Illusion Hunter in Another World
Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Reincarnation (生)
{Prologue}
Is there anyone who hates money?
I love it, for one.
Whether it’s on Earth or back in my hometown, money’s always had a sort of magic to it.
People can’t live without it, so I’ve always worked hard to earn it.
That’s all I’ve done.
“Excuse me, may I ask you a question?”
“This is reporter Lee Ji-young from YTV. Is it true that you single-handedly resolved an A-class gate?”
“Reporters, it’s dangerous here. Please don’t push your way in and step back!”
However, as I relentlessly pursued money, fame followed me at some point.
Wealth is the proof of success, after all.
Modern people are always eager to discover the secret to success.
“Is it true that you subdued an S-class hunter during the last dungeon break? Have you manipulated or concealed your awakening level?”
“Why did you cheat on your awakening test?”
“Please answer!”
I looked at the sea of reporters around me, their eyes a mix of expectation, jealousy, and rabid curiosity. All good stuff.
But…
I have a small secret.
“Expectations for national safety are rising with the appearance of a new high-ranking awakener. Do you have any plans for the future?”
The truth is, making money from this damn hunter job was pure coincidence.
I didn’t get here because of my abilities, as these people think…It was dumb luck and a bit of bluffing that brought me this far.
Yeah.
To say it bluntly, I’m a fraud.
I don’t even understand most of the questions these reporters are hurling at me.
“Plans? You’re asking about my plans?”
I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding if I could.
But…it’s too late now.
Too many irreversible things have already happened.
“Would things have turned out like this if I had plans?”
“What?”
“Ah, not that. What I mean is, what I’ll do from now on.”
What would happen if it were revealed that I’m actually on the same level as an F-class?
The S-class hunter who was subdued by me would probably blow my head off, right?
Would that No. 1 guy, who became my enemy after entering a gate together, leave me alone?
“Hmm.”
But whether people continue to be deceived or not, dying as a hunter is inevitable.
“No comment.”
Weighing all possible futures, I finally settled on those two words.
As soon as my answer was out, the sound of camera shutters filled the air.
The reporters continued to throw questions, but I had no more answers to give.
Regardless of what the headlines say tomorrow, I’m doomed either way.
“No comment, you human bastards.”
Whether it’s revealed that I’ve been hiding my true power!
Or that I’m a waste of an ability user!
I won’t live long on this rotten planet.
When the strobe light on the reporter’s camera flashed, I closed my eyes tightly and sank into memories of my past.
I wanted to pinpoint where my once-promising new life went wrong.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
Chapter 1: My Past Life
Until recently, I was a resident of a binary star system.
Alpha Uri was my home planet, and I had a pretty significant role there.
But does that even matter now? What’s really important is that one day, I had thought this:
[I should quit this lousy job.]
Do you know the kind of treatment I received here?
This job is considered a form of social service, so it’s unpaid even if I work till death. I’ve been clocking in every day for 640 days a year, and ever since advancements in technology eliminated the need for sleep, I was doing overtime like it was breathing.
[Damn it.]
Of course, I’m frustrated.
Anyway, I’ve decided to quit my job.
However, there are a few obstacles to overcome before I can retire.
First, this isn’t a job you can just quit at will. The higher-ups have put restrictions in place to prevent me from messing up the work.
If I attempt teleportation magic, I’d receive an electric shock to the brain.
Even if I manage to leave the workplace, every place I could go to is already under the rulers’ control, leaving me nowhere to hide.
I’ve even considered killing my boss, but I’m programmed not to harm anyone from my own planet.
[That even includes myself, so suicide is difficult.]
I spent a long time brainstorming various ways to retire.
During this process, I’ve noticed that our homeland’s magical technology still can’t manipulate ‘souls.’
[Yes, let’s see. Even if magical science has advanced, no one has managed to decipher the soul yet. It’s natural that you can’t cast magic on a concept you don’t understand.]
According to this logic, my restrictions are strictly tied to my ‘body’…
Upon thinking this far, I reached an epiphany.
[Then, could my soul could break free…?]
It’s been exactly ten years since that thought crossed my mind.
Finally, after a decade, I’ve completed a unique magical spell in a highly advanced magical civilization, a realm no one else has reached.
「Manipulation of the Soul…」
Driven by my obsession to quit my job, I planned to settle my soul on a distant planet that no one could reach.
In other words, it’s the first historical reincarnation.
[I did it. I did it! I’m a genius after all!]
As soon as the spell was completed, I activated it without hesitation.
And just as the magical energy I’d been accumulating for ten years began to form a new array in the cave,
[!!!!]
The administrators finally realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
Finally, I’m leaving this damn place!
Filled with ecstasy, I spread my two tentacles wide and shouted.
[You nerds! Good luck running this dumpster fire of a planet without me! Hahaha!]
Then a dazzling light engulfed my body.
Victory. Sweet, sweet victory.
Call it an escape, call it retirement—I don’t care. I’m finally free!
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
How long has it been since the light since the light consumed me?
When finally I came to, I instinctively opened a pair of heavy leathery eyelids.
“Um…”
The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was a dim ceiling.
Then a wall covered in a mess of floral patterns.
I looked around, but there were no signs of life, just wall after wall in an incredibly cramped room.
What is this disgusting place?
I tried moving and noticed something long and slender at my side. Upon closer inspection, it was a mass of protein that formed an arm—complete with five fingers.
I guess it worked?
I spent a few moments getting used to my new body, groping things here and there. Not that I was worried.
I might worry about how to survive if I were dropped alone on an alien planet, but I’m not an ordinary person. I was the most powerful wizard representing my home planet.
Would such a genius sorcerer be unprepared?
Heh, reincarnation’s got nothing on me.
Before activating the spell, I set several conditions.
Condition 1 was magical power.
I would reincarnate into a creature with the highest magical power on this planet.
Through this condition, naturally, the most intelligent species would be selected.
Wouldn’t have minded being a single cell, as long as I escaped that job…
I stood up, ready for the next phase.
“Ah ah ah~ Oh, hello, hello? Hello.”
I began speaking Korean fluently, thanks to the memories I’d siphoned from the corpse’s brain.
Even when the soul leaves the body upon death, the information stored in the brain and heart doesn’t dissipate easily.
Especially if the corpse is fresh.
Moving the body feels natural, and the language transition is smooth too.
However…
Why is this all there is?
A problem emerged during the testing process.
According to the plan, I should’ve inherited the memories so well that even the corpse’s parents would think I was their kid. Instead, I had random, disconnected memories.
But for some reason, I had no recollection of who the owner of this body was when they were alive.
Damn, what went wrong this time?
Even though magic is a discipline built on failures, this mistake felt particularly severe. I paused for a moment, considering my next steps.
“Ugh!”
I had no idea how much time I had left.
“Cough? Cough!”
Just a few seconds later, my newly inhabited body’s organs kicked back to life. I doubled over, gripped by intense pain in my abdomen. It felt like my insides had been shredded and soaked in acid.
“Damn!”
Figuring out the issue didn’t take long. Thanks to the shock from the intense pain, a shard of a memory flashed in my mind—this body had died from starvation.
“Starvation!”
The body I had reincarnated into had died of starvation. Of all the things…it was the type of body I wanted to avoid the most, second only to a rotten corpse.
Starvation leads to prolonged suffering before death, so the accumulated trauma is significant.
I wanted to fix everything magically, but I couldn’t cast any spells yet. My soul needed time to acclimate to this planet’s magical energy.
3,600 seconds.
I thought in terms of Earth’s time units and doubled over again.
“Ah!”
I didn’t even have the luxury to get lost in thought. The pain from the starved body was beyond imagination.
“No, this is too much…!”
In this situation, I couldn’t focus on anything. The priority was to silence the alarm bells ringing from my stomach.
It hurts so much! I could die from this! Again!
Decision made, I threw open the door and staggered out.
“Ugh, ugh.”
Gritting my teeth, I looked for a way out of the building. I needed to go outside to find something to eat, and fast.
Reviving the organs with magic should have restored some digestive power. I just need to put anything into my stomach.
But why was this body so hard to move? I had definitely absorbed the knowledge of how to walk, yet my legs felt incredibly heavy.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get outside, where I was captivated by my first glimpse of this world.
“Sunlight…?”
My home planet was dark and blue since the surface was primarily liquid and the starlight couldn’t penetrate it well. The atmosphere here was warm and dry, in stark contrast. I was momentarily overwhelmed by the dazzling sight, but much as I wanted to admire it, I didn’t have time.
Focus, focus.
Blinded by severe hunger, I rushed to find something—anything—to eat.
“Ahh!”
But a few minutes later, I faced a grim reality: there was absolutely nothing edible to eat.
Anywhere!
“What the!”
I couldn’t believe it—the whole place was a gray wasteland. The flat road was empty, with not even a bug or a blade of grass in sight. Just a bunch of colorful, four-wheeled hunks of metal lined up along the curb.
What kind of planet is this?! No wonder the previous guy starved!
The phrase “rapid urbanization leading to a decrease in greenery” suddenly popped into my head, but there was no time to interpret its meaning.
“Ugh.”
Drained of energy, I sank to the ground. Lowering my posture, I finally spotted a tiny bug near a tire, but…
It’s too small. Is it even worth eating?
It might take more energy to digest it.
As I was contemplating whether to eat the insect, a figure emerged from a distant, twisted alley. He had white, apricot-colored skin, walked on two legs, and wore a blue hat.
One of my kind.
I instantly knew he was a resident of this Earth.
The guy was short, barely taller than a car’s side mirror. He looked young.
A child.
The word naturally came to mind to describe him.
But what really grabbed my attention was what the child was holding: a soft plastic bag filled with a solid yellow substance, which he was happily eating.
“Ugh.”
What is that?
It’s food, right?
And it looks quite tasty… I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
“……?”
Did he notice me staring? The child quickened his pace, crossing the intersection.
Does he think I’m a strange person?
Should I go and snatch his food?
As I contemplated this morally questionable act, I discreetly followed the child and discovered a new twisted path filled with lush tall trees and flowers.
Plants!
But somehow, they didn’t look edible.
I had a feeling I was doing something very wrong right now…
Unfortunately, with incomplete memories, I had no choice. I decided it was better than stealing and took a step forward to gather the unknown plants.
Then suddenly,
Bang!
A loud noise came from the alley the child had walked into.
“Hmm?”
I quickly turned my head and went to check the source of the noise.
Paying attention to signs of danger is a characteristic shared by all animals.
As I entered the problematic alley, another horrifying scream filled the air.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
This scream didn’t sound like it came from the child who had entered the alley.
Then who?
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a human at all. It was a massive creature with red wings, beady black eyes, and a long pointed yellow beak.
“A bird?”
“Kyaaaak!”
So, to sum it up,
Today, I was reborn on a planet called Earth, where house-sized monster birds are apparently a thing.
Holy Fuck.