Chapter Text
The Pungsan Ryu clan was having their annual get-together when the world went to hell. Pools of energy that could only be described as portals opened up in the sky, bringing hordes of monsters from other dimensions.
Ryu Gunwoo immortalized the very moment a giant bat creature set the clan villa on fire with his newly gifted DSLR camera. He had been by himself outside, using taking pictures of the stunning lakeside scenery as an excuse to avoid social interactions with his extended family — the very one he had to watch in horror as they burned down with the building.
There was only one other survivor. His cousin, a seventeen year old Ryu Chungwoo, burst out of the ceiling with a powerful gust of wind. With tears in his eyes and ash on his cheeks, he summoned a hail of arrows made of concentrated breeze and sniped every monster within a kilometer radius.
Despite awakening as what later classified an S-Class hunter, the damage had already been done. The tragedy left unawakened Ryu Gunwoo sole custody over his overpowered cousin, alone to navigate a changed world that would never be the same as it was before.
Gone was his idle days spent studying for the civil servant exams. After his parents' death years ago on the way to their expedition, Ryu Gunwoo had become a solitary creature. To suddenly care for another being besides himself was something entirely foreign to him.
Having the legal claim to the inheritance of everyone who perished in the fire, the two remaining members of the Pungsan Ryu clan did not have to worry financially. Gunwoo sold off everything he couldn’t take care of and bought a new apartment for two in an area the government assured was one of the more fortified parts of Seoul.
Meanwhile, Chungwoo made national news — which wasn't anything new for him, but it was his first time back in the spotlight since winning South Korea a gold medal for archery in the last Olympics. His high rank hunter status bolstered his reputation even more to become the pride of South Korea.
It wasn’t easy fending off the opportunistic leeches swarming his earnest little cousin. Gunwoo fought tooth and nail and pulled every trick in the book to ensure only people with good intentions surrounded Chungwoo. Together, they founded the Testar Guild. Chungwoo got all the credit and became the youngest guildmaster in South Korea, while Gunwoo stayed in the shadows just as how he liked it. The spotlight never suited him anyway.
The gossip rags framed him as Chungwoo’s slimy cousin, a mere unawakened getting free money from the hard work of Testar’s employed hunters. Gunwoo ignored the poor journalism and went on with his life. The tiniest bit of research to Testar’s official website would make it known that Gunwoo was listed as the guild’s official salaried photographer. Well, he picks his hours and chooses only the projects he wants to do, but that’s just the perks of being an unofficial founder.
Chungwoo tried to accompany him whenever he was free, but those occasions were few and far in between. For Gunwoo’s safety, Chungwoo ended up assigning him a guard. Ha Iljoon was only a B-Rank, but he had great defensive skills. Gunwoo took advantage of his loyalty and strung him along his often high-risk excursions. There’s just some stones Gunwoo couldn’t help but turn, or a battle too picturesque to ignore.
His photos were a work of art. The experience of countless hours filming idols transferred well to immortalizing hunters in action. Gunwoo knew the angles to capture lighting just right, how to make the most striking compositions, or even the ideal shutter speed to make their movement look as artistic as possible. That’s just Concert Photo Taking 101.
For most cases, he relented to Iljoon’s pleas and shot his pictures from far away. With a long-range lens and a steady tripod, he would camp behind a tall building window just outside of the fight’s blast range, Iljoon by his side ready at any time to put up a shield.
It was on the way home from one of these excursions that Gunwoo awakened. It was the third anniversary of the Dungeon Shock and the tragedy that befallen his family because of it — a day when he felt more nihilistic than usual, enough to take risks and get drunk. A tipsy topple into Han River with a panicked Iljoon taking a bit too long to save him from drowning was enough for the system to realize him… as an F-Rank.
“Honestly, hyung,” a relieved Iljoon said on his hospital bedside, “you’re so cool that I thought you’d be an S-Rank like Chungwoo for sure.”
“Hm,” Gunwoo acknowledged, but all his attention was on the system window opened in front of him.
Awakened
Ryu Gunwoo (F)Character Level: 1
Stamina: 4
Strength: 5
Agility: 4
Mentality: 6
Mana: 2
Initial Skills:
- Mentality Up (E) Increases target’s mentality stat by 5% for 30 minutes.
- Agility Up (E) Increases target’s agility stat by 5% for 30 minutes.
Titles:
Spotlight Observer (L)
↳ Skills:
- Star Sponsor (L) Boosts growth rate of the target under your wing upon hearing the keyword. Duration: 3 days.
- Look at My Pick (SS) Temporarily boosts one or more target’s abilities by using the keyword in front of five or more people. The larger the audience size, the stronger the buff. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 10 days.
- Promising Trainee (S) Reveals an unawakened’s potential awakening rank (passive). Ability to trigger optimized awakening for keyword-influenced targets. Cooldown: 30 days.
- The Show Must Go On (L) Upon the death of the keyword-influenced target, transfers all skills and abilities at twice the strength. Duration: 7 days.
Infinite Potential (L)
↳ Skills:
- Poison Resistance (L) A standard resistance skill. Nullifies poisons from sources less than Legendary rank.
- Fear Resistance (L) A standard resistance skill. Nullifies feelings of extreme fear from sources less than Legendary rank. Increases mental fortitude.
- Curse Resistance (L) A standard resistance skill. Nullifies curses from sources less than Legendary rank.
- Catch-All Ears (A) +200% the ability to parse out information.
- Yearly Evaluations (L) Unlocks personal missions with clear rewards equivalent to the difficulty given.
[Mission I (L): Collect seven keyword-influenced S-Ranks under your wing. Time remaining: 365 days. Failure penalty: Death.]
Gunwoo’s eye twitched in rage.
“What the fuck.”