World-Saving is a Skill

Chapter 112

Chapter 112

The reason I willingly invested my time in this ridiculous clown show in the first place was the crown that the Association keeps in storage.

— Sorry, but the crown is protected under the agreed treaty.

So he wanted to say something along the lines of, if I am not qualified, I cannot have it.

“I am already conceding here. When you pull something like this even while knowing that, it does not feel great for the person on the receiving end.”

If I insisted on keeping third place, then just as that Association President kept spouting, the treaty would naturally give me ownership of the crown.

But I was deliberately saying I would maintain Choi Yeoreum’s ranking, take only the crown, and quietly step back afterward.

“Should I just insist to the end that third place is mine and be stubborn about it?”

— No, that is not what I wanted or meant. I simply meant that it will take some time.

I also still had a weapon that had not been delivered to me yet.

“How long do you think it will take?”

— About two to three weeks.

That much time was something I could easily wait for. Two to three weeks. What could I do during that time?

“The Northern Campaign.”

After the subjugation of Jaun Valley, many Hunters had stationed a forward base in Harbin and were active there.

At the same time, they were beginning to consider slowly pushing the monster front line northward from the area around the ceasefire line.

Lee Se-eun mainly worked in Cheorwon, and naturally it was one of the border regions where monsters appeared.

“I owed Jannabi a lot of help.”

I should use this opportunity to spend time with Jannabi and repay some of that debt. Even two or three weeks would be more than enough time for me to accomplish many things.

On the way back, I contacted Lee Se-eun and told her my intentions.

— Well, the thing is.

Lee Se-eun’s voice sounded slightly hesitant.

“Is something wrong?”

— It seems the government is planning to put more emphasis on national defense because of the foreigner residential district monster mutation incident.

It appeared that the government wanted to station a certain number of high-ranking Hunters within Korea to thoroughly prepare for any emergency.

In addition, they wanted stricter monitoring of foreigners currently in Korea, along with more thorough examinations for any who entered in the future.

Well, I expected this.

“That is fine.”

I answered while watching the fiery dome that Choi Yeoreum had created gradually fade.

I had no intention of trying to change public opinion that the government was pushing.

“We can just create exceptions.”

Increasing the ratio of high-rank Hunters who must reside permanently in Korea? Fine, let them do that. There are always exceptions in the world.

And I just needed to become one of those exceptions. It was not anything particularly difficult.

As soon as the curtain of flame lifted, several broadcast helicopters appeared in the distance. Soon after, police cars, soldiers, ambulances, and others entered through the road.

“Hunter Yoo Chan…”

People rushed toward me and began to speak, then saw the scene and lost their words.

I was sitting on top of a pile of corpses, looking down.

My expression was probably very dark. Honestly, darkness was the only natural reaction. I climbed down from the mountain of monsters I had stacked and spoke to the reporter at the very front.

“Fifteen hundred people turned into monsters. And those who turned into monsters killed an enormous number of others completely against their will.”

The reporter swallowed hard. Even police officers, soldiers, and medical staff momentarily forgot what they were supposed to do and just stared at me.

“Thank you for all your hard work. I assume you did not come here to see me, yes? Please do your job now, I leave it to you.”

I spoke to them. People snapped back to their senses and began moving to carry out their duties. Only the broadcasting crew remained before me.

“Fucking hell. They are all dead.”

Words that could not be aired on television spilled from my mouth.

“The monsters piled here? This is nothing. The number of people who died is several times greater than this mountain of bodies.”

What irritated me more was the idiots who had caused all this and were already calculating what advantages they could gain from the incident.

I was familiar with death. No person can predict the moment they will die. Death arrives without warning and severs a person’s throat like it is reclaiming something borrowed.

Not all deaths are meaningful. Most deaths are meaningless. What bothered me was not that they died meaningless deaths.

It was the Association, the government, the Hunters…

None of them thought even a little about the people who died here. Even if they could not empathize, they could at least think about it.

Even I, someone who lived with death at my side for thirty-five years, had spent time thinking about the people who died here.

“Korea is no longer safe.”

Up until this point, my statement matched the Korean government’s goals perfectly. Korea was no longer safe. More Hunters needed to protect Korea.

“What do you think caused this? How did Korea, a nation known for being safe from monsters, once again face the threat of monsters?”

But from here on, the government would not like what I was about to say.

“Why do you think people died here? Corpses scattered everywhere. This horrifying scene.”

I spoke toward the camera.

“There are threats outside Korea. Everyone knows that. And fragments of those threats flowed into Korea and created this scene.”

So what should be done to prevent this from happening again?

“If we want to make sure this never happens again, simply protecting Korea is not enough. Korea has done everything it could to protect its citizens from Erosion Cores and monsters.”

If anyone wanted to deny this, they could. Denying it would mean the Korean government had not been doing its job.

“Despite that, this happened. To summarize.”

I hesitated for a moment, then struck the wall with my fist and spoke in a choked voice.

“It is not enough to just block desperately, you idiots... How many times do I have to say it so you understand. How many cities have to end up like this, how many people have to die before you even start trying to understand.”

The trembling voice was acting. Appropriate acting at the right time is a good lubricant.

If there is time to save one person, kill one monster.

In my thirty-five years of life, I had tried many approaches, and this was the one with the best results. I had faith in it.

This method had once saved the world. And the principle could apply on a larger scale.

If there was time and leeway to defend this place, then I should eliminate one more Erosion Core.

“While other excellent Hunters give us time by defending Korea…”

This preface was only courtesy. What I truly wanted to say came afterward.

“My team, Headhunter, will continue eliminating the Erosion Zones and monsters that swarm like maggots and gnaw at us.”

We would continue. Regardless of how the Korean government’s policies changed.

“Until the day we all become truly safe from monsters.”

I finished speaking and left. I had no intention of becoming a guard who permanently stayed in Korea. There were plenty of Hunters who wanted that job. Let them do it.

“That is all. For the next two to three weeks, Headhunter, including myself, will move to Cheorwon.”

I bowed to the cameras.

“We cannot win by only defending. I ask for the cooperation of Hunters who share this conviction.”

This was a statement meant to give Jannabi a reason to cooperate with us. Cheorwon was Jannabi’s territory. If I mentioned cooperation in Cheorwon, naturally people would think of Jannabi first.

“Then… what about the match with Hunter Choi Yeoreum?”

I looked at the person who asked and smiled.

“The match has been halted because of this incident. I did not defeat Hunter Choi Yeoreum. Naturally, her ranking should remain as it is.”

Nothing changed by letting her keep third place. I had already agreed to it, so I could reveal it plainly here.

After answering, I left. My destination was the Association building in Seoul.

“Oh honestly, you two should have gotten a separate room. What were you doing in the training room to end up sweating like this? It is indecent.”

When I arrived, I heard that Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon were in the training room, so I went there. I saw the two of them drenched in sweat and panting.

Jung Oh-hoon lifted his middle finger at me as he gasped.

“You can’t even take a joke.”

He stood up after hearing my words, legs trembling, and said,

“You fought well. To the point I was worried I would just become baggage.”

“Is that why you were doing this?”

Han Sang-ah pushed herself up with her sword.

“Useless things, tools or people, end up discarded after all.”

She was not wrong. But she did not need to worry like that. And they did not need to push themselves like this.

I already had a training course in mind for the two of them anyway. I did not want to drag dead weight around either.

“If you train on your own like this, your growth will be too slow.”

“It may be slow, but it does not mean ineffective.”

I could not deny that. I had come this far on my own. How could I say it was ineffective?

And honestly, the training I planned was not so different from what the two of them were doing now.

“You must not have seen the news if you were here.”

Both nodded at the same time. I guess I could tell them here then.

“We are going to Cheorwon tomorrow.”

“That is a bit sudden.”

Han Sang-ah looked surprised. I nodded. It was sudden indeed.

I had reached an agreement with the Association to receive the crown. I needed to wait two to three weeks for it.

And it would take time for the weapon commissioned from Choi Seung-gi to be finished.

“There is nothing for us to do in Seoul during those two or three weeks.”

We would go to Cheorwon, clear Erosion Zones, destroy Erosion Cores, and push these two to grow.

“You are not planning to get some elixir or something as a gift?”

I clicked my tongue at Jung Oh-hoon.

“If you have money, buy it yourself.”

Had he never heard of paying with your own money? I ended the conversation and pinched my nose.

“Seriously, you two smell like rotten fish oil. Go wash up, pack your things, and get some sleep. We leave early tomorrow.”

After sending the two of them back to their rooms, I yawned once. I did not plan to stay long in Cheorwon.

Once all the conditions were in place, I would receive the information I needed from Sa Seung-hee and begin clearing the next grade-one Erosion Core.

I looked at the door they exited through.

“Alright, let’s see if they can show results before then.”

If they could not produce results, I had no intention of keeping them. This was not a reunion gathering.

I could not travel with people whose skills were unfit just because of friendship or history.

The two probably understood that too. And even if they did not, there was nothing I could do about it.