Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: 1-1. The Hyena Dreaming of Retirement
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Even as a hyena scraping by in this harsh life, how could an ordinary guy like me take on a hunter?
People who don't know me well can't help but wonder.
The answer to that is simple.
Just beat them.
Even saying it like that, you probably still can't wrap your head around it. But what can you do? It's the truth.
I was born with incredible strength and reflexes.
To the point where it's unbelievable for a regular person.
Back in the day, my team had two guys who were former Olympic athletes (both got snatched up by giant-type monsters, one in each hand like they were best buddies, and we never heard from them again). They had this to say about me:
"Your reflexes make even Olympic representatives look ordinary!"
Those uncles were convinced I had the kind of physical prowess that only comes along once every hundred years.
They never quite shook their suspicion that I might actually be an Awakened. Even now, plenty of people see me as this weird low-rank hunter who works with hyenas.
That's how exceptional my body is.
It's a real shame the Olympics don't exist anymore.
This body was meant for national team glory, not scavenging monster corpses.
Anyway, with my natural abilities honed by a decade of combat experience, I overwhelm these bottom-tier 9th or 10th-grade hunters with ease.
A psychic type might give me some trouble, but this guy's clearly a physical enhancement Awakened, so to me, he's small fry. Of course, I wouldn't pull this on anyone 6th-grade or higher.
Messing with those guys could leave me rolling on the ground like a dog, eating dirt. A good fighter knows when to step up.
I've survived ten years rubbing shoulders with monsters.
My instincts are razor-sharp.
And right now, those instincts are telling me to teach these damn brats a thorough lesson. I can't help but grin.
Heh.
I was just about to draw the hammer hidden at my waist.
Hunters have tough bodies, so even a hammer to the head won't kill them.
Put another way, it means I need something like a hammer to deal any real damage.
"You little shit! Don't think you can get away with that just 'cause you're a hyena!"
The moment the furious hunter lunged at me.
KABOOM!
A massive racket erupted from outside the building.
It wasn't an explosion. With the added crash of shattering glass, it sounded more like a car flipping over.
Screams from people followed in waves.
We all stopped fighting on the spot. No way we didn't know what that noise was.
The bar's patrons surged toward the windows in a panic.
"Count yourself lucky."
I smacked my lips and backed off, while the hunters fumed.
"What did you say, you bastard! Get over here!"
"Hey! Forget it. Let's go."
One was about to lose his temper when another hunter grabbed him.
"Aw, fuck!"
The hunter kicked a nearby chair in frustration and bolted out.
I shrugged, returned to my table, picked up my glass, and downed it in one go.
Burns good.
"Team Leader Kim, Team Leader Heo. I gotta check it out."
They tried to stop me.
"Team Leader Yoo, this isn't a hunting ground. You don't even have your gear."
"Yeah, the hunters headed out, so it should be fine."
"Nah, I'm not saying I'll jump in myself. Just gotta take a peek. You two stay here."
A hyena without gear is no different from a civilian.
Worried they might follow, I headed out alone.
The situation was obvious.
A monster had shown up in the city and was causing chaos.
Anyang isn't a hunting zone, but it's a forward base.
Meaning monsters from the city center could wander in.
They're blocked at Indukwon as a general rule, but sneaky infiltrations into the urban areas happen all the time.
They come in waves periodically—battalions of them pushing forward—but normally, it's the small ones or those with stealth skills that slip into the city.
"Whoa, what a mess."
Outside was pandemonium. About five cars flipped over, a water main burst with water shooting sky-high. Straight out of a Hollywood flick.
And right next to it, the two hunters I'd scrapped with were locked in a fierce battle with a monster.
Doesn't look easy.
The opponent was an 8th-grade monster called a Kelphim.
About 2.3 meters tall, bipedal, with a dog-like face and long white fur hanging from its head. It has four arms: one pair massive enough to drag on the ground, the other pair human-sized.
It fights with the big ones and does finer work with the small ones.
No weapons, but its claws and teeth are sharp enough to earn it an 8th-grade rating as a dangerous breed.
Monster grades are matched to hunter ranks for easy comparison.
Compared to those 9th- and 10th-grade hunters, the Kelphim had the edge.
Even with two on it, it was a tough fight.
"Damn it! You dog-headed fuck!"
Both were already covered in blood.
Guess I should lend a hand?
Not by jumping in and trading blows like those hunters, though. Even with my Olympic-level physique, I can't go toe-to-toe with an 8th-grade monster in close combat.
Those 30-centimeter razor claws for starters. My skin isn't armored like a pangolin's.
I scanned around and spotted a pharmacy with its windows smashed and interior trashed.
Looks like the pharmacist bailed.
Hm, perfect.
With a small nod, I first grabbed a small bag of flour from the nearby convenience store. They even sell frying mix and flour these days.
Handy for single guys craving savory pancakes.
A life-or-death struggle was unfolding next door, but I was in high spirits, humming to myself as I walked.
KABOOM! Crash!
The Kelphim started grabbing motorcycles and hurling them.
What raw power. But it didn't impress me much.
In the hunting zones, plenty of monsters toss cars around. A Kelphim is small-time. Plus, there are hunters who fight those head-on.
Man, come to think of it, our hunters are impressive.
While I'm skulking around like a sewer rat, they're smashing monster skulls left and right.
"Let's see."
Inside the pharmacy, I dumped out all the cold medicine and quickly extracted the pills.
About a handful would do.
I ground them to powder in a mortar. Then, in another bowl, I mixed the flour I'd brought with water to make dough.
What I'm doing is straightforward.
Mix the cold medicine powder into the flour dough.
"Done."
After sweating it out, I held a baseball-sized lump of dough in my hand. Ready to go?
Out on the street, the two hunters were already down and bloody. The Kelphim was just about to chow down on one.
"Hey! Hey! You mutt! People aren't food."
I grabbed a chunk of rubble rolling nearby and chucked it.
Broken concrete from the Kelphim's rampage.
Whoosh.
Thwack!
It nailed the Kelphim right on the forehead.
A trickle of blood.
Not a solid hit, but it pissed it off good.
Kieeeek!
The thing opened its jaws full of razor teeth and screeched.
Its chest was packed with bulging muscles, covered in coarse white fur.
Like Jean Giraud's chest hair, almost stylish.
Handsome brute.
"Hey, mutt. Cut the crap and come here."
I hid the dough-filled right hand behind my back. Wagging my left fingers like calling a dog, the Kelphim finally snapped.
Kieeeek!
Whoa, touchy pup.
As it lunged to bite my head off, I hurled the dough right into its gaping maw.
When it comes to reflexes, this body's the best.
Shoving dough down its throat? Piece of cake.
Splat!
The flour dough shot into its suddenly opened mouth, startling the Kelphim into a jump. But it was already sliding down its gullet. Choked on it suddenly, the Kelphim hacked and coughed nonstop—kerluk, kerluk.
I strolled past the flailing beast leisurely. Then I spotted a weapon one of the fallen hunters had been using.
"Whoa, you brute. What's this? A motor wrench?"
The two downed hunters were physical enhancers. One strength-based, one agility.
And the strength guy's weapon was a motor wrench over a meter long.
Unbelievable. Truly touching.
Never thought I'd see a weapon this iconic after the sledgehammer.
In some famous game, the protagonist bashed aliens with a sledge. This guy's planning to wrench monsters?
"You clever bastard. Sorry I underestimated your ingenuity."
I picked up the motor wrench and turned around.
Seeing the Kelphim half-drained of energy, I grinned.
"Cold medicine hit you hard, huh? Feeling sluggish?"
The Kelphim's state was due to the pseudoephedrine HCl in the cold meds. For some reason, this monster type was super sensitive to it. Pseudoephedrine's used in drug production too—there've even been cases of people brewing narcotics from cold pills.
"Time to hit the hay again. Got all hyped lording it up in the city after being small fry in the hunting zones, huh?"
Thwack!
The motor wrench smashed into the Kelphim.
The 2.3-meter behemoth screamed in agony and staggered back.
It swung its massive arm in desperation, but I parried with the wrench. The thing was totally spent now. Barely an attack compared to its original swings.
"Ooh! Kelphim! I love that clumsiness of yours!"
Flashing an exaggerated theatrical smile, I closed in tight. The Kelphim freaked.
Who said monsters are dumb?
Can't talk, but we're communicating perfectly right now.
"What? Don't like me? Think I'm nuts?"
Kieeek!
The Kelphim wailed again.
But it was terrified.
When I swung the wrench and crushed its instep, the fear peaked.
Kieeeek! Kieeek!
The louder it screamed, the more delighted I got.
I swung the motor wrench relentlessly; the Kelphim collapsed, unable to flee.
Acted all tough, huh? Look at you now.
Maybe it was resentment from lacking powers myself, but I loved watching the strong fall.
Just looking at it was pure joy.
"Hahaha!"
I couldn't hold back the laughter as I swung away.
"Calm down, calm down!"
It kept screaming until the responding hunters arrived to pull me off. Even with that brutal wrench, I'd avoided vitals, so the Kelphim was still breathing.
The reporters tagging along with the hunters snapped photos in horror. They say I looked like a blood-soaked demon, drenched head to toe in Kelphim gore.
***
A peaceful weekend.
The perfect time to lounge in bed with a fantasy novel. Even better with snacks, cold pizza, and flat cola on the side. Beer works too.
My apartment was a cozy haven stocked with all of it.
Ideal for weekends, way better than flashing a dumb smile and catering to some girl's whims.
Guys who date are idiots.
A man's dignity comes from spending weekends nobly alone.
Riiiing.
The phone rang again. I finally just turned it off. Hitting reject nonstop was too much hassle.
My weekend was under full assault.
Piles of fantasy novels to read and food to devour, yet here they were, tormenting me.
Not that I couldn't understand completely.
I'd been on TV, after all.
The evening news, no less.
[Two hunters down, a street in peril—salvaged by Yoo Je-a, team leader of the Black Hyena crew. Displaying superhuman prowess unbelievable for a civilian...]
There I was on the news, swinging that motor wrench like a lunatic. Wow, when did they even film that?
Thought no one was around, but someone was hiding with a camera.
And why do I look so deranged swinging that thing?
Even worse, my interview came next. I'd only roughly wiped the blood off my face.
>First and foremost, I just had to save the civilians. With those two hunters down, I was panicked and out of it.
In the interview, I came off humble and principled. Out of it my ass... I'd strolled into the pharmacy humming a tune. Seeing my own hypocrisy made my teeth itch a bit.
But that's not the issue now.
Face exposure was secondary; the problem was my real name, Yoo Je-a, blasted across the airwaves. Even my five-year team members barely knew it, so how'd the news station get it? I'd given a fake name on purpose, yet it aired as my real one.
Monster crisis turned Korea into a shitshow, sure, but isn't this a broadcasting law violation?
Honestly, I hate the name Yoo Je-a.
Sounds like a girl's name. Who'd want to sell their face with that? Why won't the courts approve my name change?
"Ha... fuck. Nothing goes right."
I shut off the TV and chucked the remote. Then I draped my favorite fantasy novel over my face and closed my eyes.
My habit when sleep comes softly.
Drifting off like this, I felt like I could slip into that fantasy world.
Blondes with huge racks are the best heroines. Dragonkin heroines rule.
Lost in such delusions alone, my eyes grew heavy.
Then someone started pounding on the door like they were gonna break it down.
"Hey! Yoo Je-a! Yoo Je-a! Get out here!"
Oh god. My body shot up on its own.
The voice belonged to Ji-a noona.
My blood sister, but to me, scarier than... just a brother without balls.