Chapter 3: A Vanishing Story
Author: Mouser_Sama, Co-Author: Shadowknight_950
Jaemin awoke the next morning with a sense of excitement. He quickly grabbed a black coat and a small pack of supplies before heading out.
The streets were bustling with activity as people went about their daily lives. Jaemin’s nerves were palpable as he approached the building.
He took his place in line and, after a short wait, finally entered the building. Inside, the testing office was busy and noisy, filled with people. He was directed to a counter, where a stern-looking woman with a clipboard greeted him.
“Name?” she asked, looking up from her paperwork.
“Jaemin Park.”
“Purpose of visit?”
“To take the hunter’s license test.”
The woman nodded and handed Jaemin a form to fill out. After he completed the paperwork, she directed him to a waiting area where other candidates were nervously chatting or quietly reviewing their notes. Jaemin took a seat.
A few minutes later, an elderly man in a sharp uniform approached with a serious expression. “All right, candidates, follow me. It’s time for the assessment.”
Jaemin followed the group through a series of hallways until they reached a large training room. Inside, various obstacles and test dummies were set up. The atmosphere was tense, with candidates eyeing the equipment nervously.
“Welcome to the practical assessment,” the instructor announced. “You will each be evaluated on your combat skills, agility, and other factors. This will involve a series of challenges, including target practice and a simulated monster fight.”
Jaemin gulped but steeled himself, preparing for the tests. He was called up first for target practice. He approached a range of moving targets with his sword and took a deep breath. The targets were set to move unpredictably, simulating the movements of monsters.
Jaemin swung his sword with precision, taking down each target with increasing confidence.
Next came the agility course. Jaemin navigated through obstacles, jumping, ducking, and climbing with a mix of athleticism and clumsiness. He stumbled a few times but managed to finish the course in decent time. He was panting by the end, but the instructor’s nod of approval was reassuring.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The final part of the assessment was the simulated monster fight. Jaemin engaged in combat, using his sword with a combination of skill and improvisation. The fight was challenging, and he struggled at times, but he managed to outmaneuver his opponent and land the final blow.
The instructor’s expression remained inscrutable as he reviewed Jaemin’s performance. After a brief pause, he nodded and addressed the group. “Congratulations, you’ve all completed the practical assessment. We’ll review your scores and inform you of the results shortly.”
Jaemin returned to the waiting area, feeling exhausted. He could only hope that his performance was enough to secure his hunter’s license.
After what felt like an eternity, the instructor reappeared with a list of names. “The following candidates have passed the assessment and will be issued their hunter’s licenses. Please step forward to complete your registration.”
Jaemin’s heart raced as he listened for his name. When he heard it called, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He joined the other successful candidates at the registration counter, where he received his hunter’s license and a congratulatory nod from the instructor.
“Welcome to the ranks, hunter,” the instructor said with a hint of a smile.
Even though it was just an F-rank hunter’s license and his access was limited, he was still happy.
"I can finally start leveling up for real now!" Jaemin thought.
After getting his hunter’s license, Jaemin made his way outside the office. As he stepped out, he saw multiple guilds recruiting new awakened hunters.
"Even though Earth is in danger, I can at least fulfill my dream of becoming a popular hunter," Jaemin thought.
"Sigh... My dreams will have to wait until I solve this mess that the unknown motherf*cker created!" Jaemin murmured with a sigh.
The moment Jaemin stepped out of the office, he was approached by various scouts from different guilds. Even an F-rank hunter was considered quite valuable. Though their potential might be limited to E or D rank in the future, it wouldn’t be a loss, especially since hunters were rare—only 10% of the human population were capable of absorbing monster crystals.
"Hey, new hunter! Would you like to join our guild?"
"Hey, new hunter! Would you like to join our guild?"
"Hey, new hunter! Would you like to join our guild?"
Many people asked Jaemin to join their guilds.
"I'm currently not joining any guild," Jaemin said.
"If this had been the past, I would've never let this opportunity slip by. I could've easily joined a guild. They have that unique absorption method that cuts down the time needed to absorb a monster crystal. And aside from that, there are tons of other perks—learning special skills, having proper instructors, and access to all kinds of equipment. Anyone else would be thrilled to join, but for me? It’s pretty much useless. I don’t need any extra time to absorb crystals, and I’m not looking for special skills when I know the system will eventually give me what I need. Plus, the real reason I’m not joining is that I’m planning to head to the military battlefield. There, I can just kill monsters, grab their crystals, and farm XP straight from the source," Jaemin thought.
After rejecting the scouts, Jaemin made his way toward the volunteer office, where he registered for the battlefield. After completing the registration, Jaemin headed outside the office.
Once home, Jaemin sighed with relief and sat down.
"It will take a few days for my application to be approved," Jaemin muttered.
Jaemin decided to gather some information on how the merger affected the world and find out about the key characters in the novel.
The first thing Jaemin did was open Google and search for his own novel.
"Huh... How can this be? There isn't a trace of my novel left on the internet!" Jaemin shouted.
Jaemin stared at the screen in disbelief. His novel, the one he had painstakingly written, was completely gone. There wasn’t a single mention of it anywhere online. Not even obscure references or blog posts discussing it. It was as if it had never existed.
“How is this possible?” he muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine. His mind raced with possibilities. Could the merger of his world with the one he created have erased it? Did the story itself alter reality in such a way that the novel never came to be?
"Wait... If it's removed from the internet, does that mean it's been removed from people's memories too?" Jaemin wondered.
Jaemin quickly called one of his old friends and asked if he knew anything about the novel, but even his friend denied ever hearing or seeing the name of the novel, let alone reading it.
"Maybe it's for the better now that I'm the only one who knows what will happen in the future, or maybe even that is altered now. Surely, the being who merged the worlds wanted entertainment, but if I had complete knowledge of the future, it would get quite boring for him," Jaemin thought.
After sighing for a while, Jaemin went back to Google and continued his investigation.
"As expected, most people haven't awakened their powers, and even if they had, I wouldn't want to recklessly intervene and cause butterfly effects," Jaemin said.
After researching for a while, Jaemin finally put down his phone and decided to rest.