Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Barter
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I need to become a hunter.
That was my conclusion. But to become one, there was one resolve I needed.
“If I’m not careful, my identity might get exposed.”
Being a hunter was a job where combat was everyday life. Naturally, you’d get injured on the job, and inevitably, you’d have to deal with holy magic.
It was only a matter of time before my identity was revealed. And if that happened, how would people react to someone like me, half-human and half-demon?
I phrased my worries a bit indirectly and shared them.
“Hey, what do you think about ‘Meta-Dino’?”
“Huh? Why Meta-Dino out of nowhere?”
“Answer seriously.”
“Hmm. It’s a solid domestic production. They nailed the concept. Dinosaurs fusing with robots—it’s a setup that gets anyone’s heart racing.”
“So, is Meta-Dino a dinosaur? Or a robot?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You like Meta-Dino because it’s a mecha show.”
“Yeah.”
“But strictly speaking, it’s not really a fusion. It’s just slapping robot parts on a dinosaur. It looks like a robot on the outside, but it’s really just a dinosaur in powered armor. Can you really call that a mecha show? Can you accept that?”
I looked at Deok-hun impatiently. What answer would he give?
“You idiot!”
The response was a shout. Deok-hun pushed up his glasses high, his body trembling. This was the telltale sign he was entering berserk mode.
Oh no. I’d accidentally touched his sore spot.
“That’s the best you’ve got? That tired old genre debate? I’m disappointed. I thought you were different, but you’re blind to a work’s essence because of some stupid genre!”
Deok-hun yelled, spittle flying in his excitement.
“Who cares if it’s mecha or dinosaur? What matters is it gets your blood pumping without you even realizing it! Shonen manga is all about love, friendship, effort, victory—and blue bloomers! Nothing else matters!”
Hey, no need to shout about bloomers like that.
“Excuse me, could you keep it down?”
The noise drew the attention of a female clerk, who approached cautiously. Deok-hun finally snapped out of it and slowly regulated his breathing.
“Ahem. Sorry about that. I tend to get a bit heated over differing opinions. Embarrassing... a failure of self-control. My apologies. Let’s head out.”
Pretending to be normal now was too late. If anything, it just made him look even crazier.
“We’ll continue the debate outside.”
“Y-Yeah. Please.”
I followed him out, breaking into a cold sweat. He really wasn’t normal. Didn’t care about others’ stares at all.
Just before we left the store, I heard the female clerk mutter behind us.
“Ugh... sweat smell...”
Impressive. I didn’t even need to see her face—her voice alone conveyed how much she despised us.
I couldn’t help but admire it. To stir up emotions like that. It actually made me feel lighter.
“You really don’t give a damn about what others think.”
“Otaku like us are done the moment we let others sway us.”
“Don’t lump me in with ‘us.’”
Deok-hun chugged a can of cola down his throat. Cool. Insane, but cool.
At the same time, I felt a surge of not wanting to sink to his level. I still wanted to stay within the realm of normalcy.
“Hmph! I’m disappointed in you, Cha In-hyeok. I thought you were different from the other idiots, but you’re just another superficial human after all. Sigh. Pissing me off. I’m going home to binge Meta-Dino. Don’t contact me until you fix that twisted mindset of yours.”
O Deok-hun pushed up his glasses once more and walked off leisurely. People parted before him like the Red Sea.
‘Dude, at least shower once in a while.’
I swallowed the advice I couldn’t voice and followed. There’d been a commotion, but the talk with O Deok-hun helped me reach a conclusion.
‘I absolutely cannot let my identity slip.’
Even a regular otaku got looks of disgust like that. If they found out I was half-demon, they’d probably try to kill me. Hell, they might even hold a public execution in the square.
* * *
‘To hide my identity, I’ll have to hunt solo or join a raid without a healer...’
Soloing was a last resort. Even a 1★ dungeon required at least a 3★ hunter to barely clear alone.
Sure, it was called a 1★ dungeon, but it had dozens of 1★ monsters, a few 1.5★ variants, and a 2★ boss.
And after all that hassle, there was no real profit. The byproducts from a 1★ dungeon weren’t useful to a 3★ hunter, and the entry fee made it a bad deal.
‘In the end, joining a mid- or small-sized guild without healers is the best bet.’
Fortunately, healers were rare and mostly hoarded by large guilds, leaving mid- and small-sized ones short.
If I could just get my hunter license without issue, I could join one and keep hunting while hiding my identity.
‘But first, I need to pass the mana measurement. Should be fine, right?’
I eyed the sign reading “Mana Measurement Center” worriedly.
‘It’ll be okay, right? They’re not gonna suddenly go, “Half-demon detected. Let’s kill him,” during a mana check? Ugh! I wish I could watch someone else get measured first.’
Not knowing what the center could detect, I had no choice but to lurk around, peeking nervously.
That’s when someone popped up in front of me. I reflexively clutched my head.
“You’re doing it again. Why every time?”
“Huh?”
It was that girl. The one I’d saved last time. The one who’d given me her name tag as thanks.
But why was she here again? And why talk to me?
“Here. You left this behind.”
“This is... a name tag?”
“Yeah. I went to the trouble of returning it—what if you just toss it?”
“...I don’t need it anymore. School’s on temporary shutdown anyway. And graduation’s soon.”
“So you just throw it away? No thought for the person who tracked you down?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to ditch it.”
I was apologizing without thinking. Wait, why apologize? Technically, I was her lifesaver.
But for some reason, my heart was racing. Fumbling around this nameless girl felt amazing right now.
“I know. You went to the rooftop to save people, right?”
“Huh?”
“Bro, you came out unscathed from three goblins. Impossible for a normal person. You awakened then, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here?”
“Uh, well...”
Should I admit it or play dumb? As I hesitated, the girl pressed the name tag into my hand and smiled.
“I figured if I waited here, I’d run into you. And here you are. Later than I expected, though.”
“You were waiting for me?”
“Yeah. To give back your name tag. But you said you don’t need it, so take mine instead.”
What she handed me was a cute name tag reading “Huh Min-ah,” with a faint floral scent.
Huh Min-ah. Pretty name. Waiting to see me, even giving her name—what’s her deal? Does she like me? Fallen for me?
‘Sigh. Did I... accidentally score again?’
No helping it. Alright. Let’s date. No, let’s get married!
Honeymoon in Europe? Maldives? Hawaii?
Kids? One boy, one girl, perfect.
Names? Combine ours—Cha Min-hyuk for the son, Cha In-ah for the daughter?
In that brief moment, I dreamed of marrying the girl before me, having a son and daughter, living happily ever after.
Ahh. So sweet. This must be what they call a honeymoon daydream.
“...Hey! Look! Over there! Are you even listening?”
“Uh, yeah? What? Why do you look even younger now?”
“Ugh! What’s with that creepy way of calling me?”
Too bad—it was just a pipe dream. Min-ah stared at me in disgust. From her face, it didn’t seem like she liked me.
Then why wait? And why give me her name tag?
“Ah, sorry. But why this?”
“You said you don’t need a name tag. So I’m giving you mine in exchange for keeping yours.”
“No, I mean, why give me this...”
“Just take it. Call it a trade.”
“Huh? Oh. Okay.”
I took it and instinctively sniffed. Min-ah’s disgust deepened.
I yanked it away from my nose. Any longer, and I’d be wearing it like a nose plug.
Just then, a group rushed into the measurement center.
The sight of them froze me solid. The guy in the middle had a familiar face.
“Whoa! That guy! The one who killed the hobgoblin on the rooftop. Isn’t he amazing?”
“Huh? Who took down a hobgoblin?”
“That senior there. Word is he awakened and straight-up killed a variant monster.”
“What?”
I stared at the hunter group in disbelief. In the center was Kim Cheol-min, looking dazed.
‘No way—how did the story get so twisted?’
* * *
The mana measurement center was also called the Awakener Level Measurement Center.
Mana rose proportionally with level, so accurately measuring the mana in your body officially confirmed an awakener’s strength—i.e., their level.
People visited for two main reasons.
Either awakeners checking their level for rank evaluation, or new awakeners seeking official national certification.
Kim Cheol-min fell into the latter category.
“The staff’s gonna flip when they see your results.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Your level’s gonna be sky-high. Most first-timers are level 1.”
Lee Chun-bae figured Kim Cheol-min was at least level 5. Hobgoblins were that tough, and tougher foes gave more EXP.
“Oh... okay.”
“Anyway, memory still hasn’t returned?”
“Huh? That...”
“Hmm. No rush. Might be too intense a fight to want to remember.”
Kim Cheol-min nodded obediently, saying he understood. His blank expression suggested he’d truly lost memories of the incident. Lee Chun-bae recalled finding him.
‘Only this guy was alive on the rooftop. Probably kept fighting with his arm severed until blood loss took him down.’
He’d lost his memories for now, but the guts, courage, and cool judgment he’d shown didn’t vanish.
Losing an arm was a shame, but polish him right, and he’d make a fine organization member.
Kim Cheol-min’s parents, hearing Lee Chun-bae had saved their son, entrusted his future to him. So he’d accepted him into the fold.
That’s why he’d brought him straight here post-discharge.
“Anyway, big expectations for you. Just graduate the academy, and the guild’ll back you hard. Relax.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Lee Chun-bae smiled warmly at Kim Cheol-min. Meanwhile, the responder looked oddly nervous, like an elementary kid who’d just lied and expected to get caught.
‘What do I do... He still thinks I killed that monster.’
Kim Cheol-min recalled waking up. Total chaos.
He’d thought he was dead for sure, but miraculously survived—minus one perfectly fine arm. Anyone would lose it in that situation.
After resting in the hospital, memories of the hobgoblin fight resurfaced.
He’d rolled on the ground, crawled on all fours to dodge attacks, but got caught eventually. Blocked desperately with his arm—and his left one got sliced off.
After that, memories faded. Someone might’ve appeared on the rooftop, but with consciousness slipping, he couldn’t tell if it was real or a dream.
Either way, he’d survived. Lost his left hand, but it wasn’t all loss.
For some reason, from that day, he could see his status window.
[Kim Cheol-min. Lv 3. (3.4%)] [Mana 2/2]
[Strength 9, Agility 11, Vitality 10, Intelligence 4]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 10]
Kim Cheol-min had awakened without realizing it.