Episode 1. Mom Said
Mom said.
If you get into a good university, you'll get a girlfriend.
I really studied hard and got into the best university in Korea.
And into the History department, where I thought there'd be a lot of girls...
But it didn't happen.
Mom spoke again.
If a man has ability, women will come on their own.
When I was in the army.
When I was revealed to be an Awakened during the Awakened screening test.
My hopes were shattered into pieces at the lowest evaluation of F-Rank.
Even if an F-Rank got stronger, they could only reach level 20 as an Awakened.
On top of that, among F-Ranks, I didn't even get a decent job class like Appraiser or Blacksmith—I got the job called "Butcher."
The happy fantasy of having a girlfriend and walking hand-in-hand into a wedding hall ended right then and there.
And then, an incident erupted.
During the mandatory service period set by the government.
The day Sindae, who had raised his level to 10 in the army, first entered a dungeon as a porter.
Seeing the orc hunted by A-Rank Awakened Gim Huiju of a large guild, his unique skill [Gluttony] reacted, and without realizing it, he licked his lips at the sight of the orc's thigh meat.
'If I sliced it into sashimi, it would probably taste good....'
When he came to his senses, Sindae was thinly slicing the orc's thigh meat with a greatsword and placing it in his mouth, savoring it.
The astonishing message before his eyes was fleeting. Sindae, eating orc thigh sashimi, locked eyes with Gim Huiju, who was staring at him like she was about to vomit.
"Y... y... you didn't just... e... eat that?"
[Skill 'Gluttony' has reacted. Strength has increased by 1.]
"Uhm... Sindae, no matter how you look at it, that appearance is..."
"W... why did you eat that....."
"But don't you die instantly from eating monster meat because of the toxicity?"
"No... it's my skill...."
Unlike the pleasant message that appeared before his eyes when he took a bite of the thinly sliced orc thigh meat, the gazes of those around him were filled with disgust.
Sindae felt it was unfair.
His skill. 'Gluttony' was like this.
'No, it's my only skill, what do you want me to do about it....'
[Skill: Gluttony. Unique Grade.]
[When you eat the meat of a butchered target, stats increase randomly depending on the target.]
Common
Rare
Heroic
Legendary
Unique
An F-Rank Awakened, yet strangely possessing a skill of the highest grade, Unique—Sindae.
"So my skill is...."
"D... don't say it..."
"Ugh... look at the orc blood dripping from his mouth...."
"............."
Although he tried to explain to clear up the misunderstanding, Sindae, receiving gazes full of disgust from everyone, could only hang his head.
From that day, classified as a flagged soldier during his mandatory service, he couldn't even enter a dungeon and only carried supplies in the rear.
And on the day of his discharge.
Sindae made a decision.
That he would never work as a Hunter again.
That he would return to school, focus on his studies, get a job, and live a normal life!
***
"Uhm, S... Senior Bak Sindae?"
"Yes?"
Korea University in Seoul.
Sindae, who had returned to school, looked at Hyeyeon, a student council member from the same department who was talking to him, and tried to smile naturally.
'Didn't a book say that a smile makes a person's face?'
"Eek! D... did I do something wrong?"
Even though he had clearly shown a smile, Hyeyeon was frightened out of her wits.
On his rugged face, a smile was not much different from a scowl.
"Uhm... no... y... you're going to cry?"
"Wow... incredible... what did Hyeyeon do wrong to get bullied into crying?"
"Who is that senior really? He looks like an ogre?"
"Haven't you heard? That senior is supposedly a North Korean operative."
'What's an ogre, and what's a North Korean operative....'
Sindae had guessed that groundless rumors about him were circulating.
When he took a candy from his pocket and offered it to Hyeyeon, who was tearing up in front of him, she looked surprised, her eyes going wide.
"Eat this and calm down, then tell me what you were trying to say."
"Ah... t... thank you. And I'm sorry."
Watching Hyeyeon scurry off to where her friends were gathered, Sindae let out a sigh.
'Sigh... should I drop out?'
Sindae wondered if he should just drop out and help with the family butcher shop that had been passed down for generations.
At the sight of the popular kids chatting and laughing outside the window, another sigh escaped him.
"Gayeon? But don't you have a boyfriend?"
"A boyfriend? ...I don't even have time to meet guys."
'G... Gayeon didn't have a boyfriend yet!'
O Gayeon.
A freshman this year, a junior who, according to rumors, had distinguished herself as an Awakened since high school and was even known to belong to a large guild.
Long, straight black hair and a pure face.
On the first day of classes after returning to school, when he saw her, Sindae thought he had met his ideal type.
"Sigh.... If you don't, what are you going to do...."
The right corner of the very front row.
Would she even glance at him, sitting in the typical loner seat, when she was comparable to a Korean celebrity, beyond just being one of the popular kids?
Sindae could bet that rather than looking at him, she would only look at the blackboard in front of him.
"Hey, still, tell me! This unni will take responsibility and introduce you to someone!"
"Hmm..... If I had to choose, an Awakened stronger than me?"
"Huh? Aren't you... an A-Rank Awakened?"
'An Awakened stronger than Gayeon!?'
Bang!
Overcome with excitement at the hope, Sindae unknowingly punched his desk, and the classroom fell dead silent.
"Hey.... why is the ogre doing that?"
"W... were we too loud?"
"Eek... a... are we all going to die to a North Korean operative?!"
The students, startled by Sindae's sudden action, whispered among themselves. Sindae barely managed to calm his face, flushed with shame.
'An Awakened stronger than her....'
From what he heard, O Gayeon's awakening rank was A-Rank.
Even at her strongest, the maximum level an A-Rank could reach was 100.
In other words, she could only obtain the stats of level 100.
In comparison, Sindae was the lowest rank, F-Rank.
But he recalled his only skill, [Gluttony].
'I have to butcher and eat monsters, but this has potential.'
Although it raised stats randomly, Sindae had confirmed that eating orc thigh meat sashimi had raised his Strength by 1.
However, since it was a Unique-grade skill, he thought there would be no limit to stat increases.
***
After class, Sindae hurriedly opened his phone and accessed the 'Hunter Market'.
'They must sell it.....'
Sindae scrolled through various miscellaneous items.
He soon found what he was looking for and grinned.
[Minotaur meat for sale.]
[Pyro Pig meat for sale.]
[Yeti meat for sale~]
"As expected, they sell it!"
Aside from the mana stones obtained from hunting monsters, their carcasses were used for alchemy and various other purposes, so of course, monster meat was being sold on the 'Hunter Market'.
'Let's see, the prices are....'
Most items, including mana stones from dungeons, fetched hundreds of millions of won, so Sindae checked the meat prices with some worry, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.
[Minotaur meat. 100,000 won per 100g.]
[Honestly, I don't know who would buy it, but Pyro Pig meat is 50,000 won per 100g.]
[I'll give the hide to whoever buys the yeti meat. It's absolutely not because it's a hassle to process.]
"They're all 3-star or higher monsters, and it doesn't even exceed 1 million won?"
Even more absurd was the market post saying they'd give away the hide of a 5-star yeti if someone just bought the meat.
Sindae pondered for a moment before a scoffing laugh escaped him.
'Well, who would buy meat that you can't eat and can't use for alchemy?'
Still, those who posted them on the Hunter Market were clearly either collectors with strange hobbies or people who posted because the meat was difficult to dispose of.
Sindae looked around a bit longer to see if there was any other meat.
Finding no other monster carcasses, he purchased all three meats.
***
Two days later.
Looking at the meat delivered to his studio apartment, a grin spread across Sindae's face.
"Let's see, shall I taste test the Minotaur meat first?"
500 grams of Minotaur meat arrived as one large chunk.
Using a butcher knife he brought from home, he began slicing the meat for bulgogi, and saliva began to pool in his mouth.
'The skill is activating!'
Realizing that [Gluttony] was activating from the way saliva began to pool in his mouth, just like the first time he had used the skill.
Soon, a pleasant message appeared before his eyes, turning Sindae's thoughts into certainty.
[Minotaur hanger steak has been successfully butchered.]
[Gluttony's activation conditions have been met.]
'Rather than eating it raw, let's try making bulgogi at least.'
Since he had already sliced it for bulgogi, Sindae marinated the meat in prepared seasoning and tried grilling it immediately.
With a sizzling sound, thinking the meat was cooked enough, Sindae put it in his mouth and couldn't help but grimace.
'Why is this so fishy.....'
[Skill 'Gluttony' has reacted. Strength has increased by 3.]
Contrary to the pleasant message stating that his stat, Strength, had risen by as many as 3 points, Sindae frowned at the fishy taste.
Next, Sindae tried the Pyro Pig and Yeti meat.
He confirmed the astonishing results: Agility increased by 4 from the Pyro Pig, and Stamina increased by 5 from the Yeti meat.
'Wait, could this be....'
Sindae felt puzzled that the stats increased differed for each meat.
Checking the increased stats once more, his eyes went wide in surprise.
"Could it be that the stats gained differ based on the dungeon's rank?!"
The orc he had first eaten was a 1-star monster.
Just as his Strength had risen by 1 from that orc, he experienced the astonishing situation where the meat he had just consumed also raised his stats according to the rank of the dungeon the monsters were from.
"Then this is completely broken!"
You get 10 stat points every time you level up.
However, in Sindae's case, it was a stat gain obtainable by eating just two different 5-star monsters.
'It's random, but there's nothing to worry about at all.'
Since the stats rose randomly, he couldn't raise them in the direction he wanted, but it didn't matter.
Dungeons were overflowing not just across the nation, but across the entire world.
Sindae let out a scoffing laugh at his own cheat-like ability.
Looking at the remaining Minotaur meat, he suddenly thought of something and opened his eyes wide.
"Wait, if I use that method, wouldn't it make it somewhat edible?"