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Chapter 07
Shin Ji-yul placed the organized documents into a binder and headed straight up to the Commissioner’s office.
Stopping in front of the heavy door, he sharply straightened his shirt collar and gave a light knock.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Inside the spacious room, Choi Man-deok, the Commissioner of the Ability Management Agency, was sitting on a sofa.
He had been carefully wiping a wilted orchid, but when he saw Shin Ji-yul, he sprang to his feet.
“Oh! Team Leader Shin! How did it turn out?”
“It seems that taming can regulate a hunter’s rampage level.”
“Are you certain?”
“This is Hunter Gyeon Su-ho’s examination result. Please take a look.”
Shin Ji-yul handed over the binder. Choi Man-deok carefully read through the report stamped Top Secret – Level 1.
“PV (Penalty Value) at 72.6… That’s dropped quite a bit.”
“Compared to right before he entered the Yongin Dungeon, it’s about 10 PV lower.”
The more an Awakened uses their abilities, the more penalty accumulates. When that penalty exceeds its limit and explodes, it results in what is known as an Awakened’s rampage.
To prevent this, stabilizers were developed, but their effectiveness drops sharply as the Awakened’s rank increases.
In Gyeon Su-ho’s case, it was especially severe—to the point that even after administering stabilizers twenty times in a row, the penalty value might barely drop by ten.
Recently, Su-ho’s penalty level, which had barely been kept in check through near-lethal doses of stabilizers, had been rising to dangerous levels again.
Because he had been deployed consecutively into high-rank dungeons, the rate at which penalties accumulated outpaced the effect of the stabilizers no matter how much was administered.
“Team Leader Shin, has there ever been a case where a hunter in Code Red recovered naturally without stabilizer injections?”
“No, there hasn’t.”
And yet that impossible feat had been accomplished by a mere E-rank tamer.
Choi Man-deok let out a sigh and slumped his shoulders.
“Whew… That’s enough, Team Leader Shin. Our Su-ho is saved now.”
Considering that there were only five SS-rank Awakened in the world, it was only natural that the nation treated Gyeon Su-ho like a national treasure.
More than that, Su-ho was the son of his younger sister and her husband, both of whom had died earlier.
Just how much effort had he put into raising that boy?
Choi Man-deok could never bear to see Gyeon Su-ho die from a rampage.
“How many tamers do we have among our people?”
“I’ve attached the list at the back.”
“Is that so? Let’s see.”
As Choi Man-deok flipped through the report, he frowned.
“Is that all three of them?”
“Tamer itself is a rare profession. From what I found, there are many countries that don’t have a single tamer.”
“Hah, honestly…”
Choi Man-deok smacked his lips regretfully.
“Only one is affiliated directly with the Agency.”
“Yes. Kim Min-seok, Deputy Support Team Leader at the Jeju Branch, an A-rank tamer.”
“Fine, we can just send an official request for cooperation there. Next?”
“Han Ju-hwan, C-rank, freelancer. We’ve sent him a summons under the pretext that his rank needs reassessment. He’s scheduled to visit the research center this Friday.”
The more Shin Ji-yul reported, the brighter Choi Man-deok’s expression became.
As ranks increase, the gap between them becomes enormous—so much so that it’s not heaven and earth, but heaven and hell.
“Team Leader Shin, an E-rank tamer lowered the PV by ten in one go. Then a C-rank could probably lower it by around thirty, right? An A-rank might drop it by a hundred at once!”
“Even if the profession is the same, skills differ, so it’s hard to be certain—but it’s definitely worth expecting.”
“If a tamer takes charge of Su-ho’s rampage level, then he won’t need stabilizers anymore, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Stabilizers make the body sluggish and dull the senses. Because Awakened have senses far sharper than ordinary people, they strongly disliked stabilizers.
For Gyeon Su-ho, who required more than twenty times the dosage of a normal Awakened, it went without saying. He didn’t just dislike them—he loathed them.
Of course, it wasn’t only stabilizers that he loathed. Gyeon Su-ho loathed every living being on Earth except himself.
“So we won’t be getting reports anymore about our Su-ho smashing up laboratories after getting stabilizer shots.”
“You’ve worked hard, Commissioner.”
“Haah…”
Choi Man-deok pressed his thick fingers tightly against his moist eyes.
His only nephew was living with the constant risk of rampage, and somehow information about Su-ho’s rampage level had leaked outside, prompting public demands for disclosure.
How much anguish had that caused him? Now that it all seemed to be over, tears almost welled up in his eyes.
Choi Man-deok turned one more page of the report.
“And lastly, the tamer who actually tamed our Su-ho. Let’s see, the name is… Huh? Kang Morae?”
Seeing his reaction as if he recognized the name, Shin Ji-yul asked,
“Commissioner, do you know Hunter Kang Morae?”
“The surname is different, but it’s not a common name. I think she might be the child I know…”
Trailing off, Choi Man-deok lowered his voice.
“Do you remember the hunter who went on a rampage twelve years ago? Hunter Eun Seok-hyun.”
Twelve years ago, the incident of an Awakened who went berserk after losing his wife had caused a massive shock to society.
It made people realize that Awakened, who were supposed to protect the world and fight creatures, could also attack ordinary civilians. For nearly a month, every media outlet had been in an uproar over the incident.
“It was a famous case. Of course I know it.”
“She’s his daughter.”
“But the surname is different, isn’t it?”
“She changed it after being adopted by her aunt’s family.”
“Ah…”
Choi Man-deok’s gaze sank deeply.
Even though a long time had passed, it was still vivid—just how small the child lying alone in the hospital room had been.
Thinking of placing such a child next to Su-ho made his conscience sting.
If only Su-ho’s personality weren’t so rotten, he wouldn’t be worrying this much.
“Well… Team Leader Shin. How about excluding Hunter Kang Morae? With higher-rank tamers available, there’s no real need to recruit her as well, is there?”
“……”
The plan had been to recruit all tamers, regardless of rank. They could manage the penalty levels of other high-rank Awakened besides Gyeon Su-ho.
Even so, Shin Ji-yul couldn’t bring himself to refuse Choi Man-deok’s suggestion. The image of Morae’s face from their recent meeting flickered in his mind.
A pale face that looked soft like a rice cake, large eyes that reminded one of a frightened small animal.
She was far too small and fragile to be placed beside Gyeon Su-ho.
“Understood.”
“Good. Thank you for understanding, Team Leader Shin.”
Choi Man-deok smiled gently and patted Shin Ji-yul on the shoulder.
Four days later.
In the center of Ability Training Room No. 3 in the underground level of the Ability Management Agency, a restraint capsule and a penalty measuring device were installed. Five or six researchers bustled around, checking the equipment.
“Everyone’s working hard.”
As the door to the training room—marked Authorized Personnel Only—opened, Choi Man-deok entered. The researchers all stopped and greeted him.
“Good afternoon, Commissioner.”
“Don’t mind me, just carry on. Hm? No, no, I don’t need anything to drink.”
After waving his hands, Choi Man-deok approached Shin Ji-yul, who had been leaning against the wall, looking at a tablet. Shin Ji-yul bowed his head.
“You’re here.”
“Our Team Leader Shin has really been through a lot. If we’d done this in the lab, there wouldn’t have been any need to set up the equipment again.”
“To prevent accidents in advance, it’s safer to test this in a training room.”
“That’s true.”
Choi Man-deok patted Shin Ji-yul on the shoulder. His broadly smiling face was filled with anticipation.
Shin Ji-yul felt the same way. Though he didn’t show it, he was quite excited inside.
Lowering an Awakened’s penalty value through taming—wasn’t that a world-shaking discovery? As a scientist, it was only natural to be intrigued.
Moreover, it had been ten years since he started overseeing Gyeon Su-ho.
After being together for that long, even someone infamously labeled a national-grade bastard was bound to grow on you.
“Have the tamers arrived?”
“They’re waiting in the lounge. Once Hunter Gyeon Su-ho arrives, we’ll begin immediately.”
“Good.”
A short while later, Gyeon Su-ho arrived at the training room.
Even though only one person had entered, the spacious room felt stiflingly full.
The previously busy training room fell deathly silent, and the researchers flinched in fear.
Choi Man-deok clicked his tongue inside his mouth, feeling pity—just how much had they suffered at Su-ho’s hands to react like that?
“Su-ho, welcome. How are you feeling today?”
