Chapter 9
PR: NightCrawler
Beep beep beep beep.
A warning signal rang incessantly in my head. My neck, which was caught by Kang Yoo-hyun, throbbed in pain. If I do something wrong right now, I might lose my life.
Instantly, memories appeared in my head like flashbacks. I thought it was because Han Yi-jin’s frozen body felt a tremendous amount of fear, but the funny thing was, what crossed my mind was my memory and not Han Yi-jin’s. It was the memory of Park Ho-soo, who lived like a pushover.
Damn, I feel like shit. I gritted my teeth while remembering the faces of my family that I didn’t want to think of.
It was so pathetic of me to be living helplessly like an idiot, even before I possessed someone else.
The feeling of not wanting to give up rushed in. Do you think I’m gonna fall behind here?
I raised my head to look at Kang-Yoo Hyun’s face, and his thick brows furrowed. At that moment, a dull system voice hit my ears.
[The condition has been met.]
…What? Condition?
A sudden heat covered my body after the incomprehensible system’s voice was gone.
“Ugh…!”
I was familiar with this feeling, because the same heat had covered my entire body the first time the synchronization was complete. I had goosebumps down my spine as the heat was somewhat different from the Illusion ability. I felt really awful after going through it again.
“Hey, Han… Yi-jin.”
“…?”
I looked at him with his angry voice. Eden, whose arm I was holding, looked at me while biting his lip. He looked just as angry as when he was in the guild.
“Hey, you…”
“…!”
But my mind was not focused. It was because I met Kang Yoo-hyun’s blue eyes again. I shouted while shaking Eden’s arm.
“Use your skill. Hurry up!”
“Huh?”
“Hurry up, you bastard!”
As I shouted, Eden’s dim eyes cleared up a little. Eden is an A-rank wind manipulator.
And now, with my catnip skills, his stats will be very high. The wind ability is perfect for escaping. Eden swung his hand at my continued insistence.
“Ugh!”
“Hyung!”
Kang Soo-hyun’s voice calling me disappeared in an instant. Eden, who flew up hugging my body, could not help but have widened eyes. He must have felt the change in his body by now.
“Fuck, fly faster, hurry up!”
“O-okay.”
The confused Eden used his ability once again. Eden’s arms which were wrapped tightly around my waist were extremely uncomfortable, but if I fell from this height, it would kill me instantly. I had no choice but to wrap my arms around Eden’s neck while frowning. I could feel his shoulders twitch. I feel really terrible. We flew into the sky in an instant like riding a roller coaster.
“…”
Kang Yoo-hyun’s gaze followed the trail left by the two people’s disappearance in an instant. His brows twitched with clenched fists.
“…You’re not going to chase after them?”
Seeing Kang Yoo-Hyun like this, Kang Soo-hyun unexpectedly asked him. Given the behaviour he had displayed so far, he thought it was natural to chase after them. Kang Yoo-hyun, who looked up at the sky with an unpleasant face, answered curtly after a while.
“No need, I know his name.”
Han Yi-jin.
He clearly heard the man with the flashy hair colour call him that. Moreover, it would be easy to find out his information, since he had caught several talented people trying to blackmail him.
“…Hmm.”
Kang Yoo-hyun, who remembered Yi-jin’s eyes staring straight at him, frowned again. After returning from the gate, no one has ever faced him so boldly. Even talented people felt overwhelmed under the pressure that naturally flowed out when he used his abilities. Above all, his skills didn’t work on him. Kang Yoo-hyun’s hand slowly wiped the corner of one of his eyes.
The twisted time axis in the gate, making him wander for 300 years, did not let him live in vain. He defeated numerous monsters and was challenged by the strong.
Where he fell was an empty space called Niflheim. It was a slightly different place from the dungeons that were opened all over the world because there’s no dungeon clearing concept there. It’s just a crazy fight, until you are the only survivor left after all the battles.
Kang Yoo-hyun was able to reach the end of the twisted time axis. Yggdrasil, the World Tree, the giant tree that separates heaven and earth. After defeating the giant guarding it and drinking the water from the spring, Kang Yoo-hyun acquired a legendary skill.
The “Eye of the Absolute God.” This legendary-level skill allowed him to have a glimpse of all the information regardless of who the opponent was. Even if the information is hidden by an item or skill, a legendary level skill cannot be blocked.
But Han-Yi Jin, for the first time, was an opponent whose information the “Eye of Absolute God” could not penetrate. His legendary skill didn’t work. That doesn’t make sense.
“Hey, Kang Yoo-hyun!”
Kang Yoo-hyun, who was standing with a crumpled face, turned his head. Yoon Eun-ho, who was with him before, was out of breath.
“Hey, why… huff, did you leave like that?”
As he approached Kang Yoo-hyun, he opened his eyes wide when he saw Kang Soo-hyun standing right beside him.
“Huh? Soo-hyun-ah, are you okay?”
Kang Yoohyun’s high school alumni and best friend,Yoon Eun-ho; he was about to meet Yoohyun after gladly accepting the recon mission requested by the Odin Guild.
Kang Yoo-hyun was the only SS-class hunter who returned among the first hundred awakened generation. Not many guilds in Korea were willing to accept that fact. The Odin Guild lived up to their reputation as the No.1 in Korea, and there were many top ranking hunters in the world in that guild.
As skilled in combat as in similarly dreaded games, the Koreans demonstrated superior skill while daring to venture overseas. Thinking that Yoo-hyun would do the same, the role of persuading him naturally went back to his friend Eun-ho.
And he was sure he could convince Yoo-hyun, if the latter didn’t suddenly interrupt him.
The Laufey Guild, so-called rival of the Odin Guild, was usually accused of all sorts of dirty things. But, he did not expect them to kidnap and even threaten Yoo Hyun’s younger brother. Of course, it had not been revealed that it was the Laufey Guild, but Eunho was certain. So, he was surprised to see Soo-hyun standing there looking unscathed. Because there was no way that guild would let him off so easily if they got hold of him.
“Ah, I’m fine, hyung.”
Kang Soo-hyun looked at Yoo Eun-ho with an awkward face. It was because a certain man with a sweet scent had approached him with Eun-ho’s appearance. At that time, he was almost deceived. He looked exactly the same as Eun-ho, who was right in front of him.
“Haa, that’s a relief. I was worried if something happened to you. Did Yoo-hyun arrive on time?”
“Oh yes….”
For some reason, Soo-hyun’s face clouded slightly as he answered. He didn’t seem too happy that his hyung came to save him, but Eun-ho didn’t notice it at all.
“Hey, Yoon Eun-ho.”
“Oh?”
Eun-ho’s head turned at Kang Yoo-hyun’s call. Standing there in a daze, Yoo-hyun’s appearance was somehow odd. He had wandered inside the gate for over 300 years. Although it had only been five years here, but the friend he had reunited with looked very strange.
Trying not to show it on purpose, Eun-ho put a smile on his face. Then, Kang Yoo-Hyun continued to speak in a blunt tone.
“Find a person named Han Yi-jin.”
“What?”
“Where does he come from, what are his abilities, and where does he live?”
“What??”
Eun-ho opened his eyes wide at his unexpected words. He asked me to do a background check on a person? Of course, finding one person with the Odin Guild’s abilities was not an issue…
“No, you’re not even a guild member… I don’t want to find it for you.”
Yoo Eun-ho tried to play hard first. He didn’t think this is how it should be done, but just in case he could still try. However, Yoo-Hyun answered with a casual face.
“I’ll join. Your guild.”
“Eh?” Yoo Eun-ho opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
“R-really?”
It was a wonderful change of heart, even though he had been very disinterested before.
But Eun-ho didn’t think much about it. He nodded excitedly without noticing Yoo-hyun’s mood, which was calmer than usual.
“Then, let’s go sign the contract right away.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Yoo-hyun followed Eun-ho’s footsteps, even though he looked clearly annoyed. With a serious expression, he recalled the remnants of the skill he felt. Even an SS class such as himself was momentarily ensnared by that shocking power.
What is it? The last one.
He couldn’t think of anything as soon as he smelled the sweet scent which made his head spin. His head became dizzy and he felt a strong urge. He couldn’t imagine what he would have done if he didn’t have superhuman mental strength.
Yoo-hyun knew better than anyone what danger it could bring. How will this extraordinary ability affect the world in the future? However, he couldn’t just sit back and watch the skill user impulsively interfere with him.
The next time we meet…
With this thought, Kang Yoo-hyun stood stil.
What if I see him again? Then what should I do with him?
A strange impulse instigated him. At the same time, he thought of Yi-jin who had quite rebellious eyes.
What’s important is that next time, I must not let him escape. Yoo-Hyun decided to prioritize that first.
“Yoo-hyun?”
“…I’m coming.”
Yoo-hyun, who had stopped for a while, moved again. While Eun-ho glanced at him, he also called out Soo-hyun’s name, who was standing there blankly.
“Soo-hyun-ah, what are you doing?”
“Ah.”
Soo-hyun, who came to his senses, looked at Eun-ho. Eun-ho was confused with the way he was lost in his thoughts too and tilted his head to look at him.
“I’m coming too.”
Soo-hyun glanced back as he walked towards Eun-ho and Yoo-hyun. There seemed to be a sweet scent still grazing his nose.
I also want to be an Awakener quickly.
Then, maybe he would be able to hold on to that person a little longer. Subconsciously thinking, Soo-hyun continued walking.
T/N: Bonus chapter