Translator: Nox
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The S-Class Hunter Declared Dead
Chimera Hunter_17.
He didn’t remember his own name. His brain had been damaged from countless experiments.
The only thing he vaguely recalled was being kidnapped at the age of nine.
Whenever the spell engraved into his body wasn’t active, he would often sit blankly, motionless.
“Hey, isn’t that guy’s arm rotting? Looks like a side effect of the experiment.”
“Leave him. He’s going to be discarded soon anyway. Let’s not bother.”
Even as the researchers said such things right in front of him, Number 17 didn’t react.
He could understand their words, but he no longer had the capacity to comprehend the situation or think it through.
“Number 17 is done for. His body is too far gone.”
“How long does he have left?”
“A month at most.”
“Then send him into the next Gate-sealing operation. Have him guard the rear while the Hunters retreat.”
And so, Number 17 was deployed to a Gate.
The last one remaining, holding off monsters with his broken body. In the end, he had defeated over 1,800 of them.
“Fall back! Everyone, retreat into the Gate!”
As the last Hunter crossed through, Number 17 stopped fighting.
‘Retreat route secured… mission complete.’
That was the last coherent thought he had. Even as his body melted away in the acid spit by a monster, he didn’t resist.
The mission was over, and he had no reason to keep moving.
He had been used as a mindless mercenary Hunter for decades.
Thus, Number 17 was declared dead, and all records of him were erased.
* * *
A rocky mountain in the demon realm, where Number 17 had died.
A fragment of bone lying on the ground began to twitch.
From that point, his body rapidly began to regenerate.
Bones formed, muscles wrapped around them, nerves connected, and flesh began to grow.
Flawless skin covered his entire body, and every strand of hair regrew until he looked completely human.
‘What the hell…?’
Revived, Number 17 looked around with a puzzled expression.
His vision was clear. His mind was sharp. It was the clearest he had felt since his brain was destroyed.
He looked down at his body.
The skin that had once been festering from experimental side effects had returned to normal. The fur and scales that had once covered him were gone.
It was a phenomenon he had never experienced before—but instinctively, he knew the reason.
“A regeneration-type monster’s ability.”
A monster that could revive up to three times unless its core was destroyed.
Among the cells implanted in him, there had been some from regeneration-type monsters. Cells previously deemed incompatible with humans had awakened in his body.
“The lab researchers… must’ve just pulled out.”
They hadn’t known he had revived. They hadn’t even known he’d been implanted with such cells.
He had been used as an experiment for 70 years. Over that time, countless researchers had come and gone.
As a result, his body now contained the cells of hundreds of different monsters.
The problem was, it had all happened in an illegal lab.
Most of the research data had been lost due to poor management, and the experiments were simply passed down from one young researcher to the next.
At this point, no one really understood his condition anymore.
Realizing this, he reached up and touched his face.
“A human face…”
The face of a man in his twenties—before his body had turned monstrous from all the forced experiments.
‘My body’s back to its prime. Is that just how these regeneration monsters work?’
Or maybe it was a special reaction caused by the cocktail of cells inside him.
Either way, it wasn’t a bad thing. Even his damaged brain had recovered, and his ability to think clearly had returned.
So, what now? He paused to think.
The first thought that came to mind was revenge—but that passed after just three seconds.
‘You need a target in front of you to take revenge.’
But this was inside a Gate—a place where no people lived. Crying for revenge in a place like this meant nothing.
More than that, he didn’t even feel the anger needed for revenge.
His real age was 79.
His vivid memories only extended to his mid-twenties.
After that, his brain had deteriorated, and his memories became fuzzy.
He could recall the things he had experienced, but they were like images blurred behind fog.
It was like trying to remember something too old, faded by time.
“It feels like something from decades ago.”
Because of that, he felt little emotion. That’s why he hadn’t been consumed by rage.
‘Besides, I can’t even return to the human world right now. If I come across them someday, I’ll deal with it then.’
For now, he just wanted to try living again.
“Number 17 was just a label the lab gave me. What was my real name…?”
Having lived for decades with a broken brain, it didn’t come to him immediately.
“Cheon… Cheon Do-yoon. Yeah, that’s it.”
A name given by the orphanage director, meaning “Live helping a thousand people.”
[Do-yoon, you’ve got a rough edge to you—try to help others. This name’s meant to remind you to do that.]
He recalled the words the director had said while renaming him. Cheon Do-yoon chuckled at the memory.
“Bullshit.”
He was an orphan from the slums. Back then, he could barely take care of himself, let alone help others.
“Well then… this time around, I’d like to live like a real person. First things first… I need clothes.”
He looked down at his body.
No one was watching, but walking around naked felt too animalistic.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve worn clothes.”
Back when his body was a mess of chimeric mutations—fins on his back, fur all over—he couldn’t wear anything.
“There’s no way I’ll find clothes in the demon realm. Guess I’ll have to make them.”
Why not? He could figure something out. Grinning, he chuckled.
* * *
A world destroyed when the Gates opened.
Cities were rebuilt, but the old civilization was never fully restored. In this changed world, Hunters evolved the most.
Natural Awakeners—those who awakened powers naturally.
Chimera Hunters—synthetic lifeforms created in research labs.
Both fought monsters, but the latter were treated more like weapons than people.
Criminals on death row, animal corpses, minerals from inside Gates…
Chimera Hunters were created from such materials.
And some, like Cheon Do-yoon, had been kidnapped and forcibly turned into chimeras while still alive.
That’s why he was determined to live like a real human in this life.
But this was a dimension beyond the Gate.
In a world without civilization, everything had to be self-supplied.
“Making clothes is harder than I thought.”
At present, he had twisted together leaves and vines to barely cover his private parts.
Though he’d boldly claimed he’d make clothes, the lack of materials and tools made it nearly impossible.
As he walked and pondered how to get proper clothing, he came across a river.
There, the corpse of a monster lay slumped over.
“A territorial fight? No wounds… maybe it died from poison.”
The monster’s body was drenched in sticky poison.
It had tried to wash it off in the river but failed—and died.
Cheon Do-yoon inspected the monster and smirked.
“If I wash off the poison, the hide looks usable.”
The monster was around two meters long, its body round like a ball. Its shape was simple, so skinning it looked easy.
He reached out his hand. His fingers fused together and extended like blades.
After sizing up the angle, he began skinning the monster.
Shhrrip.
Sticky venom seeped out, but he didn’t mind.
He carried the same venom in his own body—no harm done.
“All done. Not bad for a first job.”
He dipped the hide in the river.
He scrubbed the poisoned fur clean and then pounded the back with a smooth rock. It was his version of tanning.
Crude, but effective.
After repeating it dozens of times, the tough hide became supple enough to wear.
Most of the venom was washed out, and the fur softened.
With materials secured, it was time to craft.
Of course, he couldn’t make anything complex like shirts or pants with no tools.
‘The poison’s still a problem. Even after washing, it’s soaked into the hide…’
He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged.
“I’ll just wear it.”
A carefree conclusion. Since the venom didn’t affect him, there was no problem.
He poked a hole in the center of the pelt and slipped it over his head like a poncho.
It draped down to his knees, covering him front and back.
“If I tie a belt around my waist, the sides will stay closed.”
He twisted a vine into a rope and tied it around his waist, securing the pelt.
That’s when he felt a gaze.
Looking down, he met the eyes of the skinned monster. It was slowly blinking, staring at him.
“…You’re not dead?”
It definitely had been.
The whole time he was skinning it, the body had been cold and stiff.
Cheon Do-yoon stared at it in interest.
“So you’re a regeneration-type monster too.”
A monster that revived up to three times unless its core was destroyed.
He laughed.
“You revived because I removed the venom-soaked hide.”
Had he left it, the poison would’ve seeped into the core and killed it for real.
But thanks to Cheon Do-yoon showing up when he did, it was saved.
The monster silently stared at him—as if understanding everything.
