Chapter 53
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 53
Recently, Cheon Seo-yoon, who had somewhat regained her usual self, underwent a significant change.
Her already tight grip on money became even more relentless, and she also began to distrust her old training methods.
These stemmed from the shock of failing to win an item at the auction house and the sudden sparring match, respectively.......
Either way, in the end, it was all because of a single person.
"......Park Ha-yul."
Chewing over that name, Cheon Seo-yoon thought.
That their relationship was a hopelessly tangled and twisted skein of thread—if she had to define it, something close to a cursed bond.
Had something happened between them in a past life?
It was infuriating enough that they kept getting entangled, but whenever that happened, Cheon Seo-yoon was often not herself.
Not the strong, confident version she always showed, but weak, impulsive, stupid.......
And so, every time that hidden side of her burst out, Park Ha-yul had been there beside her.
When she had made a scene during the Final Fortress Occupation Battle and collapsed helplessly, when she had collapsed in tears and snot at the auction house.......
"Of course......."
Rationally, she knew.
That it wasn't Park Ha-yul's fault, that he had simply done his part as well.
But still. In the end, weren't connections something people made?
So she didn't resent him. She just disliked him.
"That flying-squirrel bastard. I'll crush him soon. I will."
Recalling the duel that had ended so unsatisfactorily, Cheon Seo-yoon gritted her teeth.
That one move had been far stronger than she'd expected—and because it was a technique executed with a sword, not Sorcery, she had let her guard down for a moment.
But if they fought again, she was confident she would win cleanly, leaving not even a trace of unease.
She'd stomp him flat so thoroughly he couldn't even squeak.
"Let's see if you can still act all smug and unbothered then."
Clenching her teeth, Cheon Seo-yoon turned her eyes to her laptop.
On the screen was Taehak's anonymous community "Eta," the Enuri Time site.
Her purpose for logging on was to browse the occasional part-time job posts.
Even as a Taehak student with status equivalent to a public official, there were always legally available jobs, and she remembered that they were posted every so often.
But what was this.......
Who is Buhansi.
Settling once and for all who would win if Buhansi and Baek Sa-young fought.
.
.
It wasn't even a Buhansi fan site.......
The board was filled entirely with talk about Buhansi, the hottest figure at Taehak these days.
The occasional part-time job posts had been buried out of sight.
Cheon Seo-yoon, an unexpected victim of this, frowned slightly and grumbled.......
"Settling it? Who does he think he is."
Then she casually moved her cursor down and clicked on a post related to "Buhansi."
She, too, had been rather curious.
And so, Cheon Seo-yoon spent a while enthusiastically browsing Buhansi-related content she hadn't planned on.
One post in particular stood out, written by a user named “pullback” who introduced himself as a follower of Buhansi.
He talked as if he knew Buhansi's true identity, and it was quite logical and specific.
Ding-dong!
That was when she heard the message notification sound.
(Ad) Not a scam, by the way. I'll show you an easy way to make money.
She was about to assume it was spam and hit delete....... Easy?
The rather tempting title caught her eye. Wasn't suspicion something that shrank endlessly in the face of money?
Click
Unable to contain her curiosity, Cheon Seo-yoon clicked the message.
After reading through the contents, it didn't seem like a scam, so she accessed the link provided at the very bottom.
What unfolded then was a whole new world—the dark world of Awakeners that everyone in the know knew about.
"......Gumanet?"
Half in doubt, Cheon Seo-yoon browsed the hunting ground board.
Before long, she let out an exclamation of admiration.
She had been tempted by the claim that even a D-rank field could bring in more than 3 million won a day if handled well.
Of course, there was a caveat that you had to be highly skilled, but Cheon Seo-yoon was confident.
At most, the opponents would be Grade 10, Grade 9, or Grade 8 Monsters.
"This is it."
A golden opportunity to earn money and sharpen her real-combat instincts.
Cheon Seo-yoon clenched her fist tightly.
It bothered her that it violated school rules, but since she would only participate occasionally, she didn't think she'd get caught.
Cheon Seo-yoon searched for brokers who arranged illegal entry.
After digging through promotional posts, it wasn't long before a decent candidate appeared on her radar.
Poison Snake.
He operated out of a D-rank hunting field near Seoul, with cheap participation fees and a reasonable commission rate of around 20%.
It didn't seem like a scam—someone had already left a comment.
"It's tomorrow, though....... Might as well go once."
As soon as she made up her mind, Cheon Seo-yoon hurriedly left a comment.
└Limited Lifespan: Looking for this week. Please send me your contact information by private message.
└Everyone-Bashing Doll: I'd like a message too.
* * *
[Remaining Time: 18 days 1 hour 43 minutes]
Time flowed quickly, and before I knew it, Saturday morning had arrived.
[Limited Lifespan, let's meet at 1 p.m. at Surisan Station Exit 3, under the clock tower.]
I left Taehak to join a hunting party.
I moved to Seoul Station through a portal and boarded Subway Line 4.
The rattling sound of the railcar.
The full bloom of late spring spreading beyond the window, and the first hints of the coming summer.
For the first time in a while, I let my mind go blank and simply watched as time passed.
I wondered if this was okay, but just as I was getting used to it, an announcement rang out saying we had arrived at our destination.
I left my regrets behind and got off.
I walked along the connecting passage, and before long, the unique scenery of this world revealed itself.
[Surisan State-Designated Monster Hunting Ground]
Behind the large standing sign, people carrying all sorts of weapons moved busily.
To get a sense of the atmosphere, I listened to the voices around me.
"How's your haul today?"
"Shit, not great. One Grade 9 and two Grade 10s."
"Hey, where's the bounty center?"
"Hey? Hey, you little shit, am I your buddy?"
"Little shit? No, but this little shit."
But there wasn't much worth noting. Most of it was just profanity about this bastard or that bastard—
"But is it true you saw an Irregular?"
"Yep. Yesterday, over by Cliff River Mountain......."
An Irregular?
For a moment, something interesting seemed to pass by.......
"So? So what happened?"
"Ahem. Now that I'm about to tell it, my throat's a bit dry. At times like this, a glass of soju while—"
Of course.
A snort of laughter escaped me before I knew it.
The conclusion was a glass of soju—just a baseless rumor with no clear source or credibility.
"As expected of Surisan, a D-rank hunting ground."
It looked exactly like the lowest rung of the work one could still make a living from as an Awakener.
If it were at least C-rank, it probably wouldn't be this chaotic.
Small and mid-sized guilds would be stationed there and maintain some semblance of order.
But D-rank was different.
As a habitat for unremarkable Monsters, it wasn't profitable enough for any guild to move in.
In short, this place was a gathering spot for motley Awakeners.
Still, I'd learned that the setting hadn't changed, so it wasn't a total loss.
First, I went into the restroom and put on the human-skin mask.
I had devised this because I figured the status of an undocumented illegal resident would be better than that of a Taehak student.
As the soft foreign sensation covering my face faded, I transformed into an ordinary man with fairly sharp features.
It was the Yosal Corps Special Mission Taskforce card I'd taken out for the first time in a while.
I finished my preparations by pulling a black cap down low, then headed to the clock tower at Exit 3.
I arrived without being late and sent a text, and a one-line reply came back.
[Wait there. I'll come get you.]
About five minutes later?
"You're Limited Lifespan?"
A big guy in a black suit approached and spoke to me. I nodded silently.
Maybe it had some kind of magical effect; whenever I wore the human-skin mask, I naturally became less talkative.
"But are you really Limited Lifespan?"
"......."
"Superhuman Track? Or Magic Track?"
"Is there a reason I need to tell you?"
"No, well, not exactly....... Man, you're no fun."
The big guy tried to make conversation a few more times before giving up. He took the lead with a lukewarm expression, and I followed behind.
When we arrived near the hunting ground entrance, black-suited men who were clearly part of the same group raised their hands in greeting.
As we approached the group, the largest one stepped forward and offered a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Poison Snake. Call me Viper."
"Pleasure to meet you."
"One more person hasn't arrived yet, so we'll wait....... Ah, there she is."
Before we'd even let go of each other's hands, Viper pointed behind us with his free hand.
My gaze followed.
At the end of it, I saw another big guy and a small figure trailing along behind him.
"What the. A woman? That one's wearing a black hat too?"
......Huh?
But the moment I registered the silhouette, my eyes flew open.
...What the hell is this.
Thinking I'd seen wrong, I pressed my eyes for a moment and looked again.
But the more I looked, the more it was definitely her.
The bobbed hair peeking out from under her hat, the slender jawline that looked as if it had been cut with a blade. A lean but springy build, and so on.......
She was carrying an ordinary sword instead of the longsword she always wore, but there was no way I wouldn't recognize her.
As the distance closed and her distinctive scent stimulated my sense of smell, my 99% guess became 100% certainty.
"Why is Cheon Seo-yoon......."
It was so absurd that I muttered aloud without realizing it.
"Ain't this nice. Hunting with a beauty like that."
Viper suddenly tapped me on the shoulder and grinned.
Wondering what the hell he was talking about, I glared at him, and Viper continued.
"Ah, did I not mention? Solo hunting's been banned for the time being. There've been frequent Irregular sighting reports, so it was decided in a hurry this morning."
"Wha, what? No, what the......."
I couldn't help raising my voice. It was probably one of the most intense reactions I'd shown since putting on the Human-Face Mask.
"Now, now, let's be honest. With a beauty like that, you wouldn't mind either, would you? Heh heh."
But Viper just smiled slyly. Meanwhile, Cheon Seo-yoon arrived.
"Everyone-Bashing Doll? Nice to meet you."
Viper repeated the exact same greeting he'd given me.
Cheon Seo-yoon nodded lightly, then walked over to me and thrust out her hand with an overbearing air.
"Mister. It's actually a good thing, so don't worry. I may not look it, but I'm damn good with a sword."
"......."
But what's with that way of talking.
I felt dizzy for a moment at the weird act, then quickly caught on.
She was trying to come on strong from the start so no one would figure out she was a Taehak student.
But what do I do. I already know who you are.
Since things had come to this, and since I'd hidden my identity anyway, I was annoyed by her talking down to me on first meeting, so I said one thing.
"How old are you?"