Chapter 8: Resembling Something That Shouldnt Be Resembled?

Chapter 8: Resembling Something That Shouldnt Be Resembled?

The position of a Strategy and Tactics Team Leader inevitably led to him making many enemies. It was ironic that those enemies were not monsters, but Hunters.

Kang Mu-hyuk, not being a Hunter himself, was vulnerable to violence.

Therefore, he always maintained a flexible attitude when working.

He preferred allies over enemies, win-win situations over complete victories, and at least neutrality if not an alliance.

In that regard, his contribution to keeping the Titan Guild's internal and external competition low despite its rapid growth was significant.

A guild that grew together.

This catchphrase worked on competitors as well.

That didn't mean he had no enemies. Conflicts with Hunter criminals called villains or guilds involved in illegal activities were inevitable.

Kang Mu-hyuk had dealt with them firmly and had definitely ruined them.

So he had always been cautious of being targeted by his enemies at any time.

'But this shouldn't be happening.'

He had been too nave. Rather than being complacent, he simply hoped for a sense of partnership among those in the same industry.

But now--

His belief in maintaining a minimum civility had been shattered.

'Ma Taesik... Did it seem so unfair to be kicked out? You stupid kid!'

Ma Taesik was infuriated by Kang Mu-hyuk's contemptuous expression.

"What's with that look?"

Ma Taesik attempted to slap the convulsing Kang Mu-hyuk's face.

Then, an unfamiliar voice from behind stopped him.

"What's going on here?"

"Who are you? Get lost!"

"Oh dear! A gangster? I'm going to report you to the police."

"What? Dammit. I'm just out of luck today. Go ahead and report it. But I'll smash that pretty face of yours first."

"Hehehe... Heheheh..."

At Ma Taesik's threat, Kang Mu-hyuk laughed while crawling on the floor.

"What's so funny, you bastard? You're about to die!"

"Ma Taesik... Cough! You, you must have drunk a lot. Or are your eyes really that bad?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Whose face will really... end up being smashed?"

"What?"

"Mr. Kang Mu-hyuk, I'll take care of this quickly before you die."

Ma Taesik realized a moment too late that the woman knew Kang Mu-hyuk.

"Do you two know each other? Are you a Hunter?!"

"How can you not recognize such a pretty face? Your eyesight must be really bad."

For a moment, Ma Taesik felt an overwhelming pressure from the woman who was approaching him with a clenched fist. Despite being drunk, human instincts worked faithfully. Resistance to fear. He reflexively reached out his hand.

"Don't, don't come any closer! Mana Bomb!"

A cluster of light shot out from his hand.

The explosion shattered all the glass walls of the elevator booth. Concrete dust scattered from the broken floor. Water gushed from the sprinkler pipes running across the ceiling. As the wires connecting the lights broke, sparks were emitted along with smoke, the sprinklers started working.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! This, this cleaning up... It's all because of that bastard Kang Mu-hyuk. It's not my fault!"

As Ma Taesik, tearing at his hair, shouted into the emptiness of the parking lot.

"Was that really all the resolve you had to kill someone?"

Through the thick smoke, a woman emerged.

"Pathetic."

"Wh-what are you? How come you're unscathed?!"

A painfully obvious question. He demanded an answer even though he knew it himself.

The response was simple.

"Because I'm stronger than you."

The woman brushed off the water and dirt from her coat and approached Ma Taesik.

"Assaulting a civilian is a murder charge for a Hunter. Assaulting another Hunter is an assault charge. A minimum sentence of 30 years. I won't grant you the mercy of death. You'll just rot in prison."

As swiftly as a judge's verdict, she closed the distance and drove her fist into Ma Taesik's abdomen.

Ma Taesik crumpled to the ground as her coat fluttered down.

It was too quick and anticlimactic to be called a fight between Hunters.

The staggering difference in their abilities was evident in the outcome.

Kang Mu-hyuk squinted up at the woman through his hazy vision.

"A terminal illness?"

Kang Mu-hyuk asked as calmly as he could.

"We can't be sure. It's a rare disease with a very few cases."

"And what happened to the patients who were diagnosed with those few cases?"

As the doctor hesitated, his father, who was standing behind him, spoke up.

"They all died."

After a moment of silence, Kang Mu-hyuk asked again.

"They all died? What kind of disease is it?"

"Mana Addiction."

"Mana... what?"

"It's a hereditary disease for which no treatment has been discovered yet."

"A hereditary disease?"

"Yes. Your mother suffered from it too."

------

The Gate Era.

As humanity encountered a new world, the Gates brought in various resources and relics.

They were like the two sides of the same coin.

As much as they illuminated human civilization, they also cast a shadow.

The brightest gift among them was 'mana.'

Thanks to mana, Hunters were born, and a new energy source that did not destroy nature was discovered.

The darkest gift was also 'mana.'

Mana was the cause of monsters attacking, and the power to destroy the world also came from mana.

Mana Addiction.

This rare disease, too, showcased the dual nature of mana.

It was both a blessing and a curse.

As Kang Mu-hyuk was confused, the doctor continued to explain.

"In non-Hunters exposed to mana, there's a very low chance of them developing the disease. If a person with the disease has a child, it is known to be hereditary. Although nothing is known for certain, there is a long incubation period before the onset of symptoms."

"That can't be. The test must be wrong. My mother didn't have such a disease."

The doctor glanced at the father before meeting Kang Mu-hyuk's eyes again.

"There are several characteristics of this disease."

"Like what?"

"Mr. Kang Mu-hyuk, you must have heard people calling you a genius or a prodigy since you were young. Exceptional memorization skills, insight into things others couldn't see, understanding every phenomena clearly, and so on. Although there are individual differences, your learning ability must have been astonishingly great."

"So what?"

"Mana Addiction affects the brain. The brain becomes activated at the cost of a shorter lifespan. Of course, even this effect is known to gradually diminish after the onset of the disease, but possessing an extraordinary intellect is a typical example of this illness."

His intelligence, one of the symptoms of the disease? The insight and intuition that put him in the position of a Strategy and Tactics team leader came from this cursed rare disease?

He couldn't accept it.

"Being a bit smarter than others doesn't necessarily mean I have Mana Addiction?"

"At least on the surface, yes. That's why it cannot be easily detected. Moreover, there are no specific symptoms of the disease. Some people suddenly have seizures and die, while others experience sensory paralysis like visual or hearing impairment. You can lose them forever. The symptoms are so diverse and unpredictable that you never know when you might die."

Suddenly, Kang Mu-hyuk remembered something from his early childhood, when he had just started to walk.

Was his good memory from that time also due to the disease?

He clearly remembered his mother having a seizure when he was young. Later, he heard it was epilepsy, but now it seemed that it wasn't.

Kang Mu-hyuk turned his gaze to his father.

"Did mother really have Mana Addiction?"

"Yes. It wouldn't have been surprising if she suddenly died one day. Her hearing impairment was also a side effect of the disease."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What mother in the world would tell her child she has a terminal illness?"

"..."

As Kang Mu-hyuk remained silent, his father sighed and added one more thing.

"Anyway, there was nothing for you to take after, so why did you have to inherit that?"

It was the first time in fifteen years that his father, who had never shown his emotions, spoke out.

------

Leaving Kang Mu-hyuk, who was confused, to gather his thoughts, Kang Chang-soo left the hospital.

He stood there blankly, staring at the sky for a while, and then, as if making up his mind, his eyes shined as he called someone.

"Yes, brother-in-law, it's Mana Addiction. It must have been in a dormant state until now, but it seems it has finally manifested, perhaps stimulated by the mana therapy....What could I have done? It was a matter of life and death. I had to risk the danger and save his life first, so I agreed to the mana therapy... Now, all that's left is the research from the past 20 years. There's no time to wait for a completion when we don't even know when that will be. It's a disease that we don't know when or how it will strike. We have no choice but to rely on it, even if it's incomplete... Side effects? I can't guarantee that. He might become a fool. But isn't it better to live in this world, even if you have to roll in a dung heap?...Yes, please prepare as soon as possible. I was too late 15 years ago, but not this time."