Jihwan pulled down his black hat.
It was nice that he was outside of the guild, but this body of his couldn’t even walk around on the street openly.
Unlike his clothes, the hat he hastily bought was blatantly cheap.
“You don’t have any items that distort perception?”
“Yeah, I don’t.”
“That’s quite…….”
Yoochan’s eyebrows rose. It was the expression that found it hard to believe that someone with such a presence would come outside without anything prepared.
His inventory had a variety of items aside from weapons. Considering how empty his house was, there was an unimaginable amount of stuff. There were also perception distorting items that Yoochan had mentioned, but it hadn’t been in Jihwan’s intention to answer with a lie.
The boy quickly composed himself and spoke up.
“It would be pointless for Hunter Sir anyway.”
“Since there’s no use for it?”
“Even if you used it, the effects would be minimal. Because a distortion effect of over 20% is prohibited due to the risk of crime, and it’ll likely be destroyed just from brushing past it once. In any case, the item will be useless from thereon once someone discovers you, right?”
Jihwan awkwardly nodded, agreeing with what Yoochan said.
That was the reason he lied.
20%. Due to the correlating crimes, there were currently restrictions on distorting one’s perception. For high-rank Hunters, it was about as effective as wearing a mask.
Over a decade had passed since this restriction was put in place, yet somehow there was a preliminary perception-distorting item in Cheonjun’s inventory. It went beyond distorting, it made him unrecognizable.
There was stuff that hid ranks, hid items. He owned all sorts of things.
“Anyhow… I see that the Ten Card can be used for small payments too.”
Yoochan glanced at the card in Jihwan’s pocket.
It was a Hunter-exclusive card even amongst the Hunters. The front was gold and the back was black. The card had nothing on it except Yeon Cheonjun’s name engraved in English.
It was also called the “Baek Black 10” because only 10 people in Korea owned one.
The name is so childish.
It was nice that he was outside of the guild, but unfortunately, Jihwan had never played with a child before. If he said he was going out to play, he’d just be drinking, flapping away, then sleeping.
He couldn’t drag Yoochan out for drinks, now could he?
He didn’t even know if Yeon Cheonjun had a driver’s license, or if he did, where his car even was. That was why he took a taxi with Yoochan.
“Should I buy a mask too?”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
He did think he’d catch attention, but he didn’t expect it to this degree.
He could ignore the moderate attention. But it was a bit much when people fell backwards when he did nothing. At this rate, if he got into an accident, wouldn’t he totally be a walking disaster?
It’s not like being an Awakener makes you any different.
S-Rank Hunter.
That was simply a mark of rank inside the dungeon, outside of it, it was just another form of identification.
The statement that S-Ranks didn’t feel like the same people as them was solely based on their abilities. As long as they controlled their emotions well, there was nothing they could do to harm others.
This wasn’t some movie. There was no way a person would react like, “I feel an incredibly strong force!!” the moment they see them.
If the Awakeners weren’t using their skills or deliberately trying to put pressure on someone, whether they’re A-Rank or S-Rank, they were just ordinary people walking around.
In the end, Jihwan even bought a black mask at a nearby convenience store.
A person dressed in black from head to toe and a small child who looked like an elementary school student.
It felt like this time he was going to be taken in by the police for a different reason.
“Guess we’ll have to take the taxi on the way back too.”
“You can call someone from the guild.”
“…….”
Who do I call?
He wanted to ask, but his adult pride held him back. Excluding Seho’s, there were no numbers saved in Yeon Cheonjun’s phone.
“…Well, we can think about that later. Let’s go for now.”
“Where would you like to go?”
“Right, where should we go?”
“……? Didn’t you mention that you had something to do and that you needed directions because it has been a while since you were outside of the dungeon?”
Yoochan peered up at him in bewilderment.
Hearing him say the things he roughly made up in passing was truly astounding. Jihwan could only admire Yoochan and his innocence, who followed him, believing in what he said.
“Uh yeah… The thing I had to do… I suppose I’m curious about how everyone is living their lives these days. Should I say that I’m looking into what young people enjoy lately?”
“I’m not sure I’m following.”
Actually, I don’t know either.
He rolled his eyes and head as much and as subtly as possible… While he did so, his eyes caught Yoochan’s worn-out shoes.
“Let’s go shopping.”
“If we’re…shopping……instead of here, we should go to Dongdaemun.”
“Really? People don’t go shopping in Hongdae these days?”
So are times really different from when I was a kid?
Jihwan was genuinely surprised by Yoochan’s words.
Although Hongdae had been completely ruined with the gate outbreak incident, it quickly regained its vibrancy. That was why he assumed everyone would be hanging out there in recent times.
Just when he was thinking of calling a taxi, Yoochan continued.
“The items suitable for use at your rank are only sold at Dongdaemun, Hunter Sir. All the well-known blacksmiths, craftsmen, and designers are in that location.”
“No… Not that kind of shopping. Like clothes or accessories.”
“Yes. So for those types of items, you should go to Dongdaemun.”
“Not things with skills, not things processed with magic stones, not the stuff made with monster materials either. I’m saying, let’s just do some normal shopping.”
It was only after exchanging a few more words did Yoochan finally understand what Jihwan was getting at.
His still youthful, round eyes were gradually widening.
“You were going to look at general products?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Let’s just walk around, sightsee, buy what we want, then leave.”
“Why would you do something unnecessary…….”
Rather, the one who wanted to ask why was Jihwan himself.
Just what kind of life had this boy lived for shopping to be about purchasing necessities?
“Then let us go to the department store. General stores do not have the products that you can use, Hunter Sir.”
“What exactly are the products that I can use then?”
The expression that Seho would likely make ultimately appeared on Yoochan’s face as well. It was a dubious look questioning whether this person was okay.
Yoochan let out a sigh as he soon spread out his three small fingers.
“The price has to start in the 1,000s range for you to wear it, right? Surely, you’re not thinking of buying another scrap of clothing that looks just like that hat, are you?”
Those three fingers must’ve been the number of zeros.
Maybe the way we spend money is just different.
When Jihwan thought about it, his original annual salary might be similar to Yoochan’s current salary.
Well, it’s good that he doesn’t have to worry about money at that age.
“Hunter Yeon Cheonjun’s location is shown to be outside of the guild.”
Seho looked at the man sitting in front of him.
Black suit, black tie. Black hair, stocky build. On top of that, the long scar across his right eye made him look like a grizzly bear.
“That can’t be right. He made no mentions of going out today.”
“Since when has Hunter Yeon Cheonjun said something before moving?”
The man shrugged.
Unable to refute that statement, Seho shut his mouth.
Chae Seokjoong. He was part of the Hunter Association who was in charge of overseeing the Cheonjun Guild, or more specifically, Yeon Cheonjun.
“I suppose he’s heading into another dungeon then.”
“There are currently no gates available for entry in the Mapo district.”
The paper in Seho’s hand made a sound as it crumpled.
Even if he followed Chae Seokjoong’s eyes, which were gazing up into the air, there was nothing he could see. The man was peering at something that wasn’t visible to Seho.
“Come to think of it, I thought I heard him say he was going out to get some air, or perhaps not.”
“Is that so?”
Seho clicked his tongue on the inside and examined Seokjoong’s face closely. Cheonjun was fairly expressionless, but this man was like a rock. His face didn’t have a trace of emotion, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking right now.
I even called someone from Baekhwa Hospital because he didn’t wake up for a day, but where did he go?
S-Rank Awakeners were under government surveillance by their countries. It was a given since the power of one individual could overthrow the capital in a single day. Therefore, each country needed a means to control the Hunters, something besides strength or authority.
“If you’re concerned, I will send someone.”
“No. Well……”
Gazing intently at the air, Seokjoong shook his head.
“He’s not even a criminal. I’ll turn a blind eye to a short outing.”
“Thank you.”
Seokjoong looked at Seho again. He did his best to swallow the rising irritation inside him. A business smile always served as a good shield.
Why does his location have to be tracked 24/7 when he’s not even a criminal?
There was only one method the country had for controlling S-Rank Awakeners.
The System.
While all Awakeners possessed it, not all Awakeners could freely manipulate it.
After Awakeners and the system window appeared, many people had the same question.
Were abilities created first or was the system created first?
In short, it was the question of what came first, the chicken or the egg?
An Awakener was someone who could manipulate the abilities in the system. In that case, if new skills could be added to the system, would they be able to use the new abilities right away?
The current conclusion was “no”.
They succeeded in adding the acquired skills to the system. The issue lied in what came next.
Those who obtained their skills artificially didn’t last three days before they lost their sanity, and perished soon after.
China was the first place where this experiment was reported. The experiment, known as System Research, recorded 4,000 deaths officially. Unofficially, the numbers were beyond one’s imagination.
There were countries protesting the system research, calling it human experimentation. However, the technology, which applied the research, appeared along with a 10-year S-Rank measurement device.
Even though Seho was still young at the time, he vividly remembered the incident that occurred in China back then. Many people said that more countries were involved behind the scenes.
Seho also thought that they weren’t wrong.
I did think it could be the case for Korea too.
He didn’t know exactly what was hanging on the line for a S-Rank Hunter. Cheonjun also directly mentioned it only once.
What’s certain is that this person can even track the guild leader’s location.
Seho considered the system as a part of a person, like the hands and feet, or the brain. For him, the location tracker embedded in the system was a revolting existence.
“Then…shall we continue our talk about the abandoned gate in Bucheon?”
“Yes. But before that, one moment please.”
Seho, who smiled brightly, excused himself then took out his phone.
His fingers moved swiftly, sending a short and bold text message.
The recipient was naturally Yeon Cheonjun.
[Where are you]
The reply he hadn’t even been expecting arrived surprisingly quickly.
[Department store]
[Shopping]
Despite that, the content was something Seho could not comprehend.
He’s not in the middle of a raid or fight……but he’s currently shopping?
If he were at least committing murder, Seho could say, “So you finally did it; you’ve finally become a criminal worthy of surveillance.”
[I don’t have any cash?]
[D’you know where my Hunter ID is?]
“Ha.”
He was so flabbergasted he burst out laughing.
Cheonjun’s Hunter ID had never once left Seho’s inventory. It was because he had never used it.
When someone loses too much of their sanity, is it possible for them to appear normal?
It was clear that what turned to be 180 degrees crazy somehow rotated a full 360 degrees.