Chapter 12
“What a bunch of weird things to say.”
That was the conclusion I reached after watching WTube videos.
What kind of person am I in those people's world?
One moment I was Korean, the next Chinese, Japanese, American, or Russian. Or European.
I was also a traitor, spy, operative, mixed-race, national traitor, sellout, Southeast Asian state guest, one of the Five Hunter Traitors, or a system error.
And if I wasn't any of those, apparently I was a young person taking a break from work and school.
That one kind of hit a nerve.
What exactly makes me a young person taking a break?
I'm a hikikomori, but I'm not just sitting around doing nothing!
I go to class, review my lessons, and even climb the Tower every day.
Let me see anyone else working as hard as I am!
“Right, Moo-sang?”
“……”
Are you asleep?
Do you sleep, too?
“Sigh.”
I flopped onto the bed, too.
“Tsk, tsk.”
Honestly, I couldn't say I didn't understand why people thought that way.
If I were them, I'd have all sorts of thoughts if the No. 1 Hunter just vanished without a trace.
‘That Hikki bastard's up to something behind our backs, isn't he?’—I couldn't help thinking that.
I understand.
I do understand, but….
Seeing it for real was a little absurd.
I really hadn't taken a single step outside my room.
How would people react if they found that out?
I dunno.
I might've gotten a hint from the comments.
But I didn't really feel like looking.
Maybe this was one of the good things about my Anthropophobia trait?
Before I awakened, I would've forced myself to open the comments and gotten hurt.
But now!
I don't even think about opening the comments.
“Hehehe.”
Wuuung-
You're awake?
You say I'm just rationalizing?
Whatever. Go back to sleep.
Anyway, if WTube was this much of a mess…
There must've been tons of news articles about it, too.
‘Still, the news wouldn't go so far as to say I'd fled overseas, would it?’
I opened a portal site.
Clicked the Hunter tab.
It only showed articles about Hunters and Tower climbing.
As expected, I saw Hikki's name everywhere.
‘I was totally world-famous, wasn't I?’
And I hadn't even known.
I must've been living too busy a life.
‘Let's see what the articles say.’
I started reading through them.
[Hunter Management Bureau: “Doing everything we can to register Hikki.” More offers expected]
[U.S., China, Japan, and Russia launch Hikki recruitment battle—is it a trillion-won bidding war?]
[”Reports of foreign contact are groundless” — Hunter Management Bureau moves to silence speculation]
[Fake Hikkis everywhere; Hunter Association complains of administrative paralysis]
[No Tower climb for two days—has Hikki already gone abroad?]
[Climbing again after three days—is Hikki staying in Korea?]
[”Hikki on the path to foreign citizenship… only a decision remains]
“Huh?”
On the path to naturalization? Me?
Who's this reporter?
So this is why all those fake news stories were spreading.
I clicked the article.
[According to a well-informed source]
Who's well-informed?
[Hikki has already received offers of naturalization from countries around the world.]
[The U.S. in particular has reportedly promised a 500-billion-won signing bonus and various incentives—]
To me?
Hey, where's my 500 billion won!!!
I'd be less mad if I'd actually gotten the money.
[China and Russia have also reportedly offered to treat Hikki as a national hero.]
I haven't received any offers!
The only person who came to my house after I awakened was my landlady. What are they talking about?
‘I can understand WTube spouting nonsense.’
But is it okay for you news people to do this?
Someday, I have to ask that guy who his well-informed source is.
“……”
Though that day will never come!
I continued reading the article.
[Given that Europe, the U.S., and China are renowned Hunter powerhouses, there is speculation they could change Hikki's mind.]
[This is why observers predict Hikki will begin the naturalization process in the near future.]
Speculation? Observers predict?
So this was just baseless conjecture with a clickbait headline.
Honestly….
‘Bad people.’
Let's at least see who wrote it.
Park Man-jun from Sports Hunter?
“Hey! I've got my eye on you!”
Even if I ever showed my face, I wouldn't give you an interview.
Of course, that day will never come either.
Huff, huff—
I was practically snorting through my nose.
Let's see how much more nonsense they wrote.
[Meanwhile, the Korean government has also made a generous pitch to Hikki.]
[They have offered substantial support, provided Hikki registers with the Awakener Management Bureau and the Hunter Association.]
[The total direct and indirect support would also easily exceed 500 billion won.]
[The terms are even better than those offered to Fire Sword and Spear-Quick-Stabber, Korea's top-ranked Hunters.]
Hmm?
Oh?!
My eyes lit up.
So they'd support me if I just registered?
Thunk—thunk—
I kicked the box of magic stones.
I did need to cash these guys in.
They'd probably give me a good price for the magic stones, too.
Maybe they'd even give me a training facility of my own.
Surely they'd assign me a secretary to handle all my work, too.
And they'd definitely provide all kinds of artifacts, armor, and weapons, right?
Wuu—
Hmm…. Though I don't think any weapon could replace Moo-sang?
Wung-wung—
“Anyway.”
I made up my mind.
I'd register as an Awakened, too.
Before, I couldn't even bring myself to turn on a computer.
That's why registering as an Awakened never crossed my mind.
But things were different now, weren't they?
I could manage something like applying online.
Click, click—
I went to the Awakener Management Bureau website.
‘Let's seeee-’
Where was the Hunter registration button?
Click, click—
“Where could it beee?”
Click?
“W-where… where could it be?”
Cli—ck?
“It's not here?”
No matter how much I searched the site, I couldn't find a registration button.
Why?!
Then a small notice caught my eye.
─Hunter registration is only available in person.
─A simple rank assessment will be conducted at the time of in-person registration.
“……!!!”
Was this what it felt like when the world fell apart?
I squeezed my eyes shut.
In-person registration was already too much, and now I had to take a rank assessment, too?
I'd have to show off my skills in front of the staff.
If they found out I was Hikki, a huge crowd would definitely swarm me.
All kinds of things would happen.
For example….
─You're Hikki? Oh my gosh! You're so cute!
─How could the world's top Hunter prospect, Hikki, be such a tiny, adorable little kid? This has to be a setup!
─Can I hug you just once? No? Then at least a picture! Or just let me pinch your cheek…!
This definitely isn't narcissism.
Objectively speaking, after awakening, I was… incredibly cute!
Even I stared blankly into the mirror every time I washed up.
Anyway, if something like that happened…
My vision would spin, and my mind would go blank….
‘Absolutely not.’
I'm giving up. No way.
I really was going to apply, okay?
But you guys designed the system weirdly.
You can find me and register me yourselves, if you want.
“……”
But my 500 billion won….
My private training facility.
My automatic magic-stone exchange machine.
My remote AI assistant service.
‘It's a shame, but….’
No, no.
What good is money if I'm dead?
If I went through that kind of mental anguish, I'd be traumatized for the rest of my life.
‘But what if I just closed my eyes and got it over with for one day?’
What if I called the Bureau and said, ‘I'm Hikki. Could you send someone to my house to register me?’
Even if fake Hikkis were running rampant…
Maybe they'd still come looking for me, just in case.
Then a Bureau employee would come all the way to my house and…
─You're Hikki? You're so cu—
“Hah….”
I'd considered it from every angle, but there was no answer.
Maybe it was because I'd imagined rubbing shoulders with people in every possible way.
My condition had taken a nosedive.
In the end, I turned off the computer and went back to bed.
“Moo-sang, they say great power comes with great responsibility.”
Wung-
“Can't I just get the power worth a 100-billion-won signing bonus and shoulder that much responsibility?”
Wuuuuung-
You weakling…. That's harsh.
Even Moo-sang wasn't comforting me.
I turned my back to it and lay down.
I made a post in the gallery.
[Are you guys affiliated with any organizations?]
[Hikki]
You're not all clumping together like a bunch of unmanly men, are you?
└Ice Bat: The least manly person here is you
└WaterStyleWaterStyle: The manly guy playing house with his staff
└TreeFucker: Such a macho man, with soft, baby-like hands
└BestDryat: His macho interjections are “Heeet!” and “Eek?!”
Goddammit….
I said something stupid and got nothing out of it.
Let's just ask what I wanted to ask.
└Hikki: No, seriously, do you all live alone?
└Illegal: What, are you a loser?
└Hikki: I'm not! I'm not a loser! I'm a voluntary loner! There are tons of people who want to meet me right now, and I'm the one refusing! I don't know what makes you think I'm a loser.
└Illegal: This.
Th-that…!
└Ice Bat: Stop teasing the kid already
└Ice Bat: I live with the sirens.
└Ice Bat: Most people are probably similar. Elves, of course, and centaurs, fairies, nymphs, dwarves, even spirits and Titans—living in groups is the norm.
└Hikki: I see….
So there probably weren't many mages who understood how I felt.
I was going to ask how to live alone as a mage.
└Ice Bat: But why?
I briefly explained it to Sensei.
That there was an organization that wanted me, and the terms were good—
but I didn't feel like joining because I hated group living.
└Illegal: Loser.
└AngryArtist: Loser.
└Elff: Loser.
└Hikki: I'm not a loser!
Agh, seriously!
I was an idiot for coming here to ask for advice.
I don't like people.
And the mages in this gallery just tease me.
In the end, I'm the only one I can trust.
“Sighhhhh….”
I wish someone would take care of everything for me, from registration to socializing.
“Sighhhhhhh-”
As if that would ever happen.
Let's get some training in.
***
Around that time, near Hikki's apartment building.
Two women looked around as they surveyed the area.
“Whoa! This is it. It looks exactly like the place in the photo, right?”
“Why did we have to come here?”
“A likely place where Hikki lives. Of course we had to scout it out.”
At Lee So-yeon's words, Jin Su-jin let out a deep sigh.
“The lunatic throwing water balloons outside someone's house is a Hunter?”
Jin Su-jin was being thoroughly prickly.
Lee So-yeon ignored her and kept looking around.
“Okay, we got this spot, too, so that's it for today! Let's go home.”
Jin Su-jin tried to drag Lee So-yeon away.
That's when it happened.
Swoosh-!
A heavy magical force could be felt behind them.
Splatter-!
A clump of mana had struck a rock on the nearby hill.
Judging by its speed and force, it wasn't some water balloon.
“Sujin, did you see that? This must be what they reported! I told you it wasn't just some prankster throwing water balloons!”
When Lee So-yeon turned around,
Jin Su-jin's mouth was hanging open as if her jaw had come unhinged.
“…What is that magical force?”