Chapter 131 – The Mask of Humanity

“Hey, now that people are hyping you up, you feel like you’re something special, don’t you? Like you’re the strongest one around?”

Lee Han-seong asked, standing right in front of me.

That slitted-eye smile of his was really starting to get on my nerves.

They say characters with slitted eyes get crazy strong when they open them. I guess I’ll have to see if that’s true.

“You don’t actually think you’ll get some kind of buff just for being a slitted-eye character, do you?”

Whether he understood me or not, he just kept running his mouth.

“The best soccer player isn’t necessarily the best baseball player. Get what I mean?”

He was saying that hunting monsters and fighting people are two different things.

“Today, I’ll show you that there are skies beyond the sky.”

“You talk way too much. All those muscles you’ve built up are going to cry.”

“Ha, you son of a bitch.”

Looking incredulous, Lee Han-seong turned his head to the side, then threw a surprise punch.

*Fwoom!*

Even though it only hit empty air, it sounded like the atmosphere itself was exploding.

If an ordinary person took that hit, they’d probably be sent straight to the afterlife.

But I’m not ordinary.

-Phantom Step LV Max has been activated.

The opponent’s attacks were displayed like arrows on a GPS, making them easy to predict.

I took a light step back, dodging it by a hair’s breadth.

For a moment, I could see Lee Han-seong flinch.

To test me again, he closed the distance and threw a body blow.

Tsk, tsk, you shouldn’t do that.

Isn’t it an unwritten rule to fight American-style in a one-on-one duel?

You know what I’m talking about.

In American action movies, the hero lands a punch, then the villain lands a punch. Then the hero hits back, and the villain yells, “Fucking!” and hits him again.

Now that’s a man’s fight, right? Trading blows one by one.

*Smack!*

Lee Han-seong staggered back.

He touched the area around his nose, his expression one of disbelief.

*Drip, drip.*

Lee Han-seong looked from the blood on his hand to me.

“What? Want to forfeit because you got a nosebleed first? You haven’t lost yet, so come on.”

“You crazy son of a bitch!”

Lee Han-seong charged like an enraged wild boar.

With his massive body, Lee Han-seong went for a low tackle.

He tried to take me down, but he failed.

I braced for the impact by pulling my right foot back, then pressed down on his shoulders with both arms. And then.

*CRACK!*

I drove my knee into Lee Han-seong’s face.

Broken teeth and blood rained down.

I should recommend a good dentist to him.

“Don’t worry, as long as the roots are there, they can put a nice crown on it. Ah, now it’s your turn to hit.”

Gotta have some manners, after all.

I let Lee Han-seong go.

“I was just trying to test you.”

Lee Han-seong said, grinding his teeth as if chewing his words.

“I’m going to tear you to pieces, kill you, and then chew you up.”

“Oh dear, so scary.”

He must be really angry.

Lee Han-seong’s body began to swell dramatically.

No, his body wasn’t swelling—his muscles were singing.

It wasn’t just his muscles that were activated.

The aura I felt from him was incomparable to before.

It seemed to be an ability that caused phased transformations, much like the Phases I have.

In that instant, Lee Han-seong vanished.

I swung my fist reflexively.

*Thud!*

An invisible barrier was spread across Lee Han-seong’s skin.

An HP Shield… no, it was a durability that surpassed even that.

***

“Shouldn’t we contact the Agency?”

A commando spoke up.

The commando team leader couldn’t say a word.

Special forces are, quite literally, the dream of every soldier.

The commandos are where you end up after endless training and perseverance, honing and polishing yourself.

Hunters become superhumans by awakening through the System’s power, but these men have entered the realm of superhumans through their own pure strength.

And yet, they could do nothing in the current situation.

The National Disaster Agency.

The headquarters responsible for effectively defending against the Gate crisis and establishing strategies and tactics.

A place that bears all responsibility for the safety of its citizens.

When they first became part of the Agency’s special forces, they felt a sense of pride.

Because they could fight alongside heroes against giant monsters straight out of a fantasy novel.

But what they witnessed with their own eyes was different.

Brutal battles could claim the lives of even those called heroes in an instant.

And there were many who were motivated solely by money.

Of course, that was to be expected.

No one lives for the sake of sacrifice.

They weren’t naive children, so the special forces members held no vague hopes about heroes.

Lucky Boy, Lee Han-seong. A first-generation Awakened and a former military officer, he should have been a figure of pride for them.

However, the vicious madness he possessed was nauseating.

He enjoyed watching Villains beg and plead for their lives.

He even killed civilians, disguising it as a mistake.

But he was never punished.

Why?

Because he was famous even overseas.

K-Superman. That was his international nickname.

Other Awakened became Hunters and amassed vast fortunes, but Lee Han-seong only ever wanted to fight.

He had no need for wealth and fame. He was just a man who pursued only pleasure.

In contrast, Hunter Lee Hyunbin was the real deal.

In less than a year, he had grown at a dazzling pace.

He’d caught the Villain known as the Company Man and even defeated a 5-star monster that had been on the verge of destroying the capital in another country.

He also did many good deeds and was highly regarded for diligently developing his team members.

In an era like this, where violence is recognized, the hero truly needed is someone like Hunter Lee Hyunbin.

“What should we do?”

The sounds of curses and blows continued to come from inside.

They could also hear explosions and feel the walls shake.

If it were just a brief spat, it would be one thing, but it sounded like they were fighting to the death.

No matter how strong Hunter Lee Hyunbin was, even having defeated giant monsters, Lee Han-seong was different.

His belligerent nature led to frequent clashes with other S-ranks.

Kaldoma of the Shinhwa Guild avoided fighting him.

Even the number one ranked Hunter, Yeomje Hwang Jae-yeon, whose temper was just as fiery, often had friction with Lee Han-seong, and they had a major clash once.

As a result, Yeomje had to be hospitalized for a while.

Of course, this fact was not made public.

That’s how dominant Lee Han-seong was in interpersonal combat.

“Open the door.”

“Captain.”

“I said, open the door. I’ll take responsibility.”

They couldn’t let someone like Hunter Lee Hyunbin die.

Back then, Yeomje might have died if his comrades hadn’t been around.

There were no comrades here to intervene. Only them, third parties.

“If Hunter Lee Hyunbin is in danger, you have permission to fire.”

“Sir?”

“I said I’ll take responsibility.”

It wasn’t that they didn’t understand what he meant.

“Yes, sir.”

Steeling their resolve, the special forces members reloaded their guns and prepared for combat.

Even if Lee Han-seong wasn’t a career soldier, he held one of the highest positions in the Agency.

Pointing a gun at such a person was a matter that could cost them their lives.

-Charlie to Alpha. Situation resolved. I repeat, situation resolved.

Upon receiving the radio call from the sniper team outside, the Alpha team’s expressions darkened.

Because they had hesitated.

The situation they had feared had finally come to pass.

They immediately threw the door open.

“Guarder Lee Han-seong, we can’t let this go on any…”

“Ah.”

When the door suddenly opened, Hunter Lee Hyunbin looked startled and gave an awkward smile.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin?”

The special forces members were flustered to see Lee Hyunbin completely unharmed.

They had just heard the continuous sounds of a fight, yet he looked as if he hadn’t been in one at all.

“Lee Han-seong?”

That’s when the special forces members saw him.

Lucky Boy Lee Han-seong, lying on the floor in the Yamcha pose.

-Pity we couldn’t see the awesome party firsthand. Radio out.

As if to mock their confusion, the sniper team ended the transmission.

“What… happened?”

It was a pointless question.

There were only two of them, one was perfectly fine, and the other was unconscious.

The special forces members were at a loss for words.

Regardless of having awakened as a Porter, Lee Hyunbin was strong beyond all common sense.

If they had known, they would have watched the fight with their own eyes.

“Is he alive?”

“Of course. He’s definitely alive.”

At Hyunbin’s words, the captain’s face was speechless.

The interior was in an even worse state than when they had last seen it.

The windows were all shattered, and the walls and floor were dented and smashed.

The scene looked like the aftermath of an intense firefight.

“Well, time to clean up. I’ll take responsibility for Guarder Lee Han-seong and get him to a hospital.”

“You don’t have to go that far…”

“Should I just leave him here then?”

The special forces members neither confirmed nor denied. They just gave faint, jesting smiles.

“We’re glad you’re safe.”

The members thought it was a blessing that someone like Lee Hyunbin was this strong.

“Uh, what’s that phrase? ‘Used well and returning.’”

Lee Hyunbin muttered, looking at the tattered Lee Han-seong.

***

The data the goddess left for me was a history of the System.

It was laid out like a table of contents detailing the history of the world she had experienced as a goddess, so vast it seemed impossible to read it all.

It felt like I’d have to read through dozens of history textbooks stacked on top of each other.

Of course, there was a massive amount of other information as well. But there was nothing about the 100 Magicians.

That meant something that not even a god could verify had intervened.

In any case, I learned that the 100 Magicians were people from the modern era.

Thanks to the Immortal Demon King’s memories, I even recognized some of their faces.

One of them was Lee Han-seong.

I didn’t kill Lee Han-seong.

To be honest, I wanted to. But it would have made things complicated.

It would be a different story inside a Gate or a dungeon.

Instead, I carried him myself.

-Beginning extraction from Lee Han-seong.

-Acquired Memory Fragment 1 from Lee Han-seong.

-Beginning farming.

-Acquired Memory Fragment 2 from Lee Han-seong.

-Beginning farming.

…

-Extracting Lee Han-seong’s ability, Body Enhancement.

-Beginning farming.

-Acquired Body Enhancement.

-Extracting Lee Han-seong’s ability, Iron Shield.

-Beginning farming.

-Failed to acquire Iron Shield.

-Extracting Lee Han-seong’s ability, Flight.

-Beginning farming.

-Failed to acquire Flight.

…

What the hell, why does this guy have so many abilities?

Normally, an Awakened only has one ability.

Skills and abilities seem similar at first glance, but while skills have a growth limit, abilities can continue to grow indefinitely.

In my case, I have the Inventory Enhancement ability as a Porter and the Savior ability as a Hero.

Of course, it wasn’t unheard of for someone to have multiple abilities.

I continued the extraction, succeeding and failing repeatedly.

He had ten abilities in total. And even more skills.

‘How can one person have so many?’

I didn’t understand.

It was hard to call this a matter of talent.

I failed to extract about half of them, but I succeeded with the other half.

After sucking Lee Han-seong dry of his skills, I took him to the hospital.

Beating him up and then taking him to the hospital… I feel like I’m giving him the disease and the cure.

I read the memories extracted from Lee Han-seong.

That was the goal from the beginning, after all.

The more I read, the more I realized that Lee Han-seong was a bastard who didn’t deserve an ounce of mercy.

First off, this guy was indeed one of the 100 Magicians.

I read a memory of him on the continent I had saved, gleefully and indiscriminately shooting his gun.

He would capture powerless people. Then he’d tell them he would spare them if they ran away fast enough.

A father and son, or a mother and daughter.

He’d release them into a field and make bets on shooting them as they ran for their lives.

It was disgusting.

The scenes of slaughter, viewed from Lee Han-seong’s perspective, were endless.

‘Those crazy bastards.’

I held back the rising nausea and watched until the end.

Because I felt I had to know what on earth these guys committed such insane acts for.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped me; it was just that absurd.

I saw a scene of these disgusting murderers laughing and chatting while swimming in a vast pool of gold they had plundered from the other world.

Disgusting.

They were nothing but monsters in human form.

I turned around, changing my path away from home.