Chapter 73: 1093 days without sleep

Kang Ian awakened in the third year after Dungeons invaded the world.

The world was overrun by countless Dungeons of all sizes. Fortunately, the awakening of Hunters followed shortly after, but it still plunged the world into chaos for the first few years.

The Hunter Management Association established during that period was a chaotic organization.

Most government employees were deployed into the Hunter Management Association to handle all kinds of issues across the country. It could be said they woke up earlier than chickens, slept later than dogs, and working was no different from being slaves.

In those days, the job of a government employee was voted as the number one worst job in the Hunter era.

At that time, Kang Ian was still a freshly employed government worker.

He studied and graduated from an ordinary university. Because his parents both wanted him to become a government employee, Kang Ian followed their wishes, passed the exam, and became one.

Government employees were never idle to begin with, and being one during the Dungeon invasion era made it even worse. It was so hectic that whenever he looked back, Kang Ian still couldn’t understand how he had gotten through that period.

Every day he had to face massive amounts of data, and Hunters were always coming around to cause trouble.

Sleep deprivation, overtime, hair loss, malnutrition.

These occupational hazards of government employees engulfed the fresh graduate Kang Ian.

Until Kang Ian realized he hadn’t been able to sleep for an entire week.

Every time he closed his eyes, his mind stayed completely alert, and the numbers in his work documents wouldn’t let him go.

Kang Ian thought he had a health problem, but getting a medical checkup didn’t help much. The doctors could only conclude that he was stressed from work and showing symptoms of nervous tension.

It was around that time that he accidentally used gravity powers to collapse his own house, officially awakening as a Hunter.

Upon awakening, Kang Ian was already an S-rank Hunter.

His reputation quickly spread throughout Korea.

In that era, Korea didn’t have any SS-rank Hunters yet, so S-rank Hunters were the peak of the time. A Hunter who awakened straight into the peak like Kang Ian became a figure hailed as the "savior of Korea."

However, Kang Ian didn’t grow arrogant. He simply quit the government job that had drained all his strength and spirit, choosing to become a freelance Hunter instead.

Very quickly, Kang Ian realized he needed his own Guild to gather Hunters around him in order to gain maximum freedom.

The Guild Crying Ghost was founded at that time. Moon So Yeon also worked with Kang Ian from the early days of the Guild’s founding, and she was the one who knew best just how terrible his mental condition was.

Kang Ian’s sleepless nights grew longer and longer.

Every method Moon So Yeon found was useless. A Hunter’s body was too powerful for medicine or hypnosis to have any effect. Items crafted and applied to Kang Ian by Craftsmen only worked a few times before losing their effectiveness.

By the time Kang Ian became an SS-rank Hunter, the situation got even worse.

An SS-rank Hunter’s body was a perfect lifeform, with a long lifespan, resistance to all diseases, and immunity to all negative effects.

There was no longer any Craftsman who could create an item that would help him close his eyes.

Kei was stunned when he heard all this.

He instinctively asked Kang Ian:

"So... how long has it been since you slept?"

Kang Ian let out an "ah."

He calculated briefly, then smiled and gave the exact answer:

"It’s been 1093 days since I last closed my eyes."

That meant roughly 3 years, and Kang Ian hadn’t slept at all during that time. Just thinking about it made Kei shudder. He couldn’t help but raise his hand and gently touch the two dark bags under Kang Ian’s eyes.

"Mmm..."

Kang Ian closed his eyes, let out a soft hum from his throat, and let Kei touch his face.

"What’s wrong,""Fascinated by my handsome face, are you?"

Kei was startled, pulled his hand back, and glared as he asked:

"How can you call yourself a poor civil servant? I think you’re more like a smooth-talking playboy!"

Kang Ian always exuded a lazy and teasing aura, and every time Kei met him, he would be teased to the point of frustration.

"I’ve always been like this. Who said civil servants can’t be playful? Besides, I quit my job a long time ago!"

Kang Ian smirked.

Kei glared at Kang Ian, but in the end, he had to admit defeat to this shameless man.

Kim Sora had just finished her work and walked over to Kei and Kang Ian, curiously staring at Kang Ian.

Unlike other top-tier SS-rank hunters who lived a low-key lifestyle, Kang Ian didn’t hide himself at all. In fact, his face was a brand often seen on TV and in advertisements, so Kim Sora was no stranger to him.

It’s just that Kei really did know quite a few high-ranking hunters. Sora knew that Kei was a special figure, he possessed extraordinary power and knowledge from another world, which naturally attracted strong people to come and learn about him.

Kang Ian merely nodded lightly at Kim Sora.

The information about Kei had been thoroughly investigated and sent directly to Kang Ian, how Kei suddenly appeared in Dong-San City, was taken in by Mrs. Kim Hye Ji, registered for an identity, and then Kim Sora came from another city to help him...

All one could say was that Kei was truly lucky to have met them.

Regarding Kei’s identity, it is obvious that Kang Ian knows that Kei cannot suddenly appear out of thin air. The "magic power" he mentioned in his conversation with Moon So Yeon is something that has never existed on Earth, at least no hunter has ever been recorded to awaken with that different type of energy.

However, Kang Ian didn’t mind much.

Because there are a lot of people who suddenly appeared out of thin air after the Dungeon appeared.

The most typical are Black Dragon Kai and Angel Kang Mi So.

It wasn’t until a dragon and an angel flew in the sky that humans were surprised to realize how unscientific this world had become.