After being hit once, Kang Yujun finally snapped back to his senses. He turned toward the monster and spread out a curtain of water.
Meanwhile, white steam rose from Lee Kanghyun’s wound.
Bone and flesh rapidly regenerated in the blink of an eye, and in an instant his arm returned to its original state without even a scar.
This was Lee Kanghyun’s Ability.
Lee Kanghyun’s body exceeded normal standards in every aspect. Within that transcendent physical capability was absolute regeneration.
His body regenerated so quickly that he did not even need a healer or potions.
Even so, the pain did not disappear.
Lee Kanghyun clenched and opened his regenerated left hand. The arm had already grown back, but it still throbbed. The pain remained. It felt like his nerves were burning.
He shoved his hand into his pants pocket and rummaged around. His fingertips caught on a small patch about the size of a coin. He tore open the packaging roughly, then without even thinking about the fact that it was supposed to be applied to his skin, shoved it into his mouth.
The disgusting taste made his eyes water, but he stubbornly chewed and swallowed the thing that barely broke apart.
Altrafin.
An illegal drug that appeared after gates opened to the world. The most powerful painkiller currently in existence.
Altrafin was developed for high-ranking Hunters whose bodies were resistant to ordinary medication. However, its side effects were just as severe, and almost nobody used it unless they were out of their minds. The government soon banned its distribution and use.
But Lee Kanghyun still took Altrafin.
He had no choice. Other painkillers did not work on him.
Since he had even chewed and swallowed a medication meant to be applied externally, the effects took hold quickly. Lee Kanghyun stood still with his eyes closed, waiting for the drug to spread throughout his body.
“Ha…”
He exhaled lazily.
The pain gradually faded. His senses became dull.
It felt like someone was shouting something, but he could not process it.
At that moment, something forcefully shoved Lee Kanghyun.
Having been standing there without strength in his body, he rolled across the ground.
“Fuck, wake up! Lee Kanghyun!”
Someone climbed on top of the fallen Lee Kanghyun and shook his shoulders.
Only then did Lee Kanghyun blink.
“…Kang Yujun?”
It was Kang Yujun.
His usual neat appearance was nowhere to be found.
A dirt-covered face, messy hair, and bloodshot eyes filled Lee Kanghyun’s vision.
“Do you want to die?! Why were you just standing there?! Do you think this is the time to space out?”
Kang Yujun screamed so loudly it felt like his eardrums would burst.
Even through the haze caused by the drug, that desperate voice brought Lee Kanghyun back to his senses.
He slowly sat up.
The surroundings were a disaster. The monster’s black tentacles were thrashing everywhere.
It seemed that the tentacle flying toward him while he stood there blankly had been blocked by Kang Yujun throwing himself in the way.
Because of that, his left shoulder had been deeply cut and blood was flowing.
“You’re bleeding…”
“Is that what matters right now? You almost died!”
Breathing roughly, Kang Yujun grabbed Lee Kanghyun’s shoulder.
“Your arm? Are you okay?”
Kang Yujun carefully examined his arm with trembling hands before stopping.
Lee Kanghyun silently showed him the regenerated arm.
It was smooth and flawless, without even a scar.
Kang Yujun’s eyes widened.
Still filled with disbelief and anxiety, he grabbed Lee Kanghyun’s arm and examined it from every angle.
Just moments ago, it had melted from the poison.
But now it was completely fine, without even a scratch.
For Kang Yujun’s sake, since he still did not know about his Ability, Lee Kanghyun kindly explained.
“One of my abilities. Regeneration. An arm can be restored instantly.”
Even then, Kang Yujun’s hands continued trembling slightly.
It seemed he still could not get over the shock of watching an arm melt away right in front of him.
“I’m not going to die from something like that.”
It was true.
Physical attacks like this only hurt a little. They did not cause any serious damage.
Because it would regenerate anyway.
“Even if I lose an arm or a leg, it’ll come back in one second. Even if my heart explodes, it grows back. So stop making such a fuss.”
At Lee Kanghyun’s calm voice, Kang Yujun suddenly raised his head.
“Making a fuss? That’s what you have to say right now?”
His low voice replied harshly.
“Your flesh melted. I could see your bones. Didn’t you see it yourself? Even after seeing that…”
“Yeah. I saw it. But it came back, didn’t it? So what’s the problem?”
“Lee Kanghyun!”
Kang Yujun shouted.
Ah, he’s loud.
Just as Kanghyun frowned and turned his gaze away—
KRAAAAH!
The monster let out an unpleasant roar and extended its tentacles again.
This time, dozens came flying at once.
“Move.”
After pushing away Kang Yujun, who was about to continue lecturing him, Lee Kanghyun stepped forward.
The drug’s effects had completely taken over his body.
The terrible pain disappeared, and his mind turned cold.
He had reached a state of perfect numbness where he felt no pain, no fear, and not even annoyance.
There was only one emotion left inside Lee Kanghyun.
Irritating.
That sticky monster.
Kang Yujun’s face, which looked like he was about to cry—no, was he actually crying?
Anyway, that expression of his while worrying about Lee Kanghyun.
The horrible smell of the drug.
The disgusting taste still lingering in his mouth.
Everything was irritating.
Lee Kanghyun stared at the approaching tentacles and kicked off the ground.
BOOM!
The ground beneath his feet sank from nothing more than a simple leap.
He reached the monster’s face in an instant.
The monster seemed to sense danger and sprayed black poison wildly.
The deadly poison that would melt an entire body on contact.
Lee Kanghyun did not dodge.
Sizzle!
His skin melted.
But his regeneration was faster than the rate at which he melted.
The process of flesh burning away and being restored repeated every second.
Thanks to chewing and swallowing Altrafin, he felt nothing.
Lee Kanghyun threw a punch.
The monster’s enormous body burst apart like a balloon.
Pieces of flesh flew everywhere and stuck all over Lee Kanghyun.
Normally, he would have vomited immediately, but thanks to Altrafin, he felt nothing.
Lee Kanghyun calmly wiped the pieces of flesh stuck to his cheek away.
Kieeeeh!
The monster screamed, but he did not stop.
He stepped on empty air and jumped again.
Every time his fist landed, chunks of the monster’s flesh were torn away.
Black blood poured down like rain, soaking Lee Kanghyun’s entire body, but he did not even blink.
Instead, his movements became faster and more brutal.
When his arm melted, he regenerated it.
When his leg broke, he reset the bone and struck the monster again.
Faster. I need to finish this quickly.
Before the drug wears off. Before the pain comes back.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to get home, wash up, and lie down.
Lee Kanghyun thrust his hand toward the monster’s core.
Rip.
His bare hand pierced through the solid muscles and bones.
At his fingertips, he felt something hot and hard.
The core.
Got it.
Without hesitation, he crushed it.
The monster’s enormous body stopped convulsing.
Then it lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground.
A heavy silence descended inside the gate.
Lee Kanghyun stood atop the monster’s corpse, covered in blood.
Not even his rough breathing could be heard.
Kang Yujun looked up at him with a dazed expression.
Lee Kanghyun slowly turned around.
His unfocused eyes, clouded by the drug, landed on Kang Yujun.
“Hey.”
His voice came out hoarse.
“Let’s go home.”
After saying that, Lee Kanghyun’s body fell forward.
“Lee Kanghyun!”
Kang Yujun shouted his name like a scream and rushed forward, catching him.
The arms holding him felt unbearably hot.
The shirt touching his skin was damp and soaked.
…Is he actually crying?
What a nuisance.
“Lee Kanghyun! Stay awake!”
Kang Yujun shouted while holding the limp Lee Kanghyun.
Because he had not taken the drug in such a long time, reality felt unreal.
His body had no strength, and his mind was hazy.
His eyes kept closing.
“Annoying…”
Lee Kanghyun muttered that and slowly fell asleep.
***
When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
The white ceiling was high, and the room was absurdly spacious.
Lee Kanghyun lifted his arm slightly.
An IV was attached.
It’s a hospital.
There was no reason to come here.
Completely unnecessary.
The scenery looked closer to a hotel suite than a hospital room.
Only the sharp smell of disinfectant proved that this was a hospital room.
“Ugh.”
Lee Kanghyun frowned and tried to sit up.
But his body felt heavy and limp, like soaked cotton.
The effects of the drug seemed to remain.
“You’re awake.”
A cold voice came from beside the bed.
Lee Kanghyun turned his head.
Kang Yujun was sitting on the sofa beside the bed with his arms crossed.
Lee Kanghyun’s eyes naturally moved to Kang Yujun’s shoulder.
It seemed he had received treatment from a healer, because it was completely fine now.
“Water…”
Lee Kanghyun mumbled.
Kang Yujun let out a deep sigh, opened a bottle of water, and poured it into a cup.
As the cool water traveled down his throat, Lee Kanghyun finally felt alive again.
His mind slowly cleared.
Then he searched through his memories.
He had chewed Altrafin and fought like a lunatic.
In front of Kang Yujun.
I’m screwed.
Anyone who saw him then would know he was not normal.
He could not let Kang Yujun find out he had taken drugs.
Since it was illegal, getting caught would be a serious problem.
Even Lee Kanghyun, who paid fines like they were meals, did not want to go to prison.
The moment he glanced upward, their eyes met.
Just as he swallowed a sigh, sensing this was about to become extremely troublesome—
“You’re insane. Are you out of your mind? Why did you fight like that? Your flesh was melting and your bones were exposed, and you just charged in? Is that hunting? That’s attempted self-harm!”
Kang Yujun shouted.
“Watching from behind, I thought my heart stopped. Can’t you feel pain? You don’t feel anything?”
If he said, “It hurt so much that I took medicine,” Kang Yujun would probably report him immediately and send him to prison.
If he said it was bearable, Kang Yujun would treat him like a lunatic.
Because there was no way that kind of pain could be considered bearable.
Then there was only one option.
“I can’t feel it. Pain.”
Lee Kanghyun calmly lied.
“I can’t feel pain. That’s why I fought like that. It doesn’t hurt anyway.”
Kang Yujun’s expression went blank.
It seemed he had not expected that answer.
“You don’t have a sense of pain?”
“Yeah. It’s been like that since I awakened. Whether my arm gets cut off or my flesh melts, I don’t feel anything.”
It was the perfect excuse.
If he said he could not feel pain, Kang Yujun would probably make less of a fuss when he got injured in the future.
And he could fight more comfortably.
Lee Kanghyun admired himself.
For once, he had come up with a good idea.