Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 41

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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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41
I owe an apology to Mother and Bae Na-young, but there’s something I must do soon.
Within the next week, a submarine from some nation will test a Mana Stone engine in the East Sea.
Mana Stone energy has many advantages over oil and nuclear power, so it’s used across all industries. I can extract Mana Stone energy without waste, but the items and machines currently using Mana Stones have poor energy efficiency. Each nation has been conducting endless research to improve Mana Stone efficiency, and they’ve achieved modest results.
Specifically, they’ve created an engine that melts Mana Stones and reacts them with catalysts to generate energy. This engine’s efficiency far surpasses the conventional method.
However, even the melting process alone is unstable and can explode, and mixing other catalysts only reduces stability further. Of course, in the future, they succeed in controlling it after multiple trials. But the world collapses before mass production begins.
The submarine experiment about to occur is one of those trials—a success, technically speaking. They extracted energy approaching 100% efficiency. But they couldn’t contain the generated energy, so the submarine sinks and explodes on the seafloor.
This triggers an earthquake, and tsunamis strike the East Coast and Japan’s West Coast.
The East Coast doesn’t have many residents currently, but still hundreds of thousands live there, and Japan’s West Coast has far more. The casualties from this disaster were beyond measure.
I have to stop it before the explosion.
“I’m going to the sea for a bit.”
I let Bae Na-young, who frequently hunts and visits Gates, know I’d be away for several days.
“The sea? Suddenly? Why?”
Bae Na-young asked.
“Uh… just to have fun.”
I’d heard so many warnings not to do anything dangerous that I couldn’t tell her the truth. I had no intention of revealing my past life either.
So I simply said I was going for leisure.
“Then let’s all go together.”
Come to think of it, it would be nice to go on a trip together anyway. I can slip away at night to search for the submarine.
“Sounds good. We’re heading to the East Coast, so everyone who’s coming should prepare.”
In the end, Mother, Na-young’s Mother, myself, Bae Na-young, Yang Sang-heon, and Jae-in all went together.
Since I’d earned more than enough money, I booked the finest suite at a luxury resort with Hunter security. The two mothers shared one room, and the rest of us used a large suite. The suite was so spacious that each of us had our own separate room inside.
“Oh my, oh my, what a wonderful room~”
“Mom, they have hot springs here too. Please rest comfortably with Na-young’s Mother.”
Both mothers eagerly headed to the hot springs first. They’d both worked so hard—I hoped they could relax and enjoy themselves.
“I’m going to the sea for a bit.”
“Let me come with you, hyung!”
We each went to our rooms and changed into swimwear.
Yang Sang-heon and I wore swim trunks, our muscles sharply defined from our training.
“Wait, how does Jae-in hyung have such a good physique when he’s always stuck in the workshop?”
Jae-in, who wasn’t particularly tall, looked even shorter because his muscular build made him appear stockier.
“How could someone who works in a smithy not be in good shape? He lifts heavy things all day and works in front of the forge.”
The men had all come out, but Bae Na-young still hadn’t appeared.
“She’s taking a while.”
“Hyung, women always take some time. We just stripped and threw on swim trunks.”
After waiting a bit longer, Bae Na-young emerged. She wore a white bikini top with a skirt that had slits revealing her thighs, and she’d even taken the time to style her hair beautifully.
“Ahem, we’ll head out first.”
Yang Sang-heon dragged Jae-in out ahead of us.
“Let’s go too.”
Bae Na-young’s face flushed red as she took my arm.
“That swimsuit looks great on you.”
“Thank you.”
My face flushed even deeper.
The Beach, emptied of visitors since the Gate incident, felt like I’d rented out the entire place.
“The sea!”
Yang Sang-heon and Jae-in bolted into the water. The East Sea had always been pristine, but without human footprints, it had become even more transparent.
Fortunately, no monsters capable of surviving in seawater had ever emerged from a Gate. If they had, international trade would have been completely severed.
Bae Na-young reclined in a chair beneath the parasol the Resort had provided.
With her excellent figure and sunglasses, she looked like she was posing for a magazine shoot.
“I’m going for a swim too. I’ll practice my swimming and go out far, so enjoy yourselves. Take these two inside first, have a meal, and rest.”
“Okay~”
A Resort staff member brought drinks, and Bae Na-young settled into a proper vacation mood.
I let everyone enjoy themselves while I went to accomplish my real purpose.
Submarines operate at depths humans cannot withstand. If I failed to stop one in time and it sank, the depths would become even greater. Before beginning serious exploration, I needed to forge a body capable of functioning at such pressures.
I plunged into the deep sea. Leaving my swimsuit on a nearby rock since it would hinder swimming, I wrapped myself in a suit.
My lung capacity transcended human limits, so staying submerged for several minutes posed no problem.
My body was far heavier relative to its volume, making descent into the abyss effortless. If I wanted to surface, I could simply enlarge myself.
I’d grown accustomed to swimming and could move my body with complete freedom.
The pristine sea was beautiful. Sunlight descended from the surface, illuminating the depths below.
I swam alongside schools of fish for a moment, savoring the ocean.
As I descended deeper, light diminished and colors appeared differently. An Awakened would already be dead at this depth from water pressure. I continued sinking, enduring the crushing force pressing against my entire body. My eyes and ears suffered especially, but after blood burst from them several times, the bleeding stopped and the pain vanished.
As I adapted to the pressure, my breath began to fail.
I closed my eyes and focused on each individual cell in my body.
I visualized minimizing oxygen consumption in stationary cells, each cell absorbing more oxygen, and using less oxygen even during vigorous movement.
Since evolution heavily reflected my will, capturing such imagery was crucial.
I closed my eyes and waited for my body to adapt.
The pressure and oxygen deprivation were agonizing, but I endured by relying on my formidable mental skill. I felt unadapted cells dying away. It didn’t matter. New cells were already replacing them.
I absorbed energy from my surroundings for regeneration. The abundant life energy of the sea meant I was absorbing far more than I needed.
My mind grew so muddled I could barely endure it. I enlarged my body and swam toward the surface.
“Gasp… huh?”
I couldn’t see the shore.
“I’ve gone too far.”
My senses had sharpened to an animal-like acuity, allowing me to sense my location. Most people drifting with their eyes closed would gradually veer to one side, but my internal compass was precise enough that I could travel exactly one kilometer with my eyes shut.
Beep beep beep beep
As I was catching my breath, my diver’s wristwatch—purchased at considerable expense and with great difficulty—rang with a call.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“Ah, I went out swimming a bit far.”
“How long are you going to swim? What about food?”
“I’m fine. Go ahead and eat with Mother and Na-young’s Mother. Don’t worry about me—just rest.”
“Got it~”
I drew a deep breath and sank back into the sea.
This time, I ventured into even deeper waters. As the depth increased, my visibility deteriorated accordingly.
To perceive my surroundings, I clicked my tongue to produce sound and felt the echoes reverberating off objects through my skin—the same principle a submarine uses with sonar to navigate.
Without such heightened senses, I would have perceived nothing, but my tactile and auditory sensitivity had long surpassed what could be called merely “keen.”
I calibrated my senses by comparing the echoes I felt with what my eyes confirmed was actually present.
* * *
The training concluded late into the evening. It had been a success.
I descended thousands of meters into the abyss, destroying my dive watch in the process. Yet my body now withstood the crushing pressure and breathing underwater without difficulty, and I could detect objects through sound echoes from hundreds of meters to several kilometers away.
As a result, my keen senses advanced another skill level, reaching A-rank.
Swimming had become second nature. I could now move through the water faster than any creature in the sea.
I changed out of my swimsuit, which I’d left on the rocks, and returned to the Resort.
As I dragged my exhausted body into the Resort, a drinking party was in full swing.
“Brother~”
“Boss~ where have you been~”
Two men were thoroughly intoxicated.
“Where are the mothers?”
“They’re already asleep~ what time do you think it is~”
Judging by their slurred speech and inability to sit straight, they’d be passed out on the floor within minutes.
“Let’s eat something.”
I ordered room service generously and sat down still wearing my swimsuit.
“Didn’t you drink, Bae Na-young?”
“I had a little.”
Her face looked perfectly fine.
“No way~ you drank the most~”
Yang Sang-heon spoke with a slurred tongue. Empty whiskey and wine bottles cluttered the table. As expected, they were all Hunters with exceptional stamina.
“No, I only had a little.”
She smiled sweetly as she spoke, but the number of bottles lined up on her side of the table suggested she’d consumed quite a bit. She must have a low alcohol tolerance.
I finished what the three of them had left behind, drinking and conversing with them.
All four of us had endured considerable hardship, so we ate and drank with enthusiasm, delighted by this unexpected vacation.
Though the vacation had deviated from the original plan, seeing everyone enjoy themselves put me in a good mood.
Yet Bae Na-young, usually so shy, was gazing directly at me.
“What is it?”
“Nothing really.”
“I’ll put those two to bed first. Get some rest if you’re tired.”
“No. I want to drink a bit more.”
I carried the sprawled-out Yang Sang-heon and Jae-in to their respective beds and closed the door.
When I returned to my seat, Bae Na-young stood up.
“Shouldn’t you get some sleep too, Bae Na-young?”
“No, I’m going to drink more.”
Bae Na-young shifted her seat and sat down right beside me. I had just emerged from the sea and hadn’t even washed yet, but she smelled fresh—she must have showered.
Her complexion hadn’t changed at all, but judging by her behavior, she was definitely intoxicated.
“So much has happened in such a short time. You must have been through a lot, Bae Na-young.”
“There were difficult moments, but I’m fine. Because there were good things too.”
“That’s true. Your mother recovered, and your abilities grew.”
“You know that perfectly well, don’t you?”
Bae Na-young stared directly at me. Her clear, glistening eyes were mesmerizing.
The distance between us grew smaller and smaller.
* * *
I let Bae Na-young sleep and quietly slipped out of the room. Since my Regeneration skill had increased, I needed less sleep.
On the day my life was reborn, I had written down various life plans in a notebook. Some had gone according to plan, others hadn’t.
Bae Na-young was a case that hadn’t gone according to plan. In that notebook, she was written down as a villain, and I had planned how to deal with her.
Life truly is unpredictable.
I had more reasons to grow stronger now. Because there were more people to protect.
Steeling my resolve, I dove into the sea.
I had to drive out the submarine before it sank.
If I circled around the submarine or attacked it, the one conducting the covert operation would leave this waters.
To do that, I had to find the submarine in this vast East Sea. Based on the approximate sinking location I had seen in the news, I began searching in expanding circles from that point.
Fishing boats came and went on the surface, but there was no sign of the submarine.
As dawn was approaching and I was about to return, I spotted the submarine at a depth of 300 meters.

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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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