After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite
chapter-41

Attention (2)

[Viper]

[The story of a courageous hero begins to dwell in your soul.]

The first thing I noticed was that my body felt lighter.

My movements were incredibly quick and flexible, and my arms danced softly as if they were snakes.

Crunch-!

However, the power flowing through my limbs is anything but light.

Shock filled Park Hyun-seok’s face as he heard the sound of his knee breaking.

Park Hyun-seok quickly jumped backward and filled his legs with mana, trying to recover from his injuries, but the damage was not at the level that he could recover instantly.

Even the top hunters wouldn’t be able to.

Finally, he had a weakness.

For the first time, I could see Park Hyun-seok’s movements.

Was it because of Link? Or because of his injury? It didn’t matter. What’s important is that I finally got into his rhythm.

“Oh yeah… I didn’t know you’ll go for the joints at that time.”

He laughed as if he was having fun.

Instead of spreading the distance between us, Park Hyun-seok prepared himself as I rushed towards him.

Shuwook-!

My arms stretched towards his nape.

Bong-!

With a blunt sound, my arm bounced off his. But the attack didn’t stop there. As my other arm bounced off, my other arm continued to extend.

This time, as he responded with the same defense.

However, I had a different move planned. My arm immediately grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

What power…

However, the power flowing through his arm was stronger than I expected.

His steel-like body had reinforced his joints.

After seeing that I felt his strong power, he laughed once more.

“It’s a great technique, but… you don’t have enough power to use it properly.”

It was as he said. No matter how huge a snake his, it cannot bite a rock.

The fierce battle continued.

My arm tried to break the steel, while Park Hyun-seok defended against my attacks while dealing damage at the same time.

My body started to feel heavier. Our hands collide rapidly, and the sound of their clashes resounded in the arena. It was as if it wasn’t human hands that made that sound.

-Crazy…

I heard someone from the audience screamed.

No one would think it was a battle between a second-class hunter and a rookie. It was such a fierce fight with no concessions.

Bang-!

Park Hyun-seok’s short punch dug into my side. My whole body shook violently. I lost focus for a moment.

But instead of giving up, I grabbed his outstretched fist again and tried to twist it.

Creak-!

It’s a small sound, but I heard it. It seemed as if the damage is accumulating in his joints. It was not just me. He is also barely holding on.

『Didn’t I deal with large-scale monsters just by grabbing and twisting them?』

『Aren’t snakes able to break rocks? 』

『Hey, well… that didn’t sound right. 』

I felt the experience of someone else’s life seeping into my body.

『There is no living creature in the world that is exactly like a rock.』

『No matter how tough they are, they are alive. Don’t you think there’s a place in him where your teeth can sink in? 』

My body wasn’t listening. It’s doing actions that I would never have chosen.

『You only need to find it.』

『Didn’t they call me Viper?』

『If I bite them once, they would gradually fall down.』

I found my fingertips stretching boldly towards Park Hyun-seok’s eyes. I don’t know if it was allowed in a real battle, but in virtual reality, such an attack is not a foul.

“… … !”

I allowed my body to be controlled by the experience. My body was running wild on its own.

[Immersion increases.]

But did the accumulated damage that I took started to take effect? My movements looked a little slower. My hand couldn’t reach his eyes. However, as if that wasn’t my real attack from the beginning, I twisted my waist and made a completely different movement.

[… This is amazing.]

Even if there were new experiences in my body, not all of the things I had accumulated have disappeared.

The Traveler had said it before.

The power that Akashic Records users will have is not only gained through training but all the experiences that could be aggregated to form one power.

As he said, the movement I used now was a mix of the Linked being’s and something that I have experienced myself.

Pagak-!

Park Hyun-seok’s arm, which was trying to block my attack, twisted at a bizarre angle.

This time, it was completely broken.

“Huhup…”

His arms snapped as if it was falling off his torso. However, the momentum didn’t stop there.

It was enough to lift Park Hyun-seok and throw him down.

A body that was like steel touched the ground. Dust splashed up, and he was looking at me with a blank face.

“…”

I had no more power to even keep standing. It was the worst exhaustion that I have ever felt. My sweat was pouring like rain, and my limbs trembled with fatigue.

The technique I just used is definitely not mine. It wasn’t from my training; it wasn’t from someone I’ve linked to or communicated with.

It was from someone whom I’ve seen once.

The President of the Association.

I looked down at my palm. It was me who attacked, but my palm was red as if it had been burned.

Park Hyun-seok breathed heavily for a long time, before finally speaking.

“I lost, Cadet Siwoo Jung.”

He laughed, then raised his hand to announce his willingness to surrender, and with him, I woke up from the capsule of virtual reality.

The stands were very quiet. They did not cheer for the victory of the rookie, nor did they say anything about the second-class hunter who admitted to defeat.

It was because the ending was too shocking.

* * *

“Isn’t this too much?”

Kim Hyun-soo thought he could hold out to some extent at best. He was, after all, an excellent cadet.

However, he could not believe what I just saw.

How did he engage in such a battle with a second-class hunter?

Where did he learn all those incredible skills?

How did he make that last attack?

While his head was full of questions, he could hear the buzzing around him.

“Is what we saw really a cadet?”

“… I think I need to contact the scouts again. Raise the offer a little more.”

“It won’t be strange if he gets in a raid right now! He’s ready!”

The spectators began to get noisy after recovering from the shock.

All of them were hunters, and they were all thirsty for talent.

Of course, all of their conversation topics were about Jeong SI-woo.

Somehow… he really fulfilled an absurd condition.

Jeong Si-woo’s worth was getting higher. Isn’t this going to cause the Sabangshin to miss out on him?

Kim Hyun-soo smiled as he thought about it.

I think there would come a day when I wouldn’t be able to get him, so I have to prepare.

The overwhelming talent of the rookie fascinated everyone. Kim Hyun-soo stared at the young man’s back and remembered his father.

A hero.

The attack team of the Busan Crack was also in attendance. Seeing them showing off their passionate praise for Jeong Si-woo, it seemed that they would welcome the news that the cadet was joining as a member of their team.

I thought it was mad to put Jeong Si-woo quickly in the ranks of Sabangshin.

He had seen enough. Kim Hyun-soo slowly got up from his seat.

Before that mad cadet tries to go to a third-class rift alone, I need to tell him that he could join the Busan attack.

* * *

“That was fun.”

As soon as the battle was over, a man who was sitting in a discreet part of the stands stood up.

“It was curious that he didn’t get severe damage when he tried to use my skill…”

He burst into laughter. In terms of his talent, the cadet was at a level that could not be compared with any of the first-class hunters. Had it not been for that disgusting heroic streak in him, he would have been actively recruiting him into the Association.

And he has great pride…

‘Don’t do anything nasty.’

It was the first time someone told him that since he became the President of the Association.

But that made it more fun. He can’t seem to control that passion yet. In no time, the hot mind will cool off.

And after realizing the reality, the cadet will soon become like him.

It would be better to approach him when he has cooled down rather than now when he’s too annoying.

When he gets frustrated with reality… Jeong Si-woo would be one of his useful employees.

Beep-!

Someone opened the car door for him.

As he sat down in the dark car interior, he took off his hood and revealed his face.

“Where can I take you, Mr. President?”

“To the Association.”

* * *

I stared at the words written on top of the page.

<List of Level 3 Cracks>

I drew a line over it, scratching it off my schedule.

Now, I didn’t have to find a rift that I could survive alone because Kim Hyun-soo approached me after the sparring and formally invited me to be a member of the Busan Attack team.

Thanks to his, I have a certain amount of free time. I have around two days to take a break, before the raider orientation.

“Traveler, can’t you really tell me?”

[It’s not the right time yet. If I open my mouth for no reason, I may disappear from your side.]

“Ah…”

[I still want to see you more. I don’t want to do anything dangerous. I’m having a lot of fun these days.]

Are there such restrictions?

Unlike the other beings I have communicated with, I thought he would suffer no penalty because he hasn’t disappeared yet, even if he has been with me for a long time.

“Okay. When the right time comes, I’ll find out.”

Kim Min-jae’s technique was very powerful. If I could know its roots, I would be able to grow it stronger than it already was. However, it seemed that it wasn’t really time to figure it all out.

“Let’s start training!”

Only

When I get stronger, I’ll know everything. I got rid of my regrets.

I glanced through the notes I had written down and slowly got out of bed.

[Well? What is this? You wrote down a bunch of new things.]

“Ah… I have a lot to think about this time.”

The Traveler stared at the notepad with his head tilted.

[This is the second disaster, isn’t it?]

“Yeah. It’s one of the disasters that could end the world if we don’t respond correctly.”

[Hmmm… Monster Wave. The third member of the Five Heroes… New weapon… I don’t know what you’re talking about. Write it so I could understand it next time.]