Chapter 4 - Psychopath (2)

Psychopath (2)

I sighed lightly.

The rumors were seemingly true.

Seongjin-wook was fated to take charge of the Celestial Dragon Guild as the succeeding auspicious Guild Leader if he progressed capably.

‘Was there a fatal defect in his mind?’

If the condition proved critical, then promoting him to an A-class hunter would also be long stretch.

‘Was the story of a psychopath hindered by the gossip mongers among the hunters?

Was it because he died a year after his awakening?’

He died before the rumors had spread.

“I want to ask some more questions,” I said to Secretary Kim inquisitively, who was still passing suspecting glances my way.

Kim positioned her fingers underneath her chin. A woman of her disposition, calling her a ‘pumpkin’ would be an understatement.

She obstinately answered,” Team Leader, don’t you remember? Stop asking me the same questions in circles.”

After blocking the persistence of confirmation memory, I asked,” Did you repeat some of the crazy things you used to do?”

After a few words, Secretary Kim fell silent, her superiors’ instructions obstructed her from speaking. This did not stop me from pursuing more answers.

“Did I do ‘a lot of crazy things’? You can say that wild spirit in me awakened time and again.”

“Well, share an example with me.”

“If you start with something light, you’ll be nervous and you’ll start behaving abnormally. Suddenly you’ll become apprehensive of everything, and you’ll feel cynical of the people around you for no reason.”

She listed the instances. The thoughts were extreme, aggressive, and disturbingly real. It seemed to be close to Borderline Personality Disorder. I have never studied psychology, but the contents of the books I read slightly came to mind.

“You can boast and say that you ticked all the boxes. What’s dangerous is that at some point, Yama unexpectedly dies… If you are an ordinary person, you won’t stand what comes beyond reference. Is it a standard display of Anger Control Disorder?”

‘Anger Control Disorder’

It said so in the files.

“Was he born to express brewery? Once the numbers are wrong, they turn extremely violent. Hit it, throw it, tear it… and if you don’t get loose, you can sleep.”

‘Self-harm? You must be crazy’

“As well, if you get stuck in one activity, you get extravagant with time and wealth beyond sane comprehension. In all gratitude for you, there are billions of gambling debts paid by the guild, and billions of foreign cars I bought that I wasn’t really driving.”

‘Impulse Disorder’

“Moreover, there is something stranger about him. He says that he hears odd voices, whispering to him in hushed tones.”

‘Even delirium. It was quite a compendium of mental disorders.’

“It’s so much, yet no rumors outside?”

“I am desperately cracking down on the guild level. Still, rumors spread among the hunters.”

The crackdown seems to have achieved some success even after Seongjin-wook awoke as a hunter.

In his previous life, he was remarked as a prospect to lead the future for a short-lived era ranging from his awakening to death. Having forte is also a talent, but rumors abounded that the potential mana in his possession will outperform any other Korean hunter.

“The spread of the rumors may be a foretelling of the powerful story that will unfold in his life”

‘Come to think of it!’

I drove my mind’s focus on my mana core. It was of concern to me since I awoke from the comatose state. It was not active yet, and the potential mana did not flow freely. Still, it was within my capacity to observe it, and I did.

Lightning must have struck, I was dumbfounded.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why did you fall quiet?”

My lips became incapable of answering. I fixed myself on the inactive mana, curled up like a lion in its den. Indeed, it was overwhelming. My body was surging with excitement.

I felt like I was gazing into the void, where there was no end.

Compared to Hibiki’s active mana during his hey-days, this was no different.

*gulp*

I swallowed dried saliva and expired an easy sigh.

‘It was a monster, a hunter named Seongjin-wook.’

If you didn’t die before, I think you would have succeeded in revitalizing all of this potential mana, utilizing it to change the course of history.

‘Wait a minute…’

‘Change history…?’

I was able to see all the mana visually, but the potential mana amount was at a disastrous level. The previous body overlapped with the new one, and an idea was about to bloom.

I asked, “You’re almost turning 19 years old? How do you awaken with awakening stones?”

There are two ways to awaken as a hunter:

The easiest and most widely used method was, of course, the second.

“Absolutely. In particular, he prepared awakening stones from A-class dungeons up to premium. Well, even if you use something from an F-class dungeon, your Team Leader will wake up. It’s not one or two people in the guild who have witnessed this frantic smack every time the lid is opened. I witnessed it with my own two eyes.”

Even before the awakening, some subconsciously display the power out of control, in an emotionally excited state.

It proves that there is enough latent mana in the body, and these people awaken with a 100% chance if they meet the conditions.

It seemed that Seongjin-wook was one of them.

“When is my birthday?”

Secretary Kim gave me a doubting look.

“A week from today.”

A week from now, under the presence of the Hunter Management Department, I plan to become a hunter by contacting the Awakening Stone.

According to the international norms of this era, attempts at deliberately awaken those who are not 19 years of age are illegal.

On the surface, it is intended to protect the youth by limiting self-determination, but upon close inspection, you are implementing a fail-safe that prevents a child from handling a possible weapon of mass destruction.

‘Hooray! One week!’

My status in the present worried me.

ChoiSeung-hyun’s soul had already awakened as a hunter, had its own unique skill, and was placed in Seongjin-wook’s body, who was also awakened.

There was no seal on the body, which meant his soul was awake, but his body was dormant.

‘In that case, wasn’t I already awakened? Or not judging by this condition?’

“What happens when you touch the Awakening Stone in this state?”

Secretary Kim became distressed. Deep wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

*ring*

The phone bell rang, and Secretary Kim checked the caller and frowned.

“Yes, hello?……No, he’s still in your bedroom.”

A bleak sound of someone’s voice on the other end reached me.

She motioned her finger and made a gesture to wait for a while before exiting the bedroom door.

After talking for a few minutes more, she opened the door and entered the bedroom again.

“We can’t stay here. You have to go right away. The leader of the guild is stubborn.”

My fateful meeting with him was inevitable.

*

Seongjin-wook’s father’s office took a few minutes to reach. He was the chief of the Dragon Guild.

The house which was designed for the Great Leader, and right across, was more conditioned to be called a Great Palace belonging to some affluent royalty. The statue of Cheonryong Guild was conspicuous in this period.

Occasionally, I ran into other employees in the long stretched out corridor, wherefore crafts, artifacts and works of art belonging to other dimensions and civilizations, of immeasurable worth, lay in display.

Whenever they caught my sight, their faces grew dull. I struggled to keep a poker face, but my complexion was still visible.

“I guess I’m notorious.”

Secretary Kim responded calmly, “Notorious? Absolutely! It’s almost a natural disaster.”

“What?”

After a bit more walking, we came across a man who bore the air of expectancy.

“Team Leader Seongjin-wook.”

Our eyes met.

He had a muscular frame with a height which inclined to being short. Short and stout, clipped air, his appearance resembled a hunter whose persona lingered in my head.

“Park Chang-hee Hunter…”

Just before becoming the bing, Seongjin-wook tried to feed the flying and failed.

Park Chang-hee, facing us, said in a calm tone, “I was waiting at the house. It’s a good thing that you’re awake.”

His speech could rob anyone’s emotion dry. At first glance, I noticed a peculiar look passing in his eyes.

‘Was he suspicious?’

I rolled most of my previous life out of the Hunter board. I’ve been through all of these guys. He couldn’t be at the forefront of the battle. Still, he was always present at political bargaining and peacock positions between hunters, the man was suitable for diplomacy.

I knew what I saw. Something was off. Answer with caution.

“What happened?”

“Of course, I came to apologize.”

He treaded in my direction, bridging the gap between us.

“It’s a postwar situation anyways, and I admit that there was an excessive amount of defensive action I took as a hunter against the non-awakened Team Leader, no matter what he did. Sorry,” Secretary Kim murmured as she took a step back, all the while touching the ring on her hand with a disgust brewing on her face.

It would not prove wise to judge a personality by rank, but Secretary Kim was embittered.

Park Chang-hee did not hide the discomfort either.

“I don’t think Secretary Kim is going to tease him?”

I interrupted, “Stop it. In any case, it was my side became impassioned. I apologize too.”

It is not recalled, but the fact that he flew the ball without any reason is 100% negligence.

“By the way… You wrote to mana awakened people and accepted it?”

This is no different from firing a live shot at a child running naked.

“But it’s kind of surprising that I used mana.”

“If you reexplore dungeons and face life-threatening happenings that carry you to the threshold of death, you will naturally pick combat ready reflexes. It’s an extremely sharpened state. I responded reflexively without my knowledge. There seemed to be discipline at the guild level for that part. I will accept it sweetly.”

Secretary Kim grumbled, “That’s right, and I’ll stop with a water bat because of the vice guild.”

I was confused, but I thought I should send Park Chang-hee quickly before the fire spread and sparked the wrong flame in Secretary Kim.

“Okay. Stop it. Excuse us first. The place I should go to now is…”

Park Chang-hee’s expression was strange because it was so different from the usual Seongjin-wook’s attitude.

However, it was not only surprising but also skeptical.

“I know. The Guild Leader called it. “

He came to me again.

‘What was it? Why was I feeling like this?’

“I apologize again. Get well soon.”

Then he bowed. It was a polite gesture.

Park Chang-hee raised himself. Once again, our eyes met.

I gazed with depth into his frozen eyes. A bright blue wave swirled in Park Chang-hee’s vision.

I was well aware of this phenomenon. Mana.To compare the compound movements, there were butterflies in the rays fluttering, countless small collisions of a stormy, tempestuous sea, and the mirages of lightbeaming forth.

All of them were entangled, released, and danced.

It looked like disorderly movement at first glance, but after memorizing the move completely, a pattern appears.

This indicates the swirling of mana when a skill is activated.

And….

I didn’t have to wait for [Heir’s Eye] to explain.

I knew what skill that pattern forms.

[Perspective (Rank: E, Active)]

Mana, as misty as a haze, flowed from his eyes, slowly pervading the ambience and approaching my direction.

‘There was a reason this baby kept narrowing down!’

Secretary Kim, who stood right behind us, of course, didn’t notice anything; if she were Seonggjin-wook of Bing right now, she would have been helpless.

My eyes were not deceived. My head was splitting.

‘Why are you suddenly trying to see me? Is the goal inside the hem? Is it perverted? Or does it go out and inside the skin?’

Anyways, I didn’t want to give leeway for that mana to find its way inside my collar.

Oh yes! How does one leave a striking impression?

Just like this….

I was still nauseated from the concussion. I thought it ended, but then my stomach decided otherwise.

And observing the eccentric moving mana in Park’s eyes just made it worse.

“Eup!”

He moaned freely.

During the doctor’s visit, I had a good number of roundabout trips to the bathroom. My stomach became even more unstable. All the chyme, juices, and bile fluids started to brew and rise up my esophagus.

I looked down at Park Chang-hee. Whether he considered the range of skill activation or not, he narrowed it down to one or two steps and looked up at me.

My face reflected in his eyes, and I opened my mouth. Park Chang-hee’s face was distorted with an intuitive instinct.

“Wooueaeaeaeek!”

Without hesitation, I poured everything over his face.