Chapter 141: A Seeping Fragment (3)
Of course, there was no response along the lines of, “Alright, I’ll trust you.” Instead, what came back was a gaze filled with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, wondering what kind of trick I was planning.
“I have a mental skill. I’d like to use it to help restore your memories. However, since my stats are low, I can’t activate it without the other person’s consent.”
“So, you’re saying I should willingly let you use a mental skill on me.”
“Essentially, yes.”
Seong Hyunjae’s expression didn’t look particularly pleased. Naturally, it was a reasonable reaction. Who would be happy hearing someone talk about rummaging through their mind? If he were a hunter with a worse temper, he might’ve swung a knife at me, saying, “Let’s start by cracking your skull open first.”
“How lax must I have been with you for you to make such ridiculous requests so freely.”
“I’m merely offering to help you out of goodwill. I’m even taking on some personal risk. You know, for what it’s worth, I’m a valuable asset, Guild Leader of Sesung.”
“Valuable enough that even I can’t afford you?”
“Not even if you handed over the entire Sesung Guild. So just give up.”
“Confident, aren’t you.”
“Enough with the evasion.”
I spoke bluntly.
“If you’re not interested, then just live like this.”
I wasn’t entirely without regrets and needed his cooperation right now, but the current Seong Hyunjae was completely oblivious to that. So, I decided to take a firm stance.
Hearing my provocation, his eyes narrowed, and a cold chill filled the room. Wow, the house suddenly feels quite chilly. I might even get goosebumps. Maybe I should subtly emphasize that killing me here wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Let’s calm down and take a look at this.”
I searched for an article about myself on my phone and slid it across the table. It was an article that included details about the breeding facility, the monster mounts, and even some information related to Myungwoo. Seong Hyunjae picked up the phone and silently read the article.
“So the ‘Comet’ Soyeong mentioned is this.”
“A cute baby dragon, isn’t she? I’ve also got some other useful skills I haven’t revealed yet. For instance, there’s one that doubles the effects of attack skills.”
“Not particularly useful for a low-rank hunter.”
“Well, I can share it with others. Remember when I told you I helped take down an SS-class monster? That skill came in very handy then.”
“Then why didn’t I just keep you tied down.”
Seong Hyunjae lightly slid the phone back toward me and tilted his head slightly.
“Why didn’t I tame and bind you.”
“My curse resistance is L-grade, so that wouldn’t have been easy.”
“L-grade?”
His pale eyes showed a hint of surprise. It was amusing to see such a reaction from someone who knew almost nothing about me.
“And my poison resistance is quite high too. Oh, by the way, I also nullified your contract with that little lizard. You might want to check on that.”
“So that’s what you meant by staking my eye and arm.”
“Great service, wasn’t it? I could just walk out of here right now, no problem. I’ll live well enough on my own. You’re the one who’d be missing out.”
“For someone who claims they don’t have a problem, you’re being quite persistent.”
“Maybe I’m just sentimental. So, let me make one last proposal.”
I raised one hand slightly as I continued.
“Accept my skill.”
There were so many things he didn’t know about the current situation. He wasn’t the kind of person to back off from an F-grade hunter just because he was being cautious.
It didn’t take long before Seong Hyunjae nodded.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gambled.”
“You said that less than a month ago.”
Try not to get addicted. At my words, the lingering wariness in his expression faded, and he smiled.
The last time I used this skill, I had Iryn’s help. So this was my first time using it on my own. I was worried about whether I could pull it off properly, but perhaps because I struggled so much with shutting the skill off last time, it was surprisingly easy to create the mental space.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a room filled with light pouring through a large window. A man stood with his back to the window. When he saw me, his eyes curved in a faint smile.
“Hello, Han Yujin.”
“What’s with the casual greeting?”
The anxious feeling I had just in case things went wrong didn’t just subside—it turned icy cold. I might’ve been just a little bit worried, but it was such a pointless waste of effort. Should I just leave now?
“I didn’t expect this either. If I startled you, my apologies.”
“I wasn’t startled, but I did almost die.”
“My, how rude of me.”
“There weren’t any serious issues. I just got dragged around bound in chains, crawled up some stairs, nearly drowned in a water tank—that’s about it.”
“This really is inexcusable. You even went out of your way to visit me at home, and all I offered was water.”
Offered water? Sure, I drank a lot of it, but still.
“So what exactly is going on? Are you able to leave here now?”
“I suppose it started about two months ago when I began to notice something was off.”
Seong Hyunjae tilted his head slightly as he spoke. Two months ago. As expected, he had been sensing the effects of my regression.
“At first, it was only a faint sense of incongruity, but then one dawn, a clear memory came to mind: the fact that my ability to manipulate magnetic forces was still weak.”
His eyes, deeply tinted with golden hues, gazed at me. Clearly, even Song Taewon had no idea that Seong Hyunjae could manipulate magnetic forces. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been using it until now—he simply couldn’t wield it properly yet.
“The range and power are nothing to scoff at.”
If he had become proficient enough to use it at such a high level, then it’s certain he must have used it on a smaller scale a few times before. It’s impossible to perfectly control a difficult elemental skill right from the start, even if it’s your innate attribute.
“Other faint memories I had forgotten about started coming back as well, but they quickly scattered like grains of sand. While trying to chase them down, I ended up in this situation.”
Did parts of his memories from before the regression leak out while he was searching through them? I wasn’t sure. I’d have to ask those ungrateful bastards about it later.
“Are you able to leave now?”
“Shouldn’t I be able to? If you cancel the skill, that should do it.”
So, he really had been trapped. And yet, he acted so casual about it.
“Did anything come to mind?”
“Just that Han Yujin fits being about thirty years old.”
What a useless thing to remember. Still, the fact that he pinpointed my exact age meant he retained some information from before the regression. Although it seemed like he struggled to recall it on his own.
“I can’t figure out why these fragmented memories are mixed up. My skill is combat foresight, not future foresight.”
“Maybe your skill is trying to level up. Future foresight wouldn’t be too bad, actually.”
“Prophecy-type skills aren’t my thing. And I’d rather not play the role of a fortune-teller.”
Seong Hyunjae replied indifferently. It was still too early to bring up the regression. I hadn’t even told Yuhyun yet. For now, I’d just frame it as seeing into the future. And while I was at it, I might as well take this chance to push things further.
“I’d like to help you remember.”
If I split it apart like with Diarma, something should surface. I transformed my right hand. Sharp dragon claws covered in golden scales emerged, and Seong Hyunjae looked at them curiously.
“I didn’t know you had such talents.”
“This is the mental world, isn’t it? It’s not like I can do everything, but I can use abilities I’ve experienced through someone else’s skills.”
Yuhyun’s pre-regression doubled stats, plus my skill that doubles attack effects. While I wouldn’t benefit from the doubled effects of the Venom and Curse Dragonkin’s skill, this was still more than enough to take on Seong Hyunjae. And…
“Let’s have you drink some water before we start!”
A large droplet of water formed in midair. As it came pouring down on him, Seong Hyunjae looked briefly surprised but then smiled as the corners of his mouth lifted.
–—
At first, I definitely had the upper hand. Even though Seong Hyunjae was a hunter firmly seated at the top of the rankings, there was still a five-year gap between us. Not only that, I could use his combat foresight as well. While the two identical skills ended up canceling each other out when clashing, just binding his foresight was enough to give me the edge.
Thanks to that, I managed to tear through one of Seong Hyunjae’s shoulders—a small victory. But that’s when the real trouble began.
Seong Hyunjae started recalling his combat memories from before the regression. He even adapted quickly to the mental world, changing the environment on a whim. I tried to keep up, but perhaps because mental strength or magic stats from our actual bodies influenced this space, it became difficult to match his pace.
Crash!
As a flash of lightning obscured my view, the surroundings changed. Now, we were in a steep cliff valley. My body plunged downward, but I quickly spread my wings and landed on a rocky outcrop. Then, crack! I shattered the rock beneath me and leaped upward.
Chains of golden light flew toward my airborne body. Feeling the intense pressure, I hurriedly created an ice wall to block them.
Crack-crack-crack.
The chains dug into the ice. Then, with a dazzling flash, the wall melted into water before—
Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
An enormous explosion erupted. A hydrogen explosion. This crazy guy was electrolyzing the water. The barrier I hastily constructed barely held but fractured with a krrrack.
“Would you stop doing that?!”
Seong Hyunjae smirked. A bracelet with a blue gem dangled from his wrist. That was Grace, which he had stolen while I’d let my guard down after initially gaining the upper hand. Now, with him flaunting it like that, I couldn’t even use the item’s nullification ability.
“This is better than blowing up the whole river, isn’t it?”
“Dammit, I thought I was really going to die that time!”
If Yerim hadn’t barely managed to succeed with her teleportation skill back then, it would’ve been game over. After that, I swore off using Yerim’s ice and water skills. When combined with magic, the explosive power was ridiculous.
Although I could use Seong Hyunjae’s lightning skill, I couldn’t pull off anything close to what he was doing. Even if I could feel the skill firsthand thanks to the teacher skill, there were limits to what I could imitate. My lightning attacks were just simple, straightforward strikes, but that guy kept pulling off absurd stunts, like doubling the power of my own attacks and throwing them back at me.
Even with five more years of mastery over his innate attribute added on top, this was pure cheating. Absolute cheating.
‘Should I use Blood Flame?’
I coated the ground beneath me in black flames as I charged toward Seong Hyunjae. To turn the tide, I needed to take Grace back.
“Han Yujin, you really need to learn martial arts.”
He easily deflected my lunging dragon claw with a gloved hand. He grabbed my arm, attempting to twist and throw me, but I used my tail to push off the ground and twist my body, escaping his grip. At the same time, I scattered poison in his direction.
“Be a dear and detoxify that for me.”
Seong Hyunjae sidestepped gracefully, positioning himself right behind me. Damn it, I couldn’t even disable his poison resistance skill. The range of his movement was unnecessarily broad.
“Ugh, get lost!”
With a flick, Seong Hyunjae lightly stepped on the spiked tail I swung at him with the tip of his shoe and leapt backward, increasing the distance between us.
“You’re the one who attacked first, Han Yujin.”
The fluttering hem of his coat brushed past my cheek, almost as if taunting me. Fine, let’s just use Blood Flame. I pulled out a dagger and made a long cut down my arm. At the same time, Seong Hyunjae pulled out a potion and sprinkled it over his wound. It must’ve been a high-grade potion because the bleeding stopped and the injury closed up in an instant.
“Your Blood Flame is quite troublesome.”
Damn, is this how he blocks the use of Blood Flame? Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do this in ranked battles where potion use is prohibited, but I hadn’t even considered this approach.
“Did you also remember Black Blood Flame?”
“Faintly. But that memory, too, will probably fade once I leave here.”
At one point, I tried to stop using the mental skill and leave, but Seong Hyunjae stopped me, saying that his memories of this place would likely vanish as well. It probably had something to do with why the Seong Hyunjae outside couldn’t recall anything about the one inside.
“Blue Willow Leaves!”
Invisible leaves scattered in the air. As some of them gathered precisely in front of Seong Hyunjae’s eyes, I deactivated their transparency. His vision was completely blocked for a moment, and I used that opportunity to cut my arm again, mixing poison with the flowing blood.
Fire and poison are natural opposites. Black Blood Flame, in particular, is powerful enough to burn even SS-grade toxins. But if you mix poison with blood first, then ignite it, you create an exceptional weapon that retains the venom’s potency.
A blade of black Blood Flame, forged from poisoned blood. I unfurled my wings, accelerating toward Seong Hyunjae, and swung it down.
Clang!
The Seeker’s Chains were severed in a single stroke. As the menacing, dark flames spread across the blade, Seong Hyunjae reached out toward it. What’s this? His hand was also covered in a black glow?
“What… what is that?!”
My Blood Flame dissipated effortlessly. Immediately after, his other hand grabbed me by the collar.
“Urgh!”
I took a solid knee to the stomach, the blow landing squarely in my solar plexus. Choking, I activated my Silent Scream skill.
“Argh… That skill is really annoying.”
“It’s just pain. Don’t be such a baby—you even took painkillers.”
Despite the Silent Scream’s doubled effect, Seong Hyunjae had downed the strongest painkillers. While they dulled his senses and came with side effects, they didn’t seem to be a significant hindrance to him. Still, the fact that he felt pain despite the painkillers meant it must’ve hurt quite a bit.
The way he offset an unavoidable skill with painkillers—his cunning was infuriating.
“By the way, that black thing just now—wasn’t that Song Taewon’s skill?”
As I grabbed the arm holding my collar and twisted free, I asked him. At the same time, I threw a spear of Blood Flame at him. With a light pop, the spear burst apart in his grip.
“Yes, it’s the ‘Permeating Plunder.’”
“So you even steal other people’s skills now? You’re truly a vile human being.”
Stealing the ability to steal? Unbelievable. At my words, Seong Hyunjae furrowed his brows slightly, as if trying to recall something.
“I didn’t steal it. It seems more like it was gifted to me.”
“A gift? From Song Taewon? Now that’s ridiculous. I’d bet my life you stole it.”
“Then I’ll bet one of my items that it was a gift.”
“Drop the possessive pronoun already! Let’s confirm it—hold out one arm quietly!”
I activated Shadowless Day again, but once more, the currents of light that swirled around Seong Hyunjae’s feet dispersed the shadows. Unbelievable.
“Nothing works!”
“You’re aware I’ve been taking painkillers, right? And every time I pass a certain threshold of poison resistance, I take another one.”
His casual quip about stuffing himself with painkillers was infuriating. In response, I wrapped the ground in Black Flame with a sweep of my dragon claw, tearing into it. The rocks beneath were scorched and half-melted in an instant. The heated fragments scattered, and the Black Flame surged toward Seong Hyunjae, turning the ground beneath him into a smoldering wasteland.
In the midst of the blazing heat, Seong Hyunjae smiled. Then the setting changed.
With a splash, my feet plunged into water. Before I even had a chance to react, I used teleportation to escape.
“Damn it, Seong Hyunjae, you bastard!”
“Yes, Dad.”
Startled by the cheerful voice, I almost slipped back into the stream. What the hell—this lunatic just turned us both into idiots. I felt simultaneously irritated and amused. But the moment passed quickly as the sound of crackling electricity filled the air.
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
A massive chain of explosions erupted along the stream. In the whirlwind of heat and magic, my barrier shattered, and my vision blurred. The once-serene mountain brook turned into a barren wasteland, stripped of even a single blade of grass.
Clink-clink.
The faint sound came just before I swung my flames. Through the Black Flame, chains shot toward me. I quickly forged a blade of Blood Flame and severed them, but the chains, now split in two, spun violently and shot back at me.
Flap!
Clang!
I spread my wings wide, swatting away the chains attacking from behind. But just as I did, an unrelenting hand grabbed one of my wings and bent it with brutal force.
“Good thing I don’t have wings.”
“Well, lucky you—ow, wait, stop!”
As he twisted harder, as if about to tear my wing clean off, I wrapped it in poison. The thick, spreading toxin made Seong Hyunjae release my wing, but he then wrapped one arm around my neck and pulled me close from behind. I stomped hard on his foot with my heel, but thanks to the painkillers, he didn’t even flinch.
“Can’t you just let me stab you a little so I can see those future foresight memories? I’ll remember everything when I leave here anyway. It’d be beneficial for both of us.”
“If I asked nicely, would you stab yourself for me, Han Yujin?”
“No. Are you crazy?”
There are quite a few memories I absolutely don’t want anyone else to see. Seong Hyunjae rested his chin on the top of my head. Must be nice being tall.
“I don’t want to either.”
“It’s for world peace.”
“That’s far too trivial. If Han Yujin kneels and sincerely begs, I might consider it.”
“After pulling all-nighters standing in a factory, I get sore knees whenever it’s cloudy these days. Why don’t you, a sturdy S-class, kneel instead and let’s just pretend I did?”
“What value could mere S-class knees possibly have?”
Seong Hyunjae made an annoying remark as he lightly patted my shoulder.
“You’ve memorized everything well, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I’ve got it all down. But whether I can transfer it properly is another matter.”
The teacher skill. I used it throughout the fight to imprint the combat senses from before Seong Hyunjae’s regression onto myself. For him, who would forget it all once we returned outside. And I’d be able to pass it on to the others as well.
“Do you have anything else coming to mind? Should we go another round?”
“Feel free.”
“This time, let’s make it just one stab, or maybe three if I’m feeling generous, or even ten while we’re at it. Oh, and give Grace back too.”
Of course, Seong Hyunjae ignored my request completely.
–TL Notes–
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