Episode 107. Robbing an Empty House (2)
Thwack.
With a dull hitting sound, his head swung back. The tip of my fist was numb. His body was so tough that I couldn’t believe I had just hit a person. Is his skull made of steel or what?
“A-argh!”
He briefly groaned. The attack was shallow because his bones were so strong.
“What are you…!”
He quickly lifted his hand in defense. But it was no use. He was dangerous because of his tricky Mana Manipulation, which couldn’t be classified as either a skill or Characteristic. No matter how strong his body was, he couldn’t beat me in physical combat.
Craaack.
“Aaaargh!”
I grabbed the hand he moved and twisted it the other way around. His bones tore out of his skin. I kicked him in the chest, still grabbing onto his wrist. The short movement contained powerful force, and one of his arms was separated from his body.
As his arm ripped off, blood poured out. His face turned red, and he screamed in pain.
-This is precious data collected by Hunters who sacrificed themselves. Analyst Jeong Si-woo, this… will be enough, right?
There was no need to gather information on him by prolonging the fight. My analysis of him was already complete before I came back in time. I put together the data in my head, and the strategy to beat him came to my mind like an answer sheet to an exam. There’s no way he can beat me at this distance.
“Piss off!!!”
His ability and the source of the power he used to shred apart nearby living beings, was sound. His vocal cords caused mana to vibrate, and the bigger the decibel, the stronger the effect was.
He shouted right in my face, and my body shook as if an earthquake had hit it. It was so powerful that ordinary people would have immediately turned to dust. But my body was now a weapon honed to the point that I could no longer be called an ordinary person.
Countless Status and mana come together to strengthen me, and the martial arts and Ki originating from the Spirit of Moorim makes me solid.
The body of a Hunter, and a 1st class Hunter at that, was not weak enough to collapse under such a quake. My joints shiver, and my skin rips. But this isn’t enough to make me back off.
His ability was only classified as highly dangerous because he could massacre a large number of civilians at once. As long as I had accurate data analysis and the right attack strategy, he was not my match.
My hand penetrates the vibrating mana and reaches out once more.
Thunk!
I kicked the piece of wood he was using as a cane and broke it. He instantly lost his balance. The moment he fell forward, I leaped up from the ground and smacked his chest with my knee. With the sound of something breaking, he threw up blood.
Thwack.
I used the rotational force of my leg to trample his foot right away. Along with the sound of his foot being crushed, his face crumpled up.
At the same time, a Mirage flew like a stinging bee according to my will. The solid body that he would have acquired by adapting to a different world broke apart. Bones harder than metal protruded from his skin, and his enlarged muscles were chopped to pieces.
“Uggghh….”
The man gasped faintly. I reached towards him as he collapsed like a broken doll.
My fingers curved like a snake and grasped his Adam’s apple. I used Ki to tear it out. I pulled out the round bone with flesh still clinging to it.
A handful of dark red blood spurted out, and the man died before he could release the shout that had killed thousands of people in the past. The focus disappeared from his eyes, and his body collapsed to the concrete floor the next moment.
[Just a while ago, he would have been a tough opponent. I can’t believe how strong you’ve become in such a short period.]
There was a strong smell of blood and the people who were fleeing stopped in their tracks. The madness that had consumed the street disappeared, and the people pushing and trampling each other stopped to look back and forth at me and the dead body of the Returnee.
[I knew I wouldn’t regret attaching myself to you. Every moment is interesting. I’m looking forward to the future. Very much.]
Whew.
I took a deep breath and shook the blood off my sleeve. Then, I spoke to the crowd in my calmest voice.
“You’re safe now.”
What they wanted to hear the most.
“Wahh!”
“Wow, Hunter Jeong Si-woo!”
“Jeong Si-woo!”
“Ahhh!”
Cheers erupted everywhere. Some hadn’t recognized me in the confusion but now noticed who I was and shouted my name.
I wondered whether things were too cheerful when someone had died, but now was not the time to worry about that. It was time to help the remaining people cast away their despair and give them greater hope so they could be rest assured.
Ring, ring.
At that moment, the cell phone in my pocket rang.
It was Han Yeon-soo.
“Yeah, what is it? Did you find any clues about the Returnees? I’m a bit busy right now.”
I spoke non-stop as soon as I picked up the phone. I thought it wasn’t the time for a phone call. I just assumed that she had called to ask me something.
-Yes, I found something.
So I didn’t expect her next words.
-I think I’ve found the Returnees’ home base.
* * *
“Um. Heeheehee.”
The inside of the car reeked of the nauseous smell of strong air freshener. A woman’s childlike laughter kept ringing out. It was Seol A-rin. She was laughing while she watched reality TV programs and TV shows on her smartphone that had been broadcast before the Disasters.
“…Can you make her stop laughing?”
Lee Jin-woo, who was driving, complained about the endless laughter.
“Isn’t it better for her to laugh than make other sounds?”
“Hm, well.”
Sung Hyun-woo replied indifferently. Lee Jin-woo cleared his throat and sheepishly stepped on the gas.
“She’s been laughing for a whole hour. It’s driving me crazy. Besides, I’m already tired because of all this driving.”
“Well, I can’t drive. And I can’t teleport in front of Seol A-rin since her memories are all messed up.”
Sung Hyun-woo muttered softly, glancing at Seol A-rin. She was laughing thoughtlessly. Her memories were mixed up. She was a bomb that could go off at the slightest provocation.
Just like how she engaged her ability when she saw a child and a mother in danger, anything could happen at any moment. It was important to create a pre-Rift atmosphere as much as possible. To not provoke her. That was the reason why they were moving by car for over an hour instead of conveniently using teleport.
“Yeah, well, what can we do? We’ve even put a seatbelt on the bomb.”
“…….”
“I wish I could at least get rid of this air freshener smell. It’s making me so dizzy.”
Lee Jin-woo sighed and grumbled. There were still 30 minutes left to Jeong Si-woo’s house. ‘How much longer do I have to endure this?’ Lee Jin-woo was becoming increasingly frustrated.
“Hmmm.”
Seol A-rin, who couldn’t tell how tense the two were feeling in this risky situation, tapped the car window as she hummed.
And she murmured very softly.
“They’re both so cute. It looks like they’re having a hard time taking care of me.”
So soft that Sung Hyun-woo and Lee Jin-woo couldn’t hear.
“Too bad. Cause I’m planning on acting like a clueless woman for a bit longer.”
She smiled faintly.
“I kinda like this role.”
* * *
“…This is their home base?”
“Yes, the other Hunters who came by and I couldn’t find it… But Yoo Ji-yeon did.”
What was she talking about? This was information that I didn’t know before I came back in time. I glanced at Yoo Ji-yeon, and she smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling as if asking for a compliment.
‘I never found a hole from where the Returnees appeared in my past life.’
Not only myself but also the Association’s elite Analysts couldn’t find the slightest clue. But these two just happened to find a trace? I wondered if they were just mistaken.
“Where is it?”
“Over there in the sky. I can’t see it… But Yoo Ji-yeon here said so.”
“Ji-yeon, which direction is it?”
“Here! Come here. Yeah… just look up at the sky from there.”
I moved to the place Yoo Ji-yeon directed me to and looked up. But I couldn’t see anything. It was just the usual sky.
What, are these two playing a joke on me? Did they plan a hidden camera scheme called ‘Fool Jeong Si-woo’ or something?
No, I don’t think so.
“I can’t see it.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I think you need at least an S-level or higher Mana Detection Characteristic.”
“S level… wait a minute.”
None of the Characteristics that I usually activated around the clock had reached S level in regards to Mana Detection. But one of my Characteristics was superior to ordinary S-level Mana Detection Characteristics.
[Activating ‘Information Access.’]
I closed my eyes and opened them again. But all I could see was a normal sky and nothing else. Did Yoo Ji-yeon lie? Or was she really mistaken?
“Can’t you see it?”
Yoo Ji-yeon looked serious. I looked at her frustrated face and turned my head away. I continued to stare at the place Yoo Ji-yeon pointed out, and when 20 seconds passed, the sky started to change.
“……!”
The clouds disappeared, and the blue sky started to break apart. And a hole appeared in between—a hole with a mysterious landscape beyond it, unlike ordinary Rifts. As Yoo Ji-yeon said, the expression “passageway to another world” described it best.
At the same time, Information Access brought up detailed data on the hole.
[Name: Distorted Passageway]
[A Rift formed by strong Dimension Distortion Phenomena. However, unlike ordinary Rifts, a civilized world exists beyond. Not a different world full of monsters and Disasters, but a place where many people live. A Phenomenon that happened due to ‘Returnees’ struggling to return to Earth. S-level or higher Mana Detection Characteristic is needed to discover a Distorted Passageway. Recovers itself and disappears three days after occurring.]
“Do you see it? You see it!”
Yoo Ji-yeon saw my expression change and exclaimed with wide eyes.
Yes, I can see it. The Hidden Piece of the ‘Fourth Disaster’ that remained undiscovered by anyone in the past.
An S-level or higher Mana Detection Characteristic that only a small fraction of 1st class Hunters own.
A hole that can only be seen after staring for 20 seconds.
The fact that it recovers and disappears three days after its occurrence.
Due to these three factors needing to overlap, no one knew in the past.
intertwined, and Yoo Ji-yeon discovered it extremely quickly.
“I did well, didn’t I?”
“Yes. You did a great job.”
I smiled, seeing Yoo Ji-yeon smiling brightly.
“Thanks to you, things will be much easier.”
The hole the Returnees crawled out of.
A world where civilization exists.
That was probably the extent to which Han Yeon-soo and Yoo Ji-yeon were aware of the hole’s value. But I knew very well what the true value of that passageway was.
‘When Returnees come back to Earth, they can’t bring any weapons, and they must leave most of their accomplishments behind.’
This meant that the world beyond the hole was basically a warehouse filled with treasures that had helped people become rulers of a world.
“I guess I should bring along a bag to put things in.”
I grinned widely.
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