Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Nerve Overhaul
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The next morning, breakfast consisted of porridge, braised beef, pollock roe, and water kimchi. It looked pretty decent, but...
Hospital food is never tasty, no matter what. It's tough to make it flavorful even with effort. From the start, it's not meant to be enjoyed—it's fuel.
Truth be told, if it were actually tasty, that'd mean it's heavily seasoned and rich, which isn't what hospitals should be serving.
After finishing the meal, a knock came at the door, as if they'd been waiting.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Ja Su-jeong from the Embargo Tower secretarial office."
I took her business card. Sure enough, her name was Ja Su-jeong. She seemed quite pleased with it herself.
"There's a Ja clan in Korea too, huh?"
She nodded at my words.
"I get that a lot. Easy to remember, right?"
Not as much as someone named Phone, but definitely memorable. Her looks were striking, too.
I could sense Embargo Tower's determination to test me out. I occasionally glanced her way as we talked.
I was acting interested in women, not playing the idiot who blurts out, "What color panties are you wearing today?" or the moron who nosebleeds at the sight of one.
"Oh, it's not much of a gift, but I brought a cake."
The cake she pulled out bore the Oduak brand logo.
"You didn't have to go that far."
"Even in a VIP room, hospital food leaves something to be desired. Consider it a gesture to put in a good word for us. It's no match for the main branch's cakes, but still delicious."
As we chatted, Ja Su-jeong kept eyeing me. She'd clearly received special instructions from her company. Making a living's never easy.
"I could've prepared something myself."
"You're someone the company values highly. Having you do odd jobs like this? I might get fired."
With that, she promptly brought out drinks and sliced the cake.
"Anyway, time to get down to business."
Ja Su-jeong visibly tensed, let out a breath, shrugged off her suit coat, and sat down. Without the coat, her form-fitting white turtleneck caught the eye.
"First off, per your request, we've sounded out Embargo about dispatching their 3rd Team."
"I see. Honestly, it was a bit of a stretch. Lee Se-eun's a busy hunter, after all."
I spoke casually, as if my interest had fully waned. She replied,
"In conclusion, it looks feasible. Apparently, Zanabi's 5th Team returns from France at month's end."
Swapping the 3rd for the 5th in Cheorwon? Wait, does that mean Lee Se-eun's actually coming? That's a bit burdensome.
"The 3rd Team leader seems open to it, too."
Zanabi's 3rd Team had been tied up in Cheorwon for nearly a year. No wonder they'd want out. I opened the documents she'd placed on the table.
It was about transporting cargo prepared at Vladivostok Port by train.
The train carrying it had prior approval from each country's hunter associations, so it'd race nonstop for five days straight to Amsterdam.
"A supply transport. Makes me curious what we're moving."
If it was luxury goods like the association president's China gig, I'd pass. She handed over another document.
"It's a prototype shield generator developed in the US, powered by mana."
I let out a "Hm?" I almost wanted to ask for the blueprints.
"No idea how far along it is, but I'm looking forward to it."
She nodded.
"They're deploying it as a sort of test run."
Once the shield generator reached the Netherlands, it'd helicopter straight to Dover, England, for testing.
"Europe's in dire straits because of the Ristorante Erosion Core."
The Erosion Core in Naples, Italy.
"I've heard Europe's hit hard by that one."
Florence is pretty far south in Europe, but that single Erosion Core had left Europe and North Africa defenseless against monsters.
The UK was the only relatively safe spot, buffered by the sea.
"They're even clear-cutting Epping Forest."
The famous forest northeast of London. With Europe crumbling and the economy tanking, folks couldn't dream of gas or oil, so they illegally chopped trees for firewood and hunted the wildlife to near extinction.
"Life for the poor is even more miserable."
Most recently, a wife who'd secured rations died, and her husband and child fought over her share of porridge, with the father beating the kid to death—abandoning the body.
"That's rough."
Back in my day, that kind of thing happened in places like Somalia, not Europe.
"You're not all that shocked."
"I'm shocked plenty."
I'd seen human misery from starvation aplenty in that other world—cases like hers, and even parents swapping and eating each other's kids.
"The rich stay rich anyway."
"Yeah... true enough."
Europe's mainland wasn't uninhabitable. Just the politics got twisted. With governments failing, hunter companies stepped in, becoming de facto warlords.
"There might be friction during transport."
Snatch the generator midway, hold it hostage for concessions—like a train heist.
"That's what we're hiring you for, isn't it?"
Handling every threat along the route.
"Not just the generator—we're also moving relief supplies at the request of international orgs."
"Not just warlords to watch out for, then."
Anything could happen on a job like this. Starvation weakens bodies and erodes minds. She nodded.
"You've never worked overseas, right, Yoo Chan-seok?"
"No, I haven't."
Precisely, not in this world.
"We'll face plenty of horrors together."
"Together?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. Embargo Tower's handling data collection and analysis for the job. We need dispatch personnel, and I'll probably be one."
"Nice. Another familiar face."
She smiled.
"Same here. Honored to work with you."
It flowed so naturally into me joining the job. Embargo achieved their goal of inserting her; I succeeded in fabricating a weakness. Win-win.
"Oh, one more thing."
She met my eyes.
"Yes?"
"I'd like Han Sang-ah to come along too."
She murmured "Han Sang-ah... Ah."
"The woman from the Great Demon Island trip."
"I made a promise. Need her to keep it."
I'd teach her to fight; she'd pay for it. Free lessons? I'd ditch. But with payment promised, no way I'm skipping.
As we wrapped up and stood,
"We'll be working together awhile anyway. Mind sharing your number?"
Her face lit up.
"Of course!"
She needed something to report upstairs too, so we swapped numbers in seconds.
"Might as well, since we're at a hospital."
After she left, as I sat on the bed, the nurse came for vitals and went. I took a deep breath.
I really didn't want to do this. Probably couldn't move for an hour. But necessary. I asked the nurse to bar entry till I said, then sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Time to rewire the nerves."
The mana flowing through my meridians had finally reached the level to rework my nerves.
Goal: Boost reaction speed.
Humans can't react to sound faster than 0.1 seconds—nervous system limit.
That's why track starts under 0.1 are false starts.
"Shaving it down to just 0.02 seconds..."
Sprinters average ~10m/s. A 0.01-second edge claims 10cm.
"In combat, 10cm first..."
Means dodging their blade while stabbing yours home.
And that's without mana enhancement.
Hunters, amped by mana, cover more ground per second—so bigger leads.
"Hate this part."
It hurt like hell, and one slip meant vegetable status. Rewiring nerves? Obvious risks.
If even I hated the pain, it was insane. I bit a makeshift gag. No gag, I'd shatter teeth.
"Krrgh."
Pain like red-hot pokers searing every nerve engulfed me. Just the start. Amid agony, I accepted incoming mana, guided it to reshape nerves.
No need for fancy words: like kidney stones ravaging your body while dragging to the office.
"..."
Mouth agape, speechless. Extreme pain blanks screams—brain goes white like hemorrhage-soaked paper.
Zone out, and full paralysis hits.
Gagged, I convulsed silently like a pesticide-dosed mosquito. Gown soaked in sweat, nails gouging wounds everywhere.
'Second time. You can do it. You can—fuck, no. Can't. Second or not, no adapting. Bullshit—endure, you punk.'
Moments of surrender and resolve flickered like flames on tissue scraps.
Thus ended my long, lonely solo battle. Sweat-and-blood-soaked gown in tatters, I was ghostly pale, pitiful—ready to collapse.
Checking myself, I could still grin.
"Experience matters."
Better than last time. No wonder companies chase veterans. Aimed for 0.02s cut—got 0.05s. Double-plus the goal. Couldn't help smiling.
"Y-You're okay? Hold on!"
Calling the nurse, she burst in, saw me, yelled for help, and handled triage fast.
Tended quickly, I lay back and clicked my tongue.
"Last world, success came with screams like 'Kyaaaaah!' echoing."
Pros are different. No hysterics—just action. Worlds apart from inn staff.