Evolution Theory of the Hunter

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In a world of dungeons and monsters you can become strong if you merely have enough money.

Rare skillbooks that can magically upgrade your skills in an instant are sold at exorbitant prices. So only the privileged and rich are able to buy their way to become hunters – a much revered occupation that allows one to enter dungeons and hunt monsters.

Our MC is a porter, a sort of caddie for hunters. He dreams of one day becoming a hunter when he comes into possession of a skillbook.

But the skill is a level 0. Something unheard of. No one wants it. People laugh at it. But he learns the skill – only to find that it may be the most amazing one yet.

Associated Names
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헌터계급론
Related Series
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Recommendations
The Second Coming of Gluttony (9)
Everyone Else is a Returnee (8)
Seoul Station’s Necromancer (6)
I Never Run Out of Mana (6)
Reincarnator (5)
Arena (4)
Recommendation Lists
  1. mix genre of mc
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  3. pls remeber ''
  4. Good Memories
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Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c197
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c196
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c195
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c194
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c193
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12/04/19 The Deck Translations c191
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c190
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c189
12/04/19 The Deck Translations c188
09/11/19 The Deck Translations c187
09/11/19 The Deck Translations c186
09/11/19 The Deck Translations c185
09/11/19 The Deck Translations c184
09/11/19 The Deck Translations c183
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keklel
keklel rated it
July 28, 2016
Status: c65
Spoiler

>“Isn’t this where you’re supposed to hide like p*rn and stuff?”
>“This girl... what kind of guy do you take me for...”

So this is what passes for humor in a Korean webnovel. The characters are supposed to be adults yet their level of intelligence does not even surpass that of typical 5 year olds.

At one point MC makes over $750, 000 from just one dungeon hunt and says this is enough to just buy a house and retire and then says "only kidding". Why? Why would you risk your life when you already have enough money to live the rest of your life comfortably? From just a few quests he makes millions of dollars which is enough for him to not have to work for the rest of his life and yet he goes on hunting... why? He never actually has a reason to risk his life hunting monsters when he could be living comfortably instead.

It's obvious all the girls have fallen for MC (the porter girl even asked him to marry her... he just brushed her off like she was kidding or something even though she's been sleeping at his house and has been making moves on him for weeks) yet he never notices anything (novel is only written from his perspective so we know he doesn't notice anything). It's the stereotypical dense harem MC who is just mentally ret*rded. It's a farce.

Characterization is not done well at all, all the characters are shallow one-trait cardboard cutouts. MC is a boring "I want to get stronger" stereotypical shounen protag. All the other major characters in the story are referred to by nicknames:

- athletic porter girl who trains with the MC and sleeps in his room and is a member of his harem
- glasses girl with big b**bs who can't shoot straight and is a member of his harem
- helmet guy who has terminal cancer and has a nice sword
- some other guy with a sword or shield or something idk
- cowardly old guy who only casts sleep spells and is always late
etc

You can pretty much describe the characters with a single sentence. They're really bland. So the story is basically you have a bunch of boring characters and then you have them go through dungeons together. None of them have any interesting outlooks on life or philosophies or anything. They're supposed to be all adults but they never do or say anything that only an adult would say. It's like we just have a bunch of kids who don't know anything and they're not even curious like kids either, and even kids come up with ideas occasionally whereas these guys basically just follow the MC's orders all the time like robots. Most of the conversation is just plot exposition:

>“Look, it’s a level 4 enchant. 1.2 million dollars.”

These kinds of sentences make up most of what passes for dialogue in this novel.

It really feels like the MC is just playing an RPG and all the other characters are just NPCs. Actually now that I think about it their lack of initiative and agency (they're constantly in trouble and have to be saved by the MC) makes NPC a really apt description for them.

Actually if you take the story into account it's like the world literally revolves around the MC. Whenever he levels up 10 levels, all the dungeons of that level disappear (e.g when he levels up to 20, all level 2 dungeons disappear). So far there's no explanation for this, but if you think of the entire novel as just a RPG that the MC is playing and everyone else is just a NPC then it totally makes sense.

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paksheet
paksheet rated it
August 25, 2016
Status: c90
Eh... this story started out cliche-dly fine, weak, poor MC uses his superpower called effort in order to catch up to and beat strong, rich guys... only, it doesn't. His effort skill is literally effortless after a few chapters, all he has to do is click on stats every level up, despite it being the "real world". And there are no "enemies", no rivals, only NPC chars that last at most 2 chapters and gets OHKO'd by him, over and over and over again.

MC has no personality. 90 chapters in... more>> and still no clue what he is trying to achieve. At first, thought he was like Weed (from Legendary Moonlight Sculptor), funnily stingy because he is poor and need to support his family, who then gets what he wants so he gets new interests, and new goals. But the MC in Evolution Hunter (I don't even remember his name after 90 chapters) is just plain boring. The world literally revolves around him. Every 10 levels ups, the world will change (dungeons disappear, new continents will form, etc). Only he has access to a whole category of overpowered items (intelligent monsters that can OHKO enemies supposedly stronger than him, intelligent weapons that can OHKO enemies supposedly stronger than him, his stats are continuously growing without having to do anything, while other people can't because stats are limited to items for them. By now, his stats are a least 100x better allowing him to OHKO an entire army of enemies supposedly stronger than him...).

All he wanted was to be rich, but selling 30 million USD of items weekly at no risk is apparently not enough, he wants to keep risking his "party and close/trusted friends" lives cz they're not OP and he can't afford to risk them (huh?). Every time he levels up, he makes the entire world exponentially more dangerous, but he has no choice but to level up because the world is dangerous (huh?). He basically has no goal, no interest in women, in politics, in friends, in anything. He just got what he wanted in first few chapters too easily so he got stuck doing the same thing over and over and doesn't even realize it because he has no idea what he wants anymore. Or rather, the author doesn't.

At some point, he discovers humans he kill drop better items than monsters so he doesn't kill them, only lure them into position where they want to kill him so he can retaliate without hurting his conscience. He's like a serial killer of killers. And despite him killing over 200+ people without getting even a scratch, he thinks he's saintly clean because he never does the 1st move.

TLDR - MC is super boring. He is basically a robot with a stuck command and a broken logic code. He actually accomplishes his goal in 20 chapters, doesn't realize it, so he keeps doing the same thing over and over and over without change. There is only 1 character, his party = cardboard cutouts without opinions, everyone else = tr*sh mobs. The story keeps getting less and less tension, interest, or originality, and has hit what I would call critically boring so I'm dropping it. <<less
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lafiel11
lafiel11 rated it
July 28, 2016
Status: --
I read the reviews and thought it's some great story, but no it's not. When I look at this novel from every angle my conclusion is that it's mediocre at best -and I get the feeling it will stay that way.

Nothing unique with the premise - it's a reversed another world dungeon rpg novel. The MC is the underdog as you'd expect, he gets his "cheat" named Effort. Which lacks "the true effort" and even the MC commends on it. Him obtaining his skill makes the current dungeon system change... more>> with new one. Good for MC bad for the rest seniors.

MC personality is quite uninteresting. Power and money obsessed. Not because life kicked him in the guts but his own choice. Finished uni but s**ked and couldn't get a damn good job. His job porter (bag holder of dungeon party) is his choice. Taking drugs to make-do and taking every insult for measly money and health danger. High risk low payout basically. After he becomes a "unique new -system rpg bringer hunter" his goal to own a millions of money and live good and have an apartment are put to back as his craving for power and cold blooded killing flares up. The side cast has some humorous moments (his party). But really the romance harem with DENSE MC just ain't working as it makes the story really bad. Nothing funny comes out when the dense romance is forced for readers.I treat it as filler and just skip it. Typical girls fawning over the dense MC in short.

Not to forget the other most boring sh*t in this novel : talk about money. Every dungeon item is money, every chapter is 1/3 money talk and haggling to spread loot, 1/3 girls fawning over and dense MC 1/3 story progress. So when I skip a chapter I skip almost all the number sh*t and talk between girls and MC. <<less
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Okuri Ookami
Okuri Ookami rated it
May 15, 2016
Status: c40
So far I'll give it a 4.5 leaning towards a 5 star rating (I'll just keep the rating at 5 stars for now).

The story description is a little misleading, it makes it seem like the MC will be totally oppressed by 'Those that have' but you barely see any of that in the story whatsoever and he rarely interacts with these snobs and trust fund babies except in the early chapters and a few after.

The story is a good mix between LMS and GDW taking into account the main character... more>> of GDW's survival ability (as Weed dies a lot and takes huge risk) and Weeds ability to understand the value of items and significance of money. The world is 50 yrs after the apocalypse (sorta) and it plays out like GDW were the world has been somehow changed into a game world and such, monsters drop items and skill books. The MC is the run of the mill guy who excels at his job so that he can fulfill his dream. He's not overly generic but the plot armor isn't light.

The story didn't give off that Korean feel and was off putting to me in the beginning chapters, so much so that I actually dropped it 3 times and put off reading it for a number of days when I did pick it up again. That being said I did get around to reading it to completion (that is up to the current TL) and after getting past the initial few chapters the story is actually quite enjoyable. I do recommend you getting your mental editor tools and spell checkers at the ready because the TL doesn't seem to be a native English speaker and there are quite a few errors on every page (almost). The story pacing isn't fast but its not slow in getting right into the action but overall development of the MC happens a little to fast. Only 40 chapters in and his stats are way above the norm for someone getting into the biz.

(LMS) Legendary Moonlight Sculpture
(GDW) God and Devil world <<less
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Hantosh
Hantosh rated it
November 25, 2016
Status: v1c102
Plot:
Real world turns into a game world when dungeons appear on Earth and the global population skydives. MC works as a lowly porter to the rich people (a**holes) who can "play" in the dungeons.

Pros:
- Writing quality is good. Items, skills, loot etc are all well described.
- Translation quality is good.
- Plot progression/structure seems solid so far (no trainwrecks).
- MC is likable, no standout negative personality traits. Side characters differ from your usual template archetypes; though we don't really know that much about some of them.... more>> Antagonists so far seem to be cut from the same mold for the most part; ie: variations of standard enemy mob characters. No arch-rival/nemesis type characters yet.
- Power system (items/skills etc) is well defined and described. Levels basically revolve around equipment.

Cons:
- Translator currently on hiatus.
- World revolves around the MC.
Spoiler

The world's dungeon evolutions are based around the MC's stat progression for some reason.

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- MC is a special snowflake.
Spoiler

MC seems to be the sole person on the planet who's found and is using the OP new game system at the present time. Story hints that this may have happened several times in the past also.

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Recommendation:
- A very satisfying read if you're into the real world turned into game world genre. Definitely recommended. <<less
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madstack
madstack rated it
March 17, 2017
Status: c87
I'll keep it short. Evolution Theory of the Hunter fails in all important aspects for a story like this. It's a very low quality read. More on the how and why below.

A story with a game-like world like this usually succeeds or fails based on:
- setting or world mechanics: Several plot-holes regarding world logic, which can be ignored, but the world itself is bland;
- Powers (skills) : Very few are ever actually mentioned and those that are, are never engaging or thought-provoking. Again, bland.
- Monsters / enemies:... more>> Same problem as Powers - there is very little variety and descriptions are lacking most of the time.
- Loot: Most of the items lack description and are generic.
- Characters and plot: Shallow characters, no plot so far. Very anime-ish stereotypes - I consider it a downside, others might not.

All in all, I don't suggest reading it unless you're suffering from serious WN withdrawal and don't have any better options. <<less
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1MPR0V3
1MPR0V3 rated it
July 31, 2016
Status: v1c14
Good idea but no substance and ultimately badly written. Everything revolves around the MC. MC is pretty boring and single dimensional, the usual rpg gimmick of cheating skill appears, we all know where it goes from here. Supporting cast and villains are cardboard cutouts with no depth. Not to mention that apparently pretty much all hunters (people over lvl0) are evil xianxia young master cliche protagonists.

Gonna give this one a miss
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hero
hero rated it
August 3, 2016
Status: c94
It's okay.. that's pretty much it though. Normally good novels are very good until it reaches 100+ chapters.

Honestly, it's annoying how the entire world revolves around the MC. The "Effort" skill he obtained after killing a single monster was already pretty "amazing" but the author just had to shower him with even more plot armor. More skills, more items, and glasses which pretty much allows him to change the world. And it's already like this even if, as of now, only 100 chapters have been translated.

Also, the writing style is... more>> a bit... "simple" / "plain". I guess that comes with novels which have MMORPG elements though. I think the only truly immersive novel which has MMORPG elements is Reincarnator (something I highly recommend). The "comedy" is also highly juvenile / childish, and honesty, I've dropped plenty of novels which have this type of comedy (TTNH, PW, etc.)

One thing that have always bugged me about Korean novels are the inner monologues of the MCs. From Ark and LMS' amazing amount of greed / selfishness / "denseness" when it comes to females / etc. This novel's MC isn't really "dense" but that makes this MC even worse since he knows that characters like him but still acts like a complete dumbass. I guess those things are just parts of Korean novels, just like how "face" is such a big part of Chinese novels.

Oh well, I'll stick this one out for a while but I'm not really that hopeful. <<less
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sketchn98
sketchn98 rated it
June 25, 2017
Status: c91
Absolutely horrible world creation that can only force me to think that the author hates everyone better off than himself. The world developing techology wise despite it taking place 100+ years in the future.

The author quickly establishes that only rich people were able to acquire skill books and become hunters. The rich hunters then treat civilians like tr*sh including beating them in the streets with witnesses. The author needs to be reminded that governments exist to protect people from situations like this. Speaking of the government, why didnt they try... more>> to monopolize skill books or at least secure them for the army and police? In a world post monster invasion it only seems logical that a strong centralized force would emerge.

Finally, monsters cant be killed with guns, missiles, or any other modern tech even the weaker ones. How then can a level 4 monster, which is far from the weakest, be put down by a collision with a truck and a shard of galss to the eye. Author needs to review physics asap. <<less
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Tarlos
Tarlos rated it
July 10, 2017
Status: c60
I was really bored, so I decided to give this novel a shot. The result? I got even more bored.

Novel mainly focuses on team battles, with his teammates getting a lot of screen time. However, unlike novels like Douluo Dalu which does an amazing job of developing side characters, ETH MC's teammates are so boring and underdeveloped I just ended up skimming any paragraph concerning them.

Let's talk about the MC. He's boring, in an annoying way (if that's possible). His internal monologue is like an angsty teenager with lines like... more>> "Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t", or "How dare he do that, I'll show him!!!". Makes me wonder how his female party member is so into him.

80% of the novel so far is just farming against monsters, and his party members sometimes commenting stuff like "Wow, MC you are so strong!" etc

I literally can't think of a single good thing about this novel, but it might get better later when the MC finishes farming. Still, I recommend not reading this unless you're really bored. <<less
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BlackHat88
BlackHat88 rated it
May 15, 2016
Status: c41
Among the game-like world type of novels it's among the top ftm. For once, we don't have the dumb pe*verted MC looking to form a s*ave harem.

The first 5-6 are pretty boring, MC isn't really a hunter yet but most of all, the 26yo MC speaks like a 13yo.

But after that it becomes better, good story plot and evolution and although MC still doesn't speak as a 26yo (imo), he becomes more mature and thoughtful.
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h2h1z
h2h1z rated it
May 24, 2016
Status: c48
I love this story. A regular (semi) dense MC with odd skills starting from the bottom (now we're here). The story has a good pace for me, my only problem (the same for anything being translated) is the next chapter isn't ALWAYS out when I finish reading one *sigh* I guess I'll just suffer in "silence".
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
enzimiro
enzimiro rated it
May 18, 2016
Status: c42
I just started this novel but so far it's great. I like how real it is and honest. Also some mystery as well although I'm sure it will all be resolved in the future. The TN was also well done. My only issue and regret is that the site (lightnovelcafe. Com) is about to be shutdown. I also had problems connecting to the server. But in all this is a great read!
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DarkD
DarkD rated it
May 16, 2017
Status: c63
So many cliches so many weird plot holes. It's not a bad read and it took me until chapter 63 before I cringe overloaded and dropped the series. The author is HORRIBLE at writing characters.

So, the story uses the Korean trend that's been going on lately of having the real world turn into a monster infested playground with hunters and dungeons. It's a pretty fun read, I just wish the execution wasn't so damn cliche. It's better than "Everyone Else is a Returnee" but worse than "Seoul Stations Necromancer".

So around... more>> chapter 58ish, some guy literally walks out of the bushes and says he wants to join the protagonists party because they seem trustworthy. They had no prior contact as far as I'm aware, but he came to this momentous conclusion instantly upon seeing the protagonist steal his kill.

The bad guys are ridiculously s*upid. The type that don't know when to back down no matter what. Around chapter 59, the protagonist gathers up a group of thousands of hunters to charge a barricade manned by about 12 hunters. The 12 hunters have absolutely no reason to be confident in themselves and right to the very end, they continue to try and hold the barricade despite being given several outs.

Seriously, these bad guys, they will do the most cliche bad guy act imaginable EVERY TIME... The author is ridiculously consistent on this matter.

This protagonist is so two-dimensional and bland. Basically, imagine a protagonist that makes the right decision every time, has a harem of woman, doesn't realize they like him, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the world around him, and has a skill that basically makes him the center of the hunter world. Good protagonists are supposed to have FLAWS. That's what makes them good. Making the protagonist as flawless as possible is so bloody annoying. I cringe everytime he has a monologue....

I dropped this novel at chapter 63. Because around then is when the protagonist really started to heavily interact with other people again. This author SUCKS at characters and making an arc dedicated to creating cliche villains and explore a horrible two-dimensional protagonist is just about the worst decision the author could make.... <<less
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AndyDarren
AndyDarren rated it
January 7, 2019
Status: c90
Money money money money. This is literally all the MC ever thinks about and I'm tired of it. After reading through 90 chapters of this novel I'm gonna have to drop it on account the MC being a money grubbing ret*rd with not an ounce of logical thinking ability.

There are so many things wrong with this novel but I'm just gonna focus on the aspect that pisses me off the most. So the MC for some reason is the only one able to acquire level 0 items which has never... more>> happened before in history and the common trait of all of these items is that they're growth type items. Obviously the best thing to do would be to invest in the growth of these items right? Well apparently not because the MC is such an insufferable cheapskate that he refuses to feed even level 1 items and ores into their growth because all he ever thinks about is how much money he can make by selling them. And then he goes and uses all that money from selling hundreds of pilferred items to buy one or two pieces of regular high level equipment that anyone could buy.

If the MC is not gonna make use of the thing that makes him special in the first place then what's even the point of this novel? Even combat is greatly uninteresting to the point where a lot of the supporting main characters end up fading away into the backgroung, unseen for multiple chapters at a time until the author remembers that they were supposed to be in the story. The horrible translation quality that started around chapter 78 doesnt help the situation either. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Knightlight
Knightlight
June 3, 2016
Status: c37
One of the greatest parts of this read is how the girl of interest has no reserves of showing her liking of the MC and the MC also realizes this instead of being total jap dense, just keeps avoiding the issue and playing along with her remarks.
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
CLaiRe
CLaiRe rated it
June 1, 2016
Status: --
The story flow is good, and the background story is solid.. Not every character with money or power is a jerk.. Overall, I think this story is worth to read..
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
TeddyWestside
TeddyWestside rated it
February 6, 2019
Status: c97
Dropped at ch 97

Friendship tag was something not yet shown yet. Money grubber was clearly stated even in the prologue but you really can't compare it to other novels with money grubber MC like LMS or ESP. Density of a Japanese beta MC is clearly present. A little clever at the start but became an idiot along the way. Heck, I don't understand what is pushing him to try harder. Why does he need money? Where is his family? What happened before he became a porter? It's either the translation... more>> hasn't gotten to that point yet or I'm just not seeing something what the author is trying to show me.

Focuses too much on the MC like all other characters are there just to aid him in either giving (becoming) loot or making him stronger. The only thing that made it good at the start was how the translation was done. But, when you hit ch 78, it becomes totally cancer for brains.

If you just want something to pass the time, this is good enough but don't expect anything worthwhile. Heck, even the the previous translator dropped this. (Don't know if RL matters or just got bored with it) <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
kedar080340119014
kedar080340119014 rated it
June 15, 2016
Status: c67
Imagine God and Devil world but only more light hearted and much much less dark than GDW. Thats ETH for you. The writing is average, no story to speak of as of now except for dungeons appearing across world and people who use 'skill' from 'skillbooks' dropped by monsters in dungeon. These people are called 'hunters'. The only difference in this LN and other such game elements themed LNs is that leveling here is much more difficult and level 5 is considered quite high and most of the 'hunters' till... more>> now are around level 3 at most (at least those that have been introduced). The MC has a somewhat powerful skill called 'effort', where basically, when kills monsters or other hunters, he gets reward points and he can use these reward points to increase his strength, speed, reflexes, defense, focus and such attributes. A powerful skill but nothing new here. Read this for fun. But expect nothing more from it. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Krazyguy75
Krazyguy75 rated it
November 19, 2021
Status: c99
This story is... bait.

You go in and you think for the first few chapters "Ooh an interesting novel about an ordinary guy who has to put in effort to grow opposing the rich and powerful people who are born with their power." He runs into people he can't beat due to their connections, and has to carefully maneuver to get what he wants. The system is clearly biased against people like him.

And then, once they've baited you in with that premise, they switch it out from under you. Gone are... more>> any of the rich and powerful people; they become background characters and generally insignificant. Gone is the MC's struggle where he has to train; he can now just push buttons for power ups and buy/upgrade items with his system. Gone are his struggles with the system; he and his party just have basically infinite power and resources.

Rather than being a minor person in a universe, the world all-but-literally starts to revolve around him. Only he can get specific item drops. Those specific items only work with his system. His system is directly tied to the power of the world, causing massive global changes as he gets stronger. The people behind the system go out of their way to help him.

Now, the nail in the coffin for me: When it started, it seemed like the MC wanted to become one of the strongest hunters and rise out of poverty... but he did that like 60 chapters ago. What is his motivation now? It seems like his motivation is purely "level up the system"... which isn't at all interesting or relatable. Heck, I feel like I barely know the guy. Does he have parents? I don't... think so? Siblings? I don't... think so? What did he want to do before becoming a porter? I... don't know. <<less
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