Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 215

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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215
Three dragons opened their maws wide as if to devour Ji-seok, their teeth densely packed and gleaming with an azure aura that seemed capable of grinding steel itself.
Jae-in rushed forward to shield Ji-seok, while he simply stared at the dragons with vacant eyes.
Squelch.
The Ice Dragon’s tongue licked upward across Ji-seok’s body in one sweeping motion.
Though no saliva clung to him, a layer of crystalline frost formed where the tongue had touched.
“Huh? Albert?”
“Maybe he thinks I’m his mother~?”
“Or perhaps he recognizes Ji-seok as our leader.”
Betty had already flipped onto her back, and Ji-seok knelt on one knee, gently scratching her belly.
“Ohhh….”
One of the Metalim witnessed this and dropped to his knees.
The metallic lava that Tae-ryong had scattered had hardened, leaving Ji-seok adorned in what appeared to be gleaming black metal armor—a visage strikingly reminiscent of the god the young Metalim had heard tales of in their youth.
It was not merely his appearance. He had vanquished the dragon that sought to destroy the world and tamed three ice-breathing dragons.
“Divine one….”
All the Metalim transformed into human form and prostrated themselves deeply before Ji-seok.
Ji-seok brushed the metal dust from his body and returned to his normal size.
“Wait, I’m not actually a god….”
As Ji-seok attempted to dispel their misunderstanding, Ridi stepped forward to block his words.
“Please, allow us this. Our Metalim now requires a focal point. Remain as the god of Metalim, at least until the King of Adamant recovers his strength.”
Having finished speaking, Ridi knelt with the reverence a subject would show their sovereign.
“Hmm….”
“We can clear up the misunderstanding later anyway.”
Jae-in approached and patted Ji-seok’s back.
“Come on, everyone. Let’s head back.”
Jae-in guided the dragons toward the Gate.
“Purrr….”
The dragon exhaled a breath and coiled up beside Ji-seok, settling down.
“You guys?”
Jae-in called to the dragons again, but received no response.
“…These creatures won’t listen to reason…. Chairman, please bring them to the Research Facility.”
Jae-in, feeling as though her children had been taken from her, trudged into the Gate first. Shortly after, Director Baek Young-shin arrived wearing a protective suit—essential for navigating the harsh Underground environment, given that he was not a Hunter.
“I’ll handle the cleanup from here.”
“Lucky you, Ji-seok~ The Director takes care of everything for you~!”
“I suppose I am blessed with good fortune.”
Cheered on by the Metalim, Ji-seok’s group returned to the World Tree.
* * *
“Let me… rest….”
Back at home, I buried myself in the plush sofa.
While waiting to infiltrate Metallanet, Ji-ho’s fever had spiked dangerously. Whatever virus he had contracted showed no response to the World Tree’s power or conventional antipyretics.
Jung Min-gi and Amy had taken charge of Metallanet, so I was caring for Ji-ho when Jae-in’s SOS arrived.
Thanks to the life force I’d poured into him, Ji-ho’s fever had nearly subsided, so I rushed to Metallanet only to encounter some Lava Dragon or Tae-ryong and fought until my body was melting away.
But that was over now, so I could leave Metalim to Baek Young-shin, Ridi, and Ban, and finally rest.
Exhaustion crashed over me, and my eyes began to close.
“WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
“Ugh…”
I’d barely slept for a second before Ji-ho woke me.
“Brother….”
“Bae Na-young, you go back to sleep. I’ll handle it.”
I tucked the exhausted Bae Na-young back in—worn out from nursing and caring for a sick child—then went to the crib, lifted Ji-ho into my arms, and carried him to the living room.
“Ji-ho, what’s wrong? Are you hungry? Do you need a diaper change?”
It was neither. Even when I offered him a bottle, he didn’t respond, and his diaper was perfectly fine.
He had no fever, so I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Reading minds was only possible with adults—infants had no awareness of their own thoughts. He simply cried.
Besides, Ji-ho, who seemed to have a button on his back, would cry the moment I put him down, so I had to hold him for extended periods. Both Bae Na-young and I possessed superhuman stamina, but the intensity of our concern for the child made holding him mentally exhausting.
Ji-ho sought me out more than Bae Na-young. It seemed he’d grown accustomed to receiving my life force.
“Goodness… I should be the one holding him, but since Ji-ho keeps calling for his brother, there’s nothing I can do~”
Bae Na-young, who’d woken and come to the living room, saw Ji-ho and me doing fine, then lay comfortably on the sofa and closed her eyes. Her expression was entirely unconvincing.
“I want to help too, but your son dislikes it when I extend the World Tree’s branches to hold him.”
The World Tree Spirit, now a full-grown adult man, spoke.
In the end, I held him for quite a while before finally managing to get the child to sleep.
“Mom. Mom.”
Mother was leaving, so I whispered softly so the child wouldn’t wake.
“…”
“Mom? Could you watch the baby for a moment? I need to step out.”
Mother heard my words, her body went rigid, and she didn’t turn around.
“Mom?”
“I’m sorry! My grandson cries so much! It’s such a waste of my youth!”
“Youth?! That’s something I gave you….”
Mother fled.
“WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
And Ji-ho woke up again.
“…”
* * *
“Brother, we’re bringing Ujin over to your place this afternoon.”
“Ahem. We’ll be bringing Miri as well.”
Yang Sang-heon and Hyung-bin announced they were coming to visit.
“Huh? It’s nice that you’re coming, but you’re not even asking—this is already decided?”
“My wife settled it with Sister Bae Na-young, so I’m powerless.”
“Same here. Hahahaha.”
I’m the one spending the most time with the child, yet nobody even asked me.
The three mothers had formed a deep bond by giving birth to their children around the same time.
“My goodness, Bae Na-young bounced back so quickly after having Ji-ho.”
“Ye-seul unni looks even thinner though, what are you talking about~”
While the three mothers chatted away watching their children, the three husbands sprawled out in front of the television.
“Peace…. This is what peace feels like.”
“It really is wonderful.”
Yang Sang-heon and Hyung-bin reclined on the sofa as they spoke.
“Right. It’s comfortable. How long has it been since we had peace like this?”
I too savored the comfort of rest beside them.
“Brother, you’ll restore Ji-ho’s power, won’t you?”
Yang Sang-heon asked casually while watching television.
“Of course. But not now.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t give power that can kill people to a child who can’t even control his own bowels. I feel sorry toward Luna, but I’ll transfer it gradually once he can at least hold a basic conversation.”
Ji-ho’s development was slower than Ujin or Miri, but that was only because those two were children of Hunters and thus developed faster. Ji-ho still developed more rapidly than ordinary children.
Ye-seul said that in just two years, he would be capable of conversation.
“Children should grow up slowly and peacefully. We adults need to be strong.”
At my words, Yang Sang-heon and Hyung-bin nodded in agreement.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
“WAAAHHHHH!!!”
Ji-ho cried out, and when I looked over, Miri—Hyung-bin and Ye-seul’s daughter who had been lying beside Ji-ho—was now sitting upright, gripping Ji-ho’s hand with tremendous force. His hand had turned purple from her grip.
“Oh my! Miri! Let go! Let go!”
Ye-seul rushed over in alarm and pried Miri’s hand open, while Ujin tried to grab Miri’s hand.
Miri swiftly dodged and brought her hand down on Ujin’s head. This was not the motor control of a six-month-old child.
“Kyaaah! General!”
Akiko gasped and embraced the knocked-out Ujin.
“What a mess. Oh….”
Bae Na-young was on the verge of exploding. She was usually obedient to her older sisters, but seeing Ji-ho’s hand bruised blue was the deciding factor.
“Bae Na-young, I’m sorry! Great Heal!”
Great Heal—a spell capable of reattaching severed limbs—was cast on the baby’s bruised hand.
“Bae Na-young, calm down, calm down. That’s nothing serious.”
I gently massaged Bae Na-young’s shoulders.
“Huh? Brother? I’m fine? Children grow through fighting.”
She didn’t notice the sharp purple aura extending dangerously from behind her back.
“W-we should get going.”
“Bae Na-young, I’m sorry.”
Akiko and Ye-seul hurriedly gathered their children and left, with their husbands scrambling after them.
“Brother, should I restore Ji-ho’s power?”
Bae Na-young gently rubbed Ji-ho’s hand, the bruise already faded.
“Calm down. We agreed to give it to him in a few years. And Ji-ho isn’t weak or slow. Those two are just too fast.”
“I hope he won’t be bullied or mistreated anywhere.”
Bae Na-young had become a mother, and worry came naturally to her—but the troubles she feared never materialized.
Beyond Ye-seul and Akiko, the Hunter mothers made considerable effort to play with Ji-ho. It seemed they were creating opportunities to grow closer to me. Since I rarely engaged in external activities, they apparently wanted to build a connection through this.
“…Why are they all so tense watching the child?”
After hearing about Ji-ho and Miri’s accident, the mothers stayed glued to their children’s sides, vigilantly monitoring whether their own kids might injure Ji-ho.
“Hehe, the young master is so beautiful that we wanted to see him up close~”
Those who came to flatter us left soon enough.
The fact that Bae Na-young and I could read minds unsettled them, and watching the children so carefully was exhausting. Most critically, Ji-ho cried frequently. Constantly.
“They’ve all left.”
In the end, it was just the three of us again.
“Waaaaahhhhh!”
I picked up the crying Ji-ho.
“Is Mother home? I came to return the side dish containers.”
Si-hwan had arrived.
“Oh, Chairman.”
“Shh….”
“Waaaahhhhh!!!!”
“… I’d just gotten him to sleep….”
My own nerves were frayed, and my response came out less than gracious. No matter how strong one’s stamina and mental fortitude, childcare demanded something beyond that.
“I’ll… I’ll put him back to sleep.”
“You think it’ll be that easy? Just hold him for now. I’ll go get the baby formula.”
“Baby formula? Hehehehe….”
Without thinking, I’d said “baby formula,” and Si-hwan chuckled at the phrasing.
When I stopped and glared at him, the smile vanished from Si-hwan’s face.
“Come now~ Ji-ho~ don’t cry~ why are you crying so much~”
I harbored no great expectations that Si-hwan would actually soothe the child. I simply hoped he would hold Ji-ho while I retrieved the breast milk.
To my surprise, Si-hwan cradled the child with practiced ease and began singing a lullaby.
His voice was so hauntingly beautiful that my hand froze as I reached into the refrigerator.
The refrigerator door hung open as I stood entranced, and Ji-ho’s cries gradually diminished.
“…”
“Si-hwan.”
“Yes?”
“You’re hired.”
Si-hwan’s expression went blank before he suddenly snapped to attention.
“But I have to go to the Gate.”
“Double what you earn at the Gate.”
“What hours should I come?”
“Just a few hours a day—three or four at most.”
“Wait! What are you saying without consulting your brother first?!”
Bae Na-young rushed out, having grasped the situation.
“Na-young, Si-hwan seems quite capable with the child. Couldn’t we leave him for three or four hours?”
“No, no, that’s not it. Why only three or four hours? Let’s make it eight hours.”
“Ah….”
“Si-hwan.”
Mother had returned at that moment.
“Oh, Mother, the side dishes you gave me last time were delicious. I brought back the container.”
“Good, thank you. Why don’t you live here now? I’ll prepare side dishes for you every day.”
“What? But….”
“Just until Ji-ho grows a bit more? Yes? Let’s do that.”
Mother gently rubbed her cheek, the one that had been injured before, as she spoke.
“…Yes.”
Si-hwan lowered his head and answered quietly.
“Si-hwan, I’ll give you plenty of money. Please take good care of him.”
A live-in caregiver had been found.

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