Prologue: The Misfit
I often thought about it.
If I had been born in the Three Kingdoms era,
I would have become someone like Guan Yu.
or maybe like Zhang Fei, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, or Lü Bu,
and my name would have echoed across the world.
But unfortunately…
I was born in this peaceful modern society.
“That bastard! That bastard hit our son! Look at his face, it’s all messed up! That bastard should be locked up and fed prison food!”
Back in elementary school, I beat up middle schoolers. In middle school, I beat up high schoolers. And in high school, I ruled over an entire region, earning the infamous title of [Bully Hunter].
Even thugs who strutted around with their shoulders squared, and even gangsters backed by big corporations, wouldn’t dare mess with me.
Especially after I single-handedly took down 40 gangsters who had set a trap for me in my second year of high school. Since then, even the cocky old men wouldn’t dare run their mouths in front of me.
As I left the police station without charges, Se-min, a combat police officer I knew, called out to me.
“Hey! General!”
“Ah, please don’t call me that.”
“Then what should I call a general if not a general? A misfit?”
Tsk tsk.
I clenched my fists as he clicked his tongue, but I held back. No matter how strong I was, I wasn’t stupid enough to mess with a combat police officer. Combat police officers, who can summon Gigas, are war machines that can only earn certification after mastering their combat abilities. No matter how well I fought, they weren’t beings I could take on bare-handed.
“Why are you living such a troublesome life? You could have just let it slide. Sure, you’re getting away with it this time because you’re still a minor, but this won’t go on forever.”
“So, you’re telling me to grovel and beg for forgiveness?”
“That’s not what I’m saying, you idiot! Ugh… This kid. There’s nothing to gain from living like this.”
“Who says there’s nothing to gain?”
I replied grumpily, even though I knew he was speaking out of concern for me.
Because right outside the police station…
“Bro! I was worried about you!”
“See! I told you it was Self-Defense, and that I’d be cleared of charges!”
“Oppa, Jaeyeon~! Congrats on your release!”
“You airhead, this isn’t a release, you know that, right?”
My friends were cheering for me in the police station parking lot.
I smiled.
“I’ve got my friends.”
“…Well.”
Se-min gave a bitter smile, but I didn’t understand the meaning behind it.
I continued through high school.
“Oh, sorry! I have to go to cram school.”
Graduated.
“It’s a shame. We won’t be seeing each other as often now.”
“Well, Jaeyeon was never the studying type, anyway.”
“But Jaeyeon will do great no matter what he does!”
Entered university.
“What the hell? Is he a gangster? Why didn’t they just call the cops instead of fighting like that?”
“Unfortunately, with these grades, you won’t be able to get into the Police Academy.”
And then.
“Transfer to a military academy? Sorry, but they don’t accept rebels like you.”
“It was all ruled as self-defense.”
Tsk tsk. “Do you really think that just because the charges were dropped, no record remains?”
And then.
“Your sensitivity score is way too low. With these numbers, you’ll never be able to go beyond the beginner level in any supernatural ability. You must’ve known this since you were young, but you didn’t study or learn any skills?”
“Oh, sorry. With these grades, it’s just…”
“Why the scowl? What, are you some thug?”
Only after becoming an adult, a member of society…
“I’m sorry.”
“It’ll be difficult.”
- Thank you for applying to our company. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that, unfortunately, we will not be able to move forward with your application at this time.
And then.
Finally, I understood what Se-min had been trying to tell me.
I am not a hero admired and loved by everyone. I’m certainly not a strongman that even gangsters bow down to.
I’m neither a good son nor a friend to be proud of.
I’m just a misfit.
With an overwhelming sense of self-worth, I couldn’t become a cog in society. I never bowed my head, and if anyone crossed the line, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw punches.
Back in middle and high school, I was a legendary figure known as the [Bully Hunter].
But now?
Now that I’ve graduated from university, I can’t even hold down a proper part-time job.
“Ah, that crazy bastard is finally being discharged.”
“Isn’t he the guy who headbutted the captain? Our captain was way too kind to let him off.”
“That loser.”
“Thank God he didn’t awaken any abilities. Can you imagine the trouble he would’ve caused?”
“What age do we live in where people are still throwing punches? Are you a martial artist or something?”
Now, I understand.
In middle and high school, I was just a thug who used his fists.
In university, I barely scraped by at a third-rate college.
And in the military, I was a troublemaker who constantly disobeyed orders.
“…Se-min was right.”
A misfit.
There are people who say I’m extraordinary, and maybe they’re somewhat right, but… my talents and abilities just didn’t fit into modern society.
In the end, all that’s left for me is regret.
“If only I had been born during the Three Kingdoms era…”
I would have been someone like Guan Yu.
or like Zhang Fei, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, or Lü Bu, and my name would have echoed across the land.
“Time for sleep!”
I laid down in the sleep capsule.
Tomorrow is my discharge day, but I felt no joy. I knew that once I walked out into society with my discharge papers, I would still be a useless, redundant person.
And as I fell asleep…
I found myself.
In another world.
“Let the peasant hunt begin!”
“Wahahahaha!”
“One point for a child’s head! Two points for a woman’s head! Three points for a man’s head!”
For a moment,
Don’t laugh at me for thinking I had entered the world of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I had been thinking about it every day as my discharge date approached, so it wasn’t entirely surprising.
Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize that wasn’t the case.
Everyone around me was white.
“P-Please spare me, my lord! I-I’ll do whatever you ask, just please…”
Swoosh!
A man in ornate Armor beheaded the woman who had been begging for her life.
“Ah…”
I stood there, staring blankly.
Her head rolled on the ground, blood spurting into the air with tremendous force.
All of it burned into my retinas in slow motion.
“They called it… a peasant hunt.”
It wasn’t just that there were peasants and nobles.
They were hunting peasants.
Those four words alone were enough to give me an idea of what kind of world this was.
How barbaric and brutal this world was.
“Ha ha! Die!”
“Don’t just stand there like idiots! Run for your lives!”
Young men and women in shining Armor were slaughtering the fleeing people, their screams echoing.
Arms and legs flying, heads rolling on the ground, entrails spilling…
If it had been anyone else in this situation, they would have panicked.
They wouldn’t have been able to accept reality and would have wasted precious time.
But instead of panicking, I reached for a large rock near a pillar.
“Alright.”
The rock was heavy for its size—probably a foundation stone.
I wrapped it in my shabby clothes (at some point, I had found myself wearing tattered rags).
“Ha ha! A strong man! That’s three points! Oh, and his hair is black!”
A blonde Westerner riding a massive horse charged toward me.
Thump, thump!
My heart pounded furiously.
I could feel the blood rushing through my veins, like arrows shooting through my body.
With the rock wrapped in my clothes, I stared straight at the [enemy] charging toward me.
He was on horseback, so his viewpoint was higher.
His center of gravity was on his right foot, pushing into the stirrup.
His sword probably weighed 1-2 kilograms, and the horse was running at a speed of around 40 kilometers per hour.
His body was well-trained, but his sword didn’t carry any aura or energy.
“Perfect.”
I assessed everything in a single glance.
As he swung his sword, I ducked down.
“Oh, where are you going?”
He leaned in further to slash at me, and at that moment, his center of gravity completely shifted!
I raised the stone, still wrapped in my clothes.
Crack!
“Huh?”
The sword slammed into the rock with a heavy thud.
The man in armor was shocked and tried to pull his sword free, but when I let go of the rock, its weight threw him off balance.
I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“W-wait, what?”
As his center of gravity shifted even further, his posture collapsed entirely. If he had at least let go of the sword, he might have been fine, but since he didn’t, his body was pulled off the horse without resistance.
Thud!
He tried to roll and break his fall, and the movement was fairly skilled, but he failed.
I yanked on his arm, disrupting his attempt.
“N-no…”
His mouth hung open as his head collided with the ground, and his skull slammed into his own back.
Crunch!
There was no need to check, he was dead on impact.
“Neigh!”
The startled horse stopped in its tracks, but I just stared blankly at the Armoured man lying on the ground.
“He’s… dead.”
I had killed someone with my own hands.
It was a literal catastrophe. In modern society, this would be an unforgivable crime, one that would lock me in prison for a long time—maybe even forever.
But…
Thump! Thump! Thump…
I felt my wildly beating heart start to calm down as I pulled the sword free from the stone.
The blade was slightly damaged, but it seemed usable.
“Aaah! P-please spare me… urk!”
“Hey! I chopped that arm off! Are you trying to steal my kill?”
“The Killing is mine! That’s three points!”
The quiet, peaceful village in the mountains had turned into a living hell.
There were over a hundred villagers, but only eight armoured men and women, and yet they were rampaging like lions in a flock of sheep.
“Haha.”
I once wished I had been born during the Three Kingdoms era.
If I had, I would have become someone like Guan Yu.
I would have become someone like Lü Bu.
A legendary warrior whose name would echo across the land.
“Alright.”
I picked up the sword and began to circle the outskirts of the village.
It was time to prove the delusions I had harboured in my heart all my life.
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