After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 131. Heroes Assemble (2)

All of the personal stories of the 1st generation hunters were revealed to the public by the time I was dealing with the Great Overlord.

The TV program -Unanswered Inquiries- covered them in a special feature about 1st generation hunters. And even though I didn’t really look into their stories, other hunters and Analysts around me were interested in the topic, so I ended up hearing about them.

Since I had once dreamed of becoming a hunter, news on the legendary 1st generation hunters was very interesting. Thanks to that, I remembered their stories in detail.

“So… that should increase our firepower. And if I utilize the Interim President of the Association, the Tower Master, the Four Guardian Gods guild that’s part of our coalition, and the hunters I employed as mercenaries…. It looks better than I thought. It was worth building up.”

“Mr. Si-woo.”

“Yes?”

“You really aren’t the final enemy, are you?”

What was she talking about?

In the middle of organizing the situation in my notepad, I looked up at Han Yeon-soo. She actually looked like she was staring at a villain.

“I told you I’m not.”

“But why are you so used to manipulating people like a mastermind? It’s like you’ve done it a lot in the past…….”

“You just have bad eyes.”

Even after I answered her, she didn’t stop looking at me suspiciously. What a strange idea.

[Her concern is simply ridiculous. If you were a villain, the world would already have been destroyed by now.]

The Traveler also spoke nonsense. Why do people keep saying that being a villain would suit me?

I was working harder than anyone else to save humanity.

“Go get some rest. You’ll have a lot to do in a little while.”

I tapped Han Yeon-soo on the forehead and finished organizing the situation.

The full pages were telling me that this would be my last job.

Whether humankind is destroyed or saved.

Whether the Disaster brings an end to the world or the world drives the Disaster out.

It was going to end either way.

* * *

The Great Overlord.

His ability was simple yet powerful. A power worthy of the name -Overlord-.

While I was the leader of humankind’s hunters before I came back in time, he was born to lead monsters.

‘Who would have thought that those monsters with unprecedented powers would become such a threat just by coming together.’

In fact, no one imagined that monsters could form legions.

Floods, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms.

Those were how the monsters and Rifts were treated like. A sort of -Disaster-. Unpredictable natural disasters that could cause great damage before humans could respond.

So, the emergence of the Great Overlord was equivalent to such natural disasters holding hands and scheming together, saying, “Let’s destroy humanity!”

‘It was terrible.’

If storms and earthquakes happened strategically at the same time, if floods occurred at the weakest moments, and if droughts happened during the farming season, could humans stop them? No way.

At least it was fortunate that the Disaster led by the Great Overlord existed physically and “could be killed.”

“Nice to meet you, hunter Lee Hyun-seung. It’s been a while.”

The leader of the hunters on the front line, the captain, bowed his head.

By the time we fled from the -Land of Death- with Sung Hyun-woo’s help and returned to the fort to rest and recover, both the advance team and the following team had arrived. They were unpacking and reinforcing the fort or making preparations by sparring together.

“Mr. Si-woo, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell them the truth and ask for help?”

“No, that’s not going to make things any better. This isn’t just any other place. It’s the front line, which is full of people who are obsessed with monsters. It could mess with the plan, or things could get very annoying.”

“Then, what?”

Looking at the hunters, the Jeong Si-woo Division members discussed what to do. They were quite powerful, and if they joined forces, it would be very helpful. But I shook my head.

“We’ll take care of it. To be honest, if the plan I drew up when I came back in time works out properly, the -Five Heroes- will be enough to kill him. So, there’s no need to involve other individuals.”

The Five. If humanity’s strongest individuals that I selected joined forces, the resulting synergy would be beyond imagination. In the past, even the Great Overlord was surprised at their power.

Their combined power was so great that just the Five alone surpassed top guilds, crushed legions of monsters, and emerged as the light of humankind.

“Those hunters will protect people from the aftermath of the waves. And 1st generation legends and other additional groups will help them. We have to destroy the fundamental danger when our headquarters is safe.”

“Fundamental danger?”

“We’re going to provoke the Great Overlord on purpose. And before a ‘new pattern’ shows up, I’m going to target all of his vulnerabilities that I remember and wipe him off of the earth’s surface.”

“What? You said it was extremely dangerous to provoke him…….”

“You’re right. The Wailing Wall will probably collapse in three days.”

The members of the Jeong Si-woo Division turned pale. The -Wailing Wall- was humanity’s symbol of defense. It was a shield that allowed people to live without fear even in times of chaos, and it was a fort that both civilians and hunters depended on.

“Then what do we do? Will the hunters be able to withstand legions of monsters strong enough to break down the Wailing Wall? If anything goes wrong……!”

“They can do it. I wouldn’t be sure if it were just them, but all of the legendary 1st generation hunters will gather here.”

“But… no matter how great they were, it was a long time ago. I fought alongside some of them, so I know how powerful they are. But some of them are definitely not as strong as 1st class hunters.…!”

“Han Yeon-soo.”

She fell silent the moment I spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you who I called here?”

Han Yeon-soo’s worries were unnecessary.

“The 1st generation I’m talking about are hunters from earlier than you think.”

“Earlier……?”

“When there were modern firearms everywhere, and when humans thought those were their only weapons. When monsters that couldn’t be killed with iron bullets and couldn’t be harmed with machine-made fire poured down like rain. At the most perilous time in history, when the human race was on the brink of destruction.”

The pages of history called it the ‘Day of Despair’.

It was only thanks to them that humankind was able to survive the invaders that day.

The miraculous coming of the heroes.

“The legends who crawled out from barren lands with their bare hands and created miracles. If they gather in one place, you’ll witness something that you’ve never seen before in your life.”

“…….”

“Hunters made in Academies, who became strong by studying over and over again? Sure, they are strong. But an animal fed and raised can never defeat a predator that hunts and survives in the wild.”

After hearing what I said, Han Yeon-soo and the others looked puzzled.

And then…

“Oh, wait a minute, hunter Lee Hyun-seung. I just received a call from the camp…….”

The captain, who had been talking earnestly, excused himself and picked up his cell phone.

At the same time.

“…What?”

He became bewildered.

“Why are they coming? They didn’t show up even during the -Great Rift- crisis……. They’re all coming to the -Wailing Wall-? W-wait, don’t hang up! You aren’t lying, are you?”

Hearing his conversation, the hunters wondered what was going on.

At that moment.

Booooom!

Deafening explosions rang out from the outskirts of the fort.

“Look, they already arrived. I knew it. They’re so impatient.”

“…….”

“Come on, let’s get ready to sneak off. Those great people will take care of the aftermath of what we’re about to do.”

Turning away from the sound, I took a step forward.

Tap.

But Yoo Ji-yeon grabbed my shoulder.

“Si-woo, can’t you give us a brief explanation? Who on earth is coming? What kind of people have you called……?”

“Well, there’s too many, so I can’t list everyone… Oh, I guess you’ll understand if I tell you one.”

Looking at everyone’s faces, I could tell that their thoughts were similar to Yoo Ji-yeon’s. I thought for a moment and soon came up with a clear answer. Yeah, if I told them, they would understand.

They would understand how different the 1st generation they were thinking of was from the 1st generation I was thinking of.

“He refused to be evaluated by the Association, and everyone recognizes him as the biggest hero of the Rift crisis. The entire world still loves him, and in hunter popularity votes, he still ranks no.1 by an overwhelming majority even though it’s been decades since he retired.”

I pointed my finger outside the fort.

“First.”

“…….”

“And people who are as strong as him. All right? Let’s go now.”

Everyone stood dumbfounded at my words, and only after I was way ahead of them did they catch up.

“What… on earth have you done, Si-woo…?

I could hear Yoo Ji-yeon’s dazed voice.

It was understandable.

First. The first man.

The moment he awakened, he wiped out danger level A monsters and destroyed Rifts.

The man recorded as the world’s ‘first Awakener’ and ‘first hunter’.

The living legend imprinted in everyone’s minds as the ‘best hunter’.

His appearance would shock everyone.

“I’ll happily tell you later when everything is over. Let’s go for now.”

Smiling, I pointed to my chin. It was a gesture instructing Hyun-woo to teleport.

With that, we disappeared from the busy fort.

And the next moment, we were back in the -Land of Death-.

* * *

“How much further do we have to go? It’s been so long since I’ve walked like this. It’s killing me.”

“Stop grumbling. That old man whose only useful ability was teleportation has dementia, so we can’t help it. Or would you rather ask him to teleport us when his memory is unsound?”

“Whew, this is driving me crazy… I’m going crazy.”

A barren land. The Field beyond the frontline camp.

There, a very strange scene was unfolding.

“If it weren’t for that damn letter……. If I find out who sent it, I’m going to murder them.”

“You’re going to murder someone again? Do you still have a license to kill?”

“I don’t know. They probably didn’t renew it. There won’t be many people who remember by now.”

“You’re old, but you’re still nasty. The word ‘murder’ just pops out like that, huh?”

In an area that would easily be voted as one of the top three most dangerous areas in the world, countless elderly people were walking.

Their wrinkled faces, bent backs, white hair, and cracked voices. They didn’t suit the front line at all.

However, what was even more strange was that no one was wearing a hunting suit, which was basically a necessity on the front line. Despite the insanely high mana concentration and messed-up environment, the elderly people were walking along with no problem. It was like they were taking a stroll in a familiar place.

“Well, it is refreshing to smell this air after such a long time. I was getting tired of just lying around.”

“Refreshing my behind. I want to vomit.”

Some of them were dressed in tacky flower patterns or worn-out clothes. Some wore luxury brands, but they looked awkward rather than stylish. It was a group of elderly people you could see anywhere. They looked ordinary.

And then.

Booom!

“Krrr-rraw─!”

A lengthy monster that resembled a centipede arose from the ground the elderly were stepping on. Stone fragments scattered around, and dust clouds spread out.

But none of the elderly looked surprised. They just stood there, calmly looking at the screaming monster.

It was like they were absentmindedly looking at a bug crawling on the ground.

“Maknae, you catch him. We used to do all the hard work, remember? You’re the youngest here, so go and take care of the puny ones.”

“Yes, yes, I will.”

One of the elderly walked forward. He looked annoyed.

He stepped on the part of the ground that was crumbling apart.

“So exhausting. So exhau… sting!!”

And the moment he pointed his feet, the old man disappeared. The next moment, he was floating in the air. He was spinning violently above the monster’s head, yawning with his mouth wide open.

“Krrrrr… reuk.”

Thwaaack!

His rotating foot smacked the top of the monster’s head and crushed the monster’s skull. Green blood spurted out, and the eerie howl stopped. That was it. The monster that had appeared as if it were some great beast died just like that.

“Ayyy… You’ve lost your touch. Look at all the blood that’s splattered. So messy.”

“Oh, you know how it is. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever, let’s go!”

The elderly people, looking all annoyed and bothered, waved their hands quickly without uttering a single compliment and hurried along.

It was to be expected.

“These puny things are wasting our time… Hmph.”

Hunting like that was normal to them.

Even monsters that could kill experienced hunters if they were careless were nothing to the elderly people.

“Hurry up and walk, you bastards!”