Chapter 49

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 049

Chapter Title: Former Hunter Kim Seok-hee - [1]

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Kim Seok-hee gnawed at his cigarette, glaring at the TV.

The 9 o'clock news was on, but it wasn't anything particularly sensational. He glanced at the news ticker.

The ticker wasn't all that shocking either, but Kim Seok-hee stared at it with his eyes narrowed in fury.

He just couldn't let it slide. To him, that bland little headline might as well ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been America declaring war on Korea.

Without realizing it, he muttered under his breath.

"So he's finally coming here, huh... that bastard Kim Geuk..."

Soon, the TV footage cut to the stars of the news.

First up was some middle-aged woman with a nameplate reading ‘Incheon Councilor Park Mi-hyeong’ in front of her...

But the man sitting next to her really caught the eye.

He was bulkier than your average bodybuilder. Shoulders ridiculously wide, face mean as hell—like he'd beaten a dozen men to death and enjoyed it.

The nameplate in front of that guy read:

‘Incheon Hunter Kim Geuk’.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

And the crowd gathered to hear their announcement filled the TV screen.

Even that pissed off Kim Seok-hee.

"Why the hell are so many people showing up for that? Does it make sense for some councilor to draw a crowd like that?"

An answer came right away to his question.

"Park Mi-hyeong's got some popularity, sure, but Kim Geuk? That guy's on another level."

"What's so special about that bastard Kim Geuk?"

"You used to be a hunter yourself, and you don't know? Dude's insanely popular!"

"It's been forever since I quit hunting. How the hell would I know? Spill it."

"Park Mi-hyeong's just riding the wave—like fries with a combo meal. Word is she's running for Incheon mayor, and unless something crazy happens, she's got it in the bag. People chant her name like it's a damn meme... All thanks to Kim Geuk losing his shit in every interview. Bet there's a ton of fans and reporters there right now..."

Kim Geuk shouted on screen.

"Just like the other districts in Incheon, we'll clean Gyeyang-gu spotless too. Every last monster scum that dares set foot in our sacred Incheon will be hunted down without mercy! Long live Incheon!"

The crowd on screen roared back, "Long live Incheon!" while Kim Seok-hee spat curses.

"Long live Incheon my ass... I'm gonna crack that bastard Kim Geuk's mom's skull wide open."

Only then did his gang members—cigarette peddlers, as Kim Seok-hee called them—pick up on their boss's foul mood.

The room full of thugs started jeering.

"Crack Kim Geuk's mom's skull and kill him!"

"Smash that bastard Kim Geuk's head too!"

For a while, the room echoed with the TV's "Long live Incheon!" chants mixing with the gang's "Kill Kim Geuk!" yells.

Meanwhile, Kim Seok-hee kept scowling at the crowd supposedly there to see Kim Geuk on TV.

This was seriously, really bad. A guy that famous? Touch him, and all hell would break loose...

Once the commotion died down, one of the gang members looked at Kim Seok-hee and asked,

"So from now on, if that bastard Kim Geuk shows up in Gyeyang-gu, we chase him out right? This is our turf—tell him to fuck off!"

To keep his boss cred, Kim Seok-hee played it cool on purpose.

"Yeah, gonna be a pain."

But inside, he thought: This is gonna suck balls.

Bickering with that muscle freak from now on? Total bullshit.

Kim Seok-hee slipped into his room and secretly pulled out his smartphone.

Searched "Kim Geuk."

First thing that popped up: a pic of that jacked dude from the news. Followed by tons of articles and videos about him.

The more he dug, the tighter his brow furrowed.

Hunter Kim Geuk. Built like a tank, looks the part, and from what he could tell, he played the part too.

One hunting video in, and holy shit—this guy made his first impression look tame. A straight-up monster.

Kim Seok-hee himself was a former hunter. He knew just how insane and shocking that footage was.

Back in his hunting days, he'd debuted with an A++ rating. His force field exoskeleton made him tough as nails, letting him dive into hunts bolder than most Awakeners. But even he couldn't slaughter monsters like Kim Geuk did in that video.

More precisely, he never pulled off marksmanship that dropped a monster per bullet, or wielded close-quarters weapons in acrobatic brawls against massive beasts. He sure as hell didn't rack up wins against elite monsters and Awakener-level threats back-to-back.

Kim Geuk's YouTube ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunt vids? All multi-million views. His own from back in the day? Lucky to break a thousand...

Embarrassing to even compare to his hunter days. Unless Kim Geuk was faking it with the monsters—which he clearly wasn't—the guy was the real deal. A monster among monsters.

He'd deliberately cut ties with the industry after quitting, so no clue a freak like this had popped up. Only learned about it when one of his guys flagged the news.

And now that monster was marching into Gyeyang-gu—his turf. He had to stop him, but it wouldn't be easy.

To steel his wavering resolve, Kim Seok-hee chanted inwardly.

I'm the lord here. The baron of Gyeyang-gu.

I have to defend my domain. As the new master of this land, no matter what.

Nothing I can't do. No line left I won't cross.

I've already killed before, haven't I?

Even back in my shit high school days, smashing store windows for kicks at night, I never imagined I'd turn into this ruthless bastard...

After watching enough videos, he logged into HuntWeb with his old hunter account and posted.

The A-rank badge still drew eyes like it used to.

Someone recognized him quick—a reply popped up.

Kim Seok-hee remembered that user. Seok Jang-sil, buddies with Kang Jun-chi or something.

Kim Seok-hee did as told.

Searched it up, clicked the top post.

He read down with a serious face for a moment—then realized he'd been had. His expression twisted.

What the hell? Triangular panties this, ogre proposes to me that. Utter madness.

Like clicking the wrong DCInside post and getting scarred for life, he'd been dumb enough to fall for it and now had that nightmare burned into his eyes.

First time a post made him feel this sick. Seok Jang-sil, that blockhead?

The replies after that were the same.

Asked for Kim Geuk's account, and they all piled on with the same troll: search Baby Mushroom, check that horrific post. Kim Seok-hee scowled again.

Sure, I'm a license-stripped murderer now, but I was an active hunter here once. This level of bullying?

He stewed in rage and humiliation, breathing heavy for a good ten minutes before realizing his old HuntWeb buddies weren't all conspiring against him.

He was puzzled by the sudden messages.

Then another user chimed in.

New username, but hard to ignore—the A-badge marked him as an Awakener too.