Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Weirdo, Secret
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Thud!
My head throbs. It feels like a heavy iron ball slamming into my brain. After the sharp pain subsides, a lingering vibration leaves my head spinning.
Thud!
I knew this symptom all too well.
‘Information Rebound Syndrome’. A vile disease that primarily afflicts information-processing Awakeners.
But the cause remains unknown. Even the century’s genius, who gained superintelligence through Awakening, had thrown up his hands in defeat.
Thud!
There’s no cure, either.
Research on Awakeners demands enormous expense.
No one had any desire to develop a treatment for the minuscule number of Awakeners.
There were rumors that the horn of a monster called Kendart had therapeutic effects...
‘If only I could get my hands on one.’
Monsters like that were so rare, no one sold them. Right now, it was a material you couldn’t buy no matter how much money you threw at it.
Thud!
‘...I’m gonna die.’
My head throbs again. I’d somehow adapted to the pain itself, but this ringing? No tolerance whatsoever.
Caffeine. I need caffeine.
Special caffeine, several times stronger, formulated just for Awakeners.
That was the only way to dull the vibration’s intensity.
Sleep? I’d given up on that ages ago.
Ever since Awakening—and the onset of the syndrome—I hadn’t slept more than three hours in a day.
Swish.
Jina reached out a hand out of habit. Next to her custom keyboard lay a long pipe.
Her go-to water pipe. Absurdly expensive, but its Awakening boost was the real deal.
Ssshh.
The familiar grip settled in. All that was left was to put it to her lips.
But Jina hesitated.
“......”
Sparkling eyes were beaming right at her from inches away.
They led to crimson irises. Pure, untainted eyes. The skin beside them was so pale, it clashed entirely with this dingy semi-basement.
“Why?”
Dawn tilted her head. At the adorable sight, Jina let out a faint, dry chuckle and pulled her hand back.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Awakener-grade smokes weren’t usually harmful. Their innate mana freed them from issues with all sorts of chemicals.
But personal tolerances varied, of course.
“......”
In front of this girl, she couldn’t bring herself to light up.
It felt morally off—like some dormant conscience was jabbing at her.
So Jina reached for a drawer. Not the one Dawn had signed, but the very bottom one.
Rattle!
She rummaged inside with just her hand until she fished out what she wanted. A bumpy, scratchy texture spread across her palm.
Candy. Her special substitute for the pipe.
Squeak!
It looked grotesquely bizarre. No surprise there—it was dried eyes from a monster called Kirphus.
“You’re... going to eat that?”
Dawn couldn’t hide her shock. The cute reaction was delightful. Photo-worthy, even.
“Yeah. Want one?”
The drawer was stuffed full farther back. Emergency rations only; she rarely touched them. Cigarettes and energy drinks handled the daily grind just fine.
“What do you say?”
Jina pulled out another and offered it slyly to Dawn.
“No, no! I’m good.”
Instant rejection. Fair enough—who’d want to?
“Really? Tastes better than it looks. A real delicacy. Delicacy.”
Jina popped the candy into her mouth for show.
Then crunch!
She chomped down hard with her molars.
Juice burst forth. The texture was, predictably, indescribably awful, but the flavor? Tolerable.
A horrific sweetness, to be precise. Sharp enough to jolt the brain awake.
Mmm. Mind’s clearing up now.
“Then, shall we get started?”
**
**
For a brief moment, I was certain.
Jina was a weirdo. Total weirdo.
“You want one, right? It’s super sweet.”
A candy sat atop the hand Jina extended slyly.
Eyeball candy—the stuff I’d only heard rumors about. Why eat something like that?
Monster meat was everyday fare, but weird parts like this? No thanks.
“No. I’m not big on sweets... hehe.”
“Really? I figured you’d love it.”
I flinched.
Truth was, I’d become the sort who couldn’t live without sweets.
But only the tasty kind. No way in hell I’d touch that.
“If you won’t, can’t force you.”
Luckily, Jina withdrew her hand. She turned her attention to the monitor.
Either way, her being a weirdo was a huge plus. Weirdos always backed it up with killer skills.
I could safely leave Molangmol’s makeover to her.
Vrrr.
Jina rested her hand on the keyboard. A blue glow shimmered from her fingertips.
She wasn’t typing.
Instead, mana leaked out, absorbed into the keyboard before flowing straight into the monitor.
“So, how should I spruce it up?”
Jina turned to me.
“......”
A hologram window now floated between us.
Molangmol. It had broken free from the monitor.
“This your... ability?”
“Yeah. No typing code... I set it directly like this.”
Tap!
Jina touched the hologram. Molangmol’s background shifted to soft sky blue.
“Take a look.”
I pulled out my phone and loaded Molangmol.
“Whoa......”
Flawless. The background had changed for real.
“Just customization? Easy. Security’s a pain... but you don’t need that, yeah?”
“You can handle security too?”
“Anything within hunter community rules.”
Incredible. And insanely straightforward. No memorizing arcane languages?
That explained the fat paychecks for info Awakeners.
“So, tell me. What to tweak, how.”
I launched into my requests at Jina’s prompt.
Started with the basic UI.
Cute vibe to match Molangmol. Round, fluffy fonts all around.
“You can add images, right?”
Next up: gallery logo. I showed her pre-snapped pics of Molangi and Molcangi.
“Easy.”
A few gestures, and the pair’s plump, droopy forms slotted into the gallery.
“Next, the free board...”
Progress was smooth, so I kept piling on asks.
I’d brainstormed tweaks every night before bed. Time to unload them all.
Jina nailed every one, clean and crisp.
Weirdos really were the nicest.
**
**
“Okay.... That do it for you?”
“Yeah. It’s perfect.”
Five hours flat. For a flawless gallery overhaul.
Free board, lotteries, gifts—threw in everything that seemed useful.
“Finalize like this?”
Jina reined in her mana. The hologram dissolved into the air.
Squeak!
Simultaneously, she chucked a fresh candy into her mouth. Swallowed with barely a chew—savoring it?
“You like... candy?”
“This? Hate it.”
“Huh...?”
Didn’t add up.
She’d downed over twenty already. Why force down something you despise?
Never heard of tastes that quirky.
“Know what Information Rebound Syndrome is?”
Jina quizzed me. Name rang a vague bell.
“Like this. This.”
She pulled up the Hunter Wiki on her main screen.
[Information Rebound Syndrome commonly affects Awakeners with information-processing abilities...]
“Oh......”
Grimmer than I’d thought.
“So the candy...”
“Yep. Helps a bit.”
Not enough with one—she crunched and gulped another.
“......”
Felt bad for no reason. She’d toughed out the pain to help me.
And the output? God-tier quality.
Solo? No chance. Even a pro commission wouldn’t hit this mark.
Money aside, I owed her something else...
Molangtori? Full deluxe set with signature and manual?
Something better?
Worth a shot—I asked.
“No cure or anything?”
“Cure? Not yet. Ah... one rumor. Kendart ring a bell?”
“Ken...dart? No?”
“Kendart. Rare monster.”
Huh, one more for the list. Too many types to track.
“I know over 1,001 monster species” was standard psyche eval bait for a reason.
“Word is its horn works... but doubtful. No one’s tested it for real.”
“Kendart, Kendart... Got it. Locked in.”
I’d never forget. Clenched both fists to prove it.
“Pfft...! Thanks.”
Jina cracked up. Her smile felt genuine this time.
**
**
Thud thud!
[Package delivered.]
Three days later, one arrived for Jina.
“Didn’t order anything...”
One of those scam drops? Folks slipped weird crap in parcels lately.
Creak...
Jina cracked the iron door, suspicion high. Peered out, scanned the label.
Familiar name on the sender line of the blue paper.
[Sender: Han Saebyeok]
Suspicion gone, she hauled the box inside.
What was it? She’d already been paid for the gallery work.
Excitement bubbling inexplicably, she tore it open.
“......”
Soft plush hit her eyes first. Molangtori. Extra service?
“...Huh?”
Something else right below.
A sharp, yellow-glowing object.
“No way this is...”
Nah. Jina grabbed the enclosed letter.
Mostly gratitude.
“......”
Somehow scored a Kendart horn and sending it over.
And closing line.
[Our little secret... okay?]