Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: 1st Generation Hero
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With Kim A-ram's illusion magic altering my appearance, I headed with Seol A-yoon to the address on the list.
"Is that… Hunter Kang Tae-seop?"
"Yes, that's him. Kang Tae-seop."
An old villa neighborhood.
A man walked through the rundown alley.
Graying hair and a face radiating gruffness.
Not some veterans' association vest, but a bulletproof vest like a soldier would wear, and he was carrying a flashlight in broad daylight.
The cane in one hand—whatever it was made of—clanged noisily every time it struck the ground, announcing his presence.
He was the hero who had held back the early gate outbreaks: Kang Tae-seop.
But the occasional residents passing by clicked their tongues at the sight of him, frowned, and gave him a wide berth.
"He's not treated well…."
"It's because his eccentric behavior from mental corruption is so severe."
"Still, that's too much."
"It is. Most of the 1st generation hunters are ostracized like this."
After guilds were properly established, that marked the current 2nd generation.
The 1st generation had used their awakened powers to block gates when the government royally screwed up and people trembled in fear.
People called them heroes instead of hunters, and I admired those heroes too.
But with so few awakeners, they had to handle two or three gates every single day.
People's expectations wouldn't let them rest.
That reckless campaign only halted once guilds formed and new hunters rose up.
But the magic they'd inhaled like air had eroded their minds.
Eccentricities, cursing, property damage, fights.
In the end, they were forced into retirement, and people turned their eyes to guilds and the new hunters as replacements.
That was the short but brilliant tale of the 1st generation hunters.
"Turn on the light!"
"No, not this crazy old coot again! What light in broad daylight! Put away that flashlight!"
"Hurry and turn on the light—chase out the darkness!"
"Damn it, I'm gonna lose my mind. Maybe I should just move."
A resident slammed the window shut on Kang Tae-seop as he shone his flashlight into an open 1st-floor window, hurling curses.
From the reaction, it didn't seem like the first or second time.
Kang Tae-seop kept banging his cane on the security bars, yelling to turn on the light, and only turned away once fluorescent light shone through the now-opaque window.
"He throws fits like that in dark places, so there are a ton of complaints on file. But out of respect, they only issue warnings—no legal proceedings."
"He hates the dark, huh?"
Then what about nighttime? Streetlights or fluorescents wouldn't cut it.
Kang Tae-seop bought some soju at a convenience store after more banging and exchanged curses, then sat at an outdoor table.
No snacks, no glass—he just poured straight soju.
I watched for a bit, then bought some hotbars and peanuts from the store and approached.
"Have these with it. Straight shots hurt your stomach."
"What the hell—get lost!"
"Fine, but eat them with your drink."
"What does a kid know, yapping like that! Poison in it, huh?! You're finally trying to kill me!"
His swung arm sent the just-heated hotbar tumbling to the ground.
Kang Tae-seop grumbled and blew his nose again.
"How dare you pull this crap…!"
"It's fine, A-yoon. Step back."
I stopped Seol A-yoon as she bristled and moved forward, then picked up the hotbar.
Shouldn't have peeled it.
I tossed the dirtied hotbar, bowed, and retreated.
Not easy after all.
Removing the erosion requires serious focus—if the target isn't cooperative, it's a problem.
"Does Roha-nim really need to endure treatment like this just to bring them back? Why not just heal regular hunters…."
"No, it has to be the 1st generation. Even if they're shunned now, the moment they return, everyone's attention will pour in."
The 1st generation heroes were everyone's heroes.
They might be discarded now, but no one in Korea didn't know the name Kang Tae-seop.
And I wanted to see him smile brightly again.
The 1st generation hunters, without healers, shuttled between gates and became hospital regulars.
On one frigid day, Kang Tae-seop had his left arm in a cast from a break.
But a gate popped up nearby, and the other hunters were busy or in treatment.
In the snowy street, under evacuation orders, Kang Tae-seop soothed a child anxiously holding their little sibling's hand.
Something like, "I'll get you home soon."
His smile captured on camera back then was beautiful.
He cleared the gate with just his right arm.
True to his word, Kang Tae-seop smiled radiantly and became a hero.
No flashy S-rank hunters, but it was a time when they shone.
But that light was brief, replaced by the mushrooming new hunters.
The faint starlight was overshadowed by brighter lights.
What I wanted was for them to shine as stars in the night sky once more—guiding the lost.
"Looks like he's heading home."
"Let's follow."
I trailed the staggering Kang Tae-seop.
It was heartbreaking to see the back of this faded hero.
Passersby startled at his stumbling figure and hurried away.
Those who had first reached out to others now had no one to catch them.
"Roha-nim?"
"I'm fine."
I brushed off Seol A-yoon's concern and stood beside Kang Tae-seop.
As I grabbed his wobbling arm to steady him, his gaunt face turned toward me.
"Why're you following me? Fearless brat—told you to piss off."
"Just happens to be the same way."
I let his sharp tone slide. Kang Tae-seop tsked and irritably shook his head.
Several minutes of silent walking.
Kang Tae-seop intermittently slapped his ears, frowning deeply and shaking his head.
People spotting him from afar hurried down other streets, leaving our path deserted.
The staggering Kang Tae-seop halted at a small standalone house.
Miscellaneous junk formed a fence around it, and a massive floodlight—like something from a stadium—stood planted there.
"Quit bothering me and piss off! Don't even think about coming inside. Whatever you're scheming, stay out of sight!"
He roughly shook off my arm and entered the house.
As he did, a dissatisfied Seol A-yoon approached.
"Roha-nim. Maybe I should just bind him with telekinesis and heal him…."
"Sorry, I don't want to do it that way."
I didn't want to approach him like that.
Tying someone up is for animals.
Kang Tae-seop was grumpy, but he could be reasoned with to some extent.
So there had to be a way to persuade him.
The Association was investigating the Federation, but nothing was turning up.
Was it really just personal, or deliberate?
Chae Myung-in's reaction confirmed involvement.
Pissed off, I went to harass Baek Mun-hyeok instead.
Funny enough, his hobby was fighting games.
I went with Kim A-ram to his usual arcade, disguised myself, and beat him handily.
Heard coins clinking as he got excited, but he stood right up.
Furious Baek Mun-hyeok shot to his feet, but the area around him was filled with Kim A-ram's illusion clones pushed to their limit.
"Quit hiding like a coward and come out!"
Kim A-ram and I had already blended into the crowd outside the arcade.
Tap-tap on the rampaging Baek Mun-hyeok's back—
Kim A-ram's clone displayed an illusory note.
[Health clap clap~ Thought you'd win with that?]
A note mocking his OP technique.
Boom!
Another innocent arcade machine smashed.
Sigh, what a temper.
"Roha-nim, you're good at games…?"
"I'm pretty decent."
Kim A-ram had told me about being half-kidnapped by him, so this was payback—and it was a fun time.
After relieving stress, back to Kang Tae-seop in the villa neighborhood.
He was still picking fights with fluorescent lights, scavenging junk, and staggering home drunk as ever.
"I told you to quit bothering me!"
"I didn't do anything?"
Kang Tae-seop snapped at me just for watching, shoved some junk into the fence, and staggered inside.
Hmm, so this fence is a barricade?
Magic erosion's main symptoms: loss of abilities, hallucinations, auditory hallucinations.
Was Kang Tae-seop still fighting a war in his hallucinations?
An old frying pan he'd haphazardly wedged in was tilting, about to fall.
I approached the fence and securely tied the frying pan with rope.
Surprisingly, there were a lot of loose spots, and as I fixed them here and there, dusk began to settle.
"The enemy's coming! Guard it—gotta guard! Chase out the darkness!"
Kang Tae-seop burst out barefoot, still half-drunk, and flipped on the floodlight, illuminating the yard like daylight.
Curses immediately erupted from the neighboring houses.
"Damn it, turn off that light!"
"Crazy bastard, let us sleep! Gonna lose it!"
"Turn on the lights! Illuminate the house—chase the dark!"
"That psycho's tanking the whole neighborhood's property values!"
Kang Tae-seop bustled around the festival-like brightly lit yard and spotted me clinging to the fence.
"You! What the hell are you doing!"
"Oh, this spot was loose. It'll fall right off like this."
"What?"
I showed the wobbly pot lid to the charging Kang Tae-seop and wrapped the rope tight again.
I spoke to Kang Tae-seop, who watched me silently.
"I'll help you."
"What can a kid help with!"
"You're protecting this neighborhood, right? Let me help."
"…You?"
Kang Tae-seop blinked and alternated glances between the fence and me.
"Yeah. I'm surprisingly strong."
"Why? Everyone else just curses me. You trying to trick me?"
I smiled at him, confused and struggling to understand.
"Just happens to be the same way."