Ch. 60 - Chapter 60

"What?"

A roar, brimming with Aether, echoed through the sky of Haebang Neighborhood.

Gu Gyeon, who arrived at the scene with Maria.

Right after receiving the report from the third squad leader of the Glory Guild, his face hardened.

"A hunter who went out for the search has gone missing... Is that even a proper report?"

"My apologies for having to say this... but yes, that's correct."

Once you've gotten on Gu Gyeon's bad side, any chance at a promotion becomes a distant dream.

His performance evaluations were notorious for being merciless.

The third squad leader of the Glory Guild probably wished he could have delivered a different report if it were at all possible.

However, the fact that the hunter he had sent out on patrol had vanished was a stark reality.

C-Rank Healer Jo Jinchan.

One of the hunters dispatched under the search order to find Yoo Jiwon had disappeared without a trace.

"I heard there have been incidents of disappearances reported around the Haebang Neighborhood..."

Though Gu Gyeon usually sided with Maria, this time he shook his head.

“Is this the same as an ordinary missing person case? Even if there were human traffickers involved, how could a Hunter fall victim to common people?”

“That’s true, but…”

"Where was the last confirmed location? There must have been a GPS signal sent from his device."

Under the sharp pressure of Gu Gyeon's questioning, the third squad leader answered while sweating profusely.

"It was right near here. An explosive Aether reaction occurred in this area once and then disappeared."

"Goddammit..."

Gu Gyeon spat out a harsh curse.

He had issued an order to his guild members, ‘If you spot an Aether reaction while patrolling, confirm if it’s Yoo Jiwon’.

A hunter who has entered a berserk stage cannot conceal their own Aether.

But what if.

What if Yoo Jiwon was capable of hiding his Aether?

Then the search operation Gu Gyeon had ordered would become a ‘failed order’ from the very start.

'But how...?’

Throughout his career as a hunter, Gu Gyeon had often witnessed hunters who fell into a state of 'berserk.'

A hunter in a rampage state is more unstable than any other human.

Like a walking time bomb, they constantly emit Aether, causing disturbances to their surroundings.

He had never experienced a 'berserk' quite like this before.

Even if Yoo Jiwon was capable of doing it, questions still remained.

How could someone who was rated as a mere 'E' rank, and who had been a healer, have been able to subdue Jo Jinchan?

Gu Gyeon felt as if he had been dropped into a complex maze.

Beep beep.

"What is it?"

The third squad leader received a radio report from someone.

Even while receiving the report, he kept rolling his eyes, carefully gauging Gu Gyeon's reaction.

The expression on the 3rd squad leader's face, who was receiving the report with great tension, suddenly crumpled.

"What's the big deal if another hunter shows up? Are we the only ones allowed to be here?"

However, the name of the 'other hunter' was someone that the third squad leader, Gu Gyeon, and Maria found surprising.

"Chun... Haesun?"

"?!"

Why was Chun Haesun here?

Gu Gyeon and Maria exchanged looks.

"Chairman Gu. According to the report, Chun Haesun is moving toward an abandoned building near 57th street of Haebang Neighborhood.”

Haebang Neighborhood was a fairly large administrative area for being a ‘neighborhood’.

57th street was a zone located more than 5 kilometers away in a straight line from here.

Considering that Jo Jinchan's radio transmission had been cut off there, it wasn't a particularly relevant location.

However, Gu Gyeon's intuition kept nagging him.

There might be something at Chun Haesun's side.

That thought tickled at the back of Gu Gyeon's mind.

"Chairman. Let's go check it out as well.”

It seemed Maria felt the same way as him.

The two nodded at each other and swiftly moved their bodies.

***

“…….”

I almost couldn’t recognize him.

Because that ‘thing’ before my eyes looked more like a monster than a human.

But the face attached to his neck was unmistakably Yoo Jiwon's.

Even though it was distorted and twisted, it was exactly the same face that had looked down on me during the Hunter Qualification Test.

-Kreek.

Yoo Jiwon's facial muscles twisted violently.

Dude.

If you react like that, it makes me look like the bad guy.

He even began trembling as if he’d witnessed a mortal enemy.

I was also shocked to witness his gruesome state.

Yoo Jiwon had simply been unlucky, but he was originally quite a handsome and well-built man.

Now, however, he was anything but handsome; he was downright repulsive.

His body, now twice as large, was asymmetrical, covered in grotesque fur,, and with his ugly, hunched back, it was impossible to call him ‘human’ anymore.

To think he devoured people while looking like that.

If my sister or Bisu had seen this, they would have fainted on the spot.

Tthuck.

Clang.

Something bounced out from inside his mouth.

A small, golden object gleaming under the moonlight.

"That is…?"

It was the Glory Guild’s badge.

A badge exclusively for healers, designed to allow quick identification of one's role during combat.

So.

Does that mean the guy he just devoured was a hunter?

Swoosh.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Yoo Jiwon.

There was nothing about this that matched what I knew of 'berserk.’

After hearing the news of Yoo Jiwon's accident, I read every piece of material related to 'berserks'.

Not only the officially published materials from the Association but also classified documents.

However, in none of those documents was there any mention of a body transforming into something so grotesque or devouring people.

In short, this was a type I had never seen before in my life.

[Yoo Jiwon.]

V1 was similarly lacking in data.

Aside from the three letters of his name, not a single piece of information was displayed.

Who are you?

Why do you look like that?

Chu-ak—

Suddenly, Yoo Jiwon vanished.

Just as I was thinking that he might have sunk into the ground crossed my mind, a sharp pain pierced through my back.

Crack.

"Ugh...!"

I reflexively struck at the face and stepped back.

I thought only his appearance had become monstrous, but his actions were no different either.

‘By the way... what was that movement just now?'

I've encountered many high-difficulty monsters.

There were even some that moved incredibly fast.

However, I could usually keep up with their movements.

That's because I possessed 'Poison Steps,' a level of agility one level higher than my current physical level.

Whoosh-

Once again, he vanished, leaving only an afterimage, and I leaped upward, recalling my previous experience.

"Ugh...!”

But this time too, his teeth clamped down on my ankle.

Does physical ability develop this much when one falls into a 'berserk' state?

I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but I had to acknowledge one fact.

That the current Yoo Jiwon was faster than a 'C'-rank hunter, no, faster than 'Poison Steps'.

‘It's fortunate that his attack pattern is simple.’

There was a sharp pain, but that was all. There was no special external injury.

That's because after absorbing the core of the Giant Treasure’s, I gained the ability ‘Body Protection’.

Unless his physical attacks reached S-rank level, it was impossible for him to inflict any wounds on my body.

What was surprising was his attack pattern.

It was as if he believed that just one bite was enough to end it, putting all his focus solely on clinging to my body.

Much like my past self when I wielded Exa.

‘Could it be...?'

A strange smell spread throughout the abandoned building area.

Could it be that he also manifested monster poison?

Though it seemed impossible, the creature before my eyes had long since strayed far beyond the realm of common sense.

Moreover, if it was monster poison, then the recent disappearances would make some sense.

After all, once someone was bitten like this, they would lose consciousness without even being able to put up much resistance.

Of course, in the presence of 'Poisoner,' the king of poisons, any other toxin is...

Stagger.

"?!"

It was effective.

Not enough to make me lose consciousness, but I had to endure a slight dizziness.

That was truly something hard to believe.

To cause a change in my body that remained unscathed even after suffering fatal injuries from boss monsters. [Warning: Abnormal status. An unidentified substance is infiltrating the user's body. Damage rate 0.3%]

‘...This confirms it.'

While focusing on Yoo Jiwon's movements, I organized my thoughts.

That wasn't a simple berserk.

It shared not a single similarity with the known 'berserk' recorded by the Hunter Association.

However, the process that occurred when the research center was blown up was typical of the Aether release caused by a ‘berserk'.

That left the following conclusion.

‘After the berserk, there was a ‘plus alpha’.’

At the moment, there was no way to confirm what that ‘plus alpha’ is.

After all, it was impossible to have a ‘conversation’ with Yoo Jiwon, who chewed people down to the bone.

What I had to do right now was neutralize the monster in front of me.

Should I summon the Red Venomous Viper and crush him?

However, it was uncertain whether such precise strikes were possible against a creature faster than 'Poison Steps.'

What I've learned from my training so far is that Red Venomous Viper wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

If the target stands still, it unleashes cruelly brutal physical attacks, but if the target moves quickly, there's a high chance it'll just pointlessly demolish buildings instead.

Rustle.

A faint haze bloomed from the palm of my hand.

My control over Aether wasn't quite smooth yet.

But what if I tried this method?

Swish.

Yoo Jiwon leaped toward me once again.

By the third time, it had become somewhat familiar, but moving to dodge was still impossible.

It seemed like he was getting really annoyed that I wasn't going down.

Don't get so worked up.

Since I became the Poisoner, you're the first one to cause even a minor 'abnormal status.’

I deliberately extended my right arm forward.

If the ‘strike’ itself was the goal, nothing makes for better prey than a protruding part of the body.

Clamp.

Just as expected, Yoo Jiwon swallowed my hand whole.

‘I’m scared I'm gonna have nightmares about it.’

Seeing him struggling to swallow my hand made my expression twist involuntarily.

The teeth, several times larger, were trying to gnaw at my arm, but only minor scratches remained.

Stagger.

Again.

As Yoo Jiwon bit into my body, dizziness made my head spin.

[Warning: Abnormal status. Damage rate 0.1%]

But I would develop immunity even to this.

It seemed like I was recovering faster than before.

Truly, the nickname 'King of Poisons' seemed to be well-deserved.

"Hey."

-Kreek.

"You've been unlucky since the first time we met."

-?

Fwoosh.

From within the hand he swallowed, a haze bloomed.

Flames that emanated Black Aether in the form of Psychokinesis.

The so-called 'Poison Flame.’

It fundamentally operated on the same principle as the Aether energy emitted by Espers.

If there was any difference, it would be the sheer destructive power of the energy itself.

The Black Aether erupting from my palm raced through the creature's neck and exploded from within.

Puhbububububuck!

-Kiyyaaaaaaaaak!

He probably thought he had bitten me, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.

Rather, he was the one who opened his mouth wide, allowing me to plant a bomb inside his body.

Despite the tenacious grip with which he had clamped onto my arm, a single strike of 'Poison Flame' sent him crashing into the opposite wall.

Bang!!!

"Phew.”

The nauseating scent of scorched flesh stimulated my sense of smell.

Yoo Jiwon’s body was blown up beyond recognition into scattered pieces.

Well, his original form wasn't what you’d call normal to begin with.

Torn corpses, and the remains of missing people.

This space truly deserved to be called a hellscape.

Swish.

Even the minor wounds were healing naturally.

Before I knew it, the abnormal status alerts from V1 had also disappeared.

External physical attacks were guarded by the 'Body Protection,' while psychokinetic energy and monster poison were blocked by 'Black Ather', it was like walking around as an impregnable fortress.

An 'S'-rank healer who doesn't take damage.

This in itself felt like a cheat.

But then,

Wriggle.

"No...?”

Yoo Jiwon's face, with its limbs torn apart, twitched.

He was still breathing?

Amazingly, it wasn't just that he was breathing.

Sharrrr…

'Healing?’

That was clearly a healing ability used by hunters.

Although Yoo Jiwon was originally registered as a 'healer,' a higher-level energy was healing his torn-apart body, reattaching the pieces.

The Glory Guild badge on the floor caught my eye once again.

Surely, he wasn't trying to do something ridiculous like acquiring the abilities of the one he devoured, was he?

While I was thinking if I should attack him again, the limbs that had been torn apart violently began to reattach.

It was a grotesque sight, far from perfect, like something crudely patched together with clay.

"This recovery ability is too absurd to be called self-healing…”

It was an attack that would certainly kill a human.

No person could survive having their body torn into multiple pieces.

His healing ability far surpassed human recovery.

Just as I was inwardly clicking my tongue at his incredibly tenacious vitality,

"Chun Haesun!"

A voice called out from behind me.

A voice both familiar and, the more I heard it, increasingly annoying.

What was he doing here?

Turning my head, I saw Gu Gyeon and Maria staring at me with astonished expressions.

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