Chapter 19
"Understood."
…Something feels off.
I scratched the back of my head, mulling over Baek Eunseong's words. I never thought that guy would believe me so easily. I thought he would naturally start with suspicion. Was it because it was something related to Baek Hamin?
"Dohyun, you're here."
"Yes."
When I looked up at the sudden voice, the Association President had appeared before me. I'd been so out of it that I couldn't even remember how I'd gotten to the Association after leaving the Academy last night.
"Heard something happened at the Academy."
"That's been resolved."
"You didn't cause it, did you?"
I stared at his annoying, grinning face for a moment before pushing Asil, who had somehow appeared and was hissing like a snake, deep into the shadows.
Right. Even the Association President, who had acted as my guardian from the moment Seong Dohyun awakened until now, suspected me. There was no way Baek Eunseong would take me at face value. He must have been worried about Baek Hamin's safety.
For some reason, my mouth tasted bitter. So I forced an awkward smile and accepted the list the Association President handed me.
"This is the list of people to find today."
"Is this it?"
"Yeah. Ah, still no thoughts of joining the Association?"
"I'm considering it."
"Good grief, you're so stubborn. Stop working freelance and just come join, will you?"
I let the Association President's words go in one ear and focused solely on the list. I knew he wasn't saying this out of genuine concern for me; he kept pushing because if I didn't make money, he'd have to pay my living expenses as my guardian.
Also, Association-affiliated hunters cost far less than freelance hunters.
Both the Association and the Center were infamous for treating their affiliated hunters like trash. Unless one possessed an incredible sense of justice to contribute to humanity without compensation, most hunters typically joined guilds to make money.
But making a fortune as a hunter was a thing of the past too. Gates that used to appear constantly now only surfaced once a week, and even then, only in small scale, so there was that much less work coming in.
Guilds in charge of respective areas would clear them before a Dungeon Break even occurred, and even when Breaks occasionally happened, casualties were minimal—aside from missing persons who got caught up after snooping around to watch the dungeon erupt, ignoring the dungeon alert texts.
As a result, in this day and age, even those who awakened as hunters had nothing much to do. Even if they joined a guild, unless they were selected for a subjugation squad, most just killed time earning minimum wage, and the money they made would quickly go toward hunter insurance anyway.
Because of this, more and more people who awakened as hunters kept it secret and lived in hiding, and the names written on this list I held were exactly those people.
Honestly, it felt like squeezing blood from a stone, so I'd tried to turn a blind eye, but there were even more people who didn't just quietly hide after awakening but abused their abilities for evil.
And since Gates formed in response to hunters' mana, hunters had to live clustered together to minimize Gate occurrences. That was exactly why the rent for my studio apartment, far away from neighborhoods where guilds gathered, was so expensive!
After silently getting worked up, I gathered the scattered list again. For an S-rank like me to be put on this kind of task showed just how leisurely and peaceful this world was.
Yeah, right up until Baek Eunseong was on the verge of death.
While I was lost in thought, ruminating over the original work's contents, Asil had been playing with the bracelet on its own before staring down at the map spread on the desk. I adjusted Asil's form as it wiggled along the map before suddenly asking,
"Can you copy this?"
At my words, Asil, as if asking what I took it for, not only perfectly replicated the shape of the map but even reproduced the buildings' shapes identically. I praised Asil while looking at the 3D mini-map spread before my eyes, then opened the skill window.
Was there no skill that could be utilized as broadly as Asil? I scanned the skills from the bottom up.
[Celestial Command]
A surprisingly versatile skill.
[I Hear the Day Talk, and I Hear the Night Talk]
This was a passive skill, so only the intensity could be adjusted… wait a second.
'In the original work, Do Yudam also turned off passive skills, didn't he?'
But how did he turn them off…? Only the scenes of Do Yudam freely handling his skills came to mind, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't remember how he turned off passive skills.
Deep in thought, I glared at the skill window and blinked. It seemed to have turned off since the window faded, but I couldn't be sure. These were skills I'd turned on and off as naturally as moving my own body, but now that I was trying to consciously control them, I fumbled around as if I'd suddenly grown a tail.
Whatever. Having keen hearing wasn't a bad thing. If there was a magic beast that attacked with screams like last time, I'd just lower the skill intensity. And when the time came, I'd figure it out just fine.
Tch. It'd be nice if all skills had egos like Asil so I could at least communicate with them.
I decided to test 'Splash Splash' and 'Celestial Command' by renting a practice room later, and for now, I started the task of tracking down the locations of the hunters on the list.
Comparing the addresses on paper with their current locations and working my way down, I frowned when I saw the Association building Asil had created. Something was off.
They were definitely said to be unregistered hunters, but everyone on the list was gathered in the Awakener Management Office. I double-checked from start to finish, but the result was the same. I eventually grabbed the list and went looking for the Association President.
An ability specialized in tracking was more useful than expected, and 'Seong Dohyun' came at a fairly high price. The Association President, who was stingy with spending money on hunters, wouldn't have called me just to give me this useless task. There was definitely something more.
Arriving at the Association President's office with hurried steps, I banged on the door repeatedly, but there was no sign of anyone inside. Like the calm before a storm. Struck by an ominous sense of déjà vu, I urgently opened the door. The doorknob turned far too easily.
"Damn it…"
And I turned right around and ran toward the Academy.
Because the Association President's office was completely empty.
* * *
At that same time, Baek Eunseong was looking around with his arms crossed. Even with his bright smile, everyone was watching his expressions, leaving the surroundings quiet.
"Then, we will proceed with the test again."
At the teacher's words, Eunseong uncrossed his arms and lightly flicked his fingers. The golems that had been crouching around Hamin to guard him opened the test room door, went inside, and began inspecting the interior.
Meanwhile, Eunseong gently arranged Hamin's hair with a tender face and asked,
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I slept with Uncle Dohyun, so I feel really good today. I feel like I can do anything."
Smiling warmly at the thoroughly excited voice, Baek Eunseong grabbed Hamin who was about to march right into the test room. Seong Dohyun's warning kept nagging at him.
He had tried to dissuade Hamin multiple times, suggesting he take the test next time, but Hamin, with a face that said he couldn't hear anything, ran pitter-patter into the test room.
Watching Hamin take his stance toward the dummy, Eunseong clapped his hands with a sigh.
"Then, let's begin."
Eunseong smiled brightly, but it didn't feel like he was truly smiling.
The Association hunters and Academy teachers standing behind Kang Youngchan muttered with disgruntled faces before pressing the button on the magic beast emitter.
Eunseong watched the dummy stir and rise before opening his skill window.
'Just in case, if something happens as Seong Dohyun said…'
The moment he bit his lip, Eunseong turned around, feeling as if gravity had reversed. There stood Seong Dohyun, panting heavily.
* * *
"Ah! Uncle Dohyun!"
"…Fuck!"
The moment I stepped into the Academy and saw Baek Hamin waving cheerfully from the test room, I spat out a curse. The place was filled with an ominous flow that wasn't even trying to hide its intent.
Baek Eunseong spotted me sweating and scanned the vicinity with a pale face.
'This bastard, I clearly warned him to be careful, and he put the kid in the test room alone?'
I wanted to grab Baek Eunseong by the collar and shake him, but right now, staying on alert was the priority.
"What's going on?"
"Can't you fucking feel this?"
I started pointing at the air where the sinister flow emanated, but stopped when I saw Baek Eunseong's clueless expression and squeezed my eyes shut. Ugh, it's not like I could pull my eyes out and show him.
Still, he wasn't a complete idiot; Baek Eunseong's golems were standing guard in every corner of the test room, protecting Baek Hamin.
"Hamin insisted on taking the test."
"So you bring him back here just because of that? Are you crazy?"
He should have stopped him even if he had to bribe him with a Panini factory. Glaring at Baek Eunseong, I steadied my breathing and turned my gaze to Baek Hamin taking the test.
Even while facing the dummy with a calm face, Baek Hamin beamed every time our eyes met. Yet all the while, the curse etched on Baek Hamin's leg was raging viciously. It must have hurt, but he smiled so brightly it made me wonder how.
The more Baek Hamin used his ability, the darker the curse's color became until it was now crawling up the child's shoulder and pulsating.
I heightened my senses to the maximum, trying to find who was messing with Baek Hamin, but Baek Eunseong's flow kept grating on my nerves. Seriously, this bastard couldn't even gather his energy properly.
Glaring at Baek Eunseong, I snatched up Baek Hamin, who had just passed the test and was running toward me. As expected, Baek Hamin was clutching his knees with a pale face.
I scooped Baek Hamin up and looked for an empty place. Running without a second thought to where Asil guided me, I couldn't help but let out a groan at how unnaturally light Baek Hamin felt.
"You, what's… huh?"
I was about to set Baek Hamin down on the ground to assess the situation when I froze, only blinking.
"Uncle?"
Baek Hamin was also looking up at me with wide eyes.
"No, what is this…"
Unable to say anything, just repeating "No, no," Baek Eunseong came running after me, out of breath. In Baek Eunseong's hand dangled Baek Hamin's original clothes, dropped along the way like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. I quickly covered Baek Hamin's body with my hands.
"What in the world…"
Seeing the situation before him, Baek Eunseong also repeated the same words before crouching down on the floor. Even so, he seemed to struggle to meet Baek Hamin's eyes.
"Uncle, why is my body like this…?"
Baek Hamin had shrunk to a size smaller than the palm of a hand.