I wanted to respond to Yoo Min-jeong with another Flame Shot once she had recovered enough magic power. Being in sync with an S-rank Hunter? That’s something I could only dream about in my previous life. And here I am, even in the position of a ranged dealer…
‘Should I wait a bit longer?’
[Throwing Dagger]
Whoosh─!
Minutes passed as I helped the Hunters in distress with bone daggers.
‘It’s taking longer than I thought.’
But for some reason, Yoo Min-jeong’s magic recovery felt slower than I expected.
‘Even though she’s an S-rank Hunter, her mana recovery is slow. Wait… am I recovering too quickly?’
Just as I had that thought, Yoo Min-jeong shouted urgently.
– Hey! Fire Sorcerer! I need some time to recover my magic using my ultimate skill! Hey! Fire Sorcerer, are you listening? Anyway, you have to wait a bit longer!
‘So that weird-looking plant she summons is her ultimate? No wonder it immobilized Escalon #26… Should I quickly save the prisoners?’
It actually seemed like a good idea. With thousands of skills bursting out and chaos everywhere, maybe heading to rescue the prisoners was the right move.
‘Ran!’
(No need to shout; I was already in your head.)
I hugged the splendidly feathered Ran and threw myself to the ground.
[Ground-Breaker]
Boom boom boom boom boom─ Boom boom boom boom!
‘Open the possibilities of the space. I’ll clean up and come out as quickly as possible.’
(I’ve already set it up!)
As the spirit of wind, ‘Ran,’ pulled the potential of my future towards me, I confirmed that the limits of my space had jumped several levels.
Now my space could contain living beings.
Just like when I rescued all the women suffering in the underground factory of the evolved creatures, I was hoping for a similar outcome as I rapidly dug down.
The underground space they made wasn’t that deep and wasn’t too far from the battlefield, so I could quickly reach the area where the prisoners were located.
– Gaaahhh…
– Hihihihihihih!
– Aaaahh—
As soon as I entered the chamber, I heard unsettling noises.
About two hundred Hunters were groaning. By a rough inspection, their condition was far from good.
‘This is a mess. How much of that forgetfulness drug did these guys release?’
The intangible scent filling the underground space made it hard even for me to concentrate for a moment.
– Trait [Calm] is activating!
– Resisting status abnormality [Forgetfulness]!
– Resisting status abnormality [Lethargy]!
‘Lethargy, huh… They threw in all sorts of abilities.’
Most of the captured Hunters were high-rank Hunters at the low B to early A rank, either laughing madly or groaning in pain.
I recognized a few from our journey to North Korea.
I wanted to throw them into my space immediately, but there was one problem.
‘Tsk— these jerks set a trap? A seriously dangerous one.’
It was a presence hidden well enough that I could only detect it after descending into the underground space.
‘Is it some kind of human-spider fusion…? It’s enormous, larger than a tarantula.’
Four arms.
Four legs.
With a human face just plopped onto a spider body.
It was clinging to the ceiling, and with what seemed like camouflage, it was hard to differentiate it from the roof even when I knew where it was.
– I’m currently subduing the ’27th Offspring’ of the Great Beast Devouring Creeper…
As soon as I recognized it, the system confirmed the number.
‘Twenty-seven Escalon… rescuing the prisoners might be tougher than I thought.’
(Il-wol, it seems unlikely to save the humans against that thing.)
‘I know, but I have to try. This might be the last chance since they’re all still conscious.’
(Hmm… If it’s the self-detonation ability you used against that Tarantula last time, it might be possible.)
‘But it also has to hit, so I can’t be a hundred percent sure.’
(That does seem likely. Anyway, don’t use the self-sacrifice spell. Master would be sad.)
‘I don’t want to be separated from Yeon-hee in a crisis like this either.’
Ran and I fell into a moment of contemplation.
The dozens of thin threads stretching from the creature’s body were connected to the Hunters.
Recalling how easily 29th Escalon detected my stealth, I realized it wouldn’t be easy to sneak in and free the Hunters.
‘Ran, is there any other ability you can use, like pulling other potentials like you did with the space?’
Since Ran has been evolving recently, maybe I could hope for more!
(Pulling multiple potentials simultaneously… is taboo.)
‘Huh? Why’s that? But it means you can do it?’
(I can, but it draws from future potential. You don’t seem to grasp the implications of that.)
‘What kind of side effect are we talking about?’
(I’ve heard it could range from having near-death hindrances to going insane.)
‘Hmm… Bodily impairment and draining mental energy…’
It might be incredibly detrimental to most living beings, but somehow, I felt it wouldn’t be a big issue for me.
‘Even if my bones twist, I can break them and reset them… My mental energy is solid. I have [Calm] too.’
Seeing me nod in agreement, Ran opened its beak.
(You might be different though. But one more thing to consider is that the number of potentials currently open to you is quite limited.)
‘Ah, right.’
The potentials available to me were only the expansion of my space and a few spells I couldn’t use.
Ran deemed that pulling their potentials wouldn’t provide much help.
(There’s one other attempt we could try. This ability is something I’ve only recently acquired…)
Ran’s new ability allowed it to randomly [Accelerate] one of the powers possessed by an Awakened One.
The more abilities one possessed, the stronger the acceleration was.
In reverse, it would mean that if someone had few capabilities, it’d be useless.
‘In this world, there’s no one with more abilities than me! It’s a perfect fit! Do it! Hurry!’
(Could you please be a bit patient? Why are humans always so hasty?)
Ran, its size growing larger than my head, spread its white wings and gently enveloped me, bathing me in a warmth that felt different from magic.
‘Oooh… this feels… nice… my heart is racing.’
(Don’t mumble weird stuff; it’s hard to concentrate.)
The energy swirling inside me from head to toe vanished, and I suddenly felt a lightning sensation burst from my head.
– The spirit of wind ‘Ran’ selects one of your abilities at random to [Accelerate]!
‘Accelerate randomly! Please! The Forgotten Ancient Swordsmanship!’
I had countless traits and skills, but that was the one I needed most.
If I could pull the future potential, maybe I could wipe out that damn spider’s head in one fell swoop?
‘Hah──’
In an instant, a chilling sense spread as my thoughts expanded infinitely, and I instinctively knew what I could do.
– Skill [Blood Frenzy] is [Accelerated] for 1 minute!
‘Whoa!! This, this is!!’
The skill [Blood Frenzy] I obtained after defeating the Orc Berserker.
[Blood Frenzy]
– Temporarily amplifies physical abilities by marking the symbol of a Berserker on your body.
– After use, you fall into a state of extreme exhaustion.
Due to its powerful side effects, I had never used the skill properly, but now its future potential was unlocked.
Zzzzzt──
As the skill activated, my armored existence began filling with cryptic characters glowing red.
Thud─ Thud─
Somewhere a dull drumbeat rang.
It sounded as if it was coming from the back of my head, and upon hearing that sound, an uncontrollable force began to surge from my body.
– The power of the Berserker fills your entire being.
– The Berserker does not rest.
– [Berserker Transformation] has released stealth!
“… Grrggh?!”
As soon as 27th Escalon discovered me once my stealth ended, it showed caution instead of charging at me.
No, it might be more accurate to say it couldn’t charge due to my overwhelming aura.
Ugh…! What power is this?!
I felt like my entire being was boiling as if I was made of lava.
Boom────!!
The energy bursting from my body created a shockwave, forming a massive crater in the ground.
Thud thud thud─
Did I really become a Berserker? In this state, it felt like I could rip apart any being.
– Your physical abilities have far surpassed your vessel’s limits!
– The limits of the body have become clear. Increase your rank to grow the limit!
‘I don’t care! First, I’ll kill that bug!’
“M-Merck?!!”
Without needing to use [Lightning Step], my body shot out like a bullet, slamming directly into the hiding torso of Escalon on the ceiling.
“──?!!”
Boom boom boom boom boom──!!
“Ha ha ha! What a rush!!”
I felt omnipotent, as if I were a god!
Such a state of being exists! All this time, I was just a mere bug!
While being swept up in a blissful sensation that made my whole body tingle, ‘Ran’, tightly clinging to my neck, reminded me that the time for [Acceleration] was running out.
Thanks to that, I managed to calm down my excitement a bit.
‘One minute should be enough.’
In that instant, the torso of Escalon burst apart from my first attack, and before one second passed, it shot out spiderwebs in all directions, beginning to set up a barrier.
The spider silk was as solid as steel and elastic as rubber. I would have never attempted to break it in my original state.
“Hah! Look at this bug using bug-like skills!”
Bam! Bam!
I leapt while shrouded in magic, instantly breaking through its web, and rushed towards the cornered creature to start punching it.
Bam! Boom boom!! Bam bam!
“Krryiiik! Cough!!”
Escalon fell, letting out sounds resembling a pig being slaughtered.
Seeing its once firm exterior crumple easily like a cardboard box made my excitement skyrocket.
So an S-rank monster can be pushed beneath my feet! With this kind of insane ability…!
While furiously smashing against the wall, I suddenly realized that my [Berserker Transformation] had ended.
‘Hah— Hah— That was insane. What was that just now?’
I knew I’d been smashing something excitedly, but when I came to my senses, all that was left on the wall were torn, grotesque chunks of flesh and a pool of green blood pooling on the floor. Of course, that too vanished in an instant.
– You have defeated ’27th Escalon’!
– Your level has risen!
– You have obtained highest-grade mana stones!
– You have acquired the artifact ‘Soho’s Trick’!
– You experienced a special event where you simultaneously experienced two potentials of the near future.
– You have achieved [Seer’s Step]!
[Seer’s Step]
– To know everything is to foresee the path…
– It possesses an extremely low probability of activating [Foresee].
[Foresee]
– Prophesizes the near future.
What kind of nonsense is this? Foreseeing the future?
‘Huh… Am I a seer? No way?!’
Sure, it came with the caveat of extremely low probability, but the fact that I gained some possibilities mattered more.
(What are you causing such a ruckus about? More importantly, clean up your space. Because of your commotion, my precious feathers got dirty.)
‘Huh…? Sorry, my bad.’
(Hmm? Suddenly compliant, are we?)
As I silently pulled out a wet wipe, Ran tilted its head.
But to me, it was a mystical spirit akin to a benefactor. Right now, I wanted to do anything I could for it.
(But we need to hurry. Skeleton.)
‘Right, first let’s take care of the people. We can check the rewards later.’
I unleashed my energy and swiftly gathered the Hunters scattered due to the violence, and just as I successfully placed everyone from the underground into my space and was about to head out, a terrifying danger signal activated.
‘Huh?!’
Thud─!
I collapsed onto the ground like a deflated balloon, unable to move a single finger.
(Tsk tsk… I knew this would happen. Good thing you rescued the humans before it hit.)
‘This… is what you meant by side effects?’
(How is it understandable that pulling two potentials of the future is even possible, and [Berserker Transformation]? That’s a feat distant from something you could achieve. It’s amazing that you’re even conscious.)
‘Ah……’
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
