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Chapter – 01
Taeun was a hunter apprentice.
He had been one when he first came of age, and he still was now.
In other words, for over five years, he had failed to become a full-fledged hunter and had been wasting his days as someone worthless.
“Hey. Look over there. He’s here again today.”
“Sigh… I feel bad for him, but at that point he should know when to give up. What’s the point of clinging to something that’ll never work?”
“Heh, idiot. You think it’s that easy to quit? Deep down, he knows too. Just ignore him and rotate the equipment.”
Before he knew it, Taeun had become fairly well-known within Hongsimgwan.
Of course, not in a good way—but a bad one.
Every time he trained and heard the whispers around him, it was obvious to anyone.
‘…How did it come to this?’
Once upon a time, Taeun had been considered a promising rising star in the area.
No—perhaps even more than that.
Various guilds and hunter training centers had offered him exceptional contract terms.
Even Hongsimgwan had approached him with conditions that were unheard of for a rookie and signed him immediately.
‘But that ended up…’
Becoming the beginning of a long, endless downhill path.
Five years passed, and Taeun still hadn’t obtained official hunter status, drifting along the bottom.
Now he was treated like a parasite living off Hongsimgwan, drawing irritated looks everywhere.
He couldn’t even go on missions, yet he continued receiving the stipend written in his contract.
Honestly, maybe that treatment was only natural.
‘That damn trait…’
The reason Taeun had once been called a prodigy was because of the single trait displayed on his status window.
▶ [Theater of All Things]
In the modern era, every human could naturally summon a status window upon awakening.
And only those who manifested a unique trait could qualify as official hunters.
‘If a trait is clearly displayed, it means the qualification is already there.’
And its name was something no one had ever heard before.
When scouts first reviewed Taeun’s records, they went wild.
A prospect worth gambling on—no, a must-have genius talent.
But look at the result now.
Even after all this time, Taeun still didn’t know how to use his trait, Theater of All Things.
Hongsimgwan had assigned multiple experts to train him intensely in the beginning.
Yet nothing changed.
‘Eventually, everyone got tired and gave up, saying it was hopeless.’
Promising rookies appeared every year.
The burning interest surrounding Taeun cooled into icy stares, then slowly faded away.
That had already been about three years ago.
“……”
Taeun had grown up in an orphanage.
At the age when he should’ve been preparing for his future, he was told he had talent and jumped straight into hunter life.
Even if he quit now—what could he possibly do to survive?
Right now, he lived off the contract stipend.
But the moment he gave everything up, only a bleak future would remain.
Thud!
Clack—!
After swinging his spear at a wooden training dummy for over an hour, Taeun sensed movement and turned his sweat-soaked head.
As expected—familiar faces.
“Jeez, look at this guy going at it again. There’s seriously no one more pathetic than him. Right?”
“……”
“Hey, I’m talking to you. Don’t ignore me.”
A tall, muscular man with his cronies beside him.
Former active hunters who had been harassing Taeun for months.
“Hey, bastard. Contract or not, don’t you think a man should have some shame? Do you know how many people get stressed because you keep leeching money without doing anything?”
Most of what they said wasn’t wrong.
But the mocking hidden inside made their real goal clear.
They wanted to provoke Taeun into quitting the contract himself.
‘…How did things end up like this?’
Hongsimgwan had written the contract extremely favorably to secure Taeun back then.
Unless Taeun caused trouble or broke it himself, terminating it wasn’t easy.
Even while facing this hostility head-on, Taeun didn’t feel particularly angry.
Because—he understood.
Staying here, unable to bloom yet still taking money, wasn’t exactly honorable.
‘At this point, pride doesn’t matter anymore.’
How could they understand what it felt like to be praised as a genius—only to later be looked at like an insect?
Taeun’s heart had already been crushed beyond repair.
Being insulted didn’t hurt anymore.
But strangely, today, the man’s words felt different.
Maybe because even Taeun himself was finally losing the last bits of stubborn hope.
‘Is it… really time to quit?’
He had known it was over for a long time.
Yet he kept telling himself—just one more year, just three more months.
Because the effort he’d put in felt too precious to throw away.
Because it was the first dream he’d ever truly chased.
Because he didn’t know what else to do.
But now… maybe the time had finally come.
“…Hah.”
Taeun’s challenge had ended long ago.
No possibilities remained.
And no one felt that more deeply than Taeun himself.
‘…It’s been a long road.’
He could deny it once more—but for some reason, he didn’t want to.
After hesitating several times, his lips finally moved.
“…I’m quitting.”
“What?”
“I should quit, like you said. I can’t live like this forever.”
“What the hell? Did this guy hit his head? Hey—did you record that? Hurry and report to Sangcheol hyung!”
The man froze for a moment—then grinned like he’d just succeeded at something.
They quickly left the training hall.
Taeun, with bitter feelings, began gathering his belongings.
‘Will I regret this?’
Of course he would—countless times.
But that couldn’t be helped.
Some people achieve everything through perseverance.
Others fail no matter how hard they try.
This time, Taeun was simply the latter.
Step. Step.
Beep!
[Authentication complete.]
As Taeun swiped his membership card to leave, a woman passing by turned toward him.
“…Are you finishing early today?”
“Yeah. I think… I’m quitting.”
His heavy words made her eyes tremble.
“Quitting…?”
“I’ve done enough. Staying longer would just make it harder to let go.”
Seo-yoon.
One of Korea’s hottest rising stars, recently recognized as a Level 5 hunter.
She had once been an apprentice here too.
Back then, Taeun had given her advice, reminded of kids from his orphanage.
At that time, his reputation hadn’t been bad.
He had actually acted like a senior.
Now—it was all meaningless.
“Don’t take it too hard. It’s just the end of Act One of your life. I’ll start fresh too.”
“Ah…”
After hesitating, Seo-yoon offered a gentle smile.
“…I hope things go well for you. No matter what you do.”
It was probably just a polite farewell.
But Taeun felt warmth in her words.
And at the same time—despair and inferiority.
He forced himself to smile, bowed once, and walked out.
Cold wind hit his face.
Cars roared past.
“…Hah.”
He considered smoking, then flagged down a taxi instead.
“Where to?”
“Rodem ENC, please.”
The taxi sped through the city and stopped in front of Taeun’s place.
“9,870 won.”
“…Here.”
His hand felt heavy handing over the card.
Everything was getting more expensive—while his life wasn’t improving at all.
Click.
Thud.
The place was far from impressive.
A tiny six-pyeong studio apartment.
Even this had cost him plenty.
And soon, without the stipend, he’d have to leave.
‘Yeah. It was the right choice. I should’ve quit long ago.’
Still, the bitterness wouldn’t fade.
“…Haah.”
Thump.
Slide.
For the first time in a long while, hot tears rolled down Taeun’s face as he leaned against the wall, forehead resting on the mirror.
If only he’d had more talent.
If only he could awaken the Theater of All Things.
A desperate wish—now impossible.
And then—
Something unexpected happened.
Ding!
【You possess 1 Basic Grade Ticket.】
【Would you like to consume the Basic Grade Ticket to enter the Theater?】
