* * *

Inside the massive, maze-like mansion, the outdoor pool, made with the finest materials, was completely silent. Snowflakes fell lightly and melted without a trace on the thin layer of ice covering the water. 

The carefully trimmed garden trees were covered in frost, shining like glass. No one in their right mind would swim in this weather. Yet, near the deep blue water, someone was clearly there.

“…Guild Master.”

The man lying on one of the empty sunbeds slowly turned his head toward the voice calling him. A faint blue light flickered through his sharp, slanted eyes before fading.

His black suit was completely disheveled, and he wasn’t wearing a tie, but the messy look only made his cold, handsome features stand out even more. 

Maybe it was his chilly presence, but the air around him felt a little colder. The female secretary who had come to report to him opened her mouth carefully.

“Ryu Yeon-ho, who was in the hospital, is asking for his guardian. What would you like me to do?”

He had just finished dealing with an S-rank Gate in America and returned home. Being interrupted during his first break in a long time put him in a bad mood. His drowsy face shifted into a look of irritation.

“Why? Is he claiming amnesia again?”

His guess was spot-on, and the secretary answered with a slightly surprised look.

“…Yes. He says he’s lost his memory. But according to the attending doctor, there’s something a bit unusual.”

Still looking annoyed, the man motioned for her to continue. The secretary added the rest in a more cautious tone.

“She said he’s able to speak normally.”

For a moment, the man visibly froze. The armrest of the sunbed creaked under his tightening grip. It was rare for someone as cold and composed as him to show even this much reaction. The secretary, who had wondered whether this was significant enough to report, let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her judgment hadn’t been wrong.

“Get the car ready. I’ll meet him right away.”

The man replied and immediately rose from the sunbed. The leather sunbed let out a faint swish as he stood up. 

Despite his towering height and massive build, his steps were surprisingly light. His movements were swift and agile, like a big cat stalking its prey. 

The smile that appeared on the man’s cold face looked unbearably dangerous. It was the expression of a predator who had finally found what he had been desperately searching for.

* * * 

T/N: From here, I will use first-person POV.

I stood in front of the mirror and carefully stretched out Ryu Yeon-ho’s arm. My mind still remembered the muscular arm I once had, so it felt strange to accept that this thin arm was mine now. I struggled to keep my balance with every step, and even lifting a glass of water was difficult to manage. 

Everything felt awkward and clumsy—like I was learning to walk for the first time. My original body before I died was 187cm tall, weighed 81kg, and had a lean, muscular build. I was a dual-blade close-range fighter, so training and experience had made my body stronger over time. 

As for the original owner of this body, Ryu Yeon-ho… At least his height wasn’t short, but he seemed at least 15kg lighter. He had almost no muscle, a thin frame, and a pale complexion. He didn’t look very healthy. After spending half a day alone in this spacious single room, running various tests and checking my physical endurance and mana, I drew some conclusions.

‘This guy is definitely an F-rank.’

There was no need to go through the hunter ranking test because the result was obvious. If this fragile body wasn’t an F-rank, then everyone in the world would have to be a hunter.

‘Haa… I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’

I couldn’t believe I had fallen from the world’s top damage dealer to a useless, bottom-tier healer. It felt like an F1 racer being forced to ride a tricycle. The more I compared this body to my old one, the more hopeless I felt.

When I was Hong-jun, my stamina and mana had been far above those of ordinary hunters. It had been extremely rare for a hunter to have the kind of potential I had. That was why S‑class hunters had been so uncommon. To reach that level, my natural talent, constant effort, and even luck all had to come together perfectly.

‘I never imagined I’d possess a body with so much privilege, but the difference is like night and day!’

This body was already in bad shape. Even climbing a few stairs left me short of breath. The mana at my fingertips felt completely drained, like a dead battery. In this state, I couldn’t even hope to activate an S‑class skill—and I’d probably lose my mind just trying. My luck was terrible. Absolutely terrible.

‘Why did I have to end up possessing such a frail body…!’

I bit my lip as anxiety surged. Normally, when a hunter awakened, they gained skills that matched their rank, since higher-rank skills required much more mana. 

Even a one-rank difference meant I could barely use the skill. And if I ignored that gap and forced myself to use it, the moment my mana hit its limit, it was basically the same as going straight to the afterlife. 

People who awakened with skills above their rank almost never met a good end. In the worst cases, they were killed because once the owner died, their skills were automatically extracted into skill books.

‘If a hunter above my rank set their sights on my skills, there’d be no way I could survive.’

The fastest and most effective way to get stronger skills was to kill their owner and take them. On the surface, hunters were praised as humanity’s heroes for risking their lives to clear gates. 

But behind that image was a harsh, survival-of-the-fittest world where everyone targeted each other for stronger skills. Despite being stuck in this useless body, I had four S-rank skills—the highest-tier abilities I had awakened as Hong Jun-il. That made me an irresistible target.

‘I must never reveal my skill list.’

Goosebumps ran down my spine. The moment anyone found out, my life would be over in an instant. Hunters obsessed with skills and skill book brokers desperate for money would swarm me and fight each other. It was painfully obvious what would happen.

‘Remember, people are more dangerous than monsters.’

The advice I got as a rookie was just as true in this second life. I broke out in a cold sweat.

‘The only silver lining is that I have a healing skill, even at F‑rank.’

It seemed almost useless, but it was still better than nothing. Maybe this low-level healing skill would be my only weapon to survive. Since I couldn’t use S‑rank skills, I had to find a way to make this one work. Then, the hospital room door, which had been closed, suddenly opened without warning. 

Startled, I turned around and got into a defensive stance, only to see a tall man with a cold, intimidating aura standing in the doorway. He was an incredibly handsome man, someone I would never forget even if I died and came back to life. The moment his name instinctively popped into my head, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart skipped a beat.

‘Min Ga-on, the Frost Sword… why is he here?’

As one of South Korea’s S‑rank hunters, it was impossible not to recognize his face. With his good looks, he often appeared on the cover of Hunter Magazine, and the news praised his skills, calling him the “Frost Sword.”

But he had skills that were completely incompatible with mine, so I had always found him uneasy to be around. Before this, we had only crossed paths a few times at unavoidable events. Instinctively, a sense of caution rose within me.