LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Can’t Be Delayed
“Did you hear? 5th Floor, Unit 2 was super quiet during the night shift yesterday. Am I just lucky?”
“Did you not hear the news?”
“What news?”
“Lee Si-hyun caught Man-deok like a rat.”
“What? Man-deok caught that jerk?”
“Yeah, he’s so scared now, he’s totally cowering.”
“No way, that’s gotta be a false rumor.”
“Nope, Park Young-hwan saw it himself and spread the word.”
“Whoa, how did someone who can’t even catch a CRPT manage to catch him? I can’t believe this. Did he, like, beat him up or something?”
“Hey, in this day and age, how can you hit an inmate? You’d get into huge trouble. The chief was outside, so he didn’t hear it all, but I heard he got verbally wrecked.”
“How do you wreck that guy with just words? I didn’t think Lee Si-hyun had it in him.”
Rumors spread quickly in the prison.
At first, everyone was skeptical.
But seeing Man-deok so subdued made it hard not to believe it.
The ward chief was worried he might file a complaint about mistreatment, but seeing Man-deok staring blankly at the ceiling with a sickly face only made him click his tongue in disappointment.
It was a complete 180-degree change in Si-hyun’s image.
◈ ◈ ◈
Daehan Correctional Facility held outdoor exercises for the inmates once a week, rotating between three wards daily.
The method was simple.
The lead, middle, and final exercise correctional officers would gather, and then the lead would take the inmates out in order.
The lead officer would go first, opening the doors, the middle officer would walk among the inmates, and the final officer would bring up the rear as they descended the stairs.
Once they arrived at the main exercise yard, they would conduct a headcount and start the workout.
Today was the day for outdoor exercises for the 5th Floor, Unit 2 assigned to Si-hyun. It was the first turn.
As usual, Si-hyun stood at the front, leading the inmates down the stairs.
But there was one glaring difference.
Something so bizarre it sent chills down his spine.
It was the inmates.
“….”
The officer in the back, Choi Sang-sik, looked completely shocked, as if he had seen a ghost.
The inmates were going down the stairs in a single-file line on the right.
And they were orderly, too.
Is this even real?
What kind of model citizens are these?
Normally, they would be shouting and making a racket as they tumbled down the stairs, chatting away like it’s nothing.
But now it seemed like they had glue on their mouths; it was eerily quiet.
It was so quiet, it could give a library a run for its money.
“Whoa….”
It was even more of a sight once they reached the main exercise yard.
In the past, there would be loud shouts ordering them to line up, but now they formed neat lines in perfect rows of eight.
They didn’t even whisper.
Even the marines wouldn’t be able to achieve that level of discipline.
“What the heck… is this a military camp? Are we in the army or something?”
Choi Sang-sik muttered in disbelief, unable to grasp the absurdity of the situation.
Though still a newcomer, he had spent a year at the prison, and this was a sight he had never witnessed before.
No, he hadn’t even dared to imagine it.
“Okay, let’s check the headcount. Sit down in your number order.”
As Si-hyun said this, the inmates loudly counted off as they sat down. If one were to close their eyes and listen, they could almost mistake them for disciplined soldiers.
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
“Ten!”
Si-hyun confirmed the count and contacted Section Chief Park Young-hwan in the ward via TRS.
“There are 80 inmates participating in outdoor exercises in 5th Floor, Unit 2. We’ll begin the exercises now.”
Beep.
He blew the whistle, as per the new security department head’s guidelines to use a whistle during outdoor exercises.
“Okay, let’s start exercising. It will end at 10:10. No loud noises, no kickball. And keep away from the doors. Now, let’s go!”
As soon as Si-hyun finished speaking, the inmates began their workout.
Walking, running.
Strangely, none of the inmates were taking off their uniforms. Usually, during outdoor exercises, it was common to see inmates stripped down and running around. Correctional officers wouldn’t even bat an eye at that.
But not a single inmate in this unit was taking off their uniform.
Choi Sang-sik could only muster an expression of disbelief.
“Hyung, what is going on here? How did you establish this order among the inmates?”
“I figured I had loosened things up too much, so I tightened the reins a bit.”
“Hah… but establishing order among inmates isn’t just about discipline. I’m truly impressed.”
“Haha, nothing much. But today, you should be on your toes. The security department head is coming by during exercise time.”
“Whoa, really? I almost missed that. I’m heading over there, Hyung.”
Choi Sang-sik exclaimed in surprise and rushed toward the entrance. Another officer, already aware, stood at the opposite door.
Si-hyun was positioned in the very center of the main exercise yard.
The inmates’ behavior was perfect, and there was no reason for them to be criticized.
‘But…’
There was something weighing on his mind.
It wasn’t work-related.
Work was going perfectly smooth, better than he could have hoped.
What troubled him was something about the Awakening.
Si-hyun opened his stat window.
<Stats> Strength 101 (D) Agility 101 (D) Wisdom 110 (D) Endurance 101 (D) Mental Power 210 (D) Magic Power 99 (E)
After diligently completing quests, his stats had recovered significantly. Now, there were more D’s than E’s.
But there were two issues at hand.
The first problem was that no matter how many quests he completed, his Magic Power no longer increased.
At first, he thought it was nothing serious.
However, as time went on, even Wisdom and Mental Power went up, but Magic Power remained stagnant.
It definitely seemed to move in tandem with those two stats, yet it refused to budge. He was starting to ponder if this was a limit.
The bigger issue came from the fact that if he didn’t publicly reveal his stats, his rank would inevitably drop to E.
And Si-hyun had no intention of revealing his stats to the Hunter Association.
He had a hunch that he was quite an unusual Awakened Being. That was essentially a hidden weapon for him. Sharing that information was out of the question.
It was a dilemma, indeed.
The second problem involved Strength, Agility, and Endurance.
Until now, just by eating well, his abilities were sky-high, but the moment he exceeded 100 and hit D rank, the quests changed dramatically.
And in a completely ridiculous way.
[As your health recovers, Po-ahim’s blood as an executioner begins to boil again. Calm his boiling blood.]
[Quest: Kill a human or human-type monster. 0/10]
Damn it.
This guy apparently doesn’t realize this is essentially a country where the death penalty has been abolished. Then again, isn’t it strange that he would?
At least it was somewhat fortunate that the target wasn’t a death row inmate, but rather a human or human-type monster.
He figured the system had adapted to the environment here.
Anyway, killing humans was out of the question, and it seemed like entering the Gate was the only option left.
It couldn’t be delayed.
To do that, he’d need to acquire a license, and then, he’d be E rank…
‘…Well, it is what it is.’
Si-hyun scratched his cheek.
And soloing with these stats was absolutely out of the question.
If he was to hunt with a party, he’d need to join a guild.
Any guild would do, but he absolutely wanted to avoid the one where his ex-girlfriend Su-jin was.
Creek.
The sound of the entrance door opening snapped Si-hyun from his thoughts.
The entrance door to the main yard made a metallic sound every time it opened, probably due to its age.
The security department head, Kim Seong-han, was heading this way with a correctional officer and the deputy chief.
The security department head was known for his strict adherence to rules, to the point where he wasn’t very popular among the staff.
Taking a quick glance, it seemed like his expression was quite good.
Given his personality, he would surely be pleased at seeing the well-disciplined inmates of the exercise yard.
“On duty, continue your work!”
As the security department head approached, Si-hyun saluted him.
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
He smiled and clapped Si-hyun on the shoulder.
“Your name is Lee Si-hyun, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I hear you’ve been getting good reviews lately.”
“Oh, really? I wasn’t aware.”
“Haha, usually we learn about our own rumors late. Keep up the good work.”
“Thank you. I will continue to work hard.”
“Well then, keep it up.”
The security department head’s group walked away through the opposite door.
Looking at the chief’s expression, Si-hyun felt like his performance evaluation this time was guaranteed to be good.
‘At this rate, am I going to get an S rating on my performance bonus?’
An S rating gives 172.5% of the base salary, over 3.5 million won. For Si-hyun, who had always received C and B, it was something he had always envied.
If he actually got an S, he thought he might indulge in a hearty feast of beef after a long time.
‘Ah, and I need to take my leave next Monday.’
Si-hyun resolved to visit the Hunter Association on a weekday when it was less crowded, rather than during the jam-packed weekend.