How To Survive as a Class a Hunter

30. The Stragglers – [4]

And that was the end of it.

Before long, the protesters dispersed.

It wasn’t particularly strange, as they couldn’t come at me strongly. The fact that the people who came out to protest were so submissive to me was enough to tell.

The fact that they were scared of a blood-soaked body enhancer who bragged about their violent past in interviews was only the second reason they couldn’t come at me strongly.

“Those people, they must have backed off because they were afraid I’d threaten to cancel the operation around here, right?”

Ms. Park Mi-hyung nodded at my question.

“Probably.”

“Those cunning Seoul spies…”

When I muttered, Ms. Park Mi-hyung shook her head.

“Don’t hate them too much. They’re pitiful people.”

When I looked at her with a gaze that asked what was pitiful about them, Ms. Park Mi-hyung clicked her tongue.

“The problem is that the government built a reception facility right in the middle of the city. Other regions’ reception facilities for awakened people were built as far away from residential areas as possible, right? But they built it right in the middle of the city in Incheon.”

“Is it because the residents here all left due to the monster problem?”

“That’s right. Since no one lives around here anyway, the government just built the reception facility here without considering the residents’ opinions. As a building owner, I can empathize with them, but the building owners around here must be going crazy with frustration.”

Ms. Park Mi-hyung added that in today’s world, not all landowners and building owners are rich. She said that the people who came out to protest weren’t already rich people trying to get richer, but rather people in dire straits trying to improve their situation.

In my heart, I returned Incheon citizenship to those pitiful people and said,

“Anyway, if something like this happens again, call me right away. If I’m not working, I’ll come as quickly as possible, whether by teleportation or taxi.”

“No, Mr. Kim Geuk. How can you ask me to make such a request? I have a conscience. I already feel so guilty for asking you to come out today…”

“Why are you talking as if it’s someone else’s business? If it’s related to an ice ability user, it’s related to my sister, so it’s my business too.”

It wasn’t an empty statement. I felt that this situation was my business. Even if I didn’t know the exact reason, it didn’t feel like someone else’s business at all.

But it seemed like Ms. Park Mi-hyung took it as an empty statement. She laughed as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Mr. Kim Geuk, you’re too kind. Didn’t you lend Mr. Yang Tae-gyu 240 million won last time? Even for me, receiving help once or twice is fine, but I can’t keep receiving help like this because I feel too guilty.”

“Whether you feel guilty or not, call me if something like this happens again, okay?”

When I insisted several times, Ms. Park Mi-hyung sighed.

“I’ll think about it when the time comes… For now, I’ll just pray with cold water that no gates open around here.”

“Are you worried that if a gate opens, the protesters will raise their voices again, blaming the facility?”

“That’s right. But if a gate opens again, it’s most likely to open around here, right?”

And ominous predictions never miss.

The next day, a gate opened in Incheon. It was less than three hundred meters away from the Incheon Awakener Reception Facility.

*

Once again, my phone was vibrating wildly. The dedicated app, text messages, and KakaoTalk were all calling for the hunters.

“Everyone, get in the vehicles! Everyone, get in the vehicles!”

Our hunters, who were conducting operations at Manwolsan, immediately mobilized.

Since the area was not far away, our team did not take a helicopter. We departed in the official vehicle.

Feeling frustrated during the journey, I spoke up.

“I’m going ahead. Let me know the location when you arrive.”

Sung Moon-young was once again taken aback.

“You’re going alone again?”

Without answering, I teleported.

I didn’t just teleport to any random location; I appeared where I was needed.

On the third floor of a shopping building. An uncle was fighting desperately against a Deathclaw trying to break into the building through the window, relying on a single mop.

The mop handle, which was trying to push the Deathclaw away, was cleanly cut by its hooked claws, and the Deathclaw finally set foot inside the building.

At the moment the uncle screamed, I appeared and smashed the Deathclaw with a hammer.

Even then, the uncle screamed for a few more seconds before he seemed to grasp the situation. He alternated his gaze between the bloodied Deathclaw and me.

His eyes widened as he looked at me.

“Hunter Kim Geuk?”

“Incheon forever.”

In the past, even when I chanted this victory spell, the response was lukewarm, but not anymore.

Realizing he was saved, the uncle grinned and clenched his fist, shouting back at me.

“Incheon forever!”

After giving him a big smile, I teleported back to the road. Once again, I had moved to the appropriate location.

I raised my hunter rifle and shot a Deathclaw climbing a high-rise building in the distance.

I was about to shoot another Deathclaw running on the road but stopped. There was another hunter targeting it.

‘Bang!’ The gunshot rang out, and the charging Deathclaw rolled on the ground, bleeding.

A silver bike sped past the fallen monster’s corpse.

It was Naito, the man clumsily cosplaying as a knight. It seemed he had also rushed ahead, leaving his team behind.

He was shooting a shotgun from the bike as if he were a dragoon, and the bike’s audio was blaring military music that might have been played in the medieval era. It was clear why he was so popular, aside from his skills.

Of course, it made no sense for a non-awakener to outperform me just because he rode a flashy bike.

I spread my mental net without waiting for any radio communication.

Then, grasping the situation caught in the net, I moved and within five minutes, I consecutively dealt with five Deathclaws and saved two Incheon citizens who were on the verge of death.

“Hunter Kim Geuk, thank you so much for coming to Incheon! I’ve never felt my tax money was this well spent!”

“Thank Councilor Park Mi-hyung who persuaded me to come to Incheon. Make sure to give her a vote in the next election…”

“Yes, when I meet her, I’ll thank her for brainwashing Kim Geuk!”

It seemed the dangerous situation was over, so I was exchanging small talk with the people I had saved.

An urgent radio call came through.

After exchanging words with the person on the other end for a while, I widened my eyes.

“So, you’re saying aliens came out of the gate?”

“Yes! If possible, could you capture them alive? But if it seems dangerous, don’t try it!”

The person on the radio kept talking, but I found it hard to concentrate.

The moment I heard the word ‘alien’, I could hear my heartbeat.

I recalled the vision I had last time and remembered myself being disgracefully defeated by the aliens in the vision.

I had to calm my breath, which was quickened by tension.

While I was taking deep breaths, my hunter team arrived.

“Hyung! Did you hear the radio? They said it’s aliens!”

Whether he knew my feelings or not, Sung Moon-young looked excited. I turned my gaze away from him.

I looked at Baek Dan-bi, who seemed as expressionless as usual. The moment I saw her, I knew what I had to do.

I gripped the hammer in my hand tightly.

*

Some people think that the monsters pouring out of the gate are born and raised inside the gate, but that’s not true. The gate is just like a highway rest area.

Beyond the gate, there is another world, and the monsters come from that other world.

Sword World.

The name was given by an American politician who couldn’t believe the information that there was another world beyond the gate. He sarcastically said, “Another world beyond the gate? It must be a fantasy world, so should we call it Sword World since it’s probably a world of swords and magic?” His sarcasm became so famous that it ended up becoming the name of that world.

And the characteristic of Sword World is simple. Desolation.

The people of Sword World are poorer than North Koreans, live in harsher conditions than North Koreans, and even the ruling class is said to be the same.

Just as the monsters beyond the gate go crazy for the fertility of our world, the aliens go crazy for our culture and technology.

When the aliens first came out of the gate, instead of trying to communicate or sending diplomatic envoys, they attacked us without hesitation.

And the first place the aliens attacked was not the Blue House or the National Assembly, but a local hardware store.

The reason they attacked such a place is ridiculously simple. They were in desperate need of hardware. This fact was confirmed after we managed to communicate with one of the aliens we captured during the attack.

Even on Earth, before the pre-modern era, iron was considered more precious than expected, and even iron farming tools were not cheap. In that world, due to the lack of technology and resources, iron was even more precious than in our pre-modern times.

For that reason, the otherworlders continued to raid hardware stores, then butcher shops, and later even rice shops and large marts, looting ironware and food.

The Korean government tried to negotiate, saying they would give away ironware and food for free, but the otherworlders did not listen. It was as if they had no concept of negotiation. Every time we tried to communicate, there were casualties.

Still, the Korean government has not completely given up on talking to them.

So these days, they are trying to capture prisoners to communicate, and there is a reward for capturing them alive.

“Isn’t it at least a billion won for capturing one otherworlder? I heard the reward is given by an international organization, not the government!”

“That’s right. We need to capture Sword Worlders to get information about Sword World.”

Sword World, Sword Worlders… It sounds like the name of a Chinese minority, but it’s an abbreviation for Sword World and Sword Worlders.

Having seen it often in the news for four years, it has become quite familiar these days.

So, the first encounter with the Sword Worlders, who are now considered unsightly neighbors like North Koreans, was not as mysterious as I thought, nor as fierce as I imagined.

“Hey, Sword Worlder…!”

Seong Moon-young pointed to a man wandering in an empty street.

There was a Sword Worlder.

A short, skinny otherworlder wearing rags that didn’t even look like clothes.

The Sword Worlder was holding a K-1 rifle, seemingly looking for a store to loot, but looked confused as there were no open hardware stores or butcher shops in sight.

There was no amazing atmosphere that one would think of when imagining ‘another world.’ It was just miserable and unsightly.

“That K-1, both goblins and Sword Worlders carry it around. Is it a standard weapon in the other world?”

It looked so shabby that it didn’t even feel tense. While Lee Jong-ho was talking nonsense, I asked.

“Ms. Dambi, can you see if the spirit is awakened or not?”

“Yes, I can see it too.”

“Then please check.”

Baek Dambi, who closed and opened her eyes, said.

“Not an awakened one.”

“Not awakened?”

That’s strange. The otherworlders in my vision were definitely awakened. If they weren’t awakened, it would be impossible to cut my leg like in the vision. How could a non-awakened person cut my leg, which wouldn’t even be cut by a guillotine due to excessive muscle development?

So, is this not the moment I saw in my vision?

While I was pondering, my hunter team moved first.

“Can we talk?”

Baek Dambi approached the Sword Worlder. The Sword Worlder pointed the gun at her, shouting in an incomprehensible language, but then suddenly lowered the gun as if he had lost the strength to hold it and started trembling.

I don’t know exactly what she did, but it was definitely Baek Dambi’s doing. It’s the ability of an awakened one to subdue a non-awakened person with just a glance.

“Got one!”

Excited, Seong Moon-young and Lee Jong-ho ran over and immediately tied the man up.

It was almost disappointingly easy for a bounty worth a billion, and the next So-wol person they found was the same.

In the case of that So-wol person, this time Baek Dan-bi did not step in. The So-wol person who had been attacked by Baek Dan-bi earlier was in so much pain that I thought they might die if it happened again, so I stepped in alone.

Similarly, the So-wol person who was looking for a store to loot was only holding a single bat, not a K-1. They weren’t an awakened one either. So, I didn’t even feel it was worth teleporting to attack.

I just walked up to them, and after a moment, the So-wol person saw me. I awkwardly spoke.

“Hello?”

And the So-wol person did not charge at me or try to run away. They did something completely unexpected.

They looked at me, their eyes widened, their mouth agape, and suddenly they bowed their head deeply and knelt down.

Then they bowed. They gave me a full bow.

Even if I had the power of prophecy, I couldn’t have predicted this reaction. If I had hit them with a body blow, maybe, but why did they do that as soon as they saw me?

While I was flustered, Seong Moon-young came over and tied them up, but even then, the So-wol person did not resist at all. As if it was only natural in front of me.

“Why is this otherworlder doing this?”

When Lee Jong-ho expressed his doubt, Lim Hyung-taek answered.

“Isn’t it because Mr. Kim Geuk looks like an awakened one? A person with muscles that are incredibly pumped up and holding a hunter rifle, anyone would see them as a body enhancer.”

“They came to loot and got scared? Because Kim Geuk looks like an awakened one?”

“Probably.”

“If they were scared, wouldn’t it make more sense to run away?”

“Well, I think they considered it blasphemous to run away from an awakened one.”

When I asked what he meant, Lim Hyung-taek explained.

“I read a book about So-wol before, and in Sword World, the awakened ones are lords and kings. They are not just stronger than ordinary people, but completely different in status.”

“Then the non-awakened ones are the commoners?”

“No? Lower than commoners… slaves or livestock? Something like that. Anyway, they are in a position where they can’t even think of attacking or running away from an awakened one.”

So, as soon as this So-wol person recognized that I was an awakened one, they decided to bow down.

Even with their ankles tied, the So-wol person was still lying on the ground. They muttered something like a plea, but of course, I couldn’t understand.

Nevertheless, their attitude towards me was clear.

Complete submission…

That bow alone was a gesture of submission that would be understood in any culture. They wouldn’t dare look at the noble status they had to submit to, and they would endure being trampled or kicked by that noble status.

At the moment I reconfirmed that fact, I felt something tickling inside me. Should I say I was moved, or should I say I felt exhilaration?

Either way, it felt like one of my desires was being fulfilled…

It was truly thrilling.