of the beef melting on his tongue more than the memories from before.

“You eat well."

Yeo Seong-Gu smiled at Lee Jun-Kyeong again. It was already apparent that Yeo Seong-Gu had a great appetite and an even better alcohol tolerance.

“Is it really okay for you to drink like that?”

Kim Su-Yeong’s question was fully warranted. There were piles of empty draft glasses that the staff had given up on cleaning next to the stacks of beef.

“Yes, because there is no gate raid tomorrow.”

Following that, Yeo Seong-Gu became absorbed again in eating the meat and drinking alcohol.

As for Lee Jun-Kyeong, he did the same.

Chomp. Chomp.

***

He had met Kim Su-Yeong and Yeo Seong-Gu after the tutorial. Contrary to his original assumptions that they would ask various questions or talk about many things, they just ate well.

“Kyaaaaa.”

They ate very well, and then they ate some more. That was all. After the meal, Kim Su-Yeong complained of fatigue and went home, while Yeo Seong-Gu paid and returned without a word.

‘The Hyung in this time is cool.’

The Yeo Seong-Gu in the future felt more friendly and warm, but he thought that the current Yeo Seong-Gu was a little cooler. Anyways, after eating, Lee Jun-Kyeong finally returned home.

“Whew.”

He lay on the comfy bed for a moment and let loose a deep breath, the day's events flickering by like a movie. The Tutorial graduation ceremony. The events that happened in the first gate he entered. Hunting goblins.

“I actually hunted an orc…”

He couldn’t believe it. Even though it was something he had done himself, he still couldn’t believe it, let alone everyone else who had been shocked.

‘To think I’d get an invitation from the Association…’

It must have been due to Bae Sang-Su’s recommendation. While an invitation from the Hunter Association could have many meanings, it held special to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

‘You’re doing great.’

That he was true to the title Hunter and that as a returner to the past, he was fulfilling his duties exceptionally well. That was why <The Sky of the Apocalypse> was watching him.

‘The power of the Demon King.’

Moreover, he didn’t know why or how, but he was gaining the power of the Demon King and earning what the Demon King had earned. So he thought to himself, ‘Aren’t I making use of the power I had earned at least somewhat competently?’

‘Where is the Demon King…?’

Could that man exist in this era? The situation wasn’t much different from Lee Jun-Kyeong robbing him of his powers. But if he really were alive, for <The Sky of the Apocalypse> that only chose to sponsor one Hunter, wouldn’t that being be sponsoring the Demon King? Everything was utterly jumbled up.

Therefore, he came to a conclusion.

‘I just won’t worry about it.’

Until he ran into an issue, of course, he would still be prepared for whatever situation might arise.

“Ahhhhh.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong barely managed to get up after stretching a little as he was weighed down by an overly full stomach. As he sat down, the first thing he did was confirm any changes in his stats.

"Status window."

After having become a Hunter and gaining the power of the Player, it was time to check his own abilities. A blue window opened in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes. The first thing he saw was his name and his title of Player.

Further down, a simple menu detailing his stats was visible.

[Level: 5]

[Strength: 18, Agility: 21, Stamina: 20, Mana: 25]

Seemingly modest, but to the eye of someone who understood the secrets of the values, it hid an almost terrifying meaning. At first glance, while it was true that Lee Jun-Kyeong’s data looked a little shabby, he was already aware of the true meaning of these figures.

‘A freshly awakened F-Rank Hunter’s total number of stat points would be around 30 when converted to a Player’s values.’

He knew this as the book had written down the data on the figures that the Demon King had deduced. Also, he understood how the stats would rise according to one’s level.

‘Talent.’

The stat values would also increase according to a Hunter’s talent. In addition, the more attention a Hunter received, the higher their stats would rise. Of course, there were still other variables that influenced a person’s stat values.

‘Good,’ Lee Jun-Kyeong thought after he finished inspecting his stat increases. It wasn’t an irrelevant rise in stats, either. The Demon King also had said that E-Rank Hunters have roughly a combined total of 50 stat points, and D-Rank 80.

In fact, a hunter’s total stat values were a marker for their rank, whether it was strength, stamina, agility, or mana. One could consider the combined total of the values to serve as a rough estimation compared to that of the rankings for Hunters. The required total values to match increased exponentially as the rank went higher. It was a convoluted system. However, for Lee Jun-Kyeong, the complicated system didn’t matter.

‘As long as the values go up, it’s the same.’

Unlike Hunters, who grew according to the level of attention of the Sponsors, his level would rise even if he only hunted monsters. That was the most crucial part.

‘D-Rank.’

He currently had a total of 84 stat points. The value was still slightly higher than what was considered D-Rank, but he warned himself not to be too focused on the ranking.

‘A high ranking doesn’t equate to being strong.’

A number of factors had to be considered, such as compatibility with one’s Sponsor and innate battle sense. However, this method was correct for the majority of Hunters to estimate their own strength according to their rank because their rank showed the abilities and mana they possessed. After contemplating what was on his status window, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at the sparkling text underneath.

[Through the sponsorship of <The Sky of the Apocalypse>, you have been granted the ability to summon 1 Familiar(s).]

Summoning a Familiar was not a power any ordinary Hunter could obtain. In fact, it was a power only available to the Heroes of Heroes. It was a power only a few Heroes, even among the Twelve, had access to.

‘That was fast.’

It could be said that he had acquired this ability quickly. Even faster than the Demon King had. No, not a single hero would have earned the opportunity to summon a Familiar at this point. So what was The Sky of the Apocalypse actually thinking? Furthermore, this wasn’t something to just blindly be happy about.

“Would the same thing that the Demon King had summoned first come out?” he muttered.

The powers he had obtained so far had been the same as those that had been obtained by the Demon King. However, there was no guarantee that the summons would also be the same because Lee Jun-Kyeong was different from the Demon King.

‘I have no choice but to try.’

Regardless of the result, it was still a Familiar. A Familiar would grow alongside the growth of the Hunter. As long as it didn’t die, it was the same as if there was another Hunter that unconditionally followed him. The Demon King had a great many Familiars. It was due to these Familiars that the Demon King had been named a King. The Bone Dragon, Balrog, Cerberus, among others, alongside many horror monsters. Familiars that could terrify with just a hint of their names.

‘I wonder what will come out.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong felt his heart racing again. His heart had been racing quite frequently lately. Not out of fear or negative emotions but out of expectation and hope. It was a heart pounding full of positive emotions. Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his mouth while full of anticipation.

“Summon Familiar.”

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse has granted you one summon, would you like to use it now?]

A blue window appeared, asking again. Lee Jun-Kyeong responded without hesitation.

"Summon."

Lee Jun-Kyeong's small room was engulfed in light.

***

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

It was t day after Lee Jun-Kyeong summoned his Familiar. A cell phone that had been tossed on the table next to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s bed rang loudly. Lee Jun-Kyeong drowsily picked it up.

[Kim Su-Yeong]

In the call log, he could see he had missed dozens of calls from a familiar name. He had been extremely exhausted from hunting the orc, so he hadn’t woken in time to answer any of the previous calls.

However, like clockwork, the phone started vibrating again.

Buzz.

He stifled a yawn and said, "Hello."

-I’m sorry to bother you. Have you been sleeping? Kim Su-Yeong responded in a slightly urgent tone. After he heard the somewhat uneasy voice, Lee Jun-Kyeong shook off his sleepiness.

-I'm sorry to bother you with all of this, but could you please open the door?

-Excuse me?

-I’m in front of your apartment.”

For a moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong was taken aback by the sudden situation, then he slowly walked to the front door and opened it.

“Thank you.”

Kim Su-Yeong put away his phone, moving in a way that showed that he had been waiting, and handed something to Lee Jun-Kyeong. It was a newspaper that dealt with news about Hunters that the Association published.

“Look at this,” he gestured again as if directing Lee Jun-Kyeong to focus on the front page.

“This is you, right, Hunter Lee?”

The front page of the newspaper had this title: “The birth of a super rookie. An awakening grade D-Rank. If that wasn’t enough, tales of his orc conquest during the Tutorial.”

Even when taking a cursory glance, he could tell it was a story about him.

1. In Korea, it’s a very common trope only to eat cup ramen when you’re poor, especially as a young man or a bachelor. It has further become a method to show juxtaposition in terms of poverty. Ramen is something the rich eat for fun, while it is often the basic food for people who can’t even afford rice. You can see some scenes in dramas such as Our Blues where the father is sitting there eating ramen, and then it pans over all of the stuff the father was using compared to all the new brand-name stuff provided for his daughter. So when our boy is out here saying Cup Ramen, it’s to show exactly how hard he had it. Dude couldn’t even think of Jjajangmyeon.

2. Because he’s eating like one

3. The Korean ??? refers to shadow lantern shows, basically a pre-technology tv.

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