Chapter 2

Coincidence or Inevitability (2)

Il-hyun got off at a station in Cheongseong.

The areas surrounding the station were completely under control since 4 am in the morning due to the D4-class gate that occurred near the station.

Of course, since the area was controlled, the road to the company was blocked.

It’s a big deal. If I’m late, my boss is going to be completely upset.

Il-hyun, who has never been late, sighed deeply.

It’s my fault for not studying properly. My job is really stressful and boring.

He wanted to write a resignation letter right now, but it was impossible.

No fussing, I have to find the way.

If he takes a taxi from here, the control will just block the car and ask them to go around. Then, the only way left is to break through.

He swiped through his phone to check the control area.

It was something he wouldn’t normally think of, but it wasn’t that much dangerous either. The monster at the gate that appeared had already been taken care of by the Awakeners, and Il-Hyun was waiting for the staff to finish up.

Okay, let’s go in.

Out of the station, Il-Hyun entered a control area that was poorly blocked by access tapes.

There were no people around. The empty roads and buildings are in a dilapidated condition due to the battle, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

But it wasn’t that scary because it was daytime, and the sun is shining.

Il-hyun hummed as he walked alone on the quiet street.

Wow… Is this how a monster body looks like?

Several corpses of wild dog monsters that have not yet been removed were dumped in a rough pile at the street corners.

The control team seemed to have completed the primary field treatment, and all the ether in the monsters’ bodies had been recovered. If ether, the most important resource, remained, the control team would still have been there until the last of it is taken.

However, Il-hyun felt an unusual aura. He followed his instincts and it led him to something… a corpse in the corner.

He stood in front of the body, staring blankly at it for a moment.

Then, without hesitation, Il-hyun boldly put his hand toward a bright light that laid inside the monster’s open belly.

Ughh…

The unpleasant smell and feel of the corpse nauseated him, yet it didn’t stop him.

A cube-shaped nucleus emitting bright light leaked out of his right hand as he retrieved his hand from the monster’s gut.

It was surely a mistake. It was not impossible that the squad had in their haste left one of the monster’s ether cores intact.

Is this an unprocessed ether stone? It’s my first time…

Il-hyun was fascinated and looked at the beautiful form overflowing with light.

Even the weakest monster’s ether core cost millions of won.

Although he has one in his hands right now, taking it away, of course, is a serious theft.

But Il-hyun is not thinking about that, at least not yet. The ether had certainly enchanted him.

His thoughts became obvious when the words came out of his mouth.

“Looks delicious…”

Surprised by his own words, he took a step back and did a quick look-around, trying to see if there’s anyone who may have heard or seen him.

“Oh no, what am I talking about.”

He returned his gaze at the glowing ether on his hand.

At the back of his mind, the right decision has formed: drop the ether, and leave. However, a part of him strongly rejects this thought.

Meanwhile, he is beginning to lose control, and his hand holding the ether began to tremble.

“Just a bite…okay?”, Il-hyun murmured.

Meanwhile, the strength of the grip was getting stronger.

Wow! The cube slowly began to crack, and the ether core shattered. It could never be broken by physical force.

The core broke out like a piece of glass. And the bright white light that was in it appeared so savory that Il-hyun had to eat it.

“Hoo, it’s delicious.”

Il-hyun said, running his tongue over his lips.

The power of predation, which had been hidden in him, has finally been awakened.

* * *

Tadadak! Il-hyun, who ate the ether, quickly left the control site.

He continued to run hurriedly and without caution.

He drew in a good breath and then jumped into their company building.

When Il-hyun entered the office, his boss noticed and simply shook his head.

Il-hyun, who would normally have his head bitten off, chuckled, sat down, then began to organize his desk.

“Il-hyun…? What are you doing?”

“Thanks for everything. Don’t mind me.”

He uttered, his voice filled with exhilaration.

He began to write something hard, and gave it to his boss.

When his boss peeked at what he has written, his eyes opened wide with surprise.

“Did you win the lottery?”

“I can’t even compare it.”

Il-hyun smiled and shouted from the chair.

“Choi Choi! Resign!”

* * *

“Jungcha!”

Il-hyun dropped the baggage from the company on the floor.

It felt as if a huge weight has been lifted off his chest, and it seems like he was light, so light, that he was going to fly off.

“I feel like ten years has been added to my age due to stress.”

He raised his arms and shouted.

“I am now an Awakener!”

Il-hyun raised his arms and shouted.

It was said that if you are an awakener, you will know instinctively.

And now, he understood the words properly.

He pointed to the wall of his room and slowly put intangible power into the wall, making it follow a pattern drawn in his head.

Suddenly the wall turned into the form he wanted.

A square pillar popped out of the wall as his hand moved.

Then, when he put his hands on the end of the pillar and pushed it back, the wall surface returned to its original state.

Il-hyun picked up a dumbbell that he bought a long time ago and rarely used.

He wasn’t going to exercise now.

When he grabbed the end of the dumbbell and gave it a pull, it was surprisingly very light, as if it was made of clay.

It was an incredible strength, a power beyond humanity.

“Oh, my God.”

Il-hyun was unable to hide the excitement. He kept moving back and forth and around the place.

He remember the three features of the SSS rank written on the Awakening paper he received.

Summon, predation, transformation.

The awakening of tremendous potential was indeed born after the gate was opened.

But the ability to summon hasn’t been reached yet.

Il-hyun raised his right hand and stared at it.

No one told him about the abilities of predation and transformation, but he instinctively knew all his abilities and how to use them.

But not the first one. Summon.

Even while on his way, he tried many things, drawing several images in his head, but nothing like the word summoning happened.

Is my power still not enough?

One thing was certain, he ate the energy of the ether and turned it into his own power.

“Then I will have to absorb more ether. But it’s impossible to get ether core with the money I have.”

Although ether is expensive, pure ether cores that came out of monsters and have not yet been processed are prohibited on the market.

If the general public wants to obtain it, they have no choice but to obtain it through a trafficking transaction, and the price will increase tremendously.

‘Or can I go into the government or business?’

The Government Gate Response team or a private awakening company, these were the two main paths of the awakening.

Private companies hire a large number of awakened people and negotiate with governments in each country to win the case or territory to be dealt with. The government cannot handle all the gates alone, so many private bids to block the gates and kill monsters come and go.

Most people who did not join the Government Gate Response team joins a private company. Awakeners who entered the company were paid according to the quantity and quality of ether obtained from the number of cases they had.

In other words, it means that you receive exactly what you worked for.

Instead of having a basic salary, it is a relatively free atmosphere where you can take a vacation at any time and get back to work.

On the other hand, the government gives the hired Awakeners the ether’s profits from the monster and a substantial amount of the basic salary. It’s a lot more money than a company, but there were also disadvantages. As it was to become an Awakener belonging to the government, the intensity of work was very high for the safety of the people. They often waited to prepare for an emergency, and when things get busy, when gates broke out one after another, they couldn’t rest freely.

The interesting thing was that it was the opposite of the general image of governments and companies that they often think of.

And now, Il-hyun, thinking about two cases, shook his head.

“No. Either way, you’ll make a lot of money, but you can’t get the ether core you need right now. It’s useless.”

Whether it’s government or business, it’s the same to get huge profits from ether and hire Awakeners with that money. Naturally, without ether, the profits of businesses and governments also disappear.

In other words, if you say you hunted a monster, you can’t use the ether from it freely.

All the ether cores obtained by catching monsters are used or sold to companies and governments that are not Awakened, and the appropriate price is converted into money and paid to the Awakened.

If so, I have no choice but to act individually. I’ve never committed a crime, but this is a big deal.

As it is a problem directly related to security and national safety, gates are managed and controlled by the state.

All the Awakeners who worked as companies or crews work with the permission of the country.

Unless in an emergency, it was strictly illegal to enter the field without permission and hunt monsters without permission.

Although, in this situation, finding an ether was strictly by chance.

Oh, I already stole one from the scene.

Il-hyun laughed as he recalled what he had done on his way to work.

He reasoned that the first one was usually the hardest, and then the second one. At this, his heart became lighter.

I can’t help it.

Il-hyun turned on his cell phone and hurriedly searched for information about gates in Korea.

There were several. He found the one he needed.

E-rank gate.

It was the lowest-grade gate, whose monsters can be easily suppressed with ether firearms.

“It’s perfect.”

This gate was expected to appear in Suwon after 7 hours and was being controlled by the Dane Company in combat.

He got up from his seat and changed his clothes.