Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Eye of the Prodigy (5)
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[Neither.]
Night Rat's Slave No. 2. Or rather, a curt message had come from Kyung-jin, who managed all of the Night Rat's information as team leader. It was the weekly report that Sa-yoon had requested from him starting last month, after failing to find any trait holders on his own for an entire month.
It definitely hadn't been this short at first, but now on the eighth week with no progress, Kyung-jin's reports were growing increasingly perfunctory. Next week, he'd probably just send a single 'X'.
"Where the hell did this damn system bury the trait holders?"
Sa-yoon muttered after receiving yet another useless report. It had been three months since he awakened Eye of the Prodigy, but all he'd gained from pushing the skill until he passed out every time was a slight increase in guild members.
Aside from scouting and recruiting everyone with a usable status window into Night Rat, there wasn't a single consolation to be had.
He was wasting time and enduring pain in equal measure.
"This is driving me insane."
The thought alone made his anger surge again. Feeling the heat rising in his body, Sa-yoon placed the ice pack beside him over his eyelids. It was a small act of mercy for eyes that never got a day's rest from overwork.
A slight pain accompanied every skill use, my ass. The agony was so intense it felt like needles stabbing his eyes, and after a certain number of uses, blood would inevitably flow from them. Abusing his eyes like this every day had even caused his vision to decline.
Still, being S-grade meant his eyesight was better than most, but he couldn't deny the damage it had taken.
"These things really aren't in Korea at all, are they?"
Just a few months ago, he'd been singing praises of "pretty boys, pretty boys," but in a mere three months, they'd become "these things."
Having searched this much with nothing to show for it, Sa-yoon was starting to worry that they might truly not exist in Korea. He shot up from his seat.
Even so, if the system had any conscience, it should have made them Korean. Otherwise, it wasn't a god—it was just a thug, Satan, or a demon.
And it probably was one of those.
The more he cursed, the more credible it felt. Suddenly gripped by a bad premonition, Sa-yoon's heart raced. He grabbed the sunglasses he'd tossed on the sofa and urgently called for Jong-sik.
This wasn't the time to be lounging around.
"Hyungnim! You called at the perfect time. I have to head out for kindergarten volunteer work soon..."
"Kids aren't the priority right now, Jong-sik."
He was dying to get his hands on one, but the oblivious Jong-sik suggested volunteer work. He wasn't in the mood to lower his infamy by playing with kids.
He needed to find either Supreme Under Heaven or Breaker of the Flow as soon as possible. Three months of searching with no progress had made him a bit lax without realizing it, but realizing they might not even be in Korea lit a fire under him.
Before that fire burned him alive, Sa-yoon resolved to find at least one of those pretty boys. He shoved Jong-sik's back, urging him to drive faster.
Jong-sik, clueless and pushed out, awkwardly climbed into the car. From the back seat, Sa-yoon named their destination: the Incheon Awakener Registration Center. He'd scoured from Gyeonggi Province to Seoul, and now it was Incheon.
He mentally threatened the system not to make him go all the way to Jeju, though he knew it wouldn't work. At the same time, he worried that a trait holder who'd been in Incheon yesterday might have gone up to Seoul in the meantime.
The car rolled on amid his anxiety and impatience, and the moment they arrived at the Incheon Awakener Registration Center, Sa-yoon jumped out before it fully stopped. Jong-sik wailed like a banshee.
"Hyungnim, please stop doing that!"
"Shut up and park, Jong-sik."
He sent the nagging Jong-sik to the parking lot and pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head. Hands in his pockets, Sa-yoon sat on the bench at the center's entrance, scanning the people coming and going.
He took a deep breath and activated Eye of the Prodigy. Even though he was used to it, the sharp pain still stabbed his eyes.
"Do we really have to find that guy? You're pushing too hard. Don't rush it—just live like you always have..."
"Jong-sik."
"...Sorry."
Live like he always had.
What a joke.
How could a life of barely clinging to survival be called "living"?
A light rebuke made Jong-sik, who had watched Sa-yoon's life closest of all, apologize readily. His expression showed he knew he'd misspoke, so Sa-yoon didn't scold him further.
He understood Jong-sik's feelings.
Anyone would be anxious seeing their charge vomit blood and collapse daily.
Still, some things in the world couldn't be compromised on, and some lines couldn't be crossed no matter what. Sa-yoon stubbornly dug in his heels. Every roll of his eyes brought throbbing pain.
After about 30 minutes, dizziness set in.
After an hour, blood flowed from his eyes, but he'd come prepared with black sunglasses and a mask, so it didn't show. Once, without the mask, people had screamed at the sight of his bleeding eyes, causing quite the hassle.
After two hours, so much blood pooled inside the mask that it soaked through. When he parted his lips once, he ended up tasting it and grimaced.
"Hyungnim..."
Jong-sik let out a worried sound, noticing Sa-yoon's trembling fingertips. Sa-yoon squeezed his eyes shut long and hard, then opened them and inhaled deeply.
Another 30 minutes, and he could no longer sit upright—his upper body swayed. Jong-sik, watching from afar, rushed over to support him.
The inside of his eyes burned like someone had set them ablaze. There had been times he'd thought he'd never adapt to the pain, but after hundreds of repetitions, he could endure it somewhat.
One more.
Just one more.
The determination to catch him this time pushed Sa-yoon beyond his limits.
A faint premonition that he could find one now played a part too—a flimsy hunch like the thrill of winning at the gambling table, but Sa-yoon couldn't afford to miss even that slim "maybe."
If a trait holder was here and he missed them. If they fled overseas, the difficulty would skyrocket.
Chanting "one more" like a mantra, he leaned heavily on Jong-sik to hold his foggy mind together. His eyes suddenly rolled back, then snapped forward.
"Tch."
Even an S-grade body couldn't endure bleeding for over two hours. Cursing his frail constitution, Sa-yoon clenched his fist. Jong-sik suggested he dig his nails into his arm instead since it hurt to watch, but that wouldn't do.
He needed to disperse the pain somehow to stay conscious.
Just one more.
Sa-yoon knew he was at his limit. Having passed out countless times before, he could sense he'd black out on the next try. Gritting his teeth, he scanned the crowd with eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.
The one with the strongest vibe.
He had to catch that one.
Until now, he'd used the skill on everyone in sight, but this was the last one, so he chose carefully. He skipped a potbellied middle-aged man, then a woman glancing his way. He ignored the passersby whispering and stealing looks at him and Jong-sik together.
Or rather, he tried to.
If not for the one man who turned his body at the exact moment Sa-yoon turned his head.
Something was suspicious.
It looked like he'd been watching Sa-yoon, got startled when Sa-yoon turned, and averted his gaze. Sa-yoon activated the skill on him.
With the ding, the tiresomely familiar blue window appeared. Sa-yoon checked the trait field first with a serious expression, and his eyes widened round.
"That guy's...!"
He heaved.
In his sudden excitement, he shot up from his seat and vomited blood. Forcing his collapsing body upright, Sa-yoon grabbed Jong-sik's arm.
"Hyungnim!"
Seeing Sa-yoon's dire state, Jong-sik fretted anxiously.
Letting out a groan, Sa-yoon bit his lip hard to stay conscious.
His vision blurred. His eyes rolled back on their own, then veered left. Biting his tongue to control them, Sa-yoon fixed his sharp gaze on the man he'd found and forced his mouth open.
"Kim... ...Jong-sik."
"Hyungnim! Are you okay? You should really stop..."
"...That bastard. Cough! That fucker..."
"Pardon?"
"...Bring that fucker here."
Or you'll go hungry.
Pointing with a trembling fingertip at the man diagonally across from him, Sa-yoon's eyes rolled back fully. His body, shaking like an aspen leaf, crumpled limply to the ground.
The blood pooled under his mask splattered down as he fell. A passerby happening by shrieked at the sight.
"Kyaaah!"
The scream, sharp enough to rival three slaps to a horror movie extra's face, echoed in front of the Awakener Registration Center. Jong-sik cried out "Hyungnim!" like a man at a deathbed.
So damn noisy.
That was Sa-yoon's last thought before blacking out.