Report
* * *
Griffin Scans
Translator – Hero of death
Proofreader – Sleepyhead
Join our discord for updates on releases!
https://discord.com/invite/jgjn3MAeBX
* * *
Chapter 2 - Hero
I'm seventeen years old. Still not even an adult yet.
Some might say I had only lived a short life, but no one could deny how hard I had worked.
Whenever I saw injustice, I couldn't stay silent. Even when pressured, I stood firm. I stubbornly lived by the sense of justice I had defined for myself.
Because if I tolerated corruption among students or professors, I knew I couldn’t move forward.
That's why I had to live even more fiercely.
The reason was simple.
I had a clear dream… to become the strongest in the world.
Having lived with such tenacity, I was proud to say I worked harder than anyone.
So if someone dared to tell me, "Your life is ruined twenty years from now”, I was confident I’d punch them right in the face without hesitation.
But in reality, I couldn't.
Because the one who said that... was me from the future.
[Look carefully at your peers here. More than fifty of them will become top-ranked Hunters.
There’s never been another class with so many rankers before.
That’s why people call our class "The Generation of Stars."]
At Samchil's words, I carefully observed the faces of my fellow cadets.
Faces stiff with excitement and nervousness.
At the moment, they didn’t seem any different from me.
Samchil — that was the nickname for my 37-year-old self.
And right now, I was attending the academy's entrance ceremony.
'Were there really that many geniuses in our class?'
[ No. ]
At SEAL Academy, every year has its share of geniuses.
It’s just that our year went through so many hardships that we had no choice but to grow stronger.]
'I see... but if it’s the Generation of Stars, why didn’t I become one?'
[Stars only shine at night. During the day, their light is swallowed by the sun.]
It probably referred to someone like him.
Someone was stepping onto the podium.
The top freshman, Lee Mujin — The one who would climb to Rank 1 in the world twenty years later,
The one who would achieve everything I dreamed of.
From the very start of the entrance ceremony,
all the spotlights were focused on him.
The academy's instructors, the journalists specially allowed entry just for today, and the new students
Everyone's eyes were locked onto him.
From the very beginning, he and I were worlds apart.
Because I had arrived at the dorms yesterday and spent the night talking to my future self, I already knew a lot about my future.
[But don’t worry. I’ll make you the strongest Hunter in the world.]
The me from twenty years later — was living a life I never wanted.
[Right now, I may be living in a cheap boarding house, but I've long since analyzed everything that went wrong in the past.]
I nodded.
Even though talking to my future self felt surreal but deep down, I felt a bitter loneliness.
I had lived with such determination and pride… So what went so horribly wrong?
I didn’t know, But one thing was clear: this was a huge opportunity.
And I had to seize it.
With everything I had.
Absolutely.
—------
—---------------
Class 1-A.
That’s where I had been assigned.
After the entrance ceremony, the students scattered to their respective classes.
When I opened the classroom door, a few glances were thrown my way, but they quickly looked away.
The classroom itself wasn’t particularly different from any other.
On the board was a seating chart. I found my seat and sat down, waiting for the instructor.
I didn’t know a single person here, but some students had already formed small groups, chatting.
SEAL Academy, being Korea's top academy,
naturally attracted many students from prestigious families.
Most of them had known each other since they were young.
But I was an exception.
[Wow, it's been so long.]
Even though I hadn’t done anything,
Samchil’s emotions stirred roughly.
To him, the bonds I had yet to form were already visible.
[Even those assholes are alive and kicking.]
No sooner had Samchil said this than a voice rang out across the room.
"Hey, you bastard, Lee Junghoon! Damn, it's been a while!"
All eyes turned to one spot.
A giant of a guy, and the cadet standing stiffly in front of him with a hard expression.
I felt like I had seen this kind of scene somewhere before.
"Wow, we're in the same class! What are the odds?"
"Yeah, I guess so..."
Watching this unfold, I could hardly believe my eyes.
This wasn't just any academy. It was a place only the top 1% of aspiring hunters could enter.
And yet... this kind of thing was happening?
[Don’t be too surprised.
Here, the hierarchy is even more clear-cut than in the outside world.
Family background, wealth, honor—this place is a microcosm of high society, and here, everything is even more brutally exposed.]
‘Still, isn’t this a bit much?’
[Once the hierarchy is set, it never changes. If anything, it becomes even more entrenched.
That guy probably got eaten alive by that system ever since he was a kid.]
The kid being bullied didn't even look weak.
Sharp features, solid build—he was probably stronger than me.
Well, I was ranked dead last, so that wasn’t saying much.
Yet, he looked like a herbivore frozen in fear before a predator.
"What's wrong? You don't sound too happy. Got a problem?"
"N-No, not at all. Nice to see you..."
He awkwardly waved his hand.
At SEAL Academy, all cadets wore identical uniforms with name tags,
so it wasn’t hard to figure out who was who.
The bully was Park Jongpal. The one being bullied was Lee Junghoon.
"Park Jongpal... sounds like a real country bumpkin name."
[Park Jongpal is ranked 250th and Lee Junghoon is 466th.]
Both were ranked higher than me, obviously.
"You still remember all that?"
[Of course not. I have a search function now. I can pull up basic info instantly.
Anyway, the reason Park Jongpal is acting tough isn’t just because of his family.
Look behind him.
See that guy standing there with his arms crossed?
That’s Kim Wootae, heir to the Jinhak Group.]
The Jinhak Group — a famous conglomerate and leader of one of Korea’s top guilds, the Jinhak Guild.
There wasn’t a soul in Korea who didn’t know the Jinhak name.
‘So he’s from a huge family…’
Hearing a name usually reserved for TV come up in real life felt like a weight pressing down on my shoulders.
And it made me realize that this place was crawling with people like him.
[Park Jongpal is just Kim Wootae’s lapdog.
The one Lee Junghoon is really afraid of is Kim Wootae.
Everyone fears him.
Lee Junghoon just had bad luck. Nobody here would dare defy Kim Wootae.]
SMACK!
"Answer properly, you little shit!"
"S-Sorry... I'll do better..."
Even as this happened, no one stepped in.
Everyone just pretended not to see, busy minding their own business.
It wasn't ignorance.
The atmosphere had changed and the classroom was eerily quiet.
They were letting it happen, trying to establish control over the class through an example.
Ridiculous.
I had wondered if the children of high society would be any different, but people were the same everywhere.
Survival of the fittest.
I knew this pattern well.
Back in middle school, at the Hunter Academy, I had crushed guys like this.
But to see the same thing happen here...
[What? You thinking of stopping it?]
"Of course."
[You really shouldn’t. I tried that once too.
You don’t seem to understand yet but justice requires strength.
This isn’t your middle school anymore.
Here, you're the weakest. Justice without strength doesn’t reach anyone. It just ends up ruining yourself.]
"You mean..."
[Back then, I stood up for someone, and became their new target.
If you step up now, you'll face nothing but humiliation and pain.
And do you think Lee Junghoon will thank you or help you?
Not a chance. No one will.]
"So... is that what ruined my life?"
[No,
Your life falling apart was the result of many overlapping incidents.
This moment might be part of it, or it might not. But what’s certain is that if you don’t endure this,
your life at the Academy will be hell.]
Hearing Samchil's words, my body, which had started to rise, felt heavy.
The bleak future he described seemed to clutch at my ankles.
And yet, I stood up.
The future may have tried to hold me down, but the past I had lived till now lifted me back up.
No matter how short, I had lived a life I was proud of.
I had words I had spoken. Values I had cherished.
And I wasn’t about to abandon them now.
I grew stronger for that very reason.
To become a Hunter, to become the strongest in the world.
[Still planning to step in?]
'How many hardships will I have to overcome to reach the top of the world?'
[A ton, probably.]
Yeah. It would be a ton. My path would inevitably be a series of endless trials.
That was set in stone the moment I decided to become the world’s strongest Hunter.
'So if I can’t even get past a guy like that, what’s the point?'
[Hahaha.]
Samchil burst into loud laughter at my resolve.
[Man, 17-year-old me was kinda cool! Sorry. I was just testing you for a bit. I was curious how I would've reacted back then. From now on, do as you please! I’ve never once imagined a version of me that just endures quietly!]
'Finally, an answer I actually like.'
Sure! Here's the translation of the excerpt:
"Stop it. What are you doing, we’re fellow classmates."
"What’s this? I have never seen this guy before.”
Park Jongpal slammed Lee Jung-hoon’s head into the desk, three times.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Then he turned and sneered at me.
"If I can't stop, what are you going to do? Want to take his place and get hit instead?"
"No, I’m not about to let some punk beat me."
"What? Punk? You looking to die or something?"
His fist shot out toward me. His first filled my vision.
It was faster than I thought. I tried to dodge, but there was no way to avoid it completely.
Just as I instinctively tried to move back to lessen the impact
Thunk.
Park Jongpal’s fist stopped right in front of my face.
The gust of wind stirred up by his punch caused my hair to flutter for a moment before settling back down.
"Class has started. Sit down."
The one who blocked the punch was the instructor.
Right as the instructor finished speaking, the classroom bell rang.
Ding-ding-ding-ding.
"You two. Go take your seat."
Feigning calmness, I returned to my seat.
It had only been a single punch, but I could feel it — the gap between us.
'...Was the difference really this big?'
It was clearer than I had expected.
[Shocking, isn’t it? This place is full of monsters like him.
And you're the weakest of the weak — the lowest-ranked cadet, admitted through the social welfare program.]
It was true. I had been accepted through a special admission route, just like Samchil said.
But that had only been a strategy to get in—not because I thought I was weak.
[Are you scared?]
A completely different situation from anything I had faced before.
Until now, I had thought I was stronger, But that's no longer the case.
'No. I'm not scared.’
Even so, I wouldn't back down.
If something stood in my way, I'd simply overcome it. That was the only path forward.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could win right now.
'Wait, did you stall for time on purpose?'
I asked Samchil the question that had been bugging me.
If he hadn’t stopped me when I was about to act, the instructor’s intervention might not have come in time.
If my guess was right, Samchil had deliberately held me back to protect me.
[That's right. I knew you were going to jump in.
There was no need for you to start by getting beaten up.]
Hearing that, I started to trust Samchil a little more.
[Today’s class will end after a brief self-introduction. There’s a simple way to get through this situation.]
'What is it?'
[That is...]
<Your session time has expired. You have been disconnected.>
Suddenly, a message I'd never seen before popped up.
'Hello?'
<Your future self is currently disconnected
.>
It seemed like he had a solution, but I wouldn’t be able to hear it now.
Feeling a sharp, burning sensation on the back of my head, I turned around.
Park Jongpal was glaring at me, his eyes burning like a viper's.
He looked furious.
I strode towards Park Jongpal.
The guy who had been grabbing Lee Junghoon’s hair and threatening him now turned his gaze toward me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
