Chapter 84

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 084

Chapter Title: Academy New Student Shin Mi-rae - [1]

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I've seen and heard plenty of cases involving Awakeners abroad from my time working at the Korean Awakener Alliance.

More precisely, mostly cases where Awakeners were causing problems in society.

For instance, Eastern Europe is overrun with Awakener gangs.

Most Eastern European countries don't have a Hunter system. That means powerful Awakeners have no legal way to earn money or status, so the only options are getting specially recruited into the police or military.

Naturally, plenty of Awakeners don't want to live that wage-slave life. So they end up forming gangs and dominating their regions.

Amid all that, one notorious Awakener gang has turned all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Europe into its playground.

They cruise around in a single car, crossing borders at will—openly committing rapes and robberies in easy targets, then laying low and playing it safe in tougher countries.

The EU's Awakener special forces were deployed once to wipe them out, but the operation ended in utter failure.

As everyone knows, fights between Awakeners aren't just about numbers. That gang has this superhuman who's suspected to be S-rank, and he single-handedly slaughtered dozens of the special forces' Awakeners.

After that, with nothing holding them back, their crimes escalated. These days, they film themselves raping and murdering in broad daylight, then upload snuff films and sex videos online to bask in the praise. And that's not all—they're indulging in every perverse pleasure imaginable.

In Japan, a Wind Ability user is butchering people left and right.

This guy's called Kamaitachi. He slices up random pedestrians on the street with razor-sharp gusts, shredding their bodies until they bleed out and die.

It's not murder driven by some twisted ideology—it's like grinding slimes in an RPG for experience points.

To awaken a Wind Ability—more precisely, a Wind Spirit Ability—you need to feel the wind over your entire body. It's the kind of power that sometimes awakens during skydiving, but this guy triggered it while trying to jump off Tokyo Tower. His talent must've been off the charts because he immediately transformed into a Spirit and survived unscathed.

He was already full of resentment toward society and had psychopathic tendencies, so now he just sees people as EXP fodder for his power growth and kills without hesitation.

Wind Spirits are especially hard to subdue among Spirit types, so even as Japanese citizens drop by the dozens every day, the authorities can't come up with any real countermeasures. Their one and only response? Banning suicides from heights above a certain level, out of fear another Wind Spirit might be born.

Problems with Awakeners are popping up everywhere else too.

In North Korea, they're desperately producing tactical nukes to intimidate Force Field Exoskeleton users showing disloyal stirrings in various regions.

In Thailand, a Physical Enhancement general is trying to found a new dynasty, arguing that the royals can't be special bloodline since none of them are Awakeners.

In the US, Ice Ability users have assassinated prominent politicians on contract...

And in Korea? Sadly, compared to all these overseas cases, we're practically problem-free.

Just look at Kim Seok-hee's crew—they terrified even the cops, but the worst they did while thumbing their noses at the law was bootleg cigarettes.

And thanks to Kang Jun-chi roaring at the government that trying to forcibly conscript Awakeners would get everyone killed, our Hunter system—which was adopted earlier than most worldwide—has been working just fine.

If you want money, fame, and status, just become a Hunter. That simple fact keeps our powerful domestic Awakeners too busy hunting Monsters to bother with crime or overthrowing the state. Even the top Awakener, Kang Jun-chi, only occasionally bullies civilians—he's never threatened the system itself.

The worst incidents from Korean Awakeners? Ice Awakeners getting busted by police while taking assassination gigs for cash. No wonder those national pride TV shows hype Korea as way better than other countries in this hellish world.

But there's one country with even fewer Awakener issues than Korea—one we might envy. China.

The land where even S-rank superhumans meekly obey the Communist Party. They fully manage every Awakener's personal details, tracking registered ones' movements in real-time via CCTV. They even gather underage Awakeners separately for loyalty training to the Party.

And from what I can see, Korea isn't content with being better off than most other countries.

In other words, it feels like Korea's trying to take things further and emulate China.

Maybe that damn Hunter Academy is part of it...

The Incheon reclamation project is finally nearing its end.

Meaning we've successfully cleared out nearly all the Monsters left on the Incheon mainland.

We haven't touched the ones inside the Gate or the enhanced army's Monsters yet, but even so, this is remarkable progress. Especially considering fewer than a hundred people achieved it in under a year.

"Long live Kim Geuk!"

"Long live! Seriously, long live!"

Thanks to these results, today I shook hands with the Incheon mayor, got praised by Park Mi-hyeong, and snapped a few citizens' wrists and backs when they tried to toss me in the air.

My Hunter team even scored special bonuses from the city.

As all my team members grinned ear to ear, Baek Dam-bi was humming a tune in the car.

She looked so thrilled that I asked,

"Golden Arrow Award? Feels like your chances just went up, huh? That why you're in such a good mood?"

Caught off guard, Baek Dam-bi flinched before nodding sheepishly in admission.

"Yeah..."

"I looked it up online thinking it was some big deal, but nothing much came up. What even is it? The only Golden Arrow Award is that modest one with a total prize pool of 300 million won..."

"Yeah, that's the one."

"The one where ten winners split thirty million won each?"

"Yes."

I blinked for a moment.

No wonder I hadn't heard of it. Most Hunters don't even know it exists and couldn't care less. With prices these days, even the prize money is laughably small.

Why on earth would she want such a nothing award? I wondered, but held my tongue—prying might come off as rude.

Meanwhile, Im Hyeong-taek looked just as pleased as Baek Dam-bi.

He smiled at me and struck up a conversation.

"I've really benefited a ton from you, Kim Geuk."

"What brought this on?"

"It was true before, but even more now. Even my wife—when I first said I wanted to be a Hunter, she acted like the world was ending."

"Why?"

"Back then, Hunters were seen as a last resort for the unemployed, risking death. She must've despaired thinking her hotshot husband from wedding days had hit rock bottom."

"But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not anymore?"

"Nope. You're all over TV these days, and I'm on your team. So the other day, she finally said, 'Your husband's doing real work now.' That's why she joined the last team dinner happily..."

I nodded contentedly at the story, but then Im Hyeong-taek's voice grew a bit somber.

"Thing is, my wife's suddenly super interested in Hunters lately. So there's something I wanted to discuss..."

"Discuss? What?"

"As you know, my daughter awakened recently."

Seong Mun-yeong must've heard this for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first time—his eyes went wide.

"No kidding? That kid from the last dinner?"

"Yeah, that one. The girl who showed up in a frilly princess dress like she thought she was a magical girl."

"She was adorable! What Ability?"

"Heat Ray Ability."

Lee Jong-ho flinched at that.

He must've vividly recalled his friend getting gruesomely killed by a Heat Ray-wielding Manticore.

But Seong Mun-yeong, with his sociopathic streak, stayed unfazed and let out an exclamation.

"Whoa, Heat Ray? That's a killer Ability for Hunter work, right? That old guy Elmaya Careyo on HuntWeb caught tons of Deathclaws and Force Field Bodies with his Heat Ray even at his age!"

"Right? My wife thinks it's a waste to let it go idle, so she wants to make our daughter a Hunter. Looks like she's planning to enroll her in that new Hunter Academy opening up..."

I froze mid-listen.

Hunter Academy? I hadn't expected that ominous thing to come up here of all places.

"Your wife wants to turn your daughter into a Hunter? Straight into the Academy?"

"Yeah. What do you think, Kim Geuk?"

I chose my words carefully, groping for how to convey that vague unease.

"It's... kinda iffy."

"Iffy? Why?"

"I know it's weird saying this as a fellow Hunter, but it's not something you'd easily recommend to your kid, right? Sure, it pays big and brings fame if you make it, but it's insanely dangerous and grueling. Pushing a kid who hasn't even started elementary school into that feels a bit..."

"Fair point. Deciding a preschooler's career a year early is overkill."

"You get it."

"I told my wife the exact same thing. But she still wants to send our girl to the Hunter Academy."

"Your wife? Why?"

"Dunno. Apparently, families who send Awakener kids to the Academy get free apartments in Seoul. Looks like she's eyeing that Seoul real estate bad..."

I clicked my tongue. That damn Seoul, that damn apartment.

These days, living in Seoul is like a status upgrade. And Seoul apartments? Treated like palaces.

Even Han Hee, pulling twelve million won a month, whined she'd never afford one in Seoul no matter how long she worked.

Post-Gate, Seoul apartments trade at absurd prices. No matter how well ordinary folks do, they're heavenly realms forever out of reach.

Free access to that? Plenty tempting.

"So what if your daughter gets in? Whole family moving to Seoul?"

Im Hyeong-taek replied gravely to my question.

"I can't—gotta keep Hunting in Incheon. Probably just my wife and daughter go to Seoul. She figures even if our girl doesn't end up a Hunter, just getting her into the Academy is fine. But since it's brand new, who knows what it really is? That's why I asked you. You're basically Hunter Association brass now—thought you might know something..."

So he secretly hopes she doesn't get in. Who wants to be a goose dad?

Still, couldn't ignore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his wife's request, so he asked me. I promised to look into what the Hunter Academy really was and get back to him properly.

Back home, keeping that promise however loosely, I logged into HuntWeb.

And right there, smack in view, was a relevant post.