Chapter 38 |
‘I hate ants.’
It’d been decades already. That was always ‘his’ habit of speech.
The reason why he started to dislike ants?
He had been having nightmares periodically since some time ago. Once a year, or once every two years, the vivid nightmare returned when he least expected it. In those dreams, he was always running in the darkness, chased by countless ants.
‘Oh, don’t come near me! Don’t come!’
‘Kieek! Kiehk!’
‘Aaaah!’
He ran frantically like that. But no matter how hard he tried, he found himself at a dead end when he came to his senses.
The ants surrounded him. And in the middle of them, a giant ant, as big as a human, was walking towards him.
‘Kieeeek-!’
Its mouth opened wide and swallowed his head whole…
Thunk!
“Aaaah!”
A middle-aged man screamed and sat up in bed.
His wife, sleeping beside him, looked at him worriedly, rubbing her eyes at the noise. “Honey, did you have another nightmare?”
“Huff, huff…” Cold sweat was dripping down his forehead. He quickly drank the cold water he had left on the nightstand. “Gulp.”
The sound of the water splashing helped him snap back to reality. He looked at his wife, who had woken up because of him, with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“Well… it’s been a while since the last time.”
“That’s right. Don’t worry about me; go back to sleep now that everything is okay.” As he gently patted her back, her eyes closed again.
“Phew.” The man sat on the edge of the bed and wiped his face with both hands.
‘It had been a while since I last had one…’
He sighed and muttered to himself as if it were a mantra.
Yes, it’s a dream.
It’s just a dream.
I’m still alive.
Fortunately, the spell worked.
His heart, which had been pounding like it was about to burst, gradually began to calm down.
‘That damn ant dream…’
For some reason, he felt like something was going to happen today.
He didn’t have much time to sleep, so he decided to get ready for work a little early. Quietly, he got up to not wake his wife and left the room.
His wife was a teacher at a school, teaching Korean history. He knew how difficult her job was, having worked as a tutor for a brief period when he was young.
‘If I keep her up all night because of my nightmare, she’ll be in big trouble if she mixes up the years during class.’
With various thoughts in mind, he skillfully finished getting ready for work and put on his clothes.
‘Oh no, I almost forgot this.’
He hung the ID badge issued by the Korea Hunter Association around his neck.
[Korea Hunter Association]
Min Byung-gyu
(Consulting Doctor)
His name engraved on the name tag sparkled in the morning sunlight.
***
“I came to get my mana measured.”
Sooho came to the hospital designated by the Association as soon as the morning broke.
“Please sit and wait for a moment.”
Sooho listened to the nurse’s explanation and sat on the chair, waiting in turn. By chance, he was the first to come to the Association to get his mana measured. However, it was normal for people to come to the hospital for an awakening test.
To this end, the Hunter Association designated hospitals where people could get their mana measured in various regions.
Initially, they were only in Seoul, but as people who were awakening appeared in various parts of the country, such hospitals gradually increased.
However, there was only one hospital in the country where you could receive a ‘mana reevaluation’, as the only precise measuring instrument in the country was used for the re-evaluation.
“Mr. Sung Sooho, please come in.” After waiting for a moment, the nurse called out to Sooho.
As Sooho entered the re-evaluation room, he saw a middle-aged doctor who looked friendly sitting there.
“Sung Sooho?”
“Ah, yes. hello.”
Suddenly, Sooho’s gaze stopped at the doctor’s name tag.
[Korea Hunter Association]
Min Byung-gyu
(Consulting Doctor)
‘Consulting doctor?’
As picky as the re-evaluation was, it seemed that he was a doctor guaranteed by the association.
“You may have heard the explanation from the nurse earlier, but recently, Stardust has become illegal. So before the re-evaluation, you will need to undergo some tests.”
It was the so-called doping test.
After a brief explanation, the actual test began, and Sooho suddenly asked a question.
“But sir, wasn’t there no way to detect Stardust doping in the first place?”
“Originally, that was the case, but as some of the ingredients of Stardust were revealed recently, research progressed. Based on that research, a smart doctor developed a doping test in no time. By the way, that doctor is right here,” said Min Byung-gyu, pointing to himself while shrugging.
He was a pretty cheerful doctor.
‘Ahh.’
Hearing those words, Sooho realized.
‘It’s all thanks to me.’
A doping test could be developed recently because Sooho himself had discovered the factory and fully reported to the association how the demons had been making Stardust all this time.
‘That butterfly effect has come full circle, and now I’m the one taking the doping test and sitting here.’
It was a situation where he couldn’t help but chuckle.
But then, the doctor, Min Byung-gyu, who was conducting the test, looked at Sooho’s expression curiously. “Hmm? Sooho, you have a different atmosphere than other people.”
“Really? What kind of atmosphere?”
“You’re too calm.” Min Byung-gyu was amazed by Sooho.
The reaction of people who come for retesting is usually one of two things: dreamers who are excessively enthusiastic and want to rise in status or those with an excessive sense of self-importance who cannot distinguish reality.
‘In the end, both are similar guys.’
Actually, it was a natural reaction.
If the re-measurement was successful and the Hunter’s grade went up, the number of digits in the annual salary could change overnight.
But Sooho was different.
There was no atmosphere of expectation or nervousness about the re-evaluation result.
‘Is it because he naturally has a low desire?’
A moment later, Sooho’s doping test results came out.
“You don’t have any Stardust doping. Well done. Now, we’ll conduct a mana re-evaluation. Raise your hand here.”
Sure enough, Sooho’s mana result was the same as his status window.
[Mana Amount: 586]
Min Byung-gyu exclaimed after checking the results.
“Wow. Congratulations. Maybe the first measurement was an error. With this amount of mana, you can become a C-rank Hunter.” While explaining, Min Byung-gyu observed Sooho’s reaction once again.
However, Sooho was still calm.
As if he had expected it.
‘Interesting. Is this how young people are these days?’
Min Byung-gyu tilted his head and immediately entered the test results into the computer.
“Oh, and we need to upload your skill information to the Hunter database. Can you show me your skills first?”
Skill information was important data.
In order for Hunters to cooperate smoothly when conquering dungeons, they had to be familiar with each other’s skills.
Min Byung-gyu brought Sooho to a large space and asked, “What skills do you have?”
“Hmm, I use swords and summons.”
“So you’re a Summoner. Let’s see your summoning skill first. Can you bring out a summoned creature?”
“Sure.” Sooho nodded firmly, but he needed a corpse to use his Shadow Extraction skill. However, it was too troublesome to go find a goblin corpse in the Shadow Dungeon, so there was only one creature he could easily summon. “Beru, come out for a second.” With that, he summoned Beru in a flash.
[Kieek! Did you call, my little king!?]
A shadow, no bigger than a fist, bounced up from under Sooho’s feet.
But what is happening?
“Aaaaaaagh-!”
[Kiek?]
When Min Byung-gyu saw Beru, he was so startled that he fell back.
Beru looked at Min Byung-gyu, who was shaking and pointing at him with a trembling finger, then opened his eyes wide.
[Oh? You are…?]
“A-a-ant…! Aah…” Min Byung-gyu, who was pointing at Beru with a trembling finger, eventually fainted on the spot.
“… Huh?” Sooho, who was still dumbfounded, looked at Beru. “What did you do to the doctor?”
[Well, I… um.]
Beru looked at Min Byung-gyu’s face again. It was indeed him.
Min Byung-gyu.
[He used to be…umm, eaten by me once.]
“What? Who ate what?”
[I ate this human.]
Beru scratched his head awkwardly.
***
Before the reset of the Earth, during the time when Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo was actively hunting, a rare S-class Healer lived in Korea, one of the few in the world.
S-class Hunter Min Byung-gyu.
He had once participated in a large-scale magic beasts subjugation mission in collaboration with other S-class Hunters.
Jeju Island. That hellish island occupied by countless ant monsters.
In that unprecedented battle, Min Byung-gyu fought bravely against the magic beasts more than anyone else. He sacrificed himself for his colleagues by being eaten by the king of ants, Beru.
Afterward, the world was reset, and all those memories disappeared from Min Byung-gyu’s mind.
[But…I still remember you.]
Beru’s bitter voice echoed in Min Byung-gyu’s unconscious mind.
Skill Gluttony. Beru’s ability to absorb the power and memory of the target he consumed.
Having recently awoken from his egg, Beru used that ability to eat Min Byung-gyu and fully absorb his talent as an S-class Healer.
[Perhaps you couldn’t awaken this time because of that.]
That wasn’t all that Beru learned from Min Byung-gyu.
Memory. Knowledge.
His heart that hated war and loved peace.
And that was…Beru’s first acquisition of ‘humanity’.
[If I were human, I would have called you father.]
Min Byung-gyu was the human who had the greatest influence on Beru’s current personality.
[Because of you, I came to love historical dramas.]
Beru’s laughter echoed softly.
Even in his unconscious state, Min Byung-gyu shuddered at the sound of Beru’s laughter.
[…Is that so?]
Had he read his thoughts?
Beru murmured bitterly.
[I’ve become your nightmare.]
Actually… it was not just Min Byung-gyu. Beru was the nightmare of all the humans he had devoured. But among them, Min Byung-gyu was particularly special, perhaps because he was the first human he devoured.
Or maybe it was because the humanity he learned from him significantly impacted his current identity.
Beru finally seemed to understand the reason.
Look, even though the world has been reset… Even if he no longer has the abilities of an S-rank Healer like back then…
[Your life is still noble.]
He had wanted to quit being a Hunter and become a Buddhist monk, but in this life, he chose the path of medicine instead of being a Healer.
[You’re still saving someone’s life in your place.]
Beru smiled brightly. He was glad that his roots were still shining brightly. As he walked only on the path of slaughter and struggle from the moment he was born, this brilliance was even more dazzling.
[I won’t apologize for coming here now. We were at war back then. However…]
Suddenly, Beru’s warm voice reached Min Byung-gyu.
[I will support you in this life.]
Paat!
And the small seed that flowed out of Beru seeped into Min Byung-gyu’s body.
[I will take away your nightmare.]
My…father.
***
Meanwhile, Sooho was surrounded by hospital staff.
“I mean, he really passed out by himself…”
“The police have been called, so go and make excuses there.”
“Until the truth is revealed, you will be a witness…”
“Oh, that’s great. It really is a misunderstanding.”
Sooho felt unfairly treated, but the nurses’ reaction was natural.
Dr. Min Byung-gyu was a skilled doctor and the only researcher of Stardust in Korea. Although Stardust was a sinful material made from human beings, the effect itself was still valuable enough to be researched even today.
What if the wrong parts could be removed and only the positive functions could be preserved?
Stardust might be reborn as an item that could change the era.
In that sense, Min Byung-gyu could be considered a significant resource for the country. So, what the hell had the Hunter who was getting the reevaluation done? The doctor suddenly passed out screaming!
Perhaps the re-evaluation result was not satisfactory, so they wanted to cheat…
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, Min Byung-gyu, who had been lying on the floor, got up.
“Dr. Min!”
“The doctor has woken up!”
Surprised, the nurses rushed to Min Byung-gyu, but something even more astonishing had occurred.
“… What is this?”
Paaat!
Min Byung-gyu, who had just regained consciousness, looked down at the bright white light that was emanating from his hands.
It was mana.
“A-awakening!?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight and then unconsciously turned to Sooho, standing beside them.
“No, this is also a misunderstanding.”
He really hadn’t done anything!
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