Blazing Trails in Old Songdo
It's blazing away in old—Songdo. Not my actual hometown, but the sentimental one. I'd only spent the first year of my early hunter days there, but old Songdo held memories I was proud of as an Incheon native.
This place, once bustling with commercial districts near the tower, was now... "Huh." Just a barren field.
...Was Incheon always like this? It felt like only four years since my last visit in my perception, but it had actually been twenty years, so nothing strange about it. A spot that used to be as crowded as a theme park now reduced to a parking lot without even redevelopment—it felt a bit off, that's all. In fact, it matched exactly what I'd seen in raid team photo records a few times.
"Let's see, is it this way?"
The pure white tower. Nearby. A makeshift tent that anyone could tell was temporary. It looked like an illegal street vendor at a glance, but surprisingly, it was the Incheon City Hall-affiliated Awakener Support Office. There should have been a proper building originally, but with New Songdo construction taking priority, the city claimed they lacked funds or something. Anyway.
[Guidance] [Purchase] [Sale]
A tent laid out like bank teller windows yanked out temporarily. I headed to the [Purchase] window among them.
Tap tap.
At the purchase window, besides just sitting in this barren field, the female staffer seemed busy with something else, intently typing away on her laptop. The moment I tried to get her attention.
"Excuse m—"
"Oh my...! What's this, so cute!"
"Eep."
My cheeks got pinched. No pain at all, and I never expected a government worker to ambush me like that, so my body froze up for a second. Squish squish. She pressed and pulled my super elastic cheeks. Like handling a kitten or something. Oh the tragedy. This body destined to save the world, treated like a pet. If Union members found out, I'd be teasing fodder for life. How did my body end up like this...
"Little one, what brings you here? Where are your mom and dad? Want sis to find them for you?"
"......"
And now getting treated like a lost child on top of it. Instead of answering, I plopped the tarpaulin I'd dragged here onto the counter with a thud.
"Please buy this."
"Huh? This is..."
The identity of the stuff piled up messily in the palm mat was a Shark Cutter. Grandpa Jang Baek-san had wrapped it up for me, grumbling not to drag such a nasty thing around. For reference, Jang Baek-san was the generous old man who'd comped me chicken soup.
"This... is a Shark Cutter, right?"
The female staffer at the purchase window widened her eyes and rummaged through the palm mat. Shark Cutters were monsters C-rank hunters and up could handle, but their tough hides and sharp front legs made even veterans hesitant. No wonder she was shocked that a kid just whipped one out.
Was it because my body looked like an elementary kid? I barely suppressed a grin at her reaction.
"This... who gave it to you?"
"No, I caught it myself."
"Yourself? And it's top quality with minimal hide damage?"
Shark Cutter hides could be processed into armor or weapons. Their high durability ironically made it tough to take them down without damaging the hide. You had to find the tiny gaps not covered by the hide and stab like a medieval knight.
Her attitude shifted slightly after checking the Shark Cutter's condition. In a bad way.
"Kiddo, did someone give this to you, by any chance?"
Pretending to ask casually, but exchanging glances with the staffer at the next window over. Calling the cops maybe? Suspicious that a kid was hauling this around? Or weird that I preserved it intact instead of showing off power like a peer awakener? Fair enough. But no daycare for me. Let's stick to the law.
Basically, hunter activities and monster sales guaranteed anonymity. Hunters wielded threatening power, needing management, but excessive control could spark crimes. Awakeners were powder kegs. Fat monster sale profits soothed them. Get them hooked on hunting instead of pickpocketing or bank robbing with their power. Note: taxes were steep instead. Anonymous processing meant 50% withholding tax. Monster body sales at fixed prices, not auction. Register as official hunter with real name, and most taxes waived. Sales at auction prices for extra cash. Two-pronged strategy: ease activities to cut crime, lure with tax breaks to official registration and oversight.
Problem was, a little girl didn't get full guarantees.
'What if this kid was kidnapped by some heinous criminal who doesn't even respect anonymity and forced to do this?'
How many adults would soullessly follow procedure if that crossed their mind? Especially with my appearance screaming adorable protect-me vibes. I'd investigate backgrounds too if I were her. Cops? Trouble.
"I caught it myself."
Hummm—
To prove I was an awakener, I released mana into the Shark Cutter corpse. Then.
Float.
The Shark Cutter floated into the air.
"This is..."
"Telekinesis."
The trusty staple ability from before regression, like a hearty bowl of soup. No skills since awakening via the Awakening Stone, but I could mimic it by recalling the feel.
"Oh, uh, r-right...?"
Worried plain telekinesis wouldn't convince her, I made the Shark Cutter do 360-degree flips and even the dance from yesterday's Shorts video. Only then did she reluctantly process the purchase.
"Mm. Here. Cash card with 2.27 million won. Don't lose it before spending or withdrawing, okay?"
"Finally...!"
My body nearly jumped on reflex. After two whole weeks of humiliation and hardship, it was over. Now I had goods worth 436 + 0.5 Psybugi.
Of course, not all for food. Saving the world on 2.27 million was tricky, so most would go into investments to grow it. No lotto numbers due to memory glitches, but I roughly knew stock flows. Plan: buy jackpots during dips and HODL.
For that...
Needed to secure some free grub. But.
"Hm?"
The authentication post from the valley was blowing up abnormally. 1,173 views, 162 recs, 132 comments. Did I accidentally show my face in the spoon? Checked the pic—no.
Whoa. They'd really gone all out spectacularly. The 220.71Anon who'd bragged about tossing 100 Psybugi if I was a real hunter was now in a stare-down with gallery masses and even armband mods. For ref, I'd never pulled aggro like that taboo stuff—risk of permanent ban. Even in loosey-goosey internet land, lines existed. They say one word repays a thousand nyang debt; opposites exist too.
Honestly, 100 Psybugi could've been shrugged off as a joke, but 220.71Anon poured gas on the mod intervening. Thanks to that, my ignored post blew up. Perfect chance to grab eyes.
I tossed more firewood on the blaze.
Subtly doubling Psybugi to 200 per his claim, adding the condition. Couldn't show hunter ID, but could do hunter stuff. Prove with real action footage. Psybugi was nominal now. Escalate the fight legally for aggro, imprint I'm a hunter on users—perfect for future plans.
But.
Someone else bit my bait. Nemoreid, nickname. The Awakener Gallery's head admin. Active A-rank hunter managing the gallery while dropping tips. Half-idol status (dude) there. With him joining, my post's aggro exploded further. Users cheered the mod fanning flames instead of resolving; trolls screamed.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"You sell weapons and GoPros here too, right?"
"Uh... yeah, but..."
I greenlit the head admin's proposal. Body a bit stiff and tired, but whatever. 100—no, 200 Psybugi... Essential bet for the world.