#075.
A worthy rival to offset the flaws of Late Bloomer.
Single-Minded Devotion, which elevates the Sword King’s latent potential even further (though of course, he’d be helpless with anything other than a sword).
By completing two foundations, I accelerated Hero and William’s growth.
Actually, the effect of the foundations wasn’t mere acceleration—it could be called a boost.
Their growth had accelerated to an unprecedented degree, adding wings to their already faster-than-average growth as Awakeners.
All of that was to prepare for the rapidly approaching apocalypse.
The manifestation of the third unforeseen omen.
Even I couldn’t help but feel restless with the apocalypse drawing so near.
My comrades’ growth was the only thing that alleviated that anxiety, even if only slightly.
What about me?
Honestly, I had already equipped myself with two whole-body strengthening skills, an exclusive Noble Phantasm, and a talisman called the Heonwon—so it was hard to grow further from here.
Ah, of course, I meant it was difficult—not that there was no possibility at all.
Still, prioritizing comrades who could grow faster and maximizing efficiency accordingly was the right answer.
‘But how much stronger have they gotten?’
Had my comrades really risen to a satisfactory level?
First, William.
The trait, Sword King.
This Sword King represented absolute talent when it came to swords.
You could tell just from Sword Technique Copying, which perfectly reproduced a sword technique after seeing it once.
And this wasn’t the end.
Through trait evolution, “Sword Technique Dismantling” had appeared.
Not only could he copy a sword technique seen once, but he could also create a dismantling sword technique capable of counterattacking.
Moreover, with his rising proficiency in the sword as a weapon, plus the foundation called Single-Minded Devotion, when limited to the sword alone,
he possessed the ability to create a sword technique that dismantled and countered a technique seen once.
In short, the pinnacle of the sword.
If he continued to achieve trait evolution in the future, he would manifest even more powerful abilities and become someone truly worthy of the word “pinnacle.”
‘And Hero.’
Honestly, I hadn’t expected much from his growth.
It was partly due to his innate foundation, Late Bloomer, but the biggest problem had been his timid personality.
Before the regression, he had overcome so many trials that he had completely fixed that personality, but now he hadn’t at all.
But an unexpected event occurred.
Jeong Minseok—who could be called his greatest trauma—confronted him.
And he had awakened the powerful trait, Berserker Demon.
Through that encounter, Hero grew.
He obtained the ultimate weapon of Hero—Super Regeneration, capable of displaying a form akin to an immortal.
It wasn’t something obtainable through mere trait evolution.
The enlightenment gained through firm mental fortitude played the decisive role.
Now that he had obtained Super Regeneration, he would be able to show his former reckless, unrelenting self again.
‘Jeong Dohwan seems to have hit a bit of a plateau.’
Jeong Dohwan, who had been growing at the fastest pace, had slightly stagnated.
Because his trait evolution wasn’t achieved merely by absorbing souls or filling the soul vessel.
Apostle of Death.
He had to create a powerful undead that surpassed Death Soldiers or Death Knights.
Of course, being in a stagnation period didn’t mean he was weak.
‘As long as there are corpses, he can command unlimited zombies, and he can control fifty Death Soldiers and thirteen Death Knights.’
It wasn’t for nothing that he had been called a one-man army.
Even with his trait evolution at a mere stage one, he was still a walking army.
Moreover, his exclusive summon, Yoon Seoyeong.
Though the burden of using his own granddaughter in battle prevented her abilities from being fully displayed.
‘She is truly the strongest summon on earth.’
He was hesitant now because things weren’t perfect, but as evolution repeated, he would come to realize it.
The power of Yoon Seoyeong, his exclusive summon.
Well, it would probably take some time until then.
‘In contrast.’
Liu Yan and Chairman Kang.
Unlike Jeong Dohwan, who was in a stagnation period, the two were growing at a tremendous rate.
Poison Demon had newly joined, and Chairman Kang had only just awakened his trait.
But their combat power was greater than the current William and Hero, and could be said to rival Jeong Dohwan, the one-man army.
‘Chairman Kang’s potential is infinite.’
He absorbs Awakeners’ traits through Trait Absorption.
Of course, it’s not truly infinite.
Currently, he can absorb about thirty traits.
To increase that number, he has to evolve his trait.
The same goes for Trait Bestowal.
Since he can bestow as many traits as he’s absorbed, the two traits can essentially be considered closely intertwined.
‘He obtained quite powerful traits from the start.’
The most notable trait was undoubtedly Berserker Demon.
That trait, obtained through Jeong Minseok who had ambushed Hero, was an extremely powerful trait worthy of the highest tier, even if it didn’t make the top one hundred.
He obtained it alongside Hero’s growth.
Besides that, he possesses useful traits he had absorbed, such as Flash Thunder, Mighty Warrior, and Iron Armor.
Although he can’t yet display strength equal to his potential due to unfamiliarity with combat, once he gets a little accustomed, he will undoubtedly be counted among the best here.
‘…Of course, he can’t beat that guy yet.’
If we’re discussing the strongest in the current group (excluding me), it can only be Liu Yan.
A trait that wields poison is the most efficient when it comes to killing living things.
Because while William and Hero sweat swinging swords and fists, he can bring death in an instant with a single drop of poison.
Moreover, his current trait evolution stage is a whopping stage two.
He can handle poison mist as skillfully as his own limbs, and of course release the formless extreme poison accumulated within his body.
And it isn’t simply spraying poison.
‘Poison Human.’
That ability obtained through stage two trait evolution was remarkable—a power born for mass slaughter.
At least among the current group, that bastard is the best when it comes to killing people.
It is a level that surpasses even me.
But the ones I actually handed the completed foundations made from ancient fragments were William and Hero.
Well, I would have liked for the rest to complete their foundations through ancient fragments too.
‘There’s no need to rush. And it’s not like I could even if I wanted to.’
I knew what foundations the remaining three—Jeong Dohwan, Yael, and Liu Yan—needed.
But obtaining them right now was impossible.
They require fairly rare, high-grade fragments, so I can’t obtain them even if I want to.
However.
‘If the tournament opens, that’s a different story.’
The tournament—the main event that will begin soon.
Once it begins, I can obtain the desired fragments.
Of course, to do that, I have to collect the fragments needed for entry.
“…So, any news?”
I asked Chairman Kang, who was sitting across from me.
“….”
Without a word, he picked up the cup on the table.
Slurp—
He drank the hot tea.
The documents before him—that was the request I had continuously made from the moment I met Chairman Kang until now.
To find a certain person.
“…This time, it won’t be easy.”
As expected, this time too.
“I understand. The information is quite limited, after all.”
Chairman Kang had done well by me until now.
Whenever I pulled names from my memory, he somehow found them and informed me.
That’s how I got Hero, William, Jeong Dohwan, Yael, and Liu Yan.
The power of Chairman Kang and the Taewang Group played a major role in recruiting them safely as comrades.
But this time, unlike before, he couldn’t give me much information.
It couldn’t be helped—he was of a rare type that even the Sage, who had mastered all information in the world, didn’t have much information about.
Chairman Kang glanced down at the documents below.
『Name: ???
Gender: Male
Age: Teens
Appearance: Unknown
Distinctive features: Appears simultaneously worldwide. One day in New York, the next in Paris, etc.』
That was all the information I—that the Sage—remembered about him.
No matter how great Chairman Kang and the Taewang Group were, finding someone with only this small amount of information was like finding a needle in a desert.
‘This is a miracle if found.’
That’s why I didn’t rush him.
I didn’t rush him, but I kept reminding him that he had to keep searching.
And with good reason—he was the only Awakener in the world capable of creating Dimensional Gates.
The trait, Dimensional Gate.
The ability to leap through space and traverse long distances instantly.
Of course, there are quite a few similar traits.
Portal, Spatial Movement, Teleportation, and so on.
But there is no trait with the effect of moving numerous people simultaneously like his.
“Yoon Chan. If you regress, find him first. If you can utilize Dimensional Gates, it will be of great help in everything you do going forward.”
You must find him, the one who possesses Dimensional Gates.
The Sage had earnestly asked this of me before the regression.
Of course, to fulfill this, I had continuously asked Chairman Kang.
But there had been little to show for it.
My desire to find him was burning, but there wasn’t much information about him (I didn’t even know his name), so there was nothing I could do.
“I suppose we’ll need a bit more time.”
Chairman Kang knew the importance of the matter as well.
“Yes. We just need to find him somehow. Please keep at it.”
Knowing that, I didn’t pressure him.
“More importantly…”
Just as I was about to steer the conversation to another topic.
Rring—
The phone connected to the internal line rang.
Chairman Kang picked up the receiver and continued talking.
“…Yes?”
His eyes flashed as if he had received important news.
Just that momentary shift in emotion changed the atmosphere in the room.
‘Truly amazing.’
Just a short while ago, he had been an ordinary person.
Calling him ordinary was a stretch since he was the head of a chaebol family, but it was true that he hadn’t awakened a trait.
Yet he had awakened.
A dual trait, no less—the incredible traits of Trait Absorption and Trait Bestowal.
Moreover, he had recently absorbed traits from captured Awakeners and armed himself with quite useful traits.
Of course, all those absorption targets belonged to the Black Moon.
A full-scale war like before wasn’t happening, but they had occasionally clashed and fought.
The Awakeners captured that way became fodder for Chairman Kang’s Trait Absorption.
And using Jeong Dohwan’s trait, he called forth souls and acquired information.
‘Who knew treating his dementia would lead to such results.’
Honestly, I hadn’t expected things to turn out this way either.
So I sometimes wonder.
What would this world have become if I hadn’t treated Chairman Kang?
The problem was that it wasn’t all advantages.
‘Maybe the divine beings wouldn’t have even existed.’
That doubt still remained.
But I deliberately shook off that thought.
Chairman Kang was my man now.
Even if I eliminated him for immediate gain, losing trust would mean I couldn’t overcome the apocalypse in the end.
“Well, this is unexpected good news.”
Words that snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Yes?”
“Found him.”
“Huh… no way?”
“That boy you were looking for.”
How is this possible?
Why is this possible?
Honestly, I had half given up.
“Where was he found?”
Finding him would make the schedule and plans ahead much easier in many ways.
If we couldn’t find him, so be it, but since we found him, we absolutely had to recruit him.
“France.”
“…France?”
The moment I heard the country’s name, an ominous premonition flashed through my mind.
Come on, no way.
It can’t be.
It won’t be.
“The place where he was discovered…?”
“Paris.”
Damn it.
This unease is gradually becoming reality.
But not yet. It’s not yet.
Paris is pretty vast.
“…Where in Paris?”
I asked cautiously.
“The Catacombs. They say the boy who had visited the Egyptian pyramids until just moments ago appeared in the Catacombs within an hour.”
I had no doubt that he had been found.
The people under Chairman Kang, who handles matters reliably, could be trusted.
But finding him wasn’t entirely joyful.
‘Why did it have to be the Catacombs!’
The Catacombs.
A place I had hesitated to enter despite knowing it contained enormous treasures, Noble Phantasms, and even the ancient fragment I wanted most.
My forces were ready.
But I had hesitated to prepare for unforeseen dangers.
‘If he’s there…’
I have no choice but to enter, even if it’s a bit unreasonable.
“We have to move.”
“The destination is Paris, France.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going alone?”
“No. This time, everyone is moving together.”
The Catacombs is a place I can’t handle with my strength alone.
This time, I have no choice but to mobilize our full forces.