After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite
chapter-56

I Am a Legend (1)

“Last time we met, you helped us tremendously with the crack near the Association. I still had a lot to say to you, so I came to see you in person.”

The president of the Association, Kim Min-jae, was smiling at me with a distant expression. The cadets walking past in the hallway looked at us curiously.

Even the most famous hunters never spoke with the president of the Association.

The Association held great power in our awakened society. The president was very impressive in person. He was certainly very aware of his power.

“Wow…”

Kim Hyun-Tae’s voice was a mix of admiration and amazement. He was one of the top-ranking members of the Academy.

“I see. Still, the president of the Association coming to see me, a cadet…”

“Haha, shouldn’t I express my gratitude to my most faithful servants?” he replied with a big smile. “But let’s talk somewhere else, somewhere where no one can listen in on our conversation.”

* * *

“He’s an ordinary Academy cadet.”

“A pupil?”

In response to the question, the man handed over the materials prepared in advance.

“Yes. They were two cadets from the Hwayeon Choin Academy, a hunter from the Chinese Association, and a child.”

“I’ll need more details than that. You say they entered an extremely dangerous rift on their own and succeeded in hunting down ten monsters, and on top of that they were unharmed?” that story sounded ridiculous. Such a hostile environment could have easily wiped out many teams of experienced hunters. Now, this guy comes in and tells me that a couple of students had walked in and out like it was nothing?

“What else can I say…?”

The man looked completely dumbfounded.

“The two academy cadets are the most talked-about prospects among the guilds and scouts.”

“Well.”

“The girl is so talented that the scouts say she already has the abilities of a third-class hunter.”

He looked at the documents. The name ‘Yoo Ji-Yeon’ was written on it.

“The boy is a cadet named Jeong Si-woo, but his abilities are astonishing. He has great analytic skill, coveted by the Oracles.”

“… Oracle?”

“Yes. But that’s not all. According to the scouts’ evaluation, he could easily join their ranks as a second-class hunter. He is estimated to be A-class.”

“This name. Han Yeon-soo. Is that the Han Yeon-soo that I know?”

She was the most unpredictable woman he had ever met.

“Yes.”

“How did they even endure the heat? Do you mean to tell me that academy cadets know how to use the ‘Mana Skin’?”

“There was a Chinese man with them.”

“…?”

“He was originally an ordinary hunter, but then he went missing. You must have heard of him, the hunter who disappeared after finding the Red Marble?”

“Ah. I have heard that story.”

“That’s him, his name is Zhang Wei. He used to have basic regenerative skill, but since his reappearance, his skills have increased tenfold.”

He turned the page over. There was a skinny man’s face on the next page.

“That’s the guy. He has become a big name after his contribution to the Association’s Great Crack incident. The cadet named Jeong Si-woo brought him somewhere, and suddenly he reawakened.”

“Hahaha.”

“I’m not joking. It’s real. Analysts believe that he has taken over Zhang Wei’s body, granting him new abilities.”

“So, what…? Thanks to the ability of this healer they were able to stroll around in a place where you will destroy your lungs by simply breathing in? Does this guy have infinite mana?”

“… According to the data received, yes.”

Surprisingly, he was right. The data seemed to support that claim.

“What about him? Surely this child that still seems to go to elementary school can’t be of any help?”

“… He’s turned out to be a normal third-class awakener.”

“A third-class awakener? A child? Jesus. Ha ha ha ha!”

The man laughed at the absurdity.

He remembered the four kids casually walking out of the Rift while waiting with his soldiers for the Flame Empress’ return. He remembered them casually strolling by.

What a presence. He truly was a great prospect. The fact that they all survived in there proved that they were not ordinary cadets. However, he couldn’t believe that they were that extraordinary. They probably were lucky.

“Where are the analysts? I want to talk to them.”

* * *

The association president and I went to a counseling room. I’ve been here for a while, but I’m still a teenager on the outside. Kim Min-jae sat down opposite me, looking at me with a serious expression. On the surface, it looked like he wanted to have an honest conversation.

“You were a great help. All the hunters of the Association praised your efforts.”

“Of course. I had to help. Those who have a hunter license are obligated to comply with the Association’s call, unless otherwise engaged.”

“Hahaha. There are so many people who can’t even comply with that simple rule. Besides, what you did for us went beyond the normal call of duty. I sincerely wanted to thank you.”

“Ah… Yes.”

He continued praising and thanking me for my help. He almost had me believing that he was only here to thank me. However, I knew him better than to believe that.

“I wanted to ask you one more thing…” his eyes flashed for a brief moment. It looked like he was finally getting to the point.

“The Awakened person you brought with you to the Great Rift…How did you get to know Zhang Wei?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“I was just curious where you found such an amazing healer.”

I knew it. This was the real reason why he had come here. In his previous life, Kim Min-jae never even got the opportunity to talk to Zhang Wei. At the time, he was one of the most famous people in the world. Not only did the Chinese support him enthusiastically, but the western world also called him the ‘Messiah’.

But now? He still had his outstanding abilities, but no one knew who he was. He was easy prey.

“We met by accident. We don’t have a special relationship, he just offered to help.”

“No special relationship. Hahaha”

Kim Min-jae then tried to spin the conversation in his favor. Of course, he couldn’t trick me.

He was used to leading the conversation, so that flustered him a bit.

The conversation went on for quite a while.

“Zhang Wei works with you, but he’s not tied to you in any way, he is a freelancer? So, if he gets another job offer, he can work elsewhere?”

“Yes.”

“Great. Next time, I should go directly to him.”

Kim Min-jae stood up. I raised my eyebrows.

‘Where do you think you’re going, you bastard?’

When I was about to say something, a bell sounded in his pocket.

“Yes, this is Kim Min-jae?”

He immediately answered his phone without excusing himself.

“Oh, a new mine? Yes. There was a Great Rift on the island. Where the Flame Empress fought? We bought it, so you can use it.”

“…?”

“The resources are abundant, but the environment is bad? Okay, begin harvesting resources, using the hunters who can endure the heat inside. If I manage to recruit Zhang Wei, then he’ll help you survive in there. es… Please give my best regards to the Flame Empress.”

‘What is this bullshit?’

Listening to him made me angry. I didn’t need to hear anything else.

Mine, Flame Empress, Great Rift on the island…I knew exactly what was going on here.

‘He is mining the Rift for resources.’

A Rift that has been cleared of monsters was an excellent source of mana stones and all kinds of other items. The resources in the Rift regenerated over time, so if you owned a rift, you essentially had an infinite resource for mana stones, which were in high demand.

However, no one had ever used a Great Rift as a mine.

‘Did the Flame Empress really sell the Great Rift to the Association?’

I called her because I assumed she would be destroying everything in the Rift, and then close it. She didn’t need money, so why would she sell it to the Association?

‘Is she trying to raise as much capital as she can because she finally had a lead for the murder of her husband?’

‘That’s it!’

Damn, I hadn’t considered that in my calculations. She was still the same person, but I should have considered what she would do when she had new information about her husband’s death.

Now Kim Min-jae had control over the Rift, and would be exploiting it for profit. I had made a huge mistake.

“No way. Are you using the Great Rift as a mine?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

When I saw his shameless expression, I got even angrier.

“Mining is only done in stable Rifts, never in a level 2 Rift. Did you even consider the risks involved? It’s insanity!”

“Haha. Our analysts thoroughly investigated the matter and deemed it safe. No matter how good you think you are, do you really think you can provide me with a better analysis than my entire team? The Rift is on a remote island, 80% of the monsters were killed by the Flame Empress. The Great Rift is no more dangerous than an ordinary mining Rift.”

“It’s not the monsters that make the Greater Rifts so dangerous. It’s the high concentration of mana. If a Great Rift is left open, it will spawn even more Rifts.”

“Haha. Mana concentration? What are you talking about? I’ve never heard such a ridiculous thing.”

I approached Kim Min-jae, who was standing there, smiling like an idiot. I spat my next words in his face. I couldn’t stand this idiot.

“The higher the mana concentration, the more frequent and the stronger the Rifts are. The Rifts stimulate the occurrence of other Rifts, and they even change their surrounding environments over time. If left unattended for long enough, they can change the entire world. Animals will begin to mutate into horrible monsters, and the sky slowly turns red. The end of the world.”

“Hahahahaha…what have you been smoking? Or is this some kind of hidden camera show?”

“Bring me to your fancy analysts. I will prove it,” our eyes met. In the past, Kim Min-Jae had still been alive when I died. I remembered him well. He was very strong. He still is in this reality. I could see it in his eyes. He had immense power. But he was a coward. He wouldn’t come to anyone’s aid, and he was deathly afraid of the unknown.

“…”

He started trembling.

“Well…”

At that moment, his phone rang again.

“Yes, this is Kim Min-jae.”

I activated the ‘Great Heart’.

My hearing was enhanced so that I could listen in on his conversation.

“Mr. President, all of the hunters at the Great Rift have gone missing. A very strange mana wave was reported close to the Rift. A new Great Rift has emerged! It is located right next to the first Rift.

Argghhhhhh!”

Damn it.

I ran out of the office. I couldn’t sense any Rifts forming in the city, so the Black Beads must still be buried in the sand next to the other Rift.

There were still five days left until the third wave was scheduled to appear. However, with the second Rift still open, the concentrated mana stimulated the Beads, and…

The new Rift must be the third wave. I took my phone out of my pocket and made a call.

“Yes, Si-woo! what…”

“Get Hyun-woo and as many hunters as you can find, and meet me at the main gates as quick as you can!”

“Okay, okay.”

‘I don’t know for sure if it’s the third wave, but if it was, it had to be stopped immediately. I still had nightmares…’

Maybe this was the beginning…

“Why is it so dark outside?”

“Is rain coming? The sky is pitch black…”

The light had disappeared, and the night came.

“I feel so weak…Sleepy…”

“Why are you coughing…Are you alright?”

Several people complained about drowsiness or couldn’t stop coughing. One of the cadets suddenly collapsed while walking down the hall.

“… What.”

Kim Min-jae’s face was ashen.

“Si-woo!”

Han Yeon-soo, who had appeared with Sung Hyun-woo in a doorway, called my name. I ran to her in a hurry.

Every second counted. I took Sung Hyun-woo’s hand so he could read my mind. Soon he found the coordinates and teleported us there.

The scenery changed. We were back on the island.

“Uh….save me…”

An enormous, pitch-black Rift was in front of us. It was easily 30 meters wide.

I could see a huge black bone Dragon fly overhead. Hunters cried out in fear around us as they were attacked by skeletons and eaten alive by ghouls.

“…”

Han Yeon-soo seemed to be at a loss for words at this horrific sight. Instead of panicking, I summoned a sword.

It was in the form of one of the greatest weapons that I had ever seen.

<Holy Sword>

It might not have the weapon’s full power, but it was a very good imitation.

[Inscription 79 of the Blue Forge.]

[Engraving No. 86 of the Blue Forge.]

.

.

.

I will make up for the rest of my abilities.

I gripped the sword, which was emanating a dim blue light, even tighter.

“Link.”

A ray of light came from the sky. I looked like a warrior chosen by God.

I took a step forward and smashed the first skeleton’s head.

I was no longer a simple hunter. I was a warrior. I didn’t only fight for my survival; I fought for everyone’s. Warriors were a strange group, with a cult-like following.

I trailed a streak of multi-colored light behind me, as I tore through the enemy’s lines with the grace of a ballet dancer.

“Ah…”

Everyone was focused on me.

Only

[Warrior]

[Rating: D+]

[The story of a hero who had become the only hope for people in an era when fantasy had become a reality, begins to stir in your soul.]

I pressed on.

I took small cuts here and there, but I didn’t care. I now had so much power; I healed the wounds instantly.

I drew closer to the gigantic black Rift.