Chapter 212
“It doesn’t matter where it appears. The important thing is to deal with the monsters.”
‘I think he’s feeling better...’
The news that the monster wave could emerge in China seemed to improve Choi Yeonseung’s mood, but the hunters couldn’t really point that out. They felt that if they did that, they would get scolded again.
***
“They’ve already gathered like that?”
“People never listen, so something like this is to be expected.”
On the west coast, people were already gathering like clouds. They weren’t hunters, just regular people who gathered to watch the hunters. It was a world in which information spread in the blink of an eye. The news regarding the monster wave quickly became known to the public.
-A monster wave will erupt in the west of South Korea?
-I envy the Koreans. It’s going to be one hell of a festival.
-No. I’ve heard that it could happen close to China.
-I envy the Chinese. It’s going to be one hell of a festival.
-What do crazy people know about the monster wave?
-Isn’t it a festival to watch hunters kill monsters?
-I hope it appears in China.
-Why? Do you want to see the Chinese S-grade hunters?
-No. I just wish it would appear in China.
-Isn’t the South Korean government quite capable? Look at the hunter clans they've mobilized this time.
-That’s just the bare minimum. What country can’t mobilize this many hunters these days?
-I see you’re nervous, so I think your country isn’t actually capable of mobilizing this many.
If anything, South Korea had relatively good relations with other countries. If a monster wave broke out, hunters from other countries would come to offer support. Thus, even hunters that normally didn’t make many appearances were expected to participate in this. It was no wonder there were so many people. It was to the extent that Koreans seemed to be in the minority because of how many foreigners came in advance to get settled before the monster wave occurred.
“I have to pay $1,000 a night? What type of five-star hotel is this??”
“Ah. Go somewhere else if you don’t like it.”
“I have to pay just to sit here on the beach?”
“Ah. Of course. I guess you don’t know since you’re from overseas, but you’re supposed to pay in South Korea. It seems you don’t know much about Asian culture...”
In response, Koreans were unwelcoming, to say the least, toward the unscrupulous foreigners jumping to celebrate this type of festival. At the end of the day, it was Korean government officials and hunters that were dying! Hunters from other countries only had to deal with monsters, whereas Korean hunters also had to manage the area.
“You can’t do business here!”
“You can’t wander around here! It’s dangerous! Move up!”
The official Kwon Ohchan was running left and right trying to preserve order.
‘It was announced that a monster wave is going to break out in South Korea...!’
“No, foreign bastards came to watch a war break out in other countries. You can’t do this, right? Let’s be patriotic!”
“Why are the Koreans infringing on our freedom? It’s within my human rights to be here!”
Koreans were clashing with foreigners in many different ways. It wasn’t for nothing that a senior warned, ‘If a monster wave breaks out, one in five people will back out due to anger and frustration.’
“A hunter! A hunter has come!”
“Aren’t Koreans being too violent? I will protest!”
Still, when a hunter appeared, unreasonable people calmed down a bit. After all, unlike government officials, hunters wouldn’t just tell civilians to leave. They would throw punches if necessary.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Oh my... Thank you for coming here.”
The Six-Eyed Turtle was one of South Korea’s biggest clans, and when Min Hyeonjae, a member of the clan, showed up, the officials sighed with relief.
“Even if I tell people to step back because it’s dangerous, they won’t listen! If there’s a problem later, they will blame us again!”
“It’s understandable.”
“The foreigners are even worse! They should stay in their own countries instead of coming here to witness what they think is a spectacle!”
“I understand... By the way, who is that official over there?”
“Huh? All the officials are over here, right?”
The officials looked back in confusion. Someone pretending to be an official was grabbing people and moving them away from dangerous places.
“I’ll protest against the Korean government!”
“I’m American. Complain about it to the US government.”
“Ok, I’ll protest against the US government!”
“I don’t know English.”
From what they could see, there was a group of hunters who didn’t look Korean, but rather looked like they were from various oversea countries. The officials blinked in bewilderment. Who were these people and why were they doing this job for them?
“W-Who are you?”
“I am Antony Schneider, a hunter from the Icarus clan. You don’t have to thank me.”
“I wasn’t going to. You can’t intervene...”
“What?! I see that officials are the same in every country!”
Antony was indignant. Instead of thanking them for keeping the civilians safe, the public officials had the audacity to act like that.
“Why are you bothering the officials?”
“Listen! I’m not bothering them. Those bastards are just brainless puppets controlled by the bureaucracy...”
Choi Yeonseung cut Antony off and said, “I’m sorry about this. I came forward because it was such a mess.”
“N-No. We’re not going to stop a hunter who volunteers to help.”
Antony glared in anger. The guys had just refused Antony’s help, but they instantly accepted the other hunter’s help. It was obviously because the other hunter was A-grade, while Antony was just B- grade.
“Aren’t you Hunter Choi Yeonseung?!” Min Hyeonjae shouted in surprise.
Now B-grade hunters from each country were classified as VVIPs and were either relaxing in five-star hotels and enjoying wild parties, or just resting with extremely tight security. It was hard to believe that an A-grade hunter brought hunters with him to keep civilians safe.
“That’s right.”
“W-What are you doing here?”
“Am I now allowed to be here?”
“It’s not that you’re not allowed... I just think that your rank is too high for a task like this...”
“What does the rank have to do with anything? I came to help just because I wanted to.”
“...!”
Min Hyeonjae was deeply moved by Choi Yeonseung’s words. He didn’t know that an A-grade hunter could be that selfless. Instead of helping, the other hunters were now competing to see who could drink more alcohol and who had appeared more often in the media for causing trouble...
“It’s amazing!”
“What? Did you not want any help?”
“Huh?”
“You wanted to kick their asses on your own?”
“N-No. It’s not that I wanted to beat people up. It’s just that you’re taking the initiative to help despite your high rating...”
“Hmm. I’m not buying it. Honestly, I think you just wanted to kick their asses. It’s fine. Are you interested in martial arts?”
“Y...You mean martial arts? I’m interested, but how could I...?”
“There’s no problem in taking this opportunity to learn. All the Icarus hunters over there are also practicing martial arts.”
The hunters of the Icarus clan were currently subduing people using martial arts, not magic. In fact, they could've managed just fine even without using martial arts, but Choi Yeonseung deliberately made them use them.
-You can learn the principles of martial arts by cleverly catching your opponent without hurting them.
-No... Can’t we just beat them up, pal? Why can’t we just give them a good ass kicking?
-So an American comes to South Korea and beats up Koreans…
-N-No… Come on, pal... Bringing up nationality at a time like this… That’s just cheap.
It was an effective exercise, despite the fact that he wanted to beat them even harder.
Min Hyeonjae nodded with a puzzled expression. He didn’t expect to be taught like that by an A-grade hunter.
***
While the other hunters were acting like rabid dogs, as if competing to see who is the craziest, Choi Yeonseung stood out as the most normal person in the country by volunteering to help and leading the Icarus clan.
[Shocking! A-grade hunter Choi Yeonseung didn’t attend the hunters’ party...]
[Absolutely shocking... A-grade hunter Choi Yeonseung came out of the hotel and did ‘this’?]
Even those who had gotten used to the absurdity of the media were dumbfounded by the sheer ridiculousness of those headlines.
-Is it that shocking to not attend the party?
-Didn’t he miss it because he drank too much the day before?
-He was probably just attending another party.
However, those who actually read the articles couldn’t help feeling horrified.
-Instead of going to the party he went to the coast to assist with security??
-Why? Is he crazy? Was he cursed by a constellation?
-Why would he volunteer like that? Had he been shot in the head???
It was more shocking than the incident of those hunters who got drunk together and fought over an artifact that was at the level of a national treasure. It didn’t make any sense.
-The South Korean government must’ve paid him.
-...They paid an A-grade hunter to clean up the crazy guys who gathered on the shore??
-Wow. The Korean government has a lot of money. If they use A-grade hunters like this, they will likely become number one in GDP.
-Wasn’t he just selflessly volunteering to help?
-What type of nonsensical bullshit is that?
-That’s right. No matter how anonymous this place is, we have to follow the bare minimum rules.
-N-No... One of my relatives is a hunter and he said that Choi Yeonseung helped him during the last Abyss raid without getting paid.
-Didn’t he do the same in Paris? He seemed to mobilize the hunters and save the civilians..
-Where is that?
-Have you been living under a rock? Does this bastard even watch the news?
-Are you saying that people were moved and obeyed the evacuation order?
-It’s true. I saw it myself.
-......
-......
-Hey. Who wants to take bets on where the next monster wave will appear?
People who had nothing to say changed the subject.
However, some were starting to wonder… Maybe Choi Yeunseung was actually a good person?
***
The Six-Eyed Turtle clan had the largest number of hunters in South Korea. It had a system that could manage virtually all hunters from A-grade to E-grade. Because the clan could properly manage all ranks, it attracted a large number of hunters, so much so that South Koreans started calling the clan the 'Six-Eyed Turtle Empire.’
“Hunter Kwon Yeongseung. There are many things to be done in regards to this monster wave.”
“I know.”
Kwon Yeongseung bowed in front of the clan leader.
“Maybe it’s because it has been quiet for a while, but many clans are determined to take this opportunity. If you do poorly, we might face issues and lose the achievement to someone else.”
A monster wave was also a competition in which many clans took part. They couldn’t stand out with a mediocre performance. At least the monster wave was close to South Korea. If they dealt with the hardships and another clan took the profit, they would definitely be angry.
“It’s complicated for many different reasons, but there’s one factor that gives us an advantage, and that is Hunter Choi Yeonseung. I thought Hunter Choi Yeonseung hated South Korea a lot, but after hearing many stories, it seems that it’s not the case.”
“Uh... He’s a good person.”
Kwon Yeongseung couldn’t help trembling. He didn’t mean to say that Choi Yeonseung wasn’t a good person, but he didn’t want to see him again. He still felt pain in his entire body as he thought about the training he did during his spare time in the Abyss. Choi Yeonseung was a good person, but he was partly crazy. Moreover, he was so insanely strong that he was like a walking natural disaster.
“Well done. Did the two of you become close during the last raid? In any case, you should go and ask Hunter Choi Yeonseung to cooperate with you.”
“...W-Wait a moment.”
For the first time in a long time, Kwon Yeongseung expressed his disagreement with the clan leader.
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