Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 21

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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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Episode 021

 

I gripped what I had taken out of my bag with one hand and swept the earring with the other.

 

A familiar sensation was felt at my fingertips as a brief message appeared in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really didn’t think I’d be doing this again.

 

I swallowed dry saliva. I finally gave in.

 

“…Register as Kwon Hae-seong.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could hear my moral compass deep in my chest crying out in protest, but I turned my head away.

 

Human rights and morals aside, I need to survive and get back alive first before I can worry about those things again, right?

 

‘At least I’ve taken care of the most important thing.’

 

Next is trying something just in case.

 

Lower Open Source Activation.

 

 

 

 

 

“…!”

 

I wasn’t panicked.

 

I had naturally considered this situation as well.

 

However, while my hypothesis was proven, the situation became a bit more complicated.

 

Having experienced the Status Window several times, I’m not an idiot either, so I had set up a hypothesis.

 

Of course, I hadn’t intended to test it in this messed up situation…

 

I raised my head to look at the monster fighting with Kwon Hae-seong.

 

And the Status Window floating beside it.

 

 

‘So that monster’s name is Tyros.’

 

I wondered if I could use my Tamer Ability like outside to handle that monster like an animal…

 

 

I can’t take the easy route.

 

‘Then I’ll have to go with the original plan.’

 

I waited to see the right timing.

 

Kwon Hae-seong jumped up to avoid Tyros’s stone fist, then slipped away from the opposing fist that came flying right after.

 

He seemed to keep trying counterattacks, but it didn’t look easy.

 

As expected, he appeared to be losing ground as time passed.

 

The creature must have been very angry as it opened its eyes bright red and mercilessly pounded the ground with both fists as if it would destroy Kwon Hae-seong.

 

The ground shook greatly in response, creating large holes in the floor one by one.

 

That… would be instant death if it hits.

 

‘Get it together, Hwiyeon.’

 

There’s only one chance.

 

I gripped it again as it was about to slip down from sweat.

 

Kwon Hae-seong, who had been wary of Tyros, slowly got up again and picked up a rock nearby… Wait? A rock?

 

Then he struck down at Tyros’s Bone Mask with that large rock.

 

No, I was trying to bring it down.

 

Tyros was shocked that the guy who had only been throwing punches suddenly switched tactics to a rock attack, and its mouth gaped open.

 

Then, just as Cheonji had said, blunt teeth were revealed.

 

Countless numbers of them….

 

‘If that thing bites you, you’re dea…!’

 

I immediately strained my neck and shouted.

 

“Kwon Hae-seong Sit!!!”

 

 

At the same time as my shout, Kwon Hae-seong’s knees slammed into the ground.

 

And his left foot, which was about to enter Tyros’s teeth, also safely slammed into the ground.

 

While I was horrified by his reckless strategy, I steadily moved my body.

 

Kwon Hae-seong’s dazed eyes followed me as I ran, but I ignored them.

 

Tyros was momentarily shaken by Kwon Hae-seong suddenly disappearing from its sight.

 

“…!”

 

I didn’t miss that opportunity.

 

Using the blocked line of sight, I ran right under the Bone Mask.

 

-Whoosh.

 

The creature threw a punch when it belatedly spotted me, but I was faster.

 

I took what I was holding in my hand and pressed it against the creature’s neck.

 

Harder.

 

Harder!

 

The joint where pressure was applied pressed down and created a gap.

 

The size automatically stretched out, the ring opened, and finally….

 

-Click.

 

 

“…Did it work…?”

 

…It seems like it worked.

 

I succeeded.

 

In putting the ‘Painless Stylish Ability Control Device’ around this creature’s neck.

 

“Phew….”

 

Perhaps my tension was released at the thought that I had succeeded for now, as I collapsed onto the floor.

 

The creature was also confused, and rather than thinking of attacking, it was busy fumbling with the Control Device around its neck.

 

Try it a hundred times, see if that comes off.

 

According to the manual that came with it, it was made using a special metal that only comes from Dungeons, so it would be fine even if an elephant stepped on it.

 

‘The little guy is trying hard.’

 

I looked at the struggling Tyros with pitying eyes.

 

From what I heard, monsters in Dungeons also have the same Frequency in their bodies as Awakeners.

 

‘Then if it wears a Control Device, it would feel the same thing as us.’

 

Frustrating and scary.

 

‘We just need to escape while that creature is confused.’

 

A moment later, when Kwon Hae-seong, who had grasped the situation, approached to talk to me.

 

-Thud!

 

“…?”

 

…Tyros fell backward.

 

Writhing and squirming. Rolling around on the floor like someone with a stomachache, Kwon Hae-seong and I forgot what we were going to say and stared blankly at that sight.

 

‘Why is it acting like that?’

 

‘…I don’t know.’

 

After roughly exchanging such brief glances and looking again….

 

The Bone Mask came off due to the large movements, and under that mask, the creature’s bare face was revealed.

 

Even the drooping corners of that creature’s eyes.

 

“Ah.”

 

Come to think of it, Manager Lee Won-woo had said that.

 

 

That there were serious side effects.

 

As soon as I realized this, loud laughter echoed throughout the dungeon.

 

-Kakakakakakak!!

 

-Kakakakakakak!!

 

***

 

Kim gripped the iron bars with a devastated expression.

 

Beyond the cold metal bars, dozens of monsters were swarming around.

 

“Mister, sit down. Don’t your legs hurt?”

 

His head boiled with anger at the leisurely voice coming from behind him.

 

‘I’m trapped here because of whom!’

 

He ended up like this trying to escape with that little brat!

 

No matter how much they ran, the monsters’ stamina that showed no signs of tiring surpassed that of humans.

 

Meanwhile, Kim’s stamina hit rock bottom faster than usual from running while carrying a kid weighing over 10kg on one arm.

 

‘And we got caught in the end! This Kim Pyo-sang!’

 

He had thought about forcibly dropping the kid midway… but at that moment, his nephew whose face he couldn’t even remember anymore came to mind!

 

“Save me! Please open this!!”

 

He pleaded with all his might toward the monster cutting up pieces of wood, but they didn’t even pretend to listen.

 

He had only needed a place to hide temporarily, not to spend the rest of his life trapped in a place like this!

 

“Mister, if you shout like that, your throat will hurt.”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Being trapped in one space with an unreasonable kid and having to watch those dwarf bastards who looked this way occasionally with sinister smiles was torture.

 

“Save me… please open this…!”

 

-Uuuu?

 

 

About an hour after being trapped in prison like this.

 

After shouting until his throat was raw and observing these creatures, he learned one chilling fact.

 

“That… that, surely not.”

 

They carried pieces of wood they had chopped from the grass one by one and began lighting a large fire in the center.

 

Then they placed a cauldron big enough for two adult men over that fire in a celebratory atmosphere…

 

“No, it can’t be.”

 

Why, why? Why does it feel like a feast?

 

Scenes he didn’t even want to imagine were forming in his head.

 

For example, skewering people like ingredients on those long wooden spits?

 

The ominous imagination that he and that annoying kid would be the ones thrown into that boiling cauldron…

 

-Rustle rustle.

 

Kim found tears coming to his eyes without realizing it.

 

‘I may not have lived virtuously, but did I live badly enough to die this cruelly!’

 

-Rustle rustle.

 

“Hey! Nam Tae-jae! You’re making people anxious, so be quiet!”

 

Kim shouted angrily at the plastic bag sounds that were getting on his nerves when he might die soon.

 

‘Damn… when we might die soon.’

 

Looking at Nam Tae-jae, he was sitting cross-legged as if he were in his own room, pulling out a white plastic bag from his backpack.

 

Seeing this, Kim thought that even if they were going to die, he should definitely educate this little brat properly.

 

‘I’ll give him a good scolding!’

 

But then.

 

“Want to eat a potato?”

 

Suddenly Nam Tae-jae held out a warm potato…

 

“…”

 

This was absurd.

 

Were the kids hungry in this situation?

 

Did this kid want to give this to me?

 

After such questions, I looked at the potato that Tae-jae held out to me.

 

…The white potato held in those small hands looked delicious.

 

Gulp.

 

Looking back, I hadn’t eaten proper food for over a month.

 

‘I was busy shoving grass or mushrooms raw into my mouth.’

 

If you tried to eat while giving off food smells in a dungeon, you’d become monster food yourself.

 

Just like right now…

 

Kim hesitated.

 

“My grandmother steamed these this morning.”

 

“…Give me one.”

 

If grandmother steamed it, I should eat it.

 

I might die soon anyway, so I thought dignity and circumstances didn’t matter.

 

Despite my firm resolve, I lost my fighting spirit over a single potato.

 

Kim plopped down and took a bite of the potato Nam Tae-jae gave him.

 

The potato was… incredibly delicious.

 

‘So delicious it brings tears to my eyes. Damn.’

 

The potato was fluffy and perfectly cooked, and sweet as if sugar had been sprinkled in the middle.

 

Maybe because sugar was entering my system after so long, I felt a little… better.

 

I’m going crazy too.

 

Here I am, about to become monster food, sitting here grinning because a potato tastes good.

 

“It’s delicious, right?”

 

“It’s delicious.”

 

After eating about 3 potatoes, Kim became a little curious about this strange child.

 

For a kid, he had quite a calm attitude – to put it nicely, he was spirited; to put it badly, he was cheeky.

 

What on earth was this kid thinking?

 

“You…”

 

“It’s Tae-jae.”

 

“Right, Nam Tae-jae.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What do your parents do?”

 

Was that too old-fashioned a question? Kim recalled his long-stalled social life and just shook his head.

 

“They’re doctors. What do your parents do, mister?”

 

“…”

 

How unpleasant. He vaguely recalled the faces of his parents who had passed away 20 years ago and let out a weak laugh.

 

Pointless.

 

“They passed away. I have no family. I have one younger brother, but we don’t keep in touch… I also have no job, no colleagues, no friends…”

 

He’d only asked about family, but I rattled off everything he hadn’t asked about.

 

Next I’ll probably say I have no money either.

 

“Isn’t your younger brother family?”

 

“If he’s worse than a stranger, he’s not family. When we meet, we’re busy fighting and cursing every day. Then at some point, we stopped contacting each other.”

 

“Do you hate your younger brother?”

 

Do I hate my younger brother?

 

“…I do hate him. But I hate myself more.”

 

I hated my younger brother who nagged and cursed at me every day. But I hated myself more than that brother.

 

I regretted my youth when I lived carelessly, happy to have finally gained a mediocre ability so late in life.

 

Intoxicated by being an Awakener, I even quit the job I’d been doing well at.

 

Saying that ordinary places like this weren’t meant for someone like me.

 

My younger brother and parents nagged me every day, so I left home because I was sick of hearing it.

 

I’m sure at first, I intended to succeed and return home…

 

Well, there was a time like that.

 

‘I cut off all contact and ended up robbing empty houses.’

 

I tried to live well, but how easy is that?

 

When I came to my senses, the crimes I’d committed had piled up and brought me to this point.

 

“There are twins in our class named Seo-ro and Seo-ra. They fight every day too. They throw Fire and objects at each other. But they’re always together.”

 

“…Why is that?”

 

“That’s what siblings are like. Are brothers different?”

 

“You don’t really know because you’re young, but fighting as kids and fighting as adults are different. The scale of the fights is different.”

 

Even as I spoke, my mouth felt bitter for no reason.

 

Being young must be nice – so carefree and enviable.

 

“Adults aren’t good then. I won’t become an adult. I’ll fight small fights and make up quickly.”

 

“…Does that work just because you want it to?”

 

“If you set your mind to it, it works out.”

 

It was a thought only possible because of his youth.

 

That’s what Kim thought.

 

He too had once been like that, believing he could do and achieve anything.

 

“You don’t even know you’re about to die – will setting your mind to it change the current situation?”

 

He wondered if he was being too harsh, but thought it was better than giving false hope.

 

Just in case… it seemed better for Nam Tae-jae to know reality beforehand rather than face great disappointment later.

 

However, Nam Tae-jae seemed to think differently.

 

He looked at him steadily without wavering and spoke.

 

“It will change. Everything I’ve set my mind to has come true. I’ve decided that I’m leaving this place with you today, mister.”

 

What a strange little kid.

—————
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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