The Awakening of the Status Window

The status window activated! Everyone’s gaze turned toward one spot. Even the three harpies that had been clinging to the roof of the bus froze. Yu-shin was dumbfounded. How dare a bunch of low-level mobs point their claws at him? That was something that would have been unimaginable back in the Abyss. And to dare point them at his mother, of all people?

Before anyone knew it, Cheon Yu-shin had caught the harpy’s razor-sharp claw in his hand.

"S-son?" Yoo Insook was flustered. Harpies—what terrifying monsters they were. She didn't know much about them, but they appeared on the news from time to time. Gate Breaks happened occasionally, and the most frequent monster to appear was the harpy. They were known as swift, vicious predators that moved like the wind. If they felt at a disadvantage, they would flee into the sky. They were terrifying monsters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that would hide somewhere, only to suddenly reveal themselves when hungry and snatch people away. Yet, that very monster was caught in her son's hand, unable to move a muscle?

"W-what is going on?"

But Yu-shin replied as if it were nothing. "I don't know why this thing is here, but I'll take care of it for a moment." His voice was as calm as if he were catching a cockroach.

'Gravity.' Yu-shin muttered to himself. But.

'Huh?' What was this? A message had popped up like in a game. But Yu-shin focused on the content rather than the format. My skills are sealed? The skills that had always protected him? Yu-shin muttered again. 'Gravity.' As expected, the skill did not activate.

That was when the harpy, seeing the human who had caught its claw standing there doing nothing, swung its free foot toward Yu-shin’s head. If that swing landed, a human head would have shattered into pieces, just as it always did. But Yu-shin caught the incoming claw with ferocious speed once again.

"Ha! Let's start by dealing with this mob."

He would figure out what was going on later. His other abilities, excluding the skills, were still alive. First, he had to put out the fire at hand.

Crack! The sound of bones breaking echoed through the bus.

"Kieeeeeeek!" At the same time, a scream that sounded like a young girl's—hard to believe it came from a monster—also rang out.

"Can't you shut your trap?" Yu-shin, holding both claws, slammed the harpy down onto the bus floor.

BOOM! The floor of the bus caved in, and the harpy’s lower body disappeared along with the wreckage. As the harpy tried to writhe in even greater agony, Yu-shin struck its head directly.

Crunch! The harpy’s head shattered instantly.

"Kieeeeeeek!" The three harpies on top of the bus fled rapidly. But Yu-shin didn't chase them. It was because of the message that appeared before his eyes.

'Status window?' The moment the question crossed his mind, a status window floated before his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

'What is this?' Yu-shin’s eyes widened at the game-like interface. Yu-shin was not the type to be easily surprised, but he couldn't help it at this moment.

'Damn it, the only attack skill I can use is Dark Arrow?'

Dark Arrow was the first skill Yu-shin had learned back there. It was easy enough for novice demons to use during training, but its power was as weak as it was easy to handle. Yu-shin’s expression hardened.

'This is a bit troublesome.' His true power came entirely from his skills. And yet, all those skills were sealed?

Meanwhile.

'Is that even possible?' Park Hae-soo, the team leader of the Hunter Management Department's 1st Raid Team, couldn't believe it. To handle a harpy so easily. Of course, harpies weren't exactly terrifying entities to hunters. They were just tricky to hunt because they were weak-bodied. But one couldn't deal with them that easily. Unless they were at least C-class hunters.

'Who on earth is he?' There were roughly 500 C-class hunters in the country. Unfortunately, they weren't all under the Hunter Management Department, but he definitely knew their faces. Yet, that man was not among the C-class hunters he knew.

Outside was still a mess. Screams rang out everywhere. The harpy’s cackling laughter, as if they were having fun, created a dissonant harmony. 'First, let's put out the fire.'

Park Hae-soo walked toward Cheon Yu-shin with long strides, greeted him, and showed the civil servant ID in his inner breast pocket. "Nice to meet you. I am Park Hae-soo, team leader of the Hunter Management Department's Hunter Raid Team. The situation is urgent, so I'll explain later. Please deal with the harpies outside."

Cheon Yu-shin blinked, looking at Park Hae-soo who had suddenly stood before him. 'Who is this bastard?' Giving him a command-like order out of nowhere. No one dared to give him orders. Should he kill him? But he couldn't kill a person in front of his mother, especially when they weren't even a monster. Park Hae-soo, who had just had one foot in hell and come back, looked at the blankly standing Cheon Yu-shin and spoke again.

"Are you not listening to me? This is an emergency. Please go out and deal with the harpies."

"I don't want to."

"······?" Park Hae-soo made a foolish expression at Yu-shin’s unexpected words. "Did you just say you don't want to?"

"Yeah."

It had been 5 years here, but over 400 years in the Abyss. He had missed this place every single day and dreamed of it. He had finally arrived, and now they wanted him to fight monsters again? What kind of nonsense was that? And to do it while listening to someone else's orders, no less.

Park Hae-soo’s face twisted. "This is an emergency. Are you ignoring the Hunter Management Department as usual? Surely you haven't forgotten, have you? The Special Act on Hunter Military Service states that in an emergency, one must follow the orders of Hunter Management Department personnel. Every hunter has a duty. Therefore···."

"Excuse me? I'm not a hunter. What is that? Is it something you eat?"

"Are you saying you aren't a hunter?"

"You look young, but are your ears already blocked? Why can't you hear me? I told you I'm not a hunter! I don't even know what that is."

Park Hae-soo’s brow furrowed at Yu-shin’s tone, which subtly dropped the honorifics at the end. Judging by appearances alone, the age gap between Park Hae-soo and Yu-shin looked to be about 6 to 9 years. Just then, Yoo Insook, who had been behind Yu-shin, interrupted the conversation.

"I-it's true. My son doesn't know what a hunter is. He was in a coma for 5 years. He just woke up today, so he doesn't know much about monsters or hunters."

"In a coma for 5 years?"

"Yes. That's right. Of all days, on the day he was discharged."

'Someone who was in a coma for 5 years woke up today and is being discharged today? And he killed a harpy he saw for the first time like he was killing a bug?' Does that make sense? But Yoo Insook’s expression was innocent. As if everything she said was the truth.

Park Hae-soo sighed briefly and spoke in a pleading tone, unlike before. "Then, I ask for your favor. Could you please deal with those harpies?"

The important thing for now was to deal with the ones outside as quickly as possible. At least until reinforcements from the Hunter Management Department arrived.

Everyone’s gaze turned outside the bus. Harpies were still cackling and snatching up screaming people. It was a moment of hell for the people, but for those creatures, it was a festival. However, Yu-shin had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intention of saving them. He had already watched countless people die in the Abyss. No, in the beginning, he had saved many people. If one was human, one should naturally do so. At least, if one was human. But those who were saved criticized Yu-shin instead. They asked when they had ever asked to be saved. They said it was a disgrace to be helped by a dark mage who received the power of dirty demons.

That was when it started. Not caring whether people died or not. So Yu-shin opened his mouth to state his refusal.

"I'll···"

"For your information, in the event of such an occurrence, the government provides compensation. In the case of harpies, we pay 500,000 won per head."

500,000 won? And per head? They said 5 years had passed since he became a vegetable. If the currency value hadn't changed much, 500,000 won was definitely a large sum. And 500,000 won per head! If so, he had just picked up 500,000 won on the street.

Yu-shin’s eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth. "Actually, I thought I should deal with those guys. With great power···"

Park Hae-soo finished Yu-shin’s sentence. "Comes great responsibility."

Just then, Yoo Insook grabbed her son Yu-shin’s arm. "S-son! What on earth···" Her face was full of confusion.

"Mom. I'll explain in detail when we get home. For now, let me catch those money bags."

Yu-shin also needed to hear an explanation from his mother. As far as he remembered, his family hadn't been that poor. But looking at the clothes Yoo Insook was wearing now··· Anyway. While Yu-shin was dealing with the harpies outside, Hunter Management Department officials began to arrive one after another.

It was when Yu-shin was approaching a harpy about 10 meters away. A sharp sound piercing the wind was heard from somewhere.

'Which bastard is it?' Yu-shin’s hand moved quickly. And when his hand stopped, a long, slender dagger was held in it.

When Yu-shin turned his head toward the direction the dagger had flown from, a woman with wide-open eyes was standing there. With a tall height of 165cm, hair tied in two braids, fair skin, and delicate features, she was a woman most men would like.

"W-who are you? How did you do that?"

The one who had thrown the dagger a moment ago was Kim Hee-won. 'He caught my sword while his back was turned?' That was nonsense. It wasn't a cartoon; how could he catch a dagger without even looking? So she was curious. What kind of person was that man? Just then, Yu-shin’s mouth opened. Kim Hee-won watched his mouth, tense.

"This is mine, you know? Why are you stealing it?"

"······St-steal?"

Kim Hee-won blinked as if flustered by the game-like word. "No, I was approaching to catch it, and throwing a piece of scrap metal like this from afar is really bad manners."

"Sc-scrap metal? Bad manners?"

Kim Hee-won’s gaze turned to the shuriken held in Yu-shin’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand. How much money had she spent to obtain that? It was a masterpiece among masterpieces, crafted by Smith, a famous American blacksmith, who had hammered it thousands of times. It was now her symbol and a precious item she wouldn't trade for anything. So, that shuriken could not be ignored as a piece of scrap metal.

Just as Kim Hee-won was about to open her mouth, Cheon Yu-shin waved his hand lightly. Then, Kim Hee-won’s shuriken disappeared.

Thwack! Thud. At the same time, the harpy’s glabella was pierced, and it collapsed.

"Whoa." Kim Hee-won’s mouth dropped open at the sight. 'Wh-what?' She hadn't even been able to see how the shuriken had flown just now. No, it was even more threatening than her own throwing technique. What if that shuriken had been thrown at her? Kim Hee-won swallowed hard.