NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 190. Collapse
When I turned my head towards the sound, there was a metal cylinder with abstract patterns carved all over it lying on the ground.
And from the cylinder, a blue-colored gas with a fast diffusion rate continuously flows out.
Anyway, why are there so many crazy people in this country… … .
‘No, looking closely, he’s definitely not Korean.’
Let’s correct that.
This planet seems to have a very high percentage of crazy humans.
It was only 3 minutes ago that I thought Earth was wonderful, and now I regret being reincarnated.
I’ve been living quietly these days without bothering anyone, so why is this ordeal happening to me?
‘Today I just wanted to see the fish of Earth.’
Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.
“What the heck… … !”
“Okay, then run. Hurry up!”
Unfortunately, Ahn Yoon-seung’s protective shield is still in its primitive stages and cannot filter out harmful gases.
But since this was not the first or second time I had experienced an unexpected surprise attack, I automatically maintained my composure.
I pulled Ahn Yoon-seung’s shoulder and shouted, holding my breath as long as I could and getting out of this place.
But it seems like even that simple struggle won’t be easy.
‘Shit!’
In movies, the villains spend a lot of time rambling out their lines.
They suddenly appeared and rushed in quickly with a professional attitude.
***
Blink.
The eyes of someone with a characteristic dark eye hole blink sequentially.
Women and men.
They were Awakened errand boys who had been working as a team since before.
When you see the word errand, you tend to think of small tasks like grocery shopping, but the scope and depth of what they do is much broader and deeper.
Investigation. Intimidation. Retaliation.
Of those, the jobs that paid the most money were, of course, jobs that involved life and death.
The seniors in this industry used to use tools such as guns and knives to do their work, so the aftermath was always a hassle, but in today’s modern society, more sophisticated murder methods have emerged.
Awakening ability.
That’s what brought about change in the market they belong to.
[me: Are you really asking me to work under these conditions?]
[client: Okay.]
By the way, when I think about it again, this request is still very special.
This hunting duo, also known as ‘Ali’, recently received a request from a Korean.
The content was to harm Kim Ki-ryeo, the top hunter.
“Even so, it’s a bit S-class.”
I originally wanted to decline the mission.
What the heck? The Korean client sent me an interesting contract shortly after.
I’m not specifically asking you to kill Kim Ki-ryeo.
It’s OK if you just touch it with your skills and leave.
There is plenty of room to run away.
But if you grant my request, I will give you a huge reward in full.
compensation.
Yes. In the end, the reward that the Korean gives stimulates the foreign errand boys.
About 670 thousand euros worth of cryptocurrency.
That’s a whopping 1 billion won in Korean currency.
Because no one would not hesitate if they could get it just in return for a ‘challenge’.
These days, the errand industry is not all that booming.
Unless it’s something with a very high legal risk, like murder, it’s quite rare to get a commission that will net you a huge sum of money, like 1 billion won.
Besides, if the target hadn’t been special enough to be an S-class, my seniors wouldn’t have even seen this kind of work.
‘If you look at it closely, it’s a good deal.’
Team Alai exchanged several more messages with the client after that.
Through this, I finally decided to accept the request.
Even if we assume the worst case scenario of mission failure, South Korea is a country with a low legal punishment level for assault, so there are safety measures in place.
“With that money, I can buy the building I’ve been looking at.”
Some people call awakening a blessing.
But this pair of Awakened Ones, Alaira, were not too happy about being forced to practice magic.
Oddly enough, they suffered from the same disease, but while their skills were fine, their immune systems were seriously compromised.
The magical power in their bodies does not clump together.
So, unlike other awakened people, their bodies are not as strong. Furthermore, the magic they have awakened has the power to touch the minds of living things.
They are not born with overwhelming powers like S-class, so they cannot kill monsters with their skills.
So I couldn’t become a hunter.
Then why don’t you just make money doing something else?
What are you talking about? The country they were born in had such a harsh view of superpowered people that they even set up regulations called the Awakened Person Identification Tag. Now, they were in a situation where they couldn’t even do ordinary work.
Wherever you go, you are looked down on like a leashed beast, and the general public rejects you, telling you not to covet your job and to get lost in the dungeon.
——————
faqwiki.xyz
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Let’s take a request.”
They eventually fell into illegal activity.
At first, it was to eat and live.
He crossed the sea and mountains, abandoned his hometown, earned money as an illegal immigrant, and settled in Spain.
Later, he washed his identity and cleaned up his appearance, so he no longer needed to run errands.
Now they are not satisfied with the income they earn from their regular jobs.
Ten million won, hundreds of millions, ten billion won.
Even though I didn’t put in any special effort, the awakening ability was like a magic jar that constantly produced money.
They’re pretty happy with the industry now.
They didn’t care if their actions worsened the perception of the Awakened. In a way, it was people like these who were the cause of the Hunter Association’s Go Byeong-do’s hatred for superpowers.
The magical era that came suddenly caused many problems as it intertwined with capitalist society.
so…….
***
Team Alai accepts the mysterious request to trouble an S-class hunter.
But why did these people, who have similar physiques like a pair of wings, target today?
It was precisely because of the ease of escape.
From what I’ve researched, the skinhead guy over there is Kim Ki-ryeo’s closest acquaintance.
‘An aquarium in broad daylight on a weekday? How unusual.’
Their work definitely takes some time.
Therefore, the person that Alay has been monitoring is not Kim Ki-ryeo, but Ahn Yoon-seung.
The two errand boys racked their brains to come up with a way to tie Kim Ki-ryeo’s hands.
‘Can we do it?’
‘Don’t worry. Just trust me.’
Swoosh.
While the mysterious gas burst into space.
The curly-haired female worker steps forward first. It’s a provocative choice for an awakened person with a weak body due to a medical condition.
But everything has a cause and effect.
“Ugh!”
As she rushed at him, Ahn Yoon-seung, who was running away, hurriedly turned around to avoid being grabbed from the back.
This is what the worker was aiming for.
The overseas Awakened would pretend to attack the opponent’s lower body, and then quickly release something hidden in his hand when his shield was facing downwards.
Silver particles of unknown origin.
This was none other than the dagger powder of the [Screaming Stake]. They ground up the pain-inducing part of the unique item and threw the powder at their opponents.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Yoon Seung-ah!”
And then a scream erupts.
Additionally, the several cylinders that Alay threw before entering were status-inducing items with their own effects.
Sleep. Paralysis.
Confusion. Reality.
This is the second lubrication method that even the torturers of the Nachal Temple could not figure out.
In fact, the Awakened ones of this world tend to have their status defenses plummet when exposed to multiple negative effects at the same time.
“Ugh, ugh… … ?!”
Not long after, a Korean hunter named Ahn Yoon-seung suddenly gets down on one knee.
In this way, psychic attacks were a threatening force.
Even though he is a defensive hunter and has a stronger body than others, he can be easily subdued by just breaking through the side path once.
‘Okay.’
Only when Ahn Yoon-seung becomes incapacitated does the person hiding behind him begin to close the distance.
The male members of this foreign awakening team had unique abilities.
You can force others into a fantasy world and torment them to your heart’s content as if they were in a lucid dream with an owner.
【Invitation to Dreams】
In this place, it is called a superpower.
No matter how strong your real-life opponent is, once you enter that fictional space, it’s over.
He was truly a god, at least in the spiritual world he created with his own magic.
‘It’s impossible to drive someone to shock, but there’s a high chance that you can knock them out.’
The unknown man pours his magical power towards the target.
The target is a blonde Korean.
Even now, Ahn Yoon-seung is constantly threatened by his colleagues, so Korea’s fourth S-class will not be able to run away even for the sake of worrying about his close acquaintance.
Then, this side just had to repeat the fighting gesture to increase the exposure time of the abnormal status cylinder.
That was the plan to break down that S-class’s resistance.
‘uh?’
What on earth is going on?
The moment his eyes met with the blond man’s, the sorcerer who activated the skill felt a dizzying sensation as if his consciousness was being sucked away somewhere.
Amazingly, the mental penetration was successful in just a few seconds.
As if I attacked a weakling of the F class!
***
A white space with nothing in it.
One Awakened being, whom we will call Errand Man 2 for convenience, is certain of his victory the moment he sees this pure white space.
As I said earlier, real world abilities don’t really matter here.
Even if your rank is very low, you can trample on S-rank hunters here at will.
“… … .”
The blonde Korean was looking around silently, as if he was embarrassed.
“Are you confused?”
At this time, the foreign awakener spoke his first words to his target.
“We have a lot of time here anyway, so let’s talk.”
“… … .”
“Actually, this is my first time dealing with an S-class. Anyway, I’m curious. About various topics.”
“… … .”
“If you answer well, I can give you a heads up on what you’ll be facing in the future.”
By the way, it was a request I received half out of curiosity, but I’m disappointed.
I was really nervous because he was an S-class hunter, but what is this? He succeeded in penetrating my mind without even trying.
How can the mind of a top-tier Awakened be so weak? If the S-class are only beings of this level, would it be okay to take on more related requests in the future?
And someday, when I save up a lot of money, I will build a building in Hawaii and enjoy a leisurely retirement.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Can you hear me?”
Although the two people were obviously of different nationalities, strangely enough, to Kiryeo’s ears, the other person’s language sounded like it was Korean.
It wasn’t like either of them were carrying Pixie’s translator.
The fourth S-class hunter from Korea stared intently at the Hispanic leading the conversation, and the Alai sorcerer shrugged at his gaze.
“It feels weird, doesn’t it? I don’t know what your awakening powers are, but they can’t be used here. Well, because. I don’t want them.”
The blonde answers.
“okay?”
It’s a rather short and concise word.
“Yes. Here, everything goes as I want. In here, I am an S-class hunter and a superhero, and you are an ordinary person with no powers.”
And this moment.
Suddenly, out of the pure white air, blue water droplets, like those seen in an aquarium, splashed out.
The Awakened Ones abroad have proven with this that they can create something out of nothing.
“So be careful with your words and actions… … No. It’s okay to rebel completely. It’d be fun! S-class struggles.”
A messenger who maintains a rather arrogant attitude, contrary to his timid appearance on the outside.
It had to be that way.
Because if this awakening ability worked properly, any being would immediately be brought to its knees.
A powerful force that can trample on anyone once they pass the first gate.
Now, torture the S-class hunter in front of you mentally until he passes out, then run away with your companions to complete the mission.
Exactly.
He snapped his fingers and created a torrent of water that poured down over someone’s head.
… but the reaction was a bit strange.
The blond man showed no reaction even when water was poured over his head.
So, I was just staring at you without even blinking an eyelid.
“… … ?”
I waited there for a few more seconds and soon the unthinkable happened.
The man who had been watching this side all along suddenly changed his expression.
The mouth is open and the eyes are closed. It’s as if something with only a human face is imitating the expression of laughter.
“thank you.”
What followed was also incredibly strange.
“uh?”
“You use magic in a really thoughtless way. This is a skill that draws a specific target into your mind. It’s not like you meet each other in some unknown third world.”
“what…….”
“Phew. Honestly, I was scared when I was attacked, but how did it come to be that this Awakened person came as an assassin?”
“… … .”
“Do you still not understand what I am talking about?”
I feel awkward for some reason.
The overseas awakened person frowned without realizing it, feeling an inexplicable discomfort from the other person’s tone of voice.
But Kim Ki-ryeo’s expression was still the same.
“You, the landlord, just opened the front door wide and called someone.”
Knock. Knock.
He kept smiling without any change, even as the water droplets that fell from his hair skimmed over his eyes.