The Hunter Wants to Live Quietly (bl)-Chapter 118: Short

But only for a moment, J added awkwardly.

"I said it so confidently... but I was confused. A lot."

J tapped the cheek of his mask with his fingertips and slowly began to speak.

"I'm the only survivor of the West Sea Rift."

"...Did everyone else die?"

"Yes. Actually, it hasn't been long since I came out of the Rift."

"..."

"When I came out, several years had passed."

Jung Bin's complexion changed as he quietly listened to J's story. A cold sensation ran down his spine. He looked up with a pale face.

"Wait, wait a minute... Are you saying you spent years inside the West Sea rift?"

Eight years had passed since J entered the West Sea rift. J had only recently escaped the rift. If they were trapped inside the exitless rift for those eight years, and if J was the only one who escaped...

'That's too cruel.'

Cold sweat broke out. Jung Bin struggled to remain calm, searching for the right words but failing to find them. But J himself responded indifferently.

"Oh, I can't be sure of that."

He muttered with his head tilted slightly.

"Whether I was really in the Rift for eight years, or if the flow of time is different between the rift and reality... my memory isn't clear."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My memory isn't complete. Some parts are hazy, as if they've been cut out."

"..."

Could it be that excessive stress had caused memory issues? It was a plausible explanation. In fact, there were even first-generation Awakeners who had memory problems and were receiving treatment. But it was not something to jump to conclusions about. After some thought, Jung Bin spoke.

"...So far, there have been no reported cases of time flowing differently between the rift and reality."

"The West Sea rift might be the first case. That rift was rather strange."

"..."

"Anyway."

J stretched out, continuing in a tone that sounded almost like a lament.

"I came out of the rift, only to find that eight years had passed, that I was considered dead, and that so many things had changed. The world I knew wasn't like this..."

"..."

"The world was at peace without me. Or maybe it was because I wasn't there. I felt like everything would disappear if I showed up."

The words he spoke so casually carried a weight that was heavier than any other. Words that Jung Bin dared not respond to, simply listening quietly as J continued to speak.

"There was no place for me here."

The J that Jung Bin had observed for a long time wanted peace more than anyone else. He believed that if he sacrificed himself, eventually the chaos would subside and the world would find stability.

But the peace he had longed for had been achieved in a world without him, and the person who had wanted it more than anyone else had hidden away, of fear of breaking it. It was an ironic situation. J shrugged.

"At that time, I was scared to face people... I felt guilty for surviving alone when I couldn't save anyone, and honestly, well, I wasn't in my right mind. So, like someone said, I tried to live quietly. That was the conclusion I reached after struggling a bit."

"..."

"...It didn't go as planned, though."

Was he referring to the day the rankings were updated? Few people could shake up the entire nation with just their name. Jung Bin smiled wryly. J spoke lightly.

"But I gained some certainty. In that dungeon."

"Dungeon?"

"The one where your arm got broken."

J gestured towards Jung Bin's right arm. Unconsciously, Jung Bin touched the scar on his arm. The eroded dungeon that suddenly escalated in rank. The dungeon where J had appeared, smashed the golem, and disappeared when Jung Bin had collapsed and lost consciousness. Jung Bin cautiously asked,

"I did hear a rough explanation from Hong Ye-seong, but... it was somewhat vague. Could you tell me what happened then?"

"Huh? It's nothing special."

J, who had been tapping his mask, spoke.

"I had business in the eroded dungeon, and suddenly the rank increased. Then the dungeon master showed up, so I dealt with it. That's it."

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

From earlier, J had been packing too much information into casual words. Jung Bin, unable to process the overload of information, rubbed his temples.

"Where did you hear about the eroded dungeons...? That's classified information. Only a very select few rankers are privy to it. How did you...?"

J averted his eyes, mumbling his response.

"...There were circumstances."

"Are you sure you were trying to live quietly? It seems you know more than even my direct subordinates..."

"No, I really tried... honestly."

"Sigh..."

Jung Bin sighed deeply, running his hands through his hair.

"...So, what certainty did you gain?"

"...It's nothing grand."

J slowly stood up from the slide with an "Oops." The flickering streetlight suddenly brightened. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and leaned slightly forward. There was a playful tone in his posture and altered voice.

"I realized I still like saving people."

"..."

"Killing monsters, closing rifts, clearing dungeons— those are all fine, but I like saving people with my own hands the best."

Jung Bin slightly parted his lips, but unsure of what to say, he simply watched the figure before him.

In truth, it might have been impossible for someone like him to live quietly. Both in the past and now, J had a way of drawing people's eyes to him. No one could help but notice him. He was that radiant.

"I've failed over and over, I failed in the rift, and I might keep failing... but there was at least one success."

"..."

"So, I'll keep trying. I took a break, so I should be able to do better."

There are things that can't be done with just a sense of duty. In the past, the J that Jung Bin had seen was always someone barely holding on at the edge of a cliff. The whole world seemed to be pushing him to the brink. Jung Bin had also been one of those pushing him. There had been days when J had barely held on.

But now,

The man he met after eight years...

"And..."

...was shining brighter than ever.

"There's someone waiting for me."

"..."

Someone who had once swayed on the verge of falling off a cliff was now gone. Countless things must have happened during those eight years, both to J and to Jung Bin. The time they couldn't share had changed many things. But something hadn't changed.

Jung Bin wanted to help J.

Then, and now.

"...It seems I spoke out of turn."

"It wasn't out of turn... Were you worried?"

"I was worried, yes. But... I see there was no need."

Finally, Jung Bin regained his warm smile. He rolled down the sleeves of his shirt, hiding the scars. After neatly buttoning the cuffs, Jung Bin pulled out a leather-bound notebook and pen from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Both bore the Awakened Management Bureau's emblem.

Clicking the pen, he looked at J.

"You asked for information about Prometheus and Lee Sa-young. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Everything."

"Pardon?"

Jung Bin looked at J with a puzzled expression. J crossed his arms.

"I know that Lee Sa-young was an experimental subject of Prometheus. I'm looking for anything that could fill in the gaps between those points. I heard you were the one who first rescued Lee Sa-young. Could you also tell me what happened then?"

"How do you even know about that?"

"Let's just say there were circumstances."

"If it weren't you asking, I'd have immediately detained you to find out your source of information. Really..."

After searching for the right words for a while, Jung Bin finally spoke, trying to sound as mild as possible.

"...You really do have all the crucial information."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

J sighed and began to watch Jung Bin jotting something down in the notebook. Then, when Jung Bin had filled about half a page, J suddenly spoke up.

"Well, I won't just ask for a favor without giving something in return. I have some information for you too."

"Really? What kind of information?"

"You know the scenery inside the eroded dungeon where you hurt your arm? Or the unique features of other eroded dungeons? Like the monsters that only appear there, the sky filled with white ashes, or the ruined buildings."

"Yes."

"They're surprisingly similar to what's inside the West Sea rift."

"What did you say?"

J's words were a series of shocks. Jung Bin widened his eyes. J calmly continued.

"That's why I went. I wondered if the eroded dungeons and the West Sea rift might be connected. I couldn't investigate properly because the dungeon's rank suddenly changed, but..."

"Wait a minute! Is that really true?"

"It's just a hypothesis, but if we investigate properly, we'll find out."

J tilted his head.

"If they're really connected... we might even be able to retrieve the bodies buried there."