Content: I’m not seriously anti-Jeong Da-on (I respect hunters), but since her awakening, there’s not been a single good news about her;;
└ Really, so much effort goes ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) into it. I’m always thankful to hunters. ㅠㅠ
└ Who told you to become a hunter? Just quit lol.
└ You’re complaining about money, but once you’ve served your duty, you can live as a regular person and get treated well anyway.
└ How much do they actually treat you well?
└ Then quit.
└ Who knows?
└ Honestly, if it were me, I’d just switch to a foreign country. The money difference is huge.
Thud.
I raised my head at the dull sound.
An orange juice bottle was placed on the table.
Lee Pyeong-hwa was staring at me with an expression of disdain.
I tilted my head.
"Why are you looking at me like that? And did you give me the whole bottle to drink?"
"Because you're wasting your time. Why are you even looking at stuff on the internet? It's a waste."
"Is there anything wrong with it being a waste of time?"
"It’s a waste. You’re just looking at people spewing nonsense they can't say to your face. It’s not reality."
"Is that so? I think differently."
Of course, I do agree with the word "nonsense" to some extent, but in the end, isn’t it true that those words spewed are from within the person themselves?
Even if it’s vomited using the power of anonymity, it is still the speaker’s true feelings.
And no matter how much it’s the internet, the fact remains that the ones behind it are still human beings.
Even if the opinions seem extreme in reality and are thoughts not spoken out loud...
‘Humans are easily swayed by numbers in the end.’
When humans come together, their opinions naturally become more extreme and they gain more support.
Eventually, they fall into the illusion that their opinion is absolutely correct and end up affecting reality.
‘Well, I don’t care much about public opinion... but the quest is the problem.’
This quest ultimately depends on the societal members, i.e., public opinion.
Even though I leveled up by absorbing the energy of the Fool, I have to consider the public opinion because the system might impose limitations on my abilities based on whether I complete this quest.
Having Jeong Da-on constantly being the target of jealousy and suspicion isn’t good.
If you look at it from a broader perspective, this will lead to a mistrust in the hunter profession as well.
For example, when I beat up the school bully at graduation, the system rated it as "satisfying" at the time. But if my public favorability decreases, the rating could turn into "it was too much to beat up a civilian, even though she’s a hunter."
‘I need to have at least some degree of public favorability... This is awkward.’
I didn’t want to rely on Yoo Han-ul, but the current situation was difficult.
Should I fabricate a good reputation for myself and make it public?
But all I’ve done is create things to hide, not to publicize.
"Want to know public opinion? Just read the newspaper."
Lee Pyeong-hwa said this and handed me a few newspapers while snatching my phone away.
I expected it, but since Han Jae-young and I disappeared, Korea had been in chaos.
So, naturally, every headline was about our disappearance.
"I’d rather read the internet than this..."
"Stop looking at it!"
"Why are you interfering so much?"
"You're a patient right now! And that’s why we’re stuck in New York and not in Korea, stuck in a hospital!"
That’s right.
We were currently stuck in Manhattan, New York, unable to return to Korea.
After clearing the dungeon and returning to Earth...
Naturally, we ended up in New York’s Manhattan.
Just as Yoo Han-ul said, this dungeon was connected to Manhattan, New York.
Thanks to this, the South Korean consulate in New York was in a state of chaos.
Hunters who had disappeared during basic military training due to a dimensional stranding were now showing up in the U.S. This was a bombshell.
Luckily, even though dimensional stranding wasn’t common, there were a few precedents.
At first, there were international problems, like immigration issues and how we would stay, but thanks to the manual created by previous cases, the confusion was quickly resolved.
However, not everything was resolved...
"You don’t really need to be in the hospital room. Go out and have fun."
Since when were we that close?
Did being in a foreign country trigger some childish impulse to stick together with people your age?
Lee Pyeong-hwa scoffed.
"Do you think I’m a kid? You’re stuck with me to make sure you recover quickly so we can go back to Korea. How do I know what reckless thing you’ll do next?"
It seemed like Lee Pyeong-hwa was still upset that I hadn't abandoned the barrier, just like the plan.
"That’s not it."
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
"Of course, the system recommended I take absolute rest."
The doctors' recommendation hit harder when explained in Korean; there was no denying it.
The Day Before
When I heard that I had to stay hospitalized for at least two weeks, the expressions on Yoo Han-ul and Han Jae-young were something to behold.
Thanks to the embassy’s help, we were able to meet a Korean doctor, but this turned out to be an even worse outcome.
Hearing the diagnosis in Korean made the severity of the situation too real.
If it had been in a foreign language, maybe it wouldn’t have hit as hard.
While I was trying to escape reality, Han Jae-young kept looking at me and the doctor alternately with a dumbfounded expression.
"No, what... This doesn’t make sense. Da-on didn’t overexert herself."
The doctor looked at Han Jae-young as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
"She was stranded in another dimension, and you’re saying she didn’t overexert herself?"
From the doctor’s perspective, it must have seemed ridiculous. After all, Han Jae-young was saying this after watching a much younger colleague fall ill from the dimensional stranding.
Of course, from Han Jae-young’s point of view, he was just stating the facts.
"The tests must have been wrong. Maybe we should retest or just go back to Korea..."
"Long-haul flights are prohibited for the time being!"
The doctor said firmly.
The doctor’s gaze turned increasingly harsh as he looked at Han Jae-young.
"Her magic and physical balance have completely broken down. The magical circuits in her body are on the verge of collapse. She really needs to rest."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
Han Jae-young let out a forced laugh as he turned to look at me.
"Da-on, tell me. How could you have overexerted yourself when you didn’t do anything?"
"Stop pressuring me."
Now the doctor was staring at Han Jae-young as if he were trash.
It seemed like from the doctor’s perspective, Han Jae-young was using his authority to pressure me.
"...No, that’s not it."
"The fact that she’s a rookie hunter might explain some unconscious overexertion. Plus, the disaster situation probably contributed to it."
"It doesn’t matter if it was a disaster or not, it didn’t happen," Han Jae-young replied, frustrated.
Of course, Han Jae-young was losing his mind. After all, he had seen me still functioning after casting incantation magic.
In this dungeon, I hadn’t even shown my incantation magic, so it was even more perplexing for him.
"The boss monster was dealt with by Yoo Han-ul, and it was Yoo Han-ul who caused the mental disorientation, but Jeong Da-on is perfectly fine," Han Jae-young pointed out.
"Well, Yoo Han-ul is an S-rank hunter..."
"Ugh, this is frustrating. Yoo Han-ul, you say something."
When Han Jae-young urged him, Yoo Han-ul paused, looked at me for a moment, and then shook his head.
"I don’t think that’s important right now, Han Jae-young. What’s important is that Jeong Da-on’s current condition is actually quite bad. We’ll need to proceed with the hospitalization procedures."
"..."
Naturally, Han Jae-young, who expected Yoo Han-ul to back him up, fell silent when he said this.
Then, suddenly, Han Jae-young alternated his gaze between me and Yoo Han-ul before sighing deeply.
I, too, furrowed my brow as I listened in silence.
Right now, Han Jae-young thought I was confused and misunderstood that it was Yoo Han-ul who defeated the S-rank Fool. He didn’t clear up that misunderstanding, though.
‘If it were anyone else, he might be trying to steal the credit, but...’
Yoo Han-ul wasn’t that kind of person.
What was he thinking?
Let me know if you'd like me to continue translating!