Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 237

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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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237
“Even if I die, please don’t revive me. How much work are you planning to burden this old man with?”
I couldn’t respond to Director Baek Young-shin’s quip mixed with humor.
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, if it feels burdensome, you’re free to leave.”
“Leave for where?”
“Anywhere. Don’t you have the ability to take your wife, Ji-ho, and your mother-in-law wherever you wish?”
“You’re telling me to abandon the world and leave alone?”
“Who said the world would fall? Do you think we’ll simply sit idle?”
In Director Baek Young-shin’s eyes, I saw the gaze of a warrior fighting on the front lines. His face, as always, was worn with exhaustion, yet his eyes remained sharp as ever.
Though he didn’t personally wield a blade at the front, the countless classified documents piled upon his desk testified to how fiercely he fought from behind the scenes.
“Trust those around you and pursue what you desire. Whatever it may be, I support you, Hunter Lee Ji-seok.”
“Director, I’m always grateful.”
“Think nothing of it. As a final order from the Director of the Awakener Management Bureau, I’m issuing you a command.”
“Yes?”
“That’s an order. Go rest with your family.”
“Director, I accept the order.”
I saluted, and Director Baek Young-shin returned it.
* * *
After several incidents, I’d finally set down some of the burden weighing on my heart, and following Director Baek Young-shin’s instructions, I rested at home instead of trailing after people.
“Peekaboo!”
Though Ji-ho had shown no reaction to peekaboo despite doing it thousands of times before, when both versions of me appeared simultaneously from opposite sides, he burst into delighted laughter.
Ji-ho had been startled at first by my duplicated form, but children adapt quickly, and he soon found it entertaining.
When night fell, I spent my time either responding to Gates requiring assistance or apprehending petty criminals.
It was far better use of my time than pestering those around me.
“Brother, if you’re going to rescue people like that every night, why not make yourself a Superman costume?”
“You want me to wear tights? No thanks.”
I declined Yang Sang-heon’s suggestion and continued saving people in casual clothes. Even without a costume, my recognition steadily grew.
Until now, I’d been fighting on the front lines and hadn’t engaged in any public activities, so I rarely encountered ordinary citizens. But now, my name was increasingly spoken of among the general populace.
One peaceful day, Jae-in came to find me.
“Chairman, the Commander found the rift that slipped through.”
“Let’s go immediately.”
I stopped what I was doing and headed to Mars with Jae-in.
Hunters were densely packed around the site not far from the Epicenter, and both Amy and Marbas were waiting on standby.
“Amy, you’ve had it rough.”
“What~ No one’s even shown up~”
Tch… I came because they said a strong one was coming, but it’s just been a waste of time.”
I exchanged light greetings with the languid Amy and the sharp-edged Marbas.
It wasn’t just Hunters. Among them, magical equipment caught my eye.
“Is that an anti-gravity cannon?”
It was several times larger than what I’d seen on Telus.
“That’s right. Beyond that, we’ve prepared everything we could—restriction magic, sealing magic, hydrogen bombs, you name it.”
Jae-in showed off the facilities with the enthusiasm of a child who’d just bought a new toy. Yet despite her animated expression and tone, her hands trembled visibly.
The fear and stress must have been immense, preparing for enemies to breach the very place where I’d fallen.
“Jae-in, you’ve done excellent work.”
I gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.
Then I finally stood before the rift surrounded by researchers.
“This is the opening. The cracks from the explosion have randomness to them, but this one alone bore artificial traces.”
“Alright then… I’ll be back.”
The thought of charging toward the Commander—the enemy’s field marshal who commanded countless monsters—made even me tense.
“You’re really going?”
“It’s better to strike first than to wait trembling for when the enemy arrives. Besides, even if this body falls, I have another. In the worst case, if I just gather intelligence, it’s still a gain.”
Connected by a single consciousness, whatever one body saw and felt, the other would know in real time.
“Still, I’m not at ease. I wish we could just launch bombs instead.”
“We don’t know what’s on the other side. I’ll be back. Close it immediately once I enter.”
“Please return safely.”
Taking Jae-in’s words to heart, I seized the space and tore it open.
I steadied my breathing while eyeing the Gate, then pushed my body through.
As I passed through the Gate, the universe streamed past me. Stars flowed at high speed, their light forming a corridor.
Considering that ordinary Gates could transport in less than a second, this destination was clearly extremely distant.
Only after several minutes of transit did the end of the corridor finally come into view.
I tensed my body, bracing for whatever enemy awaited beyond.
As I passed through the Gate, light flooded my vision along with countless silhouettes.
I drew blades from both the backs of my hands and thrust them toward the head of the man standing before me.
But I twisted my strike at the last instant, and my blade merely grazed the man’s cheek.
“Hic… Hieek!”
The man hadn’t even seen my attack coming. He was an ordinary human.
“Kyaaah! A monster!”
Clad entirely in black armor scaled like a Blue Dragon’s hide, with blades sprouting from my hands—there was no denying I looked monstrous.
“Security Force! Call the Security Force!”
I quickly surveyed the now-chaotic street. There was no sign of the Commander, nor even anyone awakened to mana.
I launched myself through the pandemonium.
To their eyes, I must have simply vanished.
Even the security personnel who came running at the commotion carried only swords and shields—none wielded mana.
I concealed myself atop the Clock Tower overlooking the village and gazed upward.
The city was enclosed within a dome-shaped magical formation.
To ordinary eyes, it would appear as a blue sky with dense forests spreading across the city’s outskirts and a gently flowing river. But to my perception, the truth beyond the formation was visible.
It resembled the barren Moon or Mars before colonization—a dead planet devoid of vegetation.
The magical formation had created a habitable environment on this lifeless world.
I surveyed the city’s interior as well. Beyond the magical formations blanketing the entire city, I sensed no presence of anyone wielding mana or magic.
Uncertain of where the Commander might be, I remained vigilant while examining the formations in detail.
Recalling how the cores of the magical circles created by Bae Na-young and Jae-in were typically positioned at the very center, I oriented myself toward the heart of the formation.
After bypassing several houses, I deactivated my armor and descended to the street, walking among the crowds.
It was a vibrant city.
“Black boar ribs, ten pounds for just one gold coin, what a bargain!”
“Ten pounds is too much. Could I purchase just five pounds?”
“Of course! Thank you so much!”
The shops bustled with merchants and customers conducting their transactions.
“Over here! Over here!”
“Let’s go!”
Children played freely in the streets, kicking a ball without worry.
A small ball rolled toward my feet.
As I picked it up, a young child—appearing to be in early elementary school—stared at me with wide, innocent eyes.
I silently extended the ball back to him.
“Thank you.”
The child bowed his head respectfully and took the ball.
On the surface, it appeared to be a peaceful place.
Ordinarily, a child’s soul is transparent. At that age, some tarnishing is understandable, but this soul was worn and weathered like that of an ancient elder who had lived centuries. It wasn’t a matter of good or evil. The soul itself was eroded—as though it had endured the relentless weathering of countless ages.
His friends, and indeed every person in the city, bore the same mark.
Sensing the discord beneath this seemingly peaceful city, I continued walking.
“You thief!”
“You’re the bandit for charging money for such worthless apples!”
A fruit merchant and a customer were quarreling loudly. Over such a trivial matter, their faces flushed crimson, and madness gleamed in their eyes.
“H-honey, why are you doing this?!”
The customer’s wife, bewildered, couldn’t understand why her husband—who had never acted this way before—was behaving so violently.
What had begun as a verbal dispute escalated into a fistfight when the customer lunged over the stall at the merchant.
The moment the brawl erupted, the Security Force arrived. Their response was swift, just as it had been when I appeared—the territory was thoroughly patrolled. I stepped back and observed the situation.
The guards wedged themselves between the two combatants and shoved them apart forcefully.
“Wh-what?!”
“Let go! You damned bastards!”
Though they possessed no mana, the trained guards applied their full strength deliberately, and both men collapsed to the ground.
“Restrain them! Take them to the Fortress!”
“Oh no! Why are you taking my husband to the Fortress?!”
The customer’s wife tried to reach her husband, but the guards blocked her path.
While they had fought, if this society resembled the medieval era of Telus or Earth, dragging someone to the Fortress merely for a fistfight seemed excessive.
“These two have been reported for defying the orders of Lord Markham. They are being arrested. After investigation, if no issues are found, they will be released.”
The guard spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
“How despicable….”
“Ungrateful wretches, no better than beasts, to forget the benevolence of His Majesty like the sea itself!”
The crowd instantly accepted the absurd explanation that the two people who had just been fighting in the street were actually traitors conspiring against the king.
“Then there’s no helping it.”
Even the arrested guest’s wife was taken into custody.
The scene was cleared in an instant, and with nothing left to see, I departed as well.
I walked toward the center of the magic circle, wondering if Markham was the Commander.
At the center of the magic circle stood the Royal Castle, and its defenses were the most stringent. A number of soldiers equal to the general population had been deployed within the fortress walls.
What captured my senses most was not the interior of the Royal Castle, but a small house standing right beside the castle wall.
The central magic circle extended toward that house, and multiple layers of protective magic had been cast upon it.
The Security Force members were also gazing unnaturally toward that house from the castle wall.
It was far too obvious to be a trap. But even if it were a trap, it didn’t matter. If it was a trap, I could simply destroy everything from that point onward. It was the advantage of having a spare body. Even if this body died, I had another on Earth.
At a speed invisible to the guards who lacked mana, I approached the house.
The magic circle tried to block me, but such barriers required no more force than piercing through thin cloth.
I carefully opened the door and stepped inside.
A woman’s voice came from within, accompanied by signs of presence.
“Huh? W-who are you?”
A woman in her early twenties. She possessed no mana abilities and showed no intent to attack. Yet as an unfamiliar man entered her home, she shrank back defensively.
“I seem to have entered the wrong house.”
This woman was under protection or surveillance for some reason, but I had no intention of interrogating a stranger whose identity I didn’t know, so I turned to leave.
“You look so much like my brother….”
At those words, I recalled Alice’s comment that the Commander and I resembled each other, and I stopped in my tracks.

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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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