A S-Class Hunter With Great Agility - Chapter 153

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 153: Yeo Jung-eun

 

As soon as I entered the hospital room, I was a little surprised.

 

‘Her wounds… haven’t healed yet? I was told that all treatment had been completed.’

 

For some reason, Yeo Jung-eun had white bandages wrapped around various parts of her body.

 

From minor abrasions to thick casts from fractures. It looked too much for a frail elderly person to bear.

 

“I didn’t expect you to come here first. It’s been a while since I saw you before you went to Japan, hasn’t it? Please, have a seat.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun spoke to me with a nonchalant expression.

 

I simply sat quietly in the chair beside the hospital bed.

 

“How was your stay in Japan? You were there for quite a while… You did an excellent job with what I asked of you. I was so surprised when I received the report.”

 

“….”

 

“I was planning to call you separately to discuss various matters, but the timing turned out like this. It’s quite unfortunate.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun’s eyes as she exchanged pleasantries were the same as usual. Which meant they were completely empty.

 

Her gray eyes that couldn’t hold anything posed meaningless questions.

 

“When I’m discharged, perhaps we could have a meal together soon…”

 

“Association President.”

 

I cut off her words. This wasn’t a hospital visit meant for trivial small talk.

 

‘She’s avoiding the main topic.’

 

The Association President must know too. The reason why I came here instead of visiting Yu-kyung first.

 

The fact that she keeps acting like this despite knowing means there must be a story she needs to avoid.

 

“…Hmm, do I look that bad?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Yeo Jung-eun said while touching the gauze attached to her face.

 

“They said if you pour all the healing at once, it causes an overload. Because of my age, they said I need to receive treatment slowly.”

 

“….”

 

“Do I look very unsightly?”

 

I tilted my head.

 

“…? I don’t understand why you would say such a thing.”

 

I really don’t understand. What is she suddenly talking about? Why would a human receiving treatment look ugly?

 

I looked at the Association President with a bewildered expression. Then Yeo Jung-eun murmured again.

 

“…Just because. Since the situation has come to this, I suddenly had that thought. Not just this wound, but all the actions I’ve taken so far… I wondered if they were all unsightly and ugly struggles.”

 

Would there be an answer to that lament?

 

“Exactly what actions?”

 

I hardened my expression.

 

“The actions that caused this incident?”

 

A sharp tone escaped me without realizing it.

 

“…Yes. Let’s talk about it once. You know too, Association President. This incident wasn’t a Dungeon Break. Though that’s how it was reported in the news, you and I, only the two of us know the truth.”

 

“….”

 

“That it was their doing, targeting the Wave Tale Flower.”

 

The story goes back to the beginning. To that day when Yeo Jung-eun requested me to bring her the Wave Tale Flower, and when I accepted it without any thought.

 

The story grew like a snowball… like a butterfly effect, eventually becoming today.

 

I sighed and rubbed my face with dry hands.

 

“I already told you to dispose of that flower. I said I was attacked because of that flower too. I couldn’t guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen to you, Association President, so why on earth did you ignore my advice?”

 

You are…

 

“You’re a Prophet Hunter.”

 

With one skill, you can see the future, and you don’t have to worry anxiously about not knowing what tomorrow brings.

 

Holding the future in your hands, fondling a crystal orb on a mat… You’re a damn Prophet Hunter.

 

‘But does it make sense that you left things alone until the situation became like this?’

 

If I had overflowing spiritual power, if I could see a more accurate future… I would never have stood by and watched this situation.

 

“You knew.”

 

“….”

 

“That the staff would die, that Sister Yu-kyung would get hurt. That you would become a rag like this too… You knew everything.”

 

I absolutely couldn’t understand.

 

“Was Snow Flower really that important?”

 

The ability of Prophet Hunters that I had so despised… no, even envied.

 

Especially the S-rank Association President, who was said to possess such tremendous ability that she knew in detail the locations and characteristics of dungeons that would appear worldwide.

 

With such an ability, why.

 

“Ah… perhaps.”

 

I gave a twisted smile.

 

“You didn’t know.”

 

I took a deep breath. And barely regained my composure.

 

“I don’t think of you as a villain. I can sense it, after all. So, what I’m guessing is… no, what I hope.”

 

“….”

 

“You didn’t know, did you? That they would attack, that the situation would get this bad, all of it.”

 

“…I.”

 

“Please tell me honestly. I won’t go around spreading it.”

 

Association President Yeo Jung-eun is an S-rank Prophet Hunter. And she’s not a villain. She’s not the type to stand by and watch someone die.

 

When I thought about it calmly, the idea that she knew about the Strange People Cult’s attack and let it happen was absurd.

 

Yeo Jung-eun hesitated before finally speaking.

 

“Could you close the curtains?”

 

….

 

“…Sure.”

 

I got up from my seat and drew the curtains. The lights from the night street were blocked out, and the hospital room became even quieter.

 

“…My prophecy, it still hasn’t activated, has it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The Association President’s Prophecy Orb that I had received in exchange for giving her Snow Flower. The orb with swirling Five Colors was still in a dormant state.

 

There had been no change at all, and there wasn’t even a hint of prophecy, let alone an actual one.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun hung her head.

 

“…Maybe it won’t activate at all anymore.”

 

She hesitated for a long time. She moistened her dry lips and bit her tongue, spending much time before finally opening her mouth.

 

“Yes. I have lost… most of my prophecy ability.”

 

“….”

 

“That’s why I didn’t know. I really didn’t know something like this would happen. I’m being sincere.”

 

I struggled to hold back the sigh that was about to escape. I had vaguely suspected it, but hearing it directly was quite shocking.

 

‘So that’s why she’s been acting like a kite with a broken string all this time.’

 

It felt like puzzle pieces were fitting together. Now everything made sense.

 

“What’s the reason?”

 

“Old age.”

 

A brief answer came back.

 

“…Does the system also get affected by aging?”

 

“No. The system doesn’t age. It’s us, the vessels that contain it, who age. How can you hold water in a broken vessel? It’s the same principle.”

 

Right. How wonderful it would be if awakening could grant eternal youth and immortality.

 

‘But Awakened are ultimately just human.’

 

Humans age and wither. Awakened were no exception either.

 

Soon a long murmur followed.

 

“I tried to hold onto it as much as possible too. My past time, my youth… I obtained that flower for that purpose. There was once a prophecy that said if I mixed the Wave Tale Flower, I might be able to create an item that could solve the problem.”

 

I recalled the description window of the Wave Tale Flower.

 

[Wave Tale Flower]

 

— A flower that bloomed from ice made of seawater.

 

Can be mixed into various medicines.

 

When consumed alone, it has a mana enhancement effect.

 

‘It said it can be mixed into medicines. Did it also have a function to solve such things?’

 

Yeo Jung-eun seemed like someone confessing a long-held secret. She looked both relieved and desperate.

 

Regret was filling her gray eyes.

 

“I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t ignoring your advice. I took precautions in my own way and strengthened security, but I had no idea they would attack so directly like this… It was something I should have anticipated, but my judgment has become clouded with age.”

 

The self-blame characteristic of the elderly. I found this difficult to bear.

 

Saying it’s time to die, or what’s the point of doing such things when you’re old. Even though my anger wasn’t because of your aging.

 

Growing old is a natural thing.

 

What I demand is responsibility for actions that went against that naturalness and ultimately brought about irreversible consequences.

 

“I’m thinking of taking responsibility and stepping down.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

I asked back in surprise at the sudden statement. Step down? From the Association President position?

 

“Anyway, my value has been nothing but a single prophecy from 20 years ago until now, and without that now… I’m just an old person.”

 

Was she planning to give up everything like this?

 

‘If so, wouldn’t that not be responsibility?’

 

I asked back in a low voice.

 

“Do you think the situation will be resolved if you give up and step down?”

 

No, absolutely not.

 

“Your honor will fall, and not a single one of the dead staff members will be able to resolve their resentment. They won’t be able to close their eyes in peace and will only wander the nine heavens carrying their grievances.”

 

“….”

 

“That’s not responsibility. It’s running away. If you’re truly going to take responsibility, you shouldn’t step down like that.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun avoided my gaze. She must have vaguely known too.

 

That stepping down now would only be running away.

 

“I hope you’ll find another way somehow. Find it, and set the Association right. Put the Association on a stable track so that such incidents won’t happen anymore, and then step down.”

 

We…

 

“That’s exactly what we call responsibility.”

 

I stood up from my seat. It seemed better to go see Sister Yu-kyung before it got any later.

 

‘There’s no point in talking more with the Association President in her current state…’

 

It seemed better to wait for the recovery to finish.

 

“But how could I—.”

 

“Association President.”

 

I looked down at the Association President sitting on the hospital bed.

 

“Why did you want to regain your prophecy ability?”

 

“….”

 

“Simply because you didn’t want to grow old? I doubt it. To protect the Association… wasn’t it? Even if that’s not it, it certainly seems to me that you have some kind of feelings toward the Association. Whether it’s a sense of duty or lingering attachment.”

 

Her eyes trembled. The expression of someone whose vital point had been struck.

 

“Honestly, with that level of prophecy ability, you must have received many other offers in your prime. There would have been scouting offers from overseas too. What was the reason you rejected all of that and stayed here?”

 

“….”

 

“Think about it once. That original intention will make you strong.”

 

I grabbed the door handle of the hospital room. The Association President still said nothing and only watched my back.

 

“…What makes people strong isn’t something like a strange flower.”

 

It’s the will that an individual possesses.

 

“If you can’t even do this, I won’t hold you back, but I hope you won’t run away under the pretext of responsibility.”

 

I left the hospital room with complex emotions mixed with disappointment, resentment, regret, and mockery.

 

Thud.

 

The sound of the door closing was like a heartbeat.

 

* * *

 

Yeo Jung-eun stared blankly at the closed door. It was as if a small typhoon had passed through.

 

“…Phew.”

 

But there wasn’t a single wrong part in his words. She had truly been about to choose to run away.

 

‘How shameful.’

 

Yeo Jung-eun buried her face in her palms with a remorseful expression.

 

‘Separately… what a perceptive person.’

 

He grasps the core of conversations in an instant. He accurately sees through his opponent’s psychology, and sometimes even seems to predict their thought processes.

 

Eun Hae-dam possessed an intuition that an ordinary young Hunter could not easily have.

 

‘…And fearless too.’

 

But that very aspect was also the reason why Yeo Jung-eun was disappointed even in Eun Hae-dam.

 

“…Everyone doesn’t know war. They’ve all forgotten the world from 20 years ago.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun quietly closed her eyes. Then she recalled the world from 20 years ago.

 

— Is it really true that you’ve awakened as an S-rank? Could we know what type of ability it is?

 

— Do you think awakening at the age of 50 will be of great help in the current situation?

 

— Ms. Yeo Jung-eun! Please give us a word! A total of 1,200 Awakened died just yesterday, how do you plan to resolve this situation!

 

20 years ago.

 

When Yeo Jung-eun awakened as the Republic of Korea’s first S-rank Hunter. Even then, Yeo Jung-eun was already middle-aged.

 

— Wow, we finally got an S-rank but… it’s not combat-type? What are we going to do?

 

— What do you mean what are we going to do. We’re completely screwed. It’s over.

 

— At that age, can she even fight properly—.

 

At a time when there was an overflowing thirst for young combat-type S-ranks, her awakening wasn’t something that received much welcome.

 

— …You’re saying I have to go into battle starting tomorrow? What about training? I still don’t know anything—.

 

However, people’s welcome didn’t matter in that era. It was wartime.

 

Yeo Jung-eun had to be deployed into battle immediately.

 

— Ugh.

 

Horrible.

 

So horrible…

 

Even now, when she closed her eyes to sleep, the nightmares from that time would surface. Countless Gates, and monsters pouring out like insects.

 

Thousands of people died every day and the peaceful land was reduced to ashes.

 

Only Yeo Jung-eun knew best the desperation of that time. Only she, who had commanded battles on numerous front lines as a Prophet Hunter, as an S-rank Hunter.

 

‘This world is a time bomb. As long as Dungeons exist, we don’t know when something like 20 years ago might happen again.’

 

But how can I… take on work other than the Association President position?

 

How can I entrust this country to those who don’t know war?

 

She was afraid.

 

A sense of duty? Lingering attachment? No. Her obsession with regaining her prophecy ability was purely due to fear.

 

Fear that those days would return. Fear that when everything was being destroyed, she would be powerless and unable to do anything.

 

“…Haa, haa, ha.”

 

Yeo Jung-eun was still living in that war.

 

* * *

 

“Ah… I got a bit heated there.”

 

After closing the hospital room door, I let out a light sigh.

 

‘But if this makes the Association President change her mind, it would be nothing but good.’

 

In this situation, having a new Association President appear would only add to the confusion without any benefit.

 

‘She needs to sit in the Association President’s chair for a long, long time and bring me this and that.’

 

Though it was a secondary reason, I hoped she would rebuild her will and be able to take the next step forward.

 

“Oh, Hae-dam!”

 

Just then, I heard a familiar voice. I looked toward the far end of the hospital corridor.

 

“Ah, it’s you.”

 

As expected, it was Choi Yu-il.

 

Choi Yu-il, who had been walking almost at a run from the end of the corridor, stopped in front of me.

 

“So you were here! Sorry. I was handling Eden’s affairs in place of Sister, so I got the news late.”

 

The guy looked frantic. Since Eden’s leader had suddenly fallen into critical condition, he must have spent a busy day and night.

 

“Are you okay? I heard you went directly to the Break Site.”

 

Even so, Choi Yu-il looked me over from head to toe, checking my condition. I shrugged my shoulders.

 

“I got hurt a little, but it’s nothing to worry about. As you can see, I’m fine.”

 

I tried to use a nonchalant tone. There was no need to add unnecessary worry to someone who was already having a hard time.

 

“You got hurt?”

 

“I’m fine, I told you. I’ll go get treatment soon.”

 

“Really…? That’s a relief.”

 

Choi Yu-il relaxed his expression with relief. I casually asked back.

 

“I’m more worried about Sister Yu-kyung though. Did you visit her at the hospital?”

 

“Yeah. I just came back from there, but the thing is—.”

 

Choi Yu-il moved his lips as if he had something to say.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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