How To Survive as a Class a Hunter

42. Non-Awakener Jung Jin-young – [1]

Jung Jin-young looked at Kim Geuk, who was sitting across from him. This UFC veteran awakener was about two heads taller and embarrassingly wider than him.

It had already been over half a year since he started working with this man. Thanks to that, he no longer shrank just at the sight of him, but it was still difficult to remain calm in front of him.

He couldn’t even dream of treating him confidently just because he was 34 and older. How dare a hikikomori before the gate opened…

“How are things these days? Manageable?”

Jung Jin-young mumbled in response to Kim Geuk’s question.

“Yes, well…”

Then Kim Geuk frowned, and just that alone made Jung Jin-young feel his heart shrink.

“From the way you’re talking, it doesn’t seem like you’re okay at all. Is there a problem? Did that punk Sung Moon-young pick a fight with you? That guy always says things to me that get on my nerves…”

“No, no. Everything is great, really.”

He spoke hastily, but surprisingly, it wasn’t just empty words; it was the truth.

Jung Jin-young genuinely liked the hunter team he was part of.

First of all, he liked the earnings. Working with Kim Geuk, Jung Jin-young was making a fortune he never imagined he could earn in his life.

A few years ago, his parents were worried that their retirement funds would be depleted because they had to support their unemployed son. Now, thanks to the money he was earning, they could survive. This fact gave Jung Jin-young both pride and a twisted sense of victory.

He also liked his teammates.

First and foremost, having Baek Dambi on the team was a great comfort. He had worried that he would be ostracized in any hunter team he joined because he wasn’t good at talking, but having Baek Dambi, who was just as quiet as he was, made him feel very reassured. It was less noticeable and more comfortable to have two quiet people on the team rather than just one.

The presence of Im Hyung-taek, who was so good-natured that there was no need to be cautious around him, was also a comfort. Although it was annoying that Sung Moon-young and Lee Jong-ho teased him because they thought he was easy to pick on, it was bearable.

He knew that if he had been in another hunter team, there would have been even more terrible people who made those two seem like nothing. From what he had observed while working with other hunter teams, other teams were full of real punks.

And among those punks, the fact that the body enhancer in front of him, whom he thought was the most dangerous type, turned out to be a much better person than expected was the greatest comfort of all.

“If you have any difficulties, speak up anytime. I know it’s hard to say because you might feel self-conscious, but still, make sure to speak up.”

“Yes…”

“And if you ever feel like it’s time to retire, make sure to say that too. I need to prepare the money for your severance pay in advance.”

Jung Jin-young’s eyes widened at Kim Geuk’s words.

“You’ll give me severance pay? Why…?”

“Oh, it’s not that I’m indirectly telling you to leave the team!”

“It’s just that, if we were to give you severance pay, it would have to come out of your own pocket, and I don’t understand why you would do that. Technically, we’re not even employees hired by you, right? Do you really need to spend money on us…”

Kim Geuk sighed at Jung Jin-young’s question.

“After one of our team members died, I’ve been having all sorts of thoughts. I did give Jin-joon’s family more condolence money than the societal standard, but what good is that to the deceased? It doesn’t feel right to make a lot of money only to have someone die without any reward.

Moreover, the situation is getting more dangerous these days because of that Behemoth. It seems like it will be dangerous for a while, so I think it would be good to retire once we’ve earned enough money before it gets even more dangerous.”

“Well, other hunters say that you should retire once you’ve made enough money. If you keep working, you’ll eventually die…”

“Right? So I thought it would be good to give severance pay so that anyone in our team who decides to retire can do so immediately. It seems like giving severance pay would cost less than giving condolence money…”

Jung Jin-young blinked. From his appearance, he looked like someone who would lock him up in a factory and take half his salary, but in reality, he was offering to give condolence money and severance pay, which he didn’t even need to give.

When they first met, just from his appearance, he never expected Kim Geuk to be such a good person.

To be precise, he didn’t expect him to take care of the people around him to this extent.

Even the head of the academy seemed to feel the same way. He had worried that Kim Geuk would wash his hands of the academy once he debuted as a hunter, but he continued to promote the academy and even attended the gym far from his home to show off the connection between the academy and himself. He remembered hearing the head of the academy say he was grateful to death for that…

“So, are you thinking about retiring soon?”

At Kim Geuk’s question, Jung Jin-young immediately shook his head.

“No.”

“Really? Haven’t you made quite a bit of money?”

“Still…”

“Well, with the prices of everything except rice and ramen rising in real-time, it’s understandable that having a few extra zeros in your bank account doesn’t bring much comfort. The apartment you live in with your parents is rented, right? You might not be able to afford an apartment in Seoul, but you could probably buy a good one in Incheon. You should buy one before the prices go up even more.”

Although the man didn’t give particularly surprising advice, Jung Jin-young blinked at his words.

He felt something welling up in his chest. How should he describe this feeling? Moved? Touched?

Either way, it didn’t feel bad. No, to put it crudely, he felt ecstatic. Much more than when he was told he would receive a severance pay.

He even remembered that the apartment he lived in with his parents was rented? Jung Jin-young couldn’t even remember when he had mentioned that.

Even his parents couldn’t remember what he said, grilling dried fish he clearly stated he didn’t like on his birthday and asking, “You like this, right?” The man seemed to listen to him more attentively than his parents did…

“Anyway, you worked hard today, and you’ll continue to do so, so let’s keep it up. Long live Incheon.”

“Yes, long live Incheon…!”

Kim Geuk patted Jung Jin-young on the shoulder and told him to go home. Jung Jin-young bowed his head in greeting and headed home.

As he walked, he reflected on the conversation they had just had.

Really, wasn’t filming the battle with the rock spirit that day the best thing he had ever done? If he hadn’t filmed it, he wouldn’t have dared to ask Kim Geuk to join the team, and if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be this happy now…

When he got home, he logged onto HuntWeb.

Jung Jin-young’s account had a certain presence on HuntWeb. It was known that he was the porter for the famous Kim Geuk team.

5myJesus: Today was another rewarding day. Kim Geuk hyung has been on duty for four consecutive days, and no team members have been injured during that time. Is this real?

To express his respect and to show off that he was a member of Kim Geuk’s team, he posted a praise for Kim Geuk as usual, and a comment was immediately posted.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: You’re the porter for Kim Geuk’s team, right? How’s that girl doing these days? Do you guys talk behind her back when it’s just the guys?

As a ‘silent’ comrade of the team, he couldn’t say anything bad about her.

5myJesus: I think you’re talking about Baek Dambi, but not at all… She’s the second most active person after Kim Geuk.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: Good. But you’re not lying, right?

5myJesus: Not lying at all. In the past, I wouldn’t have taken ice powers even if given, but seeing Dambi, I think ice powers are pretty good. So I’m thinking of dressing lightly this winter and trying to awaken ice powers.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: ?

5myJesus: They say feeling cold is the trigger for awakening ice powers. I’m going to try to feel the cold properly and attempt to awaken ice powers. Even if ice powers aren’t as good as other powers, they’re much better than not being awakened at all.

Ⓐ syberMagneto: It’s admirable that you’ve realized the superiority of awakened ones as an inferior non-awakened, but never do such a strange thing. Finding a house will become too difficult…

The desire to awaken ice powers was not an empty statement.

Jung Jin-young had realized over the past six months of participating in hunts that awakened ones received large sums of money for a reason.

Really, except for the two awakened ones in the team, everyone else was just porters. Even the veteran Jang Byung-gon couldn’t boast at all compared to the two awakened ones in the team.

He thought of Kim Geuk and Baek Dambi. Just by looking at their appearances, they seemed much more special than other people.

He thought, how wonderful it would be if he could awaken like them. If that happened, even someone like him, who was just a hikikomori in his thirties until recently, could become special like them.

Although it would be difficult to become as exceptional as Kim Geuk, who seemed to stand out even among the awakened, he could at least become far superior to people like Lee Jong-ho or Sung Moon-young. Perhaps even surpass the veteran Jang Byung-gon…

In fact, he had been quite interested in the awakened for a long time. The reason he occasionally glanced at Kim Geuk during his academy days was because of that. Seeing an awakened person in real life, whom he had only seen on the internet, was so fascinating and enviable.

‘These days, there seem to be many people awakening anew. Maybe I could…’

He suddenly searched the internet for ‘how to awaken.’ He read through the contents that came up.

Ice ability users awaken when they feel cold. The awakening condition is absurdly easy, and since it was winter in Korea when the gate opened, there are many ice ability users in Korea.

Fire ability users awaken in the sensation of burning when their whole body is engulfed in flames. Although it seems similar to the condition for ice abilities, it is much more difficult. The risk of burning to death before awakening is much higher if one deliberately tries to meet the condition.

Body enhancers awaken during the process of training their bodies or practicing martial arts, but seeing that his body remained the same no matter how much he exercised at the gym, he thought he should give up on this one.

Field blade ability users awaken while wielding a sword, which is why there are many places these days that train with real swords. It might be good to register at a kendo dojo someday.

And, field exoskeleton ability users…

Jin-young thought he might have a chance to awaken in this area. The trigger for this ability’s awakening is feeling pressure and stress, and he was confident in feeling pressure and stress.

But to awaken, it wasn’t just about satisfying the trigger; aptitude was much more important, he heard.

So, he heard that not just anyone could awaken by consistently meeting the conditions. Even though there are many people in Korea who feel pressure and stress, only a very few have awakened to the powerful field exoskeleton ability…

He was fantasizing about a situation where he had awakened.

His smartphone rang.

It was a signal notifying him of a hunter assembly. Another gate had opened.

Moreover, it was said that the gate was large, and they hoped as many hunters as possible would be dispatched.

In such a situation, there was no way Kim Geuk would stay still. Jin-young immediately turned off his computer, packed his rifle and ammunition, and prepared to depart.

*