Chapter 63

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 063

Chapter Title: A-rank Hunter Baek Dam-bi - [2]

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Baek Dam-bi stood there blankly for nearly thirty seconds. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the phenomenon she'd caused, frozen in place.

Then Baek Dam-bi staggered.

I snapped into action, startled. My legs were buried in ice, but I shattered it with brute force and rushed over to support her.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah... I just feel a bit dizzy. Why is this happening...?"

"Isn't it because you overused your ability? I get vertigo and can barely stand if I spam Teleportation too much."

"Then maybe that's it..."

"That's not the point right now! Hurry and meditate."

"Meditate?"

"You heard how to open a Gate, right? You're a Spirit, so you must've absorbed the memories from the one we just took down. Check those memories for anything about opening Gates..."

Baek Dam-bi did as I said. I guided her to a safe spot out of the water's reach, and she sat down unsteadily, closing her eyes.

And I got to my own task.

I entered the flooded subway and knocked on the train car doors.

"It's safe now. Come on out!"

The doors didn't open. Pressing my ear against one, I heard muffled voices: "Don't open the door no matter what. They say Spirits can mimic human speech after eating people..."

No helping it. I Teleported inside. Huddled survivors, terrified out of their minds, filled my view.

Their grim faces, braced for death's door, lit up with relief in an instant.

Precisely the moment they saw me.

"It's Kim Geuk!"

To put it as humbly as possible, in Incheon these days, a Hunter Kim Geuk sighting basically meant survival was guaranteed.

These survivors seemed to realize they'd live the second I showed up. They swarmed me with questions.

"What about the Spirit on the other side?"

"Taken care of."

"Whoa!"

"Anyway, it's safe, so everyone come out. Oh, the other side is frozen solid, and there are bodies under the ice. Watch your step so you don't crush any..."

The people emerging from the train cars gaped in shock.

"What the hell is this...?"

The survivors' eyes widened at the sight of the completely frozen subway tracks.

They'd just seen the corpses too, fresh off cheating death, yet plenty whipped out smartphones to film the scene. It spoke volumes about how astonishing they found it.

Understandable. Even I, who'd witnessed Kang Jun-chi's power firsthand, was struggling to believe my eyes.

She was an Awakener, after all—divine beings closer to gods than anything on earth, born to rule over us frail non-Awakeners.

I was so damn proud, I half-wanted to grab my round girl's wrist, hoist her arm high, and shout to everyone that this was all her doing. But with multiple deaths on the line, it felt inappropriate. What a shame.

After evacuating the survivors, I returned to Baek Dam-bi and asked,

"So, do you know how to open the Gate now?"

Baek Dam-bi hesitated.

"No... I don't."

"Really? Well, that thing we just fought looked like an Earth-evolved creature at first glance. Probably didn't know how to open Gates either, being Earth-born. So absorbing its memories didn't yield much."

With that short exchange done, we boarded the helicopter again.

The job wasn't over. Rainy season had Incheon in chaos everywhere.

We chatted en route to the next destination.

"You looked shocked at your own handiwork back there. Never gone all-out with your ability before?"

"Once last year. It wasn't this intense then..."

"So you got this strong in just seven months this year?"

"Yeah, I guess...?"

"Does that even make sense?"

"Now that I think about it, it kinda does... No, it totally could."

"How so?"

Baek Dam-bi answered my question.

"In the nearly three years I've been a Hunter, I haven't killed anywhere near as many monsters as I have this year with this team. And we took down two Spirits too... Guess I owe you thanks, Kim Geuk?"

"Gladly."

"Yeah, really thank—"

"Anyway, can you hunt other monsters now that you're tapping into your ability? Still tough in dry environments?"

"Maybe if it's raining...?"

"Then we better hope for lots of rain? That was badass, seriously! Time to upgrade from Ice Princess to Ice Queen. Elsa who?"

Baek Dam-bi listened to my praise in silence, then slyly slipped her sunglasses back on. I could guess why—hiding those wandering eyes.

Shy but pleased as punch. Her slightly upturned, trembling lips gave it away.

I wanted to keep praising her until her face turned beet red, but no dice.

The helicopter had reached our next stop.

I grabbed Baek Dam-bi's wrist and Teleported us down again.

We surveyed the scene from a building rooftop.

This area was flooded too. Streets brimmed with water as a massive tidal wave swept down one road.

And fleeing it: a brown-skinned man sprinting away.

"Nguyen? Hard at work, I see?"

I hailed him on the radio, and fluent Incheon dialect crackled back.

Down below, amid waterlogged streets, Nguyen was keeping his promise from our joint op: he'd work his ass off.

He was rescuing survivors—two on his back—dodging that huge wave. Water reached his calves, but his speed didn't flag; he blazed ahead at an astonishing pace.

Acceleration plus force-field exoskeleton? Cheat-level combo. The wave couldn't catch him.

Eventually, Nguyen vanished into the distance with his charges.

The wave lost steam, having missed its prey.

Then its true form emerged: an ancient predator made of water.

Megalodon? Or some nameless sea dragon?

Whatever massive underwater hunter from antiquity had become a Spirit. It swam with a huge fin breaking the surface, then blasted a utility pole to bits with a random water jet.

Venting like that? Pissed off, clearly. It'd come ashore to hunt, missed its mark, and no other game in sight.

Makes sense. Mass casualties from water Spirits only happened the first year Gates opened. People adapted since—no one lingers in flood-prone spots; they evacuate or hole up in high-rises.

Rainy season still claims lives, but not like that first year.

Baek Dam-bi, watching beside me, spoke up.

"Looks like we can just leave that one be? Doesn't seem like it'll cause casualties..."

Spot on. Water or Flame Spirits are a pain to kill, so unless necessary, we let 'em slide. Plus, this one looked way stronger than the subway Spirit...

"Wanna try taking it down anyway?"

Baek Dam-bi glanced at me.

"Hoping it'll let you open a Gate?"

"Yeah. Doesn't look Earth-born, right? Seems like it came straight from Sowol via a Gate. Taking it out might finally get you Gate-opening powers..."

She pondered briefly, then nodded.

I grabbed her wrist and Teleported us again.

The instant we appeared before it, the massive water Spirit pegged us two Awakeners as prime threats.

Water jets erupted from its body...

We'd seen it smash that pole; this time, we were ready.

Post-Teleport, a dozen jets speared where we'd stood, shattering windows.

And us? We were right up close now.

The Spirit's fin loomed over a submerged car's roof nearby.

It swam straight at us. Fin filled our view.

Amid flying glass shards and concrete dust, I signaled.

"Now!"

Baek Dam-bi thrust out her hand. Cooling kicked in. The fin she touched froze first.

Subway overexertion dulled the explosive chill from before, but it was enough. The cold rapidly encased its massive form.

The Spirit sensed doom. It ditched counterattacks, desperately trying to flee her.

Not on my watch.

"Where you going—!"

I Teleported in front of the half-frozen beast as it swam frantically. Swinging my hammer wide, I smashed its face—head exploding into water droplets.

Not dead, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no matter. Baek Dam-bi's chill caught the pausing Spirit as it tried recombining.

Finally, cold spread through its entire body.

Exactly as its scattered head reformed—the shark froze solid.

I admired my front-row view of the masterpiece.

A gigantic ice statue of an ancient underwater predator. Majestic. Breathtaking.

"Whoa..."

And my round girl, marveling at her creation on the ice sheet...

My heart thumped watching her. Suppressed the urge to blurt, "Go out with me."

If I weren't basically her boss—if confessing from a superior position wouldn't burden her with conflict and stress—I'd have done it ages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ago.

If not for the real risk of team cracks from a failed confession...

Couldn't dwell.

To finish the frozen Spirit, I raised my hammer high. Amid the rain, faint sunlight and ice gleam made it sparkle.

Glancing up, news chopper filmed us. Probably caught her transfer too.

Utterly satisfied, I brought the hammer down.

A few swings shattered the colossal body. As the Spirit died, I fought back euphoria flooding my mind and yelled,

"Dam-bi! Meditate! Hurry!"

Whether Baek Dam-bi finally unlocked Gate-opening from this hunt's memories? Too soon to tell.

But she's piecing together clues from the absorbed memories and working hard. That much I know.

And she's beaming with pride right now. HuntWeb confirmed it.

As expected, chopper footage hit the site. Two named Hunters plus jaw-dropping action? Reactions exploded.

Most reactions were pure awe at her feat, but a few randomly dragged me into it.

I worried reading those that my round girl might feel hurt, but needless concern.

A new comment soon hinted at her mood.

Thrilled outta her mind, huh? Cute girl.

Why's she browsing HuntWeb instead of Gate-training? Thought about calling to chew her out, but nah.

Maybe she doesn't even need to open Gates anymore. This feat proves she's a proper A-rank. Incheon might push contract renewal for rainy season prep.

Plus, the hallucination Baek Dam-bi had Gate powers but left for Sowol over mistreatment. Unlocking it might not guarantee respect. Maybe in the vision, Behemoth had drifted far from Korea, no rush to scout Gates...

Chuckles as I shut down the PC, prepping for bed.

Sudden call. Seok Jang-sil on the line.

"Oh, Dam-bi's? Of course I—"

Seok Jang-sil insisted, so I fired up HuntWeb again.

The trending post? About me.

Tons of replies below.

Folks explained: the new law's in effect; Task Force mobilizing Awakeners.

OP raged.

Instinct screamed: this hits close to home.

Checked email—yep, Task Force missive stood out.

"Kim Seok-hee Suppression Op," or some shit.