๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ก๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ซ
About 20 years ago, in Dresden, Germany.
Rolf Bangenheimer, in his mid-30s, was suffering a major setback.
Due to the unexplained Gate phenomenon and the monster raids that sprang from it, humanity was in grave danger.
Monsters would crawl out of the Gates that appeared, and the surrounding area would eventually be destroyed.
There were countless towns and cities that were destroyed in this way.
Was hope just another name for despair?
At a time when everyone was starting to think this way, beings known as the Awakener appeared.
With that, humanity entered a new phase.
They killed the monsters that emerged, and even went directly into the Gates to obliterate the monsters that were inside.
To humanity, they were a new hope.
Rolf Bangenheimer was also an Awakener who could become a new hope.
He was a man who had nothing but a small house and a fruit shop, which was his parents’ only legacy.
However, when a Gate appeared in his town, his house was completely destroyed by a horde of ogres that emerged.
The fruit shop he had just started was also destroyed and eaten by the young ogres.
Although he was an Awakener, the atmosphere was such that everyone had to figure out how to use their abilities and what magic was all about on their own.
Rolf couldn’t learn from anyone else, so he ended up wandering around like a vagrant, looking for a place to die.
There was no hope to be found anywhere.
He trudged through Dresden and headed for Berlin.
Once chubby, he had lost about 30 kg and become emaciated, and his kind and cheerful personality had turned into a dark and suspicious one.
It was winter and snowing.
Snow seeped into his holey shoes.
Berlin, which he had finally reached, was in better condition than he had expected.
They had brought in Awakener mercenaries from outside.
The mercenaries seemed to be of various nationalities.
From Europe to South America, Africa, and Asia.
With the demand for Awakeners skyrocketing, every country was scrambling to bring them in as long as they could prove their abilities.
The Awakeners acted accordingly to that demand.
They were lowly tools treated like royalty, cunning enough to extort large sums of money and foolish enough to throw their lives away.
The world media called them ‘Hunters’, in the sense that they were both monster-hunting hunters and money-chasing hunters.
After much deliberation, Rolf gritted his teeth.
He figured he was going to die anyway, so he might as well get some revenge on them.
He stopped hesitating and grabbed one of them.
“H. . .Hey. . .”
“What? I don’t have any money to give to a beggar.”
The mercenary with a thick Moscow accent coldly replied, forcefully pulling his arm away from Rolf’s grasp.
“No! It’s not money. . . Would you take me on as your disciple? I’ll give you everything I have if I succeed later!”
“What. . .”
The mercenary asked back, then looked at the other mercenaries next to him and burst out laughing.
“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Kukukuku. . . Look at this crazy beggar!”
“Hehehe, are you out of your mind?”
The mercenaries laughed so hard they bent over at the waist.
Rolf was taken aback by the incomprehensible situation.
โW-What’s the problem? Is it because I can’t give you any money right now?โ
“Ha ha ha. Where did you come from, stuck in the middle of nowhere? You don’t know how the world works.”
The mercenary continued, wiping away tears from laughing so hard.
“First of all, why should I believe you and take you on as my disciple?”
“Huh? Why would you believe. . .”
“How can you guarantee that you won’t stab me in the back inside the Gate?”
“W-Why would I do that! To someone who raised me.”
“Well? We’ve all grown up like that, haven’t we? Our worth goes up on its own.”
The mercenaries smirked sinisterly.
“I would never do that! I swear!”
โAh, shut up. Damn it, don’t you know that we’ve all sworn the same thing before? Secondly, you say you’ll give me everything if you succeed.”
“Yes!”
“Is there any guarantee that you won’t die tomorrow or the day after?”
“That. . .”
“Do you know what the survival rate of Hunters is? When 20 or 30 people enter a Gate, how many do you think come out!”
Rolf’s lips quivered at the mercenary’s roar.
He was desperate to grab them and learn their skills.
If he missed this opportunity, he couldn’t say when he would be able to learn again.
“I don’t know. But if you just teach me, I’ll risk my life to do it.”
Another mercenary who had been listening to the conversation interjected.
“Hey. If anyone could be taught and become good at it, we’d set up academies, why would we be doing this? If you don’t have any abilities, you should just resign yourself to understanding your place.โ
The mercenary scathingly pointed out Rolf’s situation.
Just then, someone shouted at them from a distance.
“Hey!! I found some pretty chicks!!”
“Hehehe. Let’s hurry up and go!!”
The mercenary who had first spoken patted Rolf on the shoulder and said his last words.
“By the way, this is what we use the money we earn for. Got it?”
And then he disappeared with the others.
Rolf stood there blankly.
The footprints they had left in the snow gradually faded away as more snow fell where they had been.
“Damn it.”
The snow that touched his cheeks melted and ran down.
His thin face was contorted in pain.
The hope he had briefly felt was exhaled like a rough breath.
It was only one attempt.
It was too much to break all his will.
Rolf cried for a long time where he was.
It was over.
‘I’m as hopeless as this country.’
He walked unsteadily toward a deserted area.
A terrain with collapsed buildings and ruins came into view.
Rolf rummaged through the wreckage, looking for a rope or a knife.
Then he found a small knife.
‘Should I. . . cut my neck? My wrist would be less painful.’
He hesitated for a moment and then cut his wrist.
Red blood soaked the snow that had accumulated on the ruins.
Rolf cut both wrists and then lay down in the snow.
His malnourished body slowly bled out and grew cold in the falling snow.
Just then.
Kwa-aaaaaaang!!
A tremendous roar, as if the ground was collapsing, shook his body.
Rolf got up from his seat.
A large monster was lying next to him.
“Huh??”
What should he do? Should he run away? No, he was going to die anyway.
As he was thinking this, someone approached him.
She looked to be in his mid-teens.
A sharp-featured girl with long hair tied back looked at her briefly.
Her clothes and equipment were much shabbier than the other mercenaries.
If he hadn’t seen her fighting like this, he would have thought she was a vagrant like herself.
‘๐๐๐’๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก. ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ? ๐พ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐?’
While he was lost in thought, the girl’s fist slammed into the monster’s body.
Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!
The monster’s body burst open, digging into the ground.
It was all over in an instant.
The girl took out a short sword and deftly removed the monster’s core.
Then she turned around and was about to leave.
Rolf hurriedly got up and grabbed the girl’s arm.
“Hey, wait a minute, little girl!!”
The girl turned her head and looked at him.
Cold, icy, and languid eyes.
Without realizing it, Rolf pleaded with the girl’s eyes.
“Teach me. . . teach me your skills!”
The girl’s eyes widened.
She looked quite surprised.
“Little girl. . .please.”
Then Rolf was beaten until he passed out.
As he lost consciousness, he could hear the boy’s whisper.
“Don’t call me little girl, I’m a boy.”
When he opened his eyes, his body was completely healed.
Rolf searched for the boy from the next day, and followed him around, calling him ‘teacher’.
Even though there was a twenty-year age difference, Rolf always called him teacher, and the boy treated him as if it were natural.
“Are you a stray dog or a spotted dog?”
“What does that mean, teacher?”
โIt’s the name of the dogs that chase people in the street.โ
“I don’t care what you call me. If I can just learn from you, I don’t mind being called a son of a b*tch.”
“You’re a stubborn one, not like your appearance. Like a Doberman or a Shepherd.”
“I have no family, no home. All I have is my awakened ability and you, teacher.”
โTsk, nonsense.โ
From that day on, the boy taught him how to use magic, how to implement skills, and how to fight hand-to-hand.
“Why did you decide to teach me, teacher?”
โBecause this is all you’re good for.โ
“. . . . .Why are you a Hunter, teacher?”
“Me? I have to feed my little brother.”
Even though it had only been about a month, Rolf had come close to dying several times.
His training was beyond Spartan, every moment was a life-or-death situation.
“I’m leaving today, so from now on, you’re on your own.”
“Thank you for everything! If I succeed, I will give you everything I have in return!”
โAlright, I didn’t want anything like that anyway. My party’s arrived, so I’m off. Take care.โ
The boy left as quickly as a snowflake melting.
Only then did Rolf realize that he didn’t even know his teacher’s name.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
“T-Teacher. . .!!”
Rolf Bangenheimer, the president of the ใGerman Hunter Associationใ, bowed 90 degrees to Siwoo with overwhelming emotion and trembling.
This was his one and only teacher, whom he had reunited with after more than 20 years.
No matter what the occasion, no matter who was next to him, he had lived his life determined to be polite and respectful to his teacher only.
Because Rolf Bangenheimer’s life as a Hunter had started with that boy.
“I’m sorry. I forgot your name and lived my life. Have you been well?”
“I’m sorry. I also lived my life without knowing your name. Have you been well?”
Everyone around him gasped at the sudden behavior of the association president.
He was the president of the ใHunter Associationใ in Germany, a developed country.
He was the conscience of the German Hunter community and a living legend who had always been dignified and upright, even to Chancellor Stoph.
How could he bow to a 20-year-old Oriental Hunter?
Layla and Felix were particularly surprised.
Even though they had been listening to the conversation next to him, they couldn’t follow the flow.
“If you had said you had forgotten me, I would have tried to kill you half to death like when I first saw you. You’re lucky you remembered.”
“Hahahaha. How could I? If I had known you were my teacher, I wouldn’t have treated you like this.”
It had been over 20 years.
However, Siwoo’s face looked only about 10 years older than the boy.
It was just that to Western eyes, Oriental faces all looked similar, so they couldn’t recognize him right away.
Rolf treated Siwoo with great care, guiding him with a completely different attitude than before.
As he escorted him so carefully, the other guests were unable to treat Siwoo lightly, and so the banquet ended.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
On the day of the ‘Berlin International Artifact Auction’.
Siwoo rode in a long Benz to the venue.
Rolf, Felix, and Layla were riding in the car with him.
Layla and Felix had been making bewildered faces for days at the sight of the association president they had first seen.
Rolf talked non-stop to Siwoo, telling him about everything that had been happening.
It was as if he was a child who wanted to be praised.
What was surprising was that Siwoo didn’t seem annoyed and actually listened to the story with interest and responded.
That was understandable, because Rolf was also a special connection to Siwoo.
He was the first person he had ever taught someone else, and he was the one who had shown him the fun of it.
โHahaha. Are you serious, there really was a necromancer? When I hear you say it, teacher, it all makes sense!”
Rolf was listening to the story of the ghoul attack in Nuremberg, Germany.
His reaction was quite different from when Layla had told him.
‘๐ผ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ค ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ช๐. . .’
Layla chuckled as she looked at Rolf.
ใ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ! ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐, ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐’๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐!ใ
“Hahahaha, thank you very much. Your partner is funny, teacher.”
“Ignore him. He’s an idiot.”
“Oh, we’re here. I reserved a VIP seat for you, teacher, so you can sit there and enjoy the show.”
“Rolf, aren’t you going?”
“I’m the head of security, even though I look like this. Oh, but Layla is off duty, so she’ll be going with you.”
Rolf winked at Layla.
Pre winked at Layla, who had been watching the wink.
Layla muttered, ‘You don’t have to be so considerate,’ and went into the large venue with Siwoo.
They went to the VIP seats with the best view of the auction room and sat down to look around.
The atmosphere of the auction was similar to a new product launch demonstration for a large corporation.
Just then, someone sat down in the seat next to Siwoo.
“Damn it. You meet your enemies wherever you go.”
“I should say the same thing. Are you my stalker?”
Siwoo asked, looking at the large man, Choi Dae-soo.