After monsters appeared, people called this the ‘Age of Tragedy’. Things that were once unimaginable. Being devoured by a Monster, or suffering from an unknown disease until death, was no longer someone else's story.
The appearance of monsters was undoubtedly a misfortune. However, for a very select few, it became an occasion of supreme happiness.
Mad Scientists.
Their intellectual curiosity related to science nonchalantly broke down not only the walls of law but also those of morality and ethics. To these ‘Mad Scientists’ who thirsted for new knowledge, the corpses of monsters and materials from dungeons were a cradle of new information, a treasure trove.
Under the guise of ‘making Hunters stronger’, the government and the Hunter Association turned a blind eye to all sorts of daring experiments, and some Guilds even established separate research labs to encourage their work. It was like giving wings to a mad tiger.
Experiments like extracting monster components to cultivate cells, or growing dungeon plants in this world, were ‘trivial’ matters to them. Deliberately powering up low-level monsters. Cutting off the limbs of Monsters and attaching them to the bodies of Hunters.
Using the poison chips, a drug from Poison Dungeons, as a stimulant in battle. Vicious experiments, unimaginable to the common person, were placed in their hands. However, even for such madmen, there was a line that had to be drawn.
One rule that was especially strict was the ‘prohibition of experiments on minors’. While some Hunters volunteered for the sake of greater power, no civilian would ever accept such insane experiments. But one Mad Scientist, whose research barriers had crumbled, leaped over that wall with ease.
Dr. Kang Jun-woo. He held the belief that ‘to nurture strong Hunters, the seeds must be sown from a young age’. He argued that transplanting monster flesh into adults was inefficient, so they should try grafting monster cells onto young children instead.
Naturally, his opinion was not accepted. There was no group in the world that would agree to shoving monster cells into unawakened minors. Kang Jun-woo despaired at the wall blocking his pursuit of knowledge and cursed the world for not agreeing with his progressive ideas.
And eventually, he began secretly kidnapping parentless children to use as test subjects. The scientist Kang Jun-woo, who made other Mad Scientists look like ‘fake madmen’. Because of his extraordinary intellect, the Guild that employed him wanted to keep him, but they had no choice but to fire him.
It wasn't just the kidnappings; a horrific video had been leaked, showing a monster that occupied half of a child's body devouring the other half. A half-beast, half-human with one eye filled with greed and the other shedding tears.
It was an indescribably tragic scene, of a creature tearing at its own flesh with its teeth, unaware that it was its own. Thus, Kang Jun-woo lost all his status and power and returned to the countryside. Those who knew him pointed fingers and cursed him, while also feeling relieved that they no longer had to witness his madness.
However. Unfortunately.
Kang Jun-woo still had one test subject left. A small life left behind by his wife, who had run away, declaring she couldn't live with a psychopath. It was his only son.
“Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!”
Every night, a terrible scream echoed. The advanced equipment surrounding him had gathered a thick layer of dust over time, and rust had formed in places. The scene of inhumanity, somehow creaking along.
Every night, the young boy cried out to Dr. Kang.
“Dad…! It hurts so much!!!”
So please, kill me. The boy couldn't bring himself to say the last sentence. Because every time he asked to be killed, his father would inject him with a stronger drug.
The boy, unable to even plead for his own end, spent his days in a state of neither living nor dying. On the days his condition improved even slightly, Dr. Kang would kiss the boy’s cheek.
“You are my masterpiece, my son. In just a little while, you will become the most powerful being in the world.”
The boy shook his head violently. He didn't need to be a powerful being or anything of the sort. He just wanted it to hurt a little, just a little less.
He was terrified of this foreign entity squirming in his shoulder. Whenever this thing shot out of his arm, something was bound to die. Every time he felt the sensation of it chewing its target, the boy would tremble all night.
A time in his life where he had no choices. The one who ended that time was none other than the boy’s mother.
“You crazy bastard…!!”
Curious about her son's well-being, the boy’s mother had managed to find Dr. Kang's home, and the moment she saw her son’s tragically broken form, she lost her mind. During the ensuing struggle, Dr. Kang, high on drugs, pushed her with all his might.
Thud.
The boy’s mother hit the back of her head on the corner of a machine, her eyes rolled back, and her life ended.
“Mo… m…?”
At that same moment, the madness of ‘it’ that had controlled the boy also ceased its activity.
Snap.
A greater madness had taken root in the boy’s heart.
Chwaaaaaaaaaak!!
For the first time in the boy’s life, the plant inside his body moved according to his thoughts. The plant’s teeth shot out like an arrow and clamped down on Dr. Kang’s neck. A situation where the slightest pressure would sever his throat.
The words that came from between teeth glinting red with blood were not a plea for forgiveness.
“As expected… you are my masterpiece…”
Crunch.
The sensation of his father’s head being crushed at the end of his shoulder was transmitted with perfect clarity. Instinctively, he resolved never to forget this feeling. I will eliminate everything related to monsters.
I will devour the pretenses carried out under the guise of saving the world. And so, I will make sure no one like me is ever created again. The boy, his face a mess of tears, made that promise again and again.
Kang Jeong-hyeon.
This happened when he was 15 years old.
“……”
A heavy silence floated above the table. Maria was shedding teardrops as large as chicken droppings, and Bi-soo’s eye makeup was already a hideous mess.
And…
“Eo-heoh-heoh-heoh-heoh-heoh-heoh.”
Iron Arm was wailing as if the world was ending. Tears streamed down and collected in his beard, a sight both sad and messy (…).
“I think I understand now why Jeong-hyeon came looking for me.”
Kang Jeong-hyeon scratched the back of his head and smiled shyly. From Kang Jeong-hyeon’s point of view, I was living the exact life he had sworn to lead. I hadn’t joined a two-faced Guild, but instead quietly cleared Poison Dungeons and transformed the Association’s unfair treatment into a supra-legal status.
Considering Kang Jeong-hyeon’s tragic past, his feelings must have been several times more intense than that of an ordinary Hunter exam applicant. It's a bit awkward to say it myself, but something like…
‘respect’?
Ahem.
“You awful bastard.”
Does she have the ability to read minds? Bi-soo suddenly leaned her face forward.
“How can you hear a story like this and that’s the first thing you say? Aren’t you sad? Aren’t you saaaaaad!”
“Either talk or cry. Pick one.”
“Eo-heoh-heoh. Hunter Hae-seon. Truly, I’m so sad I can’t see straight!”
“That’s because you keep rubbing your eyes, Iron Arm.”
Though they appear to be polar opposites, Bi-soo and Iron Arm are quite similar when it comes to being emotional. They kept wiping their tears or patting Kang Jeong-hyeon’s shoulder. Perhaps because he wasn’t used to such kindness?
Kang Jeong-hyeon would flinch and lower his head each time. I’ve been through my own share of hardship (?), but this kid had it worse. Unlike my sister who nursed me with utmost care, Kang Jeong-hyeon’s father was not a caregiver but the very source of his pain.
What if my sister suddenly became a mad scientist and started conducting all sorts of experiments on my body?
Ugh.
I don't even want to imagine it. After clearing his nose with a loud ‘Hmph!’, Bi-soo asked.
“But you said you’re seventeen now? Why didn’t you become a Hunter for two years?”
“Ah, well…”
Kang Jeong-hyeon glanced around cautiously before continuing.
“I still can’t completely control the plant… and more importantly, I didn’t have any money.”
“Ah…!”
Right.
To take the Hunter Qualification Test, one needs fifty million won. Didn’t I also wander through Poison Dungeons before even getting my Hunter license, just to earn that money? How would it feel to have to save up fifty million won at the age of fifteen?
It would have been suffocating.
“I tried to look for part-time jobs, but with my arm like this, it was hard to work in crowded places. And I didn’t go to school properly either…”
“It must not have been easy.”
“So I did online tutoring.”
“Tutoring?”
“Yes. There’s a website where you can tutor without showing your face… I was able to earn money by teaching for the Hunter Qualification Test and basic academics.”
“Wait a minute…”
Bi-soo chimed in.
“Jeong-hyeon… I’m going to speak casually, okay?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You’re seventeen too, right? And you just passed the Hunter Qualification Test. But you taught other people?”
“Ah… well…”
Kang Jeong-hyeon hesitated for a moment, then answered with a bitter expression.
“I guess this is what they mean when they say… what you’ve learned is all you know… When I study with school textbooks or workbooks… I remember almost everything…”
“Oh my…”
Bi-soo’s pupils shook violently. She hadn’t been particularly surprised to hear that a monstrous plant burst out of his arm, but now she was staring at him as if he were a monster.
‘Well, that’s understandable.’
The corners of my mouth lifted on their own. From her perspective, the idea of ‘never forgetting something once you’ve studied it’ would be more shocking than any other words.
“Does that even make sense? Don’t you normally have to repeat something two or three times to memorize it?”
“You make it sound like you only memorize things after two or three times. There were more than a few problems you got wrong over ten times…”
“Hey!”
Bi-soo spread her hands to grab my mouth, and I dodged with a very leisurely weave.
“Agh! So annoying!”
At that sight, Iron Arm finally regained his laughter.
“Hahahahat.”
“Hmph. Iron Arm. Don’t you know what happens when you laugh after crying?”
“Hmph. Anyway, you’ve been through a lot. Saving fifty million won in two years would have been difficult even for a regular adult.”
“Yes… That’s why I had to take out a loan this time. I managed to get a loan for fifteen million won by providing proof of my tutoring income.”
“What? No, you didn’t have to go that far…”
Iron Arm tilted his head in confusion, and the others felt the same way. Kang Jeong-hyeon is young. No, even calling him young is an understatement.
He’s a young prospect. The Hunter exam isn’t held only once every few years, so why did he go as far as taking out a loan to take the test? After hesitating, Kang Jeong-hyeon carefully opened his mouth.
“Because I heard that Hunter Cheon Hae-seon… would be coming as an examiner for the Esper exam…”
“?”
What now?
Why is my name coming up here?
“I thought it would be hard to meet you if it wasn't then.”
“Oho…”
Bi-soo tilted her head with a sly smile.
“So, you’re saying that our good, poor Jeong-hyeon rushed to take the test, even taking out a loan, all because of that punk Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Oh, my…”
Maria chimed in with agreement. What do you mean, ‘oh, my’?
“This… this will not do. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. How can we stand by and watch this quarter’s best rookie struggle with debt?”
We can't. But why are you talking like it’s my fault? Kang Jeong-hyeon himself is quiet, so why is everyone else making such a fuss?
“Honestly…”
It seems I unintentionally rushed someone else's life. Who would have thought that participating as an examiner for the Esper exam would have such a butterfly effect? But even if it’s not my fault, Kang Jeong-hyeon is our colleague now.
As Iron Arm said, I can’t bear to see the best rookie suffer from debt.
“Then first, let’s make some money.”
Since a good opportunity has just come up.