Initialization: A LitRPG Adventure (Master Hunter K Book 1) Read online

  Master Hunter K

  Book 1: Initialization

  From Hell

  Oppatranslations

  Oppatranslations, LLC.

  5110 Ravenna PL NE #201

  Seattle WA 98105, USA

  oppatranslations.com

  Translated from the Korean by Minsoo Kang.

  Edited by – Sahil Bansal, Jessie Raymond

  First published by Oppatranslations, LLC 2021

  © From Hell 2016

  English translation © Oppatranslations, LLC 2017

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  eBook

  ISBN: 978-0-9992957-4-8

  Send us feedback regarding any problems at [email protected]

  Our website for more novels by us https://www.oppatranslations.com/

  Join our newsletter for future release information Click Here

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 – Living Mannequin

  Chapter 2 – Greenskin Wildlands

  Chapter 3 – Black Market First Shopping

  Chapter 4 – Ahenna’s Forest

  Chapter 5 – Black Market Second Shopping

  Chapter 6 – Greysoul Cemetery

  Chapter 7 – Black Market Third Shopping

  Chapter 8 – Giant’s Canyon

  Chapter 9 – Black Market Fourth Shopping

  Chapter 10 – Kutan Desert

  Chapter 11 – Black Market Fifth Shopping

  Chapter 12 – Count Dimitri’s Castle Ruins

  Chapter 13 – Black Market Sixth Shopping

  Afterword

  Other Works by Oppatranslations

  Connect with Us

  LitRPG/Gamelit Communities

  Prologue

  “No...”

  Sungjin reached out toward the heaven, but strength had already left him. Somewhere, the Operator’s voice filled the air.

  [All players eliminated. Closing the Chapter.]

  Sungjin’s eyes dimmed as darkness creeped inward from the edge of his vision. Now that he faced imminent death, he had finally found peace.

  “I’ve had enough of violence. I’m glad it is finally over.”

  As he let the calm envelope him, Sungjin welcomed the approaching darkness of his death. Still, the Operator’s voice continued to reverberate in the background.

  [You have died.]

  [You were humanity’s very last surviving player.]

  [Benefit awarded to the last player to die is “Restart.”]

  At the same time, a single line of text appeared before his eyes.

  Restart – Redo the hunt from the very beginning, but with current memory.

  What?

  Before Sungjin could mutter another sentence, he opened his eyes and saw that he was now in an entirely white room. It was a familiar room however, with perfectly square walls.

  [Hunt will soon begin. Prepare for battle.]

  “Restart... from scratch?”

  Sungjin lifted his arms. They felt empty so he examined them closely.

  “My rings are gone!”

  It wasn’t just the rings, all the items he had been gathering were missing. He had been brought back moments before the first hunt, to the same room where everything began.

  “Haah...” Sungjin massaged his forehead as he let out a withering sigh. Before his eyes, a large bulletin board appeared.

  Chapter 0 – Living Mannequin

  Time Limit: 30 Seconds

  Sungjin absentmindedly spoke out the next words along with the Operator.

  “You will die.”

  […you will die.]

  Chapter 1 – Living Mannequin

  One day, a mechanical but distinctly feminine voice was heard by all humans. A voice who later introduced herself as the “Operator.”

  [A hunt will soon begin. Prepare for combat.]

  And the moment they heard the sentence, every man, woman, and child were teleported to a blank white room alone. The room itself was not large, and in the middle, a large hologram appeared.

  Chapter 0 – Living Mannequin

  Time Limit: 30 Seconds

  Simple information about the enemy appeared, and then,

  [Annihilate the enemy. If you cannot, you will die.]

  A simple ‘rule’ was explained.

  [For the first Chapter, just this once, you will be provided with a weapon. Select your weapon.]

  [Club], [Broad Sword], [Katana], [Hand Axe], [Long Spear],

  [Long Bow], [Short Sword], [Spiked Gauntlets]

  When Sungjin saw this, he said out loud, “Katana.”

  And that instant, a Katana appeared in his hands. It was a Japanese, curved, single-edged sword. Inspecting the weapon, he whispered to himself,

  “Wow, it’s been a long time since I last saw this.”

  Once the weapon was selected, the Operator began a countdown.

  [10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0]

  After 10 seconds, the billboard disappeared, and the ‘enemy’ described in it was summoned. An eerie doll hung on a cross-shaped wooden stand now stood before Sungjin.

  The living mannequin stood there motionless.

  Sungjin left the Mannequin alone and gazed at his weapon. “I have to do this... all over again...?”

  Sungjin’s memories flashed before his eyes. Never-ending series of battles, constant pressure to kill, and a steady stream of the deaths of irreplaceable comrades. While Sungjin was preoccupied with his thoughts, the Operator continued to speak.

  [20 seconds remaining. Annihilate the enemy. If you cannot, you will die.]

  Rows upon rows of sharp steel spikes appeared from the ceiling.

  “I can’t do this anymore.” Sungjin said and hung his head, shaking it as he stood there. The Operator spoke again.

  [10 seconds remaining. Annihilate the enemy. If you cannot, you will die.]

  The ceiling, which was now covered in spikes, began coming down. There was no place to hide and nowhere to run. The Operator began the countdown once more.

  [10, 9, 8, 7...]

  The ceiling was now low enough to touch by jumping up, but Sungjin did not move. He watched the ceiling approach closer and closer, and thought to himself.

  This is it? Is this the reward for being the last human to die? I’d rather...

  [6, 5, 4 ]

  But before he finished his thoughts, he recalled a promise he’d made with someone.

  “Swear to me! You must...”

  [3, 2]

  Sungjin frowned. And then,

  [1]

  He swung the Katana he held.

  SHING

  The blade cut through the air and drew a red line on the neck of the mannequin.

  [0 You have...]

  The moment the Katana cut the mannequin’s neck, the Operator’s voice became garbled as if bugged. The ceiling also stopped in its tracks. In a happier tone than earlier, she announced:

  [All monsters eliminated. Closing t
he Chapter.]

  Following the announcement, a hologram appeared.

  Completion Reward: Stat Point 0

  Kill Reward: Black Coin 0

  Sungjin spoke to himself when he saw the message.

  “Yeah... maybe this time it will be different.”

  Once Sungjin was finished, he was summoned somewhere else.

  *

  The place he was summoned to was an enormous hall of an unknown size. Within it, was an uncountable number of people.

  Regardless of race, all ethnicities were present in the hall. The only interesting fact was that an overwhelming majority were ‘adult men.’ The people who were summoned looked panicked and confused.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Where am I?”

  “What is this?”

  These were common questions that filled the air.

  Sungjin watched with his arms folded over his chest. He’d reacted the same way as those people the first time he was there.

  “Is this some sort of a reality tv show?”

  “Alien abduction?”

  And then, people realized that they could understand one another.

  “You know how to speak Chinese?”

  “How did you learn Arabic?”

  “Hey, are you aware you are all speaking English?”

  And the Operator’s voice was heard once more, interrupting everyone’s thoughts.

  [Welcome!]

  This time, the voice wasn’t coming from inside their head, but from above. People naturally gazed upward to see who was speaking.

  Above, a beautiful woman’s face appeared.

  [My name is Operator. I am here to welcome you all for becoming representatives of mankind.]

  Sungjin smirked when he heard her words.

  Welcome... what a farce.

  Regardless of what Sungjin thought, the Operator continued to speak.

  [This place is called ‘The Hunter’s Hall.’ It is where the hopes and dreams of Hunters are gathered.]

  [You are all here as a result of completing the Chapter 0.]

  [And thereby earning the right to become Hunters who will represent all of humanity.]

  The reaction from the audience was varied.

  “Hunter? What does she mean?”

  “Is she talking about that... that thing I just killed?”

  “Did you kill that too?”

  “Yes. I suppose you saw the same thing?”

  Chapter 0 was something akin to a tutorial. Faced with the threat of imminent death, it was about one’s ability to land the killing blow on the mannequin.

  Naturally, elderly, children, and disabled were unable to pass.

  “It was much harder than I thought. It kept on screaming so loudly...”

  “Yours as well?”

  Living Mannequins screamed for their life once attacked. Because of this disturbingly life-like behavior, those with difficulty taking a life were also eliminated from Chapter 0.

  Mentally weaker men and women were part of this group.

  Someone commented in hindsight, “I should have stabbed its heart first.”

  [Definition of Hunter:]

  [Strongest representative of the entire species, living proof of the species’ Strength.]

  With that said, the image of the Operator changed with that of another location. This image was filled with countless men, women, children, and elderly.

  [This place is Purgatory. Neither heaven nor hell.]

  [Gathered here are all the people eliminated from Chapter 0.]

  It was only a guess, but Sungjin felt that the image shown was probably different for every person as screams and shouts could be heard among those present in the hall once they gazed at the screen.

  “Mother!”

  “My love... why are you...”

  “My daughter! Give me back my daughter!”

  The Operator was showing everyone the people most important to them.

  Sick bastards...

  Sungjin swore under his breath, but he didn’t become upset like the others. He was an orphan. The only ‘close’ people he knew were several employees at the orphanage he’d grown up at, but he didn’t feel emotionally connected to them or their fate.

  [Hunters who perish during the hunt will also be moved to Purgatory.]

  [If someone completes all objectives and clears the challenges]

  [Everyone contained in Purgatory will be returned alive.]

  [However, if all Hunters fail and are moved to Purgatory]

  [All of humanity will be purged.]

  Sungjin doubted those words. Purged? If that’s the case, then why send me back?

  Others continued to stare blankly as the Operator continued her explanation. They had yet to understand the gravity of her words.

  [Prove your power by overcoming any and all obstacles that stand in your way.]

  [And with your own Strength, prove the worth of your species.]

  [If you fail to do so, Humanity as a species will be made extinct.]

  Whispers among the crowd grew.

  “What? Extinct?”

  “Us? All of humanity?”

  Some were expressing anger.

  “Who is this bitch?”

  But the Operator’s indifferent tone of voice remained unchanged by the people’s reactions.

  [Now, the explanations are over.]

  [I pray that we will meet again.]

  The hall was then completely inundated with insults and expletives.

  “You fucking whore!”

  “What the fuck did you say?”

  “Mother fucker!”

  “Fuck!”

  Despite the abuse pouring out from the audience, the Operator continued her indifferent speech.

  [Hunting will begin shortly. Prepare for battle.]

  Despite the deafening roar of insults being thrown at the Operator, Sungjin kept his calm and planned his next move.

  If things are the same as before...

  Sungjin bit his lip and lifted his Katana up to inspect the sword. The blade reflected his gaze back.

  Looking into the eyes reflected on the blade, he vowed to himself.

  This time, I will perfectly clear every Chapter.

  Sungjin fixed his grip on the Katana and prepared himself. Moments later, he was teleported away from the Hunter’s Hall.

  Chapter 2 – Greenskin Wildlands

  A palisade could be seen in the distance, pierced all over with unnecessary spikes and nails. The tips were also filed to a point.

  The meat of an unknown animal was hung over a bonfire to cook, and various sizes of skulls were placed on top of the spears to decorate the area.

  The place Sungjin arrived at reeked of barbarity. And so he thought to himself,

  The Chapter order is the same.

  Shortly after arriving, a cube appeared and followed him. The Operator’s voice could be heard from the cube.

  [Welcome to Greenskin Wildlands;]

  [Home of savage creatures who have gathered together to form a tribe.]

  [This is the Hunter’s first real challenge]

  [And it is also an excellent opportunity for the Hunter to experiment with how to grow stronger.]

  [The first four phases are combat tutorials designed to get you prepared.]

  [However, do not lower your guard.]

  [Like in real combat situation, if you take fatal damage,]

  [or if the enemy is not annihilated within the time limit, the Hunter will perish.]

  A billboard appeared with the enemy’s information on it.

  Phase 1 – Goblin

  Time Limit: 3 Minutes

  [Annihilate the enemy. If you cannot, you will die.]

  “Kyakakakakaka~!”

  A Goblin’s cry could be heard from somewhere in the Wildlands. Sungjin drew out his Katana while the Operator continued to explain through the cube.

  [Goblins are small creatures.]

  [Typically reaching only the height of an adu
lt’s knee, or in exceptional cases, to the hips.]

  [The weight of the monster is only about a fourth of an average adult, so it is not a physically powerful creature.]

  [The short height causes their point of attack to be lower, along with their temperament…]

  The Operator’s voice stopped there, since all the Goblins were already decapitated.

  [All Monsters Eliminated. Closing the Chapter.]

  Following the announcement, the hologram reappeared.

  Completion Reward: Stat Point 1

  Kill Reward: Black Coin 1

  [Use the reward you earned to strengthen yourself. With only the strength of a human...]

  “Enough.”

  Sungjin cut off the Operator and spoke over her.

  “Add the Stat Point to Dexterity.”

  [Dexterity rose by 1 point.]

  Despite Sungjin’s rude interruption, the Operator continued her explanation.

  [The Black Coins can be used...]

  Once again, Sungjin cut her off.

  “I’m not buying.”

  And then once again, a billboard with the monster’s information appeared in front of him.

  Phase 2 – HobGoblin

  Time limit: 3 minutes

  [HobGoblins are stronger versions of Go…]

  Sungjin did not wait for her explanation before rushing in to behead the HobGoblins. The Operator seemed to take notice of Sungjin’s competency, and so she quickly allowed him to proceed.

  [All Monsters Eliminated. Closing the Chapter.]

  Completion Reward: Stat Point 3

  Kill Reward: Black Coin 3

  Sungjin spoke to the cube.

  “Add all Stat Points to Dexterity. And I’m not buying anything.”

  [Dexterity rose by 3 points.]