Chapter 28
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 028
Chapter Title: Riffraff [2]
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The hunt on Full Moon Mountain was going smoothly as well.
Monsters had dug tunnels hidden in spots here and there across the mountain, so if the troops had charged ahead blindly, the casualties would've been severe. But that was just the limit of those non-Awakener scraps.
The Hunters under my lead simply repeated the same process.
If a monster was idling out in the open, all I had to do was point out its location, and the others would handle it with sniper fire.
If it was holed up in some tunnel, we'd toss in a grenade or whatever and wait. In those cases, the monsters would come scrambling out of the entrance on their own, and I'd spread a mental net in front of it just in case.
The mental net picked out any fast-moving entities within its range that felt off. If one got detected, I'd step in and take it down with cannon rounds even a Force Field Body couldn't withstand...
After repeating this process over and over, everyone else—and I—got used to it.
I, for one, had grown so accustomed to monitoring their movements through the net that it felt just as natural as spotting and judging them with my own eyes.
After hunting all morning, we finished up the meal the locals had prepared for us (even though we told them not to bother) and headed back up the mountain.
As we walked, I shared my scan results.
"Nine goblins in those bushes over there."
No one tensed up at my words. And why would they? Goblins were just fodder for Deathclaws.
Aside from Deathclaws—which had become an exception to the naming rules after emerging first from the Gates—monsters generally got named after famous fictional beasts from various countries. Calling them "Anomalous Entity-183" or whatever might sound dignified, but thick-headed Hunters wouldn't remember it, and it wouldn't catch on across nations either, or so they said.
And the goblins popping out of Gates didn't look much like RPG goblins anyway—they just resembled plucked gray monkeys. But their status was about the same as those game goblins.
They had enough smarts to make fire, but that was it. Being smaller than humans, they weren't much of a threat. Sure, they punched above their weight class, so they could take down kids or women, and if left to breed, even Deathclaws that ate them for breakfast might get outnumbered. They were just beasts you had to wipe out on sight.
Click. Naito-san racked his shotgun. He spoke up.
"We'll handle this one!"
It was about as casual as saying he'd take out the trash himself. I nodded without a second thought, and Naito-san led a few Hunters toward the spot I'd indicated.
Out of a touch of paranoia, I spread my mental net for any surprises, but that was it. Once they were out of sight, I stopped paying attention.
That's when it happened.
I wasn't even tracking the goblin hunt in detail through the net when I caught something slashing through it like a frenzy—a blisteringly fast moving object.
A bullet from our side? No.
A bullet flying toward us.
The moment I sensed the danger, every nerve in my body lit up. What was happening just beyond my sight flooded my brain in an instant.
From the mental net's outline, one goblin was holding a K-2 rifle. The fierce projectile had burst from its barrel. Definitely a bullet.
What was in the bullet's path?
Naito-san. No doubt about it. You could tell just from the shotgun he carried—foreigners couldn't use full-auto weapons domestically.
And right now, it didn't matter if it was Naito-san or anyone else. The second I made the call, I teleported. Right into the space between the goblin and Naito-san.
I thrust both arms forward like a guard, and the incoming bullet slammed straight into my forearm.
Sound travels slower than bullets, so the gunshot rang out after. Bang!
No adrenaline rush this time, so I felt the pain in full. But I didn't need to do anything—the other Hunters nearby weren't idiots; they opened fire with their own guns.
A few shots later, the goblins were all sprawled out as corpses.
Then the wide-eyed Hunters turned to me.
"Kim Geuk? How'd you get here... Wait, no, it's not that I don't know about the teleportation. How'd you even know about the situation...?"
Instead of answering, I just groaned, "Tch."
They seemed to piece it together only after seeing the blood running from my forearm. The Hunters around me started fussing.
"Shit, what do we do? It's lodged in there!"
*******
"So, the second you sensed that Naito guy's crisis, you teleported in and took the bullet for him?"
I answered Seong Mun-yeong's question humbly.
"Feel free to praise my self-sacrifice all you want."
"Praise my ass—what kind of insane stunt was that?!"
"I saved a life. How's that insane?"
"No, think about it! Some big dude teleports right in front of you out of nowhere! In a crisis, wouldn't anyone just shoot first and figure it out later, instead of realizing he's here to shield you?"
"Huh. Maybe."
"And for starters! It was a do-or-die moment with a goblin aiming a gun—you had to shoot fast, right? What if you'd accidentally hit you instead?"
I chided him that I couldn't exactly crunch numbers in the heat of the moment, but yeah, it had been risky.
Thinking back, I could've taken fire from both sides. And if it'd hit my back instead of my arm, who knows what would've happened.
Luckily, Naito-san behind me hadn't fired at me, so it ended with just an arm wound.
Wait, actually, why hadn't> he fired in that situation?
The goblin fired first, but by then Naito-san would've clocked the lethal threat right in front of him. He should've fired next.
So why didn't he? Had the usually cool-headed guy just frozen up when death stared him down?
No way he'd spotted my teleport and held fire. The goblin's bullet was already airborne, I'd jumped in midway, and reacting to that wasn't humanly possible reflex-wise.
Unless you were a freak like me... or some special type of Awakener...
I didn't dwell on it long.
"You shouldn't have taken that hit for him in the first place. Why bother saving a guy like that...?"
Baek Dam-bi was pressing ice to my bullet wound—uncharacteristically nagging me—and it felt pretty good to have her worried.
No, it was downright delightful. Not just because a stunner was tending to me.
The whole situation—the prior incident itself—had me thrilled.
Meaning, the moment I'd saved Naito-san.
No matter if they had contract money buying them Awakener-level gear or top-notch skills, non-Awakeners needed Awakener protection. Otherwise, they'd drop dead without a fight.
It felt great to prove that point again.
And with it, I finally nailed down why I'd hated Naito-san so much.
It bugged me that a non-Awakener strutted around like some ace Hunter. His existence challenged my theory: non-Awakeners were useless, so they should just hang back praising Awakeners while we took down monsters. Saving him reaffirmed my theory, so naturally, I was in a good mood.
Hm, not something I'd admit out loud...
"Kim Geuk got shot, so let's call it a day, yeah?"
I nodded at Im Hyeong-taek's suggestion. Seong Mun-yeong and Lee Jong-ho chimed in with "Yeah, yeah," but there'd have been cheers normally. Today, they just fidgeted, sneaking glances at me.
This attention? Electric.
Even Naito-san shuffled over awkwardly and spoke.
"I... I don't even know how to thank you. You've saved my life twice now. How can I ever...?"
I was in such a good mood, I could even smile at him.
"Forget it. We're all risking our necks out here—who wouldn't help if they could?"
"Still..."
"If you're that grateful, post some praise about me on HuntWeb. I'll reply super nicely this time."
Naito-san kept gushing thanks for a good while before backing off.
And shortly after, something popped out of my forearm with a plink. The bullet rolling on the ground.
My regenerating flesh had pushed it out. I widened my eyes at the sight.
I'd planned to get it extracted at a hospital. My Super Regeneration wasn't usually> this strong. Just like my teleport range expanding, my regen had noticeably leveled up too?
"You're a monster, seriously..."
I smacked Seong Mun-yeong upside the head, ending the day's hunt.
On the way back with the team, I regretted wrapping up early. The wound had healed faster than expected. Time was wasting away like this.
Heading to the academy for strength training? Coach Yang would be busy now. What to do?
"Mun-yeong, wanna pick up some part-time work?"
"What job? I've been raking it in thanks to you lately. No need for side gigs."
"It's a gig from your boss here—pays top dollar. Come make more cash if you want, yeah?"
I lured Seong Mun-yeong home and handed him my K-2 rifle.
Aimed the barrel at me and gave the order.
"Alright, shoot me with it."
"You're nuts?"
"Not like that—it's training, dumbass."
"What kind?"
"I reacted to a bullet today, right? Even coming from the opposite direction, I sensed the danger and saved a life."
"I get you're awesome, so stop bragging..."
"My nervous system responded to a bullet's speed. Don't you see how insane that is? Bigger than hitting a 180 km/h knuckleball for a homer."
"Okay, yeah, that's impressive, but what're you getting at...?"
I explained it couldn't end with one fluke lucky punch—it had to be repeatable, reliable. Not wishful thinking, but proper training. And to train, we had to recreate the scenario.
"Use BBs then..."
"BBs don't match real bullet speed."
"Still no reason to shoot you> specifically, right? Can't you just react to shots at other targets?"
"Sure, but my brain needs to register it as a real threat for the nerves to kick into overdrive."
"Why make me> do it then?"
"You're a sociopath who hurts people with words all the time—shooting to hurt shouldn't faze you."
"No, you're> the one hurting people with words right now..."
"Don't worry. I won't die."
"That's what they all say as their last words..."
After a ton more griping, Seong Mun-yeong finally fired a shot at me.
I thrilled at the sensation of the bullet ripping through my mental net, jangling my nerves—even faintly visible to the naked eye.
Over the past three months, I'd found it easier and easier to track Deathclaws' movements, which outpaced human dynamic vision.
It wasn't just familiarity with enemies—my nervous system had reached superhuman levels.
My guess: Constant use of teleport and mental net, which stimulated my nerves, had pushed my system beyond human limits.
Apparently, some Nerve Acceleration Awakeners could react to bullets. At this rate, I might join them. Hell, I'd already handled one once—next time would be even better...
Only then did the gunshot crack. Bang! Seong Mun-yeong's voice followed.
"Doesn't it hurt? Why're you grinning like that? You're freaking me out..."