Secret (1)
It’s currently about 3:00 PM.
It was still quite early for a drink as usual, so we met at a cafe and chatted.
‘No, even if the time is right, you shouldn’t drink now.’
It was a foolish choice to get drunk, even though it wouldn’t be in the best condition when you were thrown into the front lines of a survival battle.
What if they were a suicidal person who had completely given up and given up on suicide from the beginning?
“There’s still quite a bit of time left until transmission. I woke up not long after I got up to go to work… It was around 6 in the morning.”
“···I see.”
Transmission to another world takes place 24 hours after awakening.
That means, the time allowed for Kang Tae-san was now 6:00 AM the next day.
“I called you shortly after I woke up and lost consciousness. After that… I just went to work.”
“In this situation? You went to work?”
“There’s nothing I can do. I’m a civil servant after all. And I’m an agent of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Ability Management Bureau. I have to report to my superiors and tell my colleagues in advance.”
Kang Tae-san frowned and let out a small sigh, saying that he had to waste several precious hours on a pointless reporting process.
If it were anyone else, the moment they realized they had awakened, they would have quit their jobs and everything and not cared at all.
It seems like it couldn’t be helped since it’s a job.
“Really? So you’re saying that you’ve already said hello to everyone around you?”
“Yeah. Well, for people who aren’t that close, I guess I can just leave a simple message.”
“Grandma? Grandma, do you know? That you awakened?”
“······.”
He kept his mouth shut in response to my question.
The expression on his face darkened in an instant, as if his previously calm demeanor was a lie.
Just by looking at the reaction, I could tell what the answer would be.
I guess I haven’t been able to speak properly yet because I’m afraid you might be shocked.
“Hey, Taesan. You know this well, right? There’s no benefit to dragging this out for too long.”
“Oh, I see. After I finish talking to you, I’ll be spending the whole day with Grandma. I’ve already received a full set of essential items from the Ability Management Bureau that an Awakened Person needs to prepare before being sent to another world, so there’s nothing more to prepare.”
Kang Tae-san tapped the large carrier next to him.
It was a carrier filled with bulletproof vests, weapons, combat rations, and other items that were much more effective than those distributed to civilians.
Maybe that’s also a type of employee benefit.
“···okay.”
And it was only natural.
My expression as I looked at Kang Tae-san wasn’t that good either.
It wasn’t just that I felt sorry for his attitude of trying so hard to suppress his tension and maintain his composure.
‘···Then what should I do about this?’
A brief moment of silence as we quenched our thirst with the drinks we had ordered from each other.
While drinking the drink I ordered, I glanced at Kang Tae-san and the corners of my mouth twitched.
‘Should I just say it first? Where should I start and where should I end?’
It was easy to ignore this situation and ignore it.
It was a problem that could be resolved with just one word: I would take good care of my grandmother, so don’t worry too much and come back safely.
‘But if we do that, there will be limits to how much we can do to help him survive. In order to help him properly, it is essential to reveal a certain amount of this as well.’
This world was a dangerous place that should never be taken lightly.
Isn’t the most obvious example of this the extremely low probability of an average return rate of 20%?
Of course, there must have been a considerable number of people who gave up on returning and chose to settle down, but the fact remains that there is a risk that they could lose their lives in an instant if they let their guard down.
‘Even I almost died several times···.’
If there had been no “Avatar”, I wouldn’t be alive as I am now.
When faced with a crisis similar to the one I went through, I couldn’t picture Taesan surviving at all.
‘No matter how strange the name of the unique skill that guy has awakened seems to be.’
I used the “analysis” I borrowed from Hubert to peek into Kang Tae-san’s condition.
-A member of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Republic of Korea’s Bureau of Abilities. He has a strong hatred for crimes involving superpowers, and has recently been recognized for his abilities by his superiors. He is confused because his superpower suddenly awakened. He is worried about his grandmother, who will be left alone after he leaves for another world. He is upset because a date with a female employee, who had been on good terms recently, fell through due to being sent to another world.
– Ability possessed: “Unbreakable”
-Key Traits: Unbreakable faith, tenacious fighting spirit, devoted love for family, great combat talent, extraordinary mental abilities, great physical abilities
-Confidence: 94%
Is it because the divinity started growing in real time, or is it because the guy awakened his supernatural power and the conditions changed somehow?
Things began to appear in my analysis that had not been visible before.
Perhaps the unique skill that Kang Tae-san has developed this time is listed under the ‘possessed abilities’ section.
‘It’s called “unwavering and unyielding”… It doesn’t shake or bend. Is it a resistance ability? I still don’t really get how it can be used.’
In fact, even if the awakened ability was incredibly fraudulent, the situation wouldn’t have changed much right away.
Even if you say that the unique skills of a beginner who has just begun to develop their abilities are great, they are probably just average.
‘Yeah, I didn’t plan on keeping it a secret forever. I guess I need to open up to some extent.’
Thanks to his divinity, he was quite distant from ordinary humans, but apart from that, the human named Kang Tae-san was a very special existence to him.
The last symbol of my remaining ‘normal daily life’, and the only friend who stayed by my side until the very end during the most difficult times, supporting me so that I could move forward without giving up.
‘It is human nature to repay a favor.’
If it weren’t for him in the first place, she would have collapsed long ago when she was left alone in the world.
Maybe he made an extreme choice and is already gone.
This was nothing compared to that debt.
“Hey, Taesan.”
“···Huh? What is it? Why are you suddenly calling me like that?”
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When I made that decision, I felt like my complicated thoughts were being organized more clearly.
Maybe I was too caught up in the fact that I had to hide my identity and was obsessed with it.
“There’s still quite a bit of time left, right?”
As my mindset changed, the texture of the air flowing around my body also subtly changed.
If he had been like a vain hermit who seemed to exist but did not exist until now, he is now like a sleeping dragon who has awakened and is about to launch himself into the world.
“···Well, that’s true. Why? What’s going on?”
Kang Tae-san swallowed his saliva without realizing it at the sudden change in the atmosphere between his childhood friends and carefully asked back.
I just looked at him like that, smiled, and reached out my hand to him.
“Since it has come to this, I will tell you a secret.”
I’m sure you’ll be very surprised.
But I believe you will understand.
“Follow me.”
Because you and I are friends who move forward together with the same pain.
***
Kang Tae-san opened his mouth wide as if he was dumbfounded.
“What the heck is this···.”
And then he kept looking around and laughing in vain.
It had to be that way.
They had been in the heart of Seoul just a moment ago, but now they were inside a mansion on the outskirts, more than ten kilometers away.
“I’ve only heard about this before… It really happened in the blink of an eye.”
It was not a case of using modern means of transportation such as cars.
The thing used for this quick movement is mystery.
Among them, it was a space movement spell that required extremely difficult conditions for the caster.
That in itself was surprising enough, but what surprised Kang Tae-san the most was something a little more fundamental.
That’s right, his close friend, whom he thought was just an ordinary person like himself, had used that mystery.
“You’ve already awakened? How? No, when?”
After leaving the cafe following Han Seong-hyeon, whose mood suddenly changed as if he had decided on something.
They headed straight into a deserted alley.
And what happened next left Kang Tae-san no choice but to doubt his own eyes.
‘I used the villa I lived in before moving as a transit point and arrived here in an instant, jumping through space. I heard that only those with extraordinary abilities could even dream of using spatial abilities.’
But that difficult ability was used by a friend of his, whom he thought was an ordinary person.
And he did it calmly, without showing any sign of difficulty.
Of course, I couldn’t help but believe it.
‘How can this be? Is this really the Han Sung-hyun I know? Is it possible that someone else is imitating him?’
It is common sense that the average time it takes to return from another world is about a year, and at the very least, it takes several months.
But how could I not be surprised when I heard that a friend I had been in contact with periodically was already a skilled returnee who had been to another world?
Besides, didn’t he visit the house in person at least once every week or two?
“···What? Who is the assistant?”
And after hearing the answer to that question, Kang Tae-san couldn’t help but ask back with a dumbfounded expression.
It felt like such nonsense coming from the mouth of an old friend.
“Masquerade? Masquerade? That thing with a bunch of unidentified strong people, including Hahoetal and Phantom?”
Masquerade.
The name of the dark hero organization and its dangers had already spread to all organizations around the world.
Of course, it was a very familiar name to him as an agent of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Republic of Korea’s Ability Management Agency.
Although they have never taken any dangerous actions, such as instigating terrorism or attempting to overthrow the state, the country cannot help but react sensitively to their every move.
The reason was simple.
That’s because the power of each and every one of them that has been revealed so far is so strong.
An organization that has more influence than a country despite being focused on a small number of elite members.
That was the Masquerade, a shadowy, transnational elite group…
“···But you are a member of that place?”
Kang Tae-san looked around with a stiff face.
A two-story mansion that may not be fancy, but has everything you need, including a large garden, swimming pool, and exercise room.
I knew that he had bought this house with the lottery winnings he had received by luck.
But if that wasn’t it, and there was some kind of backroom deal…
“Strictly speaking, you could say that we are in a collaborator position. We have the same goal.”
“Same goal?”
Han Seong-hyeon nodded calmly to him who asked with a serious expression.
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you the whole truth.’
This was a separate issue from whether or not you believed him.
No, rather, it was in his best interest not to share any information that he couldn’t handle.
Because you may have information that doesn’t match your qualifications and end up like a shrimp in a fight between whales.
“The destruction of the Bancheonhoe.”
“Buncheonhoe···!”
Kang Tae-san opened his eyes wide at the name that was quietly leaked out.
He also knew very well how clever they were and how large a force they were building, as he had already caught the tail of the Bancheonhoe in Korea.
“I see. So you came into contact with them while moving towards the same enemy?”
He nodded as if he understood, then tilted his head again as if he was puzzled.
“So what does that Masquerade have to do with you being able to return to Earth early?”
It was a valid question.
Contact with the Masquerade was one thing, contact was another, but how to make it so that the Awakened who crossed over to another world could return quickly was a separate issue.
Of course, there was already a solid excuse prepared for him.
“It’s all thanks to this.”
After saying that, I took a ticket out of my bosom and threw it at him.
The ticket, which seemed to be made of blue light, fluttered through the air and then seeped into Kang Tae-san’s body.
“Huh?!”
He was embarrassed and stroked his body, but the blue glow that had already disappeared into his body did not show up again.
Then he stopped, looked into space, read something, and then burst into a heartfelt exclamation of wonder.
“A right of return…? Oh my god, I’ve never even heard of something like this!”
『Return Ticket (2,000,000)』
An item from the 『VIP Market』 added along with the 『Invitation (1,000,000)』 when 『Karma Shop Ver.3』 was opened.
It was a rare item that always activated the ‘Return’ item in the Karma Shop, which could only be activated after collecting one million points.
Of course, information about such items had never been released anywhere in the world.
‘Of course. I just used it for the first time. It’s a bit expensive, but… Even so, with this, I can escape to Earth at any time if my life is in danger.’
It was twice as much as the million I originally needed, but it wasn’t a huge price tag for me.
At this level, it’s okay to be a little pushy for a friend.
‘Of course it doesn’t end here.’
However, this was just insurance in case.
“Hey, Taesan. Don’t you feel something strange here?”
“Huh… Huh…? Something strange?”
At that question, Kang Tae-san looked at me with a subtle expression.
It seems like the weirdest thing here is you.
“Not that. In this space. Is this still too much?”
“···In that case, the air feels a little strange. It feels like there’s a little bit of resistance.”
“Oh? That feels good?”
I clapped my hands at his reaction, which was more sensitive than I had expected, and nodded with a satisfied smile.
“The time flow in the space we are in now is about ten times longer than outside. That means ten hours here is about one hour in original Earth time.”
“Wait a minute, even though you used the indoor space, you adjusted the time scale? On this Earth?”
“Why are you bringing this up again? Didn’t I already tell you who personally worked on the equipment here?”
The secret base of the transnational dark hero organization Masquerade.
Kang Tae-san, recalling it again, kept his mouth shut.
“Okay, so the most important issue of time constraints in other world transmission has been resolved? So what should we do next?”
“···ah.”
“Okay, let’s get started quickly since we don’t have much time.”
He sensed something ominous and took a step back, but there was nowhere to run in this space that was already completely sealed off.
