n

n

nChapter 19 – Start

nAfter the portal explosion incident, I was frequently contacting Jong Ho.

nTo be honest, it was because I could obtain vast amounts of information from hyung.

nFriendship to information ratio was about 3:7?

nJong Ho said that he became an Awakened while he was working as a manager for the Awakened. It was like debuting to be an idol while working as the manager for one.

nOf course there was information from the guild, but since I had nearly no chances of meeting high ranking guild members, the information from the ranker manager felt much sweeter.

nAfter my first combat with succubi, I continued to run the level 13 dungeons to level up.

nThe succubi allowed me to level up greatly.

nThe method was like this.

nKill all but one or two out of a 200 succubi group.

nThen step on a succubus’ corpse. Just recklessly stomp on them!

nEven in this situation, I could not forget to continuously cast Piercing Sword.

nCasting it with each hand, even if it was a skill without cooldowns, small gaps would be created in between repeated casts.

nSo I cast the spell on each of my hand with 3~5 seconds of delay after another.

nThe fallen that were stepped on had red bloodsucking lights pierce the surviving succubi since the lights could not reach me due to being blocked by my Heugdo.

nThus, 200 revival succubi would be created.

nAfter that, the boss incubus would appear and revive them again.

n‘Like boiling bone soup, boil again. Boil again. Boil again.’

nThe experience I earned from succubi was 16 million, and through the revival succubi I was able to earn 30 million twice. In one clear, including the boss, the experience I earned was around 80 million!

nUnlike others that avoided the corpses while hunting, I recklessly stepped on them.

nEven the stone rank was C.

nWhen my luck was good, even B ranks dropped, and since the boss was a C ranked with the rise of a level for the dungeon, I was obtaining rewards that couldn’t be even compared with the previous lower level dungeons.

nAs my level rose and the money pooled, I thought of my mother.

nNext to the bed lay a rainbow paper box.

nIn there was 500 million. After visiting the association, I also received 260 million.

nTo show my mother, I had saved it up and brought it all here.

nHa… It was a moment that I was waiting for… It was a success that I dreamed about, but only today did I realize how difficult it was to tell her.

nSo today! I decided to bring my mother with me.

nI wanted to surprise her.

nWhile riding the car back, I made the necessary preparations to convince her and to fulfill my filial duty for the first time in 18 years.

n* * *

n“Driver, please take me in front of the market.”

n“Yes. To the market.”

nAs the taxi meter clicks, I was looking outside the window and saw there were many destroyed buildings being rebuilt.

nEven now, many suffer, die, and fight.

nThanks to the ones who cause harm, I am earning money.

nSomeone’s pain, becoming my dream and hopes…..

nIf you thought about it, it was very double sided and ironic.

nThere must have been damages from the rebellion, but civilian areas like the heart of the city, unlike the government areas, were all due to the monsters.

n“It’s 13,000 won.”

n“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Drive safely.”

nAfter handing the money and a light greeting, I left the taxi.

nThere it is.

nA small Guk-su-jib located near the entrance to the marketplace.

nIt was a place my mother worked for 7 years now.

nThrough the entrance made of glass, I saw my mother.

nI took a deep breath and headed towards there.

nAs soon as I opened the door to the restaurant, I heard angry yelling.

n“This bitch, are you joking with me! You brought this for me to eat?”

nThe plates were then smashed.

n“Oh no, I apologize.”

nA heavily drunk man was holding a chair and threatening my mother.

nThe noodle soup was thrown to the ground and the bowl was broken, just like my mother’s dignity.

nI saw how my mother continued to apologize.

nThey say people become tunnel vision when angry, and I only saw him, that bastard in my field of vision.

nInstantly, I smashed open the store’s door and grabbed him by the collar.

nIt was a situation that made my fists clench and teeth grind without realization.

nI glared at him as if to kill without a word.

n“Uh! Uh? Who is this bastard.”

n“Min, Min-Cheol-ah…..”

nWith my mother’s short words, I felt surprise and shame.

nBut I heard a little bit of relief mixed in. That was enough.

nShe was a person who didn’t complain once during my elementary years when a person called father beat her to near death.

nI wished that she’d rely on me now.

nTo a mother like that, happening again in front of me!

nI could not stop my rage. I grabbed his collar roughly again.

nHe flailed about, growling.

n“What is this… Is this your son? Ha, you and your mother are both are nonsensical. Son of a bitch, why don’t you let me go?”

n“Shut the ** up…..”

n“What? You piece of **!”

nHe struggled free of my grasp and threw the chair, missing my mother’s forehead by a hair’s breadth.

nMy mother’s forehead was cut, and deep red blood spilled down her cheek.

nMy temper lost, I threw him.

nWith a smash, he went into the table.

nThe table broke apart instantly, and he rolled about the floor with the dishware.

n“Ugh… This piece of **, you have a death wi-…..”

nI didn’t listen to the rest of his cursing.

nBecause my left hand was grabbing his head already.

nI roughly lifted him up.

n“Ugh! Let me go! Why aren’t you letting me go?!”

n“…..”

nInstead of answering, I gathered lightning in my right hand.

nToday I will kill this man and go to hell.

nEven in hell, I will chew him up so much that no one can ever find nor remember him.

nI promised to protect, and I felt that it was a promise I can keep now.

nBut that promise broke apart now, and I felt rage and lament as though a person who lost everything.

nAs I moved my right hand hold condensed magic towards him…! I heard my mother’s voice as she grabbed onto my arm.

nAs I heard those words, I regained my sanity.

n“Min-Cheol-ah… That’s enough. You can stop now…..”

nI saw my mother shaking her head.

nLetting him go, I released the condensed power in my right arm.

nDespite being drunk, he must have felt my killing intent as his pants was soaked.

nBefore long, the police arrived.

nReceiving the report from the police, a group of ‘Awakened incident cleanup crew” was dispatched.

nOne of the police officers took my mother to the hospital, and after that, I told them about the incident.

nThe incident was explained as him glancing my mother with a chair.

nEven if it was his fault, since an Awakened got involved, the cases were separated into two, one between him and my mother, and one between him and me.

nI was interrogated for an hour at a local ‘association investigation station’.

nUnfortunately or thankfully, I was able to leave without any worries as the man I tried to kill was only lightly injured.

nAfter leaving, I went back to the noodle soup restaurant.

nI came with the thought to pay for the broken items and disrupting business.

nIt was a place my mother had worked for 7 years, and the owner bowed his head in apology that he couldn’t stop it first.

nI had asked what the cost of damage would to the cops beforehand, and gave the amount with a little extra to the owner.

nWith the words to hire someone else to replace my mother.

nAfter solving the incident, I went to the hospital.

nOpening the patient room’s door, I saw my mother.

nAs soon as she found me, she raised her injured body and spoke.

n“Son. Have you eaten? If only I spoke better and turned him away without incident…..”

n“Are you okay?”

n“Of course! Mother is fine! I’ve gone through combat on the ground, water, in the air, and even battles involving bombardment. You think I’d lose to someone like that?”

n“Miss Bak, when did you become so tough?”

nI had to hit my vocal cords and stop the sudden urge to cry.

n“Mom, you don’t have to work at the restaurant anymore. You saw right? That your son is super strong?”

n“…..”

n“I’ll take of everything now, so please don’t suffer anymore mother.”

n“Son, don’t you remember what mother said? That I can live without money but I can’t live without my son? The debt can be canceled after I die you know?”

n“Don’t say that! Why would you have to die? I’ll take care of the debt myself. You don’t have to worry anymore…!”

nShe stopped my words and looked directly into my eyes.

n“Isn’t hunter work dangerous? I saw a lot of it on the news. What kind of a parent would send their child to a tiger’s den to make money!”

n40 years ago, born in the age where the monsters arose, she was illiterate and uneducated yet valued her own son so much that she endured all the suffering to make sure that her son would not share the same fate.

nI understood my mother’s feelings of flatly denying it.

nHowever I had to take this opportunity that did not visit just anyone.

nI told her about my ability.

n“There is no way that I will get hurt or die, mother.”

n“Is that true?”

n“I’m telling you that it’s true?”

n“If you get hurt or die, I’m going to die on the spot too so promise me!”

n“I understand, promise.”

nConvincing her continued for a long time, and finally did my mother give me permission to begin after taking my fingerprint as signature on my promise.

nFinally I could give her an easy and comfortable life.

n‘Now we begin.’

n