The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood – Chapter 16

Ch 16: Atonement on the Grill （1）

Hunter’s awakening abilities.

Various items discovered in gates.

Since the Dungeon Shock seven years ago, this world has been surrounded by all sorts of supernatural phenomena.

In a world where an octogenarian can break steel bars, is it really wise to look down on others?

‘I can’t even get a sense of what kind of awakened one he is.’

If I could, I’d like to poke him a little more.

Kim Giryeo’s suspicious attitude raises caution. Therefore, he decided to slowly back off.

‘After all, the goal was to test how he would react to the threat.’

Kang Changho made sure to get his promise of perjury, then cleared the path that was blocking the gate.

‘Still, it’s a bit funny that he’s going around claiming to be F-rank with that personality.’

Kim Giryeo glanced this way with his unique sharp eyes and passed by.

Kang Changho briefly thought while making eye contact with that hunter.

‘Interesting. What on earth is Hunter Kim Giryeo thinking?’

But sadly, items that can see into other people’s minds haven’t been discovered yet.

‘Kkyaaaaaaah! I’m alive! Aaaaaaah!’

So, Kang Changho had no way of knowing what was going on inside Kim Giryeo’s head.

◈◈◈

1. Side with Kang Changho and become the person who backstabbed an S-rank hunter.

2. Side with Jeong Haseong and fight an S-rank hunter here.

‘Huh? There’s no answer?’

A few minutes ago.

I was dumbfounded after hearing the contents of the threat that an awakened one had thrown at me.

Because neither side seemed like a good course of action.

‘Is this Earthling crazy?’

But Kang Changho was practically demanding a choice, almost coercively, even though he didn’t have a knife in his hand.

Looking at his fist, I momentarily recalled one image.

The monstrous strength that shattered a Black Wolf’s head with his bare hands. Could my current body really withstand that?

‘…No, this won’t do. Let’s do what that person says. I have to get out of here alive first.’

Looking at how Kang Changho carries himself, it seems like he could easily kill a person.

If that’s the case.

‘Jeong Haseong is an S-rank hunter, but his personality wasn’t bad. He wouldn’t kill me just because I sided with someone else, would he…’

Indeed, giving up on this side is much safer.

After finishing my calculations, I opened my mouth right away.

“Okay. So, all I have to do is go around saying that I’m the one who put Jeong Haseong to sleep, right?”

I’m not going to be telling this lie forever anyway.

‘D*mn it, just wait until I get my magic back! I’ll behead you first and use you as a stepping stone for conquering the planet!’

Even if I only recover 10% of my past abilities, Kang Changho is no problem.

So, let’s survive and buy time first. With that calculation, I accepted the other party’s offer.

“You thought well.”

Kang Changho, for his part, didn’t seem too happy even though his threat was successful.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

After that, Kang Changho gave a brief instruction. He roughly told me how to testify when I got outside.

‘D*mn it.’

I glared at the S-rank hunter and cautiously headed for the exit.

‘Anyway, I’m alive. I’m alive!’

With things going so wrong, I’m starting to suspect that there might be some kind of twist, like the exit being fake.

“Ah!”

Fortunately, as soon as I stepped outside, my worries melted away like snow.

Tall gray buildings. A blue mountain cutting through them. Streets littered with cigarette butts.

“Hoo.”

Finally, I’m back.

I took in the familiar scenery and calmed my pounding heart.

“Ah! A hunter has finally emerged from the third exit!”

“Gate 3 cleared!”

“Turn the camera, turn the camera!”

Wait a minute, why are there so many people here?

“Are there any other survivors? How many hunters did you start the raid with?”

“Uh, uh…?”

“Congratulations on your return! But by any chance, do you have a map of the dungeon you experienced…?”

Several people, tangled up in the control line, started throwing questions at me.

I was so flustered that I shut my mouth and belatedly looked around.

‘Gate? No, all the exits were gathered here?’

It seems that I’m not the only hunter who got caught up in this unfortunate accident.

There were a whopping six gates facing each other clockwise in this open space, and the people gathered here seemed to know that these passages were a kind of exit.

‘Earthlings sure love to watch.’

But there’s no time to be bewildered.

Then, Kang Changho appeared from behind.

He even brought out the unconscious Jeong Haseong, which immediately caused a huge commotion.

“It’s Hunter Kang Changho!”

“Two S-ranks…!”

“Is that really Jeong Haseong? Why is Jeong Haseong collapsed?”

The onlookers couldn’t cross the control line recklessly, probably because there were police around.

In the end, the first person to speak to the S-rank hunter was a man in black clothes who was waiting near the gate.

“Hunter Kang Changho? We’ll need to take a statement.”

“Is he from the Association?”

“Yes.”

The Earthling in a suit glanced at the unconscious S-rank hunter.

“Actually, there are many things I want to ask, but I think there’s a question that should be prioritized. Why is Hunter Jeong Haseong unconscious?”

“Ah, this.”

“Could it be that he was caught by a gate gimmick?”

Kang Changho shook his head at the Association employee’s question.

And then he slightly raised his index finger and pointed it straight at a certain man.

“No! There was a bit of a conflict over choosing a sacrifice inside the gate. So, that guy knocked Jeong Haseong unconscious.”

Then the Association employee adjusted his glasses and raised his voice.

“What did you say? That person knocked out Jeong Haseong?”

A false statement as soon as I got out!

I was half-disgusted by Kang Changho’s actions and contorted my lips.

“That doesn’t make any sense! How could the Rank 1 of Korea be defeated by a hunter like that, whom I’m seeing for the first time?”

The only saving grace was that the Association employee was thinking straight…

“Tell me honestly. Kang Changho-ssi, isn’t it true that you’re the one who did this to Jeong Haseong?”

The more the other party doubted, the more confidently Kang Changho acted.

“Hey, don’t just stand there listening, why don’t you say something?”

Well, that’s because he has something to rely on.

‘Ugh.’

Even at this moment, Kang Changho was standing in the Association employee’s blind spot, sending me a cold glare.

I felt like that gaze meant he would kill me if I didn’t perjure myself quickly.

So, I immediately fulfilled the promise.

“Well, it’s true that I… am the one who caused Hunter Jeong Haseong to be unconscious.”

“Uh, uh?”

Since we had already agreed on what to say before coming out, the explanation flowed smoothly.

“But I didn’t do it to harm him. I just put him to sleep for a smooth raid, so could you please be lenient this time? I’m sorry.”

We prioritized closing the gate that was a threat to humanity, and that’s how the accident happened.

Where else would you find a more common excuse than this?

“I will personally apologize to Haseong-ssi when he wakes up.”

I subtly used a trick. If I say this, the case will likely flow in the direction of being resolved between the parties involved.

‘Let’s reduce the scale of this incident for now. I don’t want to go to court and lie…’

Of course, the victim himself, who knows all the circumstances, would be very dumbfounded to hear my lie.

But wouldn’t it be okay somehow if I give him the dungeon rewards and apologize sincerely?

“No, that can’t be! It must have been something that the other S-rank hunter did…”

Just as I was having complacent thoughts.

The Association employee looked at the two of us in turns, with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, Kang Changho made a sudden move.

“Oh, Kang Changho-ssi!”

The S-rank hunter took a step forward as if to say something to the Association employee, then staggered greatly.

Now that I look at him, his complexion is pale, and he’s even sweating from dizziness…

“Hoo, he’s been spouting nonsense since earlier.”

It was too realistic to be acting.

Because he really did lose a considerable amount of blood inside the gate.

“Can’t you tell by looking? Do I look like I’m in a state to do anything to Jeong Haseong right now?”

“Are you, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just get out of the way!”

The Association employee hurriedly stepped back when he shouted with a half-annoyed tone.

‘He’s making a fuss even though he’s not in a serious condition.’

I was annoyed by his trickery, but I couldn’t show my dissatisfaction.

“Just a moment! Hunter-nim! Is what you just said true? Is it really your fault that Jeong Haseong-ssi is unconscious?”

“Did you knock out an S-rank?”

Then, the Earthlings outside the control line shouted at the top of their lungs.

I just explained it, do I have to say the same thing again?

But they were about to keep nagging until they got an answer, so I just answered them roughly.

“Yes, yes.”

Even though it was a half-hearted answer, it was enough, and the questions soon stopped.

However, I saw a somewhat familiar device in the area where the onlookers were standing.

‘What is that thing?’

A few days ago, when I was watching An Yunseung’s dungeon break cleanup.

The thing that the man who was picking a fight was holding suddenly came to mind.

I know its name. And I also knew its approximate function.

‘So, it was a tool for recording the situation I’m seeing right now, right?’

Camera.

I stared blankly at the Earth tools they were holding, then turned around.

‘I don’t know why they’re filming my face for no reason. It doesn’t seem like it’s something worth saving and reviewing.’

It’s easy to forget, but I’m an alien who hasn’t been on this planet for long.

There are surprisingly many blanks in Kim Giryeo’s memories, so he sometimes doesn’t know very obvious and common sense information.

Therefore, I was completely unaware of how and by whom the information I always saw on my mobile phone was updated.

‘Okay, I’m tired, let’s just go home.’

…It was 24 hours later that I, who was like that, learned about the connection between ‘reporters’, ‘cameras’, and ‘video uploads’ on Earth.

◈◈◈

24 hours later.

A restaurant near Kim Giryeo’s house.

“Slurp.”

It was the same shop where I was caught for eating without paying on my first day of reincarnation. I blew on the milky broth and took a sip, then reached for the pickled radish with my chopsticks.

But there was someone who stopped me from doing that.

“Excuse me, hyung.”

The Earthling sitting in the chair across from me asked with a pale face.

“I saw the articles that came out this morning, before they were deleted.”

“……..”

“…Is it true that you knocked out Hunter Jeong Haseong?”

The reason why An Yunseung urgently asked to meet must have been to confirm the facts.

I paused my chopsticks for a moment, then answered in a quiet voice.

“It roughly went that way.”

An Yunseung is a good Earthling, but that doesn’t mean I can be sure that he won’t spread my words.

“Haaa…”

I’ve never been threatened to be killed if I don’t lie in my entire life.

An Yunseung was looking at me with a surprised expression, his mouth covered, but I was too tired right now to even try to guess what he was thinking.

“Anyway, you definitely didn’t get caught up in that EX-rank gate yesterday, right? Are you okay?”

I naturally changed the subject, afraid that An Yunseung might ask another question for no reason.

It was at that moment.

━Booo-ooong, booo-ooong.

“Hyung, I think your phone is ringing?”

The mobile phone vibrated in my pants pocket.

The name on the screen was ‘Restricted Caller ID’.

“Hello?”

I put down the spoon I was holding and fumbled to answer the phone.

Then, an unexpected voice flowed from the speaker.

━Is this Hunter Kim Giryeo’s number?

“Yes.”

━This is Jeong Haseong.

“Ah! Yes!”

Come to think of it, I did leave my number with the Association yesterday, saying that I would apologize personally.

As soon as I checked the caller, I straightened my posture and spoke.

“Just a moment. But before we talk for a bit.”

Since Jeong Haseong contacted me.

“Are you available for a video call right now?”

I glanced around the restaurant to see if there was any space to lie down.

Where would be a good place to bang my head?