Chapter 122 – Headhunter (Part Two)

“Is this the place?”

Il-hyeon, wearing sunglasses, stood before a bustling district in Seoul.

Though the area had been thoroughly devastated by the appearance of a high-grade monster, it had been quickly restored.

Since the Gates appeared, the number of destroyed buildings and streets had been staggering. In such an environment, reconstruction technology and work speed had developed in tandem.

Yet, despite the streets being restored to a point where one would feel little inconvenience, there were few people around.

Compared to how this downtown area usually looked, the crowd was sparse.

The reason was that, amid the chaos, frightened citizens were refraining from going out and avoiding crowded places.

*I didn’t think it would be this empty… Did I overdo it with the disguise?*

Glancing around, Il-hyeon scratched his cheek awkwardly.

The streets were so deserted that his appearance—a hat pulled down low and dark sunglasses—felt ridiculous.

*Well, whatever the case…*

Il-hyeon used his watch to project a hologram.

The personal information and estimated locations of three individuals were detailed on the holographic list.

A successful female surgeon, a retired martial artist, and a petty thief operating in the underworld.

It seemed harder to find any connection between the three than not, but they shared one very unique commonality.

They had all received absurdly powerful abilities in their first evaluation.

One had received an SSS-rank ability, and the other two had received SS-rank abilities.

Of course, in the re-evaluations that followed, they were all judged to be non-ability users, but even for an error, ranks that high were uncommon.

*Including Seo Jeong-hwa, that makes four. I need to secure them first.*

Of course, these four were likely not the only ones whose abilities were deemed errors.

However, since the data from tests identified as errors were usually discarded on the spot, few such cases were officially recorded.

The fact that Il-hyeon’s own case hadn’t been recorded and thus wasn’t on the list was proof enough.

The three people on Il-hyeon’s list were cases where they had openly talked about it themselves or, uncommonly, had their results saved on a server.

Naturally, there were many others who had received machine error judgments for different ranks, including S and A-ranks.

But blindly seeking out a large number of them wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Once he found them, he faced the daunting tasks of figuring out how to persuade them and how to manifest their hidden abilities.

However, despite these difficulties, the three on his list were worth looking for.

Not just any abilities, but SS-rank or higher.

Other than Min Ji-hoon, who was a legend in the world of the Awakened, and Il-hyeon himself, ranks of that level had never appeared before.

But it was possible that three ability users of that caliber could emerge at the same time.

That is, if it wasn’t a simple error, if they truly possessed abilities, and if the right trigger could be found to manifest them.

*Four people with SS-rank or higher abilities… that’s incredible. If all their powers can actually be awakened…*

Il-hyeon’s re-evaluation results had all come back blank—in other words, a non-ability user.

Seeing as Il-hyeon, who could now freely use three different abilities, had received such a result, he could surmise that the people on the list were in the same situation as he had been before his awakening.

The conditions to manifest their abilities just hadn’t been met yet, but they likely held the potential to become exceptional high-ranking Awakened.

“You can come out now.”

“Squeak!”

At Il-hyeon’s words, the mouse hiding in his pocket revealed itself.

Wary of onlookers, he gently offered his left hand, and it hopped onto his palm, facing him.

*Hyeon-seo… she’s developed a convenient power.*

Il-hyeon thought as he met the eyes of the mouse standing on his palm.

The creature before him had been on a mission with Alpha Team on the other side of the world less than ten minutes ago.

Normally, it was a distance and timeframe impossible to cover, no matter how fast the means of transportation.

But the mouse had flown to Il-hyeon’s location in an instant using Hyeon-seo’s Spatial Jump ability.

Previously, for her Spatial Jump ability to work, she had to accompany whatever or whoever was being transported. Now, she could send objects or people without moving herself, and she had sent the mouse here at Il-hyeon’s request.

On top of that, during their time in the prison, Hyeon-seo had even gained the ability to recall summons from other locations back to her, so there were no worries about sending them back.

Both were changes that came as her Spatial Jump ability evolved.

Although it was limited to Il-hyeon’s summons, her ability had become incomparably more useful.

He had always found it odd that Hyeon-seo’s heavily restricted Spatial Jump was ranked A, but as expected, the ability had evolved to prove its worth.

In any case, the reason Il-hyeon suddenly needed the mouse was simple.

He needed to find the people on his list.

“You see this person’s face?”

“Squeak!”

When Il-hyeon shared his vision to show it the man’s profile on the hologram, the mouse nodded vigorously.

“There should be a man around here who looks like this. Find him and let me know. You can do it, right?”

“Squeak, squeak!”

Asking it to find one person in this vast city might seem like an unreasonable request.

But for the mouse, such a request was no longer a major issue.

While working with Alpha Team, it had absorbed cores and acquired the detection abilities of monsters.

*Scamper!*

The mouse leaped from Il-hyeon’s hand, hit the ground running, and darted away.

While the mouse was off searching for its target, Il-hyeon fixed his gaze back on the hologram above his watch.

The first target he was looking for in the country was Lee Dong-won, the middle name on the list of three.

Currently in his mid-thirties and a former martial artist, he was known among enthusiasts for retiring after a career that was far too short for his excellent skills.

He wasn’t settled these days either, reportedly wandering around and causing trouble. It seemed he was in Seoul at the moment.

Most notably, despite being a confirmed non-Awakened, he possessed physical strength comparable to an Awakened.

Due to the strict prohibition of Awakened participation in all sports today, he had undergone numerous detailed investigations, yet the results always came back as non-Awakened.

*Is it similar to how I had a minuscule amount of power before I awakened?*

The SS-rank ability that had appeared in his first test and was ruled an error.

In his unawakened past, Il-hyeon too had possessed an ability that could barely move tiny objects like grains of sugar.

Thinking along those lines, the otherwise inexplicable phenomenon might just make sense.

*Squeak, squeak, squeak!*

A cry suddenly echoed in Il-hyeon’s mind.

It was a signal from the mouse that had just run off, meaning it had found Lee Dong-won.

“Already…? Better than a person.”

Il-hyeon muttered unconsciously.

It was leagues better than most detection-type ability users, who, with a few exceptions like Joo Hye-jin of Aegis’s B-Team, were largely useless.

Il-hyeon hurried, worried he might lose him, and soon he could hear the sounds Lee Dong-won was making.

*Thwack! Thwack!*

The meaty sound of impacts reached Il-hyeon’s ears from a distance.

Hearing the harsh curses and screams mixed in, it seemed a fight had broken out.

Il-hyeon ran the rest of the way to the location the mouse had indicated and came upon the scene they had created.

“Ugh…”

“Cough, cough!”

Six men were sprawled on the ground.

A well-built man stood in their midst.

From his short crew cut, broad torso, and the large scar on the back of his neck, he appeared to be Lee Dong-won, the man Il-hyeon was looking for. It looked like he had knocked down all the men here.

*Wait, isn’t that a Defensive Coat…?*

Il-hyeon rubbed his eyes at the unbelievable sight.

The fallen men were all wearing black coats.

Whatever had happened, the coats’ protective functions were broken, crackling with sparks.

“Gah…! Wait…”

“You guys walk around with your shoulders puffed out just ’cause you’re Awakened, but you’re nothing special. Where’s that bravado you had when you grabbed a stranger’s collar out of nowhere?”

Lee Dong-won said with a grin, his voice gruff.

He had the man by the collar, who dangled in the air, squirming in pain.

“Excuse me?”

“When did you get behind me…!”

Tossing the man he was holding into a corner, Lee Dong-won spun around swiftly.

He hadn’t sensed Il-hyeon’s approach at all, so he was quite surprised, but like a true fighter, his reaction came first.

He twisted at the waist, throwing a powerful punch, and Il-hyeon reflexively stepped back to dodge the attack.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“You dodged that? Good!”

“What’s good about—!”

*Woosh!*

Closing the distance in an instant, Lee Dong-won threw a flurry of punches.

Unbelievable agility and strength for a non-Awakened were packed into every single fist.

But Il-hyeon continued to evade his attacks. As Dong-won ramped up his power and still couldn’t land a hit, he began to take an interest in the man before him.

“You son of a bitch! You’re incredible!”

“I don’t know about that, can we just talk for a—”

“Hahaha!”

*Fwoosh!*

Lee Dong-won threw his arm out with all his might.

He’d always felt frustrated holding back against weaker opponents, but now, in this unexpected situation, a foe had appeared who required him to go all out.

Excitement coursed through his body, and adrenaline pumped through his veins.

This was exactly the feeling he had been craving.

Elated, the man’s attacks grew stronger and more ferocious.

*He’s definitely strong enough that being a non-Awakened makes no sense. But…*

Il-hyeon’s surprised expression instantly hardened.

To him, it was still nothing more than a baby’s tantrum, and he decided it was time to end this chaotic situation.

Il-hyeon grabbed Lee Dong-won’s outstretched arm and flipped him over.

The sight of the large-framed Lee Dong-won being lifted into the air and thrown in a single motion was strangely familiar.

*Thud!*

Thrown to the ground, Lee Dong-won lay sprawled out, unable to move easily.

Gasping for breath as if he was having trouble breathing, he struggled to speak.

“Ugh… Who the hell are you? You can’t be an ordinary Awakened…”

In response to his question, Il-hyeon silently removed his hat and sunglasses.

Lee Dong-won recognized his face at once.

“K-Kang Il-hyeon?”

“Can we have a calm conversation now, Mr. Lee Dong-won?”