Chapter 33
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 033
Chapter Title: Ice Trash
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This incident drew attention from all corners for various reasons, mainly because the lineup of monsters that emerged from the Gate was so flashy.
First off, there was Somarin with the force field exoskeleton ability. That bastard slaughtered all twenty-four soldiers guarding the Awakener detention facility in just two minutes. The machine guns and anti-tank rockets deployed there in preparation for a Force Field Body attack only extended the soldiers' survival time by a mere thirty seconds or so.
According to the captured Somarin, he was the strongest lord in the area.
And the big brute I took down after a brutal fight was the second strongest lord there. In the end, he was dragged off unconscious and made a prisoner.
The non-Awakener Somarin captured alongside him suffered the same fate. All of them were taken prisoner and put through interrogation. It made the news that Korea had finally captured some Somarin prisoners after such a long time.
I checked out my HuntWeb interview related to all that.
Sure enough, the views had surpassed ten thousand. I scrolled through the hundreds of comments attached to it.
Baby Mushroom is scary as hell in real life, no matter how many times I see it. If I ever ran into him, I probably couldn't even make eye contact. LOL
I'm terrified just looking at that guy too, but half his neck was sliced open, blood pouring everywhere, and he just teleports right back and starts punching another Physical Enhancer? What the hell is that? I'm scared someone's gonna tell me to copy him ;;
There were plenty of fun, complimentary comments like that, but not every internet comment can be satisfying. Plenty made me grimace.
Kim Geuk-ham debuted less than a year ago, so why are his opponents always like that? A Force Field Body that won't die even after emptying a full 30mm magazine, a Flame Spirit no one's ever taken down in Korea, and two crazy Awakener Somarin...
Even an A-rank Hunter wouldn't fight monsters that tough more than once or twice in their career. Looks like he took the contract for way too cheap.
Why does a news article always pop up about Baby Mushroom taking down some monster every time I see him? Is his real job berserker?
Part of it's that Kim Geuk guy's got some rage control issues and charges at anything that looks like an enemy, but Incheon's got something to do with it too.
Why Incheon?
I bit my lip when I spotted the GoodHunter username among the comments.
Korea's largest Awakener detention facility is in Incheon. Monsters heading from the Gate toward Seoul all detour there instead, right?
Even trying to calm myself, curses bubbled up automatically. That fucking prick?
He probably didn't even realize he was discriminating against Awakeners. Knowing his type, he just wanted to act like a know-it-all senior Hunter. Understanding that didn't stop the rage from boiling over.
I kept scrolling.
Come to think of it, the captured Somarin were after the freezer too, right?
Yeah. The Awakener lords came to grab Ice Ability users to keep in their palaces. Apparently targeting young, pretty women if possible.
Why take Ice Ability users?
Ice Ability users are valued in Sword World. Their status there is like court mages for Awakener lords or high-class slaves, apparently?
? Why?
Sword World has no fridges or AC. Ice Ability users can chill drinks, cool you off in the heat, preserve meat longer—super useful all around. Plus, for powerful Awakeners like lords, they're not a threat. So you can keep them around without worrying about getting attacked. And if they evolve spiritually into Spirits, they can open Gates, bumping their status up to full-on fantasy court mage.
So basically, more will keep swarming Incheon targeting Ice Ability users?
Incheon's guardian Kim Geuk-ham is gonna have it rough from now on for real.
These ice trash are making a 50-billion-won Awakener suffer like crazy lol
My eyes widened when I saw syberMagneto.
That woman...
I gritted my teeth, recalling yesterday's events.
After the fight with the brute ended, I remembered what happened once I entered the Gate.
Once inside the Gate, my vision filled with a world of purple hues.
There were no objects around—just infinite twinkling silhouettes glowing against a purple backdrop.
It didn't look like Earth, or even reality. Staring at the scene made it hit home: I'd really entered a Gate.
I spotted Baek Dam-bi, who had gone in ahead of me. I asked her,
"How's it look? You figuring anything out? My eyes are spinning."
I couldn't even tell if I was seeing her front or back. She appeared as a single glowing silhouette.
Inside the Gate—this space dubbed the astral realm—we existed not as physical matter, but as spirits.
"Same here. Gotta get used to it some more."
My words and hers transmitted directly into each other's minds.
As I'd mentioned before, our bodies didn't exist as matter here. No vocal cords meant no voices. Thoughts and emotions propagated like waves around us.
I slowly surveyed the surroundings. The Gate's interior was famous as a staging area where monsters waited before hunts, right?
Sure enough, countless monsters lounged around in silhouette form.
A pre-hunt rest. As spirits here, they could wait indefinitely for prey without starving.
Not just Gate monsters—even the world outside, our world, was observable from here.
I gazed at the blue glows shimmering in the distance.
Just looking at them flooded my mind with images of cold, winter, chill—the Ice Ability users from the Awakener detention facility, no doubt. So it was true you could scout outside Awakeners from inside the Gate.
I kept scanning around.
Nearby was an Awakener whose ability I couldn't quite pin down... and then, looking farther, I reeled from the mental shock.
Like the sun at dawn, something blazing shone brilliantly in the distance.
Just seeing that searing sun filled me with dread. Oppressive pressure, stress—it hit my mind directly. Along with a closed-off will to shield itself from that pressure and stress.
As I kept staring, Baek Dam-bi spoke up.
"That pressure and stress are the triggers for force field exoskeleton Awakeners, right?"
"Probably."
"Then that must be Kang Jun-chi. Earth's top force field user."
"Yeah. They said he looks like the sun from inside a Gate—guess that wasn't hyperbole. And he's in Busan, but he's huge even from Incheon... just..."
"Theoretically survives a nuke blast. Man, envy that. How easy must his life be?"
Seeing Baek Dam-bi mutter that filled me with inexplicable pride.
I could feel again just how monumental my achievement was.
Look—the her I'd seen in the hallucination was being dragged into a Gate, but now, having changed that future, she was right beside me.
She used to not say a word outside work, but now here she was, chatting casually one-on-one.
How amazing was that? My heart swelled. No more worrying my round girl would leave my side.
Lost in thought, I noticed Baek Dam-bi turn around—I'd been looking at her back this whole time.
Even as silhouettes, our eyes met.
"Uh, that..."
Baek Dam-bi seemed startled. Like she'd spotted something behind me and was trying to warn me, but I couldn't focus.
Dizziness crashed over me suddenly. Along with the sensation of being pulled somewhere. I thought,
The familiar one again.
I knew the hallucination was about to hit me once more...
Continuing through the comments, I muttered inwardly.
Disgusting non-Awakener scum. Send 'em to the gas chamber and turn 'em into soap—that's the only use for trash like that...
Ice Ability hatred was rampant online, just like in real life. My interview post suddenly turned into an ice-hater rally.
If I were Kim Geuk-ham, I'd wanna shoot all those ice trash dead
For real. He took the Incheon gig out of hometown pride, even cutting his pay, and what does he get? Total bullshit suffering.
Not just those—tons of similar comments below, saying I was suffering because of Ice Ability users and rightfully hated them.
Search "Kim Geuk" online and my Korean Awakener Alliance history pops up, but apparently no one knew. Not that anyone knew what the Alliance even did. Barely any articles on it.
Some comments grated especially hard.
Isn't there an ice trash on Kim Geuk-ham's team?
Baek Dam-bi?
Yeah, that crazy bitch. HuntWeb was full of hate for her a year ago, but nothing lately.
She's leeching off Kim Geuk's hot team in secret lol
I couldn't hold back and posted a comment.
Dont talk bad abt her!
HuntWeb being HuntWeb, comments flooded in right away at my appearance, but I ignored them. Even in my anger, I tried keeping the cute tone as I hammered out a long reply.
Baek Dam-bi unnie leeching off Baby Mushroom's team in secret? Crazy talk! Ice Princess Baek Dam-bi unnie is a total powerhouse in the team! Without Ice Princess unnie, Baby Mushroom would've gotten fried by the Flame Spirit! And after, if she hadn't tanked up front, a bunch of the noobs hunting with Baby Mushroom would've died and he'd be bawling his eyes out!
I went on listing Baek Dam-bi's contributions and exploits in the team, and comments piled up there too. From sudden ass-kissing praise for my performance to snarky jabs about being dazzled by Baby Mushroom's ex-idol looks—mixed bag.
Among them, one username and comment stood out sharply.
Nice seeing you stick up for your teammate, but seriously begging you—drop the speech pattern and Ice Princess crap. I can't stomach watching it...
I steeled myself for the horrific scene I'd face soon.
A hallucination was coming, and they always showed me the worst.
But inspecting the hallucination space, I felt puzzled.
Was I really hallucinating? Nothing seemed different...
It looked like inside the Gate. The purple backdrop gave it away.
And Baek Dam-bi was right there in front of me. Same as reality—I wondered if it was just dizziness from blood loss.
The truth hit the next moment.
My mouth opened on its own. In the hallucination, I yelled at Baek Dam-bi,
"Baek Dam-bi, cut the crap and stay put...!"
Maybe because hallucination me was still me—I instinctively knew the situation.
I'd chased her here to stop her. To convince her not to leave our world for another.
Baek Dam-bi seemed shocked I'd followed her here. A "How'd you get here?" vibe. No facial expression visible, but her flustered emotions came through clear.
My rage washed over her like a wave too.
I bellowed,
"Why are you leaving Earth? If anyone's going, it should be the non-Awakener scum—not you!"
"If you hate the temple, the monk leaves."
"If you hate the temple, burn it down! Let those shitty monk bastards choke and die!"
"Burning it down, you still end up leaving, right? Skip the middle step."
"After I personally rescued you from getting kidnapped! Now you're heading back there on your own two feet? You sane?"
"Sorry..."
Even mid-conversation, Baek Dam-bi didn't stop what she was doing.
She was opening a Gate. Not to Earth—to another world.
In other words, she was trying to leave for Sword World.
I tried interfering, but it was impossible. Pushing her hard did nothing. As spirits reconstituted here, we couldn't harm or physically affect each other.
Finally, the Gate opened.
We saw the world beyond: Sword World's desert landscape made my head spin.
I was so furious tears welled up. My closest friend going to live in that dump? No way. Couldn't let it...
I grabbed her wrist hard, but no use. My hand slipped right through; couldn't hold her.
Behind her, the Gate kept growing. The Sword World vista expanded with it.
She laughed mentally. Forced, as usual.
From her spirit emanated slight excitement and anticipation, drowned by far greater tension and fear.
Behind Baek Dam-bi stood other Ice Ability users.
From Incheon's Awakener detention facility. They'd decided to follow her to Sword World.
I grabbed one and demanded,
"You really going to Sword World to live?"
"Yes."
"Why?!"
"Why? They say Ice Ability users are kinda useful there. Powerful Awakener lords come grab us themselves."
"That's still slavery!"
"Slave or whatever, being needed at all is a blessing..."
Were all these Ice Ability users leaving for the same reason? Baek Dam-bi too?
The Gate swallowed them one by one. I tried grabbing them, but futile.
Eventually, only Baek Dam-bi and I remained.
After staring blankly at my futile attempts, she spoke awkwardly.
"One last favor?"
"What..."
"I've got a computer at home. Could you smash the hard drive? Not like I've got a ton of porn, but HuntWeb's set to auto-login. Can't have anyone seeing what nonsense I posted there."
I snapped,
"Ashamed of being syberMagneto?"
She muttered,
"Embarrassed, yeah..."
Baek Dam-bi laughed mentally. The awkwardness transmitted as a wave as she approached me.
The next instant, we overlapped. Merged.
No physical bodies, no sensation from touching lips, but I snapped awake.
Meanwhile, she'd mumbled, "Yeah, super embarrassed..." before pulling back and turning away.
She took two steps into the Gate. It shrank and vanished after swallowing her.
Frozen from the shock of our first "kiss," I regretted too late. Should've followed her in.
I stood there alone for a while before accepting her final request.
Smash the hard drive, huh. For the only comrade I'd had for over four years, such a trivial ask.
I teleported; her home interior appeared. Hard to believe she'd pocketed 16 billion in contract money—this place was rundown.
Dim, cramped. Lights wouldn't turn on. Right, she'd complained about utilities getting cut recently.
After four-plus years of apartment sale rejections, she'd lived alone here in a ghost town neighborhood everyone else fled.
Utilities cut off not long ago.
Local gov told her to move to an Ice Ability user facility; she refused.
Better Sword World as a slave than that—or so she chose, leaving Earth entirely for a place that valued her, even lowly.
I eyed Baek Dam-bi—syberMagneto's—computer.
Raised the hammer and smashed down hard.
The eardrum-shattering crash ejected me from the hallucination.