Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 84

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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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84
Bae Na-young asked why I was going abroad.
Should I tell her I was going to prevent a Gate Break? And should I confess that I’d regressed? I wrestled with the decision.
The deliberation didn’t last long. I couldn’t tell her. No matter how chaotic the world had become due to Gates, there was no benefit in her knowing that complete annihilation might occur in a few years. Besides, if Bae Na-young asked about her future self, I wouldn’t know what to say.
“…A vacation?”
“…Come with me.”
She seemed to sense something was off, but Bae Na-young didn’t press further.
“Sure, let’s go to Mexico. I hear the ocean is beautiful there.”
Within a few months, an intelligent monster would emerge from a Gate on the Eastern Coast of Mexico. That monster would command tens of thousands of creatures to occupy the region. It would become the first monster to later be called a Commander or Legion Commander.
Random monsters attacking humans in the wild was entirely different from an organized army of tens of thousands.
From this incident onward, the political situation across the Americas would shift dramatically. Even with the existing Gates, humanity was already stretched thin, and unable to contain the monsters spreading into North America and South America, they would begin to collapse one by one.
I’d abandoned this incident because it would take time to affect my country, and I hadn’t expected to grow this strong so quickly. But now I had the confidence to stop it.
“Chairman, your passports are ready~”
Jeon Gyu-hee, Yang President’s secretary, brought our passports.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“When would you like to depart?”
“As soon as possible.”
Trivial matters had consumed much of my time, and now I had none to spare. The incident would occur in about a week.
“Would you like to leave this afternoon then?”
“Pardon? That’s possible so soon?”
“You can take the private jet.”
“We have a private jet?”
“Yes. You didn’t know?”
Rigen certainly made good money. Large sums appeared in my account daily, so I’d never lacked funds, but I hadn’t realized it was this substantial.
“This afternoon is too soon. Let’s make it tomorrow.”
The next day, I left our mothers to rest in Korea and headed to the airport with Bae Na-young, Yang Sang-heon, Ye-seul, and the Oh Brothers.
We drove to the private hangar at the airport. The aircraft parked there bore Rigen’s logo elegantly emblazoned on its fuselage, but unlike commercial airliners carrying hundreds of passengers, it was remarkably sleek and elongated.
“This is it?”
“Yes. It’s a supersonic aircraft powered by mana stones. It’ll reach Mexico in six hours.”
Jeon Gyu-hee accompanied us to the airport and provided the briefing.
The group gasped in admiration at the fighter jet-like aircraft.
“Well then, have a pleasant trip.”
Leaving Jeon Gyu-hee’s farewell behind, we boarded the aircraft. The plane took off immediately without any delay.
“Ooooooh.”
Four of the Oh Brothers, excluding Hyung-bin, marveled at the view outside the aircraft windows.
“Is this your first time flying?”
“Yes, sir. When would we ever have the chance?”
“Well, enjoy it.”
You might suffer when we arrive.
Glancing to the side, I saw Yu Hyung-bin rigid and trembling, while Ye-seul held his hand reassuringly.
A tank as massive as a mountain, yet so fearful—it was rather amusing.
“But how did those two end up like this?”
“When you weren’t around, we formed a party with five others and Ye-seul, and we’ve been running Gates. Back then….”
Yang Sang-heon recounted what had transpired during my absence.
“Hyung-bin! No matter how much of a tank you are, you can’t just take every hit like that! You need to dodge and deflect appropriately!”
Yang Sang-heon shouted toward Hyung-bin, who was grappling with an orc.
“That’s easier said than done!”
Even though Hyung-bin wore armor that expanded with his gigantification ability, he couldn’t completely prevent minor wounds or the impact of blunt force.
With relatively poor agility and strength, he had no choice but to absorb numerous blows while hunting.
Ye-seul kept healing him, so his wounds closed immediately, but there was nothing she could do about the pain—Hyung-bin’s screams and cries never ceased.
“Jin-woo! Watch out!”
Jin-woo’s summoned eagle vanished after taking a hit in the chaos. When Jin-woo was exposed to the orc’s attack, Hyung-bin threw himself forward, blocking the orc’s blade with his back.
“Argh!”
His shoulder blade fractured. Given his massive frame and armor, it was fortunate the damage was limited to that.
“This won’t do….”
Yang Sang-heon, who had been observing, rushed in and took control of the situation.
“Protecting others is admirable, but if you keep blocking with your body like that, what happens when the tank falls? Everyone else dies too. And trust your younger siblings a bit more. Min-woo wasn’t even in that much danger just now—you just made things worse by jumping in.”
Yang Sang-heon scolded them in frustration.
Hyung-bin had nothing to say and simply lowered his head to listen.
“You all rely too heavily on Chang-hee and push too hard. Now that he’s gone, look at the state you’re in. You’re all over level 15, yet you’re struggling this much against a few orcs?”
Unlike the four who remained E-rank, Chang-hee had already reached C-rank. The four sipped potions and listened intently to Yang Sang-heon’s advice.
“Let’s rest for a moment and continue.”
Yang Sang-heon sighed and turned away. With me gone, he felt a heavy sense of responsibility. He tried to handle my duties as flawlessly as possible, and one of those duties was training Oh’s Group.
He trained the four without Chang-hee and Ye-seul, but it wasn’t as smooth as when I had been doing it.
“This is difficult….”
Yang Sang-heon’s sighs were endless.
“Are you alright?”
Ye-seul approached Hyung-bin and asked.
“Thanks to you. It’s definitely different having a Healer with us.”
“But it still hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does.”
“Then why do you keep going?”
“Because it’s better than before.”
“I see.”
“You’ve heard what we used to do, haven’t you? That’s right. I’d rather suffer myself than drive nails through someone else’s chest. Haha.”
He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
Ye-seul stared intently at Yu Hyung-bin.
“Hey, hey, the Healer isn’t angry, right?”
Si-hwan, watching Ye-seul and Hyung-bin, jabbed Min-woo’s ribs with his elbow repeatedly.
“Her expression is hard to read, but if she were angry, she wouldn’t be taking care of him like that, would she?”
“That’s right. It’s about time you got married too, isn’t it?”
Si-hwan touched his chin as he spoke.
“But with how reserved our oldest brother is, how could it work? He freezes up whenever a woman is around.”
“Come on, what good are younger siblings if we don’t step up? Let’s help him out.”
“Hyung, what are you planning to do?”
Si-hwan grinned at Min-woo.
“Your older brother has a plan for everything.”
“But Si-hwan’s plans never work out….”
Min-woo and Jin-woo exchanged worried glances, though they both agreed their oldest brother should get married, so they remained silent.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work!”
After clearing the Gate, we all went out for drinks, and at Si-hwan’s lead, everyone raised their glasses.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Everyone gave brief greetings and stuffed food into their mouths. After spending all day in the Gate and eating only dried rations, everyone’s appetite was ravenous.
“Please, eat plenty.”
Ye-seul attended to everyone with an expressionless face.
“Healer, aren’t you drinking?”
“No. I’ve never had alcohol before.”
“Really? Truly? Your age….”
“I’m twenty-seven.”
“Twenty-seven with only a five-year difference, which they say doesn’t even count for compatibility….”
Si-hwan muttered to himself.
“Pardon?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. But is it really possible not to have tried alcohol by twenty-seven?”
“…I don’t have good memories associated with alcohol. I prefer sweet things, so I’ll have a non-alcoholic cocktail.”
“Hyung, you should have a drink too!”
“Si-hwan, you know I don’t drink. Why are you so excited today?”
“Come on, just have one today~”
“No, I said no. What’s gotten into you today?”
Si-hwan pestered him, but Hyung-bin refused to drink.
“Hyung, is your plan to get him drunk? Our oldest brother doesn’t drink.”
Min-woo asked with an exasperated expression.
“If everyone gets drunk and plays games and all that, they’d naturally get closer…. But it’s not working out as planned.”
Soon Si-hwan and his younger siblings forgot their original purpose and laughed and chattered while intoxicated, but Ye-seul and Hyung-bin, who weren’t drinking, remained somewhat quiet.
“This must be boring for you, right? Would you like to leave early?”
“No. It’s fun. I’m sorry. My expression isn’t very good, is it?”
“Oh…. No, it’s not! I was just worried you might be bored.”
“I’m having fun right now. It’s a bit warm, though. My expression hasn’t changed since I was young.”
“Even when something’s funny?”
“I find it amusing inside, but the laughter just doesn’t come out.”
“What about when you’re sad?”
Ye-seul paused, as if recalling something.
“Even if my heart aches, my face shows….”
And then tears streamed down Ye-seul’s cheeks.
“Huh?”
“Huh? Huh? Are you alright, Ye-seul?”
“My eyes…. There’s water….”
“Are you okay? Did I make some mistake?”
Hyung-bin handed her tissues in confusion.
“It’s not that…. Why now….”
“Customer! I’m so sorry. We were supposed to serve you a non-alcoholic drink, but it seems we gave you one with alcohol. Please accept this as our service.”
A server hurried over and replaced Ye-seul’s beverage with a fresh one.
“Alcohol…. You drank it? So that’s why you’re crying?”
Ye-seul’s tears flowed more freely, and soon she began sobbing uncontrollably.
“Huh…. What?”
“Mom…. Dad!! Waaah…. I was sad back then! I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Why…. Why alcohol….”
Ye-seul wept bitterly and walked outside.
“Hyung-bin! Go after her!”
“Huh? Uh….”
His younger siblings pushed him forward, and Hyung-bin followed.
Ye-seul sat on the curb at the edge of the sidewalk, weeping without pause.

Hyung-bin, unsure what to do as a grown woman sobbed openly, simply stood nearby and watched.
After crying for a long while, Ye-seul composed herself.
“I’m sorry…. Sniff….”
“No, no! There’s nothing to apologize for.”
After her tears subsided, Ye-seul’s usual expressionless face now appeared somehow relieved.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I cried?”
“People cry sometimes.”
Hyung-bin sat beside Ye-seul, and the two watched passersby in silence.
“Sigh…. My parents died in a traffic accident when I was in middle school. The other driver was drunk.”
Ye-seul began speaking as if confessing.
“Ah…. So that’s why you don’t drink.”
“Yes. But…. If I’d known tears would come from drinking, I would have done it sooner.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t cry even at my parents’ funeral. I heard people pointing fingers and cursing, saying I was a bad daughter, but no tears came. Inside, I was falling apart.”
Tears flowed from Ye-seul’s eyes once more.
Ye-seul, usually quiet, continued speaking to Hyung-bin like a dam that had burst.
How she’d drifted between relatives’ homes after her parents passed. How all her relatives had distanced themselves, perhaps because of the funeral circumstances. How she’d gone on school volunteer work and met children in even more difficult situations than herself.
“You do volunteer work in your spare time despite how demanding being a Hunter is. That’s truly admirable.”
“You’re admirable too, Hyung-bin.”
“Me?”
“I’ve never seen anyone care for their people like that before.”
“I’m the older brother, so it’s only natural that I look after my younger siblings.”
Hyung-bin scratched his head without a word.
“And I saw something a few days ago.”
“What?”
“You on your knees in the street.”
Hyung-bin, realizing what was being implied, fell silent.

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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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