Chapter 22: Doggy things are always like shit.

The perception of an Awakened that Lee Seong-han possessed is the same as that of a “construction worker who earns a minimum wage of 3.3 million won.”

The pay is good and consistent.

You can learn specialized skills.

Your salary is never late.

If you get a job, you’re covered by the four major insurances.

They even guarantee a work-life balance to some extent!

‘But there’s no real need to do it.’

The problem is that it’s not profitable to replace it with a job where you can be comfortable with the heating on.

“Shall we get ready to leave?”

Kang Jin-young’s voice echoed from afar.

“Yes, ma’am.”

It’s not without reason that the Awakened are reluctant to hunt monsters.

Even a laborer’s job would be 100 times safer than this.

Lee Seong-han was aware of this.

Hunting sophisticated monsters that are like killing machines and risking all sorts of dangers?

It’s not an easy task.

Lee Seong-han himself had almost died several times.

It’s just that his traits are so extraordinary, it’s a tough world for ordinary people to survive in.

“Take this.And this!”

Lee Seong-han sat weakly against the wall.

He stretched his arm upwards as if to catch something.

Something large came flying towards him in an arc.A doll.

To be precise, it was a body with its head cut off.

Lee Seong-han stuffed the doll’s head into his arms as Kang Jin-young instructed.

This was the fifth one.

Unlike the previous dolls, this one’s head was split in half.

Its condition wasn’t very good.

‘This is the one I stabbed with a dagger.’

Lee Seong-han scratched his head, looking troubled.

“Take this too.”

“What are you going to use them for?”

“Evidence.I need it.Arresting an Awakened is under the jurisdiction of the Hunter Management Bureau.”

A displeased tone.

Kang Jin-young used magic to clear away the table debris.

“Stay still.”

When Lee Seong-han tried to get up, she pointed at him and threatened him sternly.

“Do you want your arm to get cut off?”

“I’ll help you.”

“If you move, your arm will get cut off~ Do you want to live as a one-armed person like these guys?”

Kang Jin-young sat down and shook the severed arm of a doll as if to show him.

[Why is he acting up?Making me nervous.Seriously.Should I just cut it off to make him come to his senses?]

Lee Seong-han made a startled face and reluctantly sat down.

“We can get out of here soon, so just wait.”

“Yes, I understand. Agen-“

“Name.”

Glare.

A fierce look.

“Yes, Jin-young.”

“That’s right.”

Her fierce demeanor softened.

Lee Seong-han sat cross-legged again.

He didn’t know how many times this had happened.

Now he had to deal with emotional labor required in the service industry.

‘Is this why I joined the army?’

No.

He was actually forced to join.

Both times he served in the military.

He was a case where his life didn’t go well because he awakened.

“My life, really.”

Honestly, he admitted that he did something dangerous.

He was reflecting on it.

“By the way, what will happen to this doll?”

Lee Seong-han pointed to the fallen Ronin Doll on the floor.

The Ronin Doll was already rotting.

A jet-black liquid, like crude oil.

It was spewing out from various wounds.

It was probably like blood to the doll.

The Ronin Doll desperately tried to cover the holes as if it wanted to live.

Of course, it failed.

The string, its lifeline, was cut.

Whether its body was torn by a sword or burned by magic, it was going to die either way.

Kang Jin-young wiped the sweat off her brow with her rolled-up sleeve and approached.

“Doesn’t it look like a real person?”

“What do you mean, a person?Seong-han, you should cut it quickly too.It’ll be a hassle if we don’t have enough.”

A cynical reply.

Lee Seong-han’s face instantly turned into that of a crying puppy.

Whoop.

Kang Jin-young raised her delicate hand to cover her smile.

[He has a cute side to him.]

While she was adjusting her clothes.

She noticed something and reached out to the floor.

“Huh?What’s this?”

“What is it?”

“A credit card…I think.Shall I try to wipe it?”

Lee Seong-han took out a handkerchief from his pocket.

He often got things dirty.

Kang Jin-young gently wiped the dirty card with the hem of her shirt.

Anyway, it was covered in all sorts of grime, so she was going to throw it away.

After wiping it, she saw that it was a hunter’s license.

It had Lee Seong-han’s name on it.

Lee Seong-han in the photo looked different from now.

He was younger and had chubby cheeks.

“Oh, he was quite handsome back then too.He had a cute side with his chubby cheeks.Did you get eyebrow tattoos?Whoop.”

“I was a bit of a rebel in Busan.”

“Oh?A bad boy.This is rare.”

The atmosphere lightened up a bit.

Although he was a little reluctant to talk about the past.

Lee Seong-han grew up in Busan.

The southernmost city in Korea.

It was one of the most prosperous areas since the gate appeared.

He started his first military service in Busan.

His family was also in Busan.

It was a town he had ties to.

“You’re making it sound like you’re rich.”

Kang Jin-young smiled softly as if nothing had happened.

Tzzzzz!

When Kang Jin-young squeezed the license, sparks flew.

“Ahhhh!”

It was similar to [Mental Barrier], but its intensity was infinitely weaker.

If [Mental Barrier] was like a million volts from a certain anime.

This spark was about ten thousand volts.

[Ah, it tingles.It tingles.]

Kang Jin-young shook her hand as if it was stinging.

“I put a security spell on it so that only Seong-han can possess it.It’s a hassle, isn’t it?Hmph.”

It was true.

[Security Magic] was difficult to remove.

It required a key, just like opening a real lock.

Using all your strength just to get a license?

It wasn’t impossible to solve, but it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The thing Kang Jin-young hated the most was inefficiency.

Kang Jin-young gestured as if to hand it over.

Lee Seong-han took the license.

A text box appeared.

[Identity confirmed.]

[Registered.]

[There are currently 2 functions available.]

[View Information]

[Take Request]

[Take Request] was empty.

Of course.

It was just registered, so it would be strange if anyone came in.

Lee Seong-han pressed [View Information].

[F-Class Hunter License]

(Registered to: Lee Seong-han)

An official license from the Hunter Association of Korea.

All hunters are classified according to their strength.

• Currently, the hunter rank is F-class.

The lowest rank in Korea.

Lee Seong-han held the license with both hands and grinned as if he was excited.

“Now I feel like I can live a little.”

“Why?”

“Because my discharge date will be shortened?I just need to submit this.”

When Kang Jin-young saw that, she cringed and said, “Ugh.”

Discharge.

She didn’t want to let go of Korea’s best talent like that.

She had to use him for a long, long time.

“Don’t be ridiculous.There must be another reason.”

“No.I’m really going to be discharged.”

His tone became cold.

As cold as ice.

No, should I just reenlist.

He could say that with confidence.

“Screw that.”

Since his reenlistment, there were only a handful of things that had gone well.

That’s how much the military was enough to make a person weary.

“You’re a perfect fit for the military.”

“Excuse me?”

“There must be another plan.Like going to your sister…”

Flick.

Sparks flew from their gazes.

“I won’t.”

“Just come to the National Intelligence Service.I’ll make sure you have a good work-life balance.”

“No.”

“Why?Just leave everything to me.”

Lee Seong-han shook his head and ignored the devil’s whispers.

The words on the surface sounded good.

[Work-life balance is good.You can work from home at my place.I’ll give you a house, let you sleep, and men have trouble sleeping because of their sexual desires.I’ll take care of your sexual desires at night.Wow, how nice is that?]

[If he’s with other women, he’ll get horny and wave his d*ck everywhere.I have to keep him in check.Should I just eat him now?He hasn’t been listening to me since earlier.Is it because his sexual desire is building up?Gulp.No, no.If I let him ripen a little more, he’ll taste even better.]

“……”

“Huh?Seong-han.Why are you looking at me like that?Like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Indeed.

He shouldn’t reveal his mind-reading ability.

He had to take it to the grave.

“You’re spacing out.Let’s get out of here.”

Lee Seong-han said calmly and pushed the doll parts to the front of the door.

Shadow magic often stores magic on specific objects.

In other words, these dolls were the axis that made up the space.

“Right.We just need to leave a few pieces of evidence.”

Kang Jin-young swept the floor with her finger.

“Flame of Purification!”

When she chanted the spell, the dolls piled up like a mountain burst into flames.

Click.

The black shackle that was blocking the door was released.

[The seal has been broken.]

[The space is being purified.]

As the flames subsided, the hinges creaked and the door opened.

There were still many shadows.

“…It’s still the same here.”

“Shadow magic is notorious for lasting a long time.Let’s get out of here quickly.”

The hallway was still submerged in shadows.

It had lightened a lot, but it was still dark.

Kang Jin-young flicked her hand.

“Lig-“

[The dark shadow digs into ‘Kang Jin-young’s’ body.]

[Mana is contaminated.]

Cough.

Kang Jin-young coughed up blood roughly.

The hand holding the door frame trembled.

Had she suffered a serious internal injury?

No.

Her legs trembled like an aspen tree from the sudden shock.

She lost her strength and collapsed to the floor.

Her complexion was pale.

“My, my body.”

“Jin-young!”

Why is this happening to her?She needs to get up and go with me!

Lee Seong-han checked her pulse.

Her veins were blue.

Mana shock.

A symptom that occurs when all the mana in the body is depleted.

To a mage, it was their second blood.

Right now, Kang Jin-young was close to a coma due to excessive bleeding.

“Soldier?”

“Major!”

A flashlight shone from afar.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that it had screwed him over.

“Soldier.Step away from him immediately.It could be a Puppeteer.”

“Excuse me?”