What do you mean, an experimental body? I frowned at the first story I heard. I don't know how suspicious the plan was, but I wondered why they chose an awakened person as a test subject.

Awakened ones are so natural that it is difficult for them to be lured or forcibly abducted compared to ordinary people. In this case, it means that there is something that can only be obtained from the awakened ones, so they were using them as an experiment. I could only think of it as an overly sophisticated experiment. What are they trying to get at all costs?

Observing the pensive face, Saeyoung asked in a quiet voice.

"Do you know how to awaken?"

"To be chosen by the system, no?"

I thought back to the day the system appeared. Every time I remember a scene, it's accompanied by another sensation: a sound I heard, a smell I smelled, or a touch I felt. For me, the day of the rupture was a memory that held them all.

In the midst of the chaos, where everything was broken and collapsed, I hugged the bodies of my parents, crouched in the cracks of the collapsed building. A stench of burning and blood. A cold body temperature. The sound of a monster's footsteps scratching through the street ringing in my ears.

Sa-young nodded.

"Right, so what does the system look at to select an awakener?"

When Sa-young touched the glass with his finger, the black blood that had been stagnant after the glass had been melted became mushy and gathered together to form the shape of a man and a monster. A black monster rushed towards a small black person.

"The System,"

A square window appeared above the small black man's head.

"Responds to desperate wishes..."

I want to live.

I don't want to die.

The black man also lunged at the monster, not able to avoid it. Of the two figures that had been tossing and turning for a long time, the monster returned with black blood.

"When a person has a desperate wish, the system is attracted by that energy and finds him."

"......."

"It is common knowledge. That's why people who are swept away by rifts are more likely to awaken than ordinary people. It's also a kind of wish to pray that you don't want to die."

I stared at the figure of a black man standing alone. When Sa-young moved his finger, the black person also turned into a small puddle.

"But... there are people who are unhappy with that fact."

I slowly raised my head and looked at Sa-young.

"I mean, do you know what I mean?"

Right now, the system is absolute and omnipotent. Most people live in compliance, but those who feel the system's decision is unfair are different. Maybe people should be able to awaken their abilities on their own.

Sa-young, who read Ui-jae's more serious expression, asked with his chin on his hand.

"Is it possible that the people you mentioned are the same as the drug dealers?"

"Hmm, think about it."

Sa-young said in a voice with a hint of mischief.

"Did I tell you all this just to ask you that..."

At that moment, I lifted the table next to me and thought for three seconds whether to plant the table instead of the hair he didn't have, but I held it as much as the situation was. Even though Sa-young asked back like that, I didn't seem frustrated, so I was able to think hard.

"You said you were unhappy with the system's decision."

If, as I suspect, the drug is being sold by mysterious individuals who want to awaken their abilities. And if they're using it as bait to collect awakened people to use as guinea pigs, then ....

"Are you saying that they're doing this to artificially create an awakened person?"

"Correct."

This time, Sa-young replied coolly without beating around the bush. I felt as if my whole body was slowly growing out of my fingertips.

It was a plausible argument on the surface, but he had a hunch that there must be another purpose behind it.

It is a drug. Once addicted, they explode in aggression, lose their minds, and finally die with their dignity tarnished. There was no way they were feeding it to the awakened as an experiment.

"Suppose they artificially created an awakened person. What then?"

What will they do with the awakened ones? When I crossed my arms and hinted at it, Sa-young pulled out his clenched hand and shrugged.

"I don't remember, but I think they said something about stopping the apocalypse."

"The apocalypse?"

"I don't know, I wasn't listening closely enough."

The Apocalypse. Right after the day of the rift, there were a lot of people screaming that the apocalypse had come. But that was 11 years ago. In an age where we can know in advance when and where the rifts will open, are there still people like that?

Sa-young seemed to have a sour attitude, whether he meant it or not.

"Anyway, I have no favor to ask of my Hyung right now."

He put the dagger and the empty bottle of nectar into his inventory. Then he stood up, touched his clothes and added with a nuance that he would leave now.

"Let's take care of the hunter registration first, and I'll send someone here tomorrow."

"Okay. Oh, and one more thing."

When an eyebrow was raised, as if there was more business, I pointed to the black-melted table.

"Take care of the table."

"......."

It would not do to seat guests at a poisoned table. Sa-young's purple eyes looked at me as if to say, "Are you serious?" but I pointed my finger firmly at the table with an expression of indecision.

It is said that the place where a beautiful person stays is also beautiful, but your temper is far from beautiful, so it was a silent pressure to do something about it.

Eventually, Sa-young was able to leave, but only after putting the broken table in his inventory.
 

Even after Lee Sa-young came and went, the Haejangguk was still bustling with customers having breakfast before going to work. Of course, Bae Won-woo was one of them.

Yawning, Bae Won-woo arrived at the Haejangguk house and stood at the door for a moment, squinting. For some reason, the restaurant seemed more crowded than usual.

"Huh? Did the table get smaller?"

"What? That's right."

The other hunter who had passed him looked inside and nodded that it was indeed the case. He also gave a thumbs up and admired Bae Won-woo's sharp eyes.

"No wonder it looked a bit empty. Part-timer, where's the table that was here?"

"......."

"You're only quick-witted at times like this. Why don't you do it normally?

The hunter was blind when he needed to be, but he was quick to notice the smallest things. After a long, wistful look at the empty middle of the store, I replied.

"I thought the table leg would break... I put it away for now."

Working in Haejangguk's house was all about lying, but the hunters knew there was more to it when they saw his sweet face. As they all wondered what was going on, one of the hunters said carefully,

"No way... what kind of damn hunter broke the table?"

Yes, I'm Number One. I did not answer, but my face filled with excellence was nothing but a positive meaning. The brash hunter tried to smash the table, but he was nimble and hit his thigh. He was no match for the guy who was supposed to have broken the table.

"Shit, this is why hunter bashing is a social problem."

"What kind of motherfucker do you think you are? Do you know how fragile our Haejangguk house tables are?"

"We're already running out of seats!"

"Just tell us who you are and we'll take care of it for you."

Repeated criticism poured out at anyone who touched the small and precious haejangguk house of the hunters. The main character of the last sentence was Bae Won-woo.

You can't take care of Lee Sa-young.

I'm not a seer, but I can see that Lee Sae-young's future will be reduced to a speck of dust, which makes my face even more painful. Bae Won-woo, the man of loyalty among the boys, would have said that to be reliable, but it was rather counterproductive. The sadness on his face doubled because he spit out a piece of blood at dawn and his face looked pale today.

The hunters began to comfort Ui-jae.

"Don't be sad, part-timer."

"I'll have our guild craftsman make us a damn sturdy table."

"Why don't you change the table and chairs while you're at it, and we'll collect the money."

They were really worried about Haejangguk House, or maybe it was a sense of urgency that the fight for seats at mealtime would become more intense. I laughed at the hunters' offer, a mixture of genuine concern and private anger at the lack of seats.

"Ha ha... I don't need it."