Ramu (3)
It’s somewhat strange to mention it again now, but.
Ramu was a very special being.
She had powers like no one else, yet she wasn’t awakened due to the influence of the system.
Moreover, she didn’t cultivate mana, ki, or chakra to develop her abilities over time.
“The fact that she’s not originally from Earth yet somehow settled here is already peculiar.”
If you were to scrutinize that specialness, the questions would be endless.
In short, she was an irregular born from the whims of some god.
Her existence itself was a bundle of variables, just like a joker card that could shake the existing board.
“An invitation…?”
“Yeah. An invitation.”
That was it.
The thought of using that “invitation” for Ramu came to mind.
“To be honest, I kept it on hold because I wasn’t sure how to use it…”
The connections she made on Earth were mostly returnees who had awakened and returned from another world.
Somehow, she ended up gathering forces to oppose the Buncheon Society since the early days of her activities on Earth, so it was bound to be that way.
As for exceptions, perhaps it was only the low-ranking subordinates who became vampires on Earth and entered the blood pact with her, and her only friend, Kang Tae-san?
In any case, it was somewhat reluctant to turn them into Awakened Ones.
How impressive their abilities would be upon returning was also questionable.
“One invitation costs a million points… If you add in the return ticket for emergencies, it’s two million each, right? No matter how much karma I have, spending it like that is a bit…?”
Of course, in Kang Tae-san’s case, it was completely for safety.
Even without special abilities, he was in a position where he had to be involved in all sorts of incidents as an agent of the Ability Management Bureau.
But if he awakened a special ability there, wouldn’t it be obvious what would happen?
“It’s also a problem how to hand over the invitation and return ticket to him.”
For various reasons, the “invitation” that had never been used before was finally found to have a proper use this time.
“Using this method, you could become much stronger much faster. Getting a unique skill and the growth adjustment will definitely help.”
“Hmm, if I become an Awakened One, I’ll be teleported to a random other world after 24 hours, right? …Like my hometown, Koshiyas.”
“Right. Of course, you won’t be sent to that closed dimension anymore.”
Considering her abilities, it wouldn’t matter which world she was sent to.
Whenever things get messy, she could just hop back to Earth.
“…So am I going there alone?”
Sitting on the living room sofa, Ramu slightly lowered her head and spoke.
She tried to act nonchalant, but since Hoon had been with her all this time and even connected with her once through “Mental Resonance,” he could easily grasp her true feelings.
No matter how much she decided to cooperate to become stronger, she was still just a kid who had to go to an unknown world all alone, so she couldn’t help but hesitate.
He smiled gently at her and reached into his embrace with one hand.
“Not a chance. I’ve thought about all this.”
The next moment, he pulled out a piece of paper.
It exuded a peculiar energy.
“…What is this?”
“With this, you’ll quickly know where you’ve gone.”
It was a contract created by Hesperon, incorporating his ability of “Chain of Pact” and curses.
Originally, one could only form a pact by facing their opponent directly, but the numerous events that occurred over time allowed him to grow significantly.
Now, he could use his ability through a medium like this without needing to meet in person.
“Well, that’s only possible because Hoon, acting on behalf, is nearly equivalent to the party itself.”
Anyway, this alone made the usability of the ability limitless.
He shrugged lightly as he continued.
“Don’t worry too much. We’re already a fairly bonded community. I wouldn’t dream of throwing you into a dangerous place alone and chilling comfortably.”
“Okay.”
This was also a significant experiment for him.
At the same time, it was an opportunity to reassess the strategic value of utilizing Ramu’s abilities.
Whether his earnest persuasion, filled with sincerity, worked wonders or if Ramu was just still naive about the world.
Ramu willingly signed on the suspicious contract.
He instructed her to draw a small drop of blood from the cut on her fingertip.
“…Ah!”
As she gasped in astonishment at the strange connection that followed, she looked around her body in wonder.
Hoon also mirrored her feelings as he sensed the strange sensation.
‘Good, just as I thought. So far, so good.’
He looked at Ramu with meaningful eyes.
They say you should act quickly while the iron is hot, and there was no reason to hesitate any longer now that they were this far.
He took out the “Invitation (1,000,000)” bought from the VIP market and immediately applied it to the young girl before him.
And right after that.
Whoosh—!
With a sudden burst of light.
Several lines of text appeared before Ramu’s eyes.
《Detecting dimensional inflection point. Connecting to Akasha system.》
Exactly the same phrase he heard from Hoon earlier.
It was said that she would obtain her unique skill right after this.
‘This is awakening… What kind of abilities will I get? I hope it’s something good.’
The unique skill was an ability that only an Awakened One could possess, overwhelming in growth potential compared to other abilities.
Hoon claimed that no matter how great it was, it wouldn’t compare to the powers she already had, but having even one more ability wouldn’t hurt.
‘To be honest, what I already have is more than enough…’
As she gulped down nervously, the moment she felt the anxiety running high.
《Error code detected.》
Such a warning message appeared in front of her face.
“Huh?”
“…What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just that right now, in front of my eyes… .”
It seemed this message was visible only to the party itself, as Hoon made a puzzled expression.
However, there was no time to explain the situation to Ramu.
《Analyzing cause.》
《Error found. Unauthorized entity access detected.》
《Presence of code name ■■■ detected.》
《Error code forcibly deleted.》
《Correcting. Approving the input command.》
《Impossible. Compliance with procedure. Forced removal.》
《Opposing.》
……
A massive number of messages surged up in a debate-like fashion before the conclusion was reached shortly after.
《Awakening unique skill.》
《Executing forced expulsion order from Earth.》
A strong headache struck Ramu’s mind.
I had heard it would be quite painful, yet this wasn’t something you could just brace yourself for.
Amidst the fading consciousness.
The last message window vaguely passed by her slowly closing vision.
《Awakening completed. Unique skill ……. has been awoken.》
《1 second until interdimensional teleportation.》
And beyond that, Hoon’s astonished expression looking at her was the last thing she saw before her consciousness went dark.
“…What is this?”
Hoon blinked blankly.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and he couldn’t respond at all.
“Why is the dimensional teleportation circle already activated?”
He stared at the spot where Ramu had been just a moment ago, looking utterly incredulous.
Only the fading warmth remained, as if someone had just been there.
‘I expected her to faint in the moment of awakening, but…’
Hadn’t he done the same when he awakened for the first time?
No, it was about the same as common sense in this world.
If someone passed out where others were, it was no secret that the Ability Management Bureau’s teleportation investigation team would check for signs of awakening.
‘The problem is the teleportation circle. It shouldn’t appear until after the 24-hour grace period and just 10 minutes before teleportation. Instead, it swallowed Ramu and disappeared instantly.’
Hoon frowned.
Given the strange phenomenon, something must have gone wrong during the awakening process.
He remembered that Ramu had tried to say something in panic just before she fainted…
‘Could it be that not being from Earth was the problem?’
It was the only thing he could think of right away.
However, if the awakening itself had completely failed, that would be one thing, but he never expected an ambiguous problem to arise like this.
“Huh, what’s done is done.”
Thank goodness he had prepared insurance just in case.
Hoon gripped the contract he had placed beside him tightly, adjusting his narrowed eyes.
A faint presence was conveyed through the marker that showed where Ramu was.
‘Fortunately, no major issues seem to have arisen regarding her safety. Still, I need to get there as quickly as possible.’
In fact, right after losing consciousness was the most dangerous moment for her.
While she had the ability to return on her own, in her unprotected state, she could easily fall prey to a passing wild beast.
‘1 second in Earth time is about 10 seconds over there. I can’t afford to waste any more time.’
As he amplified his “Mental Resonance” with “Limit Break,” reaching out to the faraway place through the contract.
The flow of energy around where she had been transported began to be vividly relayed to him.
As if he was right there on the spot.
“Huh, with this level…”
Originally, this was not something anyone could achieve easily.
However, now he had become a being who traveled through nearly ten dimensions.
Considering the know-how accumulated over time and various effects such as “World Invasion,” it was not impossible.
Whoosh—
As the “Interdimensional Teleportation Circle Summon” activated beneath his feet,
the same shape of the teleportation circle that had swallowed Ramu began to emit a gentle light.
And right after that.
His figure, left alone, vanished without a trace.
The peculiar feeling of floating, characteristic of dimensional travel, passed.
《Teleportation to Sabacheon Dimension has been completed.》
A message window appeared before Hoon.
“What! What is this?!”
“Teleportation? Is this guy also a practitioner?!”
But right now, he couldn’t afford to pay any attention to that.
As soon as he appeared, a group of people began to surround him with a menacing aura.
“Ha, this is absurd. Two people crawling into our territory at once?”
“Seems like our information leaked somewhere. First, let’s catch this guy and interrogate him.”
“No way! If they come in this brazenly, they must think we’re a joke!”
Armed with various wicked weapons like axes, great swords, chain sickles, and hooks, a dozen men and women approached him slowly, growling.
There was no atmosphere suggesting they were building friendly relations through any exchanges.
‘Oh, no. It seems I’ve stepped into a place I shouldn’t have.’
They all appeared to possess significant skills, not just simple thugs or bandits.
Unless they were members of some secret organization.
He let out a small sigh and hurriedly scanned around.
This was certainly the coordinates where Ramu had crossed over, yet despite examining thoroughly, he couldn’t see where she was.
‘Based on what they said, she must have crossed over this side. It seems they’ve locked her away somewhere for interrogation.’
While he had hurried to cross over here to follow, the time difference between worlds was out of his control.
Even if it only took 3 minutes on Earth, it could easily take over 30 minutes in this world.
Of all the places, to end up here on the first teleportation—what bad luck to have…
‘No, could it be sheer coincidence?’
As he mused, Hoon frowned.
Timing the malicious teleportation to happen as someone had just awakened.
This was something he had never heard of before.
Thinking it through, it was possible that this position was intentionally chosen.
‘…No, thinking comes later. First, it’s about merging with Ramu. I need to track down what’s left of her psychic energy around here…’
Just as he was setting his next course of action,
“Ha! That guy is lost in thought!”
“What? I thought he was frozen in fear, huh?”
The surrounding group chuckled with disbelief.
From their perspective, it was only natural.
How could someone be lost in thought with so many of them wielding ferocious weapons and emitting killing intent?
Wouldn’t it be some act of ignorance not to acknowledge it?
However, the reason they couldn’t easily make a move was likely due to apprehensions about the other party perhaps hiding some trump card.
That ease definitely seemed like the arrogance of the strong.
But soon, that worry shattered with the voice of one among them.
“…Wait a second, it’s just a bluff! That guy is not even a practitioner!”
“What? Is that for real? Then that teleportation just now…?”
“He must have been helped by something external! Damn, to dare use lame bluffing on us!”
As one man created a circle with his index and thumb and observed Hoon between them, the air around began to bubble ominously.
They acted like nothing had happened on their end, while expressing intense rage on theirs.
“Kill him!”
“No, wait! We can’t kill him! We need to interrogate him for info! Find out how he knows this place!”
“Ha! First one to catch him is the winner!”
Menacing figures were charging in from all directions.
And simultaneously.
‘Found her.’
Hoon’s eyes sparkled as he locked onto the aura of Ramu.
Not wanting to act recklessly out of caution, but now that he had identified his target, he had no reason to let them go.
‘Area settings completed.’
Kiiing—
The psychic wave emanating from Hoon spread outwards.
Holding an awful contamination that would render anyone below a certain level unable to withstand it.
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