I've honed my mind and body for nearly twenty years to become an S-rank hunter. Now thirty years old, I've finally succeeded in awakening my skill. The grade that appeared on the skill test paper was the illustrious S-rank! The days of flourishing as a hunter seemed to be unfolding right before my eyes, but something about this felt… off.

Rank: S
Possessed Skill: Pest Control

"Pest Control," a skill possessed by only 100 people worldwide—what some might call a "crap-tier" skill.
I heard the only skill holder in Korea is an elderly woman living deep in the mountains of Gangwon Province. After awakening this skill, I quit my job. With nothing to my name and nothing left to lose, I decided to drop everything, return to farming, and see if I could become a wealthy farmer with this skill.
But just when I thought I could live quietly, things started to get strangely complicated.

Chapter 1: The Most Absurd S-Rank
The glass door of the testing center closed behind me. The skill certification in my hand felt scorching under the sunlight.
S-rank.
Next to the bold letters was a line of fine print: [Skill Name: Pest Control].
Standing on the bustling streets of Seoul, watching the crowds go by, the past twenty years suddenly felt like an absurd joke. All the sweat shed in training grounds, the injuries from simulated battles, the longing for legendary skills like "Flame Dragon Slash," "Spatial Domination," or "Sacred Healing"... all gone to waste.
My phone began vibrating incessantly. Offers from hunter agencies, exclamations from former teammates, interview requests from the media.
I declined all calls, sent my landlord a single message: "Terminating the lease, moving out by month's end."
Then, I bought a one-way ticket to the remotest village in Gangwon Province.

Chapter 2: The Mountain Village and the Sole "Predecessor"
"So, you're the newly awakened kid?"
The legendary grandmother—Mrs. Kim Soon-boon—was wearing a straw hat, picking insects in her vegetable patch. With a wave of her hand, the aphids on the leaves vanished without a trace, as if wiped away by an invisible force.
"The skill isn't about 'killing' pests," she said, handing me a cup of barley tea with a smile. "It's about 'regulation.' Sending them where they belong, or... putting them to sleep for a while."
Behind her house was a small pond with plump carp swimming inside. "Fish that eat insects grow exceptionally well," she explained. "The organic farm in the neighboring village pays me to 'regulate' their fields twice a year."
Suddenly, it dawned on me.
This skill... might not be meant for combat.

Chapter 3: First Earnings and Unexpected Trouble
I rented a dilapidated farmhouse at the foot of the mountain, using the last of my savings to buy some chicks.
Then, I used my skill on my vegetable patch.
The range was larger than I expected—within a fifty-meter radius, all insects harmful to crops fell into a deep slumber, eagerly pecked clean by the chickens. Pollinating bees and beneficial ladybugs remained unharmed.
A month later, my chickens, having feasted on insects, laid eggs with unusually red yolks, selling out instantly at the local market.
Two months later, a neighbor hesitantly asked if I could "regulate" his rice paddy.
I accepted some grain as payment.
Life should have continued peacefully like this—until that rainy night.

Chapter 4: Uninvited Guests
Several men in black suits stood in front of my farmhouse, rain dripping from their umbrellas.
"Mr. Lim, we're from 'Green Frontier,'" the leader said, handing me a business card. "We've noticed the unique value of your skill. Globally, the market for 'harmless pest management' exceeds $20 billion annually."
They offered to buy the exclusive rights to my skill at an astonishing price.
I refused.
The next day, strange dead rats began appearing in my fields.
Then came an anonymous letter: "The mountains aren't safe. Take your skill back to the city."
Grandmother Kim came to see me, leaning on her cane, and sighed. "Child, an S-rank is never just a grade... It carries its own 'weight.'"

Chapter 5: The Other Meaning of Awakening
Standing on the ridge of my field, I looked at the maliciously placed rats.
For the first time, I fully activated my skill not for "pest control," but for "detection."
My perception rippled outward—the locations of insects, their conditions, and... the artificially marked, pathogen-carrying anomalies.
I found the backpack hidden in the woods by the perpetrator, filled with chemicals and more rats.
I also "sensed" the engine sounds of several black sedans on the distant mountain road.
"Grandmother," I called her, my voice surprisingly calm. "You were right. This skill isn't meant for combat..."
I gripped my hoe, watching the approaching headlights.
"...But sometimes, the definition of 'pest control' might need to broaden a little."

Under the moonlight, the lights of the farmhouse glowed warmly.
And in the darkness beyond, a faint "buzzing" sound gathered from all directions toward this peaceful valley—a swarm of hungry bats I had "invited" with my skill.
Tonight, it seemed, quite a few "guests from the city" would experience genuine mountain village "hospitality."