After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 127. Once things go wrong, they spiral out of control (4)

“We just got here, and tomorrow there’s a large-scale hunt… We should have taken our time or come a bit earlier.”

“Well, this way, we don’t have to unpack. We can just get going right away.”

“Oh, how very optimistic of you.”

The day went by quickly.

After meeting the hunters at the front line, we took a short nap. When we woke up, the advance team was already getting ready to leave.

“Team 1, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Take a short break and leave in 10 minutes. And hunter Lee Hyun-seung asked you to contact him once you get there, so don’t forget.”

“Okay.”

I scratched my head, looking at people hurrying about.

‘I guess nothing changed overnight.’

Last night, I kept thinking late into the night about the Great Overlord. Why had he already started to move about when he was supposed to be staying in a remote corner? Why was he actively roaming around? How powerful was he now, and what was the current condition of the ‘Monster Land’?

I had too many things to worry about.

In the end, I couldn’t figure out anything.

I couldn’t guess. To be exact, I couldn’t rashly conclude. No matter how early it was, he was the Great Overlord. If I made a hasty judgment, it could harm a lot of people.

‘I’ll assume that he’s a little weaker than the Great Overlord in my past life, or at least as strong as him.’

Someone might say I was going too far. After all, the Great Overlord I remembered had a power that was built up over many years. However, it was never good to underestimate the enemy in my experience, while overestimating the enemy yielded good results.

After all, plans were always formulated based on worst-case scenarios.

‘So, what I need to do is simple.’

I glanced at the advance team that was about to leave.

“Excuse me, just in case.”

Hearing my voice, the leader turned to look at me.

“Would you mind if we also leave now? Since we’re a duo, I don’t think going with the second team will mean much. I think it’ll be better to join the advance team to make things safer.”

“Oh… Yes, we don’t mind. But would it be okay for you guys? Didn’t you just wake up?”

“It was just a nap. And we can warm up while we walk.”

“Hm… Advance team, what do you think about these two volunteering?”

“That would be great. We might die any moment, and if two 1st class hunters are willing to help, we should all get on our knees.”

“Hahahaha.”

Everyone laughed at the exaggerated gesture.

Yeah, I knew they would say yes. 1st class hunters were top-ranking assets that had no problems fighting alongside new teammates.

“Okay, good. Looking forward to it!”

One of the hunters reached out for a handshake.

I gladly shook his hand, but I was thinking about something else.

‘I’m going to arrive at the fort inside the front line quickly.’

The Fifth Disaster couldn’t be taken care of right now. But I had to make perfect moves to buy us even a little time.

‘And I need to hide the ‘new monster species’ that is probably the Great Overlord so that no one can see him.’

Many people in the world hated monsters so much that nothing could persuade them otherwise. I was similar to them, but some of their hatred was near madness. Some couldn’t even stand breathing the same air as monsters.

There were many people among hunters, especially those staying at the front line or the Monster Fields.

“It’s very reassuring to have you with us, hunter Jeong Si-woo.”

Many of the hunters who readily sacrificed themselves in this dangerous place were righteous. But most harbored hate and revenge towards something.

“Yeah, I feel reassured, too.”

I felt the hunter’s strong grip.

He was much younger than how I remembered him. But I could tell who this heartily laughing man shaking my hand was.

‘Lee Young-ho.’

I didn’t know about his past. But of all the hunters I met, he possessed the strongest hatred and animosity towards monsters.

-The Association said not to touch that monster. They said it could be the -Fifth Disaster- that the Great Sage predicted! They told us not to provoke the ticking bomb and to capture him alive!

-I don’t give a damn! How can I trust those Association bastards? After what I went through from trusting them-!

The memory was still vivid. A single impulsive act and the monster that looked like an ordinary boy became an Overlord. He became the final Disaster that ruled on top of monsters and brought upon the apocalypse. It was inevitable and couldn’t be prevented, but it shouldn’t have happened that way.

“Let’s do our best, hunter Lee Young-ho.”

I understood his grudge.

But his resentment had better not cause a problem for me. Still smiling, I glared at him for a few seconds.

“Hmmm… Your eyes are a bit intense. We’ll take off first. You can follow us.”

Lee Young-ho let go of my hand and turned around to head outside the camp.

Team 1 leader, Lee Young-ho.

To control how the -Fifth Disaster- unfolded, I needed to keep my eye on that man, who would become the trigger.

“Let’s go, Han Yeon-soo.”

* * *

“Hugh… Hyaaa!”

Crack, craaaack, thump!

Flesh and blood splattered violently. Some hunters didn’t look good.

“Calm down. We need to move quickly since we’re the advance team…….”

It was because of Lee Young-ho. He was plunging his spear into an already dead monster over and over, huffing.

“Calm down? Was I ever excited? This was a tough one… so I was just making sure it was dead. Yeah, I was just making sure.”

Thunk!

Lee Young-ho pulled his spear out of the monster and walked ahead. One of the hunters who was watching him looked back at us with a sigh.

“I’m sorry. He’s not usually like that. He just goes crazy when he sees monsters. But you can trust his skills. Please don’t feel too disturbed.”

“Of course. You have to have that kind of hatred to remain sane on the front line.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

I smiled at the hunter, who was bowing his head slightly. I could understand.

‘If he doesn’t go crazy and charges at the Great Overlord, I could understand completely.’

Thump, thump.

I walked behind the advance team. The fort wasn’t that far away now. It was thanks to Lee Young-ho. Although his tendency to vent his anger on dead monsters was a flaw, he was definitely a skilled hunter.

“Up front, do you see? Cover us.”

“Yes, sir!”

A ‘super-sense’ that could be a characteristic, a skill, or a tenacious disposition that stemmed from his hatred.

He could locate monsters that were so far away that even my Outstanding Insight couldn’t spot at once. He even discovered every single monster that was camouflaged.

He never lost the way, as if he had the map stored in his mind. He was a hunter optimized to be on the advance team.

“…Wait.”

Lee Young-ho was walking when he suddenly stretched his arm forward and signaled the team to stop moving forward. The hunters halted.

“A big one. There’s a big one over there.”

Thud… Thud.

As soon as he finished speaking, I felt the ground shake under my feet. How on earth could he tell? I almost blurted out, but I stopped myself.

“Hold your breath for 30 seconds. We are too few, so it’ll be difficult for us to deal with it. We could kill it if we wanted to, but we’re the advance team. We were told not to waste our time.”

“…….”

Thud… Thud…….

Beyond the hill, something that seemed at least a few dozen meters tall showed up. It was like a mountain walking around. Plants were growing thickly on its head, and vines wrapped its body here and there. If it were a monster inside a Rift, it could easily be the Boss Monster. But here, it didn’t deserve such a grand title.

Thud… Thud!

“Hmph.”

“Mr. Lee Young-ho. It looks like it’ll be more dangerous for us to hold our breaths and stay still here.”

At the front line, they were just common monsters like Goblins in Rifts. They were neither rare nor special. And they lived in herds with huge populations.

“Two. We’ll knock down the two in front and break through. Okay?”

“But will it be possible?”

“We have hunters Jeong Si-woo and Han Yeon-soo with us! They’re several times stronger than us. Trust them and support them!”

Huge mountains surrounded us. There were too many to count. Just by appearing, they blocked the sky and darkened the whole area.

Tadat.

Caught in the middle, we ran toward the area that was easiest to break through. It was an area that wasn’t completely sealed off yet—the space between two of the creatures which wasn’t too narrow.

“Get down!”

A hunter waved his hand in the air while shouting.

Boom, boom, boom-!

And waves of fire swept through the area. The wasteland melted down, and smoke rose from the giants’ feet. You couldn’t fight creatures of that size with standard tactics. You needed to aim for the lower body, sink the ground they stood on, and find a way to attack. As a hunter, this was the right answer. There was no need for fairness.

“Run fast! They look stupid, but they’re pretty darn fast!”

“We know!”

“I don’t want to pay for your funerals. I just met your families last month!”

Regardless of the burning flames, the giants moved to block us with their bodies and prevent us from escaping. The small rays of light coming through started to disappear.

If the lights went out completely, things would get very complicated. Even if these creatures died on the spot, it would be a hassle to get out of here.

“Anyone, does anyone have any strength left? Force it open, stop it from closing!”

“We can’t do it ourselves! Hunter Jeong Si-woo! We need your help……!”

But no matter how fast we ran, the situation was extremely bad. We couldn’t catch up with how quickly the gap was closing. There needed to be something more decisive.

“Okay, step aside for a moment…….”

I held my palm out. ‘Mirage’ revealed itself, and colorful lights burst out in the dark. If I added Link to this, I would be able to get us out of this situation…

“Is anyone there?”

…. At least that’s what I was thinking.

“Please step aside for a while. You could get hurt.”

I heard a familiar voice coming from outside.

“What? Who is it?”

Lee Young-ho murmured.

And then.

Boooom!

An ear-splitting explosion rang out. It felt like thunder had crashed right next to me.

“……?”

Lee Young-ho and the other advance team hunters stood blankly at the sound and then sank. ‘What’s going on?’ said their faces as they raised their heads.

“……!”

About half of the giants’ bodies were completely blown off. A bright light shone through the dark, and a man stood firmly between the two giants.

“No one’s hurt, right?”

Thump. Thump.

We looked at him, stunned. Walking toward us, he pulled out a spear stuck in the ground and grasped it. Did he do this with that spear? Did he destroy those giants as big as mountains with one throw of the spear?

“Wait, no way…….”

The man stood against the light shining in from outside. His face looked so different that I wasn’t able to recognize him at once. But looking at him again, I could see that his features were the same. What changed was his aura. He used to be reliable but a bit clumsy, and he always stumbled. But now, he wasn’t like that at all.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

A hero.

Yes, the word hero suited him so well.

“…Why didn’t you keep in touch now and then, Seung-hyun Hyeong?”

Kim Seung Hyun.

He, who used to be an ‘okay Tank’, had reappeared as the ‘Martial God’ I remembered from the past.

“Sorry. It’s good to see you. I’ll lead the way from here.”