Chapter 439. Seosun’s Attack
Chapter 439. Seosun’s Attack
Anyway, I managed to stop the galbitang mission safely, but come to think of it, it’s almost time to eat anyway...
‘Is it still far?’
It was the moment Kim Giryeo had a small thought. It seemed that the customary procedures the awakened individuals in the hallway had been waiting for were finally coming to an end.
Various cognitive abilities, muscle function, and even minor health factors like cholesterol levels.
Well, it was at the request of a VVIP hunter who, with the surplus money typical of hunters, donated an astonishing amount—over ten billion won. The hospital staff naturally had every reason to devote their full effort to this matter, so the examination process itself was bound to take a long time. But by now, one couldn’t help but wonder just how healthy the patient, approaching their mid-fifties, would be judged to be.
‘The humans are smiling brightly.’
Their expressions were bright. From the hospital director, whose hair was streaked with white, to all the other medical staff, everyone nodded cheerfully before finally speaking up.
-Guardian Jung Haseong! Please come in.
As the welcoming atmosphere suggested, the treatment had been successful.
.
.
‘Although it’s hard for the hair that’s already grown to turn black again, your skin definitely seems to have improved.’
A few seconds later, Jung Haseong returned to the hospital room and stood there, lost in thought. More precisely, he was reflecting on the suffering he had endured until now.
‘M, maybe not? It’s been so long since I last saw my mom open her eyes that, honestly, I’m not really sure.’
Come to think of it, back when he visited more closely, there were so many times he quietly held the hands of that family.
‘Because I would have gone crazy from anxiety if I hadn’t checked her pulse myself.’
This could also be a side effect of the nuclearization of the family. The Awakener, who was treated as a hero by all citizens, relied excessively on his sole family member from a young age, and consequently regarded the situation of his mother falling ill and him being left alone as his greatest nightmare.
‘Even having a few trustworthy relatives would have been nice.’
For reference, his mother had never said anything specific to her young child. But judging from the circumstances, it was likely that relatives on either the paternal or maternal side had consistently caused financial troubles, leading to a complete loss of contact.
‘When I secretly listened to phone calls from my bed as a child, most of them were about Mom lending money to others and then worrying over it.’
The only relatives he still had contact with were on his father’s side, but even they felt distant in some way. In the end, he had only one truly precious family member. He could hardly believe it. The patient who had just sat up in bed before his eyes was that one person—the very person he had longed to see and meet eye to eye again.
“My son!”
“M, mom…”
And when the voice that had been fading endlessly in his memories returned, Jung Haseong couldn’t help but burst into tears again.
“You just woke up not long ago—are you sure it’s okay to be standing like that? W, what about water? Did you drink any after the examination?”
But tears came naturally from her side as well. No matter how extraordinary an awakening to S-rank might be, to most parents, their child remains a precious part of their very being for life.
Thud.
In the middle of the hospital room, the two of them held each other tightly and wept.
‘Come to think of it, Earthlings sure are comfortable with such risky, close-contact gestures like hugging.’
If not for the alien creature’s mood-killing thoughts, it would have been an even more touching scene. Fortunately, since there was no mind-reading technology on Earth, the two members of the Jung family continued their conversation in peace.
“I didn’t expect that I’d awaken the moment I got up—it really startled me.”
“For a day or two starting today, things are going to feel a bit overwhelming. You’ll have trouble controlling your strength, too. That’s just how it is on the day you gain superpowers, Mom.”
Jung Haseong still couldn’t fully grasp the reality of this reunion.
“Yeah, I heard about the strength thing from the medical staff too. But what surprised me even more was that I… apparently used some kind of bizarre ability.”
“Bizarre?”
“Life really doesn’t go the way you want it to, does it? To be honest, I always wanted to use the same ability as my son.”
“Fire attribute? Ah, so that way… even if your power suddenly activates, neither of us would get seriously hurt?”
“Of course.”
In addition, the family members didn’t bother asking any health-related questions. After all, one could easily confirm a person’s condition just by looking with their own eyes. So the conversation naturally shifted to another topic.
“But somehow, I had a feeling my awakening would turn out like this too. Haseong, you really take after your father a lot…”
“Heukh.”
“Still, I thought your quiet personality had improved a lot as you grew up, but I guess it’s true that a child can’t help but show traces of their parents.”
“Whether I take after Dad’s side or yours, what does it matter? Either way, you raised me well, Mom.”
“Raised you well? Nonsense! My son always grew up just fine on his own. As for me… when my child was going through the hardest times, I couldn’t even be there to help…”
But just as another wave of tears was about to break out—
“Haseong, by the way... excuse me, but who is that person standing behind you?”
“Ah!”
When the middle-aged woman asked that question, the number-one-ranked hunter flinched in surprise and quickly turned his head.
“Ahem! Kh-hehm. W, well, that person over there is...”
Up until now, he had been too overwhelmed to control his emotions, but thinking about it, there was a third party present—someone before whom he shouldn’t be showing such an undignified display. So, belatedly clearing his throat, Jung Haseong spoke.
“This is Kim Giryeo-ssi, a former hunter! More precisely, he’s also a newly emerged S-rank awakened individual who appeared while you were asleep, Mom.”
“Aah.”
“He’s helped me a lot over the past few years.”
“I’m so grateful…”
“He’s the one who helped us tremendously. Mom, the only reason you were able to wake up at all is because he got the medicine for you, you know?”
While trying his best to sound composed, Jung Haseong suddenly stopped speaking. The dark-haired man furrowed his brow slightly, as if something had just come to mind.
“Oh, right. By the way, while we’re on the subject…”
What followed was a question directed at the alien sitting in the corner of the room.
“Awakened Kim Giryeo, by the way… what should we do about the [Elixir] matter?”
“Hmm?”
“If we recklessly disclose the origin of that remarkable potion, it’ll surely cause an uproar everywhere.”
At first glance, they all sounded like perfectly reasonable assumptions.
“Besides, I forgot to mention this earlier, but some guy named Kang Changho showed up while you were away and caused a huge scene!”
“What kind of trouble?”
“He was acting like he’d entrusted you with a bottle of Elixir himself—raising a huge fuss just to see the real thing…! But imagine what would happen if someone like him caught wind of the rumor about the genuine article.”
Jung Haseong recalled the fury he’d had to swallow in silence twenty-four hours ago—unable to utter even a single word of protest. Along with that, he went on to explain in detail what had happened during the time when Kim Giryeo had been away from Korea.
“Hmm.”
But this didn’t seem like particularly significant information.
“Kang Changho showed interest in a rare item, you say.”
The man, whose hair had been dyed with cheap coloring, finally spoke a word. And Jung Haseong’s next remark immediately followed without hesitation.
“That S-rank hunter showing interest in new items has been happening for a while. I only found out recently, but apparently, about three years ago, he was driving a black sedan and suddenly poking around various gates…”
“I’ve seen a similar situation myself.”
“If he’s someone that interested in items, there’s no doubt he’ll cling to the [Elixir]. So it’s better to keep its source hidden as much as possible.”
The last sentence was ultimately true. But from the alien creature’s perspective, when you examined it point by point, there were a few odd aspects.
‘Now that I think about it, that person already roughly recognizes the Gisimche, right?’
The individual named Kang Changho possesses a certain kind of uniqueness.
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[zJiJonlr: Gates are divine punishment@@@]
More precisely, he seemed fully aware that such a statement was blasphemous. But then, despite understanding the inner workings of the gates, he still caused incidents and accidents every time he met other hunters—what was that about?
‘On top of that, I’ve heard that when Kang Changho acquires the Elixir, his audacious goal is to make me work…’
Kim Giryeo consciously opened and closed his eyelids.
‘So he’s not completely avoiding human labor after all. In any case, he still needs the workforce of his own kind, huh?’
At that moment, the alien thought. If it were in Kang Changho’s position, it probably wouldn’t have deliberately confronted the compatriots with whom he was supposed to protect Earth. Moreover, depending on the situation, he might even try to cleverly manipulate them into actively taking his side. As Jung Haseong’s case shows, humans were pure-hearted, leaving plenty of opportunities to exploit them in various ways…
‘It seems like they feel like they should feel sorry for that black mammal.’
Kim Giryeo considered every possible scenario. Only after organizing his thoughts to some extent did he speak calmly.
“For now, let’s not worry about Kang Changho.”
To simply ignore such a bundle of unpredictable behavior.
“Honestly, confronting S-ranks doesn’t get you any support from the government. But judging by how that person acts every time…”
“You mean, judging by how he acts?”
“It’s probably just one of two things, right?”
“Hmm.”
“Either the type who thinks there’s no benefit in getting close to us, or the type whose social skills are so lacking… well, the ones with a problem in the frontal lobe.”
“Are you referring to a disorder related to impulse control?”
“Well… I suppose I can’t really use that as a metaphor for him, since actual patients might take offense.”
Murmur, murmur.
The alien summarized his assessment of the mammal and continued the conversation.
“Anyway, there’s no need to pay Kang Changho any attention, whichever type he is. But as you said, it’s definitely best to keep things like the [Elixir] and the fact that my lungs are fully healed hidden.”
“Even up to that point?”
He remembered the suggestion he’d heard from Seo Esther.
‘Just as bragging about money often leads to jealousy, there’s no benefit to revealing your power anyway.’
With the mindset of not drawing anyone’s attention, Kim Giryeo spoke to Jung Haseong. He instructed him never to reveal the details about the [Elixir] anywhere. No matter how skilled a journalist might be, they wouldn’t be able to write a proper article without a silent eyewitness.
“Yes, yes! I’ll keep that in mind. Of course! From now on, I won’t take a single word you say lightly, Awakener.”
“Uh, it’s burdensome…”
But this kind of overwhelming response is a bit much.
“What couldn’t I possibly do for you, Kim Giryeo-ssi? At this point, even if you suddenly told me to drop dead, I’d honestly at least pretend to do it!”
At that moment, the blond visitor suddenly raised both hands slightly. It was a friendly gesture—a silent way of showing that there was nothing threatening in his grasp.
“He’s just exaggerating on his own.”
And the reason the alien suddenly displayed this behavior was only one.
“I don’t have any plans to overwork Jung Haseong. Honestly, I just had some leftover medicine and decided to give it to him, that’s all.”
Even in that Alphauri, which was little different from a realm of monsters, mages didn’t recklessly harm their own offspring. So why create such a scene in front of his mother?
“Of course, there will be times when I ask for something as an equal S-rank awakened. But I won’t expect any extravagant reward for this—”
Kim Giryeo made a sensible judgment and tried to quickly steer the conversation to another topic.
[Ting!]
Even if a certain alien creature hadn’t made any effort, the atmosphere here would have changed quickly anyway.
“Just a moment. Let me check my messages.”
“As expected of you, Kim Giryeo-ssi. Someone with such excellent information skills to acquire a remarkable elixir like this naturally keeps a thorough check on messages at all times…”
Tak.
Kim Giryeo ignored the flowing deification and pulled out his electronic device. But the message he had just received wasn’t exactly the kind of lighthearted topic one could call a simple change of subject.
‘Should I even change my words now and say I’ll make Jung Haseong work like a serf?’
The alien even soon entertained a rather trivial thought. But from a human perspective, the atmosphere was inevitably confusing. Jung Haseong—the number-one-ranked hunter politely tilted his head and glanced at the message the other was viewing. What caught his eye were unusual words like “reduction”… or “reclamation.”