WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈
Chapter 59: Special Forces Commander Han Hee-seok - [3]
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A few days later, Seok Jangsil called me.
He said that since we'd met, it must be fate, and invited me out for drinks.
「Kim Geuk, didn't you say you'd be done with your suspension soon and start hunting again?」
“Why?”
「Then it'll be hard to make time later. Some awakened Hunters are getting together for drinks today. Want to come too?」
I decided to go. After crossing the vast wilderness of Incheon, so immense that even a supersonic jet flying for a thousand years could never reach the other side, I arrived in Seoul again.
When I entered the bar on the second floor, Seok Jangsil and three unfamiliar men were waiting for me. They all looked tall, so they were probably awakened Hunters too.
“Ah, Kim Geuk? I could tell it was you just from your build, even from far away!”
As they recognized me and welcomed me, one of the bar's non-awakened customers recognized me too.
“Oh, it's really Kim Geuk!”
A woman shouted and approached me excitedly.
“I'm a fan of yours, Kim Geuk! Could I get your autograph?”
As someone beside me muttered, “Kim Geuk really is famous...,” I considered the disgraceful situation of a non-awakened person from Seoul daring to ask for my signature.
Since she was my fan, she couldn't be a bad person. And if she wasn't a bad person, she couldn't be from Seoul. That meant she was definitely from Incheon, so I gladly agreed to her request and asked:
“You're from Incheon, right?”
“No? I live in Seoul!”
“Then you live in Seoul now, but you must have been born in Incheon.”
“No, I was born in Seoul! I'm a real Seoul native!”
“Then you're someone born in Seoul and living in Seoul, but still from Incheon. Here's your autograph!”
As I enlightened this Incheon native who didn't know her own identity, another awakened person arrived.
“Wait, Kim Geuk? You're really like this in real life too, not just on Huntweb...”
I turned and saw an older middle-aged man, a rare sight among Hunters.
He looked educated and polite at a glance. He offered me his hand, bowed respectfully, and spoke.
“I'm ElmayaKaeyo from Huntweb. My real name is Kim Hyeongman. Kim Geuk, let's get along as fellow Dungeon Fighter players.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Kim Hyeongman! Do you play an Elementalist, like your username?”
“I gave her a first-generation Rare Avatar set, heh. I run an acupuncture clinic, so I level her whenever I have free time. These days, I've been too busy being a Hunter to play much, so I've abandoned four characters, but I'm still somehow managing...”
I knew this man well too. He was an older fellow who was quite famous on Huntweb, if not as famous as me.
Kim Hyeongman, a Heat Ray ability user. Fifty-three years old.
Since he ran an acupuncture clinic, he'd always been a high earner and had no need to do dangerous Hunter work. Even so, he was famous for stepping up as an A-rank Hunter whenever an alert went out, saying it would be a waste to let his ability rot.
Once the last person arrived, the awakened Hunters gathered there began drinking and chatting.
“So, last time, Kim Geuk and I got called over by Kang Jun-chi, you know?”
Seok Jangsil spoke first. He happily talked about the Kang Jun-chi bugging incident, then even told us what happened afterward, which I hadn't known.
“...These days, whenever Kang Jun-chi sees me, he keeps whining and asking if I can open a Gate for him. I don't think he'd really cross over even if I opened one. It feels like he's just complaining, but I'm still worried sick.”
One awakened person asked:
“Come to think of it, can you open Gates, Seok Jangsil? Since you're an elemental, can you do that too?”
“No. Not every elemental can open Gates... As far as I know, you have to defeat several elementals, absorb their memories, and learn how to open Gates from them. I've never killed an elemental, so I can't.”
“Wait, an elemental ability user has to kill several other elementals to open a Gate?”
“Yes.”
“That's a damn difficult condition. Does anyone in the country even meet it?”
When one awakened person muttered that, Seok Jangsil looked at me.
“Couldn't Baek Dambi, Kim Geuk's teammate, open one? You and Baek Dambi killed a Flame Elemental and a Rock Elemental together.”
Then I answered.
“But I don't think Baek Dambi can open Gates?”
“Really? Well... Kim Geuk, how many elementals have you killed so far?”
“Three. Two Rock Elementals and one Flame Elemental.”
Apparently, that was an impressive achievement even among awakened Hunters.
“Oh...”
As exclamations escaped the awakened people's mouths, Seok Jangsil said:
“Kim Geuk, if you kill another elemental with Baek Dambi later, tell her not to get distracted and check whether the memories she absorbs include a way to open Gates.”
“Why?”
“You know elementals absorb the memories of opponents they defeat, right? But those memories don't last long. They evaporate quickly like dreams, so if you want to remember them for a long time, you have to deliberately go over them again and again or write them down. If she can somehow remember how to open Gates...”
Seok Jangsil explained that if an elemental ability user could open Gates that way, their value would skyrocket. There were only a few elemental ability users on Earth who could open Gates, and given the current situation, the country would treat them very differently.
Then he added:
“Monsoon season is coming, right? There's a good chance you'll run into one or two Water Elementals during heavy rain, so don't forget to tell her...”
The other awakened Hunters reacted to that.
“Come to think of it, monsoon season is almost here. This is going to be hell.”
“Right. A whole lot of people will die again. Being a Hunter really isn't easy...”
Not knowing what they meant, I joined in.
“Does something unusual happen during monsoon season?”
I was startled. The moment I asked that, every awakened person gathered there turned to look at me.
Kim Hyeongman looked at me with great interest and said:
“Come to think of it, this is your first year as a Hunter, Kim Geuk, right? And you're already this accomplished. That's really impressive... Anyway, you've never worked as an A-rank Hunter during monsoon season, have you?”
“No, I haven't...”
“Then listen carefully, all right? We veterans are going to teach you what happens during monsoon season and what you have to do.”
Another awakened Hunter beside him added:
“The Association should be teaching you this, but those Association bastards never do their jobs properly.”
Soon, Kim Hyeongman really did start explaining what A-rank Hunters had to do during monsoon season. As I listened closely while the others added a word or two, I felt not boredom but immense pride.
Look at this. Even when awakened Hunters gathered to drink, they talked about protecting people and their regions.
They were on a completely different level from non-awakened Hunters, who got together and only babbled about which red-light district had the best girls or what car they would buy with their latest earnings. Maybe the conditions for awakening included a high level of character or some kind of noble disposition.
We continued chatting about this and that.
Then Kim Hyeongman spoke quietly.
“Wait. Everyone, look at that guy.”
We all looked where he pointed.
A young man sat at a table across from us. He was tall and exceptionally handsome, making him stand out.
The moment our eyes met, he hurriedly turned his head away. Kim Hyeongman whispered:
“He's been glancing at us for a while. Isn't that suspicious?”
“Could he be a BabyMushroom fan?”
“No, Kim Geuk, please don't act like that in real life too... Seok Jangsil, since you're an elemental, you can tell whether someone's awakened, right? Check if that guy's awakened or not, please.”
Seok Jangsil closed his eyes, then opened them and frowned.
“He's awakened.”
“What abilities does he have?”
“Wait. Force-field exoskeleton, force-field blades... What's the last one? I've seen it somewhere before, but it's not an ability you see often. It seems pretty rare...”
I blinked as I listened to Seok Jangsil. He really had three abilities?
An A+++-rank awakened person, and one of his abilities was force-field exoskeleton, which was highly valued in the awakened market. There was no need to investigate further. An awakened person like that wouldn't listen in on the conversation of people at a nearby table for no reason.
“That guy's from the Special Forces!”
Kim Hyeongman stood and shouted. We all rose and surrounded the young man.
Startled, he hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, you've got the wrong idea...”
“What do you mean, wrong idea?”
“Are you going to keep denying it? Should I call Jun-chi?”
Seok Jangsil shouted that, and apparently Kang Jun-chi's name was difficult to ignore.
The young man flinched, then finally admitted the truth.
“That's right. I'm with the Special Forces...”
“You were watching us just now, right? Why?”
“We received a report that six famous awakened people had gathered here...”
Of course, we couldn't just say, ‘I see,’ and let it go.
“The country spies on awakened people just because a few of us got together? Are they insane?”
“No, think about it. There may be only six of you, but isn't this enough combat power to wipe out an entire battalion? How can we pretend not to notice when a force like that gathers in the capital...”
“What, are you worried we'll get together and plot a coup?”
Kim Hyeongman clenched his fist and kept shouting.
“Let's do exactly what those bastards are worried about! Let's storm the National Assembly right now, kill every lawmaker we see, kill the president too, kill them all!”
After everyone vented their anger, the young man started looking uncomfortable.
Seok Jangsil waved his hands wildly.
“You've been exposed, so leave already! Get lost!”
“But, this is my assignment...”
While Seok Jangsil glared at the young man as if he wanted to kill him, I finally spoke up.
“So you're going to stay here the whole time? Watching us and ruining our drinks?”
“I'm sorry, but I have to...”
Everyone seemed ready to burst from frustration at his stubborn attitude. Just as Seok Jangsil opened his mouth wide, seemingly about to shout, I said:
“Then watch us... and drink with us.”
The young man's eyes widened.
“What?”
“If an awakened person joins a gathering of awakened people, we should drink together, right? Sit down. I said sit down already.”
What did it matter what kind of job an awakened person had? We were all the same kind. Unless we met as enemies, we needed to get along.
I forced the young man into a chair and poured him a drink. Kim Hyeongman seemed to think I was doing this to get the spy drunk.
“Oh? That's right. Drink up, hurry.”
Kim Hyeongman's expression brightened. He poured the young man drink after drink and pressured him to keep drinking.
The young man stammered for a while, but eventually accepted the alcohol we gave him. Just from how flustered he looked, he was obviously new to the workforce.
After getting the young man drunk, we began interrogating him instead.
“Your name?”
“Han Hee...”
His name was similar to that bastard Han Hee-seok, the Special Forces Commander. Thinking that, I asked:
“Your abilities?”
“Force-field exoskeleton, force-field blades... and lastly, acceleration ability.”
Han Hee answered haltingly, but everyone looked surprised by what he said.
Kim Hyeongman widened his eyes and asked:
“Does your acceleration ability include Neural Acceleration?”
“Yes, well...”
At this point, I couldn't help being surprised too. It was rare for an awakened person to have three abilities, but that combination?
They were obviously powerful abilities that complemented each other. The combination of acceleration ability and force-field blades was especially chilling. He could rush in faster than the eye could follow and cut anyone down in one strike.
I was almost glad Kang Jun-chi wasn't there. If Kang Jun-chi had learned of this guy's existence, and especially that he belonged to the Special Forces, he would have trembled and thrown himself into a Gate bound for Sword World.
I felt tension spread among the awakened people gathered there.
We had thought he was just an awkward young man new to the workforce, but here was the government's decisive weapon against awakened people.
Seok Jangsil looked relatively calm among us. Was it because, as a Rock Elemental, a surprise attack with force-field blades wasn't especially threatening to him?
I also had confidence that I could respond to the speed of an acceleration ability user thanks to my unusually developed nervous system, so I was calm enough to ask:
“Why aren't you working as a Hunter with those abilities? Why are you a civil servant? The Special Forces don't even pay that well.”
I expected an answer like, “To serve my country,” something Nazi-like.
But I was wrong. Maybe the alcohol had made him honest. Han Hee stammered out his answer.
“I wanted to be a Hunter too. But my father made me...”
“Your father made you?”
“My father is the Special Forces Commander. Han Hee-seok... Do you know him?”
No wonder their names were similar. He was that bastard's son.
Han Hee continued.
“He said he was the Special Forces Commander, but they hadn't even filled half their recruitment quota, so he told me to join and fill a spot...”
“You could've refused.”
“I did refuse! I told him I wanted to become a Hunter, make lots of money, and live freely. Do you know what he said? He said he was the person in charge of managing awakened people, so did I think he couldn't get in the way of his own son being a Hunter? He threatened that if I became a Hunter, he'd use his authority to make things difficult for me...”
Hmm. Applause. Fortunately, this guy, who could probably slice up half the awakened people gathered there by himself, specifically everyone except Seok Jangsil and me, wasn't a Nazi who had sold his soul to the state.
“What use is a Special Forces member's monthly twelve million won salary? Prices and housing costs are already like this. Even if I saved that salary until I died of old age, I couldn't buy a single apartment in Seoul...!”
Everyone relaxed and listened to this young man's complaints.
Then we heard screams, several people screaming one after another.
A commotion had broken out outside the window. We hurriedly looked down and quickly understood the situation.
“It looks like people are collapsing everywhere.”
Kim Hyeongman said it, and he was right.
On the street below, people filling the sidewalk were collapsing one after another.
Three collapsed at once, then another. No, two more now.
Tension heated my body as I quickly thought it over. What was happening?
It wasn't hard to figure out.
During my time with the Korean Awakened Solidarity, I had learned not only about awakened people persecuted by the government, but also about awakened people who gave the government reasons to persecute them. Thanks to that, I knew what this was.
An indiscriminate street ability attack.
The awakened version of a mass shooting.
As far as I knew, there was only one kind of awakened person whose ability was lethal enough to harm several people in the street, yet who would use it for something like this instead of a high-paying job like Hunter work.
An ice ability user...
Footnotes:
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