Numerous articles about the incident were popping up online.
“‘Spatial Movement’... Why do all the articles end like this?”
As I protested, Park Mi-hyeong looked troubled.
“Mr. Kim Geuk, please calm down.”
“How am I supposed to be calm right now? The articles make it sound like everyone died because I was the only one who bailed using Spatial Movement!”
My whole body was trembling with rage. It wasn't just the fact that they were framing me as a coward; it was the sheer audacity of the media twisting the truth to fit their narrative.
“Mr. Kim Geuk, the public doesn't know the full context. They only see the results.”
“Results? The result is that I saved those people! If I hadn't used Spatial Movement to get them out, they would have been pulverized by that thing!”
I slammed my hand against the table, the sound echoing through the room. Park Mi-hyeong flinched, but she didn't back down.
“I know that. We all know that. But the Association is currently under immense pressure to provide a scapegoat for the casualties that did occur. You’re the most prominent figure involved, which makes you the easiest target.”
I let out a bitter laugh. Of course. It was always the same. When things went well, they took the credit; when things went south, they looked for someone to blame.
“So, what? I’m just supposed to take this lying down?”
“For now, yes. If you lash out, it will only confirm their narrative. We need to wait for the dust to settle.”
I stared at her, my eyes burning with frustration. I wanted to scream, to tear down the walls of this office, but I knew she was right. Lashing out would only make things worse.
“Fine,” I spat out, the word feeling like ash in my mouth. “But if they keep this up, I’m not going to sit idly by.”
Park Mi-hyeong nodded, a look of relief washing over her face.
“I understand. I’ll do my best to manage the situation from our end.”
I turned away, my mind racing. I needed a plan. I couldn't let them destroy my reputation like this. I was an A-rank Hunter, and I wouldn't be treated like some disposable pawn.
As I walked out of the office, I pulled out my phone and opened HuntWeb. The comments section was a cesspool of hate and misinformation.
Ⓐ StoneHeadYouth: I thought that guy was only crazy on HuntWeb, but it looks like he's not normal in real life either;;
Ⓐ 5myJesus: Did you see the footage? He just vanished! Left everyone behind to die!
Ⓐ syberMagneto: And he calls himself an A-rank? What a joke.
I scrolled through the comments, my blood boiling. They had no idea. They had no idea what it was like to stand in the face of a monster, to feel the weight of lives resting on your shoulders.
I closed the app and shoved my phone into my pocket. I needed to clear my head. I needed to find a way to prove them wrong.
I headed toward the training grounds, my steps heavy with frustration. I needed to train, to push myself until I couldn't think anymore.
As I reached the training grounds, I saw Sung Moon-young practicing her swordplay. She moved with grace and precision, her blade cutting through the air with a sharp whistle.
“Hey, Moon-young.”
She stopped and turned to look at me, her expression unreadable.
“Hyung? What are you doing here?”
“Just needed to clear my head.”
She nodded, her gaze lingering on me for a moment before she turned back to her practice.
“Rough day?”
“You could say that.”
I picked up my hammer, the familiar weight of it grounding me. I began to swing, the rhythmic thud of the hammer against the training dummy providing a strange sense of comfort.
“You know,” she said, her voice barely audible over the sound of my swings, “the truth always comes out eventually.”
I didn't answer. I just kept swinging, my focus narrowing until there was nothing left but the sound of the hammer and the burning in my muscles.
Maybe she was right. Maybe the truth would come out. But until then, I had to survive. I had to keep fighting, no matter what the world thought of me.
Because at the end of the day, I was the only one who could save them. And that was enough.
There are numerous internet articles covering this incident. It is only natural, given that nearly twenty people, including Association staff, lost their lives.
However, from my perspective, the content of these articles is anything but natural.
"What is this? Why do all the articles end like this: 'It has been confirmed that one Awakened examinee survived by using Spatial Movement to escape the scene'?"
When I protest, Ms. Park Mi-hyeong looks troubled.
"Mr. Kim Geuk, please calm down."
"How am I supposed to be calm? The articles make it sound like everyone died because I was the only one who bailed using Spatial Movement!"
Every time I look at the articles posted online, my whole body trembles.
None of them mention that I rescued two people while using Spatial Movement. There is no mention that I used Spatial Movement to try and acquire a weapon to fight the monster, and even less mention that I returned to the scene.
In the internet articles, I am not a survivor, but a fugitive. A cowardly fugitive who abandoned his comrades. The articles are written with the nuance that because an Awakened with superhuman strength—who could have fought back—fled alone, those left behind were doomed to be wiped out.
I can feel a malice that goes beyond mere misinformation. A malice directed solely at me.
It is particularly malicious that the articles even mention "Spatial Movement." I am the only person in the country with that ability. Even if my real name isn't written, it is far too easy to identify who the cowardly Awakened mentioned in the articles is.
"How can articles like this come out when so many people heard me shouting 'Hunter Rifle, Hunter Rifle!' at the Association building? I even saved two people, yet there’s no testimony from those bastards at all!"
As I shout at the top of my lungs, Ms. Park Mi-hyeong fumbles to calm me down.
Only after a long time, when I finally ran out of steam, did Ms. Park Mi-hyeong manage to soothe me. She promises to request a correction by invoking the name of a City Council Member and vows that she will definitely file a complaint.
Of course, this is not enough to put my mind at ease. As soon as I return home, I turn on HuntWeb.
Feeling as if I am losing something precious deep inside, I write a post, abandoning even the persona I have carefully maintained for over four months.
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : I am being unfairly maligned. Please, everyone, help me.
The post written with this title quickly becomes the talk of the site.
Site users who learn what happened that day, what I went through, and how unfairly I am being treated, start leaving comments.
Fortunately, while there are many mocking comments, there are even more that sympathize or offer to help.
Even a madman I once considered a lunatic tries to help me.
Ⓐ syberMagneto : Isn't this a scheme to lower your market value?
Ⓐ BabyBerserker : What do you mean...?
Ⓐ syberMagneto : If you're a Physical Enhancer who even has a rare special ability, shouldn't you be treated twice as well as a regular Awakened? You should be getting an astronomical amount of money to sign a contract, whether by international or domestic standards, but they're pulling this stunt because they don't want to pay that price properly.
syberMagneto, this madman, argues the following:
Since my ability as an Awakened is clearly powerful and useful to anyone who sees it, even government agencies find it burdensome to hire me at my true value. It is difficult to set my market value too low compared to international rates, as a Chinese or Japanese broker might snatch me up if they did.
Therefore, they must have schemed to disguise me—a clearly top-tier product—as a defective one, just to drive down the price.
Ⓑ GoodHunter : Even so, would a government agency, not a private company, do something so childish?
Ⓐ syberMagneto : A non-Awakened piece of trash like you wouldn't know, but local governments do all sorts of things to save money on Awakened. Don't you know that the finances of every local government outside of Seoul have dried up?
Ⓐ syberMagneto : They don't care if it's childish or petty; they do it all.
Anonymous : Specifically, what kind of things?
Ⓐ syberMagneto : When the Gates first opened, everyone thought all Awakened would be strong. Back then, I saw the Incheon city government sign a four-year employment contract with an Ice-Ability User, only to later fabricate rumors that they were a bully because they wanted to break the contract.
Ⓐ syberMagneto : And in this case, foreign brokers wouldn't know the details, right? If they just copy and paste some internet trash, it's enough to create a smokescreen for foreigners. They make it so foreign brokers are hesitant to approach, all to sign a contract at a bargain price domestically.
The speculation is so absurd that it's hard to believe it entirely.
However, many comments agreeing with him follow, and their Awakened Badges add credibility to their statements. They all claim to have been nitpicked for all sorts of strange reasons before signing contracts with local governments.
Meanwhile, I have been feeling dizzy for a while now. My heart keeps pounding.
Is the country really determined to slander me? Are they dragging my reputation through the mud just to pay me less money?
I subconsciously re-examine the comments on my post.
Anonymous : You abandoned all your comrades and saved yourself, and now you're making excuses? F***, desertion in the face of the enemy is punishable by death, just go die.
Most of those who left mocking comments are "Anonymous." I suspect they are all non-Awakened Hunters. The dregs of society who ended up doing life-threatening work because no one else would take them.
They must be jealous that I, as an Awakened, will earn hundreds of times more than them, so they're acting like that...
Ⓐ ElmaIsWeakYo : What a nasty thing to happen right at your debut. Stay strong. I'm a senior, and I'd like to buy you a drink, so check your messages.
Ⓐ StoneHeadYouth : Even if he really did run away, can you blame him? Everyone knows that even with a Hunter Rifle, a Physical Enhancer struggles to face a Rock Spirit. Whether it's true that he returned to the scene or not, the fact that the article was written this way suggests there's some shady intent, doesn't it?
Ⓢ Kang : The level of what these Hell-bando sea slaters are doing, lol. Should I go over and flip things upside down for you?
On the other hand, the owners of special badges—that is, the Awakened—all left comments as if they understood my feelings.
The contrast is so stark. It feels as if the world is splitting into black and white.
I am angry, yet deeply moved. It feels like I have gained allies while being abandoned by the world...
I am still dizzy, but I have work to do.
After turning off the computer and chewing on some dry ramen, I head to the Academy. I need to let the people there know exactly what happened.
Since it's a day off for the Academy, there are almost no people, but a few are working out. Their gazes turn toward me, and even though I came to clear my name, I flinch. I am afraid that even they might have seen the internet articles.
Passing them as if fleeing, I head to the Academy lobby and see a familiar face.
It is the Director. A man full of smiles even in these difficult times.
It is chilling.
The Director who sees me does not smile. His gaze is cold—too cold.
My heart starts pounding again. Has he read the articles? Does he think that because I ran away, several students died?
The Director's expressionless face feels like it lasts for over a minute, almost five.
But that was just how it felt; in reality, he only held that expression for barely a second. A look of pitying sympathy returns to the face of the Director, who I thought would never smile again.
"Oh my, Mr. Kim Geuk, I don't know how to comfort you..."
To me, those words sound like an interrogation: why are you still shamelessly alive?
"Anyway, you really went through a lot. It was hard, wasn't it?"
The Director continues to soothe me and says all the right things, but it provides no comfort. It is because I still cannot forget the expressionless face the Director wore for that very brief moment.
I don't think I will ever be able to forget it for the rest of my life.
*******
"Look, there are so many articles! 'Hammer that Smashes Rocks, Makes a Loud, Refreshing Sound in Incheon,' 'One Rock Spirit Single-handedly Suppressed by Examinee'..."
Sung Moon-young was making a fuss, holding up her smartphone. She said the internet was overflowing with articles covering this incident.
"There's even an interview where they asked an Awakened currently working as a Hunter what they thought about this. Rock Spirit? Oh, so that's a Rock Spirit. So, they said... since it's difficult for a Physical Enhancer to face a Rock Spirit alone, it would have been normal to run away in that situation without a weapon, but to smash it with just a hammer is truly brave and amazing. Wow, Kim Seok-man did the interview? He seems like a senior in the industry, so buy him a drink later."
Lee Jong-ho added a word.
"And buy Jung Jin-young a good meal."
They said that since Jung Jin-young's video was uploaded to YouTube, it had recorded an amazing number of views in just one day.
They said that while there are many videos on YouTube of Physical Enhancers showing off their muscles or slaughtering monsters with heavy-caliber Hunter Rifles, this was the first time a video had been released of someone smashing a monster that outclassed them with a weapon that didn't even look like a weapon.
Since the footage filmed at the time was even used on terrestrial news, it meant that Mr. Jung Jin-young's contribution was truly worthy of praise.
"Well, looking at the YouTube view count, the revenue must be sweet."
At my words, Sung Moon-young raised her voice as if frustrated.
"It's not the revenue that's important right now, it's your market value going up!"
"What market value?"
"You've become famous, so your market value will jump, too!"
"Is there a difference between a Hunter's market value and fame? Why, soldiers or police officers don't get paid more just because they're famous."
"It's different from soldiers and police! Why, you have to sign a contract with a famous Hunter to get the land prices in that area to recover, right?"
Sung Moon-young argued that there was a reason there were so many people on HuntWeb, and that the site had so many users because there were many real estate speculators worried about land prices and ordinary people who wanted to fanboy over famous superhumans.
There were far more people than I imagined who cared about which local government had signed a contract with which Awakened, which meant that an Awakened's fame was just as important.
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