The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 94: Huh, A Stalker? 2

Park Si-hoon.

At the age of 39 in 2088, he was a C-rank hunter.

When he awakened at a young age, he was convinced that his path had been chosen.

Like many famous hunters, he believed that his future would unfold smoothly before him.

Simply becoming an awakened being was already a feat, something that happened to perhaps one in a thousand.

The day he was declared an awakened, the village where his parents and friends lived turned upside down.

When he first manifested his powers, the entire village was in an uproar.

The elders of the small town danced with excitement, boasting that their village had produced an awakened being.

His parents and the elders celebrated, claiming a future S-rank hunter had been born.

They carried Si-hoon on their shoulders, and the entire village celebrated as if the town itself was about to disappear.

His parents shrugged proudly, saying they had been blessed with a successful son.

His peers looked at him with envy, jealousy, and admiration, and Si-hoon enjoyed those gazes.

Yes, I am an awakened.

I am the future hunter.

I am the pride of this village.

At that time, Si-hoon felt as if everything in the world was in his grasp.

From a young age, he had heard stories of Yeonseo, the first S-rank hunter.

He had read textbooks detailing her achievements and struggles to save humanity.

“I will also become like Yeonseo. No, I will become an even greater hunter than Yeonseo.”

He wanted to be a hunter who would lead the new era, and the visions of his dreams seemed to become reality.

Every day, he was filled with ecstasy and joy.

Yes, he definitely wanted to become that.

Of course, as soon as he entered the Hunter Academy, he realized his abilities and perspective were less than a frog in a well.

Though awakened beings were rare, there were countless others with talents and abilities far greater than Si-hoon’s.

The lessons at Hunter Academy were extremely grueling.

During the day, they trained with weapons, honing their awakened abilities or practicing real combat with captured monsters.

Some of the more skilled students even went on field trips to real dungeons, but unfortunately, Si-hoon was not classified as one of the “skilled” students.

While he could easily handle a single goblin, a common enemy from novels or comics, if there were two goblins, he would find himself gasping for breath, caught between life and death.

This can’t be right.

Something’s wrong.

While he denied the reality before him, his peers steadily grew stronger.

While Si-hoon barely managed to kill three goblins, his peers were hunting fairies on their own and defeating kobold packs.

Nevertheless, he worked hard.

He didn’t give up.

He woke up earlier than others to train and stayed up later than everyone else to strengthen his body and hone his abilities.

And Si-hoon, at a young age, realized that hard work doesn’t always yield good results.

Ranked 271st out of 309 students in his academy class, he graduated with a report card that fell short of even being considered average.

However, he did not despair.

The life of a hunter didn’t begin at the academy, but the moment one stepped into a real dungeon.

He worked hard.

He didn’t give up.

Of course, with poor grades, joining a major guild was out of the question.

The guild he joined was, in truth, just a group that filled its ranks with people for laborious work.

It was neither highly regarded nor skilled, a so-called “small-time guild.”

In fact, he had no choice but to join what was known as a “sh*t-tier guild.”

No, this isn’t the end.

Just being a hunter puts me in the top 1 percent of South Korea.

However, since he wasn’t strong enough to clear dungeons on his own or exterminate goblin packs, Si-hoon had to party up with other hunters in similar situations within the guild.

Having never served in the military, Si-hoon painfully learned the meaning of real hardship.

The guild leader, a B-rank hunter, constantly flaunted his status, sucking the life out of Si-hoon and the other guild members.

“If you don’t have talent, then grit your teeth and push through. Develop some determination.”

While being provided with equipment as shabby as maggots, which wasn’t even maintained, the guild leader took a cut of the fees and said, “Our guild is like family, so this is a very reasonable fee. You should be grateful.”

After hearing this nonsense every day, Si-hoon eventually got used to it.

Whether he adapted or not, half of the loot from the monsters Si-hoon barely managed to kill was taken by the guild.

Yet, Si-hoon continued to regularly send allowance money to his parents, maintaining the appearance that he was doing fine.

Yes, but I haven’t given up.

It’s fine.

I’ll move up today.

I’ll achieve something.

This time, I’ll succeed.

If I get promoted, I’ll make more money, and maybe I’ll even aim for A-rank.

If I get promoted to B-rank, I swear I’ll punch that damned guild leader in the face and move to another guild.

He endured, working hard, holding on, and enduring again every day.

However, one day, after staring at his C-rank hunter license that hadn’t changed in 15 years, Si-hoon gave up on everything.

He quit the guild and locked himself up at home.

He ignored his parents, who had once been so proud of him, and even the calls from friends back home, which now terrified him.

It felt like they were mocking him.

It wasn’t just his parents and hometown friends.

The academy peers, the professors who had once looked down on him, the guild leader who welcomed him into that small-time guild with a smug grin, and the trainee agents at the Hunter Association who looked at him with pity—all of them scared and disgusted him.

Someone to comfort him?

Of course, there was no one.

How could someone who couldn’t even lift his head in front of his parents expect comfort?

A girlfriend? A romantic partner?

He had been single his entire life, all 39 years of it.

At one point, he had a childhood friend back home who seemed to like him, but that was over 20 years ago.

Since moving to Seoul to attend Hunter Academy, he hadn’t been able to form any meaningful relationships, let alone find a girlfriend.

Thus, Si-hoon naturally stopped going outside.

He survived on meals from convenience stores and delivery apps.

In his room, he connected with the world through his smartwatch, computer, and TV.

He laughed away his days, wasting his lifespan on humor in limited spaces like online communities.

Sometimes, he stirred up trouble on the Hunter Gallery, or when bored, he would troll or post explicit images.

In this age of hunter streamers, where countless hunters broadcasted their lives, Si-hoon’s eyes naturally turned to the hunters streaming online.

What I couldn’t become. What I might have been if I’d succeeded.

Si-hoon, consumed by jealousy, anger, and spite, became the most malicious of malicious trolls for these hunter streamers.

Whenever his account got banned for excessive trolling, he would create a new one using his hunter license and continue his toxic behavior.

He did it so often that even those in the Hunter Gallery or among the hunter streamers would say, “Oh, that guy’s back again,” and he unintentionally became a well-known figure.

To Si-hoon, that notoriety was like light—a ray of hope.

Wow, nobody knows me outside, but here, people recognize me.

This toxic behavior was the only thing keeping him alive.

In his already ruined life, the thrill of ruining others’ emotions in the gutter was the most stimulating thing left for him.

And so, today, too, he trolled, got kicked out, got banned, created new accounts, and continued his malicious behavior.

Because it was fun.

Because this was all he had left.

And then one day, a new streamer appeared before him like a shining star.

Shia.

A returnee.

Saintess of the Dead.

Estimated to be S-rank.

A massive reservoir of holy power.

She had the nickname “Antics Saintess” along with several other peculiar traits.

In less than half a year since she started broadcasting, she became a rising star, taking the position of the Hunter Gallery’s new favorite.

She was kind, pretty, had a large chest, and was incredibly strong—a woman who seemed to have it all.

Of course, Si-hoon was jealous.

But, for some reason, when Si-hoon first saw Shia, he couldn’t bring himself to troll her as he usually would.

The reason was simple.

She was too beautiful.

Moreover, even though she seemed to purposely do silly things, the sacredness and kindness of the saintess would sometimes slip through.

Although the viewers seemed to play along with her antics, most of them probably knew.

This Antics Saintess was not only pretty and strong but also kind… someone who had it all.

When jealousy reaches a certain level, people become filled with intense hatred and envy.

But when the gap is so vast that you can’t even compare yourself to them, like the difference between you and a god, that jealousy transforms into admiration, reverence, and affection.

And so, Si-hoon fell in love with Shia at first sight.

Was it real love? He didn’t know.

But Si-hoon understood one thing.

That woman didn’t even know he existed.

If he’d been satisfied with just watching her streams and being a passionate viewer, nothing would have happened.

But….

[You want her, don’t you?]

A sweet temptation arrived.

[I’ll help you.]

Having nothing left to lose, he took that hand.

Yes, it’s time for me to be rewarded.

Now, even this trash life

of mine is going to get some sunlight.

●●●●●

Stalker.

What exactly is a stalker?

Well, it’s someone who secretly and continuously follows and approaches their victims.

“Kyaa! A stalker, a stalker!”

I couldn’t believe I was experiencing something I had only seen in movies or novels.

A day like this had finally come for me!

I was thrilled.

Of course, the existence of a stalker is a frightening crime and something that shouldn’t be done, but doesn’t this also mean that my stream has reached so many people?

And in a good way, too! (?)

What is a stalker?

It means someone likes me so much that they don’t know what to do and end up kidnapping me.

So, it means I’ve already won the love and affection of countless people.

How could I not be happy?

“But how do I handle this….”

The moment the handkerchief soaked in anesthesia covered my nose and mouth, time seemed to accelerate.

No matter how happy I was to have a stalker, this was still a bad deed.

I didn’t know much about the laws of Korea in 2088, but it would certainly be classified as a crime.

If I were an ordinary person, I would have immediately caught that vile stalker, beaten him up, used Great Healing, beaten him again, and then handed him over to the police.

“…This isn’t ordinary anesthesia.”

It tasted bitter.

How did I know?

Because I could faintly taste mana in it.

By the way, mana had a subtle sweetness, similar to drinking an ion beverage.

It wasn’t just regular anesthesia. It could be monster-specific anesthesia, or perhaps a potent hunter-specific one.

Should I beat them up here?

No, this might turn into an epic tale of taking down a crime syndicate, like in the movies.

If there’s a crime organization targeting me… well, maybe that’s overthinking it.

But let’s assume there’s a crime group targeting hunters or women.

Then, of course, this criminal group would consist of hunters or awakened people.

There might even be other victims besides me.

The fact that they used an unusual type of anesthesia already made it suspicious.

As the Saintess, it was only right for me to save them.

Hehe, I only came out because I was bored, but who knew such luck would follow!

I felt like the protagonist of a movie.

Having made my decision, I let myself go limp and pretended to succumb to the anesthesia, collapsing backward.

Thud!

“Gah!”

Huh… are you okay?

I… did I make my fall a bit too realistic?

But when a person faints from anesthesia, they fall more heavily and helplessly than you’d think.

“Huff, huff…”

Judging by the kidnapper’s gasping breath, it seemed my head had collided strongly with his solar plexus when I fell backward.

It was lucky that I relaxed my body.

If I hadn’t, I might have had to use Great Healing on the guy before I’d even been properly kidnapped and pretend to be unconscious again.

That would have been a real embarrassment for a kidnapping…

By the way, my weight… well, I’m not exactly light.

According to Teresa, each of my body cells had a density five times that of a normal human.

I don’t remember all the complicated stuff, but basically, my body weighs significantly more than it appears.

“Huff… what kind of weight is this…”

By the sound of it, the kidnapper was a man.

Hey! How long are you going to leave me lying on the ground?

“Is she really unconscious?”

Swoosh, swoosh.

From the shadows passing over my closed eyes, I could tell the man was waving his hand in front of my face.

It’s broad daylight; someone might walk by.

Hurry up and kidnap me already!

As if hearing my thoughts, the kidnapper grunted and heaved me onto his shoulder.

It seemed like he initially wanted to carry me in a princess carry, but perhaps lacking the strength, he slung me over his shoulder like a sack of luggage, which wasn’t exactly comfortable.

Rattle.

And just like that, I, the poor princess, was loaded into the backseat of a mysterious, pitch-black car.

Kyaa.

So scary.

I’m really scared.

Will I be surrounded by scary men and utterly ruined after being helplessly captured like this?

If they’re organ traffickers, they’ll dissect my body and sell my organs to China after playing with my reservoir of holy power, won’t they?

I won’t forgive these disgusting scoundrels.

“Why is she so heavy…”

How rude, you bastard!

How dare you complain when you’re the one trying to kidnap me!

Still, for someone who complained about the weight, I could feel the firmness of muscles under his skin.

He might be someone who consistently trained his body, or I had to consider the possibility that he was a hunter or an awakened being.

“She’s really pretty…”

While I kept my eyes closed, I could feel a creepy sensation as if he was trying to touch my hair.

That’s not allowed.

-Bang!

“W-What the…?”

I lightly released some holy power towards the ground, creating a loud noise.

Startled, the kidnapper, already looking uneasy, withdrew his hand before he could touch my hair, perhaps afraid someone might hear.

Good, that worked.

If he had really touched me, I would have ditched the whole act and smashed him on the spot.

Only people I allow can touch my hair, like Menelapie.

Well, maybe Yeonhwa or Yeonseo unnie would be okay… but still, even if I’m being lenient, crossing that line is a no-go.

If anyone crosses the line, I’ll ditch this whole concept, break them, heal them with Great Healing, and then beat them again.

“Let’s move…”

The kidnapper laid me down in the back seat and got into the driver’s seat.

In the meantime, I took out a round object from my pocket.

What is it, you ask?

What else could it be but a drone camera?

[Stealth mode]

[Silent mode]

[Hologram transformation]

[Broadcasting start]

The real fun is about to begin.

Even I think this is going to be hilarious.

Oh, the broadcast title…

[Cooking at the Stalker’s House]

That should do, right?

Anything better?

Hmm…

Vroom.

I’ll think about it while we’re driving.