**Title: Hunter Reborn**
**Chapter 2: The Failed Awakening**
Morning sunlight spilled across the wooden floor as Rael Varden stared at the glowing blue screen hovering in front of him.
He had seen strange things in his previous life—dragons the size of castles, forests that moved, and gates that opened into endless hellscapes.
But this?
This was new.
The floating panel flickered softly like a reflection on water.
---
**SYSTEM STATUS**
Name: Rael Varden
Age: 17
Rank: Unawakened
Mana Capacity: 8
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Endurance: 6
Unique Skill: **Hunter's Archive (Locked)**
---
Rael rubbed his forehead.
"Eight mana?"
He leaned back in the chair and laughed.
"That's… pathetic."
In his previous life, Rael had reached a mana capacity of over **12,000**—a level considered monstrous even among S-Rank hunters.
But this body?
It was barely above a normal civilian.
Still…
Rael's eyes sharpened.
This wasn't a disadvantage.
This was an opportunity.
"Back then I had to figure everything out myself."
But now he knew:
• Where the first Gates would appear
• Which dungeons hid legendary artifacts
• Which monsters would evolve into calamities
• Which hunters would become legends—or traitors
Rael stood up and stretched.
His joints cracked lightly.
"We start from the bottom again."
He looked toward the window.
Outside, students in academy uniforms walked down the street.
The Hunter Academy.
That's where this body's memories came from.
And unfortunately…
Rael had a reputation there.
A bad one.
---
Yesterday.
The **Awakening Ceremony** had taken place.
It was the moment when students tested their mana cores to determine if they could become hunters.
Most awakened small abilities.
Some gained powerful ones.
A few rare geniuses awakened extraordinary talents.
Rael?
Nothing.
Zero.
The crystal had stayed dark.
No skill.
No mana surge.
Just silence.
The examiners had whispered.
The students had laughed.
"Failed Awakening."
The lowest result possible.
Rael smirked.
"If only they knew."
He walked toward the mirror again.
This body might be weak now.
But it contained the mind of a man who had hunted monsters for two decades.
And now…
He had something even better.
Rael focused on the floating screen.
"System," he said calmly.
"Explain Hunter's Archive."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the screen shifted.
---
**HUNTER'S ARCHIVE**
A skill created from the accumulated knowledge of the Last Hunter.
Functions:
• Monster Identification
• Dungeon Mapping
• Combat Analysis
• Skill Memory
• Evolution Prediction
Status: **Sealed**
Unlock Condition:
**Gain 100 Hunter Experience**
---
Rael whistled softly.
"Combat analysis… monster database… evolution predictions."
If this skill unlocked fully…
It would be absurdly powerful.
Even in his previous life, information had been the most valuable weapon.
Hunters often died simply because they didn't understand what they were fighting.
Rael sat down again.
"So all I need is Hunter Experience."
Which meant…
Fighting monsters.
But there was a problem.
"Gates haven't started opening yet."
The first official Gate wouldn't appear for **three years**.
However…
Rael's eyes gleamed.
"There was one earlier."
A hidden dungeon.
A small unstable gate that appeared briefly outside the city.
In his previous life, it had killed several low-rank hunters.
But it also contained something valuable.
Very valuable.
Rael grabbed a jacket hanging near the door.
"Guess we're going dungeon hunting."
---
The streets of Lorn City were lively.
Merchants shouted.
Children ran through markets.
Carriages rolled across stone roads.
It was peaceful.
Almost painfully peaceful.
Rael walked slowly through the crowd.
Every sight reminded him of the future.
This marketplace would burn during the **Second Gate Surge**.
The academy tower would collapse during a dragon raid.
Half the people around him would die within ten years.
Rael clenched his fist.
"Not this time."
He turned toward the northern gate of the city.
The place he needed was just outside the forest.
As he walked, whispers followed him.
"That's him."
"The failed awakener."
"He looked so confident yesterday though."
Rael ignored them.
Words meant nothing.
Results meant everything.
After nearly an hour of walking, the city walls faded behind him.
The forest ahead was quiet.
Too quiet.
Rael stepped between the trees.
Leaves rustled under his boots.
Then he felt it.
A faint pulse in the air.
Mana disturbance.
Rael smiled.
"Found you."
Hidden between two large boulders…
Space itself rippled like water.
A small black crack hovered in the air.
A **Gate**.
Unstable.
Weak.
But real.
Rael studied it carefully.
In the future, hunters would classify gates by rank:
F, E, D, C, B, A, S.
This one?
"Definitely F-rank."
Still dangerous for normal humans.
But Rael stepped forward without hesitation.
"Let's begin."
The moment he touched the distortion—
The world twisted.
---
He landed inside a dark cavern.
The air smelled damp.
Stone walls stretched into shadows.
Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
Rael looked around calmly.
"Goblin nest dungeon."
Exactly as he remembered.
A small dungeon filled with weak monsters.
But goblins were still deadly to untrained humans.
A growl echoed behind him.
Rael turned.
A small green creature stepped from the shadows.
Short.
Ugly.
Sharp teeth.
Rusty dagger in its hand.
A **Goblin Scout**.
It snarled and rushed toward him.
Most humans would panic.
Rael didn't move.
He watched the goblin carefully.
The angle of its attack.
The speed.
The breathing.
Predictable.
"Too slow."
At the last second, Rael stepped sideways.
The goblin stumbled past him.
Rael grabbed a loose rock from the ground.
And slammed it into the monster's skull.
CRACK.
The goblin collapsed instantly.
Silence filled the cave again.
Then—
**DING**
---
**Goblin defeated**
Hunter Experience +5
---
Rael exhaled.
"System works."
He crouched beside the body.
"Still though… five points each?"
That meant twenty goblins to unlock the Archive.
Easy enough.
A distant screech echoed deeper in the cave.
Rael smiled.
"Dinner's ready."
He stepped into the darkness.
One goblin attacked.
Then another.
Then three at once.
Rael fought with nothing but rocks, broken sticks, and pure experience.
Every movement efficient.
Every strike precise.
He knew exactly where to hit.
Eyes.
Throat.
Joints.
Weak points.
Goblin after goblin fell.
Minutes turned into an hour.
The cave floor became littered with green bodies.
Finally—
**DING**
---
**Hunter Experience: 100**
**Hunter's Archive Unlocked**
---
The cave lit up with blue light.
Data flooded into Rael's mind.
Monster knowledge.
Dungeon structures.
Combat simulations.
It felt like opening a massive library inside his head.
Rael grinned.
"Now we're talking."
But suddenly—
A heavy thud echoed from the deeper tunnel.
Rael's smile faded.
"…Wait."
That wasn't supposed to happen.
From the darkness emerged something larger.
Much larger.
Nearly two meters tall.
Muscular.
Armored skin.
Glowing red eyes.
A massive axe dragged across the ground.
Rael's eyes widened slightly.
"A Goblin… Berserker?"
Impossible.
That monster shouldn't exist in this dungeon.
Which meant only one thing.
The future…
Was already changing.
The Berserker roared and charged toward him.
Rael cracked his knuckles.
"We'll adapt."
His eyes glowed with excitement.
"After all…"
He stepped forward.
"…the hunt just started."
And this time—
Rael Varden intended to become something far more terrifying than the monsters themselves.