Chapter 117
Unghihi.
Ah, no, how is this even....
Come to think of it, why didn’t I think it was strange..?
Back at Osung Group's secret mountain research base. Sua unnie, Teacher Ahn, Chaerin unnie, and the many researchers at the base were all dumbstruck at seeing Grandpa Galahad in his for-real grandpa form.
The body that had reached 4 meters had shrunk to around 2.5 meters, and his weight had suddenly dropped from the ton range to just 200 kilograms. Since Ophilia's 'variability' includes weight too, right now Grandpa has a body structure and weight that are practically human, if his genes can support it.
“Evolution from inorganic to organic matter.... From a scientific standpoint, that's certainly a tremendously astonishing change. But whether it would help in combat is something I should think about.”
“Kwahahaha! The me back then and the me now are on completely different levels!”
“Indeed, this is a much more high-dimensional phenomenon....”
It does seem like the sturdiness of rare metal suits combat better than human skin. I also vaguely remember some yellow tin can going around saying bones are lousy parts.
But once mana is involved, that changes things a little, so right now Grandpa can probably be considered in a state almost identical to a hunter with mana.
“Bring me the thing we broke before.”
“That would be....”
“You know? The blue, hard one.”
“Ah, the gate barrier....”
Grandpa was asking us to bring another one of those super-expensive gate barriers we smashed last time. Once Teacher Ahn nodded, a few researchers stuck to the wall panels and started operating them, and the barrier came out.
Last time, it probably took about three hits to smash, right?
“Take a good look.”
When Grandpa Galahad tensed his fist and smashed the barrier with a bang, it shattered in one blow and fragments rolled across the floor, sending sparks flying.
“Wow! Grandpa's super strong!!”
“Kwahaha! Thanks, Princess! My body feels so much lighter!”
“So the problem was the heavy rare metal. What a fascinating phenomenon....”
Teacher Ahn and Sua unnie were sweating bullets too. They specialized in golems and machinery, but Grandpa Galahad had suddenly become human.
Some of the researchers were even wailing for me to give back my awesome golem Grandpa Galahad. Looks like they really like golems.
“Hunter Yoo Chaerin, would it be possible to prepare a new identity?”
“U-um.... Actually, at this point it's rather pleasant. It's even at the level where we should be the ones asking you to come to Korea.”
“Is that so.”
Hunters are a case of the more, the better. As long as it doesn't get to the point of turning non-Awakened people into colonial slaves once they pass the halfway point of the population, having more is fine, so there probably isn't any big problem.
“If it's an Awakened at Sir Galahad's level, I think the Association chairman would need to be informed too. At the very least, it's not producing output below S-rank.”
“Whoa.”
If Grandpa, my summon, is S-rank, then doesn't that mean I should naturally be able to become S-rank too? But if I become S-rank too, I'd have to get called out for all sorts of official national business, and that could mean a lot of annoying hassles.
“If we prepare an identity, there could be an issue with treating him as a hunter separate from Eve.”
“Mmmphmmm....”
“In Ophilia's case, it's apparently something we could somehow get around, but at Sir Galahad's level....”
That means Nova's usual smooth-it-over approach might not work.
“For now... Sir Galahad, how old are you?”
“Hmm, how old was it again? I haven't properly kept count since I became an adult.”
Ophilia was at least registered with an identity as a 26-year-old adult. Why? Because car insurance is cheaper. If Grandpa Galahad registered his identity by outward age, he'd be old enough to qualify for benefits for elderly people living alone.
Of course, that’s a story for non-Awakened people; for Awakened, it’s a different matter.
“Unghihi, Grandpa's mustache wings.”
“Kwahaha! I'd be flying away!”
* * * * *
“Oh-ho, this is quite something. These sprouts make teaching worthwhile.”
“Sir Galahad is here today to undergo an assessment, so he can't teach anyone.”
“I see.... What a shame.”
This wasn't the Yongsan Hunter Rank Measurement Center, but one run by the Korean Hunter Management Association.
“Wow, this is incredible.”
“This is your first time here, right, Eve?”
“Has Chaerin unnie been here before?”
“Wasn't the first time right before you got your S-rank measurement? You came here often after that too.”
It's basically the association's secret base—though it's not really secret, just limited to certain people.
Hunters with special abilities, or even just high-rank hunters, can also be measured more precisely.
And it's open to high-rank hunters in Korea who have already been assigned hunter grades. Since each one of them is a nation's strength, this is where they periodically check on the condition of high-grade hunters and provide solutions for hunters going through slumps.
What it looks like on the outside is a hunter counseling center? But what they actually do is basically all hunter-related work—apparently gate detection and disaster alerts are handled here too.
Of course, among them Grandpa Galahad's presence was absolutely overwhelming.
ㅡWh-what is that person..?
ㅡHe doesn't seem Korean, does he?
ㅡIs he even human? Isn't he an ogre?
ㅡHe looks like he's over 3 meters tall.
ㅡHe's casually ignoring perspective....
ㅡHe looks old, too.
The top hunters in Korea couldn't help but marvel at Grandpa Galahad's ridiculously huge frame. Since the building was a square structure built into the mountainside with the center blown open, it also looked like a giant cage.
They also release captured monsters into the mountain area located at the center of the building so they can be managed there, so that's not all that wrong.
“Ah, you've arrived.”
“Nice to meet you, Sujeong. It feels like it's been a while since I last saw you, and you've gotten terribly gaunt, haven't you?”
“Ah.... I've had a lot of hard things lately, I guess....”
“Oh dear....”
A petite unnie came out, greeted Chaerin unnie first, then leaned out to look behind her and made eye contact with Grandpa Galahad.
“Eek..?!”
“Mwahaha, Grandpa, she says you're scary.”
“Kwahaha! Don't be startled! I'm not a bear, and I won't eat you!”
“Ah, well.... You were the one who was supposed to come today..?”
“That's right. Galahad... sir? What should I call you?”
“Call me however you like. I don't care what.”
The unnie who’d been called Sujeong decided to call him Sir Galahad. Sujeong unnie flipped through the documents in her hands, muttering to herself, then nodded several times.
“Ah, I’ll show you this way!”
“Y-yes.”
* * * * *
There are tons of hidden powerhouses in the Korean Hunter Management Association. For one thing, it’s a government agency, and no matter how many Awakened appear, they can’t keep up with the nation's information network.
With the precision mana-detection sensors installed across the country, they can tell from the moment someone awakens whether a hunter is likely to be a high rank. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have been able to send disaster alerts when a gate bursts.
And on top of that, it has the power of the National Intelligence Service behind it, and the foundation they've already built is solid.
Which means they have the ability to get to high-rank Awakened first.
“In that sense, they’re truly amazing....”
“Kuhuhu, thank you! Young man.”
The power was enough that even the awakened combat specialist from HQ couldn't last a few exchanges. He was an absurdly fast middle-aged man, but Grandpa Galahad could stand his ground, snatch the man's hand the instant it came in, and hurl him clear off the planet.
“Grandpa is so strong!!”
“These muscles aren't just for decoration!”
“Indeed, even among physical enhancement abilities, this is producing output in the upper-middle range for an average S-rank. If he's this strong in hand-to-hand combat alone, I can already tell how terrifying he'd be when he goes all-out.”
“Ohhhhh.”
The four of us were sitting on a bench watching the fight between the HQ man and Grandpa Galahad—me, Ophilia, Chaerin unnie, and Sujeong unnie.
Dangdang is at home. He’s probably pooping right about now.
“So... Sir Galahad is a summon Eve made?”
“Yep. He was originally a golem, but apparently if he has lots of mana, he can become human.”
“He's like Pinocchio....”
Sujeong unnie gave a funny comment. Pinocchio? Come to think of it, maybe so. In the sense that a doll becomes a person, it does seem somewhat similar, though here the golem is the grandpa and I'm the younger one.
“Ah, um... just a moment? Let me take this call.”
“That noisy ringing one, huh. Take your time!”
The man from headquarters took the phone out from his chest, answered it briefly, and bowed his head repeatedly to the empty air, even though it wasn't a video call.
“Sujeong, come here for a second.”
“Ah, yes, senior.”
Sujeong unnie trotted over to the man from headquarters. After hearing him out on one thing and another, she let out a quick 'hieek-' of surprise.
And after saying, “Understood,” she came back to us and told us this.
“Apparently the Association chairman is coming here..?”
“The Association chairman himself? That’s really a special occasion.”
“If it’s for making an identity for an S-rank Hunter and naturalization, I guess it makes some sense....”
So the top boss of the Korean Hunter Management Association himself is coming. No wonder the man from headquarters kept bowing his head.
“Grandpa! A big-shot says he’s coming!”
“A big-shot? The only big-shot to me is the princess! Kwahaha!”
“Unghihi.”
About ten minutes passed as I rode Grandpa's flight—lower than before, but less scary, which was nice.
ㅡKreeeek....
“Uing.”
“Oh-ho, this presence.”
As we got closer, even Grandpa Galahad was intrigued. Another gray-haired grandpa, with about a dozen people in suits trailing behind him, entered the training ground.
‘Wow, that grandpa is tall too.’
I remembered seeing him a few times in photos and videos, but this was my first time seeing him in person. He was the chairman of the Korean Hunter Management Association and a former S-rank Hunter who was now retired.
And he was also the only link, besides Chaerin unnie, to another S-rank Hunter who was still active.
“Chairman, you’ve arrived.”
“A-Association chairman! You’ve arrived!”
“You've done well.”
“Not at all.”
“Yes! Ah, no!”
Chairman Cheon Tae-seong. A first-generation Awakened, former chairman of the Awakened Human Rights Protection Association, and a participant in the Manchurian suppression campaign—anyway, a man with a very solid frame. He really does look big-boned.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Chairman Cheon Tae-seong. Are you Galahad... am I correct?”
“That's right, I'm Galahad.”
Even though the chairman-grandpa seemed to be over 2 meters tall too, our grandpa was just 2.5 meters. The two of them reached out for a handshake, but for a long while they just held on without letting go.
“What are they doing?”
“Maybe they're testing each other’s strength?”
“Wow, cool. It’s kind of like a comic.”
Just by holding hands like that, they can tell? They look normal on the outside, but inside they're probably thinking something like, 'This guy's pretty strong.'
ㅡThak
“It's nice to meet you again.”
“Likewise. I'm glad to meet a warrior with such splendid spirit.”
“For such a fine man to call this old body a warrior, I'm pleased enough to savor it from time to time.”
“Age doesn't matter to a warrior. Though the lower back can be a bit of a problem. Kahahahaha!!”
“Hahaha.”
The chairman-grandpa and Grandpa Galahad seemed to hit it off, trading jokes back and forth as they burst into laughter.
ㅡKWA-AA-AANG!!
“Hoo-eek!”
Then, all of a sudden, the chairman-grandpa threw the first punch at Grandpa Galahad.
“Oh-ho, that's heavy. Then I'll go right back at you..!”
And then came Grandpa Galahad's counterattack.
“Hup..!”
Blue mana began to surge around his fist, and all the suited men behind the chairman immediately unleashed their mana in unison.
An enormous barrier layered over Chairman Grandpa. And the chairman himself straightened his stance and braced to take the blow.
ㅡTUKWAAAAANG!!!
He shattered several layers of barrier at once, and his fist slammed into Chairman Grandpa's forearm. In an instant the air compressed and burst with a bang, and wind whooshed out like a helicopter taking off.
“Ughk, I got dirt in my mouth..!”
I already tried dirt magic once and gave up on it. After spitting out the dirt in my mouth and waiting for the billowing dust to settle, I could see Chairman Grandpa again.
“Uh, uh....”
That grandpa's arm has one extra joint now..?”
“Hooeee....”
A total disaster.