Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: A New Everyday (1)
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From the day after my discharge, my daily life became pretty busy. The Black Dragon Clan and the Academy demanded that I keep yesterday's accident quiet, promising some modest compensation in return.
I pretended to mull it over, but I had no desire to see my name in the papers either, so we settled on a reasonable amount. The negotiator was a chubby teacher wearing glasses. When I agreed, he beamed with pride and praised me as a "student who's great at adulting."
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 13 💨 Agility: 11 ✨ Intelligence: 9 🍀 Luck: 20 There were changes in my status window too. No new skills like 'Fragment of the Omnipotent Being' or special passives appeared, but my strength and agility had visibly increased by a noticeable amount. It wasn't the kind of gain you could chalk up to a week's workouts—my muscles looked the same but felt much denser and firmer to the touch.
Thanks to that, I showed off my grown muscles and switched to the training group for stats between 10 and under 15. The instructor was amazed at my unusually rapid progress in such a short time, but I brushed it off by saying I'd originally been at 10 and chickened out into a lower group because I was scared of the intensity.
I'll never forget the look on his face when I said that.
"Aren't you pushing too hard right after getting discharged?"
Senior Yu-jeong visited me again today. Even as a D-Rank Hunter, she spent most of her time at the Academy. I loved that she kept coming to see me. Flexing my muscles in front of her, I said,
"I've got some catching up to do, so I need to work extra hard. I'm aiming to push past B-Rank Hunter."
"So you're changing your nickname too?"
Senior Yu-jeong teased, recalling my nickname. I gave a wry smile and nodded.
"Yeah."
Senior Yu-jeong burst out laughing, covering her mouth. She rolled her drink cup around and said,
"Still, don't overdo it. You'll get hurt and it'll suck. Now that you're heading into practicals, E-Rank Gate missions, and Apprentice dispatches, you need to be careful."
"Apprentice dispatch?"
"Yeah. They form teams of two D-Rank Hunters and two Apprentices for real E-Rank Gate missions. Timing-wise, it'll probably start in two weeks, but... it varies by mission, so I can't say much. For me? It was just fun."
Senior Yu-jeong nodded as she said that. "Just fun" seemed to carry a lot of weight. Casually gauging her reaction, I said,
"It'd be great if I could go with you, Senior Yu-jeong."
She lowered her eyes slightly with a smile. Stirring her drink with the straw, she looked at me and said,
"Me too."
A brief silence followed. I couldn't stand it. Every time quiet settled in, an awkward, ticklish feeling swept over us both. I said to her,
"What do you do at the Black Dragon Clan, Senior Yu-jeong? You keep coming to the Academy lately—is it because of me holding you back from work?"
Senior Yu-jeong paused mid-sip, shaking her head and waving it off.
"Nah, no worries. The guild assigned me here to recruit that Ichigaya Ichie student, so I barely have any Gate missions—just a few simple subcontracts. I've got plenty of time. Don't feel bad."
That put me at ease again. But now I was really curious about this Ichigaya Ichie student. Who the heck was she? Japanese, sure, but what if she saw my nickname and demanded a team change? Once the worry started, my heart began racing again. To suppress my anxiety, I said to Senior Yu-jeong,
"Th-thanks so much, every time. For all your help."
"Nothing's more fun than watching a junior grow. I'm enjoying it too, so don't worry."
Senior Yu-jeong said that. She always had that smiling expression. Our meetings always ended the same way—with her checking her phone and standing up, looking genuinely reluctant as she said,
"Sorry. I've got work again. See you next time?"
"Yeah, Senior."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In a dark room, B-Rank Hunter "Thunder Sword" Lee Jun-hyeok sat scowling, puffing heavily on his cigarette. In front of him, Kim Yu-jeong sat with an anxious look on her face.
Hunter Lee Jun-hyeok was the one who'd recently overseen the Omnipotent Being Fragment extraction operation at the Academy. That put him at odds with teacher "Summer Coffee" Lee Jeong-ah, earned him complaints from the Academy over his negligence, and even a pay cut from the guild.
It had been a week since the collapse. He couldn't believe that digging under the Gate for a whole week had turned up nothing. The Black Dragon Clan's intel had been flawless. He'd cross-checked three records, and confirmed the telltale signs that always appeared where a Fragment of the Omnipotent Being was located.
"Hey, Kim Yu-jeong. You think this makes any sense?"
Lee Jun-hyeok exhaled a cloud of smoke, grimacing. Kim Yu-jeong had no idea why she was here. They were both Black Dragon Clan Hunters working at the Academy, but their jobs were totally different.
Kim Yu-jeong's job was recruiting student Ichigaya Ichie. Lee Jun-hyeok's was extracting the Omnipotent Being Fragment. She wondered if he was just power-tripping on her with his rank. Bracing her legs and gripping the desk, she prepared to bolt if needed.
"I'm clueless about this stuff. I've only heard bits and pieces about the Omnipotent Being Fragment."
Lee Jun-hyeok got annoyed at her playing dumb.
"Hey, hey. I'm not asking if you know the details. Think about it another way. Huh? Say there's a bomb. We cross-verified three records saying it's there, confirmed the key signs of one being present, but we dig and no bomb. Does that make sense?"
"No, it doesn't."
She nodded. Lee Jun-hyeok stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said,
"The Fragment of the Omnipotent Being didn't grow legs and run off, right?"
Kim Yu-jeong didn't reply. Lee Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue.
"Someone took it. That's why it's gone. Don't you think so too? If it's not there, someone must've snatched it—what else explains it?"
"M-maybe...?"
Kim Yu-jeong still didn't get why she'd been summoned. If he just wanted her nodding along, he could've yelled at his own subordinates. She wished he'd get to the point.
"That crazy bastard. He took it."
"Who?"
"Crazy bastard" didn't ring a bell. Her confused expression made Lee Jun-hyeok furrow his brow and yell,
"Fuck! Ada Bomber, that fucker! Jeong Su-hyeon! Yeah, him! What the hell kind of retard names himself Ada Bomber? Does he run around with like seven girls or what?"
"I don't think... he hangs out with any girls."
Kim Yu-jeong said meekly. It wasn't much of a defense, but she wanted to stick up for Jeong Su-hyeon. Lee Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue.
"It's gotta be him. Hey, we made the mining site look harmless on the surface, but we dug deep—like over 200 meters. And he climbed out barehanded? Hey, Kim Yu-jeong. Could you do that?"
"It'd be tough, but I think I could manage."
Kim Yu-jeong nodded. As a regenerator, her stamina far outstripped others'. Pure physical labor? She could handle it. Lee Jun-hyeok pointed accusingly.
"See? Even you, a D-Rank Hunter, call it 'tough but doable,' and this Apprentice pulled it off? What's his ability? Super strength or something?"
"No. As far as I know, it's some kind of martial arts ability."
"Exactly, fuck! No logic to it. No logic! How'd he climb out from that deep underground? He ate the Fragment of the Omnipotent Being, powered up, and got out."
"Maybe his will to survive just unleashed his hidden potential? You see it on the news—C-Rank Hunters taking down sudden A-Rank monsters. Or maybe he grabbed it midway up. Plus, his physical exam showed no major anomalies."
Kim Yu-jeong was doing her best to defend Jeong Su-hyeon. But Lee Jun-hyeok wouldn't budge.
"Nah. Nah. I say he ate it."
"No way."
Kim Yu-jeong shook her head firmly. Lee Jun-hyeok said,
"You hang around that guy a lot."
"Ah, yeah. W-well... we're not that close, just senior-junior..."
Lee Jun-hyeok cut her off.
"Try seducing him."
"What?"
Kim Yu-jeong's eyes went wide as she stared at him. Now she got why he'd called her. Lee Jun-hyeok said,
"If you're dating, he'll spill his secrets easy. We're not thugs—we can't just gut a Hunter to check for a Fragment. Right? But just in case. We need proof."
"N-no, that's... um..."
Kim Yu-jeong stammered in panic. Lee Jun-hyeok sighed heavily.
"I wanna see our boss hit S-Rank. Help out, Yu-jeong. Huh? We won't kill him if he ate the Fragment—we'll work it out."
"But, that's..."
Still, Kim Yu-jeong hesitated. She didn't know why she felt this way. Amid the bewilderment, a subtle emotion welled up inside. Lee Jun-hyeok hardened his expression at her silence.
"Hey, Kim Yu-jeong."
"...Yeah."
"Fuck, the kid who wanted to be a Hunter—we fed you, housed you, made you D-Rank, and this is how you repay? Huh? Help us. Boss hits S-Rank, you benefit too. Hate that? What, should we go full gangster and slice him open? That work?"
"N-no! I'll do it."
Kim Yu-jeong said reluctantly.
"I'll... I'll do it."
Lee Jun-hyeok nodded, satisfied.
"That's it—step up like that."