Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Limited Time, But It's Fine Because I'm a Genius
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Recently, Cheon Seo-yun, who had regained some of her usual self, underwent a not-insignificant change.
Her already tight grasp on money became even more tenacious, and distrust toward her existing training methods had taken root.
These stemmed from the auction bid failure and the shock of the sudden duel...
But no matter how you sliced it, it all boiled down to one person.
“...Park Ha-yul.”
Chewing over the name, Cheon Seo-yun reflected.
Their relationship was a hopelessly tangled ball of yarn—closer to a fated grudge if she had to label it.
Had something happened between them in a past life?
Getting dragged into things with him every time was infuriating enough, but whenever it happened, she wasn't the Cheon Seo-yun she knew.
Not her usual tough, spirited self, but weak, impulsive, foolish...
Every time that side of her she wanted to hide burst out, Park Ha-yul was right there.
When she'd pushed too hard in the Sect Occupation Battle and collapsed in exhaustion, when she'd broken down sobbing at the auction house...
“Of course...”
Rationally, she knew better.
It wasn't Park Ha-yul's fault—he'd simply done his job.
But still. Fate's made by people too, isn't it?
So she didn't resent him. She just hated him.
“Squirrel bastard. I'll flay you alive soon. Myself.”
Recalling the duel that had ended so anticlimactically, Cheon Seo-yun gnashed her teeth.
That move had been far stronger than expected—a sword technique, not sorcery—and it had caught her off guard in the moment.
But if they clashed again, she was confident she could win cleanly, without even a hint of lingering doubt.
She'd crush him until he couldn't squeak.
“Let's see you try acting all smug and unflappable then.”
Gritting her teeth, Cheon Seo-yun turned her eyes to the laptop.
The screen displayed Taehak's anonymous community 'Eta' and the Enuri Time site.
Her goal was scouting the occasional part-time job postings that popped up.
Even quasi-civil servant Taehak students had access to legal gigs, and she remembered they were posted regularly.
But this...
Who is Bu Han-si, anyway.
I'll settle it once and for all: who wins between Bu Han-si and Baek Sa-young.
.
.
What is this, some Bu Han-si fansite...?
The board was filled with chatter about Bu Han-si, the hottest topic at Taehak these days.
The part-time job posts she usually saw were buried somewhere, nowhere in sight.
An unexpected casualty, Cheon Seo-yun frowned faintly and vented her frustration...
“Settle it? Who does he think he is.”
She slyly scrolled down and clicked on a Bu Han-si-related post.
Truth be told, she was pretty curious herself.
And so Cheon Seo-yun threw herself into some unplanned Bu Han-si digging for a while.
Especially eye-catching was a post from the nickname 'pullback', who introduced themselves as one of Bu Han-si's followers.
They wrote as if they knew his true identity, and it was surprisingly logical and detailed.
Ding-dong!
A message notification chimed right then.
(Ad) But it's not a scam. I'll tell you an easy way to make money.
Assuming it was spam, she nearly hit delete...
Easy?
The fairly tantalizing subject line grabbed her attention. Suspicion always crumbles in the face of money, after all.
Click.
Unable to resist her curiosity, Cheon Seo-yun opened the message.
It didn't seem like a scam after skimming the contents, so she clicked the link at the bottom.
What unfolded was a brave new world: the dark underbelly of the awakener scene that everyone in the know was already aware of.
“...Demon Hunt Net?”
Half in doubt, Cheon Seo-yun browsed the hunting ground board.
It didn't take long before she let out an awed gasp.
The claim that a D-rank field could net over 300 a day if cleared properly had hooked her.
Sure, it came with the caveat of needing top-notch skill, but Cheon Seo-yun trusted hers.
They were only up against 10th-rank, maybe 9th- or 8th-rank demonic beasts at worst.
“This is it.”
The perfect chance to earn cash and hone her real combat edge.
Sure, it violated school rules and felt iffy, but dipping in occasionally shouldn't raise flags.
Cheon Seo-yun searched for brokers who arranged illegal entries.
Rifling through the promo posts, a solid candidate soon pinged her radar.
Poison Snake.
He operated out of a D-rank hunting field near Seoul, with cheap entry fees and a reasonable 20% commission.
No signs of a scam—others had already left comments.
“It's tomorrow, but... whatever, I'll check it out.”
Decision made, she quickly posted a reply.
└Terminal: Hoping for this week. Please DM contact info.
└All-Hating Doll: DM me too, please.
* * *
[Remaining Time: 18 days 1 hour 43 minutes]
Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday morning.
[Terminal-nim, let's meet at 1 PM at Suri Mountain Station Exit 3, under the clock tower.]
I left Taehak to join the hunting party.
I portaled to Seoul Station and hopped on subway Line 4.
The rattling of the old tram over the tracks.
Outside the window, spring in full bloom and whispers of summer on the way.
For once, I let my mind go blank, just watching time drift past.
I wondered if this was okay, but as I settled in, the arrival announcement chimed.
Regretfully, I got off.
Walking down the connecting passage, the unique vista of this world soon came into view.
[Suri Mountain Nationally Designated Demonic Beast Hunting Ground]
Behind the massive signboard, people lugging all sorts of weapons hustled about.
To get a read on the vibe, I tuned into the surrounding chatter.
“How's your haul today?”
“Fuck, shitty. One 9th-rank and two 10ths.”
“Hey, where's the bounty center?”
“Hey? You fuck, am I your buddy?”
“Fuck? This asshole.”
But there wasn't much worth noting. Mostly just this fucker, that fucker profanity.
“But is that Irregular sighting for real?”
“Yeah. Yesterday, I was over by Cliff River Mountain...”
Irregular?
Something intriguing zipped by...
“So, what happened then?”
“Ahem. Now that I'm spilling it, my throat's parched. Nothing hits like a shot of soju right now—”
Yeah, figures.
A scoffing chuckle slipped out on its own.
Bottom line: a shot of soju, some hazy rumor from a dubious source.
“Yep, D-rank hunting ground Suri Mountain.”
It had the chaotic frontline feel of the bare-minimum spot where awakeners scraped by.
C-rank probably wouldn't be this much of a madhouse.
Mid-tier guilds would be posted up, keeping some order.
D-rank was different, though.
Not profitable enough for guilds to bother with beast habitats like these.
In a word, it was a ragtag awakener free-for-all.
Still, I'd confirmed the setting hadn't changed, so it wasn't a total bust.
I ducked into the bathroom first and slipped on the Infi Mask.
Better to pass as an undocumented illegal than flash my Taehak ID.
The soft, alien texture enveloping my face vanished, morphing me into a sharp-featured thug.
It was the long-dormant Yosaldae Special Task Force card.
I tugged my black cap low to finish prepping, then headed for Exit 3 and the clock tower.
I arrived right on time and texted—got a one-liner back.
[Hang tight. Coming to get you.]
Five minutes or so later?
“You the Terminal?”
A bulky guy in a black suit walked up and spoke. I just nodded, wordless.
Not sure if it was some magic effect, but the mask always sealed my lips naturally.
“But you're really Terminal?”
“...”
“Superhuman class? Magic?”
“Any reason I should tell you?”
“Nah, not really... Man, you're a bore.”
The bulky guy tried a few more times before throwing in the towel. Sour-faced, he took the lead, and I followed.
We reached the hunting ground entrance, where a cluster of black suits—clearly his crew—waved us over.
As we approached, the biggest one stepped up for a handshake.
“Pleased to meet ya. I'm Poison Snake. Viper.”
“Likewise.”
“One more holdout, so we'll wait... Ah, speak of the devil.”
We hadn't even let go when Viper jabbed his other hand backward.
I followed his gaze.
There: another bulky type, with a petite figure scurrying after.
“What's that? A chick? She's got a black hat too?”
...Huh?
The silhouette hit me, and my eyes bugged out.
...What the hell.
I thought I'd seen wrong, so I squeezed my eyes shut and checked again.
No dice—the more I looked, the more it was her.
Short hair poking from under the hat, knife-sharp jawline. Slim but toned build...
She'd swapped her usual longsword for a plain one, but no mistaking it.
As the distance shrank and her distinctive scent tickled my nose, my 99% hunch hit 100% certainty.
“Why is Cheon Seo-yun...”
The absurdity had me muttering aloud before I knew it.
“Sweet gig. Hunting with a babe like that.”
Viper clapped my shoulder with a smack and leered.
What fresh nonsense was this? I shot him a glare, and he kept going.
“Oh, didn't I mention? Solo hunts are off-limits for now. Too many Irregular sighting reports—decision came down this morning.”
“Wh-what? No, come on...”
I couldn't hold back and raised my voice. Probably the most heated reaction I'd shown since masking up.
“Hey now, let's be real. A stunner like her? Bet you don't mind. Heh.”
Viper just flashed a sleazy grin. By then, Cheon Seo-yun had arrived.
“All-Hating Doll-nim? Pleased to meet ya.”
Viper copy-pasted his intro line.
Cheon Seo-yun gave a curt nod, then strode over all bold-like and stuck out her hand.
“Bro. Might as well be a good thing—don't sweat it. Swordplay? I'm killer with it.”
“...”
And what was with the speech?
The weird tough-guy act dizzied me for a sec, but I got it quick.
Pushing hard from the jump to hide she was a Taehak student.
Too bad for her—I already knew who she was.
Since she was playing identity roulette and bantering all casual on sight, I fired back.
“How old are you?”