Chapter 186 – The Chosen Ones (11) & Epilogue
The last raid was violent. The 300 man raid. An uncountable number of enemies poured out to in conjunction to the number of participants. The last raid took place in the Hunter’s Hall. The Hunter’s Hall was essentially infinite in size, filled with innumerable white pillars, but there wasn’t a spot that was free from bloodshed.
The corpses of monsters formed a mountain, but the hunters too suffered losses in the process. But in spite of this, the surviving hunters did not lose hope. It was because Master Hunter K Sungjin and Sungjin’s nine person Chosen Ones worked together perfectly to massacre the monsters.
“I’m going. Edward, Serin, attack both sides of the pillar.”
Edward’s magic and Serin’s arrows were fired towards the pillar at his command. The Dark elf Swordsman Calian rapidly hid behind the structure, but Sungjin already had jumped on the pillar and his sword scored a hit on Calian’s head.
“Agh”
Calian collapsed where he was without even being able to let out a sound. But then
“Kraaagh!”
A large red dragon breathed fire towards Sungjin. There was no time to dodge it. Sungjin was about to use Fire resistance on his Ring of Chimera when
“Glacier of the Arctic!”
Hildebrandt appeared suddenly and stood before Sungjin. An intense wave of heat hit them, but it did not last long.
“Haiya!”
Franz and Hiroaki sliced apart the Dragon’s neck. But there was no time to take a breather.
“Ssssss”
Beyond the pillar appeared a dozen heads of the Hydra.
“Damn it, there’s no end to them”
Beltran complained even as he stood before the Hydra.
“Look here you dumb heads!”
Beltran taunted the Hydra to capture its attention which allowed Mahadas to close the distance and destroy a head.
It was then
“Hahahaha! Burn!”
The voice of a crazed Magician was heard from somewhere. Sungjin forgot his name but he remembered the magician from the Magician’s Ivory Tower. Sungjin was about to take out Artemio.
“Incinerate everything in your...ugh...Kek”
Nada cut the magician’s throat before he could even finish the incantation. Sungjin wanted to tell her ‘Nice’ but
“Bash you all!” “Burn you all!”
In the pillar behind, the two headed Ogre Pach and Cho’roch appeared so he had no time.
Sungjin moved towards them when he heard someone chanting a spell.
“Tense muscles, brittle bones, weakness”
It was in a middle of an all out battle so hearing a spell ought to be met with caution. But that voice was a familiar one. It was the deep and heavy voice of Mustafa. Pach and Cho’roch who were slowed was no match for Sungjin. They were cut down the middle with a single strike of his.
“Haa...”
Sungjin was trying to get a breather but he couldn’t do that. Monsters endlessly poured out between the pillars.
‘Damn it! Is the future I saw yesterday even real?’
Sungjin continued to swing his swords even as he thought about it. It was because this was the best thing he could be doing right now. And after the chaos of battle continued for a while, the hunters heard the Operator’s voice from the cube.
[Chapter 21 Cleared!]
With the voice, the corpses of monsters and dead hunters which filled the Hunter’s Hall all disappeared.
The remaining hunters shouted in joy.
“It’s done!”
“We won!”
“It’s over!”
The hunters shouted in happiness. Sungjin also gripped his fist. But at that moment, all the armor on the body, weapons in hand, and rings worn all vanished.
‘Ah...’
Sungjin had no time to react. And the hunters were surprised for a moment.
[Congratulations.]
[Humanity has overcome 21 Ordeals and have proven their worth.]
[With this Humanity will again be exempt from God’s judgement for another ten thousand years.]
No one paid any attention to the Operator by this point. It was because the raids were over. They were too busy with cheering.
“Yeah!”
“We did it!!!”
They were too busy with celebrating. Meanwhile, Sungjin carefully checked his vest. The ‘Small Cube’ given by the dragon was still there.
‘...so this is what it’s for...’
A grin slowly formed on Sungjin’s face. The Operator continued to speak.
[Those who did not make an attempt and those slain during the raids]
[Will have their memories erased and be sent off to Humanity’s home planet, the Earth.]
[But the hunters who are listening right now]
[the Hunters who successfully completed the raid can choose to keep or erase their memories.]
The hunters who were cheering fell quiet after the announcement.
[Please decide within 1 minute if the memories are to be erased or kept.]
[In the case no decision was made, it will default to erasing the memory before being sent back.]
The hunters looked among themselves. They were suddenly told to make a choice and they were having difficulty with deciding which fork in the road they would like to take. The hunters around Sungjin, especially the nine Chosen Ones stared at each other.
Hildebrandt was the first to speak
“For me... I think erasing would be for the best. If I return with these memories... my wife and daughter will surely notice a change in me.”
Beltran also chose to erase his memory.
“...I would like to erase my memories as well. I thought I saw it all as a Policeman.... But the things here are all beyond my imagination. I don’t want to continue having nightmares after going back.”
On the other hand, the monk Mahadas decided to take his memories along with him.
“These experiences were a great lesson for me. I have become stronger because of them. It would be unwise to lose them.”
Hiroaki was the same
“Me too! My swordsmanship improved a great deal because of the raids. I will return with them.”
Edward crossed his arms and gave a simple reply.
“I’ll take mine. It had been strange, yet quite an experience.”
Sungjin’s answer was predetermined.
“I will keep my memories.”
And almost right after Serin answered
“Me too... I’ll keep my memories.”
Rather than making a choice, Franz looked a bit disappointed.
“But... if they all lose their memories... Heroic saviors of the world...”
Nada also seemed disappointed by it, she bit her lower lip for a moment.
“Haa... me too... I was looking forward to quitting my job...”
Mustafa remained quiet and was looking around at the other hunters. Between them Franz finally made a fist and made a decision.
“Oh well... why does it matter if people forget... I was one of the Heroes who saved our species. I don’t want to lose the satisfaction of seeing it through to the end. I’ll keep my memories.”
Nada also made a decision.
“Hmm...for me... I have to return to working in an office... These memories... I probably won’t need them. No thanks for me.”
Just when it looked like everything was decided, Mustafa answered
“I’ll keep mine.”
Once the hunters were about done, the Operator announced
[Then once everyone is returned back to the Earth, memories of each of the hunters will be set according to their choices.]
[Returning to Earth in 5 minutes.]
The hunters and Sungjin all began their last goodbyes.
“Stay well.”
“It was nice working with you all.”
“Everyone here is a hero. For real.”
Each of them approached Sungjin and gave their farewells. Beltran went first.
“You were truly a hero. I will lose my memories but... losing memory of you is most regrettable.”
“Beltran ssi is also a hero. I hope that you can stay a hero and protect others. Good working with you.”
Mahadas came with his his palms pressed over his chest.
“It was a great meeting between us, Kei. I do not know if the threads of fate will continue after this but... if we cross the paths once more, it will be a very welcoming meeting.”
“Me too, sir.”
Nada wordlessly approached Sungjin and without a word she gave him a deep kiss.
“We don’t have much time left so this is all I can do. If we had more time I could have given you something better.”
Sungjin’s face grew bright red. For a moment Sungjin felt someone stare at him. It was Serin who was standing a bit away.
‘Uh...’
Sungjin was stuck in surprise when Hiroaki butted in and said,
“Sensei, I’ll come and visit you someday. Where do you live in Korea?”
“Ah... Seoul.”
It was then that Franz butted in as well.
“Where in Seoul? If I run a part time job to buy an airplane ticket...”
But instead of finishing what he was saying he remembered something greatly important.
“Wait.. hold on... now that I think of it, none of us knows Kei nim’s real name. Master Hunter K. What is your name? Are you going to keep it a secret until the end?”
“Ah...”
Sungjin opened and closed his mouth a few times. Thinking back, the second the Raids started, he had been hiding his name because he didn’t want to grow close to people who might die. But now that the raids were over, he had no reason to continue hiding it. Mustafa also asked the same.
“That’s right Master Hunter K. We still do not know your name. Would you not please tell us your name since this is the last?”
Sungjin felt a bit strange. Mustafa had always been quiet. ‘Previous final 10’ or now, he had never asked information about anyone else. Sungjin hesitated for a moment before he finally decided to open his mouth.
“My name is Sungjin. Sungjin Kang. If we ever meet in the real world, please search for me with this name.”
The hunters who heard his name repeated it among themselves to help remember.
Then, the Operator began a countdown.
[You will return to Earth in 1 minute. 60, 59, 58...]
Sungjin looked around with only a minute left. It was because there was one more person with whom he had not exchanged a farewell. Sungjin walked up to Edward who was standing with his arms crossed a bit away. Sungjin offered his hand to Edward first. Edward wordlessly stared at Sungjin’s empty hand and finally grasped it for a shake.
“It was all thanks to you,” said Sungjin.
Edward stared at him with a strange look, but Sungjin just grinned. He finished shaking his hand and turned away when he felt someone’s stare. Serin was looking at him with her eyes narrowed. Sungjin was about to say to her when she spoke up first.
“I’ll be waiting at ‘28 Sapience’ in Cheongdam Dong(1) until you come.”
Sungjin didn’t add any more words and just gave a short answer.
“Ok.”
With only 10 seconds remaining, the hunters hugged and shook each others’ hands and bid farewell. And then finally, finally, they were teleported. To Earth. To home.
*
Seoul. Gangnam Station. Middle of rainy season in June. The sound of rain blanketed the land. Countless pedestrians walked on the sidewalk with umbrellas on hand as a radio played in the background.
“There was a shocking announcement from the British National Academy of Sciences. On May 12th, that is to say about a month ago, they made an announcement that the International Atomic clock has sped up by roughly 3 seconds. This event is being treated as a great mystery by the Academy. So, in order to understand this announcement, we have invited an expert on the topic; Professor Soongwan Hong. Welcome to the show Professor Hong.”
“Thanks for having me.”
“In my perspective, it’s not out of the ordinary for a clock to be off by 3 seconds. So what is the significance of the International Atomic Clock having sped up by 3 seconds? Could you please explain to us?”
“The International Atomic Clock uses Cesium Atomic clocks. The seconds are determined by measuring vibrations of Cesium. It is a ultra high precision clock that takes roughly 3 thousand years to speed up by 1 second. But last month, this Cesium clocks were observed to suddenly and uniformly be off by 3 seconds. This phenomena is unexplainable by current science...”
As the radio continued,the pedestrians were walking and chatting with their lovers, friends, or family as they passed by. It didn’t look like anyone was listening to the radio, but the radio continued regardless.
“Next, the world news. Abu Ali Mustafa who is famous for being an owner of a Football team (2) in England’s premier league has arrived in Korea last night at around 9 pm. Mustafa ssi is famous for being an Heir to a Royal family with a personal wealth of more than 300 Trillion won (250 billion dollars) and overseas purchase of not just a football club but Electronics Company etc and has recently caught the Korean Media’s attention. Ever since he came to visit Korea, his background has become a hot topic.”
“There were many theories on why he might have come to Korea. Shopping around for electronics companies or buyout of an industrial site were some of the theories out there, but the suddenness in his visitation has sparked a theory that he’s here for his personal hobby.”
“Personal hobby?”
“Yes, since a month ago, Mustafa had started going around the world and donating extremely high value presents to people he’s never met.
“By high value...”
“Along with real estate and car, it would amount to 100 billion Won (84 million dollars).
“A hundred billion?!”
“Yes.”
“Wait, he’s gifting people he’s never met something that’s worth hundreds of billions of won?
“Yes. and because of it it has become world news as ‘Billionaire’s Don’t Ask Lottery. Until now, the lucky winners are Barcelona’s Nada ssi, Hamburg’s Hildebrandt ssi, New York’s Beltran ssi. Each time he had visited Spain, Germany and America for seemingly no reason. So the theory is that he had come to visit Korea to do something similar, that a lucky person has been chosen from Korea.”
“Listeners to the show may think this is a little immature of me but... I hope that’s me.”
“Me too.”
“Hahaha!”
A refreshing laughter was played through the radio, but the sound of it was buried by the many cars that filled up Gangnam Avenue. And even now there were no one listening to the radio.
“Finally we have Entertainment News. Archery Gold Medalist CF Queen, Voted number 1 Korean sports star Serin Han is currently head over heels in love. According to the celebrity insider report from Dispatch (4), she is in love with an ordinary man who is currently unidentified. Since 5 years ago when she won the gold medal and until now, there were no news of her being in a relationship, so many men had romantic...”
But then for the first time, someone walking on the sidewalk on Gangnam Avenue heard the radio and commented.
“Uh... wait. Hey... will you be okay?”
“It’s okay, Oppa. Why, is being in a relationship against the law?”
“Hmm”
They were having a conversation like the many couples walking along the Avenue.
“Oh by the way, let’s go to the Zoo tomorrow.”
“The Zoo?”
The lady replied in a shocked voice. Because the umbrella they were sharing were still dropping thick droplets of rain water. But the man did not seem to care.
“Yes, the Zoo. I feels like it’d be great to go there when the rain stops tomorrow.
“But... I checked the weather forecast just now and it said that it will be rainy all week...”
“Weather Forecast? But they’re often wrong.”
“Aay, still. How will you know they won’t be wrong, Oppa?”
She looked up at the sky. The sky was full of dark rain clouds. She reached out past the shadow of the umbrella to feel the rain.
“Look, Oppa. When it’s like this... do you really think tomorrow’s weather will be clear?”
The man’s gaze followed the hand of his girlfriend toward the sky. But he grinned and replied confidently.
“It will be clear tomorrow. For sure.”
Master Hunter K -End-
(1) Dong is the Korea equivalent to ‘Neighborhood’. Cheongdam Dong is the wealthiest neighborhood in Korea.
(2) Soccer is the true football
(3) remember, ssi is kr equivalent to jp san.
(4) for those of you checking my translation to raw, the original name used by the author is an intentional misspelling of a real thing in Korea, to avoid copyright issues.
A note by us, the translation team.
Thank you all for reading our work. Thank you for the support, for your kind words, and for your patience.
We would also like to thank the author From Hell for agreeing to rewrite the ending and seeing it to the end and the numerous people who have worked with us on this novel.
This was our first novel from where we started and seeing it to the end today brings back memories and gives us a sense of relief. The entire journey has been a learning experience. We will now be focusing on our other works on the site:) Hope to see you there.