Chapter 38: Chapter 38
'I hate ants.'
It's already been decades.
That was something 'he' used to say.
The reason was...
He had been having nightmares.
Once every 1 or 2 years.
A vivid nightmare that comes back whenever he forgets about it.
In that dream, he was always running in the dark being chased by countless ants.
'Oh, don't come! Don't come!'
'Kiiik! Kiiiih!'
'Ahhh!'
He ran and ran and ran like that.
But no matter how hard he tried, when he would come to his senses, he would find himself on a dead end.
Ants were surrounding him.
In the middle of it was a giant ant, as tall as a man, walking towards him.
And...
'Kiiiik-!'
Its mouth was torn open and his whole head was cut...
Swoosh!
"Aaaaagh-!"
A middle-aged man jumped out of bed screaming.
At the noise, his wife who was sleeping next to him rubbed her eyes and looked at him anxiously.
"Honey, did you have another nightmare?"
"Huff huff.. ."
Cold sweat broke out on her husband's forehead.
He gulped down the cold water he had placed on his bedside table.
Cough.
He was a bit nervous so he had to drink it in a hurry, but thanks to that, his mind returned to reality.
Then he looked back at his wife, who suddenly woke up because of him, and put on an apologetic expression.
"Sorry. Did you wake up because of me?"
"Mmm... It's been a while this time."
"Right. It's okay now, so don't worry about me and sleep more."
When he gave her a gentle pat on the back, his wife's eyes slowly closed again.
"Whew."
The man sat on the bed and covered his face with both hands.
'I guess I won't be able to fall asleep for a while...'
The man sighed and repeated something to himself like an incantation.
Yes, it was a dream
Just a dream.
I'm still... alive.
Fortunately, the spell worked.
His heart, which had been beating like it was going to explode, gradually calmed down.
'Anyway, that ant dream seemed real...'
For some reason, he felt like he would have a rough day today.
He couldn't go back to sleep so he decided to get ready for work, although it was a little early.
He quietly got up and went out so his wife wouldn't wake up again.
His wife was a school teacher.
She was teaching Korean history.
When he was younger, he also worked as an academy instructor for a while and taught Korean history, so he knew how hard it was.
'It's a big deal if she would have trouble sleeping because of me and get confused while teaching.'
Thinking about this and that, he got ready for work and put on his clothes.
'Oops. I almost left it again.'
He wore a name tag issued by the association around his neck.
[Korea Hunter Association]
Min Byeonggu
(Consulting Doctor)
Glimmer.
His name engraved on the nameplate glistened under the morning sunlight.
* * *
"I'm here for mana power re-measurement."
As soon as morning came, Suho visited the hospital designated by the association.
"Please sit down and wait for a moment."
After hearing the nurse explain this and that, Suho sat down on a chair and waited for his turn.
Suho came to the association to measure his mana, but he was asked to get an awakening test.
The Hunter Association had designated hospitals in each region where mana can be measured.
At first, it was only in Seoul, but as those awakening began to appear from all over the country, these hospitals gradually increased in each place.
However, there was still only one hospital in Korea that could do 'mana re-measurement', because they had the most precise measuring device in the country.
"Sung Suho, please come in."
After waiting for a while, the nurse called Suho.
He went into the re-measurement room, and inside was a nice-looking middle-aged doctor.
"Sung Suho?"
"Ah, yes. Hello."
Suddenly, Suho's eyes stayed on his name tag while greeting him.
[Korea Hunter Association]
Min Byeonggu
(Consulting Doctor)
'Consulting doctor?'
As much as it was a difficult re-measurement procedure, he seemed to be a doctor assigned by the association.
"You may have heard the explanation from the nurse earlier. Stardust has officially become illegal so before re-measurement, you will have some tests first."
It was a so-called doping test.
After a while, the inspection began with a brief explanation. Suho suddenly asked a question.
"By the way, Doctor. Wasn't there originally a way to determine stardust doping?"
"There was, but recently, as some of the ingredients of stardust have been revealed, research has progressed. Based on that research, a clever doctor developed a doping test in no time. By the way, that doctor is me. Haha."
Min Byeonggu shrugs and points at himself with his thumb.
He was a pretty great doctor.
'Ahh.'
Hearing this, Suho understood.
'It's thanks to me.'
That doping tests could be developed in recent years.
It was because of Suho who discovered the factory and reported to the association how the demons had been making star dust.
'The butterfly effect is on, and I'm actually sitting in for a doping test.'
It was a situation where he could just laugh thinking how ridiculous it was.
Doctor Min Byeonggu, who was conducting the test, looked at Suho's expression curiously.
"Hmm? Suho, you have a different aura than other people."
"Really? What was my aura like?"
"You're too calm."
Min Byeonggu was curious about Suho.
Usually, the reaction of people who came to him for a re-measurement was one of two things.
Someone who is overly ambitious and dreams of rising in status.
Or, one who would say Dr. Min was a lot better being overly self-conscious, unable to distinguish reality.
'Even though they're just similar people after all.'
Honestly, that was a natural reaction.
If the re-measurement was successful and the hunter's rank went up, the digits of their annual salary would change overnight.
But, Suho was different.
There was no feeling of great anticipation or nervousness about the re-measurement results.
'Was he originally a person who doesn't have much greed?'
After a while, the results of Suho's doping test came out.
"There is no stardust doping. You worked hard. We'll do a mana re-measurement right away. Put your hand here."
The result of Suho's mana power was the same as the status window.
[Mana: 586]
An exclamation burst out of Min Byeonggu's mouth as he checked the results.
"Oh. Congratulations! I really think the first measurement was an error. With this much mana power, you can become a C-Class hunter."
While explaining, Min Byeonggu looked at Suho's reaction once more.
Suho's reaction was calm.
As if he already expected it.
'Interesting. Are young people these days really like this?'
Min Byeonggu tilted his head and immediately entered the test results into the computer.
"Oh, and I need to upload skill information to Hunter Data. Could you show me some of your skills?"
Skill information was important data.
This was because the hunters had to know each other's skills quickly in order to plan smoothly when attacking the dungeon.
Min Byeonggu brought Suho into a large space and asked.
"What skills do you have?"
"Hmm. I use a sword, and I also summon."
"You are a summoning hunter? Let's start with the summoning skill first. Would you like to show one you have summoned?"
"Yeah."
Suho nodded coldly.
However, to use the shadow fragment skill, a corpse was required.
It was troublesome to retrieve the goblin corpse from the Shadow Dungeon, so there was only one guy he could call the easiest.
"Beru, come out for a second."
It's scary to say that.
Swoosh-!
[Did you call me, Young Master?]
A shadow the size of a fist jumped out from under Suho's feet.
"Aaaaaaaagh-!"
[Eh?]
Min Byeonggu was so shocked when he saw Beru.
Beru tilted his head and looked back at Min Byeonggu.
His eyes widened.
[Oh? You can't be...]
"Y-You...Y-You are..."
Min Byeonggu pointed his trembling fingers at Beru and then he passed out on the spot.
"Huh?"
Suho looked at Beru with a puzzled expression.
"What did you do to the doctor?"
[No, I... Hmm.]
Beru looked at Min Byeonggu's face once again.
He was right.
Min Byeonggu.
[He... was eaten by me once.]
"What? Who ate who?"
[Me. I ate this human.]
Beru scratched his head with an awkward expression.
* * *
Before the Earth was reset.
The era when Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo was active as a hunter.
At the time, there were only a handful of S-Class healers in the world living in Korea.
Min Byeonggu was an S-Class hunter.
One time, he cooperated with other S-Class hunters and participated in a massive beast subjugation.
Jeju Island.
The island of hell that was occupied by countless ant beasts.
In that unprecedented battle, Min Byeonggu fought against the beasts more courageously than anyone else.
He made a heroic sacrifice for his comrades by getting eaten by Beru, the king of ants.
After that, the world resets.
All those memories disappeared from Min Byeonggu's head.
[... I still remember you.]
Beru's bitter voice penetrated the mind of Min Byeonggu, who fainted.
Predation skill.
Beru's ability to absorb the power and memory of the target he ingested.
He had just woken up from the egg at the time and ate Min Byeonggu with that ability and swallowed up his talent as an S-Class healer.
[Perhaps that's why you couldn't awaken this time.]
But that wasn't all that Beru learned from Min Byeonggu.
Memory. Knowledge.
The heart that hated war and loved peace.
It was the first 'humanity' thing that Beru had acquired since he was born.
[Perhaps if I were human, I would have called you father.]
Min Byeonggu was the person who had the most influence on Beru's personality.
[It's because of you that I also came to like historical dramas.]
Min Byeonggu shuddered when he heard Beru's giggle, even in a state of unconsciousness.
[... Right.]
He seemed to have read his mind.
Beru murmured bitterly.
[I have become your nightmare.]
In fact... It wasn't only Min Byeonggu.
Beru was the nightmare of all the humans he had eaten.
But among them, only Min Byeonggu was quite special.
Could it be because he was the first human Beru caught and ate?
Or is it because the humanity he learned had a profound impact on his current identity?
Beru was finally able to understand why.
Glance.
Even though the world has been reset...
Even if he doesn't have the ability of an S-Class healer like back then.
[Your life is still noble.]
He wanted to quit being a hunter and become a national history teacher and healer so much that he chose a medical field in this life.
[You were still saving people's lives even now.]
Beru smiled brightly.
The reason why Beru was willing to feel that emotion is probably because he has come to know that his 'root' is still shining brightly.
Since Beru had only walked the path of slaughter and struggle from the moment he was born, Min Byeonggu's brilliance was all the more dazzling.
[I won't say I'm sorry. Because we were at war then. But...]
Beru's warm voice reached Min Byeonggu.
[I will support you in this life of yours.]
Swoosh!
And the small seed that flowed from Beru penetrated into Min Byeonggu's body.
[I will take away your nightmares.]
My... father.
* * *
Meanwhile, Suho was surrounded by hospital staff.
"No, did he really pass out alone?"
"I called the police now, go and explain at the station."
"Just as a reference until the truth is revealed..."
"Great. Because this is really a misunderstanding."
Suho felt unfair, but the nurses' response to the situation was natural.
Dr. Min Byeonggu was a talented doctor and the only stardust researcher in Korea.
Even though stardust wasn't a good thing to use as a material for humans, the effect itself was still worth researching.
What if he can remove the wrong things and save only the good ones?
Stardust might become something that could change the current era.
In that sense, Min Byeonggu could be said to be a very important national financial resource.
However, what the hell did the hunter who was getting the re-measurement do? Min Byeonggu suddenly passed out screaming.
Usually in such cases, the hunter couldn't have liked the remeasurement result...
"Okay."
Min Byeonggu, who had fallen on the floor, suddenly stood up.
"Dr. Min!"
"Doctor is awake!"
Surprised, the nurses rush to Min Byeonggu.
But something surprising happened.
"... This?"
Min Byeonggu, who had been struggling to come to his senses, suddenly looked down at the pure white light on his hands.
It was mana.
"A-Awakening?!"
Everyone who witnessed the scene widened their eyes.
All of those gazes turned to Suho, who was standing next to him.
"No, this is also a misunderstanding."
Because he didn't really do anything.
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