After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite
chapter-111-30041322

Episode 111. Robbing an Empty House (6)

“Hmmm.”

The winner of the rock-paper-scissors game was Han Yeon-soo.

“Good. I was feeling stiff and had nothing to do anyway.”

Han Yeon-soo had been bored ever since entering the hole, but now she looked happy for the first time. She was quite odd. She liked fighting more than taking a peaceful walk.

“Oh… what a shame. I should have won.”

“…….”

Of course, Han Yeon-soo wasn’t the only one who was odd.

‘Of the Five Heroes, barely anyone is normal.’

Including me, of course. I actually wanted to fight the Golem myself. I had just been analyzing recently, which made me feel like I had gone back to the past, and I felt a bit frustrated.

“Why are you so excited? Have you lost your mind? Well, it doesn’t matter. I shall test if you have the right. If you are not a mere thief, but the King’s follower, you shall be able to defeat me. “

“What’s with all the talk? You look unique, so I was going to make you one of my babies… But you aren’t my type. You’ve lost all your charm.”

“Stop speaking in a language I can’t understand! Prepare for your test!”

The Golem stopped and posed as if he was preparing for battle. Was it going to withstand attacks instead of moving? It seemed to be giving Han Yeon-soo, who looked like an ordinary woman, an advantage.

“…That Golem is going to regret that.”

It was a useless advantage. In other words, it was suicide.

Han Yeon-soo smirked at the Golem standing still and snapped her finger. Her shadow covered the area, and thousands of eyes glistened from inside the dark shadow.

“But you do look rare, so tell me if it hurts. If you call me your Queen, I’ll add you to my collection. But I don’t take in talkative ones as my babies.”

Whack!

A large hand stretched out from the writhing shadow. The hand grabbed the body of the giant Golem and slowly dragged it into the shadows.

“Wha… what?”

A bewildered voice came out. The Golem began to struggle with his heavy body, but it was already too late.

From the shadow, tentacles resembling octopus legs and transparent strings that looked like spider webs spread out wildly and restrained the Golem. The Golem was subdued so that it couldn’t move at all and was pulled in little by little.

Completely ignoring what the Golem muttered in the language of the Balstan Empire, Han Yeon-soo put her hand on her lower lip and smiled quietly.

“If you feel like calling me your Queen, tell the babies inside there!”

The Golem, which was the guardian of this place, slowly and helplessly disappeared into Han Yeon-soo’s shadow. I even felt a bit of sympathy for the poor Golem as it was swallowed up.

“Poor thing.”

Thud thud thud thud thud!

As soon as the Golem disappeared, the rock shook again. And the large rock split in half, creating a stairway leading down.

It was somewhat anticlimactic, but it was the result everyone expected. I scratched my head, looked at Yoo Ji-yeon and Han Yeon-soo, and spoke.

“… Let’s go.”

* * *

The stairs that went down seemed to have been neglected for quite some time. There was mold and spider webs here and there. The stuffy smell didn’t stink but was unpleasant, and the strangely low temperature created a chilly atmosphere.

“It’s not very sanitary here.”

Han Yeon-soo put her finger to the wall and looked disgusted when she saw the dust rubbing off. Chilly atmosphere or not, no one was nervous here.

[The objects used by someone who ruled the world……. I don’t like used goods, but it should help you a bit now.]

“…….”

[You borrow other people’s stories anyway, so why not borrow some items too? It’s a habit of the Akashic Records users. Using other people’s stuff without permission.]

Tap.

I kicked a few stones rolling about and went down the stairs. The stairs were surprisingly long.

‘Am I going to end up at the bottom of the mountain and come out of its entrance?’

“Si-woo, over there.”

“Hmm?”

Finally, I saw the end of the stairs. Beyond the darkness was an old door. The door was fastened with a crude lock that had turned into a lump of metal, failing to withstand the passage of time.

We hurried down the stairs when we saw the door.

“Ji-yeon.”

As soon as I called her name, Yoo Ji-yeon raised her hand and released her mana. The blue particles, which usually followed her like a pet, became intensely violent weapons at her command.

Boom!

The old lock couldn’t stand the force, and the door easily broke down. I walked ahead, looking at the rising dust.

It was very dark inside. A space completely sealed off and blocked from light. This was probably also a device to confuse intruders.

[‘Outstanding Insight’ has been activated.]

Of course, none of us were amateur enough to have our vision blocked by the darkness. I activated my Characteristics and layered my eyes with mana.

The heavy darkness lifted, and I could see the outlines of the space inside. The interior was decorated like an antique room.

“Hm… There isn’t much. It’s just a bunch of ordinary weapons, scrap metal……. Did we just waste our time?”

“Han Yeon-soo.”

“Yes?”

Han Yeon-soo’s eyes glowed blue. It looked like her eyes were also layered with mana. She tilted her head. Yes, that’s probably what you see. These items wouldn’t look special to her or to Yoo Ji-yeon. But not to me.

[‘Information Access’ has been activated.]

“Give me a bag, and you open another one…”

Did we waste our time? No way.

[Name: Star Cluster Crown]

[Jewelry collection made of jewels called Star Clusters. It was a favorite item used by the Emperor of a once glorious Empire. Carved with a powerful inscription that disables all harmful effects directed towards the wearer. Brilliant light dwells within and entirely ignores abnormal statuses of the dark division.]

Any item lying around here was so powerful that it couldn’t be found in our world.

“Put everything in.”

[Mirage has seen the brilliant light and wishes to absorb the ‘Star Cluster Crown.’]

I was going to eat up all the items here.

* * *

“… I’m so exhausted. Seriously.”

“Si-woo, let’s bring Hyun-woo next time. Hyun-woo.”

It took nearly half a day to pack up everything into the bags. Yoo Ji-yeon and Han Yeon-soo grumbled in tired voices.

“Good job. Go rest. I have some stuff to finish up.”

“… You’re a real workaholic.”

Yoo Ji-yeon mumbled, looking pale. Han Yeon-soo usually clung to me longer, but she must have been tired and left already for her quarters.

After sending off the two women, I took out my cell phone from my pocket and turned it on. When entering a Dimensional Distortion Phenomenon, turning off your cell phone was common sense because cell phones became jammed if they were left on.

“Hmm? Why are there so many calls?”

As soon as I turned on my cell phone, all kinds of notifications popped up on the screen. There were 98 missed calls, including those from Seung-hyun Hyeong and Zhang Wei, who usually didn’t contact me. Also, there were loads of missed calls from unknown numbers…….

“Who is this?”

While checking my call records, another call came in from an unknown number. It probably wouldn’t be spam. Even spam calls wouldn’t call the same number this many times.

I answered the phone with a suspicious look on my face.

“Hello, this is Jeong Si-woo.”

-You are Hunter Jeong Si-woo. Why haven’t you answered my calls?

“I had some Rift-related work to do, so I turned off the power. Excuse me, but where are you from? And it’s a bit rude for you to speak without honorifics when…….”

-This is Lee Hyun-seung. I’m much senior to you, and I have a lot more experience. Must I speak in honorifics? I don’t use honorifics unless I’m talking to 1st generation Hunters who fought on the front lines. If you find it so uncomfortable, I will use honorifics.

“…What?”

Was this a real spam call? There was no reason for Lee Hyun-seung to call me. He was a unique man who rarely interacted with other Hunters. He fought alone, yet he solidified his 1st place position.

But the feeling I got from the voice was so similar to Lee Hyun-seung. And no one would dare to pretend to be Lee Hyun-seung and call me.

-Don’t you believe me? Would you believe me if I read the code number on my Hunter’s license? Or should I ask the Interim President of the Association to call you right now?

“No, no. I believe you, and you don’t have to use honorifics.”

-Good. I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll get to the point.

His deep voice rang out.

– Hunter Zhang Wei and Kim Seung-hyun were caught up in one of the recent incidents. And in the process of listening to them, I heard part of your briefing. You seem to have remarkable insight into this case. It was much more impeccable than the Analysis by the so-called ‘experts’ from the Association.

“… You’re flattering me.”

-No, I’m not flattering you. I think you’re right. These aren’t just people who went crazy living here. They’re erratic, as if they’ve come from somewhere else. And they are strangely powerful. These people are appearing all over the world, and if we rely on the clumsy Analysts from the Association without any information, at least one area will be destroyed.

“…….”

-So I need your help. I’m not the type to ask for favors, but I can’t help it this time. Pride doesn’t save people. I’ll do whatever you want, and in return, I want you to cooperate with me to resolve this situation.

There was no need to check. My hand holding the cell phone trembled slightly. As soon as I heard him, I could tell. It really was Lee Hyun-seung.

The man who seemed to be modeled after the word ‘Hero’. The Hunter that everyone recognized as the strongest until he died. Not even the Great Overlord could have killed him easily if he had been alive. The strongest human at the moment was asking for my cooperation.

-Can you do it?

His short words approached me. They touched my heart. The Hero who made me dream of being a Hunter, who gave up his life before I could fight alongside him in the past. He was alive and well, and he had a request for me.

“Yes, of course.”

There was no reason to refuse. I was all for Lee Hyun-seung joining forces to solve the Returnee Situation. I was looking for people to defend against the bombs that were about to drop, and the world’s best bomb squad just walked into my arms.

“I’ll go over there now. Please text me the address.”

It looked like I was in good luck.