Only after being hit once did Kang Yujun come to his senses and turn toward the monster, deploying a water curtain.
Meanwhile, white steam rose from Lee Kanghyun’s wound. Bone and flesh filled in the blink of an eye, and in an instant, it returned to his original arm without a single scar.
This was Lee Kanghyun’s ability.
Lee Kanghyun’s body exceeded the norm in every aspect. Within that transcendent ability was also included absolute regeneration.
His physical regeneration was absurdly fast, to the point where he didn’t need healers or potions.
Still, the pain didn’t disappear.
Lee Kanghyun clenched and unclenched his regenerated left hand. It was already a regrown arm, but it still throbbed. The pain still remained. His nerves felt like they were burning up.
He shoved his hand into his pants pocket and rummaged around. A small patch the size of a coin caught on his fingertips. After roughly tearing off the packaging, without even considering that it should be applied to skin, he shoved it into his mouth. The disgusting taste rose up to the point tears welled up, but he forcibly chewed and swallowed what barely even chewed.
Altrapin. An illegal drug that came out in the world after gates opened. It was the most powerful painkiller among existing drugs.
Altrapin was a painkiller that came out for high-ranking hunters whom ordinary drugs didn’t work on. However, the side effects were just as severe, so most people didn’t use it unless they had lost their minds, and the country soon banned its distribution and consumption.
But Lee Kanghyun still took Altrapin. He had no choice. Painkillers other than Altrapin didn’t work.
Since he even chewed up a patch that should be applied, the drug took effect quickly. Lee Kanghyun stood still with his eyes closed, waiting for the drug to spread throughout his body.
“Ha….”
He let out a languid breath. The pain gradually faded. His senses also dulled. It seemed like something was shouting, but he couldn’t perceive it.
At that moment, something pushed Lee Kanghyun hard. Lee Kanghyun, who had been standing powerlessly, rolled on the ground.
“Fuck, snap out of it! Lee Kanghyun!”
Someone straddled Lee Kanghyun, who had fallen to the ground, and shook his shoulders. Only then did Lee Kanghyun blink.
“…Kang Yujun?”
It was Kang Yujun. His usual neat appearance was nowhere to be found. A dust-covered face, disheveled hair, and bloodshot red eyes filled Lee Kanghyun’s vision.
“Do you want to die?! Why are you just standing there! Is this the time to space out?”
Kang Yujun shouted loud enough to burst his eardrums. At that desperate voice, Lee Kanghyun snapped to attention even in the midst of being dazed from the drug.
He slowly got up. The surroundings were a mess. The monster’s black tentacles were sweeping everywhere.
It seemed that just moments ago, Kang Yujun had thrown himself to block the tentacle that flew toward him standing there blankly. Because of that, his left shoulder was deeply cut and bleeding.
“You’re bleeding….”
“Is that important right now? You almost died just now!”
Kang Yujun, gasping for breath, grabbed Lee Kanghyun’s shoulder.
“Your arm? Are you okay?”
Kang Yujun, who had been carefully examining the arm with trembling hands, froze. Lee Kanghyun silently showed his regenerated arm. It was smooth without a single scar.
Kang Yujun’s eyes widened. Still full of disbelief and anxiety, he grabbed Lee Kanghyun’s arm and examined it thoroughly.
It had definitely been melted by poison just moments ago. But now it was fine without a single scratch.
Lee Kanghyun kindly explained for Kang Yujun, who still didn’t know about his ability.
“It’s one of my abilities. Physical regeneration. An arm or so recovers instantly.”
Nevertheless, Kang Yujun’s hands were trembling finely. The shock of seeing the arm melt before his eyes seemed not to have faded.
“I don’t die from shit like that.”
It was the truth. Physical attacks like this only hurt a little and didn’t do much damage, so it was fine.
It regenerates anyway.
“Even if a limb or two flies off, it recovers in 1 second. Even if my heart bursts, it grows back. So don’t make a fuss.”
At Lee Kanghyun’s nonchalant voice, Kang Yujun’s head shot up.
“A fuss? Is that what you should be saying right now?”
A low voice roughly retorted.
“Your flesh melted. The bone was completely visible. Didn’t you see it with your own eyes? Even after seeing that….”
“Yeah. I saw it. But it grew back. Isn’t that enough?”
“Lee Kanghyun!”
Kang Yujun shouted angrily.
Ah, so noisy.
It was when Kanghyun, frowning, turned his gaze.
KRAAAAA!
The monster let out an unpleasant roar and extended its tentacles again. This time dozens flew simultaneously.
“Move.”
After pushing away Kang Yujun who was about to nag more, Lee Kanghyun stepped forward.
The drug had perfectly taken over his entire body.
The terrible pain disappeared, and his head cooled down. A state of perfect numbness where he felt no pain, no fear, and not even annoyance.
Only one emotion remained for Lee Kanghyun now.
Annoying.
That sticky monster, Kang Yujun’s face on the verge of crying from worrying about him… no, is he crying? Anyway, that face, this terrible drug smell, the disgusting taste remaining in his mouth—everything was annoying.
Lee Kanghyun, who had been staring at the approaching tentacles, kicked off the ground.
KWAANG!
With just a simple leap, the ground he stood on deeply caved in.
He reached right in front of the monster in an instant.
As if the monster felt threatened, it frantically spewed black poison. Lee Kanghyun didn’t avoid that extreme poison that would melt the entire body if touched.
Hiiisss—!
His skin melted. But the regeneration speed was faster than the melting speed.
The process of flesh burning away and being filled repeated every second.
Thanks to chewing and swallowing Altrapin, he felt nothing.
Lee Kanghyun threw a punch.
The monster’s giant body burst like a balloon. Body fragments flew everywhere and stuck all over Lee Kanghyun. Normally he would have vomited long ago, but thanks to taking Altrapin, he felt nothing.
Lee Kanghyun casually rubbed and wiped off the flesh fragments that splattered on his cheek.
KIEEEEK!
The monster screamed, but he didn’t stop. He stepped on air and leaped again.
Every time his fist struck, chunks of the monster’s flesh fell off. Black blood poured down like rain, soaking Lee Kanghyun’s entire body, but he didn’t even blink.
Rather, his movements became faster and more cruel.
When an arm melted, he let it grow back, when a leg broke, he aligned the bones and kicked the body again.
Quickly. I need to finish quickly and go.
He had to finish before the drug wore off, before the pain came rushing back.
I want to go home. I want to hurry home, wash up, and lie down.
Lee Kanghyun plunged his hand toward the core in the monster’s heart.
Squelch.
He pierced through solid muscle and bone with his bare hands. The hot, hard texture of the core caught at his fingertips.
Got it.
He crushed the core without hesitation.
The monster’s massive body stopped convulsing. Soon it lost strength and fell to the ground with a thud.
A heavy silence came to the inside of the gate.
Lee Kanghyun stood on the monster’s corpse, covered in blood. Not even rough breathing could be heard.
Kang Yujun was looking up at Lee Kanghyun with a dazed expression.
Lee Kanghyun slowly looked back. His eyes, unfocused from the drug, turned toward Kang Yujun.
“Hey.”
He opened his mouth. His voice came out cracked.
“Let’s go home.”
With those words, Lee Kanghyun’s body collapsed forward.
“Lee Kanghyun!”
Kang Yujun, who called Lee Kanghyun’s name like a scream, ran over and caught him as he fell.
Kang Yujun’s embrace as he pulled the body in was excessively hot. The shirt touching his skin was wet and damp.
…Is he really crying?
So annoying, really.
“Lee Kanghyun! Snap out of it!”
Kang Yujun shouted while holding the limp Lee Kanghyun.
Because he had taken the drug after such a long time, it didn’t feel real. His body had no strength and his mind was foggy. His eyes kept closing.
“So noisy….”
Lee Kanghyun muttered like that and smoothly fell asleep.
***
When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
The white ceiling was high and the space was ridiculously wide.
Lee Kanghyun lifted his arm slightly. An IV was inserted. So it’s a hospital.
Didn’t even need to come. Unnecessarily.
It was a scene closer to a hotel suite than a hospital. Only the pungent smell of disinfectant proved this was a hospital room.
“Ugh.”
Lee Kanghyun frowned and tried to get up. But his body drooped and was heavy like waterlogged cotton. It seemed the drug’s effects still remained.
“You’re up.”
A cool voice was heard from beside the bed.
Lee Kanghyun turned his head. Kang Yujun was sitting on the sofa next to the bed with his arms crossed.
His gaze naturally went to Kang Yujun’s shoulder. It had become fine, probably after receiving treatment from a healer.
“Water….”
Lee Kanghyun mumbled. Kang Yujun let out a deep sigh, then opened a water bottle and poured water into a cup.
As the cool water passed down his esophagus, Lee Kanghyun finally felt like he could live. His mind gradually returned.
And he recalled his memories.
I chewed up Altrapin and fought like a crazy person. In front of Kang Yujun.
I’m screwed.
His state at that time was abnormal no matter who saw it. I can’t get caught taking drugs. It’s an illegal drug, so it’s big trouble if I get caught.
No matter how much Lee Kanghyun paid fines like eating meals, he didn’t want prison.
The moment he glanced up, their eyes met. It was the moment he swallowed a sigh at the premonition that things were about to get very annoying.
“Are you crazy? Are you in your right mind? Why fight like that? Your flesh is melting and bones are popping out but you just charge in recklessly? Is that hunting? That’s self-harm blackmail!”
Kang Yujun shouted angrily.
“Watching from behind, I thought my heart would drop. Can’t you feel pain? Do you have no pain?”
If I say ‘it hurt so much I took drugs’ here, knowing Kang Yujun’s personality, he’d report it immediately and I’d go to prison, and if I say it was bearable, I’d be treated like a psycho. It wasn’t pain anyone would see as bearable.
Then there’s only one method.
“I can’t feel it. Pain.”
Lee Kanghyun calmly spat out a lie.
“I can’t feel pain. That’s why I fought like that. I’m not in pain anyway.”
Kang Yujun’s expression became blank. It seemed to be an unexpected answer.
“You have no sense of pain?”
“Yeah. It’s been like that since I awakened. Whether an arm gets cut off or flesh melts, I don’t feel anything.”
This was the perfect excuse. If he said he had no sense of pain, Kang Yujun would freak out less even if he got hurt in the future, and he could fight more comfortably.
Lee Kanghyun was impressed with himself. He was proud of himself for coming up with a good idea after a long time.
