Chapter 1098: Side Story – How to Distinguish Between Different Races and Monsters (2)

What are the criteria for distinguishing non-human races from monsters?

For starters, the only races permitted by legal standards are elves, dwarves, and the Dragonblood Race.

Races that pose little danger to humans, resemble humans in appearance, or can create similar forms.

Having at least basic intelligence sufficient to converse with humans, and whether the ‘females’ of that race can use Awakening abilities or not, also serves as a criterion for judgment.

Regardless, being able to use Awakening abilities implies they are human. Perhaps, logic like this has gradually accumulated over many long years, establishing the method for distinguishing ‘non-human races’ from ‘monsters’.

Even races that can create forms similar to humans, like demons who are dangerous to humans, are classified as monsters, while elves, dwarves, and the Dragonblood Race, who pose no danger to humans and resemble them, are considered non-human races.

…And naturally, all undead-type races are treated as monsters. Even if they are a race capable of conversing with humans.

“Well, it is a situation that could certainly be misunderstood.”

“A misunderstanding? No matter how I look at it, what I’m thinking seems to be the correct conclusion.”

“…Strictly speaking, although I am classified as a monster, I’m not truly one. It’s not like I was born in a dungeon or anything; the place where I was born is undeniably South Korea.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes…”

Min Hyunyoung, holding her detached arm in her right hand, fidgeted nervously, watching my reaction.

The situation had completely reversed, making it hard to believe this was the same person who, just a little while ago, was debating whether to kick me out or not.

The fact that a legendary Rank-S Hunter, once a member of the Destruction Trio, was actually an undead-type monster! It was such a major incident, more than suitable for an international headline, far beyond a simple news story.

The moment I said anything wrong or went out and spoke, Min Hyunyoung would immediately be treated as a monster and become a target for extermination. Regardless of whether she had a human appearance, could converse with humans, or posed little danger – to the point where her arm could fall off just from opening and closing a door.

“A zombie…? Considering that, you don’t seem to have undergone much decay.”

“Ah, no. I’m not a zombie. And, um, just so you don’t misunderstand, my mother is human.”

“Are you referring to the mother who directly gave birth to you, Min Hyunyoung-ssi?”

“The mother who gave birth to me is human, and the mother who made me this way is also human. If I were to explain everything, it seems like it might take a while… would that be alright?”

“Very well. I’ve always wanted to have a long conversation with you, Min Hyunyoung-ssi.”

I don’t know if I’m being too unwary, but still, for now, I judge her right in front of me to be a ‘non-human race’.

For one thing, her appearance is so indistinguishable that anyone would take her for human. Besides, she’s a legendary hunter who had countless monster subjugations under her belt during her Rank-S Hunter days.

The impression still etched in my mind is stronger for ‘Rank-S Hunter Blue Bullet Min Hyunyoung’ than for ‘Undead Monster Min Hyunyoung’.

“Th-then, before that, could you avert your gaze for a moment?”

“Why?”

“I-I don’t mean anything weird by this! Well, I just need to reattach my arm for a moment…”

“Ah…”

“It’s probably a bit… grotesque, isn’t it? I figured you wouldn’t want to see a severed arm reattaching itself…”

From Min Hyunyoung’s perspective, it was a suggestion made out of consideration for me, but to be honest, I still couldn’t dismiss my suspicion towards her.

There was always the possibility that she might try to harm me, who had learned her secret, while I looked away.

And if she wasn’t a zombie, then what exactly was Min Hyunyoung’s race? That was also a question. After all, zombies don’t have the regenerative power to reattach severed limbs.

“I’ll watch.”

“What?”

“I will confirm with my own two eyes whether Min Hyunyoung-ssi is truly another ‘non-human race’ and not a zombie.”

“Ah… alright. If you put it that way.”

Min Hyunyoung nodded her head with a soft sigh, as if she understood what I meant.

Taking off the hood she had been wearing the whole time and carefully removing her inner top revealed a flat, small chest beneath.

It might be rude to be thinking this upon first meeting, but her chest was small enough that I could guess the reason she didn’t wear a bra.

“I don’t wear bras because they put a strain on my body.”

“…”

Min Hyunyoung volunteered the information first, making an embarrassed confession, though I hadn’t specifically asked.

As a man, my eyes were naturally drawn to her chest first, but what actually caught my attention more were several ‘seam marks’ visible on her upper body.

They looked like stitch marks, like the torn parts of a stuffed doll sewn up with thread. Several such marks were visible on her upper body alone.

And Min Hyunyoung’s left arm, the one that had fallen off in front of the gate just moments ago. Earlier, I was too startled to examine it properly, but upon checking again, the cut surface was quite clean.

Rather than tearing from being unable to withstand force, it felt more like a pre-existing weak point had cleanly detached.

-Slap.

“…”

“…”

Min Hyunyoung pressed that severed area against her right shoulder socket, meticulously sewing it back together with something like thread.

Her hands moved skillfully and naturally, as if she had done this many times before.

Whether she didn’t feel the pain of the needle entering her body, or was just enduring it because I was there, was unclear.

Even while watching continuously, it was difficult to perfectly define who she was.

Even among non-human races and monsters, there was no established classification for something like her kind.

-Drip drip.

“Nngh…”

“…”

…Was that holy water she just sprinkled?

Judging by the faint sense of divine power I felt, it certainly seemed like it.

Wouldn’t holy water actually be fatal to an undead-type monster?

However, contrary to my expectations, where the holy water was sprinkled, flesh began to grow little by little, enveloping the unstably sewn shoulder area.

It was just like the healing process when a normal person sprinkles holy water on a wound.

Her body was regenerating instead of disappearing. This alone couldn’t perfectly prove she wasn’t an undead-type monster, but regardless, my wariness eased slightly thanks to it.

After that, she slightly rotated her reattached left arm and clenched and unclenched her fingers, checking if it had attached properly.

Once Min Hyunyoung, having reattached her arm, finished dressing again, she resumed the story she was telling earlier.

“As I mentioned earlier, first of all, I have two mothers.”

“Yes.”

“They aren’t like a biological mother or adoptive mother. Both are my biological mothers. Although only one is my birth mother.”

“…”

“First off, both of my mothers were Hunters.”

After that, a somewhat long explanation of Min Hyunyoung’s background followed. It told how both of her mothers were Hunters who had worked in the same party during their active days.

One was a close-combat tanker, and the other was a healing-type Hunter who entered dungeons with her, directly using healing abilities.

And it was common for same-sex love to blossom when women worked together exclusively in dungeons, and after retirement, they essentially became common-law partners living together.

Up to this point, it wasn’t actually an unusual case. When female Hunters started entering dungeons together frequently, it became common for them to develop feelings for each other.

I even know of a case like Cheon Jihee among people close to me right now.

“They said they were active for quite a long time. Probably active until around age thirty. Then, the mother… more precisely, the mother who was the close-combat fighter started finding it a bit taxing and retired.”

“Seeing as they hunted until age thirty, they were quite active for a long time.”

“Yes. After that, the mother who was the healer supported them by treating Hunters’ injuries. I was probably conceived around that time. Both of them wanted to have a child, but since women couldn’t conceive children together, they inevitably had to use a surrogate father.”

“Since the healer mother would lose her Awakening abilities if she became pregnant, naturally, the fighter mother became pregnant with me.”

“…”

“Both were precious to me. Although I didn’t share blood with the healer mother, she truly treated me like her own daughter. As for my birth mother, there’s no need to even mention it.”

“In its own way, I think it was an ideal family structure. I respect that.”

As if her upbringing wasn’t particularly important, she calmly continued the conversation, beginning the main story about how she became a ‘non-human race’.

“The reason I became this way was due to an incident that happened around the age of twenty, perhaps a decade or so ago.

That day too was an outing day with my two mothers.

It was the weekend, and the weather was nice, so the suggestion came up to go to an amusement park together for the first time in a while. After a long time, we went to a theme park in Chuncheon City.”

“…”

…A decade or so ago. Chuncheon City theme park.

It was a story that hinted at something I suspected, but for now, I quietly waited for her next words.

“And, of all days, it happened on the very day we went.”

“…You mean the Chuncheon City Monster Gate incident.”

“Yes. It’s still a famous story, so you know it well.”

…Of course, I couldn’t help but know it well. Famous or not, I was one of the people involved back then.

It was the moment I discovered a commonality between her and me at an unexpected point.