Secret (3)
“Then I’ll go. Please take care of Grandma while I’m gone.”
“Don’t worry. Take care of yourself.”
That brief conversation was the last.
There was no need to drag it out any longer since we had already discussed the necessary topics sufficiently during training.
Woohoooooo—
It’s almost dawn.
In this way, Kang Tae-san climbed onto the other-worldly transmission line that had formed beneath his feet and disappeared from Earth.
“···Phew, he’s gone.”
Left alone, I looked at the spot where the guy had been for a moment and then let out a small sigh.
The awakening of my only friend and the transmission to another world.
I was starting to feel tired as I kept focusing on responding to that sudden event, but I couldn’t rest anymore.
Because there was still work to be done.
I rubbed the back of my neck, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
And he immersed himself deep within himself and focused on the divinity in his mind.
It was to observe the dimension that Kang Tae-san had crossed through through a passage woven with contracts and trust.
‘You never know, so you should prepare for any eventuality.’
The divine power granted to him was originally derived from the existence of the country.
Of course, I also had the ultimate authority over that power, and I could set various conditions through it.
For example… actively identifying and directly reporting on a crisis situation that cannot be overcome with the abilities of a ‘believer’ who possesses that divine power.
‘And you can use 「Summon Otherworldly Transmission Circle」 to those coordinates whenever you want.’
If he were a true god, he wouldn’t care about each and every believer like this, but I was still an aspirant who hadn’t even ascended to the official throne.
In that way, I was able to find a connection with Kang Tae-san, the first and only believer.
however.
There was one unexpected fact that I found out in the meantime…
‘Huh? What is this?’
As it turned out, he wasn’t the only believer who belonged to him.
It is clear that Kang Tae-san is the only one who has made a formal contract in exchange for divine power.
Just as thick… no, no matter how you looked at it, there was another connection that was clearly thicker than that, firmly connected to him.
‘Wait a minute, isn’t this Diana?’
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out who it was.
The moment I became aware of it, the information about the target of the connection was clearly imprinted in my head.
And I could immediately understand why this phenomenon occurred.
‘···I knew you trusted me.’
An absolute faith that goes beyond blindness and borders on fanaticism.
Even before the sprouting of divinity, I was already no different from faith within Diana.
To the point where I was immediately admitted as a believer as soon as I met the minimum qualifications.
‘That’s not all. There are quite a few candidates who could become full believers if given the right opportunity, even if they aren’t as many as Diana.’
Not only the Imperial Princess Riley and Ramyu from the Sabacheon dimension who were bound by a contract like Kang Taesan, but also the countless people he had relationships with and even the executives of the Immortal Army under Hans.
Its influence was widespread, regardless of nationality, race, orientation, and even dimension.
“Ha, this is true. Suddenly, I ended up establishing a religion of a different dimension.”
A feeling of both embarrassment and pride came over me.
These connections were all assets that I had accumulated through all sorts of twists and turns.
But, being able to feel something like that so directly made me feel touched.
‘···I guess I should talk to Diana first.’
It wasn’t difficult to find time to talk to her, Hubert’s secretary.
With my eyes tightly closed, I looked back at each of the relationships I had formed.
Thinking back on the events that have happened over the past four years.
***
A strange feeling of floating enveloped my body.
A strange sensation that occurs when crossing dimensions, something that most people cannot feel even in their entire lives.
But that feeling of alienation didn’t last long.
‘It’s over already? It’s not as bad as I thought.’
As the dimensional transmission took place in an instant, Kang Taesan opened his tightly shut eyes and looked around.
Thanks to the messages that came to mind as soon as the transmission ended, I already knew what the name of this world was.
《Transmission to the Nocturna dimension has been completed.》
《You can return to Earth through the ‘Return’ item in the Karma Shop.》
《Currently held Karma 0. You can check it later in the Karma Shop.》
Tall yet sparse trees and the blue sky visible between them.
No matter how I looked around, it was just a mountain village landscape that seemed endlessly peaceful.
“Nocturnia···?”
But he knew.
That the dimension he had come to was not as peaceful as it appeared.
‘Should I call this a misfortune or a blessing?’
He already had some understanding of this world—Nocturnia.
That’s understandable, since this was one of the worlds that I had to become familiar with in the course of my work.
“···There doesn’t seem to be any immediate danger.”
He carefully untied the bag he was carrying, keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings.
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After rummaging through it for a while, he took out a book and examined its cover.
-No.102 Nocturnia
An official manual published by the World Returnees Association, compiling information collected from numerous returnees.
Among them, it was the latest revised version that recorded everything from the map to the changed power structure and recent situations.
“It’s definitely comfortable because the loading space is wide. Other people wouldn’t even think about something like this.”
Electronic devices cannot be taken to another world.
Even though this booklet was relatively thin, the volume and weight of the entire series could not be ignored, considering that the number of possible dimensions to be transmitted was in the hundreds.
But, when it’s hard to even gather survival supplies and emergency food, how can you spare the energy for other things?
‘It’s all thanks to that guy Seonghyeon.’
Kang Tae-san, who once again thanked his friend while patting the space-expanding backpack, sorted the booklets and put them away separately.
I would have liked to sit down right away and read it calmly, but first, I had to find a safe place.
Because the night we face in the forest will be much more dangerous than now when the sun is up.
‘It would be nice if there was a town nearby. Just knowing the place names would make it easier to make future plans. Or if there were landmarks or something unique to the area…’
But at that moment.
Tadadadang—
Taang—
Gunshots rang out one after another, starting from somewhere in the forest.
Immediately after that, countless flocks of birds began to fly up at once.
The silence of the forest was suddenly broken by the ceaseless noise of a battle involving many people.
‘It’s not close. But it’s not too far either.’
I could tell just by hearing the sound.
If you make up your mind and move, it won’t be that difficult to get to the source of those gunshots.
There were two options available to me in this situation.
Would you take some risks to approach and connect with the humans of this world in order to gain information?
Or should we just dodge in the opposite direction for safety and try to find another situation?
‘···Let’s avoid it for now.’
His choice was the latter.
He still didn’t fully understand where he had fallen and what was happening.
There was no need to take risks since we had already prepared thoroughly and the situation was not particularly dire.
‘You could get hit by a bullet for no reason.’
But things didn’t go his way.
The moment he packed his bags and took a step forward, making as few noises as possible.
Rustle—
Suddenly, his gaze met that of a young woman who suddenly appeared from beyond the bushes.
“Damn it…! I thought I had definitely shaken them off, but there was an ambush here too. Those cockroach-like hunters are so damn persistent!”
A man wearing clothes that were torn here and there, as if he had just been in a fierce battle, looked at Kang Tae-san and ground his teeth.
A bloodshot glint appeared in his eyes, and a thick scent of blood spread in all directions.
As if they were going to start attacking at any moment.
There was no room to resolve the misunderstanding through dialogue.
‘Damn! This timing is so shit!’
Thoughts and actions were simultaneous.
Kang Tae-san threw himself backwards as if it were engraved on his body and aimed the Black Star he had taken out of his holster.
My whole body felt stiff due to the unknown energy, but thanks to the training I had received up until just before the transmission, I was able to move without much difficulty.
Kagang—!
But before I could even pull the trigger.
He dropped the pistol he was holding as a blade flew in from somewhere.
“Ha! As expected, you’re no ordinary person. You tried to cut off my head in one go, but I didn’t expect you to move when you came face to face with my bloodlust. But this is all for now!”
The energy of “indomitable power” swirled around his entire body, resisting the energy that was oppressing his body.
But that’s it.
With his current physical abilities still not far removed from his state as a normal person, he couldn’t even properly react to his opponent’s movements.
‘High-ranking vampire! Why did it have to come right after I came over…!’
There was no time to just blame the heavens for being unreasonable.
His thinking accelerated rapidly in the midst of the sudden crisis.
At the same time, the divine power that had been stirring within my body began to rush to my brain.
“Blame your ignorance for daring to face me, Bishop Prove, alone!”
Vampires surged from the front.
A pair of eyes glowing with a cursed red glow, sharp fangs protruding from the gaping mouth, and countless blood-red blades flying from all directions.
It seemed as if there was no intention of delaying any longer, and the relentless momentum pressed down on all sides.
‘I’m so unlucky!’
‘Bishop’ was around level 5 or 6 by Earth standards.
A strong person who is only one level higher than the 7th level ‘Rook’, who can be called the pinnacle.
This was no match for a newly awakened person who had just come to another world.
‘I can’t help it.’
That moment of life or death.
Click—
A switch was turned on in Kang Tae-san’s mind.
***
Awakened beings who are sent to another world stop growing the moment they return to Earth.
The proficiency of all skills, including unique skills, no longer increases, the system’s compensation disappears so you can’t increase your status, and there are no mysteries that grow on Earth so you can’t accumulate more energy.
“But there is one question here.”
Then, what would it be like on Earth before leaving for another world?
What if the necessary energy was replaced with divine power that supplied it in real time, and an environment suitable for growth was also created separately?
I was able to confirm the answer to that question myself while training Kang Tae-san.
‘The results were quite encouraging. Of course, ‘The Leap of Growth’ played a significant role.’
What I paid particular attention to during the actual training process was to continuously stimulate “indomitable spirit.”
Whether it was using special energy or physical force, he was constantly pushing the guy into extreme situations and forcing himself to overcome them.
Of course, I didn’t forget to forcibly activate the divine power contained within that body.
About two days like that.
Except for a few hours before the transmission, I pounded the guy without letting him sleep.
To force yourself into extreme situations and develop your unique skills.
“Wow, I really don’t have any friends like you.”
And the result.
Even before being sent to another world, Kang Tae-san developed his unique skills.
From there, I was able to learn one derivative skill and several minor skills.
‘And if the equipment I gave you has the characteristic of divine power added to it…’
If you’re not unlucky enough to meet an opponent who is more extreme than you, you should be able to overcome them.
It may be a bit ambiguous to see that as entirely one’s own ability.
“Well, what do you think? Isn’t that what connections are all about?”
Having a friend as capable as you is an ability, if that’s what it takes.
I shrugged my shoulders calmly and sank back into my chair.
Everything was going smoothly so far.
Including Kang Tae-san who crossed over to another world.
***
Nocturna dimension.
There was one nickname that was universally used for this place.
The largest vampire spawning ground in the entire dimension.
Earth was a hub where vampires from various dimensions gathered, but among them, the proportion of those who came from Nocturnia was overwhelming, with about 30% of them coming from Nocturnia.
A world where only two races, humans and vampires, exist in the intelligent world, and the conflict between the two groups is constant.
It was not a fight like the Sabah battle that anyone could mediate or stop.
Because this was a fight for our mutual survival.
“The heck… what, what is this… it’s clearly not a consecrated bullet, but why isn’t it regenerating….”
In Nocturnia, Bishop-class vampires were a real source of fear.
The King and Queen, who are outside the realm of the heavenly realm, were completely out of the question, and the Rook, who was essentially the leader of a region, rarely stepped forward.
Ultimately, the most realistic threat facing humanity could only be Bishop, the leader of the action.
Never, was I meant to be lying around in such a shabby state.
“What! What the hell are you! You! Why would I—!”
The vampire, with holes all over its body and its limbs blown off, began to vomit blood and go crazy.
I tried to spread curses here and there with my bloodline ability, ‘Blood Curse Eye’, as if I was going crazy, but no matter how much time passed, my opponent didn’t show even the slightest movement.
“Phew.”
Kang Tae-san, who had been quietly looking down at him, let out a sigh as he finally calmed down the divine power that had reached the tip of his head with “Unbreakable.”
In fact, his appearance wasn’t all that good either.
Not only was it covered in dust, but there were scratches and blemishes all over the armor and it had quite a few wounds.
‘Well, considering the opponent, it’s fortunate that it ended at this level. It wouldn’t have been possible without “Baekjeon Bultae.”
The ability to forcibly draw upon all of one’s abilities based on information gained about oneself and the enemy, and somehow find a way out—「Baekjeonbultae」.
That was the derivative skill that blossomed after being beaten up by my friend Han Seong-hyeon for two days.
Of course, the aftereffects that came later were no joke, as he forcibly pulled out abilities that went beyond his limits.
‘Damn… What the hell is that kid thinking about all the time? Even though “Indomitable” is blocking out most of the shock, my head feels like it’s going to explode.’
The changes that occurred as a result of using divine power to its extreme were not limited to simple physical strengthening.
His combat experience, knowledge, and intuition, all of which came from somewhere unknown, gave him fighting power that surpassed Bishop’s in an instant.
I knew that he was a friend who had many secrets he had yet to reveal, but this energy was a force that felt particularly alien among them.
“Let’s end this now. I think I’ve pushed myself too hard and I need to take a break.”
Kang Tae-san glanced at his wounds, which were gradually healing and then completely disappearing, and lifted Black Star.
The vampire, who had been blankly staring at the gun aimed at him, then opened his eyes wide as if he had finally realized something.
“You… You! That gun…! No way!”
Bang! Bang!
However, his will was left unfinished and was inevitably scattered.
He couldn’t even properly regenerate his lost limbs, so he didn’t have the ability to revive even if his heart and head were blown away at the same time.
‘I was forced to make a choice against my will.’
Kang Tae-san lowered his gun and looked back, sighing again.
Originally, I was planning to quietly escape and figure out the situation first···.
‘I guess there’s nothing I can do. It might be better since I don’t have to go back for nothing.’
Pass the pass—
In the direction he was looking, a group of people appeared with the sound of bushes rustling.
Five or six men and women, covered in full body protective gear and armed with all sorts of bizarrely shaped firearms that appear to be nothing but ineffective.
It was the moment when Earth’s Awakener, Taesan Kang, came face to face with Nocturna’s vampire hunters—the Slayers.
