TOP 13

Chapter 13 – Trauma (2)

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Ki-kik. Kik!

Once we stepped outside, I saw goblins running around wielding daggers.

“Th-They’re real goblins…!”

“What, you think they’re fake?”

At the sight of the goblins, Kim Anbin looked like he was about to faint from fright.

Seriously, what’s wrong with this guy?

【Goblins are weak!】

‘That’s right.’

As Prill said, goblins were among the weakest monsters in existence.

Barely a meter tall, with feeble strength.

Their only “strengths” were living in groups and having slightly violent temperaments.

Other than that, they were utterly unimpressive monsters.

And sure enough, when I looked around—

“Kyaaaah!”

Thud!

Crack…

A woman screamed but still beat a goblin to death.

“Kill them! They’re just goblins!”

“My axe! Where’s my axe!?”

“Just club it with a stick!”

Most of the slum folk weren’t panicked at all; they immediately went into fighting stance.

In other words, goblins were so weak that even non-Awakened could kill them if they stayed calm.

“Ugh…”

Even for an Awakened like Kim Anbin, they were nothing to be this scared of.

At that moment—

Ki-kik!

Kyaaaak!

Two goblins spotted us and charged.

“Ahhh! R-Run…!”

As Anbin tried to spin around and flee, I grabbed him.

“Hey, now. Run? Really?”

“I-I don’t want to die!”

“Who said you were gonna die? You’re not.”

“Kim Yujin, you’re just a porter, you can’t—ahhh!”

Bang!

I infused my hand with mana and smacked one of the charging goblins.

It died instantly.

Kiik?

The other froze in place, startled.

“Say that again. Porter?”

“Y-You… Since when could you…?”

“Even when I lived as a porter, I never ran like you.”

“……”

Anbin bit his lip, as if holding back anger.

Good sign.

It meant, for the moment, his fear was being pushed down by anger.

Kyaaaak!

Then the remaining goblin charged again.

“Ahhh!”

Anbin shut his eyes and screamed, but I calmly snatched the crude dagger from its hand.

Then—

“Catch.”

“What…!?”

I held the stolen dagger out to him.

“You can handle one goblin, right? Go on, try.”

“I-I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“H-How can I… kill a monster…”

Ki-kyaaaak!

Even without its weapon, the goblin didn’t give up and charged again.

I lazily blocked its rush with one foot.

At the same time, I grabbed Anbin by the collar to keep him from bolting.

“L-Let go! I’m going back!”

I looked at him struggling and thought—

Honestly, there’s no law that says every Awakened has to kill monsters.

There are plenty of non-combat Awakened, after all.

But from what I’d seen, Anbin needed to kill at least one.

This was about whether he could overcome his trauma or not.

And besides—

‘That way, I can demand my fifty million won without guilt.’

I couldn’t very well say I’d “helped awaken” him if he couldn’t even take down a goblin.

“Anbin.”

“F-Fuck! Why do I have to fight!? Why!!”

“See you alive.”

Smiling brightly, I pressed the dagger into his hand.

‘What you need is a taste of success.’

For someone so mired in defeatism, the solution was simple.

Just once—

Just make them win once.

And right now, this was a fight he literally couldn’t lose.

Kiiik!

The goblin lunged barehanded at Anbin.

“U-Uwaaaah!”

As expected, Anbin didn’t put up much resistance.

The most he did was curl up.

But—

Poom— poom—

That was enough.

Kiiik?

The goblin’s fists thudded uselessly against Anbin’s bulk.

It was inevitable.

A 150 kg man versus a 30 kg scrawny little goblin—

And the smaller one didn’t even have a weapon.

Thinking the goblin could win here was absurd.

Kyak! Kyak!

Its blows were meaningless, but the goblin kept hammering away.

Anbin stayed curled up, trembling in fear.

But—

‘How long can he stay like that?’

Sooner or later, he’d realize the truth.

That the monster he’d feared so much was actually nothing compared to him.

When that happened, he’d finish it himself—and take a step forward.

Kiiik—!

At that moment, another goblin charged at me.

No need for me to act.

【Ice Arrow!】

Crack— thunk!

Prill created an ice arrow and took it down.

【Yujin. Did I do good?】

“You did good.”

【Then ice cream!】

“……”

Prill really did work hard when she wanted ice cream.

Meanwhile, Anbin was slowly lifting his head.

“W-What the…”

He’d realized—

The goblin he feared so much couldn’t actually hurt him.

Kyaaaah—!

“Eek!”

He flinched at its roar, but only for a moment.

Then he learned even that roar wasn’t worth fearing.

And finally—

Grip.

He clutched the dagger I’d given him tightly.

‘That’s it. Stab!’

I cheered for him inwardly.

Though honestly, overcoming years of fear in a heartbeat seemed unlikely—

Puuk—!

Keurk.

…Turns out it was possible.

He was surprisingly good at killing—his fear had just been about monsters themselves.

“Hah… Haaah… Haaah…”

I approached his panting figure.

“Good job.”

“I… I…”

“A goblin’s nothing, right?”

Anbin turned to me with eyes shining with exhilaration.

“I killed a monster. I killed it!”

“Well done. Keep training and you can take down others too.”

“Keh-heh-heh. These bastards are nothing! I’ll kill them all!”

“……”

Well… the change was a bit too dramatic.

I made him like this, but even I didn’t expect it to work this well.

Then—

‘Huh?’

Something glimmered in his eyes.

‘Is he crying?’

Tears.

‘Well…’

He had his own burdens.

He’d said monsters killed his parents.

‘Come to think of it… that’s like me.’

Of course, I couldn’t relate completely.

When I lost my parents, I didn’t freeze up—I swore revenge.

‘……’

The thought of revenge weighed heavy again.

The goal I’d momentarily forgotten in the heat of the moment resurfaced.

‘Those bastards.’

I mentally recited the names of my enemies.

Namgung Myung.

Once an uncle I trusted, but in the end he murdered my parents and stole the guild leader’s seat.

And—

The Gaia Order.

A religion founded by one of the Prophets, El Gaia, now called the guardians of the world.

‘Why did they kill my parents?’

I never wavered in my resolve for revenge, but that part was still a mystery.

Namgung Myung’s motive was obvious—greed for power.

But the Gaia Order?

For ten years, I’d investigated them whenever I could.

The conclusion was always the same—

The greatest religious order of the era, standing at the forefront of humanity’s defense.

Everyone praised them.

If not for them, humanity would have perished long ago.

Indeed, their actions matched their reputation—

Led by the overwhelmingly strong Paladin Order, they cleared ultra-high-grade Gates no one else could handle.

With holy magic only they could use.

In short—

‘On the surface, there’s no organization cleaner than them.’

The Gaia Order was flawless.

Not a whisper of scandal—utterly pious.

But—

‘That’s suspicious in itself.’

No human organization stays pure forever.

No matter how good a religious group is, greed creeps in. Mistakes repeat.

And most importantly—

‘It’s a fact they killed my parents.’

They murdered innocent people—then tried to kill me.

That fact will never change.

So it was undeniable—they were hiding something rotten beneath the surface.

“Hoo…”

It wouldn’t be easy, but I swore again—

I’d avenge my parents, and uncover the truth.

At that moment—

“Uh… Kim Yujin.”

Anbin spoke to me.

“Hyung.”

“…Yujin hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“…Th-Thanks.”

Then he quickly turned away.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It didn’t feel bad.

Somehow, my heavy heart felt a little lighter.

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“Grandpa. I… I awakened.”

“R-Really!? Anbin! That’s wonderful, just wonderful!”

When Anbin came into the store, he proudly announced it, and Grandpa nearly jumped for joy.

It was only natural—his grandson had awakened at last.

Of course… he’d actually awakened ages ago.

‘Let’s just gloss over that.’

Minor details didn’t matter.

“So, what unique trait did you awaken?”

At the question, Anbin hesitated, then answered—

“…Gluttony.”

“G-Gluttony?”

“Oh.”

Gluttony.

I knew that trait.

The more you eat, the stronger you get. A rather unique ability.

‘So that’s why he got fat.’

Not exactly the best trait, but in the right hands, quite useful.

However—

“Then you mean… you awakened ages ago…?”

It was obvious now.

He hadn’t just awakened—he’d awakened long ago and lazed around.

You could guess from when he started gaining weight.

“G-Grandpa, I… I can explain—”

But he didn’t need to.

Grandpa’s glare wasn’t for Anbin—it was for me.

“Yujin. You knew?”

“Whew. A contract’s a contract, Grandpa.”

“…Hmph. Fine.”

Thankfully, he didn’t make a big deal of it.

After all, the problem that worried him was solved.

A fair man—he let bygones be bygones.

Just then, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

It was Prill.

【Yujin. Ice cream.】

“What for?”

【I stopped the goblin earlier!】

She puffed up her cheeks in a sulk.

Her cuteness made me smile.

‘Well… she did work.’

Work deserves payment.

“Grandpa, I’m taking an ice cream.”

“Sure. You worked hard—scamming people.”

“…That’s hurtful.”

I grabbed one from the freezer and handed it to Prill.

【Hehe. Tasty!】

She bit into it happily.

As I watched in satisfaction—

Bzzzt.

A vibration rang out.

“Hm?”

It was Grandpa’s old flip phone.

He checked the message, then looked at me.

“Yujin.”

“Yes?”

“Hyunwoong contacted me.”

“Oh!”

The meeting with Ji Hyunwoong I’d requested—

It had come sooner than expected.

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I went straight to the location Grandpa gave me.

Hyunwoong’s side wanted to meet right away, and I had no reason to delay.

The place turned out to be—

“…Is this the wrong address?”

—right in front of a Gate, just before a Break.

“You’re here. You’re Kim Yujin?”

“…Yes.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ji Hyunwoong.”

A bearded man grabbed my arm.

“You’re here, so work. You’re a Hunter, right?”

“You do realize we’ve never met before?”

“So?”

“……”

“You asked to see me.”

So basically—

‘Since you wanted to meet me, you can work for me before we talk?’

Well…

‘Not the worst idea.’

This way I’d start with a favor in the bank.

And I’d have to prove my skills anyway.

“Alright. Let’s clear the monsters first, then talk.”

“Good. I like someone who gets to the point.”

Hyunwoong grinned.

Then—

“They’re coming!”

A tense shout rang out.

“Battle positions!”

At Hyunwoong’s command, the Hunters—presumably his crew—raised their weapons and shields toward the Gate.

Arurururuuu—

With a strange cry, a pack of Blade Wolves burst forth from the Gate.