WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈
Chapter 108: Awakened One Jeong Jin-young - [1]
──────
The day after Kang Jun-chi's return was officially announced, the KOSPI, which had plunged to an unprecedented low after the Behemoth incident, soared.
Behemoth's tail had seemed close to fully regenerating, but once Kang Jun-chi returned to Seoul, its recovery noticeably slowed. It was assumed that Behemoth had recognized the return of a formidable enemy, lost the will to burst into Seoul again, and reduced its efforts to regenerate.
Once Kang Jun-chi settled in Seoul again, even the city's plummeting real estate prices began to recover. I'd heard Seoul's property crisis had pushed banks to the point of considering bankruptcy. Apparently, that had put out the immediate fire.
None of it had anything to do with the efforts of most citizens, the government's judgment, or its policies.
All because a single awakened person left home, then came back...
One person's actions shook the entire country, and countless people either died or narrowly escaped death.
Yet the actions of that awakened person, which affected millions or tens of millions of people, were not driven by any firm conviction or will.
Who could believe it had all begun and ended with Kang Jun-chi's impulsive decision?
* * *
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : BabyMushroom is back!!!
Hello, big sisters, big brothers, and uncles? Everyone's idol, BabyMushroom, is back after finishing an adventure in Sword World, okay!
The heroic BabyMushroom! Together with big sister Ice Princess Baek Dambi! Set off to rescue the captured Prince Jun-chi and came back, okay!!
Before leaving on my adventure, BabyMushroom was so excited to spread BabyMushroom's cuteness to everyone in Soweol! But there weren't as many people there as I expected, so that made me sad :(
Still, all the big sisters and brothers in Soweol who met BabyMushroom fell for BabyMushroom's cuteness and got heart eyes, so BabyMushroom is satisfied!
And since everyone in Soweol loves BabyMushroom too, aren't you starting to feel threatened that Soweol might steal BabyMushroom away?
But don't worry! BabyMushroom not only came back, but also brought Prince Jun-chi back to Korea!
Isn't BabyMushroom so admirable for not abandoning everyone? Didn't I do well? You should pat my head, right?? Hehehe...
Please look forward to the movie version for BabyMushroom's detailed adventure story!
BabyMushroom loves all the big sisters and brothers I've missed so much!
It was my first time logging into Huntweb in two months.
After posting something in a cute tone, the comments and recommendations came in at an alarming speed.
Ⓐ Dragon : BabyMushroom! You're back!!
Anonymous : Oh, the news said Kang Jun-chi came back to Korea. So Kim Geuk came back too, huh?
Anonymous : The savior of Incheon and Seoul! Korea's savior, Kim Geuk, has returned!!!
Ⓑ GoodHunter : At last! You really went through a lot, and I sincerely welcome you back!
Ⓐ GangStar☆ : How did this bastard stand not being able to use Huntweb in Soweol? Anyway, welcome back.
Most of the comments welcomed and praised me. They said I was back safely and that I'd saved the country again by pulling off something huge.
But as expected, Stonehead Youth, ElmayaKaeyo, SeoulTobagi, and the rest were nowhere among the people welcoming me.
I felt both happy and bitter as I read through the comments. Then I noticed something.
Ⓐ Hermit Crab : Ugh, damn... What's with all the bastards who recommended this? Did they mash recommend thinking, “I can't be the only one who has to see this”?
↳ Anonymous : You bought five Kim Geuk T-shirts, and you still can't recognize BabyMushroom?
Ⓐ Hermit Crab : Wait, this was Kim Geuk? For real??
Ⓐ Diamond : I'd heard Hunter Kim Geuk acted like this here, but seeing it myself is dizzying;;
↳ Ⓐ Boid : Seriously... Looking at Kim Geuk's picture, then reading this post, makes it twice as confusing lol
There were obviously a lot of newcomers. The old Huntweb users were calm about it, while some people were making a huge fuss.
Several A badge holders I'd never seen before stood out too. Why?
My heart began to pound as I asked.
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : There are lots of people I've never seen before! Why are there so many new faces? Did Huntweb run ads on Naver to gather new friends?
Anonymous : Not that. There are more new Hunters and awakened people now, so more people joined Huntweb.
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : I understand there being more new Hunters, but what do you mean there are more awakened people?
Anonymous : Quite a few people awakened because of the Behemoth incident. I heard there are especially several new force-field exoskeleton users?
Anonymous : By the way, talking to Kim Geuk feels amazing. I'm taking a screenshot of this conversation and bragging about it at the Association lol
Ah, I finally understood what they meant.
Just as the Gate opening in the middle of a cold winter had filled Korea with ice ability users, the Behemoth incident must have created many people like Jeong Jinyeong.
There couldn't have been just one or two people who felt stress intense enough to stir their souls on the day they faced a threat to their survival. Many of them must have awakened force-field exoskeleton abilities as a result.
I didn't know whether I should feel sorry for what they'd suffered or be glad that so many more of my kind had been born. As I took in their usernames one by one with mixed feelings, another new A badge holder left me a comment.
Ⓐ 5myJesus : Big Bro Geuk? You're back!!
It was Jeong Jinyeong. A man turning thirty-five this year.
I still couldn't get used to this guy, six whole years older than me, calling the younger me Big Bro.
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : Huuuh? BabyMushroom doesn't know who this Big Bro Geuk is♥! But it's true that BabyMushroom came back!
I played along, but I felt uneasy.
The memory of seeing him on Huntweb before I left for Soweol was still fresh.
How had he acted on Huntweb then? Hadn't he suddenly called someone non-awakened trash while arguing over something that wasn't even very serious?
Even after two months, the shock from then hadn't faded. Surely he wasn't still acting like that?
Just in case, I checked Jeong Jinyeong's posts. A sigh escaped me.
Ⓐ 5myJesus : Are people with low intelligence incapable of awakening? Why do posts written by anonymous non-awakened people not contain even as much intelligence as a sewer rat?
Ⓐ 5myJesus : Do porters have any conscience whining that Hunter dispatch fees have gone down? While A-ranks do all the important work, you just follow us around carrying bags. What more do you want?
Ⓐ 5myJesus : Awakened people who get dizzy and disgusted seeing all this non-awakened trash everywhere, upvote.
Why was he still acting like this?
When I saw him behaving that way two months ago, I'd let it go because he was in such bad shape from the shock of losing his colleagues. But instead of returning to normal with time, he'd gotten worse.
I clicked on one of Jeong Jinyeong's posts.
The comments beneath it showed that people didn't like it at all.
Anonymous : Is there some law of conservation of idiots? Cyber Magneto died in the Behemoth incident, so why did another bastard like this pop up? Did you decide to carry on that racist's legacy?
Anonymous : This guy seems worse than Cyber Magneto.
Anonymous : Cyber Magneto was vicious when he first started posting, but you could clearly see the venom leaving him over the last year or so...
Anonymous : Yeah, the venom had faded way too much over the last six months, right? He got so mild that it felt like he only mentioned gas chambers out of obligation to maintain his persona. I was thinking it had gotten boring, and now an even worse idiot has appeared.
↳ Ⓐ 5myJesus : All the non-awakened trash gathering to tremble together. Is this a garbage dump? Should I just incinerate the place?
There he went again with that non-awakened trash nonsense. Why was he doing it?
I sometimes called people non-awakened trash in my head. But I could never bring myself to say such a hateful term out loud. Why could Jeong Jinyeong do it?
His identity had even been exposed. What was he thinking? Had that day really driven him insane?
Clicking my tongue, I got dressed.
I was supposed to meet my hunter team today. When I used Spatial Teleportation to get to the meeting place, Baek Dambi was already waiting.
She spoke when she saw my face.
“You look troubled. Is this about your younger sister?”
I had no idea why she suddenly mentioned my younger sister, but I shook my head.
“No, Jinyeong's in bad shape.”
“Jeong Jinyeong? What do you mean, in bad shape?”
“I checked Huntweb, and he was talking nonsense about non-awakened trash.”
My ring girl pretended not to know, displaying the acting skills of a former celebrity.
“Non-awakened trash? What do you mean...?”
“You remember Cyber Magneto, that psycho I told you had been harassing me before? Non-awakened trash was that psycho's favorite phrase. It looks like Jinyeong is copying him now. Why would he copy someone like that of all people?”
Baek Dambi's eyes shifted behind her sunglasses.
“That's... a serious problem?”
“Of course it is! He obviously needs some psychiatric counseling, but you know how local governments are desperate to lower awakened people's market value? If he has a psychiatric record, they'll immediately use it as a black mark to lower his price. So I can't just send him to a psychiatrist. What am I supposed to do?”
“That is true... But sending him to a psychiatrist just because of something he does online...?”
“Anyway, if I find out who Cyber Magneto is, I'll use Spatial Teleportation to find him, grab him by the collar, and rant like crazy while demanding to know why he got a decent guy into bad habits.”
Baek Dambi fidgeted with her top uneasily. Was she worried about being grabbed by the collar?
“Still, isn't it unfair to blame Cyber Magneto? From what you've said, he sounds like nothing more than an internet attention seeker. Jeong Jinyeong couldn't have been influenced by someone so distant...”
“Then was he influenced by someone close to him? But there couldn't be a psycho like Cyber Magneto around him. What happened...?”
Baek Dambi said, “I know...” in a trembling voice when the subject of our gossip arrived.
“It has been two months since I saw both of you. Good to see you!”
It was Jeong Jinyeong. He was still wearing gloves, and the bit of wrist visible between his gloves and sleeves was empty, so I asked,
“Jinyeong, have you still not had your arms and legs restored?”
“No!”
“Why not? You should be able to get treatment now. You could have them restored if you went to someone with a Healing Ability.”
During the incident, there had been too many urgent patients, so I understood that he hadn't gotten a chance to be treated by someone with a Healing Ability.
But there should be room now, so why hadn't he received treatment yet? Hadn't the government agreed to cover the entire cost?
“Well... I'm not particularly inconvenienced living like this, and... it's unique?”
I narrowed my eyes at Jeong Jinyeong's answer.
“Unique?”
“It obviously looks special, doesn't it? It's kind of cool, too.”
I roughly understood what he meant. He wanted people to see that he was an awakened person, so he was deliberately walking around with his limbs amputated.
“I get that, but isn't it still inconvenient? Your body's balance from side to side must be off.”
“It's fine, it's fine! Style comes first...”
Seong Munyeong arrived last.
His expression brightened when he saw us.
“Oh, you really came back? I saw on TV yesterday what you went through. Kim Geuk, Dambi. You really went through a lot!”
After greeting the two of us, Seong Munyeong immediately sat down.
I twitched my eyebrow when I saw that he hadn't greeted Jeong Jinyeong.
It seemed like a mistake. Should I point it out? Jinyeong was so timid that he'd probably take even something this minor to heart...
But the next moment, I realized Seong Munyeong hadn't failed to greet Jeong Jinyeong by accident.
Seong Munyeong suddenly met Jeong Jinyeong's eyes.
Rather than realizing his mistake and at least giving him a nod, Seong Munyeong sharply turned his head away, as though he'd decided to treat him like he didn't exist.
Jeong Jinyeong did the same. Expressionless, he turned his head away from Seong Munyeong and looked only at Baek Dambi and me.
The air between them was cold. Why?
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
