LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 71: Superiority, Suppression (2)
“Don’t mess around with that insignificant power. Jeong Ha-seong.”
Let’s see.
I unintentionally hurled that remark as a defensive mechanism, but how do I continue this?
Huh.
Honestly, being a F-Class doesn’t exactly give me much to boast about.
Thus, I couldn’t flaunt some bravado, which narrowed down my options.
I need to tear him down.
I decided to slander Jeong Ha-seong.
I had no choice. I had to look like a strong person, even if it was forced.
“To think a loser like you is the peak of the Flame Series Awakened… what a world.”
Tap, tap.
I brushed the soot off my knuckles and casually insulted my opponent.
“Truth is, you can’t even handle half of your own abilities…”
“What?”
“Isn’t it a bit arrogant to worry about being treated like a monster with those skills?”
But as the conversation dragged on, I found myself in a tight spot.
Honestly, that young man named Jeong Ha-seong was a blessed individual with hardly anything to nitpick.
“With your rank, your skill handling is pathetic.”
Social status.
Innate magic capacity.
Nothing about that S-Class was lacking, except for his control over magic.
I was trying to latch onto his weaknesses, yet…
Seriously?!
“To be honest, your skill utilization isn’t much different from an F-Class on the sidewalk, right?”
So what?
It’s pretty much expected that Ha-seong struggles with skill management.
His amount of magic was so singularly outstanding compared to other S-Classes.
So much magic makes adapting to Awakening a exponentially more difficult task.
This weakness had no effect on Jeong Ha-seong’s combat capability.
In other words, that S-Class was born with such overwhelming firepower that he didn’t need minor techniques.
If we are using Earth standards, he’s truly a monster.
I quietly panicked.
But I didn’t let it show.
“Don’t settle for the present, Jeong Ha-seong.”
Rustle.
To mask my tension, I gripped the plastic bag I had gotten from the convenience store tightly.
“The reason you’re not progressing is because you think being an S-Class means you’re done?”
I was trying my best to sound authoritative, but…
“Don’t play the fool. If you’re an Awakened, you should be thinking about how to get stronger consistently!”
I went on a rant about skill usage and suddenly stopped. I had already run out of things to say.
Besides…
Huh?
I realized a moment too late because I was too scared to meet his gaze.
Jeong Ha-seong had been staring at me in shock for a while now.
It seemed it was shocking for an F-Class to retort against an S-Class.
But anyway, the real issue was that despite my serious tirade, he wasn’t even flinching.
Damn!
That made me sweat bullets.
I realized I hadn’t instilled any wariness in Ha-seong with my bravado so far.
“D-don’t take it the wrong way! I just worry for you. You definitely have room to become stronger, yet you seem solely caught up in work…”
I hastily added to my explanation.
“I mean, what I’m saying is, think about the future!”
“The future?”
“Right now, you might be breezing through any dungeon, but who knows what’ll happen later?”
But there was one problem here.
Since I had lived my previous life as a Great Mage, I had hardly ever catered to others’ feelings.
Most of the incidents I resolved through brute force.
So it’s understandable that I was clumsy at flattery.
“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Look after your health. For the sake of your future value.”
“……”
“Don’t doctors ever tell you stuff like this? To be honest, if I hadn’t forced you to sleep back in August, your Hunter career might have been cut off. Then, all those charity activities you love would be out of the question—all because of a moment’s stubbornness.”
“Is that so?”
“S-so, in conclusion, I just hope you… take good care of your treatments from now on…”
Crap.
Does my soul’s algorithm think it looks nice to worry about health first?
In the end, I wrapped up the conversation with a sentence similar to last time.
I started off bold and ended up crawling back.
There I was, deliberating how to conclude this conversation while keeping an eye on Jeong Ha-seong.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter!”
In that moment, a voice like a savior rang in my ears.
“Eh?”
It was Seonwoo-yeon.
That B-Class Awakened suddenly burst in, blocking the space between Ha-seong and me.
When I think about it, Seonwoo-yeon’s appearance was quite natural.
The alley we were standing in was directly opposite the emergency room’s back door.
Did my voice carry all the way to the door?
It wouldn’t have been hard for someone looking for me to find me outside. But the issue was why she came out of the emergency room.
“Is your treatment already done?”
“Ah, yes. The sequence moved faster than expected.”
Now I see the Association employee’s cleanly restored severed finger.
Looks like she met a healer in the meantime.
“But I was wondering why someone was taking so long to buy barley tea.”
Seonwoo-yeon took a breath and looked back and forth at me and Jeong Ha-seong.
“Why do you seem so intent on tearing Jeong Ha-seong Hunter apart?”
“What?”
“I overheard everything! The rude things you said to Ha-seong. How foolish and whatever else.”
Then, right after, Seonwoo-yeon clutched my sleeve with a pale face.
“Please, don’t fight!”
“Uh…”
“We’re in front of a hospital. There are many elderly people here who are vulnerable to magic.”
Personally, I think it’d be better for her to advise that human weapon S-Class instead of someone harmless like me.
“Hmm.”
Well, this works out perfectly.
I decided to use Seonwoo-yeon’s plea as an excuse to exit.
“Yeah, of course. We shouldn’t fight. What could be worse than hitting someone?”
Surely Ha-seong should feel something from this too.
“Anyway, sorry for the delay in the errand. Here’s your barley tea. Now let’s all go home.”
“Um, huh?”
“Look, a vacant taxi is coming. Taxi!”
Dash.
I ran out onto the road without looking back.
Originally, I planned to slip away smoothly like this.
“Wait a second!”
But it seemed like my opponent wasn’t planning to let the conversation end here.
Jeong Ha-seong suddenly called out to me.
I awkwardly turned my head at the sound of his voice.
“What?”
But before I could even know what he had to say…
“About the recovery potion you gave me the other day.”
“Eh?”
What the heck?
Jeong Ha-seong made an unexpected remark.
“… I’m sorry for bringing it up so late. But I’d like to pay for it now; could you tell me your account number?”
I had completely forgotten. Indeed, I had saved his life previously.
It’s a relief to hear him say he wants to repay me, but…
Suddenly?
A question popped into my mind: “Why now?”
This Earthling had been ready to rip my throat out for interfering with his business this whole time.
What’s he up to?
I was filled with distrust. Thus, I couldn’t quickly accept an S-Class’s offer.
“Forget it.”
“Eh?”
“I said forget it.”
Thud.
A moment later, I heard the sound of a taxi’s rear door opening.
“If you want to be grateful, at least cancel that lawsuit for assault.”
Upon hearing that, Jeong Ha-seong wore a face of feigned shock, but I didn’t engage further.
It was beginning to reach my limits, flaunting bravado against an S-Class.
Phew!
Vroom.
As the taxi I hopped into started moving, I sank back into the seat, wiping the cold sweat from my brow.
I’m alive!
Despite a bit of drama, I survived, and that’s what matters.
Moreover, this made one thing even clearer.
Jeong Ha-seong is definitely the type to fall for bluster!
I said some things that could be quite offensive, yet he ultimately didn’t lash out!
Hehe. What a coward!
I clasped my trembling hands, reaffirming my determination.
Right. In front of that S-Class, I must always project the image of a strong person.
If I’m underestimated, I’ll probably end up in a knife fight. And someone like me can’t possibly dodge an S-Class’s attack twice…!
That’s the only way to survive.
*
After Gi-ryeo left.
In front of the emergency room’s back entrance.
“……”
Jeong Ha-seong quietly watched the taxi carrying Kim Gi-ryeo pull away, then turned his gaze.
His mind was tangled.
“Think about ways to get stronger,” eh?
He had never considered that perspective before.
Ever since he awakened as an S-Class Hunter.
He had always focused on suppressing and minimizing this power.
Does that mean I can’t even handle half of my Awakening abilities?
Looking down at his palm, Ha-seong smiled weakly.
Honestly, he couldn’t deny it.
His Awakening Level was a staggering 1.5 times the average for S-Class Hunters in pure numbers.
This huge power was like a wild stallion. Furthermore, he had never once taken the reins of this horse.
He had just been dragged along by the raging flow of mana. Clinging on to it.
How pathetic.
At some point, he began trying to suppress this flame.
He would never have thought that someone would tell him not to settle for the present.
– Isn’t it a bit arrogant to worry about being treated like a monster with those skills?
That was a first for him.
To say he lacked skill.
He normally clears A-Class Gates like they are nothing, and he had single-handedly cleared the high-difficulty White Tower, which even other S-Classes hesitated to approach.
Right.
That was a blunt criticism.
Therefore, his eyes opened.
There was nothing wrong with that person’s words.
Overworking his body for immediate results truly gnawed at the future.
As that person said, he had grown complacent in the present.
This was not okay.
Pushed by impatience or swept away by those around him, he had ended up in a strange self-deprecation…
Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.
Soon, a familiar ringtone echoed from his pocket, but Ha-seong didn’t answer.
[Association President ☎]
He checked the caller.
“……”
Recently, the Hunter Association had been calling him frequently.
Since he began visiting the hospital, whenever he reduced his workload for a couple of days, they slyly called him up.
“Are you sick lately?”
“Why are you suddenly cutting down on your Gate bookings?”
“Then can you just handle that A-Class Dungeon we had previously scheduled before taking a break?”
Endlessly bothering him like he was merely something they could assign work to…
“I should stop it.”
Huh.
After a deep breath, Jeong Ha-seong came to a conclusion.
It was time to let it go.
He had been driven by the fear of others’ gazes for so long, chased by inner fears, trying to meet their expectations.
Now it was time to start listening to the right advice. For the sake of his own life.
– Beep.
Jeong Ha-seong turned off his phone entirely and walked down the street.
I need to cut myself off from the internet for a while…
For the first time, the pressure that had tormented him for years finally lightened.
[Jeong Ha-seong, temporarily halting activities… Reason: Condition issue]
[“We cannot guarantee when he will return” Hero’s statement leaves the Association in a “dilemma.”]
And a few days later.
News articles about the number one ranking Hunter started pouring in from all over Korea.
*
【 Anonymous Bulletin Board 】
[Title: Jeong Ha-seong Fight Witness Account]
[Content:
Hey, I saw Jeong Ha-seong on my way earlier!!
I didn’t see him up close, just across the street while he was talking to someone, but still, you could tell he’s an Awakened, which was pretty cool ㅇㅇ
But then suddenly, I was shocked.
Originally, I was debating whether to cross the traffic light and say hello… but then I heard some yelling.
And it turned out, someone was cursing at Jeong Ha-seong ㄷㄷ
For real, some guy that looked like a gangster was getting all worked up and pointing fingers.
At that moment, I thought they were just having an argument, but when I got home and looked at the pictures I took, that guy had a burn scar on his hand.
Seems like Jeong Ha-seong fought that guy today;;
I mean, you know, people can fight so it’s not that weird, but it was a bit surprising. Jeong Ha-seong comes off as a saint in broadcasts but fights with other Hunters too.]
[Comments (12)]
[Anonymous: Who would be crazy enough to mess with an S-Class? LOL. Next time, write something more plausible.]
[Anonymous: Proof?]
[Anonymous: Obviously, this bitter loser is just jealous of the shining star.]
[ㄴOriginal Poster: (Photo)]
[ㄴOriginal Poster: I mentioned I took photos but forgot to attach them.]
[Anonymous: Oh, the photo looks legit.]
[Anonymous: Now that’s some evidence.]
[Anonymous: What’s with someone fighting the rank one?;;]
[Anonymous: Who’s the Hunter standing next to him? Anyone knows their name?]
[ㄴAnonymous: Never seen them before.]
[ㄴAnonymous: Seems like whoever knows isn’t coming out.]
[Anonymous: Isn’t this some unauthorized photography? The faces of regular people are in it, so it’d be best if the original poster took it down.]
…