chapter_0074

Chapter 72: Emerald-colored eyes

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After the final exams, the Academy entered its official summer break.

However, Si-woo’s daily life didn’t change much. He was still attending classes, but most of them ended in the morning. In the afternoons, he was devoting his time to the gate raids that the Arkineth Guild prepared for him.

The only difference was that the morning lecture hours were now freed up, allowing him to spend more time on the gate raids even during the mornings.

“It feels like it’s a bit late to think about this now.”

“Yeah?”

“Is it really okay to be in this kind of debt without a proper contract?”

Following Kang Hong-yeon’s guidance, Si-woo, who was crossing the Arkineth Guild headquarters, casually voiced a small doubt.

Even though other guild members hardly showed up at the guild, Si-woo had been there at least three or four times a week.

That wouldn’t be a problem on its own.

However, at the Arkineth Guild, Si-woo was treated like a full guild member in terms of convenience.

“They even make gate reservations for me, and they always provide potions and replace my broken weapons from the storage.”

Moreover, the distribution of settlement funds was beyond that of a typical guild member.

The rewards for clearing gates, excluding taxes, were almost entirely handed over to him.

When comparing this to Cheong Ha-rin, who only received 70% of the reward despite raiding the same gates, it made him question whether it was right.

“If I had signed a separate contract, it would be one thing, but I’m not even a contracted member.”

“Honestly, we’re practically giving away stuff like a charity.”

“May I ask why you’re doing this?”

“It’s not something special. In exchange for making things easier for you, we’re also getting something in return.”

“Getting something in return?”

Not understanding the answer, Si-woo was handed a piece of paper by Kang Hong-yeon, who had pulled it out of subspace.

The content written on the paper was the title of Kang Hong-yeon’s recently updated research paper.

Upon reading the titles of papers related to demons and engravings, Si-woo nodded, as if he understood.

“So, that’s why Cheong Ha-rin Hunter sometimes rummages through demon corpses.”

“Correct. I heard from Cheong Ha-rin that the demons killed by your techniques seem to die more agonizingly.”

“To me, they didn’t seem much different from how other monsters died.”

“That’s what’s strange.”

Unlike other monsters, demons accept death with indifference.

It’s not that they don’t feel pain.

Demons scream in agony when they’re hurt, show discomfort when they’re wounded, and even express animosity toward their enemies.

They’re hot-headed enough that provocation works on them, and unlike the disciplined mental training of those who only rush at humans, they’re unpredictable and volatile.

Those demons, when facing death, accepted it as calmly as humans who had attained enlightenment.

“But the demons that fell to your technique were an exception. They screamed until the very last moment, didn’t they?”

Even if they were sliced by a sword, burned, or shattered into pieces by magic, demons rarely screamed in pain.

They might scream in surprise, but never out of pain.

It was more of a realization like, “Ah, I’m dead.”

Pain certainly existed, but demons remained remarkably composed in the face of death’s agony.

“But the demons affected by your technique, they let out terrible screams in their final moments.”

It was the same death.

Even demons born in the same gate met different ends depending on whose hands they died by.

“So, I’ve been focusing on writing papers about the differences between demons killed by your hands and those killed by other hunters. I would really like to research your engraving more thoroughly, but…”

“When I have time, I’ll help you out. It’s summer vacation, after all.”

“Thanks, that’d be great. After all, you can’t just keep receiving without giving something back, right?”

Smiling as if it were his good fortune, Kang Hong-yeon left Si-woo to review the titles of the papers.

Si-woo had a small question as he glanced over the papers.

“By the way, can you really write this many papers in just a month?”

“Oh, this isn’t the final paper yet. Some of them are still just drafts, and the others… the graduate students haven’t finished repeating the experiments to confirm that the results are consistent. It’ll still be a while before everything is complete.”

“Even so, isn’t the number too large?”

“It’s a bit much, yeah. It’s been a while since I haven’t had a single nap for an entire month.”

Si-woo blinked, processing the information.

No matter how strong a hunter’s body is compared to a regular person, that wasn’t normal.

Even if his body could hold up, going without sleep for an entire month would be unbearable mentally.

It wouldn’t be strange for someone to lose their sanity as if a film had been cut in the midst of a mundane daily life.

“U-uh… how are you still functioning?”

“Ah, thanks to the engraving effect, as long as I have mana, I can reset my mental state every day. It’s like a divine revelation that urges me to research just one second longer.”

“Even so, aren’t there side effects?”

“Well, as long as I get the proper nutrients, there’s really no problem. Well, I don’t have any issues, but the grad students working with me do seem to be struggling a bit more.”

“Uh… well…”

Maybe it’s time to take a moment to honor the grad students, even if just mentally.

“By the way, Hunter Kang Hong-yeon, you were a professor too?”

“Yeah, I was supposed to take the position of a research lab director originally. But the researchers just didn’t seem to have the drive.”

Why do I feel like my head is spinning more every time I hear him talk?

“Grad students might not have as much knowledge, but they’re more driven than researchers, and if you pay them well, they’ll work hard.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be more efficient to have researchers handle things?”

“I handle all the important research myself. To be precise, if it’s not something I’m doing, it just doesn’t feel right.”

Kang Hong-yeon’s grad students weren’t responsible for research.

They were responsible for repetitive tasks. In simple terms, they were like slaves for manual labor.

“But at least I pay them well. I only hire Awakened individuals who can manage with just 1 or 2 hours of sleep a week.”

“Isn’t that a violation of labor laws?”

“Labor laws for regular people and labor laws for hunters are different.”

“But there’s no such thing as a hunter-specific labor law.”

“Exactly what I’m saying.”

As long as the law hasn’t been established, it’s not a crime, right?

I was certain of one thing.

This person was someone I should never get too close to, even more than Yoon Ga-eun.

No, as a person, he was actually a great guy.

But as a superior… he was absolutely the worst!!

“You don’t have to worry about being kidnapped.”

“… You’re sure about that?”

“Of course. It would be inefficient. Your role is to gather samples and find research material.”

It was supposed to be a reassurance, but for some reason, it felt like he was saying, “Once you’ve served your purpose, I’ll kidnap you as a slave.”

‘It’s just my imagination… right?’

It had to be my imagination. It definitely was.

After a long time, a chill ran up Siwoo’s arm.

“In that sense, I’ll be relying on you for the gate raid today.”

“Yes, if it’s something like that, leave it to me.”

“This gate will be quite different from the ones we’ve raided so far.”

“Is it a raid for a gate with normal monsters instead of demons?”

“There’s no way that’s the case. I can’t waste talent like yours on a regular gate raid.”

So, what kind of gate raid could it be?

Kang Hong-yeon reached into the pocket space again.

Pulling out a piece of paper, Kang Hong-yeon began explaining the gate they would raid next.

“The danger level is B-grade. The name is the Gladiator’s Arena.”

“The Gladiator’s Arena?”

The gate’s name didn’t seem to have any connection to demons.

Demons aren’t particularly weak in hand-to-hand combat, but it’s not something they prefer.

“There’s only one monster that appears. Just the gladiator.”

“Such gates exist?”

“It’s a bit special. It appears very rarely. There are gates where no minions are needed, just a combat enthusiast who focuses solely on fighting humans.”

“So, does that mean this demon has intelligence?”

“Seems like it. The demon doesn’t have the typical magical proficiency, and it only fights using weapons and hand-to-hand combat. With such a format, hunters might even wish for a bare-knuckle fight…”

“Well, we can always refuse if that’s the case.”

To Siwoo’s surprise, Kang Hong-yeon gave a firm answer.

With a sense of caution, Kang Hong-yeon slowly turned his head.

“Demon’s words? There’s nothing to listen to there.”

“…Is this the symptom?”

Siwoo remembered what he had heard from Cheong Harin.

“Kang Siwoo Hunter is usually calm. Until he enters a fight, he doesn’t show his emotions, not even a little, almost to the extent that he’s on par with me.”

But from the moment emerald light seeped into his eyes…

“Right? Kang Hong-yeon Hunter.”

‘People change.’

It was as if someone entirely different had taken over his body.