Chapter 29 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Awakener Kim Ji-hwan (1)
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'Mom's Warm Meals.'
It was a rundown eatery in a residential neighborhood of XX District.
The interior was a bit worn and shabby, but it offered generous side dishes at cheap prices, making it a favorite spot for office workers with light wallets.
"Fuck. What a filthy world."
A man who had just downed a shot of soju slammed his glass down with a clink.
A grilled fish set meal was laid out on the table, but he hadn't touched the food at all, merely tilting the soju glass instead.
-On today's show, we have 1st Grade Awakener and author of the book *I'm Still Alive Today*, Yoon Ji-hwan.
On the TV hanging on one wall, an announcer was interviewing a famous awakener.
Of all coincidences, the name was Ji-hwan, just like his.
"Who's got nothing better to do than drag this out for months..."
The man spat into the trash can.
His name was Kim Ji-hwan.
An 8th Grade Awakener, he had operated in rural dungeons until four years ago, when he came to the city chasing ambitious dreams.
Back then, he had been a spirited young man full of vigor.
Thanks to his C-Grade shield skill 'Energy Field,' he had been recognized as an 8th Grade Awakener despite his abysmal physical awakening rate.
And by a stroke of luck, he even received a recruitment offer from 'One Shot,' a fairly well-known awakener team.
But.
"Damn it."
Kim Ji-hwan's face twisted involuntarily as he recalled the past.
Three years ago, due to some incident, the team fell apart, and he lost even his awakener registration.
Re-registering required a five-year disqualification period, so he still had to endure one more year before he could regain his awakener status.
"Useless thoughts."
Kim Ji-hwan gritted his teeth, shaking off memories of the past.
After that, he rented a cheap room in a rundown boarding house right next to the dungeon area and took on every odd job imaginable for three years.
Now, he was illegally wandering dungeons without permission, hauling luggage for other awakeners as a day laborer.
Perhaps because he was living day by day without dreams or hope, seeing successful awakeners on TV twisted his guts.
"Hmph, an awakener who's a writer? Ruins my appetite."
He glared at the TV screen, then slammed his soju glass down and shouted.
"Auntie! Turn off the TV!"
"Mm."
The auntie, who knew his situation better than anyone as a regular customer, turned off the TV without a word.
"Young man."
She looked worriedly at Kim Ji-hwan, who hadn't touched the side dishes on the table.
"Don't just drink on an empty stomach. Have some grilled fish with it."
"Got it."
He replied curtly as if annoyed, then downed more soju.
Ding.
At that moment, the door with wind chimes opened, and a man in gray rags-like dobok stepped inside.
Wearing what might have been straw sandals or slippers, with his shaggy hair messily tied up, the man plopped down in his usual corner seat with familiar movements.
"One grilled fish set meal, one pork stir-fry set meal."
"Yes, yes. Just a moment."
When the auntie brought water and a wet towel, he vigorously wiped his dusty face.
Kim Ji-hwan knew the shaggy-haired man well.
He always came for set meals at the same time every night when it got late.
'Does manual labor?'
He didn't look that old, yet he always came in covered in dust like a construction worker.
Probably a poor day laborer living nearby.
The area was cheap for day wages and rent because no one knew when a monster might break through the shield.
"Hmm."
Then the man in dobok fiddled with the remote on the table.
With a beep, the TV turned on, and the awakener interview resumed.
-So, when did you first qualify as a 1st Grade Awakener, author Yoon Ji-hwan?
-Ah, from the moment I awakened at fifteen, I was 5th Grade. My physical awakening rate was 88 percent then, and my skill was B-Grade. Less than six months after registering with the Association and training, I reawakened and was promoted to 3rd Grade...
Fuck. The world's so unfair.
While someone like him had poured his entire twenties into barely scraping by as an 8th Grade Awakener, that guy started at 5th Grade.
"Hey, mister! Turn off the TV! It's noisy!"
He yelled irritably and downed the rest of his soju.
But the TV stayed on.
"Hey! I said turn off the TV!"
Kim Ji-hwan turned his head to glare at the man. When their eyes met, he involuntarily whipped his head back.
He looks fucking scary.
The man's eyes were blood-red in both pupils, like an awakener with the Berserker skill.
Flinching at a mere day laborer made his already shattered pride hit rock bottom.
Borrowing liquid courage, Kim Ji-hwan yelled again.
"I said turn off the TV."
But he couldn't bring himself to look straight at the man's face.
Just then, the auntie came rushing out and bowed to the man.
"Sorry, Uncle. The young man over there had a bad day today."
"This Seat is not 'Uncle.' Heavenly Demon."
The man, wiping his neck with the wet towel, said flatly.
"This Seat doesn't care about that side's circumstances, but if the owner asks, then off it goes."
His voice was bold, thick, and low enough to bore through the floor.
Hearing it stirred an inexplicable sense of misery. It was the kind of thing he'd normally ignore, but today it made him want to pick a fight.
"Mister. Dressing up in cosplay at your age? Not embarrassed?"
Emboldened by booze, Kim Ji-hwan picked a fight again. No matter how muscular the guy was, Kim Ji-hwan was an awakener. A disqualified one, sure.
"Looks like you've got some muscle on those arms? Gym rat, or just labor-built?"
"What are you talking about."
"The clothes you're wearing, mister. That's called cosplay."
"You have no eye for quality."
The man clicked his tongue and spoke flatly.
"The robe this Seat wears is called Blood Battle Demon Robe. Waterproof and sword-proof as basics, and it maintains a comfortable temperature whenever worn. A treasure you couldn't buy for any price."
"Pfft-haha. What? A geezer otaku?"
At the laughter mocking the Heavenly Demon again, the auntie rushed out from the kitchen once more.
"Young man, what's with you? You're drunk today, so go home already."
"What're you saying? I've still got booze left."
"You finished it. Go home? Please?"
Kim Ji-hwan picked fights everywhere else, but he couldn't stand up to the auntie at Mom's Warm Meals.
Those warm, affectionate eyes. She was the only one who truly worried for him and gave him a hot meal even when he had no money.
"Put today on my tab."
Grumbling helplessly, Kim Ji-hwan shuffled out.
"Uncle, sorry. That young man hasn't had much work lately... Seems tough."
The auntie said as she set down dishes. Surprisingly, the man—no, the Heavenly Demon—just shook his head calmly.
"No concern of mine."
He meant it.
The Heavenly Demon paid no mind to two kinds of existences.
Bugs, excluding mosquitoes.
Warriors lost in despair.
And in the Heavenly Demon's eyes, Kim Ji-hwan was both.
* * *
The next day was a stroke of rare luck.
He'd been hired by a team of 3rd Grade Awakeners.
They said their nanobots were broken. Needing a porter anyway, they hired Kim Ji-hwan for his knowledge of the local terrain.
Kim Ji-hwan was thrilled.
3rd Grade Awakeners would be hunting high-rank monsters. The scraps they tossed would be substantial.
'But why's it feel like a couples' trip?'
Leading the way, Kim Ji-hwan glanced back.
The team consisted of two pairs of men and women, walking side by side, stuck to each other like lovers.
That's when Choi Kyung-hwan, who'd introduced himself as team leader, spoke up.
"They say hidden monsters not in the codex appear in this area sometimes, right?"
His tone seemed polite, but his expression and speech carried an underlying arrogance.
Still, Kim Ji-hwan answered courteously. That's how he'd squeeze out extra pay.
"Yes. But only if you know the spawn conditions—which no one does."
"Mister, do you know what they are?"
"Huh?"
"Ahem, they say unlicensed porters know."
Choi Kyung-hwan cleared his throat and looked this way.
"The hidden monster spawn conditions. Unregistered awakeners know all the underground info floating around dungeons."
"Well... I've heard a few rumors. Probably bullshit, though."
"Is that so? I hear hidden monsters are spawning more often around here lately."
Kim Ji-hwan chuckled.
"Yeah. No clue why, but hidden spawns have picked up recently."
"Seen any yourself?"
"As if."
Shrugging, Kim Ji-hwan shook his head.
"Even if I knew, I couldn't call one. Hidden monsters are no joke on danger level."
Then Sung Kyung-ha, the woman glued to Choi Kyung-hwan's side, grinned slyly.
"What if we could take it down?"
"Huh?"
"If a hidden monster we could beat shows up, would you call it?"
Her tone grated, but Kim Ji-hwan held back and forced a friendly smile.
"Can't. Association forbids it."
"What? Porter bro, you tattling that we snuck in without telling the Association?"
Sung Kyung-ha pointed proudly at herself.
"We're 3rd Grade Awakeners who can clear B-Grade dungeons solo. We could handle a hidden monster just fine."
"Yes, yes, sorry."
Kim Ji-hwan bowed quickly.
Truth was, the team had entered the dungeon area without reporting to the Association.
'Taxes, probably.'
No report meant no tax on dungeon loot artifacts.
"Your face says you've seen a hidden monster before, mister."
Sung Kyung-ha peeked over teasingly.
"They drop insane artifacts, right?"
Her acting was awkward no matter how you sliced it.
Hidden monster. Hidden monster... Ever since entering the dungeon, that's all they'd talked about.
'No wonder they didn't entrust me with any gear despite needing a porter.'
3rd Grade Awakeners entering unlicensed, hiring an unregistered porter like him who roams dungeon outskirts, bringing no nanobots to a new area.
'They had ulterior motives from the start.'
Seeing his stiffening expression, Choi Kyung-hwan sighed.
"Well, you've caught on, so let's be straight."
Clearing his throat, Choi Kyung-hwan flashed a sly grin.
"We know you know the hidden monster spawn conditions. Hunt with us."
"What're you talking about? I'm just a porter."
"Three years ago. Survivor of the hidden monster incident. 'One Shot' team, right? Tried hunting hidden monsters multiple times without reporting to the Association, ended up with your team wiped out."
He could feel his face freezing like ice.
A secret he'd kept all this time. How did these guys know about the incident from three years ago that he'd survived?
"Kyung-ha worked in the Association's direct investigation department."
Choi Kyung-hwan pointed at Sung Kyung-ha beside him with a smile.
"We know everything, Kim Ji-hwan. That you alone survived that incident with your Energy Field skill. And that you know the hidden monster's spawn conditions."
Kim Ji-hwan forced a smile.
"If I knew something that valuable, I'd have sold it to the Association for info bounty. Why would I be slumming as a porter?"
"Hidden monster spawn info bounty? Hmm, around 100 million won maybe."
Sung Kyung-ha smiled thinly.
"But form a team and just snag the Masked Gentleman's mask? 5 billion—no, over 10 billion per member. Right?"
Masked Gentleman.
A hidden monster from a dungeon packed with undead star monsters.
It wore a skull mask made of diamond. Valued at roughly 100 billion won.
Even on the black market, it'd fetch at least 50 billion.
"The Association knows about the Masked Gentleman too. But only you know the spawn conditions, Kim Ji-hwan."
Fucking bastards. They knew everything.
Seeing Kim Ji-hwan lose control of his expression, Sung Kyung-ha spoke cautiously.
"Don't misunderstand. We're here with a win-win proposal."
"What do you mean?"
"You must want to take down the monster that slaughtered your team... right?"
Bullshit.
Suppressing his boiling rage, Kim Ji-hwan shook his head.
"No plans to form a team. Don't have the ability anyway."
"Then why stick around this dungeon for three years?"
"That's..."
Kim Ji-hwan started to speak, then bit his lip. He didn't want to say it, and they wouldn't believe him anyway.
"Hunt with us. The Masked Gentleman."
Choi Kyung-hwan leaned in close to the bowed Kim Ji-hwan and whispered.
"We split evenly. 20% each."
"Don't wanna die for money. Plus, if caught, you'll be disqualified too."
The Association strictly controlled hidden monster spawn conditions.
Summoning without permission meant fines at best, registration cancellation at worst. Just like what happened to him.
"No getting caught, no dying. We have this."
Choi Kyung-hwan pulled something shiny from his pocket. A stone like transparent glass, with red liquid floating inside.
"Hot Spot?"
Hot Spot was an expensive magic tool made from dungeon artifacts.
Press the red liquid, and it stuck to your skin for a time, making spawned monsters target only the holder.
Useful for teams with hardening skills, but banned from sale and use for various reasons now.
"How do we catch it with that?"
At his question, Sung Kyung-ha smirked oddly.
"The Association recently found that hidden monsters from outside stop moving for a while if they enter the dungeon. Lure with the Hot Spot, and we take it down easy."
Choi Kyung-hwan nodded at Sung Kyung-ha.
"Once she knew that, Kyung-ha quit the Association. Decided to hunt the Masked Gentleman, the hidden monster with the priciest artifact."
A while. Deliberately vague to avoid spilling exact info.
As Kim Ji-hwan stayed silent, Sung Kyung-ha spoke again.
"Conveniently, the Masked Gentleman's dungeon is an F-Grade right at the entrance. Fail to kill it, we can still steal the mask."
They'd investigated him and his past incident thoroughly.
"Try it. We won't let you take the fall, Kim Ji-hwan."
Breaking his silence, Kim Ji-hwan said lowly.
"...Fine."
He added with a long sigh.
"But even if we fail, I won't reveal the spawn conditions."
Choi Kyung-hwan gave a strange look to Sung Kyung-ha beside him, exchanged glances with the couple behind—Lee Hak-jun and Kim Su-mi—then slowly nodded.
"Deal."
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