Chapter 4
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 004
Chapter Title: Academy Student Kim Geuk - [2]
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"You have to come tomorrow without fail. If you don't, I'll cry. Okay?"
As I was about to head home, the director personally saw me off all the way to the door. He even pressed 10,000 won into my hand as cab fare. At this point, it had gone beyond burdensome and straight into hilarious.
On the way home, as I thought it over, none of it really bothered me.
No, honestly speaking, I was thrilled. Why? Because of all the special treatment just for being an Awakener?
Exactly. I hadn't anticipated treatment like this.
It wasn't because I didn't know Awakeners were treated like nobility—or even gods—in the Hunter industry. I'd planned to go overseas and become a Hunter from the start, which proved I knew I was perfectly suited for the job.
I'd known it intellectually, but there was another reason all this felt so surprisingly fresh.
I'd spent too long in those damn human rights groups, only seeing pitiful Awakeners.
Back when I worked at the Awakener human rights organization, the Korean Awakener Alliance, I dealt with "pitiful" Awakeners all the time.
Not all Awakeners are created equal. There are those who bask in everyone's attention and envy, and then there are those treated like leprosy patients from ages past.
The latter are truly pitiable. Just for awakening, they're flagged as crime suspects, denied housing rentals or leases, and even rejected from apartment purchases despite having money—forced into special containment facilities. That's the kind I mostly saw at the Korean Awakener Alliance.
The former? The ones living like major leaguers as Hunters?
That's me. Awakeners with clearly powerful, useful abilities.
Having only dealt with the pitiful ones, I'd somehow started seeing all Awakeners as oppressed underdogs. I even lumped myself in with them, despite being the same kind of Awakener.
Because of that, my pride as an Awakener had quietly eroded. Being treated like a VIP today had me feeling smug.
Or maybe I'd finally woken up to reality? Or perhaps after getting ignored by passersby during my unwanted human rights activism days, today's events had finally satisfied my self-esteem.
Either way, it was delightful. My mood was fantastic. Really.
Before heading to the academy, I booted up my computer for a moment.
Wasn't the site the students recommended called HuntWeb? I figured I might pick up something useful, so I logged into the damn thing.
Hunter license standards officially relaxed. Brace yourselves—ex-convicts flooding the industry will muddy the waters.
Gas all non-Awakeners and I'd upvote hard.
I took a quick look at the site's vibe and signed up fast.
I mimicked the speech patterns of a specific user type from the games I played and wrote a post.
Uncles! I got a question!
A new Awakener oppa showed up at our academy! The academy uncles are being super nice to him!
Looks like his tuition is totally free! If he doesn't know what to do in class, the instructors and even the other students all help him out kindly!
Is there a reason? Our academy's full of non-Awakeners— are they just excited about an Awakener?
I was shocked at how quickly comments piled up with every refresh.
Damn, tons of users. Are there this many Hunters in Korea?
Your speech is a mess...
Is this new Awakener a dud? If he's an ice user, they're probably planning to bully him out.
What's a dud?
Ice Ability user
I frowned for a moment. Even online, my little sister gets treated like an untouchable. Poor girl.
Nope! He has Physical Enhancement and some other weird power!!
Oh... A-rank. Then occasionally buy him drinks or coffee as tribute.
No money :(
Then suck his dick once in a while. Anyway, if you're serious about Hunter life, suck up big time.
Why? What's in it for getting chummy with Awakeners?
Way less likely to get screwed over. Way more money.
There were several more comments offering advice to the cute newbie, but they boiled down to this.
1. Hunter teams with Awakeners earn dozens of times more than all-non-Awakener teams. Awakeners get to pick team members, so you need to impress them.
2. An academy's Awakener is their most valuable connection. The academy contacts their alumni Awakeners to recruit top students as team members. Win-win: Awakeners get reliable teammates regularly, and the academy slots their grads into Awakener-led teams.
The gist was that whether you're an academy or an aspiring Hunter, cozy up to Awakeners. Now I got why the students treated me that way.
Overall, satisfying.
The satisfied student life continued.
Who would've thought I'd actually look forward to waking up in the morning and heading to the academy.
A few weeks into attending, the students were still sweet to me. Despite my lack of sociability, they greeted me first or struck up conversations.
They acted so friendly that I actually bonded with a few. Sure, plenty weren't close yet, but none annoyed me. Hmm, perfect social dynamics, right?
Of course, I wasn't there just to socialize. I joined every curriculum: how to fight monsters, military gear usage, you name it.
Above all, I started proper Awakener training.
"Hello, Mr. Kim Geuk? Let's say hi as fellow Physical Enhancers."
I vaguely recalled hearing only another Physical Enhancer could assist with their training.
Even spotting on bench presses is tough for normals—the weights are too much.
One instructor was an Awakener. A Physical Enhancer, judging by his build.
"I'm Yang Tae-ja. Sounds like an old-timey name, right? I hate it too, so just call me Instructor Yang."
"Got it, Instructor Yang."
"Already acting chummy might feel awkward, but bear with it. We need to get close fast. Looks like I'll be your dedicated trainer until you graduate."
"Dedicated trainer?"
"Thanks to you, my paycheck got a bump!"
Yang Tae-ja chuckled and had me try some dumbbells, so I did.
Holding one in each hand, the 500kg ones felt featherlight, and even the 1-tonners were easy. He let out an impressed whistle.
"Wow, you must've kept up training after awakening? Makes sense—you were a UFC fighter."
Yang said with this level, I'd breeze through A-rank Hunter certification, as long as no major injuries before exam day.
I cut in.
"Injuries are fine. I have Super Regeneration."
"No way, really?"
"Yeah. Not quite Wolverine-from-the-movies instant limb regrowth, but surgery-level injuries that'd take months heal naturally in a day. Workout injuries? Gone by morning."
"Damn, not all Physical Enhancers are equal, huh? I don't have that. World's unfair."
Under his guidance, I did bench presses too—way more efficient than solo. With someone spotting, I could push weights I'd normally fear dropping.
Full of that post-workout satisfaction after a proper session, I headed to the range in the afternoon and fired some guns.
Some instructor loaned a Hunter rifle. Up close, it was no normal-person weapon.
I stared blankly at the rifle, heavier than a kid, it seemed.
"This is the Hunter rifle?"
As a Physical Enhancer, I'd used one before, apparently. Yang demoed magazine swaps and loading.
"Yep. Ugly and fat, right? Modified to use heavy weapons like assault rifles. Gearheads hate the looks, but anyway... only Physical Enhancers or Force Field exoskeleton users can handle it. Give it a shot!"
"Not hitting well."
"Recoil's brutal. Now breathe properly and aim for real. Ammo's pricey, so don't spray... Directional shot next... Whoa. Way off. Need more practice."
On the way back from the range, Yang made an out-of-left-field request.
"Walking's a drag, right? Teleport us there in one go—whaddya say?"
"Teleport back to the academy together?"
"Yeah. It's kinda far. Three hundred meters."
"I could, but I don't use it much. Teleportation."
"C'mon, don't be like that! You said you can take one other person if you grab 'em. Not wanna hold my hand?"
"Not showing off—it's just tricky. But since you asked, I'll try."
I grabbed Yang Tae-ja's shoulder and focused.
A virtual net spread out in all directions, one only I could sense—dense and orderly.
The net extended to my max Teleportation range: 360m radius, blanketing the area.
The net-covered world segmented like a chessboard. The divided info flooded my brain in 3D.
I scanned the 3D map in my mind.
Damn... head hurts.
Every pigeon or person the net caught throbbed my skull. Fighting the headache, I hunted for the academy's position as fast as I could—but it was tough.
Felt like maneuvering a shitty gamepad to scroll a map and click targets...
"Whoa!"
The scenery shifted, and an exclamation rang out.
Teleportation successful.