After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 95. The War of the Stars (1)

After meeting with the Great Sage, I returned to my private training place instead of going back home.

“I should clean up.”

I was a mess because I stayed at the Monster Fields for quite a while. Unlike the common training camp, there was no one here to manage the place. I swept away the dust and took off my jacket.

“Come on. We’re at someplace quiet. There’s no one here but me.”

[Hmm… It seems so.]

The Traveler nodded with his hand on his chin. Not even my team members knew this place. I had secretly secured this private training place to practice using the Akashic Records.

In order to keep my newly obtained ability secret from everyone and prevent them from catching the smallest clue; so, I could just focus on training.

“Why did you ask for a separate space like this? Whatever you do, nobody can see you anyway…….”

[Didn’t you ask for help? Then things will be a little different from now on.]

“What?”

[I will remain invisible, but your form will become somewhat strange.]

What are you talking about? I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t. I was speechless. The sensation I had felt before returned. The feeling of my body being frozen stiff. It seemed time had stopped only for me. The Traveler slowly came towards me.

[It’s going to hurt a little bit, but hold on. You said you wanted to become strong, didn’t you?]

Wrinkled hands stretch out. The Traveler’s hand, which resembled those of an old man, changed its shape little by little. They slithered like a worm, and the five fingers split into ten. The ten fingers soon became twenty. The fingers divided endlessly, becoming dozens of tentacles, and dug into my body.

“…Ugh.”

I closed my lips but couldn’t help but gasp. I was confident in my ability to endure pain.

I had experienced all kinds of pain, and I was good at holding out. Since I was more desperate than others, I always thought that I should at least be good at enduring.

But this feeling was on a different level from the pain I had experienced all my life.

[Hold on.]

It felt like thunder was crashing down inside my head every second. Every vein and every nerve ached. Sticky saliva trickled down from my lower lip to my chin. My head throbbed. It felt like my mind was going to fly far away. It was like someone was hammering my entire body over and over again.

[If you collapse, it’s over. I won’t help you anymore. Hang in there.]

That one word brought me back to my senses. I can’t give up. I couldn’t let such a tragedy happen again. The countless events and emotions that formed me stimulated my mind.

“Ggu.. gguaa… arghhhh…….”

A strange sound came out. The voice was so cracked that I wondered if it was my voice.

Craaack.

I could hear the sound of my joints and bones breaking. My intestines were ripped to pieces, and my blood dried up. But I had to hold on. It was better to die in the process than to lose the chance of saving everyone.

How much time had passed? The extreme pain began to change into something different.

[Good. Hang in there a bit longer.]

The broken bones reattach. The ripped apart intestines formed again, and the blood that had dried up gushed once more. I could hear the loud beating of my heart.

My body transforms with every single beat. The throbbing headache stopped, and my eyes began to clear. My acute senses that had been strengthened by my high level of ability were nothing compared to this. Something essential had grown within me.

“…Haargh!”

The chill enveloping my body disappeared. My frozen body was not stiff anymore. I fell to the floor. Drops of sweat had entirely soaked my clothes. My hands pressing on the ground were shaking. I was exhausted. It felt like I had lost all my muscles.

[Good job. Rest like that for a moment.]

Said the Traveler casually, looking at me. Breathing heavily, I looked up at him and asked.

“What have you done……?”

[I expanded your capability by force. It destroyed your body right up to the point of death and reassembled it even stronger by rapidly healing it.]

“…….”

I didn’t ask how he did it. Rather, I just remembered the fact that I could have actually died if I had given up. The Traveler looked down at me.

[I will repeat this training every day. Your capability is big compared to the time you spent expanding it, but it’s not enough by my standards. If you really want to be strong enough to carry the burden of everything by yourself, this is far from enough.]

“…….”

[What can you store in such a small bowl? Far from protecting humanity and the world, you won’t even be able to protect the people you care for.]

His eyes were as cold as a blade. Yes. The Traveler was right. This was not enough. You had to become a monster in order to catch a monster. I was still an inexperienced rookie.

[To teach you any skills or power, you need to have at least a usable vessel. As of now, you will turn into a pile of ash if I merely show my true self.]

“…….”

[Apart from this training, take all the power and opportunities you can get from nearby for yourself. Take in all the future information you know and accept everyone who offers to help you. An ordinary person would break down if they mixed up too many different things, but you’re not a normal person. You deal with the most massive and extensive collection of information in the entire universe.]

“…Okay.”

I nodded with difficulty. The uncleaned dust on the floor made my throat feel stuffy. After a few coughs, I changed my posture and laid down. I thought I could sleep like this all day.

Ping.

At that moment, a cheerful notification alarm rang from my phone.

“…Hmm?”

My cell phone had fallen out of my pocket onto the dirt floor. I glanced at the notification on the screen.

-A message has arrived.

-Four Guardian Gods guild leader Kim Young-hwan.

-You know that favor I asked of you the other time? There’s something I’d like to tell you about the matter. Are you free this afternoon?

What favor did he mean? I couldn’t think straight because of the state of exhaustion I was in. Was he talking about the coalition with my guild? My guild wasn’t even officially founded yet! Well, he seemed like a hasty person.

While I was thinking, another message arrived.

-I’m sorry for contacting you so urgently. It’s not easy to pass down Mugong…. I hope we can meet today.

At the same time, the Traveler spoke.

[And as soon as I mention it, an opportunity comes rolling in. Eat it up right away.]

* * *

“Thank you. It was a sudden request.”

“Not at all. I happened to be free.”

I replied, shaking Kim Young-hwan’s hand. He burst into laughter. I smiled and started talking.

“By the way… I can’t get a clear idea of what you said last time and what your text meant.”

“Yes?”

“What’s Mugong? If it’s your skill, it’s impossible to transfer it to others……. Or is it, by any chance, an inheritable characteristic?”

“Ah. I never gave you a full explanation. I’m sorry. Most of the Four Guardian Gods guild members know the term, so I forgot.”

Actually, I knew what Mugong was. As an Analyst, I was commissioned by the Four Guardian Gods guild, and I was briefed on various details for further analysis. But the Traveler had ordered me to do one thing, so I lied to follow that order.

‘I’d like to hear how he explains Mugong. I want to see whether they have invented a physical fighting method by reading martial arts novels or whether it is the same as the kind I know.’

How will Kim Young-hwan reply?

“Simply put… It’s a physical technique that I created. It’s kind of like a combat technique. The optimized way for Awakened people to handle their bodies.”

“…….”

“One of my characteristics is -The Spirit of Moorim-. It’s a power I gained from my Awakening, and from the moment I realized this ability, strange thoughts came to my mind. I saw visions of a historical drama-like place, which didn’t look at all like modern society, let alone have any tall buildings.”

“…….”

“Do you know about martial arts novels? It’s a genre that used to be popular, and I saw places similar to martial arts novel backgrounds. Ordinary people running as fast as wild cats, breaking iron with their bare hands. At first, I thought I was dreaming.”

Said Kim Young-hwan as he pointed his finger upward. That moment, the hair covering his forehead flew upward as if someone had pulled it.

“Until I could also envision how to handle that power.”

“……!”

“I naturally learned Mugong or the way to control energy and train the body, to be exact. Thanks to Mugong, I was reborn as a top Hunter, and I was able to train my guild members to become stronger.”

Kim Young-hwan bent his finger and continued to talk.

“As time went by, my Mugong constantly improved in a way that fit Awakened people, thanks to the memory of Moorim that kept flowing into my mind.”

“Ah…….”

“I peeked into the memory of the other world yesterday. Mugong is still improving and developing. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up.”

A bitter smile appeared on Kim Young-hwan’s face.

“This old, creaky body can no longer reach a higher state. I can barely maintain this power.”

“…….”

“Also, the memories of Moorim are taking over my memories. First of all, my old memories started to fade away, and now it’s hard to remember a week, no, three days ago.”

“……!”

What was this? I had never heard of this. I didn’t know that Kim Young-hwan was caught in such a situation before I came back in time.

“Sometimes, I can’t say my son’s name right away. Isn’t it ridiculous? That a father has to think forever before he can call his son?”

His face looked forlorn.

“Oh, right, what were we talking about? Oh no. I’ll get back to the point. About passing down Mugong…….”

Kim forced a smile and continued his explanation. But I couldn’t focus on his words. Because of the shocking new facts? Yeah, that wasn’t false. But the real reason was the Traveler muttering behind me.

[The Spirit of Moorim… It must be exactly the same technique as I know. But hearing what he said, I think there must be a more certain way to grow stronger than to learn Mugong.]

“…….”

[The ability to constantly draw in memories. Don’t you think that ability perfectly suits your Akashic Records? If the Spirit of Moorim were yours, they would have created great synergy, don’t you agree?]

‘I guess so. But why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?’ I muttered under my breath and tried to concentrate on Kim Young-hwan.

[I think… that you can make that characteristic yours. What do you think? Do you want it?]

I would have been able to focus on Kim Young-hwan if the Traveler hadn’t said that.

‘What did he just say?’

The fundamental power that turned Kim Young-hwan into a hero of humankind and the guild master of the Four Guardian Gods guild. The Traveler had just said that the power that enabled Kim Young-hwan to keep his seat at the top of all Hunters could be mine.