Chapter 22

22.

The Awakened One is like a “minimum wage laborer earning 3.3 million won.”

Money comes in steadily.

They teach you professional skills.

Your salary never gets delayed.

When work comes, the four major insurances are applied.

Work-life balance is guaranteed.

“But there’s no real need to do it.”

The problem is, compared to jobs where you can relax with the heating on?

Well, it doesn’t add up to swap it out.

In Korea, they go all out to bring Awakened Ones back. It’s a country that earns money through labor, but focusing on other things doesn’t bring any real benefit.

“Should we get ready to leave? If we get a timeout here, it’ll be a big problem.”

Kang Jin-young, who had taken off her suit jacket, tied up her hair. Her shirt was soaked with sweat, revealing her skin.

She didn’t seem to care, but Lee Seong-han did.

Ugh, so awkward.

Lee Seong-han glanced sideways and fidgeted. Being a man himself, he was vulnerable to such stimuli.

“Ahem. Understood.”

He gathered the shattered puppet fragments.

“This smell, though.”

“Disgusting, right?”

“Yeah. Ugh, what is this? It smells like radioactive waste.”

“Have you smelled it before?”

“It’s a metaphor. It’s that horrifying.”

Lee Seong-han isn’t avoiding hunting monsters.

He’s just disgusted. If he has to do it, he will. It’s not fear of poop, but disgust.

A Chinese labor site without safety gear would be 1,000 times safer. Lee Seong-han was sure of it.

Monsters are sports cars built for killing.

Like a Mephisto-something driven by 12+1 lunatics who think they’re novel characters, using people as fuel.

Only an iron man could face such sports cars head-on, risking death.

The contemplation didn’t last long.

“Take this. And this!”

Kang Jin-young kept throwing things. In an instant, a mountain of items piled up. He couldn’t see ahead.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

“Hey, stop!”

“No, you can handle more! What if female Awakened Ones do something to you? Use this chance to build some muscle!”

“But you’re here, Jin-young!”

“Shh.”

His legs tap-danced trying to catch everything.

Soon, a tower as tall as a grown man was stacked.

“Hmm, that should be enough.”

Lee Seong-han, crouched against the wall, caught his breath. Exhausted. All that physical training felt wasted.

“Ah, there’s something left here. Take it!”

Kang Jin-young shouted from the other side.

Whoosh—

Something the size of a head flew toward Lee Seong-han.

It traced a perfect arc.

“Uh, uh, uh. Got it!”

Thud!

Lee Seong-han caught it in one go and checked what it was.

A puppet.

Specifically, a decapitated one.

‘This is the one I stabbed with a dagger.’

Lee Seong-han scratched his head.

The thread source was gone. Why collect something that would soon melt away?

“By the way, what are you going to use it for?”

“We need evidence. It’s crucial for arrests.”

Kang Jin-young mimicked a gangster from some movie.

“Ahem. Is it weird?”

“It is.”

I see. Her reaction was lukewarm, so she switched back to a cheerful tone.

“Anyway, arresting Awakened Ones is a joint responsibility of the Hunter Management Bureau and the National Intelligence Service’s 10th Division.”

Her voice twisted when she mentioned the ‘Hunter Management Bureau.’

“Stay still there.”

Kang Jin-young cleared the table debris with magic.

“I’ll help you.”

“If you move, your arm will fly off~ Want to live as a one-armed person like them?”

Kang Jin-young waved a puppet arm provocatively.

｢Why do you keep acting up? Making people uneasy. Seriously, maybe I should cut it off to make you snap out of it.｣

“We’ll be out soon, so wait.”

“Yes, understood. Yo—”

Kang Jin-young’s face turned grim.

“Name.”

“Yes, Jin-young.”

“Right. Right. Call me that from now on.”

“Should I add a last name…?”

“……”

“Understood.”

Lee Seong-han sat cross-legged again.

Lost count of how many times this has happened.

Now he has to handle emotional labor, like in the service industry.

‘Did I join the military for this?’

No.

Actually, he was forced into it.

Just because he awakened.

Life is tough.

“By the way, what happens to this puppet?”

Lee Seong-han pointed at the Ronin Puppet lying on the floor.

The Ronin Puppet had already rotted.

A black liquid, like crude oil, oozed from various wounds.

Probably the puppet’s blood. The Ronin Puppet desperately tried to plug the holes, as if wanting to live.

“Gigigik.”

Of course, it failed. Its lifeline, the thread, was cut.

Whether its body was torn by a blade or burned by magic.

Death was inevitable.

Kang Jin-young wiped sweat with her rolled-up sleeve.

“Humans, huh? Seong-han, you should cut it too. It’ll be troublesome if it’s incomplete later.”

Poof.

Kang Jin-young raised her slender hand to hide her laughter.

｢She has her cute moments.｣

While checking her outfit, Kang Jin-young suddenly stopped.

She found something and reached for the floor.

“Huh? What’s this? Where.”

“What is it?”

“A credit card… maybe. Should I wipe it?”

She pulled out a handkerchief.

She often got things dirty.

“Ah, no need.”

“Huh? It’s dirty.”

“Better than Seong-han’s face getting dirty.”

Kang Jin-young wiped the card with her shirt hem.

It was going to be discarded anyway, covered in filth.

After wiping, it turned out to be a Hunter license.

“Huh? This is Seong-han’s.”

The photo on the license showed a different Lee Seong-han.

Youthful and chubby-cheeked. Kang Jin-young let out a “Pfft.”

“You were quite handsome back then.”

“Don’t, don’t look!”

“Chubby cheeks are cute. Did you get an eyebrow tattoo? Adorable.”

Sigh. Lee Seong-han sighed.

He gave up resisting.

“……I was a delinquent in Busan for a while. Got better after college.”

“Oh? A bad boy. That’s rare.”

“Bad boy? No, I lived decently. I even saved a kid who was trying to commit suicide.”

Kang Jin-young’s face stiffened.

“……Suicide? Do you remember anything? Like, was it a girl? Wearing a school uniform?”

Lee Seong-han scratched the back of his head.

It was an old memory, so he forgot most of it.

His memory is terrible.

“Hehehe.”

“Bragging about being rich, huh?”

Kang Jin-young smiled as if nothing happened.

Zap!

Kang Jin-young clenched the license.

Sparks flew in the air.

“Ahhh!”

[The dark shadow seeps into Kang Jin-young’s body.]

[Mana is corrupted.]

Cough.

Kang Jin-young coughed up blood violently.

Her hand on the doorframe trembled.

Had she ever suffered serious internal injuries?

No.

Her legs shook like leaves from the sudden shock.

Her strength gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

Her complexion was bad.

“Can’t… can’t move.”

“Jin-young!”

Why is she like this? Get up so we can leave together!

Lee Seong-han checked her pulse. Her veins had turned blue. Mana shock. A symptom caused by complete mana depletion.

For a mage, it’s like a second blood.

Right now, Kang Jin-young was close to a coma from excessive bleeding.

“Sir?”

“Lieutenant!”

A flashlight beam shone from afar.

It didn’t take long to realize it was going to screw him over.

“Sir. Step away from that person immediately. He might be a Puppet Master.”

“Huh?”

A strange delusion escalated the situation.

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