Chapter 98
Edited By: Sebas Tian
“H-huh……?”
As expected .
The members that were on the ground started coming back to their senses .
They didn’t know what happened, so they looked around with a blank expression .
And when they found Hyun-Soo standing tall before them, they realized that they came back to reality, so they released a sigh of relief .
Some released their anger by using profanity while hitting a wall and others stretched out on the ground knowing that they were safe .
A a few started crying .
“Ahhhhhh . It was really scary! Hiccup!”
Katrina was one of them and when she found Hyun-Soo after looking around, she started crying and ran towards him .
Hyun-Soo felt some sort of burdened, so when he slightly moved his body, she cried even harder .
‘I have that egg in my pocket . ’
It felt like he made a kid cry, so when he patted Katrina’s head, she stopped crying for a moment and then started crying again .
They mentioned books, studying, failing, so they probably had a traumatic experience related to those things .
While Hyun-Soo was calming down Katrina, the members overcame the remaining illusions .
“Damn it, I didn’t realize it was an illusion . ”
Eugene spoke while massaging his temple .
“On top of that, it felt like I was stuck in another illusion within that illusion! It’s an experience I never want to experience again . ”
“How did we come back to reality though?”
When one person asked, the rest naturally turned their attention to Hyun-Soo .
“I cleared the portal . ”
That meant that he killed the monster that owned this portal .
“What?”
“Really?”
The hunters all looked surprised when they heard that .
They didn’t realize that there was a monster and on top of that, they were helpless against the monster’s skill .
But the new member, Hyun-Soo, detected the illusion by himself and even cleared it .
In the members’ eyes, Hyun-Soo took the necessary steps .
“Where’s the monster that you killed?”
They just came back to their senses and the hunt was already over .
The members wanted to see the monster that Hyun-Soo killed .
Hyun-Soo led them to where Karazhan’s corpse was .
“A psychological monster…”
“There are theories that says that they could exist, but who knew one would actually appear…and on top of that, at a place like this . ”
David massaged his head, most likely because of a headache .
When the members confirmed that a psychological monster existed and that they were helpless against the monster’s skill, the members had mixed feelings .
“First, let’s take the corpse with us . Hyun-Soo, when we return to the base, please stop by my personal room . ”
“Understood . ”
After the members placed Karazhan’s corpse inside a plastic bag, they exited the portal .
As soon as they exited, the staff that were waiting started asking a lot of questions .
But Kim Yoo-Na refused to answer their questions and calmed them down .
They were probably extremely curious, but there weren’t any information she could share with them right now .
The members didn’t really know much anyways .
Hyun-Soo was the only one that had a lot of information .
After returning to the base, Hyun-Soo met with Kim Yoo-Na .
***
“Thanks for letting me know . You really helped out a lot . ”
“I only did what I thought was right . ”
“That’s not true . If it weren’t for you, our clan would’ve died inside that portal . If the first group doesn’t come back, the second group will enter and after experiencing the same thing that we did, the monster will kill them”
When Hyun-Soo informed everything he knew, Kim Yoo-Na thanked him .
It was easy to assume that it was a corpse, but when informing her about the appearance, size and distinct features, a lot of time had already passed .
“This situation is so serious that it could cause an issue . I can’t even imagine how big of an issue it will be . ”
Kim Yoo-Na looked straight at Hyun-Soo after mumbling .
“I really don’t know how to pay you back for this . I’m already having a hard time paying you back for the things I got…”
With a troubled look, Kim Yoo-Na stopped talking midway .
Like she mentioned, if Hyun-Soo wasn’t with them, they would’ve failed the hunt .
Like the guilds and groups that didn’t return, their clan could’ve disappeared after being labeled as a failed clan .
‘But we succeeded . ’
They succeeded twice in a row .
They didn’t know how big of an effect this success was going to bring them .
But there was one thing they knew .
The clan now had a lot of power .
A power called information .
People only made theories about psychological type monsters and since the clan now had information that no other clans had, they had the advantage .
This was all possible because Hyun-Soo was there .
“I’ll gladly take the credit for all I’ve done, but it’s really fine . I didn’t do it because I expected something in return . Actually, you trying to reward for everything that I’ve is more burdensome . I just did the right thing as a member of this clan, so giving me a reward makes me feel like an outsider . ”
“…That wasn’t my intention . If you felt that way, then it’s my fault . I’m sorry . ”
Even though she apologized, Hyun-Soo had an idea why Kim Yoo-Na was acting that way .
She felt indebted .
It was the same thing he felt towards Kim Yoo-Na a long time ago .
Kim Yoo-Na was feeling the same thing towards Hyun-Soo .
It’s because she clearly knew that Hyun-Soo’s actions affected the clan greatly .
On top of that, she felt emotionally indebted towards him when it came to Hye-Na .
If he just left things the way they are now, she might try to pull the Cinderella plan again .
‘It was so embarrassing’
Hyun-Soo remembered the embarrassment he felt then, so he decided to end things here .
“There’s no need to apologize . Hm…then can you allow me to take one thing?”
“What is it?”
“This . ”
Hyun-Soo took out the egg from his pocket .
He forget about it since he was focused on sharing information about Karazhan, but he remembered it at the right moment .
“What is that? An egg?”
“Yes, I think it’s Karazhan’s egg . ”
Hyun-Soo knew it belonged to Karazhan, but if he confirmed that it was, then she could become suspicious, so he answered vaguely .
“Oh wow…this is the first time I’ve heard a monster leaving their offspring . ”
Kim Yoo-Na expressed her surprise as she looked at the small, purple egg with gold patterns on it .
“Is this…alive?”
“Touch it . It’s warm . ”
“……!”
After Kim Yoo-Na carefully took the egg from Hyun-Soo, she admired it .
“I’ve been surprised many times already . ”
“The colorful portal itself is pretty surprising . It wouldn’t be weird if more surprising things happened on top of that . ”
The portal itself was already surprising .
Normally, colorful portals aren’t supposed to exist .
If that was true, then portals and the existence of hunters wasn’t a normal thing .
“Can you make it hatch?”
“Yeah, probably . I’m thinking about trying . ”
“If you need anything, just let me know . I’ll support in any way that I can . ”
Kim Yoo-Na promised to help in any possible . It seemed like she was thinking about the possible outcomes after it hatches .
“An incubator would be nice . ”
“I’ll have it prepared for you right away . ”
Kim Yoo-Na quickly added more information on the report she created and then nodded her head .
She gladly agreed to him keeping the egg .
She could’ve asked to hand it over to the clan, but she didn’t hesitate in her decision .
But she must’ve felt excited about it, because she offered to do some research to see if something similar happened before .
There was a very small chance, but Kim Yoo-Na looked pretty excited .
***
As soon as Hyun-Soo returned to the dorm, the first thing he did was wrap the egg with a blanket . He then placed it in a warm area .
‘I hope the incubator comes soon . ’
It showed on Interface as well .
That he needed to be careful and gently take care of it .
On top of that, he had to be cautious when holding it .
‘…I kept it in my pocket all this time, but it should be fine, right?’
He used Interface to check and luckily, there wasn’t anything different .
It was night and Hyuna visited after attending her afterschool program .
The egg was the first thing she discovered as soon as she walked in, so she started observing it with interest .
“This is a monster’s egg? It’s so pretty though . ”
“Insects and animals that are poisonous look pretty too . ”
“Yeah, but they’re a monster . ”
“It’s the same when it comes to being dangerous towards humans . ”
When Hyun-Soo said they were all the same, Hyuna shook her head .
“You lack emotion, Hyun-Soo . ”
“…What’s the point in being emotional towards a monster?”
He almost got killed by a monster that played with human emotions .
Since it wasn’t a good experience, Hyun-Soo spoke bluntly .
“No one is bad right when they’re born . Even though they’re a monster, don’t you think things will be different based on how they’re raised and treated?”
She was referring to wild beasts that were raised by humans .
“I don’t know . ”
When Hyun-Soo didn’t show any reaction, Hyuna said, “Maybe not, but still!”
“I heard you’re trying to hatch it . Then we should hope for the best . Who know? If we tell them that they’re nice and kind everyday, they might really hatch with a nice personality . There’s a reason why moms believe prenatal education is important . ”
“Then why don’t you come over and take care of it?”
“Really? Can I?”
Since Hyun-Soo wasn’t the gentle type, he welcomed it .
Hyuna smiled brightly when Hyun-Soo gave her permission .
If Kim Yoo-Na brings the incubator and Hyuna takes care of the egg, then 24 days will definitely pass by really fast .
Hyuna poked his side while Hyun-Soo was thinking about what a relief it was .
“But you have to take care of it too . It’s your responsibility since you brought it!”
“Can’t you take care of it?”
“Nope . When an animal hatches, the first figure they see is engraved into their mind . Since you brought it, you’re the owner . ”
Hyuna lectured him after telling him about the duck that saw a human right when they hatched and how the duck started following the human, thinking that it was their mother .
“I got it . ”
He wasn’t sure if it was true, but Hyun-Soo nodded his head because he felt pressured by Hyuna .
Hyuna created a temporary incubator by placing every lamp on top of the egg . She already started taking care of the egg .
But Hyuna’s shabby incubator was soon replaced by an incubator that a staff brought .
“I hope it grows up without any issues . ”
Hyuna mumbled while looking at Karazhan’s egg that was neatly placed inside the incubator .
“Me too . ”
Hyun-Soo agreed with her .
He was looking forward to the thing that was going to come out of the egg .
24 days .
The days left until it hatched .
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