After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 67. How could you take what belongs to us? (3)

“Ajusshi, is it okay if we don’t move quickly?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“When I read his memory, that object didn’t seem ordinary. Wouldn’t someone else try to take it?”

“It’s probably already gone.”

I calmly answered Sung Hyun-woo. He looked stunned for a moment.

“Huh? Then why are you so calm…?”

“It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Dragon’s Word was a very advanced item. When it was revealed to the public, very few people recognized its value.

Even Yoo Ji-yeon, with her high level of achievement, took hours to get past the first page. So what could those guys do with it?

By the way……

‘That guy clearly doesn’t know anything.’

I looked at the villain walking timidly. If I guessed right, all he knew was the location of the hideout and the personal information of some minor villains. And I had no use for that right now.

‘He said that an important person would contact him.’

I definitely heard that conversation in the man’s memory.

Since these guys knew nothing, they probably would have tried to raise the price or pretend they didn’t have the book and get murdered as a result.

Because it wasn’t even clear if their guild was intact, this guy was now useless to me.

‘But killing him wouldn’t be right.’

He was only a thief. He deserved to serve about four years in an Awakener prison camp, but he didn’t deserve to die.

And I’d feel guilty if I killed him simply because he was useless. It could also damage Yoo Ji-yeon’s and Zhang Wei’s impression of me when they had just recently joined my team.

If I didn’t kill this guy and one of my teammates, we wouldn’t fulfill the two death requirements to leave the dungeon. The only remaining option was to clear the dungeon.

‘And besides…’

If I were to find the important person from this guy’s memory and get Dragon’s Word, it would be much easier to find the Heavenly Eyes hidden at the end of this dungeon than to ask around and use my connections.

An artifact that tells you where someone is if you just think of them. With that, I could always retrieve what belonged to me.

“Don’t be impatient. Just follow me. I have a plan.”

* * *

“What should we do……?”

There were four more men in the dungeon. The total of five villains were restrained by Yoo Ji-yeon’s magic and were kneeling in a corner. They cringed as they asked.

They were about as strong as 3rd class hunters. I could see why they just fled with the treasures. It would have been difficult for them to even kill a single monster.

“Sit here quietly. The bunch of you will just get in the way.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave than clear the dungeon? We’ve tried to clear it three times now with the swiftest members, but more than 20 guys have died so far!”

“Just leave? Did any of you die?”

“Oh, thankfully, this time no one has…….”

“Then we can’t leave.”

The villains looked confused. I picked up a stone from the floor and threw it toward the entrance we came in from.

And then.

Crack!

“…….”

The stone was smashed to pieces as if it hit something in the air.

It was the most powerful restriction seen in dungeons or Rifts—a dimension distortion.

A wall created to prevent access.

That wall was so sturdy that even Seung-hyun Hyeong wouldn’t be able to break it.

“So, you guys want to leave? Do you want me to toss you?”

“Oh, no, no! Sorry!”

They replied in a hurry, looking squeamish. Seeing them shake their heads violently, I grinned and slowly started to move.

“Yoo Ji-yeon, cover the left ceiling.”

“Okay.”

“Sung Hyun-woo, there are two coming around from the right wall. Get ready.”

There was no need for me to move. After two years of constant training, my teammates fully understood my orders with just a few words. The monsters were wiped out before I could even see them.

“…Eek.”

The villains would have feared death if they encountered a single monster, but the monsters were mere resources to us.

Since they were going to become the Five Heroes in the future, their teamwork was surprisingly good. And their judgment and ability to fight exceeded that of most veteran hunters, so I didn’t have to instruct them particularly.

And after some time.

Thud thud thud thud thud.

A huge creature began to emerge little by little, far away.

“Argh!”

“That! That creature killed all of our mates!”

The villains crouching in the back shouted. How many treasures did you guys steal to meet those creatures? I almost asked but stopped myself. I activated Mirage and created a long sword in my hand.

[‘Seven Sins Sword Mastery (A)’ is activated.]

[‘Outstanding Weapons Technique (A)’ is activated.]

“Mr. Si-woo, should I take care of it?”

“No, if you summon them here underground, we’ll die along with that monster!”

All of Han Yeon-soo’s strong legionaries were huge. That big guy was already making the ceiling crumble, and if we added another giant here….….

We’d probably end up filming a thriller escape film instead of a dungeon raid.

“Han Yeon-soo, summon small soldiers and assist me. Hyun-woo and Yoo Ji-yeon, stop other monsters from getting near. And Mr. Zhang Wei, please buff me as much as possible.”

Crackle.

A part of the wall collapsed and slowly revealed the creature. A body covered in shiny scales, a giant spear in one hand, and a lizard-like appearance. At a glance, it looked like a huge Lizardman. But I knew its name.

-Dragon Tooth Soldier-

Soldiers that protect a dragon’s lair. The fact that they appeared meant that we were near the center, which also meant that we were close to the dungeon’s core.

‘If we break through as fast as we can, this might end more quickly than expected.’

Once we destroyed the dungeon’s core, we could freely enter and leave the dungeon. Then I could decide who should stay to finish wiping out the monsters and collect the treasures and who should go after the villains. Then the plan would proceed quickly without a hitch.

“Krrr—-rraaaaawww!”

Of course, as long as we dealt with that monster swiftly.

The large lizard charged towards me with heavy footsteps. Yoo Ji-yeon and Sung Hyun-woo promptly tackled the trivial monsters that rushed in from behind it.

“Mr. Si-woo, please wait a minute!”

At the same time, a spider as large as a grown man crawled out of Han Yeon-soo’s shadow. The spider rattled its eight legs and fired a spider web at the charging Dragon Tooth Soldier.

Not directly at it, but between the walls near it.

Sizzle.

The thin and transparent threads intertwined, creating a long string in the approaching Dragon Tooth Soldier’s path.

It looked like the string would break at once if the Dragon Tooth Soldier kicked at it with its thick leg.

But.

Twang!

As the Dragon Tooth Soldier ignored the string and blindly rushed forward, its leg got caught in the spider web. The monster instantly lost its balance.

[Name: Red Spider of the Abyss]

[Appeared long ago during the Dark Rift Crisis. A monster known to have gone extinct from the raid on the Rift. Can withstand submachine gun fire and spins extraordinary webs that do not burn.]

The spider fiend living in Han Yeon-soo’s zoo was quite impressive.

I ran forward, grasping the ambient, shining sword.

Thump!

I kicked the ground and jumped up, spinning in the air. I leaped up once more by kicking the hanging spider web. My body rose high like I was flying in the sky.

And then, I swung the sword and landed on the Dragon Tooth Soldier’s large head.

Slash!

The blade carrying my weight penetrated the skin of the monster.

Ah, but it was too shallow.

“Krrr─waaaaaa!”

The monster screamed in pain. It swung its arms as if it was swatting at a mosquito. But there was no way it could catch me when I was already jumping around above its head.

Swoosh! Slash!

I slithered here and there, cutting its skin and ripping its muscles like I was butchering an animal.

Within a few minutes, the Dragon Tooth Soldier was cut up. After struggling for a while in the air, it collapsed to the ground and died. It was an anticlimactic ending compared to its impressive entrance.

“Let’s go.”

I casually spoke, and my teammates calmly followed me as if nothing special had happened.

“Oh, oh, yeah!”

Only the villains were looking at me as if they had seen a ghost.

Wiping away the blood on our hands, we walked towards the deepest part of the dungeon.

* * *

“Ajusshi, there it is. There’s the core.”

“……!”

The villains said nothing, their jaws hanging out. It was an incredibly fast raid that would surprise most hunters. But it was normal for us, so we calmly destroyed the walls as we walked towards the dungeon’s core.

‘Fortunately, they didn’t find this.’

I smiled and looked at the object down below.

[Name: Heavenly Eyes]

[→ An Artifact said to be made from the eyes of judges searching for fugitives long ago.]

[*Traces the location of an individual you want to find when you recall that individual.]

[*Cannot trace two individuals at once.]

[*Cannot trace an individual who is already dead. Only living beings can be traced.]

[*Cannot trace non-humans.]

[*A mark is left on the individual being traced.]

* * *

“Hm. So this is Dragon’s Word?”

“Yes, it is. He kept playing hard to get, so I just took it without paying the price.”

“It’s only a tiny sum. I don’t care if you give it away. Don’t you think you lost your temper?”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Try to be more peaceful next time. We’re not a group that does unlawful work. And if we get caught, things will become messy. Well then, shall we take a look?”

At those words, the man reached out and handed over the old book.

Tap.

It was a middle-aged man who took the book. Dressed in Wizard robes, he slowly turned the pages of the book.

The man looked down at the book as he read it. His face was covered by a hood and could not be seen properly.

“Is this really written in the ancient language?”

“Yes, that’s right. Dragon’s Word is written on the cover in ancient language…….”

Tsk. The man clicked his tongue.

“I think we need to find an ancient language scholar.”

“What?”

“I cannot tell what it’s written in. In fact, I’m not sure if these are even words. It looks like a child has drawn all over.”

“Even to you, Tower Master? Then who could read the real value of this……?”

“I’m not saying this book seems useless. I can feel the mana it contains. But I cannot think of a way to utilize it.”

The middle-aged man closed the book. It seemed like he had difficulty just looking at the book.

“Hmm… hm, hm!”

The man cleared his throat and put the book in his inner pocket. Only then did he look relaxed.

It felt like he was losing his energy to the book. It was impossible that he, the Tower Master who stood at the top of all Wizards, could ever feel this way.

‘But since it can cause this sensation in me, it’s bound to be a great Artifact.’

His expectations rose. The man sneered as he slowly raised his head. And then he frowned.

“Your….”

“Yes?”

“What’s that above your head?”

“Over my head? What do you mean……?”

The younger man standing in front of the Tower Master waved his hand over his head and looked upward. But then he tilted his head to the side, confused.

But the Tower Master’s face became stiff.

There was an eye shining bright white above the man’s head.

“Well… it doesn’t look evil.”

It was like a halo that appears behind priests in games. When the Tower Master saw it, he thought a Supporter must have cast a blessing of some sort.

Rarely anyone would have thought negatively of the shining eye.

[Name: Heavenly Eyes]

[→ Mark in the sky]

[*The more evil the target is, the more brightly it shines.]

[*The eviler the target is, the more accurate the location tracing.]

[*The eviler the target is, the more damage can be dealt from an attack.]