Damn Hunter Life Chapter 23
* * *
Every night, while someone might write in their diary, I take out my notebook where I’ve recorded information about the original work.
I compare tomorrow’s date with how much the original story has progressed, pondering when and where I should intervene.
Although I’ve done various things, the events up to now were all things that shouldn’t have happened at this point in time if I hadn’t moved with advance knowledge of the information.
The original work is still in its very early stages.
Except for Ja Hyeong-woo collapsing from sleep deprivation, there hasn’t been any crisis directed at the original protagonist yet.
‘The original mentions they’ll conquer up to Stage 33 without any problems. This part is closer to episodes just meant to introduce each of the Twelve Zodiac characters one by one, and several stages were even skipped in the story. Because they’re not very important or serious.’
Then by my standards, what would be the first serious crisis in the original work where they’d face life-threatening danger…
As I’ve been thinking all along, it would definitely be the ‘Busan Gate.’
It was a serious A-rank gate where regular hunters couldn’t handle it so successors were deployed, and most of the successors suffered severe injuries.
That very episode where even the protagonist Ja Hyeong-woo becomes covered in blood and desperately calls for the mouse familiar he had cast away in his moment of desperation.
From the current point in time, it’s still far off. I remember the exact date of this incident. June 2nd, Busan Gate opening.
But now it’s only April.
‘So can I take it easy for a while?’
Since the original’s progression speed has become slower than my perceived speed, I might be able to rest for quite a long time. There didn’t seem to be any worrisome crises until the Busan Gate.
‘Stages? Woo Sae-geon will command the kids and handle it himself.’
Because even if the Ox successor’s temperament is questionable, his performance is reliable.
‘Regular gates? The regular hunters will somehow handle those with their numbers.’
Who would have thought a high-grade gate not mentioned in the original would appear?
In this leisurely time, the only problem would probably be my pathetic body.
‘Why the hell won’t I build muscle even though I eat two bowls of rice and consistently work out? Far from getting stronger, I’m constantly on the verge of life and death because I’m even taking sword classes.’
I let out a deep sigh and pulled the blanket up to my neck. This body somehow always feels chilly, so feeling warm made me feel a bit better.
I was getting drowsy and about to surrender to 9 hours of sleep today too…
An alarm sounded at dawn. My phone was vibrating.
Is it a new stage notification? It’s late too, can’t they have some manners?
I opened the text content and felt the blood in my entire body turn cold.
—
April 13th 05:33:46
<Alert Text>
The Busan Gate that broke out around 1 AM today could not be conquered, causing severe damage to civilians and regular hunters.
Currently, emergency alerts have been issued throughout the Busan area, and support requests have been sent to all successors.
—
…What is this?
“It got too fast.”
Only the sound of the second hand could be heard in the quiet room.
I was enveloped in an unprecedented discomfort since possessing this body. The sound of the second hand was drowned out by my shallow breathing.
My head was telling me to go on the internet right now and search for the damage scale of the Busan Gate, but my hands wouldn’t move. The phone fell from my hands. When I slowly lowered my gaze, I saw my hands clenching and unclenching palely.
I think I’m scared right now.
Of being alone.
“…Is it my fault?”
I let my guard down thinking the Busan Gate wouldn’t be today at least.
If I hadn’t been sleeping and had been watching the news instead, I would have noticed the Busan Gate opening faster than now.
Knowing in advance that civilians who got sucked in and regular hunters who followed would all die, I could have somehow incited the successors to prevent the gate from reaching this state beforehand…
‘No. It’s not.’
Dwelling on what had already happened wouldn’t help at all. I shook my head.
My legs kept wobbling as I got out of bed and moved.
Let me check what I’ve done to save the world and save my own life too.
First, I provoked the core healer Ja Hyeong-woo to induce him to train intensively.
I helped the second healer Hae Mi-jun to be able to do his part.
I made the all-role support tanker Jin Seol-woon sing again.
…The last one doesn’t directly help with the Busan Gate. I’ll have to hope that at least strengthened Jin Seol-woon’s mentality.
Then.
“Should I consider that I’ve already done everything I can?”
I snapped to my senses and turned on the internet. In emergency situations like this, internet breaking news is faster than going outside to get information directly.
Of course, the status window would be fastest, so normally I’d look at the status window. But since I haven’t been invited to the successor chat, looking at the status window in situations like this gives me nothing.
<[Emergency] Busan Gate Expansion Situation>
<Current Civilian No-Entry Areas (Additional)>
—
[Emergency Disaster Text]
Citizens of Busan Haeundae-gu are asked to refrain from outdoor activities and evacuate to designated places such as schools when evacuation orders are given.
—
<[Citizen Report Video] Gate Monsters Walking on the Beach>
‘Popular post: Fuck, a rift opened right in front of me, everyone in front of me disappeared except me, I’m going crazy. (Photos included)’
The monsters already came out of the rift?
The portal was a cauldron of chaos. I barely managed to pull out the news article I wanted from among it all.
[Real-time] Korean Successors Enter Busan Gate
According to the emergency manual, two successors remain at school as reserves, and all other successors should be absent from school.
Looking at the roster, it was slightly different from what appeared in the original work, but it was within my expectations. The most appropriate combat combination I could think of.
Hae Mi-jun stepped forward, and instead, unlike the original, the Snake successor remained. The other remaining member was the Sheep successor, same as before.
Then now, besides believing that Ja Hyeong-woo and the supporting characters from the original will safely handle everything…
“…Have I really done everything I can in this situation?”
There’s one more thing. Something outside my domain, but also not outside it.
Awakening as a hunter.
Looking down at the gate-related articles chaotically appearing on the screen, I raise my gaze with quite an uncomfortable feeling.
Actually, if possible, I’d want to live without awakening or anything like that.
‘I’ve never been the kind of person suited for such responsibility-heavy work.’
If I wasn’t tempted by the affluent retirement life that would come from becoming an awakened one.
For me, there was no other reason why I absolutely had to awaken besides that.
Facing my pathetic self wasn’t as easy as I thought. While breathing slowly, I realized I had forgotten something very important.
‘Squeaky!’
The mouse familiar. The thing that was absolutely necessary for Ja Hyeong-woo’s miraculous recovery in the original Busan Gate!
I hurriedly called out Squeaky who had been sleeping. Squeaky poked his face out between my simple clothes.
“You, go to Ja Hyeong-woo.”
Because I hadn’t expected the Busan Gate to come this early, my voice was somewhat unstable as I rushed to match things to the original.
For some reason, Squeaky obediently listened to all my urgent explanations. Then he shook his head.
{I understand what you mean. That I might be needed by my master right now.}
“Right. But why are you being rational when talking about Ja Hyeong-woo for once?”
When it’s Ja Hyeong-woo that you’re crazy about, and he might be in some kind of crisis right now…
{Do you not know what the act of making a pact means?}
While I blinked blankly, a blue 子 (mouse) character slowly appeared on the back of my hand. The mark that Squeaky had engraved when we first made our contract, the trace of Squeaky entrusting himself to my body.
{The covenant between god and believer is powerful. I can never leave you. Unless you break the conditions first.}
“…Is it right to compare you to a god? If you’re a god, then I’m the strongest of the Twelve Zodiac.”
I could see the mouse familiar’s mood souring, but since that was my intention, I ignored it.
Because I had just realized I was truly screwed.
“So now I have to go with you to Ja Hyeong-woo and tell him you’re a good familiar?”
I self-deprecatingly ran my hands through my hair. My teeth ground together automatically from the surge of irritation.
The plan had completely gone awry.
Hunter School students cannot leave the school grounds unless it’s through gate teleportation. That’s the rule.
“I’m not awakened, so how can I meet the gate transportation conditions?”
I need to personally take Squeaky to Ja Hyeong-woo, but I can’t.
“Damn.”
I grabbed the unhelpful Squeaky and stuffed him inside my simple clothes. Chewing my lips, I turned my head sharply.
‘How do I check the situation of the successors inside the gate right now?’
Stages and regular gates are different. The regular gate they’re in now isn’t broadcast. Stages are recorded by the gate system and transmitted to broadcasting stations, but regular gates don’t have such a system.
Therefore, there’s no way to know from the outside what’s happening inside regular gates, whether things are going well or not.
No, there’s exactly one way.
‘Successor communication through the status window…’
But as I remind myself again, I don’t have successor communication functions. The only method is to spy on other successors currently remaining at school.
‘Currently remaining at school…’
I thought of two people.
And I didn’t spend even a few seconds choosing between them.
Running across the campus under the night sky, I snuck into the Snake successor’s house with my stealth skill activated.
Desperately suppressing my panting breath, I searched for the homeowner. He was on a hammock not far away.
“Ah… fuck.”
His reddish-brown hair in a tassel cut swayed roughly. Sa Ye-ho’s face only doesn’t show his sharpness when he’s truly pissed off, which was exactly now.
“Can’t I go?”
Sa Ye-ho is talking while looking at empty air. It’s status window communication. The other party is definitely one of the successors who went out.
Since Sa Ye-ho is receiving updates on the situation of the successors in combat, I just need to hide nearby and pick up Sa Ye-ho’s words.
“Hyung, fucking never overdo it. If it doesn’t seem to work, just retreat.”
Is the person on the phone Woo Sae-geon?
“No, don’t hang up on me! Don’t hang up! If hyung hangs up, fuck, what am I supposed to do with my anxiety? If you don’t have time to talk, just keep the connection! Let me know that hyung isn’t dead!”
Sa Ye-ho, who had been frantically raging, fell off the hammock with a thud. But he didn’t even get up and the veins in his neck bulged.
Listening to Sa Ye-ho’s cracking voice, I clearly see a scene as if I witnessed it directly.
Hae Mi-jun’s recruitment and Jin Seol-woon’s mental strengthening were all useless.
The flow is proceeding similarly to the original.
A life-threatening crisis that threatens the survival of the entire Twelve Zodiac approaches.
Ja Hyeong-woo will end up standing alone, covered in blood.
Then Sa Ye-ho suddenly shouted.
“Gyeon Gang-hyeon!”
…Startled. I thought he could see me.
Sa Ye-ho was still shouting at the status window.
“That bastard is also a successor. Let that bastard stay instead of me. Let me go out!”
Even though he’s always slippery, the Snake successor is someone who acts when he needs to.
He keeps repeating his wishful thinking about going out himself to join the battle even if belatedly, but even he probably knows it’s just whining.
‘Hunter School gate rules. Under any circumstances, 2 successors are designated as reserves, and all successors cannot leave Hunter School.’
There’s no way for Sa Ye-ho to be freed from this regulation.
Successors in non-awakened states aren’t counted as successors in emergencies, so Sa Ye-ho is inevitably tied to the reserve team.
If it were just school rules, he would have broken them hundreds of times already, but this was a rule established by the gate. One of the principles that absolutely oppresses humans.
In that way, countless people have shed tears.
“……”
My hands and feet were terribly cold. It felt like all the blood in my body had stopped. But my heart was beating loudly.
While holding my breath, I steadied my breathing while reviewing the situation I was placed in during this short time.
A message from the status window caught my eye.
==
/It’s time to choose. Will you run away this time too?
==
‘This time’ too…
I blankly repeated that word.
Soon the status window’s text changed.
* * *
“Hyung, Sae-geon hyung. Are you hurt? You’re okay, right? What about the other kids?”
Sa Ye-ho remained glued to the communication with a wrecked expression, not even knowing someone had come and gone beside him.
But at that moment, something changed.
==
6 out of 8 Twelve Zodiac successors deployed.
==
This number.
==
6 out of 9 Twelve Zodiac successors deployed.
==
Suddenly moved. Before Sa Ye-ho’s eyes.
Uh, Sa Ye-ho, who had been too surprised to do anything but gape, suddenly shot up.
“Wait, I don’t know what it is but someone appeared, can I go there—”
However, before Sa Ye-ho could finish organizing his words, the number changed again.
==
7 out of 9 Twelve Zodiac successors deployed.
==
A moment of silence.
Then Sa Ye-ho’s scream, who had been dazed for a moment, rang out.
“Fuck! What the hell is this! Who else is going out besides me!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
