The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! Episode 3
9%, 15%…….
Watching the numbers climb steadily, Shin Iji understood what was happening.
‘An Awakening as a Hunter?’
She’d learned about it in school.
About ten years ago, when spaces called Dungeons appeared on Earth, a small number of people gained special powers.
They were called ‘Hunters.’
Hunters’ abilities varied wildly, but they shared one thing in common.
‘They made serious money!’
Shin Iji’s eyes gleamed with hope.
Compatibility Assessment Complete
‘Shin Iji’, Awakened One Confirmed
Grasping the system’s mechanics by pure instinct, Shin Iji waved her hand through the air.
‘Status Window!’
Not every Hunter lived glamorously, she’d heard.
What truly shaped a Hunter’s life was their ‘Awakening Rank.’
Once assigned, it couldn’t be changed—so you had to check which letter defined you.
‘Come on, I know my letters!’
You could tell at a glance whether it was at the front of the alphabet or chasing from behind!
Then what appeared before her eyes was…….
[Awakened One Information]
Name: Shin Iji
Awakening Rank: EX
Trait:
‘EX……?’
As far as she knew, standard Hunter ranks ran from F to A.
The only letter for special grades was S.
‘EX means……. X?’
If it was X, didn’t that mean something really bad?
After stewing over it, Shin Iji went to the living room and grabbed her sister’s Tablet PC.
‘EX, English abbreviation, definition…….’
The first result was “example.”
The second was “ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend”—meaning someone you’d broken up with.
‘What is this!’
Shin Iji grimaced and closed the search tab.
Either way, neither seemed right.
But EX wasn’t the only problem.
The other element that determined a Hunter’s fate was their ‘Trait’—and that was strange too.
‘Undeveloped…… search.’
The word wasn’t in the dictionary, but the flood of internet posts that came up made its meaning obvious enough.
We went to see the cherry blossoms and they were all undeveloped ㅠㅠ If that’s the case, why call it a flower festival!!
A second-year player and people are still calling him an undeveloped prospect? If he can’t earn his salary, the front office should bench him
A flower that hasn’t bloomed yet.
Something with many shortcomings, something you can’t use right away.
‘Still, flowers always bloom eventually. My Trait will probably show up later, right?’
But no matter how much she searched, she found nothing about Hunters in an ‘Undeveloped’ state.
‘Why is this happening to me? ……Is it because I’m young?’
And then she found a post that made her heart sink even further.
I’m a Hunter Management Division officer and I’m losing my mind over these undeveloped idiots
There are way too many morons asking if they can change their combat-type Trait by learning a Healing Skill and get reclassified as healing-type
If you stick a chicken feather on beef, does it sell as Hanwoo?
And they keep asking if they can raise their rank
Weren’t you S-rank when you Awakened? Then you’ll never be S-rank
Believe what you see—how come kids your age, who didn’t even have dreams and hope in elementary school, suddenly grow hairy hopes and dreams
Her small dreams and hopes withered instantly.
‘And if it were good, I would’ve found it in a search.’
Connecting EX with the word and reasoning it out…….
‘I really am just an example grade, I guess.’
Like the plastic food models in front of restaurants—just a sample showing ‘this is what a Hunter’s Status Window looks like.’
Just as Shin Iji’s shoulders sagged—
Suddenly there was a rustling sound, and her sister’s voice came from the darkness.
“Iji…… you still awake?”
Her sister blinked sleepily from the bed and checked the clock.
Would she get up? Come out to the living room? Ask what she’d been doing? If her sister found out that Shin Iji had Awakened as a Hunter but got an example grade, she might be sad and—
But then her sister said something unexpected.
“Can’t sleep because you’re excited?”
“Huh?”
“You’re going to the Career Experience Center tomorrow…… it was on the notice board.”
Oh.
‘That’s right!’
She’d forgotten completely while worrying about her future.
At least now she had a perfect excuse!
“Yeah, it sounds like it’ll be so fun! I looked up what they have at the center!”
“I see…… it’s getting late. You should sleep.”
“Yeah! I’ll sleep now!”
“And take a drink bottle with you in the morning…….”
Her sister burrowed back under the blankets.
‘Dodged a bullet there!’
Shin Iji quickly typed every job she could think of into a search to build her alibi. Teacher, nurse, adventurer, doctor, magical girl……. Wait, that’s not a real job. And finally—influencer!
‘This should be enough.’
Time to get some sleep.
But the excitement had become real now.
‘Will there be a Hunter at the Career Experience Center?’
Maybe she could learn about Hunters there, about what EX and Undeveloped really meant.

* * *
The next day, at the Municipal Career Experience Center.
Seeing the banners at the entrance—”Experience a Variety of Careers!” and “Consult with Future Seniors!”—her heart raced.
‘Will I get to meet a Hunter?’
Then she could learn what EX really meant, and how she could actually earn money.
It wasn’t just Shin Iji who was excited.
“I’m gonna be a boxer! Can I fight the instructor?”
“Ninja! Ninja!”
“I’m gonna be a lawyer. Can you teach me how to give death sentences?”
Standing before this chaos, the Homeroom Teacher bellowed.
“Sparrow Elementary School, Second Grade, Class 3!”
“Um, um, we’re not First Grade!”
“Louder than First Grade, too? Again—Sparrow Elementary School, Second Grade!”
“……Chirp-chirp!”
“Today we’re going to do three different activities. You don’t get to choose! If we only did what we like, we’d never discover what we’re actually good at.”
“Aw…….”
The children’s faces fell, but the Homeroom Teacher pressed on firmly.
“Now, I’m going to divide you into three groups. We’ll take turns and have fun!”
Of course, Shin Iji had no intention of just playing around.
‘I’m going to learn seriously!’
If she couldn’t make a living as a Hunter, she needed to know what other job could actually pay the bills.
The first room they entered was a pastry chef experience classroom.
The round instructor called out brightly.
“Today we’re all pastry chefs! Let’s make chocolate cupcakes!”
Following the instructor’s directions, Shin Iji mixed the ingredients enthusiastically. Or rather, she fought them.
‘Cough! The flour is flying everywhere!’
Having a job really wasn’t easy.
“Once you’ve mixed everything, divide it into paper cups. I’ll put them in the microwave for two minutes!”
‘Pouring the batter should be easy…… wait, it’s not! Weirder than slime!’
The table was covered in brown smudges, and her hands were sticky.
But just when she thought she had no talent for this—
The microwave beeped, breaking her reverie—
‘Wow…… the smell is amazing!’
Perfect cupcakes had formed, so good-smelling she’d eat them paper cup and all.
“Finally, decorate them with sprinkles and candies!”
After the experience ended.
Shin Iji gazed at her beautiful cupcake, as pretty as a Christmas tree, and made a vow.
‘If I can’t be a Hunter, I’ll become a pastry chef!’
This “pastry chef” profession seemed to really suit her talents.
Her heart felt a little lighter.
The children carried their homemade cupcakes to the next experience room: a small basketball court.
“Today we’re all basketball players! Everyone try to make a cool shot! You’ll get a prize if you score!”
‘Basketball…… that requires being tall, doesn’t it.’
Being the shortest kid in her class, Shin Iji felt a flutter of unease.
The instructor did guide the children to hoops that matched their heights—
“Wow, look at Jun-seo!”
“He already made three!”
“So cool…….”
Watching Jun-seo, the tallest boy in the class, throw the ball smoothly and confidently, Shin Iji felt her own body shrink even smaller.
His dad had been a basketball player, if she remembered right.
‘Must be nice. Tall, talented at things…… if I’m still in the front row next year, it’ll worry my sister again.’
Shin Iji deliberately jumped as high as Jun-seo and threw the ball. But it missed—nine times in a row.
Then came the last shot.
“This time, you’ll make it, student!”
Encouraged by the instructor’s words, Shin Iji felt a bit shy—but this time she didn’t force herself to jump high.
‘Come on!’
The ball soared higher than before.
‘Huh…… ah, just a bit short!’
But the moment she was certain it would clip the rim and bounce out—
Between the hoop and the ball, something silver flashed like a thread.
As if caught by an invisible web, the ball curved smoothly into the center of the hoop.
Swoosh!
The instructor applauded.
“Wow, great job!”
“…….”
“I could tell you’d make it this time. Here, pick out a prize—”
“……Instructor.”
Knowing it was rude, Shin Iji interrupted anyway and asked.
“What did you do just now?”
“Pardon?”
“You helped make my last shot go in, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean, friend?”
The instructor smiled benignly as if she didn’t understand, but her voice was getting quieter—giving away her surprise.
She was checking if the other kids would notice.
‘I’m certain you secretly helped me.’
Then what was that silver thread she’d seen?
This time Shin Iji also lowered her voice and asked desperately.
“Instructor…… are you a Hunter?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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