Chapter 250: The Earth System Delivers a Message (2)

The Record Skill had a singular purpose of storing memories, yet things became far more complicated when it was used alongside Time Rabbit's Carrying Pouch, an artifact that could send memories from the present into the past.

"You always had a better chance of success than most," Tabbit said. "That's why you never gave up. The same thing happened when you became aware of Hell's existence. It wasn't as if you knew about Hell from the beginning."

"I saw several S-Class Gates appear," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

Tabbit nodded. "Exactly. At first, you encountered a future you could handle with a solid strategy. Only after that did you witness Hell for what it was."

In the beginning, Kim Ki-Rok had turned failure into success only for his own sake. But when multiple S-Class Gates appeared, his priorities shifted. He began striving not just for himself, but to block the Gates, protect Earth, and, by extension, protect himself.

Whenever Kim Ki-Rok returned to the past, the pain he felt was fleeting, or sometimes he felt nothing at all, mostly because the monsters he faced killed him so quickly. More often than not, he died in a single blow, before he could even react. As he died and returned to the past over and over, often without knowing he'd died, he gradually grew desensitized to death.

"There was another reason you stopped fearing death," Tabbit said.

"The torture."

Tabbit gave a bitter smile and nodded. "Yeah."

Kim Ki-Rok had been tortured after revealing his ability to foresee the future to a select few. During that time, he realized that there existed a pain greater than death. While dying only lasted an instant, torture dragged on unrelentingly, even when life itself had lost meaning.

"Well, that's the end of the hard topics. That, and your recovery," Tabbit said.

"Am I going back now?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Yeah."

"Will I see you again after we subjugate the Hell King?"

Tabbit hesitated. "Hm?"

"We've got elf models and dwarves on TV, and crowds go wild when Beastfolk sing and dance. A talking rabbit would fit right in."

After a long pause, Tabbit finally let out a snort of laughter and nodded. "Yeah, when it's all over, I'll come visit."

"Sounds good. I'll be waiting. Ah, one more thing," Kim Ki-Rok said.

"What is it?"

"If I die..."

"Uh-huh?"

"Will I reincarnate as a rabbit?"

Tabbit stared at him for a moment, then snapped, "Get lost, you little shit!"

***

Kim Ki-Rok slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling.

"That's a familiar ceiling."

"Mister, still reading novels these days?"

The voice beside him was instantly recognizable. Kim Ki-Rok turned his head. "Aigo, Ji-Hee. Who made you cry?"

"Mister did."

"Aigo, that was my bad, eh?" Kim Ki-Rok replied, flashing a broad grin.

For someone who had collapsed the moment he returned from a life-or-death battle, Kim Ki-Rok seemed far too lively, cracking jokes and smiling. Kim Ji-Hee's jaw clenched in frustration.

"Mister..."

"It's okay," Kim Ki-Rok assured her gently. "There's nothing left to suffer through now."

"Really?"

"Well, I do have to join the subjugation. I need to provoke the Hell King and give our allies an opening."

"Mister..." Kim Ji-Hee's worry was plain in her voice.

"No, it's different this time. First, we'll scatter mana stones everywhere to weaken the Hell King as much as possible. Then we'll thoroughly analyze the Hell King using all the footage we have. Only when we're fully prepared will we move to subjugate him," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

Kim Ji-Hee couldn't help but sigh. She had no argument against the plan. Having worked as a Hunter from a young age, she'd seen too much to deny reality.

Kim Ki-Rok was the only human who had ever stood against the Hell King. He was the one who had wiped the smug smile off that humanoid monster's face. Naturally, the clear team would include him in the subjugation force, assigning him to defense, evasion, and drawing the Hell King's focus.

"Mister," Kim Ji-Hee said.

"Huh?"

"This time, take everyone."

"Alright. I'll take everyone. If we go down, we'll do it together."

"No, that's not—"

Ji-Hee was dumbfounded and let out a snort. Kim Ki-Rok met her gaze and broke into an exaggerated laugh. Sensing the mood would soon turn serious again, he quickly shifted the subject.

"Ji-Hee."

She pouted. "What?"

"What did they say caused my collapse?" he asked.

"They said you fainted from overthinking."

"Really? How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"Pretty short," Kim Ki-Rok said.

"Short? You call three days short?" she retorted.

"Long. Way too long. Ugh, my head..." he groaned, pretending to be ill.

"Mister!"

"Oh, right. I'm all better now."

Kim Ji-Hee furrowed her brow. "Ah, seriously..."

When Kim Ki-Rok lowered his arm, she closed her mouth again.

"Then what are the Hunters doing? Are they still in a meeting?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

Kim Ji-Hee shook her head. "No."

"What? They haven't finished their analysis yet?"

"The analysis is finished."

"Then?"

"They are taking a short break after having an epiphany."

"Mm?"

***

Three days earlier, before Kim Ki-Rok's conversation with Kim Ji-Hee, the first Hunters to request an extension of the subjugation date were those in the command and control room. They left their quarters smiling, but their faces turned stone-cold after Kim Ki-Rok returned.

They headed straight to the training grounds. Some set up within Hunters' territory, while others headed to the uncleared northern, eastern, and western sectors.

Three hours after watching Kim Ki-Rok's battle live, half the clear team finished subjugating the southern swarm and headed to the conference room. There, they watched footage played by Kang Man-Ki, who had arrived with his close aides.

"Holy shit..."

"What the..."

"Wha—"

"Fu..."

Some of them cursed. Others watched the video with lips tightly sealed. A Hunter who had come in smiling about the upcoming Gate clear froze, and those who had once sneered at Kim Ki-Rok out of jealousy stiffened as they realized just how vast the gap in skill truly was.

Despite its bright smile, the Hell King was a being capable of wiping a person from existence without a single trace.

A Hunter from the DG Guild jumped out of his chair, asking with some urgency, "How is Guildmaster doing?!"

"He hasn't sustained any injuries. He just fainted because he used his head too much," Association President Kang Man-Ki answered.

"He isn't in a coma, right?" another Hunter asked.

"No. According to the doctors and the priests who urgently came over from the Yuashiel Dimension, they said he would fully recover and wake within three days."

"

Hoo...

"

The DG Guild Hunter bowed in thanks and sat down, joined by others close to Kim Ki-Rok.

"Before departure, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok told you that common sense doesn't apply in the Hell Gate," Kang Man-Ki said.

The room grew quiet as a few Hunters nodded.

"And he was right. As you've seen, the Gate Boss is on another level from the Four Dukes, who are mere mid-tier bosses."

The Hell King's attacks were simple, but overwhelming in power and speed. The Hunters rewatched the footage at half speed as one of the aides played it. Kang Man-Ki remained silent, letting the impact settle.

When the video ended with the Hell King slamming into the ground and triggering a massive explosion, Kang Man-Ki scanned the room. The first viewing had left most Hunters stunned, unable to grasp the monster's strength. The second time, the shock settled differently. Several now sat in silence, their faces grim or dazed, much like those who had seen Kim Ki-Rok's battle firsthand.

"The clear team will analyze the Hell King thoroughly, using the footage from Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok. We'll leave no room for error, and only then will we move to subjugation, aiming for minimal casualties," Kang Man-Ki continued.

"I'd like to confirm the new subjugation date," Baek Min-Hyuk, Guildmaster of the Golden Lion Guild, said grimly.

"We'll begin the subjugation of the Hell King three days before the Gate Break."

***

"At first, there weren't even twenty people," Kim Ji-Hee said as Kim Ki-Rok lay on his bed, peeling a tangerine. "But after replaying the footage in the conference room, they started coming out—some to the training grounds, some outside the territory."

"Doing what?" Kim Ki-Rok asked, popping a slice into his mouth.

"Some trained against imaginary enemies, others sparred with comrades, and some just sat down to meditate."

"Didn't people come from the Yuashiel Dimension?"

"They did. Grandpa Man-Ki took the new footage to the Yuashiel Dimension, and the superhumans there came straight to Hell."

"And now they're training the Hunters?"

"Yes."

"And none of them asked to join the subjugation?"

"Some did, but we handled it like you advised."

When Yuashiel superhumans had visited Hell, some immediately set out to teach the Hunters, while others sought out Kang Man-Ki, requesting to join the fight. At first, Kang Man-Ki had been flustered, but soon recalled Kim Ki-Rok's advice before he collapsed.

Following that advice, Kang Man-Ki led the superhumans out to the southern areas, where monsters remained. He suggested they hunt Hell monsters themselves.

Confident, the superhumans stepped up, their martial skills, mana control, and combat experience all surpassing that of the Hunters. But after subjugating the Hell monsters, they shook their heads.

Though Hunters were weaker than superhumans, the monsters' weakness lay in Hunter mana. Understanding this, the latter withdrew their request to join the main fight.

"So how's the situation?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"On average, stats have gone up by five," Ji-Hee replied.

"Levels?" Kim Ki-Rok looked shocked.

"

Stats.

Anyway, there aren't many monsters left now. The Hunters' stats have risen fast, almost as if they've had a breakthrough."

"Oh?"

Kim Ki-Rok had set out both to gather information on the Hell King and to refocus the Hunters' resolve.

He let out an involuntary gasp and grinned at Ji-Hee. "And what about you, Ji-Hee? How much did yours go up?"

"For now, only Willpower and Mana went up by twenty. Now that you're awake, you should start training too."

Kim Ki-Rok was momentarily at a loss for words. After a pause, he asked, "And what did the spirits say?"

Ji-Hee just smiled, keeping her answer to herself.

***

A message window appeared before every Hunter involved in clearing the Gate, as well as those on Earth working other Gates.

[5 days remain until the Gate Break.]

[A group of Hell monsters has lost the territory fight and has fled to the canyon.]

[A group of Hell monsters has lost the territory fight and has hidden underground.]

[There are Hell monsters uninterested in the fight over territory.]

[There are Hell monsters waiting for the Hell King's death.]

[After the Break, the Hell King and Hell monsters will invade Earth.]

[Calculating...]

[Earth's survival probability will be under 3%.]

[Searching for words...]

[Searching for words...]

[The Earth System requests that Hunters prevent the invasion of Hell.]