Chapter 13 – Trauma (2)
—
Kiik. Kik!
As we stepped outside, goblins holding daggers were scurrying around.
“R-really goblins…!”
“What else would they be, fakes?”
Kim An-bin nearly screamed in surprise at the sight of the goblins.
Why is he like this, seriously?
【Goblins are weak!】
‘That’s true.’
As Prill said, goblins were among the weakest monsters.
They were barely a meter tall with feeble strength.
Their only strengths were living in groups and their aggressive nature.
Other than that, they were nothing more than mediocre monsters.
In fact, looking around—
“Kyaaaaah!”
Thud!
Crack…
A woman screamed while beating a goblin to death.
“Kill them! They’re just goblins!”
“My axe! Where’s my axe!?”
“Just use a club and beat them!”
Most of the townsfolk didn’t panic but instead took up arms to fight back.
In short, goblins were so weak that even non-Awakeners could handle them if they kept their composure.
“Ugh…”
Kim An-bin, who had awakened, had no reason to be this terrified.
At that moment—
Kik! Kiaak!
Two goblins spotted us and charged.
“Ahhh! R-run…”
As Kim An-bin tried to turn and flee, I grabbed him.
“Hey, running away?”
“I-I don’t want to die!”
“Who said you’re going to die? You won’t.”
“But Kim Yujin, you’re just a porter… Aah!”
Bang!
I struck one of the charging goblins with a mana-infused punch.
The goblin died instantly.
Kik?
The remaining goblin froze in place, startled.
“Say it again. A porter?”
“You… When did you…”
“Even when I was just a porter, I never ran like you.”
“….”
Kim An-bin bit his lip, trying to suppress his anger.
It was a good sign.
Fear was momentarily overshadowed by his frustration.
Kiaak!
The other goblin charged at us again.
“Ahhh!”
Kim An-bin screamed, shutting his eyes.
I calmly disarmed the goblin, taking its crude dagger.
Then—
“Catch.”
“W-what…!?”
I handed the dagger to Kim An-bin.
“You can handle one goblin, can’t you? Go on, try.”
“I-I can’t!”
“Why not?”
“H-how can I fight a monster….”
Kik! Kiaak!
Even though its weapon was taken, the goblin didn’t give up and kept charging.
I casually blocked its attack with one foot while grabbing Kim An-bin by the collar to stop him from running.
“Let me go! I want to go back!”
As he struggled, I thought to myself.
‘Honestly, there’s no rule saying Awakeners have to fight monsters.’
There were indeed non-combatant Awakeners.
But from my perspective, Kim An-bin needed to kill at least one monster.
This was about whether he could overcome his trauma.
Besides—
‘I need to earn that 50 million won fair and square.’
Only then could I confidently say I “awakened” him.
“An-bin.”
“D-damn it. Why do I have to fight!? Why!?”
“To survive.”
Smiling brightly, I pressed the dagger into his hands.
‘You just need to experience success.’
For someone so steeped in defeatism, the solution was surprisingly simple.
Just once.
He only needed to win once.
And this setup was one where failure was practically impossible.
Kik!
The goblin charged barehanded at Kim An-bin.
“Ah, ahhhh!”
As expected, he didn’t resist much.
At best, he curled up to protect himself.
But—
Poom!
Poom!
That was enough.
Kik?
The goblin’s punches couldn’t penetrate Kim An-bin’s flesh, leaving no damage.
It was an inevitable outcome.
A 150-kilogram giant against a scrawny 30-kilogram goblin.
Not to mention, the goblin had no weapon.
The idea of the goblin winning was absurd from the start.
Kiaak! Kiaak!
Though its attacks were meaningless, the goblin didn’t stop.
It kept hammering at Kim An-bin.
Meanwhile, Kim An-bin remained crouched, trembling in fear.
But—
‘How long can he stay like that?’
Sooner or later, he would realize the truth.
The monster he feared so much was nothing compared to him.
When that moment came, he would take down the goblin with his own hands and move forward.
Kiiik!
At that moment, another goblin charged at me.
I didn’t need to act.
【Ice Arrow!】
Crack! Thunk!
Prill took care of it with her ice arrow.
【Yujin, did I do well?】
“You did great.”
【Then ice cream!】
“….”
Prill, eager for ice cream, had done an excellent job.
Meanwhile, Kim An-bin slowly began to lift his head.
“W-what is this….”
He finally realized the goblin he had feared wasn’t harming him.
Kiaaah!
The goblin roared, making him flinch again, but only briefly.
He learned there was no need to fear even that roar.
Eventually—
Squeeze.
Kim An-bin gripped the dagger I had given him tightly.
‘That’s it. Stab it!’
I silently cheered him on.
Overcoming such deep-seated fear wouldn’t happen overnight…
Thunk!
Kerk!
…Or maybe it could.
Kim An-bin turned out to be quite adept at killing.
It seemed his fear was simply specific to the concept of monsters.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
As he panted heavily, I approached him.
“Well done.”
“I-I…”
“Killing a goblin was easy, right?”
Kim An-bin turned to me with eyes gleaming with joy.
“I killed a monster. I killed it!”
“Well done. If you keep at it, you can take down other monsters too.”
“Hehehe. Those bastards are nothing! Damn it, I’ll kill them all!”
“….”
The transformation was dramatic.
I didn’t expect it to work so well, even though I was the one who set it up.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, something shimmered in Kim An-bin’s eyes.
‘Is he crying?’
It was tears.
‘Well, I guess….’
This guy must have had his own struggles.
After all, he lost his parents to monsters.
‘Now that I think about it, this is kind of similar to me.’
Of course, I couldn’t empathize completely.
I also lost my parents to someone, but instead of succumbing to fear or giving up, I resolved to take revenge.
‘…….’
As the thought of revenge crossed my mind, my heart grew heavy.
I was reminded of my goal, which I had temporarily pushed aside to deal with the current situation.
‘Those bastards.’
I once again thought about the targets of my vengeance.
Namgung Myung.
Once someone I called uncle, he killed my parents and took over as guild leader.
And then—
‘The Gaiah Order.’
The religious group founded by one of the Prophets, “El Gaiah,” and known today as the protectors of humanity.
‘Why did they kill my parents?’
Although my resolve for revenge never wavered, this part remained a mystery.
Namgung Myung’s motive could easily be guessed as a lust for power.
But the Gaiah Order—why?
For the past decade, whenever I had time, I researched the Gaiah Order.
The conclusion was always the same.
‘The foremost defenders of humanity and the world’s greatest religious organization.’
Everyone unanimously praised them.
They said that without the Gaiah Order, humanity would have perished long ago.
Indeed, their actions supported this.
The Gaiah Order was a group with overwhelmingly superior strength compared to ordinary Hunters, centered around the Paladin Squad, who handled the highest-level gates that humanity couldn’t manage.
They accomplished this using exclusive, divine magic.
In short—
‘At least on the surface, they’re a flawless organization.’
The Gaiah Order was utterly perfect.
There was not even a whisper of scandal—a truly devout group.
But—
‘That makes it all the more suspicious.’
Could such purity exist in any organization involving humans?
No matter how great a religious group, that level of perfection was impossible.
Human greed knows no bounds, and we tend to repeat the same mistakes.
And above all—
‘It’s an undeniable fact that they killed my parents.’
They murdered my innocent parents and even tried to kill me.
That fact would never change.
So, it was clear that the Gaiah Order was hiding something sinister.
“Hoo.”
Though the path would be difficult, I reaffirmed my resolve.
I would avenge my parents and uncover the truth.
At that moment—
“Uh… Kim Yujin.”
Kim An-bin called out to me.
“Hyung.”
“…Yujin hyung.”
“Yes.”
“…Thank you.”
He shyly expressed his gratitude and quickly turned his head away.
I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
The heaviness in my heart seemed to lighten a little.
***
“Grandpa, I… I awakened.”
“R-really!? An-bin! That’s great! That’s wonderful!”
As we entered the store, Kim An-bin proudly announced his awakening, and his grandfather jumped with joy.
It was understandable—after all, his grandson had awakened.
Of course, the awakening had actually happened a while ago….
‘Let’s just let that slide.’
Minor details weren’t important.
“So, what trait did you awaken with?”
At his grandfather’s question, Kim An-bin hesitated briefly before answering.
“…Binge Eating.”
“B-binge eating?”
“Oh.”
「Binge Eating.」
It was a familiar trait.
A unique characteristic that increased strength the more one ate—a rather peculiar trait.
‘So that’s why he gained weight.’
While it wasn’t a universally great trait, it could be quite effective if used properly.
But then—
“Wait, does that mean you awakened a long time ago…?”
The timeline of his weight gain made it obvious that his awakening wasn’t recent.
“G-Grandpa, I-I mean…”
Kim An-bin tried to stammer out an excuse, but it wasn’t necessary.
His grandfather wasn’t looking at him but glaring at me instead.
“Yujin, did you know?”
“Whistle~ Well, a contract is a contract, Grandpa.”
“…Hmph. Fine.”
Thankfully, Grandpa didn’t make a big deal out of it.
After all, the problem he was worried about had been resolved.
He was a reasonable man who valued harmony.
At that moment, I felt a tug on my sleeve.
It was Prill.
【Yujin, give me ice cream.】
“What did you do to deserve it?”
【I blocked the goblin earlier!】
With her cheeks puffed out in indignation, she looked utterly adorable.
I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Well, she did work.’
It’s only fair to reward effort.
“Grandpa, I’ll grab an ice cream from the fridge.”
“Go ahead. You worked hard tricking me.”
“…That’s harsh.”
I responded to Grandpa’s jab while pulling out an ice cream and handing it to Prill.
【Hehe, it’s delicious!】
Prill immediately bit into the ice cream, looking delighted.
As I watched her with satisfaction—
Buzz.
A vibrating sound came from somewhere.
“Hmm?”
It seemed to be Grandpa’s feature phone.
He checked the message and turned to me.
“Yujin.”
“Yes?”
“Hyun-woong contacted me.”
“Oh!”
It was the meeting I had requested with Ji Hyun-woong.
The opportunity had come sooner than I expected.
***
Without delay, I arrived at the location Grandpa had mentioned.
Ji Hyun-woong wanted to meet immediately, and I had no reason to delay either.
The meeting place was—
“…Is the address wrong?”
—In front of a gate about to break.
“You’re here. Are you Kim Yujin?”
“…Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ji Hyun-woong.”
A rugged man with a bushy beard pulled me along as he spoke.
“If you’re here, get to work. You’re a Hunter, right?”
“…You know this is our first meeting, right?”
“So?”
“…”
“You’re the one who wanted to meet me.”
So—
‘Is he saying, since I asked for the meeting, I should work before we talk?’
What a situation.
Before we could even begin the conversation, I was roped into labor.
‘Well, it’s not so bad.’
Looking at it positively, I could think of it as clearing a debt right off the bat.
Besides, I’d probably need to prove my skills anyway, so I might as well take this opportunity.
“Fine. Let’s deal with the monsters first, then talk.”
“Good. I like someone who’s straightforward.”
Ji Hyun-woong gave a wide grin as he looked at me.
And then—
“They’re coming!”
A tense shout rang out.
“Prepare for battle!”
At Ji Hyun-woong’s command, the Hunters under him raised their weapons and shields toward the gate.
Aruuu—
With a distinctive howl, a pack of Blade Wolves surged out of the gate.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment