Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Pierced Avenger
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Training can never become actual combat. No matter how much effort you put into it, some things simply can't be done.
There are gains unique to training, and others exclusive to real battles. Roughly a month and a half had passed since training began.
"Now you're somewhat usable."
Han Sang-ah had passed. At this level, she wouldn't get pummeled everywhere she went.
"I... don't feel any stronger at all?"
Lee Se-eun replied as she popped her dislocated shoulder back into place with a sharp crack. Of course she wouldn't feel stronger.
She hadn't been the only one getting stronger during that time—I hadn't been slacking off.
"Your ability to objectively evaluate others is still better than mine, even now."
"Hey! What kind of talk is that?"
Lee Se-eun immediately shot back at my words, pulling a wooden chopstick from her cup ramen and hurling it at me. I dodged the flying chopstick, which embedded itself in a utility pole instead.
If that had hit, I'd be in the hospital. I had to admire the force that drove a wooden chopstick into a pole like that.
But still...
"Is my big sis finally losing it? Throwing a weapon at someone."
"Aw, it was just a joke."
After spending so much time together, Lee Se-eun had started threatening my life in all sorts of ways.
She might think it was playful, but from the victim's perspective, there was no way to brush those off as mere jokes.
It was like a bear charging in with friendly hugs in mind. I double-checked the chopstick stuck in the pole, then turned my gaze to Han Sang-ah.
"You haven't hit the goal yet. You know that, right?"
The margin of error in her attacks fluctuated around 0.4 right now. On good days, she hit under 0.3, but since the original target was 0.2, there was still a ways to go.
"Yeah, I know."
She had succeeded in grasping her maximum output and placing her movements under clear control.
"If it's someone on my level, I'm confident I won't lose."
I gave Han Sang-ah a simple reply.
"Not just your level—even opponents twice as strong as you, you can beat."
"No way."
Han Sang-ah looked skeptical of my words.
But it was true. The training regimen I'd put her through was the same path I'd walked, and I'd had plenty of chances to fight foes stronger than me... really, way too many.
The whole point of the training was winning even against stronger opponents. Well, she'd figure it out firsthand once she faced someone stronger, so I didn't bother correcting her.
Han Sang-ah sat down, closed her eyes, and began healing her bruises from the beatings.
"My turn now."
I checked the time and went to inspect the radio. On the other end, there was only static—no response. I grimaced.
"Did I hit a triple curse this year or something?"
Why did this have to happen right when I was on radio duty? I immediately shouted out the window.
"Radio's acting up—looks like we need to check it out!"
At my words, Han Sang-ah opened her eyes and stood. Lee Se-eun flung her canned drink aside.
Work time had arrived, whether we liked it or not. We piled into the waiting military vehicle—Han Sang-ah behind the wheel.
Having tasted her driving skills on Gyodong Island, I buckled my seatbelt and prayed we'd make it to Dover in one piece.
At the headquarters of Dangun's Heirs, Kim Ji-hyun stared blankly at the punching bag swaying before her with dull eyes.
"..."
This wasn't working. She'd managed to reach a level where she could handle daily life. But even after all that grueling effort to reclaim the muscle power that bastard had burned away, this was her limit.
She kicked the bag with full force, but the impact was no more than an ordinary person's.
"Aaaargh!"
Unable to hold back, she swung her fists wildly at the wall. Normally, that would crumble the wall, but nothing happened.
All the effort she'd built up over years had turned to ash in an instant. She knew it instinctively.
No matter how hard she tried, in this state, she could never rise above an average Hunter. The leader visited periodically, saying, "If you're willing to stick with me, that's enough."
The leader claimed effort alone was sufficient, but she couldn't settle for that.
"How... how can I..."
Stress had brought insomnia and loss of appetite. The medical staff warned that excessive training was harming her body, but she couldn't stop.
"Still at it today?"
The question came with a belch. Kim Ji-hyun turned to see Seo Gyon-u scratching at the folds of his belly.
"What do you want? Here to mock me?"
Seo Gyon-u grinned, baring his teeth at her sharp retort.
"What do I gain from teasing you? No, it's about... the various experiments I've been running."
"Who doesn't know that?"
Dr. Seo Gyon-u, affiliated with Dangun's Heirs, conducted all sorts of research. Beyond the leader's orders, he pursued independent projects, which the leader tolerated.
"I experimented on some Erosion Zone monster corpses. Heh-heh-heh."
With a nasal chuckle, Seo Gyon-u pulled out a small vial. Inside were shards as black as pitch.
"What's that?"
His eyes, buried in fat, fixed sharply on Kim Ji-hyun.
"The path to your wish, Kim Ji-hyun."
"My wish? You know what it is."
Seo Gyon-u tapped the vial and patted his belly contentedly.
"With that frail body, no amount of effort will let you get revenge on Yoo Chan-seok. Even Seo Yeon-ju couldn't manage it."
"Don't talk about Yeon-ju. She tried her best."
Seo Gyon-u tsked and continued.
"Clinical trials are already done."
Sugarcoating it as clinical trials—it was human experimentation.
He pulled out his smartphone and showed her three videos: two failures, one success.
"Refining the ratios was tough. Heh-heh."
When the black gems were embedded in human flesh, they wriggled inside like living things. In the failures, black veins bulged from the site, then the body exploded, scattering everywhere.
Kim Ji-hyun grimaced, and Seo Gyon-u scratched his head.
"No one to clean up... what a nightmare."
Ignoring him, she watched the success. Black veins bulged but then subsided.
"How much stronger?"
"Physical strength about 7.6 times... And the subject couldn't sense mana before, but now they do—and they've got a substantial amount inside."
Mana embodied within? Kim Ji-hyun stared at him in disbelief.
"So we could mass-produce Hunters."
Seo Gyon-u snorted, wiping snot on his lab coat sleeve.
"Need quality materials for this performance."
Even lower-grade ones could make Hunter-like results without top materials.
"Feels off, since it's from monster bodies."
"Ever heard of meat from feces?"
Why bring up something so gross? She listened silently.
"Developed in Japan, now Korea mass-produces protein with it for Northeast Asia."
She knew. Food waste dried to powder, shipped as aid—really just handling Korea's household trash.
"Doesn't matter the raw materials if the result's good, right?"
"..."
Not wrong. He shook the vial; the gems clinked crisply.
Could she regain her old power—surpass it—without this? No.
Could she live like this, never avenging what Yoo Chan-seok did? She couldn't accept that.
Her hand slowly reached for the vial.
"Die or live."
"You'll live. Stronger than before."
The black gems rattled. Entranced, she grasped the vial.
"Just embed them?"
"Yes. I'll handle care until you wake."
She opened it and pressed the gems into her forearm. They burrowed like parasites. Soon, she convulsed, eyes rolling back, and collapsed.
Dr. Seo Gyon-u looked down at her with eager anticipation.
Lee Se-eun and I marveled once more at Han Sang-ah's flawless driving. The car we were in was probably loving it too.
Otherwise, why would it scream like that while speeding, exhaust howling for mercy? Meanwhile, Han Sang-ah drove like a fearless statue, her face serene as a still lake.
"Almost there."
From here, we could see massive smoke billowing from Dover—like a fire had broken out.
"Even with the government intact."
Trashing someone else's turf like this. Gutsy or fearless?
"Hey, that's..."
Then, from the smoke blotting the sky, someone burst out. Kim Ji-hyun, covered in piercings like barnacles on a wreck.
—Found you. Finally here, Yoo Chan-seok. You're dead.
Kim Ji-hyun hovered in the air. She thrust one hand forward, and the thick smoke shrouding Dover swirled behind her, forming twin wing-like shapes.
"You two focus on damage control."
The tattooed piercing freak had returned—with wings, no less.
She looked ready to beat me regardless of the mess.
"I'll jump out here."
With that, I leaped from the truck. Kim Ji-hyun, spotting me from afar, flapped her wings, smoke trailing as she landed before me.
Ink dropped in water—the smoke spread from her landing point, briefly hiding her. But her glowing red eyes pierced through clearly.
"Hey, back for another beating?"
"Every day was hell."
Heavy footsteps crunched amid swirling smoke as she emerged. I smirked.
"Aw, my poor girl... half your face is gone?"
No metaphor. One half was fine; the other had no flesh or muscle—just exposed bone.
Like someone ripped off half her face. Yet a glossy black laurel-like crown floated above her.
Was that even human anymore? Not like before.