Chapter 70: Superiority, Domination
“Ayaya…”
As I stepped outside, a groan echoed from the crumpled front seat.
My heart sank for a moment.
But just a few seconds later, I realized it was an unnecessary worry.
-Squeak!
Right after that, Seonwoo-yeon ripped open the front door, which was all bent and stuck, and made a cool escape.
“What on earth just fell?”
The B-Class Hunter who came out immediately asked. However, I couldn’t provide a clear answer either.
“Not sure.”
It was a creature I had never seen before as well.
“Piyong! Piyohooo~!”
We cautiously inspected the monster huddled on top of the car.
A plump creature with brilliantly colored, multicolored feathers.
It was easy to identify.
“Oh, this is a C-Class monster.”
Fortunately, the Association Employee knew about this monster.
“Seeing just one wandering around, it must have drifted out from a nearby Gate.”
After saying this, Seonwoo-yeon immediately took action.
She began hunting the beast sitting on the car’s roof herself.
‘I briefly forgot that Seonwoo-yeon is a B-Class Awakened. With that amount of magic power, she shouldn’t get hurt easily.’
Earth’s creatures have a tendency to rely on their innate mana amount due to their magical utilization rate converging to zero.
In other words, the fight between a B-Class and a C-Class was a given.
‘Phew.’
With a swift motion, as Seonwoo-yeon flung the monster into the roadside to minimize casualties, I leisurely gathered my belongings from the back seat, assuming the Earthling would win.
Let’s see. My stuff shouldn’t have been seriously damaged.
“Already done?”
After tidying up the green tea gift set, I noticed Seonwoo-yeon returning to the car.
I welcomed the approaching Awakened cheerfully.
However, she seemed a bit off somehow.
‘Huh!’
Realizing the problem a bit late, I noticed that the B-Class Hunter’s right hand was completely covered in blood.
“Your fingers!”
I exclaimed in surprise after seeing the Association Employee’s dangling index finger.
Of course, Seonwoo-yeon seemed equally shocked. She spoke with a pale face.
“Well, you see, the monster had a long-range attack. It was shooting feathers and… I let my guard down thinking it was just a C-Class…”
No matter how sturdy an Awakened’s body is, that finger wouldn’t heal on its own after a cut that deep.
“We need to treat that. Do you have a recovery potion?”
“Nope. Even if I had one, I wouldn’t want to use it here.”
“What now?”
“I think we need to go to the hospital. It’s Sunday, so I’m not sure if a healer will be around, but…”
After a brief conversation, we headed for the nearest emergency room.
*
How many minutes passed since then?
We soon arrived at the hospital’s emergency room.
I glanced down at the woman lying in the hospital bed. Seonwoo-yeon let out a deep sigh.
“That C-Class monster has been causing a ruckus even before it met us.”
Meanwhile, I noticed Seonwoo-yeon’s hand wrapped with bandages.
“Thanks to that, there were quite a few people brought in here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So, I have to wait since they have to see other critical patients first…”
Hearing that, I fell into a brief feeling of compassion.
Poor Hunters.
Unless they’re quite skilled at mana control, they would break other people’s needles like twigs, so they can’t get check-ups from regular doctors.
In the end, they have to rely on healing-type Awakened, but there aren’t enough people, so they have to wait all day.
“Tsk tsk.”
I felt sorry for Seonwoo-yeon and eventually said a few words.
“Aren’t you thirsty? Should I get you some water?”
“Huh?”
“If there’s something you want to eat, let me know. There’s a convenience store in front.”
With that, Seonwoo-yeon’s eyes widened.
“Uh, it’s fine. Really, you don’t have to. I’m grateful that you came this far with me…”
However, despite hearing her words, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I had some responsibility here too.
‘If I hadn’t been so focused on the green tea set.’
If someone with mana detection ability had just advised properly, Seonwoo-yeon’s index finger would have been safe.
I felt a slight guilt.
“I’ll just wait to see you treated.”
“You’ll be waiting for a while…”
“That’s okay.”
I took my wallet from my pocket and asked again.
“Anyway, I’m heading to the convenience store. Do you need anything?”
Then Seonwoo-yeon mumbled in confusion.
“Um, then, barley tea one…?”
It seems hardly a source of energy, but if she’s hungry, she’ll let me know later.
“No, wait. I should just go myself…!”
“Seonwoo-yeon, you need to stay here. You don’t know when the healer will call you.”
I left the Association Employee behind and exited the emergency room.
*
Ding-ding-.
After buying everything I needed.
I intended to head straight back to where Seonwoo-yeon was.
‘Oh.’
But meeting this Hunter changed the story.
He was too prominent to ignore.
‘Jeong Ha-seong?’
I ended up running into the rank #1 Hunter on my way to the emergency room.
Dressed as always in his messy hair and ash-gray coat.
He seemed a bit more haggard than last time.
“Hello…”
I tried to greet him like usual but quickly swallowed my words.
‘Oh no! I promised to act strong in front of him, didn’t I?’
Honestly, I felt a bit sorry, but I needed to keep that Hunter subdued…!
“Hey, Jeong Ha-seong!”
Forget it.
I immediately shouted using informal speech to maintain my image.
“What brings you to the hospital?”
“…!”
“You never come to rest when advised.”
Seeing he didn’t throw a fist in return, it seemed I succeeded in establishing the upper hand.
I was sweating bullets as I discreetly glanced at Jeong Ha-seong.
Then I finally noticed a medical receipt in his hand.
Medical receipt?
‘Hmm? I was hoping, but he really came to get treated?’
I couldn’t hide my joy.
It was safer to keep a ticking bomb like Jeong Ha-seong cooped up at the hospital.
“Ha-seong, you’re not… planning to get treated like I mentioned last time, are you?”
Pointing at the medical receipt, as I said that, Jeong Ha-seong hurriedly hid the document.
Looks like I hit the nail on the head.
“Good thinking! Right. People should come to the hospital when they’re sick.”
“…”
“Oh, and since you’ve overdone it lately, how about checking in and getting some rest?”
I barely restrained my urge to grin and subtly suggested he stay in the hospital, pretending to worry about his health.
But it seemed that my cunning intention was recognized.
‘Uh-oh.’
There was no way Jeong Ha-seong would make such a scary face otherwise…
I quickly closed my mouth upon seeing his serious expression.
*
– He’s obsessed with Gates all day and doesn’t care about exhausting his body. To me, that’s a problem.
Kim Gi-ryeo.
It had been weeks since the clash with that mysterious Awakened.
Immediately after their conversation had ended, Jeong Ha-seong had gone straight to the nearby psychiatrist.
Was it because he valued Gi-ryeo’s advice?
Of course not.
‘What does he know to talk like that?’
He was simply trying to prove that he was perfectly fine.
If no problems were found after all the tests at the hospital, then it meant Kim Gi-ryeo was wrong.
He wanted to silence that shameless pretender.
But…
“Jeong Ha-seong Hunter! From my observation, it seems that…”
When he actually went to see an expert, the shocking diagnosis came in.
High levels of anxiety.
Obsessive thoughts.
He had been avoiding meals and sleep while not even being an Alphauri. How could that be a normal state? The doctor explained his condition gently for the patient’s sake, but the conclusion was clear.
He truly needed counseling.
‘Is he forcing treatment due to financial reasons?’
Ha-seong disagreed with the initial assessment.
So recently, he had been visiting various hospitals to hear other opinions.
Being an S-Class Hunter is as high-profile as a celebrity, so this behavior naturally led to speculation about health issues.
But at the moment, Ha-seong was so worn out from incessant overwork and self-destructive behaviors that he couldn’t even think of that common sense.
‘What the hell…’
What would the outcome of this pilgrimage be then?
To be blunt, Ha-seong met numerous renowned doctors but didn’t find the answers he was looking for.
Modern, systematized psychiatry always presented him with the same concerns.
At this point, he had no choice but to acknowledge that the path he was taking wasn’t the right direction.
‘But if I take a break… what happens then? Isn’t that wrong? Is this really a bad thought?’
Amongst this turmoil, he met the one who had strongly encouraged him to visit the hospital.
“Hey, Jeong Ha-seong!”
“…!”
After receiving his final diagnosis, on his way out.
Ha-seong was startled to hear a familiar voice calling him and lifted his head.
And by chance, he ended up listening to what Gi-ryeo was saying.
“How about checking in and getting some proper rest since you’ve overdone it lately?”
As soon as the word “check-in” came out, Ha-seong reacted negatively.
“If I did that, it’d cause quite a ruckus.”
“Eh?”
“Do you know what’s been said just by taking a few days off for a medical schedule?”
People call him washed-up.
They say he’s selfish and doesn’t think about dying citizens.
He’s already earned enough money and claims he’ll abandon dungeons.
Ha-seong rattled off countless internet comments he’d seen.
However, Gi-ryeo’s reaction was outrageous.
“So what? That’s how the internet is, isn’t it?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s easy to say anything when you can’t see each other’s faces. In reality, nobody would dare say anything in front of you.”
“But just because they can’t say it doesn’t mean they’re not thinking it…”
Gi-ryeo cut him off at once.
“What are they thinking? You’re not actually considering everyone’s inner thoughts, are you?”
“Um.”
“Are you crazy…?”
Though his phrasing was blunt, if you analyzed it closely, it wasn’t inaccurate.
“If you’re worried about such trivial things, you won’t last long. You need to know when to ignore things.”
At that moment, Ha-seong couldn’t respond and was left speechless.
Gi-ryeo forgot about his ‘play-it-cool’ façade and began offering earnest advice.
“Ha-seong. You’re still a person. A person.”
That well-meaning statement turned out to be surprisingly troublesome.
“What’s so great about an Awakening? You’re just like the average citizen sprawled out on the sidewalk. Just don’t take life too seriously.”
You’re the same as everyone else…
That one phrase felt utterly absurd to an S-Class Hunter.
“Do you really think so?”
Ha-seong murmured, lowering his head. Gi-ryeo readily answered.
“Yep.”
Of course, if he had anticipated that an S-Class Hunter would react this way, he would’ve chosen his words more cautiously.
“You’re joking. Being Awakened isn’t trivial! We’re always walking around like we’re carrying bombs compared to ordinary people. Do you think society will treat us equally?”
Ha-seong’s expression hardened as he conjured flames in his grasp.
In that moment, a fierce heat filled the space between them.
“If I wanted, I could blow up this hospital at any time. An Awakened person can remain unscathed even after being shot!”
“Hey….”
“From the citizens’ perspective, we’re the same as monsters! But think about it—what if we stop pretending to protect them?”
Ha-seong pressed the flames toward Gi-ryeo, threatening him.
“Then we’d be treated like real monsters.”
“…”
“See! Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo! You’d be terrified if you saw such a raging inferno, wouldn’t you? Right?”
Whatever was bothering him aside, this was definitely not a normal conversation.
But Gi-ryeo’s reply to this act was equally formidable.
No, rather, it was more than that.
-Whoosh!
“Hey, wait a second!”
Gi-ryeo stared at Ha-seong straight in the eyes before plunging his hand into the flames.
“What are you doing?!”
Sizzle.
A horrifying sound erupted.
Ha-seong was startled and hurriedly halted his skill.
However, Gi-ryeo’s hand had already been engulfed in burns.
“Why did you douse the flames?”
“…!”
“Didn’t you want to see if I was afraid of your power?”
To burn his own flesh just to prove a point! Without hesitation!
Unbelievable.
Ha-seong was completely taken aback by this.
Naturally.
It would be expected, because Gi-ryeo had acted that way on purpose.
’W-What’s with the sudden flames? Anyway, if I don’t play it cool here, it’s game over!’
If it became known that I’m nothing but a weakling, that S-Class would ruthlessly come at me.
Gi-ryeo fundamentally thought that way, so he was doing his best to survive.
“Don’t be cocky with such trivial strength, Jeong Ha-seong.”
He was trying to break the other person’s confidence.
