Chapter 120: Chapter 120

Instinctively, he could tell.

‘An Awakener.’

Moreover, the boy’s aura was far from ordinary, unlike the typical Awakeners one would encounter. Jung Bin signaled to the Hunters with hand gestures, and those who had tightened the trap retreated in unison. Jung Bin pulled out his chains and wrapped them around his hands. Despite the noise and their presence, the boy didn’t turn to look at them.

A shiver ran down his spine. Baewonwoo, who had gotten his night vision goggles back, alternated between looking through the goggles and his bare eyes, carefully observing the boy.

The boy stood motionless like an isolated island. His pants were short, exposing his ankles, and what was even more unusual—he was barefoot. It was a strange calmness, completely out of place in this dreadful, decaying space.

“…He looks dangerous, Captain.”

Normally, Baewonwoo would have rushed to rescue the boy already, but even he found this situation unsettling. The air felt heavy, as if even it had been devoured by the black liquid surrounding them. Jung Bin merely nodded in response, without saying a word. Baewonwoo scratched his short hair roughly.

“That kid… he’s the one who did all this, isn’t he?”

“……”

“If we get too close, we’re screwed. Should we try approaching?”

“No, wait.”

“Why?”

“We need to confirm it’s safe first.”

The research facility that had been conducting experiments on kidnapped people was now melted, and the only presence they could feel was the boy in front of them. Dressed in what looked like a hospital gown, the sole survivor stood strangely clean amidst the chaos. Only ominous possibilities came to mind. After taking a breath, Jung Bin picked up a pebble lying on the ground and threw it into the black liquid.

Sssss… As soon as the pebble touched the liquid, it began to dissolve, sinking into the dark sludge, disappearing with a puff of black smoke. Baewonwoo gaped in shock. Jung Bin responded calmly.

“It’s better not to approach recklessly. We’ll need to find another way around.”

“Is that… acid? Like sulfuric or hydrochloric? Or poison?”

“Well, we’d need to analyze it to know for sure, but… whatever it is, it’s dangerous.”

Baewonwoo frowned as he glanced back at the boy. Slowly realizing something, he muttered.

“…He’s an Awakener.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yes, surviving in something like this makes that obvious.”

“Is he newly Awakened?”

“That, we’ll have to find out.”

Jung Bin stood up, chains clinking softly. Baewonwoo hesitantly followed, but Jung Bin shook his head.

“Step back with the others. I’ll make contact.”

“But the whole area is poison! Shouldn’t I go since I’m tougher?”

“No matter how tough you are, Baewonwoo, I doubt you can withstand this.”

Jung Bin motioned toward the black liquid. After some hesitation, Baewonwoo retreated cautiously.

Newly Awakened individuals often struggled to control their abilities, and their heightened senses made them extremely sensitive. Getting too close could provoke them. Jung Bin looked around and stepped onto a rock that wasn’t covered in the black substance.

“Can you hear me?” he called out.

The boy slowly raised his hands. Was he preparing to attack? Jung Bin tensed, gripping his chains tightly.

However, the boy only wiggled his fingers, as if examining the movements of his own hand. His violet eyes followed the motions of his fingers. Next, he rubbed his foot against the white ground, and then cautiously took a step forward. Finally, he sat down, extending his legs.

Each movement was deliberate, almost… strange.

‘As if he hasn’t moved in a very long time….’

Jung Bin snapped back to reality. The boy’s hair was long and unkempt, his clothes thin and ill-fitting, barely reaching his ankles. He must have been one of the victims kidnapped by the research facility.

‘He must be a victim.’

No matter what had happened, rescuing the boy was essential. After taking a deep breath, Jung Bin called out again.

“I’m Jung Bin from the Awakener Management Bureau. I’m here to rescue you.”

For the first time, the boy reacted, abruptly turning his head to stare at Jung Bin. His pale face was expressionless. Just as Jung Bin was about to continue speaking, the boy raised both hands to his neck, as if strangling himself. Jung Bin’s eyes widened in shock, and he reached out his hand.

“Wai—!”

Fortunately, the boy seemed to be checking something as he touched his neck. His hands moved up, brushing his chin and cheeks. His violet eyes blinked slowly, and his gaze didn’t seem to focus on Jung Bin. The boy opened his mouth, revealing a black tongue.

“…Ah.”

“……”

“Um, eh.”

His words were clumsy, like a child trying to speak for the first time. After a long moment of muttering meaningless syllables, he finally uttered his first coherent word.

“J….”

It was a name, one Jung Bin couldn’t forget.

Jung Bin’s mouth dropped open. The boy continued, struggling to speak.

“How… much.”

But that was all he managed to say before breaking into a rough cough. Without thinking, Jung Bin jumped down from the rock and rushed toward him.

The sound of rushing water echoed as bright red blood mixed with clear liquid spilled out. Jung Bin spat onto the ground as bile rose in his throat, mingled with blood.

Even with the antidote, he was still in this state. Or perhaps, thanks to the antidote, things hadn’t gotten worse. Jung Bin rinsed his mouth with the water, feeling a bitter laugh rising in his throat. He looked up, his face pale.

‘Good thing no one else tried to approach.’

Jung Bin wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand and stood up.

Just as he suspected, the substance covering the research facility was poison. What he hadn’t expected was just how potent the poison would be, strong enough to affect even an S-rank body like his, which was usually resistant to such things. With everything submerged in that deadly liquid, there would be no usable information left.

Swallowing down the taste of blood, Jung Bin thought.

‘It’s too dangerous to take him directly to the Bureau….’

The best option for now was to stay in an abandoned house at the base of the mountain. The day of the Rift, a nearby valley had opened up, forcing civilians in the area to evacuate. Luckily, they found an empty house with a working water supply.

A heavy set of footsteps approached from behind. Jung Bin turned to see Baewonwoo, who had rolled up his sleeves despite the chilly weather, scratching his head.

“Are you alright, Captain? That antidote I gave you was all we had….”

“I’m fine. What about the target?”

“After I cleaned up one of the rooms, he went in by himself. He’s more cooperative than I expected. Now I’m off to chop some wood and start a fire.”

Ever since J disappeared into the West Sea Rift, the Awakener Management Bureau had been struggling. J’s absence was too great to fill. No one could replace him. J had single-handedly handled more dungeons and Rifts than most Hunters combined.

The Bureau had scrambled to hire more Awakeners in his absence. Baewonwoo had been one of those quickly recruited Hunters. Jung Bin asked.

“Hunter Baewonwoo, are you sure you don’t want to return to headquarters? I can handle this alone.”

“Nah, I’m fine. This much is no big deal.”

The other Hunters had all returned to headquarters. With the target’s powers being so dangerous and the Bureau short-staffed, they couldn’t afford to keep too many people away. Yet, Baewonwoo had volunteered to stay. He grinned and joked cheerfully.

“There’s one room left, so I guess you and I can share it. Or I could set up a tent in the yard.”

“Let’s share the room. Have you spoken to the target?”

“Yeah, I just asked him stuff like, ‘Are you okay? Do you feel hurt anywhere?’ and he answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ pretty well. But… his speech is kind of odd.”

Baewonwoo crossed his arms and frowned.

“He’s taller than I expected, and he looks fine. But the way he talks… it’s like he was gagged or something.”

“……”

“Well, there’s no point in speculating too much. How long are we staying here?”

Jung Bin stood up and turned off the faucet, the trickling water stopping completely.

“We’ll stay until the target stabilizes and can control his abilities.”

“…Huh?”

“We’ll stay until we’re sure he can control his poison. It’s too risky to bring him back to headquarters. We could endanger the entire facility, not to mention civilians.”

“This is….”

“You’re welcome to return first.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Jung Bin’s eyes lingered on the firmly closed door. The boy was sitting inside, silent. The victim of a kidnapping, the lone survivor, the one who destroyed the research facility. The first word spoken by that clumsy boy.

‘J….’

Why had the name of the hero trapped in the West Sea Rift come out of this boy’s mouth? What kind of connection did the two have?

Jung Bin quickly strode toward the door. He cleared his throat lightly, and there was a slight rustle from inside. Carefully, he opened the door. The boy, sitting in the corner, lifted his head. Jung Bin politely asked.

“How

are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

The icy voice startled Jung Bin. The boy’s violet eyes were sharp.

“How long… has it been?”

“What do you—”

“The Rift.”

The boy asked in a biting tone.

“How long has it been?”

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!