Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: What Happened in the Calcutta Jungle Zone (10)
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When Suhyun returned, the situation had already been sorted out to some degree. Corpses of pulverized monsters were scattered everywhere, and the squad members who had barely gotten things under control were preparing for the fight ahead.
Amid all that, as Suhyun emerged from the forest, every gaze snapped toward him.
“Caught it?!”
Kim Chang-sik bellowed. When Suhyun had said he’d act alone, everyone had been skeptical, but Kim Chang-sik had the most faith that Suhyun would pull it off. He’d already witnessed Suhyun’s skills during the troll hunt.
The Calcutta Gorilla might be a monster, but in Kim Chang-sik’s eyes, Suhyun was one hell of a young monster himself. He figured that if Suhyun was moving solo, he had to have confidence in himself.
Instead of replying, Suhyun just nodded. He’d kept his superpowers to a bare minimum just in case, but he was still wiped out. Telekinesis was one of the most draining abilities out there.
“What…?”
Uncle Jo Company’s team knew why Suhyun had gone in, but the other mercs didn’t. When Suhyun came out claiming he’d caught something, they couldn’t wrap their heads around it and just stood there flustered.
“What else? The Calcutta Gorilla.”
“What?!”
One of Uncle Jo Company’s mercs spoke up, and Choi Jae-ho practically leaped in shock. The notion that this clueless rookie had gone into the woods alone and bagged a Calcutta Gorilla? Might as well say he’d taken down a dragon with a single suit of power armor.
“You caught the Calcutta Gorilla?!”
“The body’s back there. You can check it out, but… looks like we don’t have time right now. Anyone got rapid treatment agents?”
The only mercs on-site who looked halfway intact were Uncle Jo Company’s crew. Code Green had somehow avoided fatalities but were a total mess, and Jindo Team had only held together thanks to their superpowered Choi Jae-ho—without him, they’d have been in Code Green’s state.
Rapid treatment agent. Resources from Cameron Planet had sparked all sorts of tech breakthroughs. This was one of them: an injectable made from the byproducts of highly regenerative monsters. It could heal just about any external injury.
Sure, it cost a fortune, but a squad like this ought to carry a few for emergencies.
Code Green’s merc shook his head, though. He was flat on his back, unable to get up, and pointed at his wrecked gear. The Calcutta Gorilla’s assault hadn’t just trashed their heavy weapons—their supplies had gotten smashed too.
‘Time to seal the deal? Not like I planned to hide it anyway…’
He’d never intended to keep his superpower status secret forever. Being humanity’s first mage? That he was hiding, since going public now would drag him into a web of schemes. But being a superpowered? No real reason to conceal that. It was rare, sure, but otherwise a straight-up asset.
He’d just been mulling over the when, where, and which powers to reveal.
Healing felt like the perfect opener. Telekinesis he could use on the sly, but healing? No hiding that once it kicked in.
Uncle Jo Company had already racked up major brownie points this time. The kind no one could ignore. While the other two teams flailed in that trap, they’d sized up the situation, handled it right, and even dropped the biggest threat: the Calcutta Gorilla.
Now was the moment to drive it home. A chance to hand out a massive favor without breaking a sweat.
“Raise both arms.”
“What’re you doing?”
“Relax. Here.”
“Guh?!”
The squad member—ribs shattered and worse from the Calcutta Gorilla hit—groaned as pain surged through him. Healing didn’t numb the agony. It fixed the wound, but the recipient had to tough out the sharp jolt of recovery.
Choi Jae-ho’s eyes bulged wider than seemed possible. White light pouring from Suhyun’s hand, the trembling squad member where it touched. No mistaking it.
Healing ability!
‘A superpowered?!’
“You breathing okay?”
“Huh? Y-yeah…….”
“Good. Step aside. Next.”
“Ah, no. I’m good, I think…….”
His leg was busted, but after watching his buddy wail like he was dying from the treatment, his own injury suddenly didn’t feel so bad.
“What kinda nonsense is that? You wanna drag us down on the way back? Here. Relax.”
“Kwaaaaaagh!”
Suhyun went through Code Green’s severely wounded one by one like that. Small mercy: the Calcutta Gorilla didn’t pull any fancy special abilities. Otherwise, it would’ve drained him several times over.
“Anyone hurt in Jindo Team?”
The squad members shook their heads, faces pale. Choi Jae-ho, though, prioritized facts over reactions.
“A healing ability user?!”
“Yeah? Yeah.”
“Th-then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Family motto: don’t go bragging even if you’ve got power.”
‘What the hell kinda bullshit is that!’
His blood pressure spiked at Suhyun spouting nonsense with a straight face, but this wasn’t the time. Choi Jae-ho’s mind whirred.
How to milk the max gain from this?
“Outstanding family motto.”
“I think so.”
Suhyun’s tone had flipped back to its usual deference from their last chat, but Choi Jae-ho didn’t clock it.
“The Calcutta Gorilla? You took it down? For real?”
“Go look at the body—you’ll see it was this gun.”
Everyone could guess the sniper rifle slung on Suhyun’s back was built for big monsters. But if one weapon like that could handle the job solo, humanity wouldn’t be suffering like this. Choi Jae-ho couldn’t picture how Suhyun had pulled it off.
Flustered and thrown, he steadied himself. Other priorities first.
“Alright. Power armors out! Drag those two idiots now! Team Leader Lee So-hee—if you’re alright with it, mind helping extract Code Green’s power armor?”
Jindo Team could handle theirs, but Code Green still hadn’t snapped out of it after getting wrecked—not with their team leader floundering in the swamp.
Lee So-hee nodded. Choi Jae-ho wasn’t rude by nature, but his tone now carried extra caution. She knew exactly what Uncle Jo Company’s team had accomplished here.
No monsters around? Cleanup was a breeze. The power armor pilots stuck in the swamp were out in no time. Shamefaced, they flushed red.
“Job’s done either way. Body’s inside—go confirm and grab it. You, stand guard there just in case.”
“Yes, sir.”
Choi Jae-ho’s subordinates split off on his orders. Code Green’s pilot was their team leader, but she was swamped reorganizing, so no way to task her. Lee So-hee? Even less.
“Found it!”
“!”
He hadn’t figured they’d lie about something a quick look could verify, but hearing there really was a body? Still shocked him.
Minutes later, the pilot dragged out the Calcutta Gorilla’s corpse.
‘What in the world…….’
No other marks on it. It had scrapped with power armors in scattered bursts, but its natural armor had shrugged those off—no wounds from them.
Just one visible injury. A massive bullet hole punched clean through. Dead-center vital hit, but Suhyun couldn’t believe it.
Monsters dropped to vitals too, sure. But they knew it, so they guarded them. Sneaking a vital shot on something like a Calcutta Gorilla? Practically impossible. It could tank power armor hits just by hardening up……
“Team Leader?”
“Ah. Sorry. Let’s move, then. No point sticking around.”
Choi Jae-ho shook off his vital-shot fretting at his subordinate’s voice. He had them secure the body, then gave the march order to the other teams. Nothing made sense, but the mission was a win. He could puzzle it out later.
* * *
“A healing ability user?”
Jo Seung-hyun rubbed his pounding temples as the report sank in. Only one guy in his company was throwing him for this loop right now.
Kim Suhyun. Undeniable talent, but the way he acted made him wonder why the hell he was slumming it here. No chance to celebrate the mission success—Jo Seung-hyun was already deep in how-to-handle-this territory.
“They’d have to be insane not to scout him on the spot.”
“Obviously…….”
Jindo, Code Green. Both outfits could snag a talent like that easy. A superpowered, and not just any—the universal dream of a healer. And that wasn’t even Suhyun’s full value.
If he’d gone elsewhere first or come clean about the powers upfront, they’d have made an offer to match. But no—he’d strolled in as the wide-eyed newbie, and now this. Impossible to keep pace.
“Ugh…….”
He was a businessman. No way he’d let a gem from his own company get poached easy, no matter how he’d landed here.
“What’s your take?”
“?”
“Why’d he join us? Hiding he’s superpowered. No way he awakened midstream.”
He’d voiced the truth without thinking, but Jo Seung-hyun had no clue. Lee So-hee paused, then answered.
“Sounds like both parents were Cameron Planet garrison soldiers. Not regular grunts, from what I hear…….”
“Special ops? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Grew up around types like that, he might think different from the norm. Big merc companies are solid, but not flawless.”
“Newbie grinding up’s tough? Sure, but he’s a healer. That’s a whole other league.”
“Gets him so far easy. Past that? Uphill battle.”
Any decent-sized company had its structure locked down. A guy like Suhyun could snag a low-rung team leader spot, but anything higher? Seats were taken.
“Aiming for the chicken’s comb over the fish tail…?”