Ramu (3)
It feels a little late to bring it up again now, but.
Ramu was an extremely special existence.
She possessed an ability akin to an authority no one else had, yet she had not Awakened under the influence of the System.
Nor had she trained mana, ki, chakra, or the like to cultivate supernatural power after the fact.
‘For starters, the fact that she isn’t even an Earthling and yet is freely settled down on Earth says enough.’
In truth, if one started picking apart what made her special, there would be no end to it.
In a word, she was an irregular born from the whim of some god.
Her very existence was a mass of variables, no different from a joker card capable of shaking the existing board.
“An invitation…?”
“Yeah. An invitation.”
That was why.
Why he had thought of using that 『Invitation』 on Ramu.
‘Honestly, I wasn’t sure how best to use this, so I’ve just been letting it sit all this time…’
Most of the people he had formed ties with on Earth were Returnees who had already Awakened and come back from another world.
Since, by chance, he had ended up gathering forces to oppose the Beoncheonhoe from the early days of his activities on Earth, it had naturally turned out that way.
If there were exceptions among them, they would be the low-ranking subordinates who had become vampires on Earth and joined the Blood Alliance, and his only friend, Kang Taesan.
In either case, he had to admit he was somewhat reluctant to turn them into Awakeners.
There was also the question of whether they would return with abilities impressive enough to justify going that far.
‘One invitation costs a million points… And a Return Ticket for emergencies costs two million each, doesn’t it? No matter how much karma I have, spending it that freely is a bit…’
Of course, in the case of his friend Kang Taesan, it was entirely for safety’s sake.
Even now, without any special abilities, Taesan was in a position where he had no choice but to get involved in all sorts of incidents as an agent of the Ability Management Bureau.
If he were to Awaken some special ability on top of that, wasn’t it obvious what would happen?
‘There’s also the problem of what I’d say to him while handing over the invitation and return ticket.’
For all those reasons, the 『Invitation』 had gone unused until now, but at last, this time, he had found a proper use for it.
“If we use this method, you’ll be able to grow stronger much faster than you are now. There’s the fact that you’ll be granted a Unique Skill, and the growth correction should help quite a bit too.”
“Mm, you said that if I become an Awakener, I’ll be sent to a random otherworld after twenty-four hours, right? …Somewhere like my homeland, Koshiyas.”
“Right. Of course, you won’t be sent there, since it’s already become a closed dimension.”
Considering her ability, it should not matter much what world she was sent to.
If things seemed to be getting troublesome, she could simply cross dimensions and return to Earth.
“…Then will I be going there alone?”
Ramu, sitting on the living room sofa, lowered her head slightly as she spoke.
She was trying hard to act as if it was nothing, but Hoon, who had been with her all this time and had even connected with her once through 「Telepathy」, had no trouble grasping what she truly felt.
No matter how much she had agreed to cooperate with whatever he told her to do in order to grow stronger, she still had to go alone to a world she knew nothing about. For someone as young as her, hesitation was only natural.
He flashed her a grin and slipped one hand into his coat.
“Of course not. I’ve already thought of a method.”
What he pulled out immediately afterward was a single document.
One that, at a glance, was giving off an unmistakably unusual aura.
“…What is this?”
“If we use this, I’ll be able to figure out where you went right away.”
It was a contract Hesperon had created by combining his ability, 「Chains of Covenant」, with curses and other things.
Originally, he had only been able to form covenants with those he met face-to-face, but the countless events that had taken place had become an opportunity for him to grow even further.
Thanks to that, he could now use his ability through a medium like this, without necessarily having to meet the other party in person.
‘Well, that’s only possible because Hoon, who’s acting as proxy for that authority, is practically the person himself.’
In any case, even that much alone made the applications of this ability endless.
He lightly shrugged and continued.
“Don’t worry too much. We’re already a proper community of shared fate. I have no intention of shoving you into a dangerous place alone and relaxing comfortably by myself.”
“Okay.”
This was also a major experiment for him.
At the same time, it was an opportunity to reassess the strategic value of utilizing Ramu’s ability.
Perhaps Hoon’s persuasion, filled with that sincerity, had shone through. Or perhaps she still knew too little of the world.
Ramu obediently finished signing that extremely suspicious contract.
She even dripped a drop of blood from the small wound on her fingertip as he instructed.
“…Ah!”
At the strange connection that followed, she let out a brief exclamation and looked over her body as if fascinated.
Hoon reacted to the sensation that came through as well.
‘Good. Just as I thought. Everything’s going smoothly so far.’
He looked at Ramu with meaningful eyes.
As they said, strike while the iron is hot. Having come this far, there was no need to hesitate any longer.
He took out the 『Invitation (1,000,000)』 he had purchased from the VIP Market and immediately applied it to the young girl before him.
And right after that.
Flaaash—!
Along with a flash of light that burst out in an instant.
Several lines of text appeared before Ramu’s eyes.
《Dimensional inflection point detected. Connecting to the Akasha System.》
It was exactly the same sentence Hoon had told her about beforehand.
She had heard that after this, she would immediately obtain something called a Unique Skill.
‘So this is Awakening… What kind of ability will I get? Since it’s happening anyway, I hope I get something good.’
A Unique Skill was an ability that each Awakener could possess only one of, a supernatural power whose growth potential overwhelmed that of other ordinary abilities.
Hoon had said that no matter how amazing it was, it probably would not surpass the authority she already possessed, but still, there was no harm in having one more such ability.
‘Honestly, what I already have is more than I deserve, but…’
The moment she nervously swallowed dry saliva.
《Error code occurred.》
A warning message like that appeared in front of her face.
“Eh?”
“…What’s wrong? Is something happening?”
“No, right now in front of my eyes…”
Apparently, this text was visible only to the person in question, as Hoon wore a puzzled expression.
However, Ramu was not given time to explain the situation to him one step at a time.
《Analyzing cause.》
《Error discovered. Unauthorized entity connection confirmed.》
《Presence of code name ■■■ detected.》
《Forcibly deleting error code.》
《Correction. Approving entered command.》
《Impossible. Procedure compliance. Enforcing removal.》
《Opposed.》
……
Before she could say anything, an enormous number of messages shot upward all at once, as if engaged in a debate.
Amid all that, it was not long before the conclusion was displayed.
《Awakening Unique Skill.》
《Executing forced expulsion order from Earth.》
A powerful headache stabbed through Ramu’s mind.
She had been told in advance that it would hurt quite a lot, but this was not a pain she could do anything about simply by preparing herself.
As her consciousness grew distant.
In her slowly closing field of vision, the final message window faintly drifted past.
《Awakening complete. Unique Skill ······ has been Awakened.》
《1 second until transfer to another world.》
And beyond it, the last thing she saw was Hoon staring at her in surprise.
Then her mind went completely dark.
***
“…What was that?”
Hoon blinked blankly.
Everything had happened in an instant, so there had been no way for him to respond.
“Why did the otherworld transfer formation activate already?”
He stared in disbelief at the spot where Ramu had been until moments ago.
Only the warmth there, slowly cooling, indicated that someone had been there just a moment before.
‘Her fainting at the moment of Awakening was well within expectations…’
Hadn’t he been like that when he first Awakened too?
No, that was practically common knowledge in this world.
After all, it was no longer a secret that if someone suddenly collapsed in a public place, personnel from the Ability Management Bureau’s Transfer Investigation Division would arrive along with 119 to investigate whether they had Awakened.
‘The problem is the transfer formation. Normally, it should only appear after the twenty-four-hour grace period has passed, ten minutes before transfer. But it swallowed Ramu immediately and vanished.’
Hoon frowned.
Judging by the abnormal phenomenon, something had definitely gone wrong during the Awakening process.
No wonder Ramu had looked flustered and tried to say something just before she fainted…
‘Was the problem that she isn’t an Earthling after all?’
That was the only thing he could guess for now.
Still, if the Awakening itself had failed from the very start, that would be one thing. He had never expected a problem to arise in such an ambiguous way.
“Hoo, there’s nothing I can do about what’s already happened.”
Even so, it was extremely fortunate that he had taken out insurance just in case.
Hoon took the contract he had placed off to one side in both hands and narrowed his eyes.
From that signpost, which told him where Ramu was, a faint sense of presence came through.
‘Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be in serious trouble yet. Still, I need to go as quickly as possible.’
In truth, now, right after she had lost consciousness, was the most dangerous moment for her.
Once she opened her eyes, she possessed the ability to return on her own, but in her defenseless state now, she could easily end up as a meal for some passing wild beast.
‘One second on Earth is about ten seconds over there. There’s no more time to delay.’
Hoon’s 「Telepathy」, amplified by 「Limit Break」, traveled through the passage connected by the contract and stretched out toward that faraway place.
Then it began vividly conveying the flow of energy around the area where she had been transferred.
As if he were personally standing there himself.
“Hoo, at this level…”
Normally, this would never be something easy to accomplish.
But by now, he was someone who had toured through nearly ten different dimensions.
Considering the know-how he had accumulated and the various effects of 「World Invasion」 and the like, it was not exactly impossible.
Paaa—
And so, beneath his feet, 「Summon Otherworld Transfer Formation」 activated.
A transfer formation with the same shape as the one that had swallowed Ramu emitted a soft light.
And right after that.
His lone figure vanished as cleanly as if washed away.
***
The peculiar floating sensation unique to dimensional travel passed.
《Transfer to the Saba-cheon dimension complete.》
A single message window appeared before Hoon.
“Huh! What the hell is this now!”
“Teleportation? Is this bastard a practitioner too?!”
But right now, he had no time to pay attention to that.
No sooner had he appeared than a group of people surrounded the area and began exuding a vicious air.
“Hah, unbelievable. Not one, but two of them crawled in here one after another?”
“Looks like our information leaked from somewhere. Let’s catch this guy too and interrogate him first.”
“Even so, if he came in this openly, doesn’t that mean he’s looking down on us?”
Axes, greatswords, chain sickles, hooks.
A dozen or so men and women, each armed with brutal equipment, growled as they slowly approached.
No matter how one looked at it, this was not an atmosphere for building friendly relations through exchange.
‘Ah, damn. Looks like I’ve crossed over into a place I shouldn’t have just entered.’
They all seemed quite high-level too, so they did not look like mere thugs or bandits.
Unless they were members of some secret organization.
Hoon let out a small sigh and hurriedly looked around.
This was definitely the set of coordinates Ramu had crossed over to, but no matter how much he looked, he could not see her anywhere.
‘From what they’re saying, it’s certain she came this way. It seems they’ve locked her up somewhere for interrogation.’
He had moved as quickly as possible to follow after her and cross over here, but the time difference between worlds was not something he could control.
Even if it had taken only three minutes on Earth, in this world, it could be more than thirty minutes. That was the reality.
Of all the countless places she could have landed for her first transfer, to think she had ended up in a place like this.
There was bad luck, and then there was this…
‘No, is this really a coincidence?’
Hoon frowned as his thoughts continued.
A malicious transfer carried out the moment a newly Awakened person fainted.
He had never heard or seen anything like this before.
Considering that, even this selection of location might have been intentional.
‘…No, I can think later. First, I need to reunite with Ramu. I’ll track the residual thought waves left at the scene here and…’
Just as he was in the middle of deciding his next course of action.
“Ha, this bastard was lost in thought?”
“What? I thought he’d frozen up because he was scared, but that wasn’t it?”
The group surrounding him twitched their lips as if dumbfounded.
From their perspective, it was only natural.
More than ten people were holding vicious weapons and emitting killing intent, yet he was standing there thinking about something else.
If that was not utterly ignoring them, then what was?
Even so, the reason they did not make a move so easily was because they were worried the opponent might be an expert hiding some trick.
No matter how they looked at it, that composure seemed like nothing but the arrogance of the strong.
But before long, that concern was shattered by the voice of one among them.
“…Wait, it’s a bluff! That bastard hasn’t opened his depths, and he isn’t even a practitioner! He’s never even properly handled chakra!”
“What? Are you serious? Then that teleportation just now was…”
“He must have received the help of some external object! Damn it, to think he dared fool us with that pathetic bluff!”
At the shout of a man who had made a circle with his index finger and thumb and was observing Hoon through it, the surrounding air began to boil over.
Hoon had done nothing whatsoever, yet they seemed to think otherwise, and they were busy expressing scorching rage.
“Kill him!”
“No, don’t kill him! We need to interrogate him and extract information! Find out how he knew about this place!”
“Ha! First one to catch him gets him!”
Martial artists exuding terrifying force charged in from every direction.
And at the same time.
‘Found her.’
Hoon’s eyes gleamed as he found the place where he could sense Ramu’s presence.
He had been unable to act recklessly just in case, but now that he had found his objective, there was no longer any need to leave them be.
‘Range set.’
Giiing—
Psychic waves that began from Hoon spread out in every direction.
Carrying a horrifying corruption that beings below a certain rank would never dare withstand.