Chapter 204. Beast (2)

It feels like the conversation is leading me into a corner. But when I think about it carefully, the man they were referring to is likely not me. That American S-rank Hunter is suspecting me as a brazen fraud who's been hiding my rank.

Is this a statement targeting Kang Changho?

Since awakened individuals with physical enhancement abilities don't usually display magical traits outwardly, it's not too strange that Kang Changho is under suspicion.

I finished the remaining green tea and turned off my phone. I know that the world is in an uproar because of some awakened individual, but honestly, it's not really something I need to worry about.

Let them cause a commotion, I'll just mind my own business--

And so, with a light heart, I began my day. I started working on creating the dummy.

[ # # # No Informal Speech Allowed # # # ]

[Job Posting] Seeking D-Class Healer for Dungeon Raid on 10th (Monday) - High Pay]

[Trade] Please sell me some Screening Stakes [= = =]

[Question] Is the ring worn by the celebrity in this photo an item?

10 a.m. A certain website on the internet.

Today is a weekday. While general online communities tend to see fewer visitors during this time, this place remained relatively active since it was primarily used by hunters.

[[Casual Talk] About That Hunter OR]

But then, during this peaceful morning, a new topic suddenly appeared on the board.

[Original Post: Come to think of it, what exactly is the Awakening attribute?]

This was due to the growing curiosity on the internet, triggered by a news segment from a non-mainstream broadcaster that referenced a U.S. talk show.

Jung Haeseong and Esther, among others. The hunters who ranked first and second, respectively, had such distinctive innate sorcery that by now, there were few citizens who didn't know their classifications. However...

Kang Changho and Kim Giryeo were a slightly different case. Some had only identified them immediately because the y were great wizards in their past lives. After all, sorcery that enhanced physical abilities was often mistaken for the n atural specs of a top predator. Unless it was an exceptionally high-difficulty battle, Kang Changho's classification was n't easily noticeable on the surface.

And what about that certain blonde's abilities? At least Kang Changho was an experienced hunter, so his past data allowed for some speculation about his classification. But somehow, the more information was revealed about Korea's fo urth S-rank, the greater the confusion became.

① Since he had been concealing his rank under the association's orders, wouldn't that mean he is a special ability us er skilled in espionage?

② How could someone like that even think of facing an inevitable Malice one-on-one? His combat power must be hig h.

③ Then, does that mean he has the same physical enhancement as Kang Changho?

④ No. Considering the Garlon Guild Leader's recruitment offer, it is more reasonable to assume that the fourth hunter possesses an exceptional defensive ability.

⑤ Ahn Yoonseung's role model statement also supports this assumption.

⑥ Guys, I heard that Kim Giryeo used a support skill in the Japan Gate.

⑦ Huh?

⑧ What is it?

⑨ Then what on earth is it?

This was the timeline of social media so far. However, as seen, no one had yet reached a clear conclusion.

[Original Post: Fellow hunters... There's no need to look far, just watch Hunter Kim Giryeo's interview on the Siren raid. In that interview, the hunter briefly mentioned Hunter Esther's ability traits. So doesn't that mean he is also a curse-typ e hunter... @(---)]

The more people dug into his actions, the more speculation arose. And since the hunter in question remained silent about his awakening type--a certain alien used magic regardless of attributes, so any claim about his current classificati on would be a lie--online discussions naturally grew more tangled.

[ chat 1 ]

[What's that kid's awakening type?]

[Defense type]

[He's a killer, but how is he a tank?]

[That Neo kid, Yoon Sang or whatever his name is, keeps following him around, saying he's learned a lot--so he's pro bably defense-type. Plus, he spars with Jung Haeseong every week, and he doesn't even get a scratch. Honestly, what else could he be? When you work with defense-types, you can really tell their physical capabilities are on another leve l. Their recovery speed is noticeably fast too.]

Like the misunderstanding surrounding Jung Haeseong, the national hero. For now, the most likely ability that's being s peculated is one related to protecting teammates and enhancing the body's resilience--likely a defensive ability.

But that even wasn't absolute. As aspects of the fast-changing modern internet, netizens would refute mainstream o pinions whenever they had a chance.

[ chat 1 refresh ]

[No, no, no, there's no way he's defense-type. If that hunter isn't an offense-type awakener, it just doesn't make sens e. Defense-types save forever to take down a single boss--that's just how it is. Even if they use the same weapon, that r hunting speed is especially frustrating.]

[That's true.]

[If that hunter were defense-type, the innogi would still be around last winter, shining bright, bright, bright until now.]

Innate magic. The inhabitants of this planet still didn't know how a hunter's talent was determined, but as a species tha t had dominated the food chain with superior intelligence, they were gradually starting to perceive the hidden rules be hind it.

[I agree with the above.

Doesn't Hunter Kim Giryeo feel... a bit too different from the defensive type? =

Most awakened in that category tend to have soft personalities, like they'd naturally look out for others.

I'm not even joking--it's actually kind of fascinating. =

But Hunter Kim Giryeo has a really cold demeanor.

He looks like the type to be strictly professional and level-headed.

Somehow, defensive skills just don't seem to suit him.]

[-- Agree]

[-- Whoa, this is kind of creepy. Yeah, our team member gives off that exact vibe]

A handful of perceptive mammals subconsciously pick up on it. Somehow, Kim Giryeo doesn't seem like a defensive-t ype awakened. Of course, this is a method that is somewhat unstable in terms of accuracy, like physiognomy on Eart h.

[ = = = at this rate, you guys are gonna say awakening abilities depend on blood type too--]

Most citizens dismissed the theory linking awakening types to personality as mere pseudoscience.

Anyway, as long as Kim Giryeo himself kept his mouth shut, outsiders could speculate all they wanted, but they would ultimately get nowhere.

But now, it's a time when Beast, the mysterious top tier awakener, is causing incidents. So, to calm the citizens' anxiet y, wouldn't it be right for the person involved to reveal the truth at this point?

[Original Post: Everyone, I heard that yesterday in Greece, an awakened called Beast got caught trying to take a corps e... the world is really becoming a scarier place... Personally, I think it's high time to enforce a mandatory registrati on system for hunters' abilities...]

But in fact, this was also ambiguous in many ways.

Items. Earth had gone through countless trials and tribulations due to magical tools appearing in dungeons. Among the m were cases where hunters, envious of a colleague's precious items, analyzed the awakened abilities they had revea led, then equipped themselves with gear to counterattack and attempted robberies. Originally, due to technological lim itations, there was no way for the government to stop all the liars hiding their true power.

So well. The conclusion is.

[ # # # Notice # # # ]

The administrator of a certain site calmed the overheated atmosphere by completely banning speculative posts about S-rank hunters. Fortunately, the site users did not have major complaints about this measure.

[Yeah, it's better to just ban it. It's not like we're going to find an answer among ourselves anyway.]

Is anything really going to happen just because we don't know someone's main attribute?

Siren.

Gampo Port Incident.

And many other things.

A certain blond hunter had proven to be reliable enough until now. There was no way someone like that would turn out to be a ruthless beast like Beast.

[Exactly. How could that hunter be Beast? = = =. There are plenty of people out there who are 179cm tall.]

[And there are plenty of people with undisclosed attributes too = = ]

[There are plenty of people as strong as S-rank... right?]

[...]

[...]

No way..

***

The bright hair color chosen in a country where even cars carefully consider the balance between black and white. It was like making eye contact with a criminal's mugshot from an old documentary, an unsettling feeling stirred by the c old, piercing gaze.

And the meticulously worn suit. It's not even a job that involves dealing with people--just a modern-day butcher whos e work is slicing through beasts--yet he always opts for a three-piece suit.

Kim Giryeo's speech was generally polite, influenced by the demeanor of his body's owner. Despite this positive trait, however, he rarely won the public's favor. A combination of various characteristics led to an appearance that made it difficult for others to approach him readily.

Still, those who had actually spoken to him often forgot their first impression soon enough.

[Somehow, I had a bad feeling... Tak tak, just look at his face, totally expected]

For example, in past cases of fabricated school violence episodes, netizens would immediately bring up a person's ap pearance and make negative judgments whenever a new suspicion arose.

"Hello, Haeseong-ssi"

However, even public institutions that frequently dealt with hunters were not entirely free from this bias.

"You're here for the new overseas dungeon data again today, right? I figured as much and already sent it to the staff i nformation room in advance. Haeseong, please have a seat here and some while you wait"

"Ah, yes."

"One Monday, Jung Haeseong visited the association for the first time in a while to do some matters. A staff member-- C-grade Awakened, who usually handled Jung Haeseong's requests and could remain calm in front of high-ranking indi viduals--suddenly brought up this topic.

"Oh! By the way, you know..."

"Yes?"

"Did you happen to see that news too, Haeseong-ssi? About the Beast."

"I think I saw it in the newspaper yesterday."

"Oh, I see! Anyway, the world is in an uproar because of these days, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"But I saw something on YouTube, and you know... it seems like Beast might be someone we know--"

For reference, the Rank 1 Hunter is currently holding the iced tea given by the staff and sipping it.

"No, seriously, it sounds really convincing! Beast kept choosing only the most avoided dungeons, like some kind of thr ill addict."

"Hmm."

"Do you remember when you had to solo the White Tower in Singapore, Haeseong-ssi? Apparently, Beast was taking o ver a dungeon called [Lost Paradise] and facing off against the boss at the same time."

"_ _"

"But when an S-rank gate appeared in Japan? Guess what? They didn't show up at all. So what does that tell you?"

The culprit must be among the members of the Kagoshima raid! Since Beast mainly caused damage in European count ries, the employee continued chatting in a somewhat detached, bystander-like tone.

"So Beast is Japanese?"

Haeseong asked the question without much thought. Hearing this, the employee grimaced and quickly corrected him.

"No, that's not what I meant... Let's see. The S-rank hunters in Japan have already had their classifications revealed, ri ght?"

"Then Kang Changho?"

"No no... That guy's guild is completely different from the start, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Kim Giryeo, Kim Giryeo. The internet is buzzing right now with speculation that he might be Beast."

The association employee continued the chatter in an excited tone. Having been in charge of accommodating the rank 1 hunter for a long time, he had witnessed and experienced quite a few incidents. Among them, the most vivid memory was the time someone was reported for suspected rank forgery. Moreover, he had once been walking down the hallw ay during lunch break when he happened to glimpse an exchange between an F-rank and an S-rank through a windo w.

"As soon as Hunter Kim Ki-ryeo got out of the taxi, Jung Ha-seong swung his sword viciously."

The red trail left in the air and the blonde hunter who avoided it with superhuman abilities.

"On top of that, later on, they even fought in front of some hospital, burning their skin with fire?"

He selectively remembered only the negative incidents between Haeseong and Giryeo, convincing himself that Haeseon g still hated Giryeo. That's why, in an attempt to flatter the number one ranker, he unhesitatingly started gossiping beh ind their backs.

"By the way, Haeseong-ssi, you've been sparring with that Hunter on weekends lately, right? Regularly?"

"_ _"

"Wow, that must be tough. I mean, there aren't many S-rankers you could use as a punching bag besides someone lik e that, but still... No matter how much sparring helps improve skills, it's a bit much."

"_ _"

"The way he looks is already unsettling, and the rumors aren't great either. What if our national hero ends up getting h armed? Haha. If that ever happens, just let me know right away. I'll make sure to act quickly and..."

Crack.

After finishing the iced tea given by the staff, Haeseong quietly placed the glass on the desk and spoke.

"Excuse me."

"Y, yes!"

He had simply been too obsessed with dungeons to bother responding. For the staff member, who had mistakenly ass umed that Haeseong enjoyed listening to his chatter, the next words came a bolt from the blue.

"Excuse me, but what exactly is your intention in badmouthing a hunter in front of another hunter...?"

Furthermore, the hero's tone was unusually rough.

"Huh, yes?"

"What exactly is wrong with Hunter Kim Giryeo's appearance?"

"Gasp! Th, that's not what I meant at all, I never intended to offend you--if it sounded that way, I sincerely apologiz e..."

"Let me make this clear--Hunter Kim has absolutely no connection to someone like Beast. How can someone affiliated with an official institution be at the forefront of spreading baseless rumors?"

The atmosphere turned cold in an instant. It was at that moment.

"Huh?"

"Huh."

If it had been any other S-rank, their presence would have been obvious long ago. But since the approaching individu al was an awakened being with not even a trace of detectable magic, Jung Haeseong only noticed them belatedly.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo?"

"Yeah, Haeseong-ah. Hello."

Kim Giryeo had arrived at the association. What followed was a sight that left the association employee visibly drained --South Korea's number-one hunter willingly bowing in greeting to the blonde. However, the two S-ranks, who had met in the hallway, continued their conversation, oblivious to the change in his demeanor.

Why did you come to the association? Ah, I came to play a dungeon raid. You came all the way here just for that?

Technically, the app crashed, and he couldn't find a solution... so he came here.

During this process, Jung Haeseong realized that the cause of Giryeo's inconvenience was related to a software updat e.

"It's nothing serious. It just looks like the automatic update was turned off..."

As expected from an app with a middling 3.2★ rating, the Hunter app lacked an automatic redirect to the store for upd ates. So, Haeseong, intending to manually update it, took the phone and started navigating through the settings.

Tuk.

But while tapping the screen, he accidentally opened the smartphone's background apps...

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<Running Apps:[J Recent searches]

[Types of Funeral Methods for Awakened Corpses]

[Seoul cemetery]

[Seoul Awakened cemetery] 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

[Grave robbery cemetery]

################

Tuk.

Then, Jung Haeseong immediately moved his fingers to do what he had to do. He entered the store and updated the of ficial Hunter app to the latest version.

"Are we done?"

Then, maintaining his usual composure, he returned the phone to its owner.

"Oh, it turns on smoothly without any interruptions now."

Then, since the problem has been solved, what's the point of hanging around here?