“What does catching Demon Beasts have to do with restoring my leg?”
I raised an eyebrow.
This was not some online game. It was not as if killing Demon Beasts would automatically grant experience and level me up.
“Ah, you did not know, Mr. Jeong? When an Awakened kills a Demon Beast, they absorb the mana it possessed.”
“Pardon?”
“The amount absorbed varies greatly depending on the Awakened's talent and the type of Demon Beast, but they absorb it nonetheless. Each time, both their physical abilities and supernatural powers grow stronger.”
After hearing the Samjeong employee, it seemed reality had become even more absurd than an online game.
“The same applies to Artificial Awakened who awakened through the Awakening Drug. This is certain, because we have observed other Artificial Awakened over the past year.”
My nausea subsided as though it had never existed.
“There was even a case in which a person who had been missing one leg since before Awakening grew a new one.”
“It grew back?”
“Yes. After killing around a thousand Orcs and Goblins and reaching D-Rank, it slowly grew back. I can say with certainty that nerves will recover.”
Five minutes was enough time to swing a sword more than a hundred times.
I was not in a state where I collapsed completely after five minutes, and if my limit would gradually increase the more I hunted, there was no reason to despair.
I recalled my days as an athlete.
Had there been an opponent I could not defeat even after facing them seriously for more than five minutes?
No one came to mind.
The number seemed manageable too.
A thousand.
It was a lot, but it did not seem like an unreachable number.
Did I not simply have to fight a thousand times?
“I understand. Thank you. I will work hard.”
I bowed deeply toward the surrounding employees.
Fencing was a gentleman's sport.
A fencer had to know how to express gratitude when something deserved thanks.
“Then let us prepare.”
“Yes.”
I immediately prepared to leave prison.
I shaved my head once more and finished showering.
When I looked in the mirror, the man I knew was standing there.
Perhaps due to the Awakening, my body was in even better condition than during my active career.
My hair was neatly cut and swept back as it had been when I competed. My features were sharp yet carried an easy smile, and my eyes shone with a soft intelligence.
“Ha, hahaha.”
Seeing that light in my eyes, I laughed again.
It was the light of hope I had missed for so long.
“Has it been four years?”
“Yes. Four years.”
“Do you not feel wronged?”
“……I will be satisfied with entering in a wheelchair and leaving on my own feet. And with the fact that I can wield a sword again.”
That day, I left the island.
The process had gone far faster than expected, so I had not even told Chae-ha the news yet.
The smartphone that had been switched off for four years would not turn on, perhaps because something had gone wrong with it.
“Could I borrow a phone for a moment?”
It was fortunate that I had memorized Chae-ha's number.
“I have a younger sister. We exchanged letters from time to time, but I could not use a phone, so she will not know about my current situation.”
“Ah, please use it as much as you like.”
Holding a smartphone again after so long felt awkward.
Then again, I had never been particularly close to electronic devices.
Chae-ha used to call me technologically hopeless.
I could not refute that.
It was not simply that I did not like machines. I truly had no talent for them.
There had been many times when I pressed this and that until a computer froze, and Coach had always helped me deal with electronic paperwork.
I jabbed at the screen with my finger and made the call.
[The number you have dialed is not in service…….]
The automated message played, then cut off.
“It does not work?”
“No. It does not.”
“That happens a lot. Many people died or were separated.”
When I looked disappointed, the officials gathered in small groups and offered various pieces of advice.
“If you received letters, you know the address, right? They give you leave after training, so you can go look for her then.”
“Ah, there is a government-run reunion website. Post your profile there and search for her.”
A reunion website.
I would have to look into it.
“Do you know where your sister works now?”
“Yes. She said she works in a non-Awakened office position at Saetbyeol Guild.”
“Then there is nothing to worry about. You will meet eventually. Or you could join Saetbyeol yourself, Mr. Jeong.”
“I heard it is a very good Guild. Would they accept someone like me?”
“Do you know how short on Hunters they are now? If your training results are good, you can go anywhere.”
I also learned about various forms of welfare available in the changed world: support for communications expenses, assistance for a replacement phone, housing support for refugees from the capital region, and more.
All of it was helpful.
***
Now that I mention it, the Ministry of Justice officials did try to frighten us.
Parole was different from a special pardon.
We had to wear electronic ankle monitors for location tracking, overseas travel was restricted, and there were various other limitations.
It did not feel like our sentences had been remitted. It felt as though the place where our sentences were carried out had simply moved outside the prison.
The Awakened Association Training Institute in southern Gyeonggi Province immediately made it clear that the Association would not treat us like mere prisoners.
“Did you take off your ankle monitor?”
“They told me I should not take it off……”
An enormous employee, obviously an Awakened, grabbed my right ankle as I got off the bus and tore off the ankle monitor as though it were tissue paper.
“Is that all right?”
“Once you are exposed to mana inside a Gate, all electronic devices break anyway. And I am sorry to say this, but…… never mind. You can enter the auditorium.”
He trailed off just as he seemed about to say something.
I shrugged and headed for the auditorium.
The training institute was luxurious enough to rival the accommodations I had used as a national athlete.
The cafeteria I passed reminded me of a hotel buffet, and the auditorium, which could hold more than a thousand people, had soft seats one by one.
Even the smartphones handed out at the auditorium entrance were the latest model.
Of course, to me, they were objects no different from bricks of similar size.
I only made sure to find the phone icon.
“Fuck! This place is fucking nice.”
“I finally feel like I can live again.”
“Fucking cells. I am never going back.”
The auditorium was already crawling with a motley crowd.
Rough-looking men exchanged conversations laced with harsh profanity all around.
“You are just who I wanted to meet, bastard! You ratted me out to the cops?”
Perhaps unable to control the strength gained after Awakening, some of them were grabbing each other by the collar in the distance.
I had often seen people like them while competing, so they did not feel particularly unfamiliar.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Rehabilitation Hunter Service Conversion Program.”
At that moment, a beam projector turned on, and someone stepped onto the stage.
“I am Hong Si-yu, Section Chief of the Policy Coordination Division in the Awakened Association's Special Cooperation Bureau.”
She was a woman in a pinstriped suit, her faintly glowing red hair cut into a blunt bob.
She was not especially large, so even though she held a microphone, she did not draw the attention of every parolee.
FWOOOOOSH!
At least, that was the case until Hong Si-yu opened her mouth wide and spewed a blazing stream of fire that reached the rear doors of the vast auditorium.
“Insane.”
The fire alarm sounded and sprinklers poured down, but no one complained.
Even I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open, replaying what had just happened.
I never thought I would see a human being breathe fire in real life.
Honestly, my heart was pounding a little.
Did that not mean I was an Awakened like her?
“Most of you gathered here were incarcerated before the Gate Opening Incident, so I will begin by briefly explaining how society has changed.”
At Hong Si-yu's words, everyone straightened up and focused.
“The person with the best attitude will receive Training Points, so listen closely. Later, you will choose your work assignments in order of highest point total.”
She smiled brightly, with a tone similar to someone promising candy to children who listened well.
Everyone would probably have focused even without that now.
“Four years ago, the first Gate Opening Incident occurred in Paju……”
Hong Si-yu used a single PPT slide to summarize the major events of the past four years.
Gates opened, Demon Beasts poured out, Seoul fell, and ten million refugees were created.
Sea Demon Beasts disrupted shipping as well, and the economy was completely ruined.
S-Rank Hunter Ban Hae-jin subjugated the major Gates, and after Samjeong Group developed the Awakening Drug and power conversion technology, conditions began to improve.
Over the issue of mandatory conscription for Awakened Hunters, Hunter Ban Hae-jin defied the government's decision and attempted a coup before negotiating with the government.
The Association and Guild systems were created, and the Magic Stone economy began.
“……And by entering Gates and hunting Demon Beasts, you will create an environment in which mining teams can safely mine Magic Stones.”
By the time she reached that point, even the most rebellious-looking parolees had become meek lambs.
An overwhelming sense of unreality surged through my entire body.
“Next are the Demon Beasts you will mainly be facing.”
Hong Si-yu changed the slide.
[Classification Name: Jack-o'-Lantern (also called Halloween, pumpkin bastard, and so on in the field)]
[Classification Rank: C]
[Species: Plant-Type, Erosion-Type]
On the slide was a monster resembling a pumpkin vine.
Inside its head, which resembled a Halloween pumpkin, flames burned. Beneath it was a half-human, half-beast body made of vine stems.
Murmurs rose from all around.
Some people even laughed, apparently thinking it looked ridiculous.
I had doubts too.
What sort of life-form was that, some kind of something-or-other Brain Nut?
“Its name is Jack-o'-Lantern. But you will probably call it pumpkin bastard more often, so just remember it that way. It is the most common Demon Beast after Goblins, so you will see it often.”
Hong Si-yu did not laugh.
“Jack-o'-Lanterns are not especially powerful Demon Beasts, but the Authority they wield is the problem.”
Her tone gradually grew more heated.
“This pumpkin bastard absorbs flames. If heat above a certain temperature occurs within a certain range, it immediately absorbs it. Yes. That means you cannot fire guns.”
Hearing that, I understood why the military had been pushed back so easily.
Guns were stronger than people thought.
Even I, who had been called the Greatest Swordsman Under Heaven, ended up in a wheelchair after one revolver shot.
“Most Demon Beasts die when shot. But if even one of these bastards is mixed in with them, you cannot fire guns. Awakened Hunters have to use their abilities or swing swords and kill this bastard first.”
But that Demon Beast made guns unusable.
“The problem is that this pumpkin bastard is difficult to kill even if you can use guns. Its body is as hard as an old tree, it is over three meters tall, and there are other Demon Beasts around it. If it has already absorbed heat, it can attack by breathing fire too.”
After beginning with “So,” Hong Si-yu continued.
“A great many lower- and mid-rank Hunters at C-Rank and below, along with Artificial Awakened, have died. As a result, there were no applicants, so we had to bring in even people like you. We may be your benefactors.”
Now I understood why the facilities and food here were so good.
It seemed to be something like a last supper.
Hong Si-yu said “So,” once more and changed the slide.
“You need to practice cold weapons. Great swords, axes, spears, longswords, Japanese swords, fencing—anything is fine.”
All kinds of bladed weapons appeared.
“You must first cut this bastard down so that the Non-Awakened Hunters behind you can shoot and kill Goblins, Orcs, and those spider bastards.”
Fencing sword. Japanese sword. Longsword. Korean saber. Cavalry saber.
“If any of you have martial-arts rank certificates, write them down when you fill out the application later. You will receive additional points. Ah, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and judo do not count. That thing has thorns on its body, so hitting it will only hurt your fists, and its arms are vine tentacles, so you cannot even break them.”
I had handled all of those weapons.
“No, first, let us have a show of hands. Does anyone here have a kendo rank or something similar? I will give plenty of Training Points.”
At that moment, Hong Si-yu asked us a question.
“I do.”
“I have one too.”
Hands rose here and there.
“I have several.”
I raised my hand without hesitation too.
I did not know precisely where or how the points would be used, but since they were being offered, it would be good to receive them.
I also sensed from Hong Si-yu's tone that she did not view this Rehabilitation Hunter Service Conversion Program particularly favorably.
It felt as though they needed Magic Stones, so they were dragging in even people like us to use.
They did not seem likely to value our lives.
But I was not the same kind of inmate as the rest.
“I am Kim Gang-o. I was the action leader of the Scorpion Gang. I have third-dan kendo.”
Most of the people who raised their hands were like that.
They had trained in sports, gone down dirty paths, and used what they had learned for dirty purposes.
“All right. Understood.”
Hong Si-yu's expression was not good either.
“That person over there is…… Huh?”
She pointed at me and looked uncertain.
“I am Jeong Jae-ha. I am an Olympic fencing gold medalist. I have also won multiple international competitions.”
I gave Hong Si-yu the answer she wanted to hear.
“Fencer Jeong?!”
***
“I heard he entered the training institute. Congratulations. He really succeeded.”
In a darkened room.
A one-armed man and a silver-haired woman spoke.
“I told you he would succeed. He is strong. Stronger than anyone I have ever known.”
“So, are you going to see him?”
“You are joking, right? I do not want to end up in prison with you.”
“You waited four years. Normally, you might have been able to see him in the second year. You made half of this happen yourself, yet you still could not believe in him?”
“With a fifty-percent mortality rate, the Awakening Drug is closer to poison. I could not give that to Oppa.”
“Anyway, you have worked hard. Thanks to you, version 2.0 came out well.”
“Are you only saying that?”
The one-armed man smiled leisurely, and the silver-haired woman gave a frivolous laugh.
“Of course I will reward you generously. Gold, cash, Magic Stones—name whatever you want.”
“Today is the day Saetbyeol's warehouse gets cleaned out. The Boss Has Gone Crazy.”
“I have gone crazy…… But are you really sure you do not want to go see him?”
“I prepared myself to wait ten years.”
“…….”
“I can wait a little longer.”
As though yearning for something, she slowly curled and uncurled the fingers covered by a metal glove.
“I also believe that Oppa will definitely climb this far.”
“To the top of the world?”
“These days, you like experienced hires. Someone who has stood there once.”