Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Resolve to Become a Hunter
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"Well."
"Three thousand? Five thousand?"
The amount they were returning—half of the hospital bill—was over thirty million won.
It was just a rough guess on his part.
"I told you, I don't know."
"No way it's even more, is it?"
"Don't worry about it, oppa."
"How can I not?"
"I'm not. So you shouldn't either."
"Liar."
"I'm not lying."
As the two bickered playfully, they arrived in front of a small, rundown villa that looked quite old.
The neighborhood was the same as before, but the house had changed.
"You sold the house too?"
It had been a government-subsidized apartment thanks to good fortune, but it was still the family's one and only home.
Now even that was gone.
Su-a fell silent, saying nothing.
She wasn't one to stay quiet easily, but maybe she thought talking more would just make Su-hyeok worry and try to stop her.
They climbed the stairs to the fifth-floor apartment, and as soon as Su-hyeok stepped inside, his face hardened.
"What are you doing? Come in."
It was cramped.
They called it a villa, but it was barely over 100 square feet.
The one silver lining was that there were two rooms.
For a house with two women living in it, even that was barely enough—if there had been fewer rooms, it would have been unbearable.
The living room was so small it barely fit a TV.
It was too much for a family of four.
They had been poor, but not to this extent.
No matter how he thought about it, his hospital bills alone couldn't have led to such a downfall.
"What happened?"
Su-a stayed silent at his stiff-voiced question as well.
"Don't be an idiot. You can't hide it forever," Su-hyeok pressed her.
It wasn't something he could pretend not to know.
He was an adult now, too.
He had no intention of being treated like a patient.
"Sigh..."
In the end, Su-a let out a deep sigh and spilled the whole story.
Not long after Su-hyeok collapsed, Han Jeong-hee had been diagnosed with cancer.
Fortunately, it was early-stage, and they managed treatment somehow, but without decent insurance, they had no choice but to sell the house and move.
It was a double blow on top of the burden of Su-hyeok's medical bills.
"This isn't the time for me to take it easy."
The reality hit him hard that he couldn't leisurely wait for just thirty million won—half the hospital bill.
In the end, his family had suffered because of him.
He resented himself for lying there helplessly during their hardest times.
"Still, don't push yourself too hard. Just in case, you need some rest."
Su-a's voice carried a mix of worry.
No matter how fine he seemed, as family, she couldn't shake off her concerns completely.
"I'll try."
"Oppa, seriously..."
Su-a started to say more but sighed instead.
She knew he wouldn't listen to her warnings.
"Try to find something safe and comfortable. Or maybe focus on studying first."
"I'll try."
At Su-hyeok's repeated response, Su-a finally nodded.
Su-hyeok was stubborn.
And he had a strong sense of responsibility.
With the family fortune declining because of him, he had no intention of just smiling like a fool.
He wanted to make them smile with genuine happiness that burst from within.
'Dad, Mom, Su-a... everyone.'
Dirty as it sounded, in this society, money was an indispensable element for that kind of happiness.
Money didn't cover all of happiness, but it was essential.
Fortunately, Su-hyeok's family had strong bonds.
If he could just solve the money issue, he was confident they could live happily.
And he'd thought plenty about how to make money while in the hospital.
'I have to become a Hunter.'
His resolve solidified.
The family's dinner was late.
Yang Seung-bon, who worked at a small publishing house, and Han Jeong-hee, who worked at a restaurant, both got off late.
The family gathering for a meal.
It might seem ordinary, but Su-hyeok found the moment incredibly precious.
Sharing a meal with someone might not be hard.
But eating with the same people every day was, on reflection, something remarkable.
He felt it was the best way to appreciate family bonds and importance.
So Su-hyeok and Su-a waited, hungry stomachs and all, to eat together.
Thanks to that, the family table was simple and modest, but it became a joyful gathering for all.
For Su-hyeok especially, the home-cooked meal after so long was deeply moving.
It was better than the fancy dishes from the Hwan Continent, and incomparable to the bland hospital food.
It was probably thanks to his father, Yang Seung-bon, who often took over cooking from Han Jeong-hee and was remarkably skilled.
Another thing he learned that first night home was that Yang Seung-bon went out to work at night too.
He did substitute driving, apparently, leaving him with less than four hours of sleep.
He was happy to be home, but it made him instantly grasp just how dire their family situation was.
Su-hyeok started exercising right away.
To Su-a, who had quit her part-time job to check on his health, he called it an extension of rehab.
Of course, Su-a didn't buy it easily. She followed along, worried he might do something reckless or overdo it.
It wasn't a bad thing.
He was planning to exercise anyway.
Just... while running, he intended to circulate his inner cultivation method.
If anything, he wanted Su-a to run with him.
Ideally, the whole family.
Once they reached the nearby park.
"Su-a, while you're at it, try breathing like this. First, breathe in deeply, close your palate with your tongue and hold for a bit, then exhale slowly... deep like that."
Su-hyeok said to her.
The Nature Primordial Art was excellent, highly versatile, and stably foundational.
He hoped Su-a could at least get started on it.
After all, it would be good for the family's health.
Right now, Earth had an unusually high amount of ki, so consistent practice would likely yield great results.
"What is that?"
Su-a asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
It was natural.
It differed quite a bit from normal breathing, so anyone would react that way.
"I saw it online when I was bored in the hospital. They say it's good for your health and even helps with dieting."
So Su-hyeok mixed in a little white lie.
The most convincing lies are 80% truth and 20% fabrication. He thought this excuse was pretty plausible. The Nature Primordial Art's incantations or breathing wouldn't be online, but the dieting effect was real.
"Oppa, where'd you buy those pills from this time?"
"W-what?"
But Su-a's reaction was ice-cold.
"All that stuff is lies. You trust random internet crap and get burned these days."
The internet's credibility was just too low.
"B-but they say it helps with skin care, makes your figure more glamorous, that kind of thing."
All true, too.
The Nature Primordial Art connected human and earthly ki, so cosmetic effects were inevitable.
"Not interested."
But Su-a brushed it off coldly again.
'Damn, this isn't working.'
Caring for his family's health was harder than expected.
He couldn't just reveal the truth yet without proof.
In the end, Su-hyeok decided to come clean once his own abilities were solid enough, then teach them properly.
'By then, I can even guide their ki directly.'
It would probably show results faster than starting now.
"There are so many scammers these days. Don't fall for that stuff, oppa, or you'll get hurt."
Su-a smiled at his flustered expression and gave her advice.
It stung from Su-hyeok's perspective, but what could he do?
He'd just have to play the part of someone duped by a scammer.
And so the siblings' exercise—Su-hyeok's cultivation—began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Running.
This exercise, which any healthy-limbed person could do, actually had remarkable effects in many ways.
From the commonly known fat reduction to preventing adult diseases like diabetes, improving heart function, awakening the brain, even treating depression—the list of benefits from running went on endlessly.
In martial arts cultivation, running was one of the most basic methods, alongside the horse stance that mimicked riding.
So Su-hyeok ran every day.
He needed strength.
Why?
As he'd heard in the hospital, portals had appeared in this world.
And with them came Awakeners—those with special abilities or superpowers.
These Awakeners mainly fell into two categories: Guardians or Hunters.
Guardians handled Awakener crimes and invasions from other dimensions via portals. Essentially, they were the security force. It was dangerous work, so the base pay was high. They also earned considerable honor and global respect.
If Guardians were defenders, Hunters were attackers.
If beings from portals were friendly, fine—but hostile ones had to be dealt with decisively.
Hunters crossed into portals, invaded enemy worlds, plundered resources, and ultimately closed the portals.
It was necessary but brutal. And unlike Guardians, they didn't get much honorable praise.
What Hunters did in other worlds could be seen as quite savage, depending on perspective.
Indeed, some religious or ideological groups condemned them, saying extermination wasn't the only way.
But Hunters earned more money than Guardians.
Crossing to other dimensions raised the risk, and they got separate spoils bonuses.
Su-hyeok's goal was to become such a Hunter.
He needed money first and foremost.
The more, the better.
Some said greed was bad, but Su-hyeok thought differently.
He had already become the top of the Hwan Continent through great ambition.
Believing someone without ambition could achieve greatness was nonsense to begin with.
Wasn't there a book like that?
Man! Have Ambition!
'If it doesn't work out, oh well.'
And the condemnation from certain ideological groups?
Bullshit.
Most hadn't experienced real battlefields.
That desperation, the rampaging madness, the tangled killing intent.
Thrown into the center with just a spear, enduring surging emotions—no one who's been there spits out 'mercy' easily.
If someone traversed battlefields preaching and practicing it, they'd be a 'hero'.
In Hwan Continent terms, a 'great hero'.
Unfortunately, Su-hyeok didn't see himself as that grand.
'My top priority is my family's happiness.'
Hero or vigilante—far from his ideals.
He just wanted rewards matching his efforts.
His greed stemmed from believing that compensation came after suffering.