Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Exam (7)
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Beep-beep-beep-. Beep-beep-beep-.
The alarm blaring from the watch on his wrist snapped Cha Su-ho's eyes wide open. The scheduled departure for the site was 9 a.m., but he'd set the alarm a full three hours earlier, at 6 a.m.
Today, his body felt lighter than ever. He'd gotten a solid rest in the hospital room, and after devouring his fill the night before, his condition was perfect. Fresh from washing up, he pulled the Helper suit from the closet. Holding the crisp, perfectly ironed fabric without a single wrinkle, a smile tugged at Cha Su-ho's lips.
Finally. The day he'd head to the site officially bearing the title of A-grade Helper.
The first time he'd gone to a site and met Jin Seong-hyeok didn't count—excluding that Evil Zone mess dragged on by those two trash Hunters, this was his first proper outing as a Helper.
Of course, it wasn't an official Hunter request, nor an assignment from the Association, government, or Center. It was just for the A-grade test. But Cha Su-ho didn't mind one bit.
A Helper's very reason for being was to Clean Hunters. They purified the toxic buildup in Hunters' bodies, ensuring those warriors could fight at peak performance—and in that, they found true fulfillment.
Cha Su-ho was no different. Cleaning Hunters on the brink of rampage in isolation rooms had filled him with pure ecstasy.
The thrill of saving them—Hunters crumbling before his eyes—with his own two hands.
Is this what doctors feel when they save a life? Cha Su-ho wondered.
Unlike the buzzing Cha Su-ho, Jin Seong-hyeok was utterly nonchalant.
'What could possibly be so exciting about this?'
"It's the day I finally get to Clean on-site. Of course I'm thrilled."
As an F-grade, he'd been incapable of proper Cleans, so no Hunter ever brought him along. Even that first encounter with Jin Seong-hyeok on-site hadn't let him show his stuff.
The second outing? Forget it. Dragged into the Evil Zone as initiation fodder for Tao and Kim Hak-jun, there'd been no role for him as a Helper.
Which only made Cha Su-ho more pumped than ever.
'I could go the rest of my life without seeing another monster.'
The sites had been the backdrop to nearly all of Jin Seong-hyeok's memories. It wouldn't be wrong to say he'd lived his entire life there. After all, he was the only one who'd cleared every Monster Zone.
"I get how you feel, Jin Seong-hyeok."
Mulling over the man's words from last time, Cha Su-ho pressed on.
"But for me, the site is where it all clicks—my purpose. Keeping Hunters who treat battling monsters like a daily grind from rampaging? That's been my dream."
The humiliations he'd endured as an F-grade were all too vivid in Jin Seong-hyeok's mind, courtesy of those shared memories. And yet, to him, the sites might as well have been shackles.
'A nightmare for one person is someone else's dream.'
Cha Su-ho called out to the skeptical Jin Seong-hyeok.
"Jin Seong-hyeok."
'What.'
"Thank you. Seriously. I get to chase that dream because of you."
'Yeah, whatever.'
"I mean it."
Jin Seong-hyeok snorted in amusement.
'Just do your best out there.'
Curt as it was, the sincerity rang through. Cha Su-ho flashed an awkward grin.
A quick back-and-forth with Jin Seong-hyeok while changing clothes, and the clock hit the appointed time. Right on cue at 9 a.m., a heavy knock thudded from the door.
"Hello, Helper Cha Su-ho."
Cha Su-ho bowed in sync with Min Gi-uk's polite dip.
"How's your condition today?"
"Great."
"Glad to hear it. Here's your radio for the site, plus self-treatment patches."
Min Gi-uk handed them over. The palm-sized cutting-edge radio was half the bulk of his old F-grade model. And self-treatment patches? Staring at the thin, bandage-like slips, Cha Su-ho ventured a question.
"So....... I can skip the self-treatment kit?"
"That's right. A-grade Helpers get patches, not kits."
Unlike kits, where you handled everything from stitching to bandaging yourself, these patches did it all with a simple stick—stopping bleeds, healing wounds, sealing cuts.
The gap in treatment between standard Helpers and A-grades was this wide. Admiration faded fast into a wry smile at the harsh reality as Cha Su-ho pocketed the radio and patches in his Helper suit's gown.
"Thanks."
"My pleasure. Straight to the Teleport Zone, then?"
"Sure."
On the way with Min Gi-uk, Cha Su-ho asked.
"The test is Cleaning on-site, yeah?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Any Hunters tagging along?"
"Typically, you support Hunters already in the thick of it. Test or not, a live site is real combat."
Min Gi-uk adjusted his glasses lightly before adding.
"The examiners will brief you on details. Ah, there they are."
Three men in white gowns stood before the Teleport Zone. One rang a bell—the examiner who'd escorted Hunter An Ji-young to his room.
"Hello, Helper Cha Su-ho."
"Hello."
"Condition today?"
He already knew via Min Gi-uk, but the examiner played dumb.
"All good."
"Then let's kick off the A-grade Helper site test."
As the examiner turned, Cha Su-ho piped up.
"Ah. Chief Examiner Trevor sitting this out?"
No crime committed. Still, Cleaning under Trevor's gaze felt off-putting.
He knew Trevor and the Center Director both eyed him funny.
One examiner answered Cha Su-ho's tense query.
"Yes. Real-time monitoring from the exam room, not on-site. We'll film everything, so he'll see it all."
Sure enough, palm-sized cameras dangled from their hands.
Remote viewing was a relief—miles better than in-person scrutiny. As Cha Su-ho exhaled in relief, the examiner asked.
"You went to Evil Zone Section 11 last time, correct?"
Didn't know Evil Zones had numbered sections. Tao and Kim Hak-jun had just said "Evil Zone" while dragging him along.
'That's right. No. 11.'
Cha Su-ho nodded at Jin Seong-hyeok's timely confirmation.
"Ah, yeah. Spot on."
"This time, Evil Zone No. 4. Mutated monsters have been multiplying fast lately—Hunters are struggling."
Jin Seong-hyeok tsked.
'Struggling against Evil Zone trash? How do they plan to tackle Dead Zones and Last Zones?'
Dead Zone and Last Zone. He'd read up in the Helper manual. Dead Zones were prime monster breeding grounds like Evil Zones—S-grade Hunters and up only.
Last Zone was endgame. Proliferating boss-grade mutated monsters—even S-grades steered clear. Instant death sentence.
To the unflappable Jin Seong-hyeok, they were all much of a muchness.
'At this rate, Last Zone outbreaks are inevitable.'
Last Zones were manageable so far thanks to slow growth, but sustainability was dubious.
No Jin Seong-hyeok meant no clean sweeps.
"Post-Clean, head to the exam room for a body scan—test wraps then. Heads-up."
"Got it."
"Ready to go?"
The examiner gestured toward the Teleport Zone.
"Good luck."
With Min Gi-uk's farewell, Cha Su-ho stepped in. The three examiners followed suit.
Standing in the spinning circle, Cha Su-ho stamped his Helper ID on the machine.
The examiners tapped their neck badges in turn.
No names for examiners, unlike Helpers or Hunters. The interlocking blue circle whirred faster. Gazing at the accelerating lines, Cha Su-ho shut his eyes.
'Jin Seong-hyeok.'
'Yeah?'
'I can pull this off, right?'
Jin Seong-hyeok snorted, air hissing from his lips.
'You Cleansed rampaging Hunters and you're doubting yourself?'
'Only because you helped.'
'You'd have managed without. You're plenty strong.'
Strong. The word hit like lightning—ecstasy exploding in his chest, surging through every limb.
His lips curved just a touch, giving him away.
Eyes fluttering open, Cha Su-ho strode into the site without a second thought.
The site's welcome? A stomach-churning stench. Rotting monster corpses mingled with blood.
"Ha."
Worse, the bugs swarming those mangled bodies like parasites—grotesque didn't cover it; horrifying fit better.
A mechanical voice crackled from the pocket radio tucked in his Helper suit.
That grating, all-too-familiar timbre. Cha Su-ho fished out the radio, a smile playing on his lips as he replied.
"Fuck."
The B-grade Helper beside him eyed Team Leader Kang warily as he muttered under his breath.
F-grade trash, dismissed as worthless—now strutting in as A-grade? It twisted Kang's guts. The sniveling Cha Su-ho who'd groveled at his feet had rocketed beyond reach in one leap, stoking his rage hotter.
And of all places, here—where he was struggling. A novel inferiority complex sprouted deep in Team Leader Kang's chest.
"That worthless shit..."
No, maybe it dated back to when Cha Su-ho saved his life. Even that—the fact that he, the object of such contempt, had pulled him from the brink—was revolting.
Kang Team Leader ground his molars. Envy and jealousy roiled inside him.
One thing he could lord over Cha Su-ho: site experience. B-grade or not, he'd logged more Evil Zone hours than most Hunters.
"Yeah. Can't touch my field time."
Besides, he was B-grade. A fat gap to A-grade, sure—but experience would crush the punk.
He yanked the radio to his mouth and keyed it at Cha Su-ho.
Prodding with the A-grade jab on purpose, but the bulky radio spat back a clipped reply.
"...Piece of shit."
Face twisting, he glared daggers at the radio before looking up. Clearing his throat with a rumble, Team Leader Kang bellowed to the Helpers.
"Cha Su-ho—from trash heap to A-grade—is inbound!"
A nasty smirk slithered across Team Leader Kang's face.
"Give the guy a real warm welcome, yeah?"