I returned home.
It was a little disappointing that I hadn’t been able to explore the United States properly, but I was satisfied with having flown on an airplane. After all, I’d had the chance to experience one of this planet’s unique cultures.
But do you know what I realized during that trip abroad?
There was no place like home.
I had made the mistake of venturing outside, only to be struck by a wineglass fastball thrown by an S-rank who looked like a grizzly bear. How could I not feel homesick after that?
“Damn it.”
And so, after the incident, I decided to enter a brief period of seclusion.
Of course, I already knew how I would spend my time at home. The vessel I occupied was riddled with deficiencies, so adding even the smallest new functions was enough to keep me busy.
[Version 1.3.43 Changes]
• Digestive Mechanism Added
It had been a while since I last made any modifications.
During my self-imposed seclusion, I made several adjustments to my reincarnated body.
But wait.
Why had I added digestive capabilities?
‘I feel safer now.’
This function was far more important than it might appear.
Most biological poisons were modified proteins.
A mechanism capable of instantly breaking down foreign substances inside the body!
That single ability produced one extremely significant result.
“Resistance to biological toxins.”
That’s right.
As of today, I had acquired a more complete form of ‘toxin resistance.’
Whenever poison entered my body, the newly implanted mechanism would detoxify it into a harmless structure before it could cause any damage. It might not have been a familiar concept on Earth, but on my home planet, where poisoning was a relatively common danger, it had been considered an essential safety measure.
Of course, the mechanism consumed a tremendous number of calories every time it activated, since it pushed the body’s metabolic functions to their limits...
But it was still much better to have it than not.
Once I had finished the modifications, I picked up my phone to clear my head.
[Search results: 0]
Yet once again, the news I had been waiting for was nowhere to be found.
“So that’s why something felt off. Not only is there no sign of a dragon’s internal organ, but it doesn’t look as though any dragon nests have appeared recently either.”
If the situation continued to deteriorate like this, then perhaps it was time to consider an alternative plan.
Until now, I had intended to purchase a dragon’s lung with money. But now that things had become so complicated, I might have to look for another method.
“Well, even if a dragon’s lung does appear, there’s no guarantee whoever finds it will be willing to sell it...”
I fell silent.
Then, after thinking for a while, an unrelated thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, didn’t I need to have my Hunter ID reissued?
‘I forgot.’
The ID I had been using still listed me as F-rank.
Therefore, I decided to stop by the Association and obtain a new Hunter ID with the corrected information.
“I’m fairly certain there were two ways to apply... online or by visiting the Association in person.”
I didn’t want to leave the house, but I had little choice.
Registering through the website was far too difficult a task for an alien.
I gathered my belongings and prepared to go out. Since the weather was warm, I left my suit jacket behind and wore only a shirt and vest.
.
.
.
~ Clang, clang, clang.
~ Dung... Dudung...
How strange.
The city was usually noisy, but it certainly hadn’t been this loud the previous week.
“Are those instruments...?”
I tilted my head.
After stepping outside, I listened carefully to the sound coming from the distance. It was a melody I had never heard on Alphaut, but as the notes reached my ears, Kim Giryeo’s brain quickly drew a conclusion.
Gongs and drums.
It appeared the Earthlings were holding some kind of festival nearby.
“Oh.”
Curious about what sort of event could be causing such a commotion, I focused on the sound.
##########
Is the Association
an accomplice too?
Condemn the Hunter Industry!
Regulate the Awakened!
##########
When I arrived at the entrance to the Hunter Association, I found people holding signs bearing those words.
~ Dung, dung-dung. Dung-dung.
I looked at the drumsticks in their hands and thought:
“Oh my.”
This wasn’t a festival.
It was a protest...
***
These days, humanity lived in an age when superpowered heroes—once confined to films—actually existed.
Following the Dungeon Shock, Hunters, people gifted with extraordinary abilities, had begun appearing all over the world.
In reality, however, those superpowered individuals did not always stand on the side of ordinary citizens.
[Shocking Misconduct by Hunter in His Twenties... Elderly Victim Verbally and Physically Assaulted]
[Hunter Industry’s Moral Hazard Reaches Alarming Levels]
[Mr. Kim, a Family Breadwinner in His Fifties, Left Paralyzed After Being Caught in Dungeon Break Cleanup... (Read More)]
Swords granted at random, with no regard for whether their wielders were good or evil, had inevitably caused countless problems.
In recent years, conflicts involving Awakened individuals had become endless.
And here—
“The government must impose stricter regulations on Hunters! Stricter regulations!”
The man standing in front of the Association building with a protest sign had been assaulted by a Hunter not long ago.
The reason?
He had refused to give her a discount on alcohol.
And what had come of the incident?
The bones on one side of his face had been crushed, and one of his eyes had nearly been blinded by the severity of the beating.
Yet the woman responsible was still working as a Hunter without suffering any meaningful consequences.
The Association had refused to revoke her license, claiming there were not enough Hunters available to deal with monsters.
“Bus drivers are fired for assaulting people, and doctors can have their licenses suspended for malpractice! So why are Hunters treated like gods in this country? Why are they still allowed to make a living as though nothing happened?”
“That’s right!”
“Exactly!”
“Strengthen the punishments!”
The people gathered at the Association’s main gate had taken to the streets with loudspeakers to protest the absurdity of the situation.
The problem...
was that they were considerably more aggressive than ordinary demonstrators.
“Those Hunter bastards should be forced to wear collars so we can identify them on sight!”
“The Awakened can be controlled with something like [Knight’s Oath], can’t they? Shouldn’t dangerous high-ranking Hunters at least be forced to accept one, so they have no choice but to obey the government?”
To clarify once again, these people belonged to an ‘anti-Hunter organization.’
More precisely, they were extremists who believed Awakened individuals should not be treated like ordinary human beings, but rather like wild animals in a zoo that required constant surveillance.
“Hunters become arrogant because they start handling huge amounts of money at such a young age!”
Who enjoyed having insults hurled at them?
The Hunters passing nearby frowned and gave the protesters a wide berth.
But then—
the arrival of a new figure caused the demonstrators to raise their voices even louder.
“Huh?”
“Chairman! Over there—look over there!”
In the distance, a man with dyed hair approached at an unhurried pace.
He seemed to have been drawn by the protesters’ shouting, and his gaze remained fixed in their direction.
His sharp eyes left the kind of impression one did not easily forget after seeing them once.
‘It’s Kim Giryeo!’
An Awakened standing at the very pinnacle of the Hunter industry.
The moment they recognized Giryeo on the street, they began shouting questions at him.
“What are you doing here instead of entering a gate?”
“There was a dungeon break nearby yesterday! Are you even doing your job properly?”
“You—you little punk! I heard you used to beat up your classmates at school! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
The target of their accusations gave no response and hurried past them.
“Ugh... Earthlings are terrifying...”
From Giryeo’s perspective, the sight of an angry crowd of humans was frightening.
As an F-rank, he could easily be overpowered even by ordinary civilians, so he chose the most passive course of action possible.
Unfortunately, his attempt to avoid confrontation only provoked the protesters further.
“That—that arrogant bastard...!”
“My goodness. He didn’t even answer us.”
“Right? So people like us, who never Awakened, aren’t even worth his time?”
Tremble.
Once Kim Giryeo had disappeared from sight, the protesters lowered their voices and murmured among themselves.
A Hunter with an attitude that arrogant would surely make an ideal target for ‘that operation.’
Then let’s use him.
***
Hmm...
I had planned to remain secluded for a while inside my barrier-protected home, but life rarely went according to plan.
The apartment was so small that if I relaxed for even a moment, it immediately descended into chaos.
“Ack!”
On Thursday, after stepping on a bottle cap someone had left lying on the floor, I finally decided to clean up the rubbish.
I intended to take out the plastic waste.
‘What a nuisance.’
After disposing of the rubbish, I crossed the alley and headed home.
But to my surprise, someone I had never seen before was standing in the narrow shortcut I frequently used.
‘I’ve never seen anyone standing here before.’
Even so, I didn’t think much of it.
The passage was narrow, but not so narrow that two people couldn’t pass each other.
“What should I eat when I get home?”
I turned my body slightly to the left and attempted to leave the alley.
Or rather, I was about to leave.
“Aaagh!”
Before I could fully step past him, a sudden scream erupted beside me.
“What the—”
“Oh, my arm! My arm!”
I stared down at the other man in bewilderment.
He had refused to move out of the way, so I had attempted to squeeze past him. Yet the instant the collars of our shirts brushed together, he collapsed and began rolling across the ground.
He acted as though he had been struck by a vehicle.
“What the hell?”
And that was not the end of the absurdity.
“What happened?”
“Sir, are you all right?”
“Ah, you two! That man over there...!”
A few seconds later, two people came rushing in from the opposite end of the alley.
As soon as they arrived, the fallen man tearfully began explaining that someone had shoved him merely because he had been standing in the way.
He admitted that he might be large, but still, how hard had I pushed him for his arm to hurt this badly?
It might even be broken...
“What did you say?”
“Wait, isn’t that man a Hunter? I think I’ve seen him on television.”
“That’s right! An Awakened assaulted someone!”
Ugh.
At that point, it became difficult to pretend I didn’t understand what was happening.
At last, I grasped the situation.
‘An injury scam!’
And the moment that phrase crossed my mind, the man lying on the ground delivered a threat so conventional it might have come directly from a textbook.
“Ugh... W-whoa. You’re an S-rank, and you still don’t know how strong you are?”
“Huh.”
“What am I supposed to do now? I earn my living as a driver! If my arm is injured, I can’t work!”
So he was saying I needed to compensate him for being unable to work?
“Are you joking?”
I asked in disbelief, but the gang standing before me remained utterly shameless.
“You assaulted someone, and now you’re asking whether we’re joking? You’re the one making a joke of this!”
“We saw you hit him! We’re reporting you!”
“...What evidence do you have that I pushed him?”
I had not expected the answer that followed.
“Evidence? Hunter, take a look around!”
“...”
“There aren’t any parked cars here, and there’s no CCTV.”
“...”
“But this man’s arm is clearly injured, and there are two witnesses on his side. Do you understand?”
They possessed a certain level of professionalism.
At the very least, they had chosen a suitable place to fall before stretching out their legs.
“Argh...”
The man who had collapsed struggled onto his knees and began unsteadily provoking me.
“Hey, do you feel wronged? Do you?”
He moved closer and glared at me as though he intended to stab me in the eye.
“But what are you going to do about it? If you’re Awakened and making easy money, then you should be prepared to put up with this much.”
When I lowered my gaze, I could clearly see the malicious expression on his face.
“Anyway, where did all the money you earned as an S-rank go? Why are you living in such a shabby neighborhood?”
“...”
“Phew. In the end, you’re nothing but a stupid—”
.
.
.
An S-rank Hunter served as a representative of all Awakened people.
Even if the Hunter had emerged only a few months earlier, the title of S-rank guaranteed immediate public recognition.
The anti-Hunter organization intended to provoke an S-rank Hunter into committing an assault, then use the incident to turn public opinion against the Awakened.
‘Now that I’ve made it clear there are no CCTV cameras, he should start losing his temper soon, right?’
Deliberately provoking an S-rank Hunter in the hope of being struck was a reckless act that could easily result in death.
But they had concluded that sacrificing their bodies would be worthwhile if it helped change the world.
“Is that all an Awakened like you amounts to? Don’t you understand? If you lay a hand on ordinary people like us, society won’t even treat you as human, you bastard.”
Snap!
The leader of the protest group suddenly seized Giryeo by the collar and began shouting directly into his face.
Yet as the seconds passed, something began to feel wrong.
“What’s with this bastard? Are you ignoring us? A-are you ignoring us, huh?”
Kim Giryeo’s expression remained unchanged.
That alone might still have been understandable.
The problem was what followed.
He did not flinch despite the endless personal insults.
He did not even react when a button tore free from his expensive shirt with a sharp snap.
“Please let go.”
At last, Kim Giryeo addressed the man clutching his collar.
His voice was calm as he told him that, if he had finished saying everything he wanted to say, it was time to release him.
A sudden chill ran through the protester.
If this man truly was S-rank, he could have escaped effortlessly with the slightest movement.