After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 68, You should know better (1)

I let the scuffling villains go as soon as we cleared the dungeon. Of course, I meant I let them go to the Awakener prison camp instead of home.

If they were genuinely sorry, they should pay the price, not just apologize.

“No, we know more! Mr. Jeong! No, hey! You bastard!”

I grinned happily, watching them shout as they were dragged away.

“Why do unexpected things always happen when I’m with you?”

“But the result wasn’t bad, was it?”

Yoo Ji-yeon laughed in disbelief as she spoke, and I casually replied. This was going to happen often in the future, so she had better get used to it. Han Yeon-soo was now familiar with weird things happening and looked unconcerned.

“Mr. Si-woo, we need more people. There’s a lot of by-products inside, and they’re not just ordinary things. They might get damaged if we carelessly move them.”

“Call some Cleaners that you know. Don’t call the ones from the Association.”

In line with its reputation as a treasure dungeon, there was a wide in its depths. Of course, I didn’t need any weapons because I had Mirage, but it would help to have them.

“Then, Mr. Zhang Wei, Han Yeon-soo, and Yoo Ji-yeon should stay here. Take care of the monsters and hand over the stuff to the Cleaners… And I’ll deal with the villains’ sponsors.”

“You’re going alone? Are you sure? The villains at the hideout will be different from the ones that were here.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

I smiled, and Han Yeon-soo looked at me, opened her mouth slightly, and then sighed.

“… You’re going to take Hyun-woo with you, right?”

“Of course. I need some insurance.”

“Okay, then.”

I mean, I was a prospective 1st class hunter now.

But it felt a bit strange to see Han Yeon-soo looking relieved when I said Sung Hyun-woo was coming with me.

The way she treated me seemed no different from when I was an Analyst.

[You should train harder.]

“I guess I should.”

I wanted to retort, but it would probably just annoy me more. I waved and grabbed Sung Hyun-woo’s hand. Except for Han Yeon-soo, no one seemed to worry about me.

“I’ll be back.”

I would have liked to take Zhang Wei with me, but even though he always looked calm, he was a naive romantic inside. There was no need to step on his rose-colored glasses.

“Ajusshi, it’s okay if we go straight to the target without going around, right?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as they were about to say goodbye, my consciousness was sucked into another place.

How dare you try to take Dragon’s Word for yourselves?

Anything valuable belonged to me.

* * *

“What the hell?”

A man stared at the mirror, looking confused. There was a halo of light shining behind his head. But he didn’t remember being blessed by a Supporter.

And he had never heard of a blessing that looked so fancy and lasted so long.

“…Did God bless me for working so hard?”

The man was a devout Catholic, so he didn’t think it would be anything negative.

Was it a new phenomenon from the overflow of light mana? Or was it a sign of a re-awakening? All of the possibilities that came to his mind were positive.

Thud.

Someone opened the door.

“Everything is ready. I heard that the Tower Master has prepared the item. Should I have someone go and collect it?”

“Oh, don’t bother. I can get it myself. It wouldn’t look good to have anyone go get it from someone high above.”

The man, who was smoothing his hair while looking in the mirror, moved quickly. The Tower Master was very particular about being on time. Being even a little late could leave a bad impression.

“And don’t call him Tower Master outside. Call him the ‘man from high above’ when you work, and call him the Tower Master when you aren’t working.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll watch myself.”

“There’s no need to be sorry. Just be careful from now on. People are watching and listening.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The man who opened the door bowed his head. He was a decent fellow. He was quick-witted, and with some training, would probably become useful in the future.

“How long are you going to say hello? Move fast.”

However, he did not move for a long time as he bowed his head. What’s wrong with him? Was he dazzled by the halo?

“Hey, how long are you going to bow? Get out of my way….”

And then.

“……?”

The body of the bowing man collapsed to the floor. From his head to his chest, his body literally collapsed into dust like a sandcastle hit by a wave. There was no blood spatter, no crushed bones. Only his upper body disappeared like dust in the wind.

“What just… what….”

The other man immediately backed away at the unbelievable sight. But his moving feet and body soon stopped. It was like he was experiencing a glitch in a game. His body froze and stiffened.

Thump. Thump.

At the same time, he could hear the footsteps of two people from far away.

“Hyun-woo, was he a bad guy?”

“He picked young children and women to sell off. He deserved to die.”

“Good thing I killed him.”

What were they talking about? The frozen man felt a cold chill.

Thud!

The remaining lower body of his underling fell and hit the floor. He was like a broken mannequin. The frozen man felt nauseous at the alien sight.

Magic, he had to use magic. He had to protect his body first and then prepare to deal with those lunatics coming close.

“What about him?”

Fortunately, unlike his frozen body, his mana swirled smoothly. The light mana he was proud of rose from his entire body, and a brilliantly shining sphere floated into the air.

‘All right. This could do a lot of damage to anyone approaching. The moment you come in, I’ll tear you apart.’

“He’s even worse. I don’t even want to mention what he’s done.”

“He should die, then.”

The door creaked open. A man who barely seemed like an adult and a young boy who looked like he just graduated from elementary school.

When the two of them appeared, the frozen man flooded them with the cluster of light he had ready. It was a perfectly timed surprise attack. The light shot like a bullet towards them.

Not even a Great Sorcerer could block this attack.

The man sneered.

But then.

“Hm.”

The young man was standing calmly in the face of the violent light. He spoke in a relaxed and peaceful voice that did not suit the situation.

“Stop.”

He said just one word.

And at that moment.

“……?”

The rays of light the frozen man created with his mana no longer belonged to him.

“…Huh?”

The man murmured confusedly. His stunned face was reflected in the young man’s light-purple eyes.

“Ha, this is a first for you, isn’t it?”

* * *

[You have activated Link.]

.

.

.

[You have selected an individual with whom you have a maximum bond.]

[You cannot fully use the individual’s force yet.]

[Target exists in the past and the present.]

[Due to your low soul level, the target in the present is automatically selected.]

.

.

.

[Name: Yoo Ji-yeon (present-day)]

[Witch]

『The Hwayeon Choin Academy has a prospective wizard at last.』

『Soon, you’ll be a wizard that surprises the world.』

A series of notification windows popped up, and I looked at the glowing clusters of light beyond them. It looked like the man didn’t understand what had just happened.

“Hyun-woo, read his memory.”

“W-aaait…….”

The man spoke clumsily and slowly.

It was because of the invisible prison Hyun-woo created.

It was a crazy technique that controlled the nearby area with telekinesis and exerted power freely upon the individuals captured inside. If he unfolded teleportation and this technique together, Hyun-woo was the most potent Esper that could deal with surprise attacks.

“…I read everything.”

“You didn’t miss anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll kill him.”

Snap.

I let go of the light magic I was holding onto in the air.

And the whirring light rays started to move to return to their master.

“Argh, no… No, please….”

Boom, boom!

Before he could do anything, he died, buried in his own magic. Looking at the blood spurting, I tucked away the treasures he had stolen into my subspace pocket.

The Dragon’s Word wasn’t there. So, this guy isn’t the final boss. How annoying.

“I was hoping to get it over at once. Ugh…….”

I scratched my head and grabbed Sung Hyun-woo’s hand. Hyun-woo gave me every piece of information he had taken from the dead man.

Wow, what a disgusting prick. I couldn’t help but swear. He had committed crime after crime ever since he was young. He was basically the villain of villains. But….

“Hmm?”

In his memory, I began to see a familiar face.

-Thank you for trusting me.

-Hahaha. No problem….

-Tower… Master.

And his name was identical as well.

‘Tower Master?

It was definitely him. The man I remembered and the man this guy called ‘the man from high above’ were the same person—what a coincidence.

‘This will be very useful.’

I had seized the weak spot of a very useful person.

[Don’t make that face. You look like an actual villain.]

The Traveler spoke quietly, looking at me laughing by myself.

“Me? A villain?”

I replied shortly.

“No matter how much I seem like a villain, a villain who catches other villains is a hero.”

* * *

-The guild that every wizard dreams of!

-Selected as one of the top three guilds.

-80% of those who received the title of Great Sorcerer are members of this guild.

“Hmm, so their reputation is intact even now.”

Tap, tap.

I scrolled down to look for other news articles.

There was nothing but rave reviews. The guild had grown a lot after being selected as one of the top three guilds. Some even expressed worry about them gaining too much power with their numerous hunter and wizard members.

But I couldn’t help but laugh whenever I saw news that the guild was so powerful and overflowing with members.

‘It looks like I won’t have much to worry about from now on.’

Because the bigger and stronger they were, the better it was for me.

Click.

I clicked my mouse, and a video started to play on the screen.

-Your guild has been selected as one of the top three guilds. How does it feel, becoming a big guild that is on par with the Four Guardian Gods guild and the Temple guild from a once small gathering of wizards…?

The middle-aged man standing in the center of the video smiled happily at the question.

-I’m very proud. It wasn’t our goal to become this big, but I feel a lot of responsibility. I’m pleased that I’ve become the leader of great wizards and one of the pillars that protect the world. We’ll have to keep going forward for those who trust and follow me…….

And I also smiled happily at the sight.

‘He’s the kind of person who never does anything that could threaten his position.’

I saw a lot of ugly things happen when the Disasters raged and when it was chaos everywhere. So I knew his personality very well.

And I knew how he would respond when threatened with the information I got from Hyun-woo.

-Mr. Jeong, please… Please let it slide just once. I’m a terrible person. Yoo Ji-yeon, I’ll give up the guild master position to Yoo Ji-yeon. I’ll just settle my possessions and return to my hometown! Please, just this once…….

I vaguely recalled how despicable the Tower Master was the last time I saw him.

It looked like an easy prey had come into my hands faster than in my past life.

The top three guilds.

The dream guild of all wizards, the Tower.

The group, which was known to have the strongest firepower in the world, would become a reliable supporter and sponsor of the Jeong Si-woo division.

‘Getting Dragon’s Word… and catching an easy target.’

Tap, tap.

I tapped the table.

There was only one thing to say in this situation.

“How lucky.”