Secret (3)
“Alright, I’m off. Please take care of Grandma while I’m gone.”
“Don’t worry. You take care of yourself.”
That short conversation was the last.
We had already exchanged all the necessary words during training, so there was no need to drag it out longer.
Woo-woo-woo!
It was almost dawn.
With that, Kang Tae-san stepped onto the Dimensional Teleportation Circle created beneath his feet, disappearing from Earth.
“…Hoo, did he go?”
Left alone, I gazed at the spot where he had stood for a moment and let out a small sigh.
The awakening of my only friend and crossing dimensions.
While responding to that sudden event, fatigue was starting to creep in, but I couldn’t rest just yet.
I still had things to do.
Rubbing my neck, I closed my eyes and focused on my breath.
Then I delved deep into my inner self, concentrating on the Holy Energy within my vision.
It was to observe the dimension Kang Tae-san had crossed through the pathway linked by contract and trust.
‘It wouldn’t hurt to prepare for any unexpected situations.’
The Holy Power granted to him was derived from my own existence.
Naturally, I held the final authority over that power as well, and I could set various conditions through it.
For example… with the ability of an ‘Apostle’ possessing that Holy Power, I could actively perceive any crisis that he couldn’t handle and report it directly.
‘And if I wanted, I could use “Summon Dimensional Teleportation Circle” to return to that coordinate anytime.’
If I were a real god, I wouldn’t be paying attention to each believer, but I was just a novice god candidate who hadn’t yet ascended to the proper ranks.
Thus, I was able to find the link to Kang Tae-san, my first and only Apostle.
But then…
There was one unexpected fact I discovered amidst all this…
‘Huh? What’s this?’
It turned out I didn’t have just one Apostle.
Clearly, the only one with a formal contract based on Holy Power was Kang Tae-san.
Yet, there was another thick… no, it was undeniably thicker connection firmly tied to me.
‘Wait, this is Diana, isn’t it?’
It wasn’t hard to figure out who it was.
The moment I became conscious of it, information about that connection vividly engraved itself in my mind.
And I immediately understood why this phenomenon was occurring.
‘…I knew she trusted me, but.’
An absolute belief that bordered on fanaticism beyond mere blind faith.
Before the Holy Power blossomed, I had already been like a god to Diana.
So much so that I was quickly incorporated as an Apostle as soon as I met the minimum qualifications.
‘That’s not all. There are quite a few candidates who could become formal Apostles if the right opportunity arises, even if they’re not as devoted as Diana.’
Of course, there was Princess Riley of the Empire, who was linked by contract like Kang Tae-san, as well as Ramu from the Sabacheon dimension, and many others with whom I had relationships—including the higher-ups in Hans’ undead army.
The influence stretched wide across nationalities, species, dispositions, and dimensions.
“Ha, well, it seems like I’m unwittingly going to establish an inter-dimensional religion.”
A mix of embarrassment and pride washed over me.
These connections were all assets I built up while going through all sorts of tribulations.
But feeling it so directly made me a little choked up.
‘…I suppose I should talk to Diana about this.’
It wasn’t hard to find time to talk to her, Hubert’s secretary.
With my eyes gently closed, I retraced the threads of connections I had established.
Recalling the past events of over four years.
*
A strange buoyancy wrapped around me.
A peculiar sensation that one wouldn’t feel even in a lifetime, arising from crossing dimensions.
But that strangeness didn’t last long.
‘Is it over already? That was surprisingly nothing.’
In the blink of an eye, Kang Tae-san opened his tightly shut eyes and looked around after the teleportation was completed.
Thanks to the messages that popped up right after the transfer, he already knew what this world was called.
《Teleportation to the Nocturnia dimension has been completed.》
《You can return to Earth through the ‘Return’ option in the Karma shop.》
《Current Karma: 0. You can check it later in the Karma shop.》
Sparsely but tall trees and the blue sky visible between them.
No matter how he looked around, it appeared to be an infinitely peaceful mountainous landscape.
“Nocturnia…?”
However, he knew.
The dimension he had come to wasn’t as peaceful as it looked.
‘Should I call this misfortune or good luck?’
He had already gathered some understanding of this world—Nocturnia.
It was one of the worlds he had to be familiar with through mandatory work protocols.
“…It doesn’t seem like there’s any immediate danger.”
As he warily scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes, he carefully unbuckled the bag he was carrying.
After rummaging through it for a moment, he pulled out a booklet and examined its cover.
-No.102 Nocturnia
An official manual published by the World Returnee Association, containing organized information collected from numerous returnees.
Among them was the latest revised version, recording maps, changed power structures, and recent circumstances.
“Sure is convenient having ample storage space. Others would never dream of this.”
Electronic devices couldn’t be brought to other worlds.
No matter how thin this booklet was, considering that hundreds of dimensions could potentially be involved in the transfer, the volume and weight of all series could not be ignored.
Besides, at that moment, catching survival goods and emergency rations was quite a handful; there couldn’t possibly be room to budget anything else.
‘This is all thanks to Seong-hyun that guy.’
Patting the space-expansion backpack again, Kang Tae-san expressed his gratitude to his friend and neatly tucked the booklet away.
As much as he wanted to sit down and calmly read it, finding a safe place was the priority.
Night was bound to be much more dangerous than the daytime in the forest.
‘It’d be great if there was a village nearby. Just knowing the location name would make planning ahead much easier. Or at least something like a landmark or a region-specific unique item…’
But at that moment.
Tatata-tang—
Bang—
Gunfire erupted suddenly from somewhere in the forest.
In an instant, swarms of birds took to the sky.
Was a fierce battle taking place nearby? The constant noise shattered the silence of the woods.
‘It’s not nearby. But it’s not too far off either.’
From just the sound, he could tell.
If he set his mind to it, he could reach the source of that gunfire without much difficulty.
In this situation, he had two options.
To approach and engage with the humans in this world, risking a certain level of danger to gather information.
Or to avoid danger and head in the opposite direction, exploring other circumstances.
‘…Let’s avoid for now.’
He chose the latter.
He wasn’t fully aware of where he had landed, nor what the current situation was.
Though he had come prepared, there was no need to take unnecessary risks in a non-urgent situation.
‘I could very well get hit by a stray bullet.’
But the situation wasn’t going his way.
Just as he stealthily gathered his things and took a step forward,
Rustle—
He suddenly locked eyes with a silhouette that popped out from the bushes.
“Damn…! I thought I had lost you for sure. Who would’ve thought there were ambushers here too? Those cockroach-like hunters are annoyingly persistent!”
The man, clearly having just come out of a fierce battle, had torn clothes and was glaring at Kang Tae-san with bloodshot eyes.
The thick scent of blood permeated the air around him.
He looked ready to attack any moment.
There was no time for misunderstandings to be cleared through conversation.
‘Damn it! What a terrible timing!’
Thought and action were simultaneous.
Kang Tae-san threw himself back as ingrained in his body, drawing out his Black Star pistol.
Despite a strange energy tightening his entire body, he found he could still move without too much strain, likely thanks to the training he had undergone right before the transfer.
Ka-kang—!
But just as he was about to pull the trigger,
A blade came flying from somewhere, causing him to drop the gun he was holding.
“Ha! So you weren’t just some ordinary guy. You dodged me trying to decapitate you without moving while facing my blood curse. But this is where it ends!”
The energy of Unyielding wafted around him, resisting the energy that was pressing down on his body.
But that was all.
Not yet having transcended his state as an ordinary person, his physical abilities couldn’t properly react to the opponent’s movements.
‘A high-ranking vampire! Of all times to be ambushed right after arriving!’
There was no time to lament how irrational the situation was.
In the face of the sudden crisis, his thoughts accelerated rapidly.
Simultaneously, the Holy Power stirring within him surged to his awareness.
“Dare to challenge me, Bishop Prube, alone? Regret your ignorance!”
The vampire charged in aggressively.
A pair of eyes glowing with a red aura mixed with curses, sharp fangs protruding from an open mouth, and countless blood blades flying from all directions.
He seemed determined to strike without delay, attempting to suppress everything.
‘What terrible luck!’
A ‘Bishop’ was roughly equivalent to level 5 or 6 in Earth’s standards.
With only one level differing from the extreme level 7 ‘Rook’, he was a formidable opponent.
There was no way an inexperienced awakened one who had just crossed over could contend with such an adversary.
‘It can’t be helped.’
In that critical moment.
Click—
A switch was flipped in his mind.
*
When an awakened one is sent to another world, their growth halts the moment they return to Earth.
Their Unique Skills and all other skills are no longer capable of increasing in proficiency, and the system’s adjustments vanish, preventing any improvement to their status. Moreover, the inherent magic of Earth dissipates, rendering them unable to accumulate energy any further.
“However, there’s a question to ponder.”
What if we considered the timing just before departing for another world?
If the necessary energy could be replaced with Holy Power, supplied in real time, along with a sufficiently conducive environment for growth?
I could directly verify that question while training Kang Tae-san.
‘The results were quite encouraging. Of course, the “Leap of Growth” played a significant role.’
During the practical training, the focus was particularly on continuously stimulating Unyielding.
Whether using special energy or physical power, I pushed him to the extremes, forcing him to overcome it in the process.
Of course, I never forgot to forcibly activate the Holy Power residing within him.
After just about two days,
Except for the few hours before the transfer, he had hardly slept but was constantly trained.
To push him into extreme situations to enhance his Unique Skill.
“Hah, I tell you, there’s no friend quite like me.”
And as a result,
Kang Tae-san not only developed his Unique Skill before being sent to another world but also awakened a derivative skill stemming from it along with several lesser skills.
‘Moreover, adding the characteristics of Holy Power to the equipment I gave him…’
As long as he doesn’t encounter high-level foes too soon, he should be able to handle them.
Though it might be a bit ambiguous to consider it solely his ability.
“Well, what’s the big deal? That’s the nature of connections, isn’t it?”
If having a capable friend like him can be considered a talent, then so be it.
I shrugged with a relaxed demeanor, burying myself in my chair.
So far, everything had been going smoothly.
Including the fact that Kang Tae-san had crossed over.
*
Nocturnia dimension.
There was a globally recognized nickname for this place.
The largest vampire breeding ground in all dimensions.
While Earth served as a gathering hub for various dimensional vampires, about 30% of them were of Nocturnia origin, making their presence overwhelmingly dominant.
Intelligent life consisted solely of humans and vampires, and hostility between these two groups was unending.
It wasn’t a fight that someone like Sabacheon could mediate or intervene in.
This was a struggle tied to their very existence.
“Grrr… what the hell is this… It’s clearly not a sanctified bullet, yet why isn’t it regenerating…?”
In Nocturnia, a Bishop-level vampire was a veritable figure of terror.
Aside from the King and Queen, who were on a totally different level, Rooks, headmen of the local regions, typically didn’t intervene directly.
Thus, the most realistically imminent threat faced by humanity could only be the Bishop, who was akin to a commander in action.
Certainly not something that would lie helplessly in such a pitiful state.
“What the hell! What the hell are you! Why can’t I—!”
The vampire, with holes punctured all over its body and limbs torn away, began to vomit blood as a wild frenzy took over.
Desperately, it tried to unleash curses using its bloodline ability, ‘Blood Curse Eyes’, but no matter how much time passed, its opponent remained unphased.
“Hoo.”
Kang Tae-san, quietly observing him, finally managed to calm the surging Holy Power that had risen to the peak due to Unyielding and sighed.
In truth, he wasn’t in great shape either.
His body was covered in dust, his armor bore numerous scratches, and he had quite a few wounds.
‘Well, given the opponent, it’s fortunate I’ve come this far. Without Invincible, it would’ve been impossible.’
A skill that forced one’s abilities to peak based on the garnered information about oneself and the opponent—Invincible.
That skill had bloomed after two days of being beaten by his friend Seong-hyun.
Of course, the backlash from forcibly drawing out his abilities beyond limits was no joke.
‘Damn… What the hell is that guy thinking all the time? Even with Unyielding absorbing most of the shock, my head feels like it’s going to burst.’
The changes that occurred while utilizing Holy Power to its limits weren’t restricted to mere physical enhancement.
Experiences, knowledge, and instincts of battle that he didn’t even know the origins of granted him combat capability surpassing that of the Bishop.
While he was aware that his friend harbored many secrets, this particular energy felt particularly alien among them.
“Let’s wrap it up now. I think it’s about time I took a break after pushing myself this much.”
Kang Tae-san glanced at his wounds, which were starting to heal, and then raised his Black Star.
Only then did the vampire, gazing blankly at the gun pointing at him, seem to realize something.
“You…! You! That gun…! No way!”
Bang—! Bang—!
But his final words went unfulfilled, dissipating into nothingness.
As someone who couldn’t even fully regenerate the lost limbs, he lacked the ability to resurrect after having both his heart and head blown away.
‘It seems the options have been forcibly narrowed down.’
Lowering his gun, Kang Tae-san sighed again and turned.
Originally, he had meant to stealthily evade and assess the situation…
‘But it can’t be helped. No need to head back now; maybe it’s better this way.’
Swish—
From the direction he looked, a group emerged as the sounds of rustling bushes reached him.
Dressed in protective gear with a bewildering assortment of weaponry that seemed inefficient, a group of six or so men and women appeared.
It was the moment when the returned awakened one from Earth, Kang Tae-san, faced off against the vampire hunters of Nocturnia—the Slayers.
