After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 135. The Great Overlord (4)

The Dream Predator.

Fundamentally, it was physically weaker than most monsters that inhabited level A Rifts, as well as monsters in the -Land of Death-.

Judging from various analyses alone, it was an insignificant monster that a team of 2nd class, no, 3rd class hunters could hunt.

But in the past, most hunters that were deployed to kill the Great Overlord were cut off and wiped out by it.

For a single reason.

The Dream Predator’s frighteningly powerful ‘Illusion ability’.

The power triggered traumas and dark memories deep down and drove people mad.

“Kiruk?”

The octopus-like monster let out a bizarre noise. I unstuck its tentacles from my body and activated Mirage to dismember a leg.

Sticky mucus splattered around. The monster slowly retreated without showing any signs of pain. And the next moment, dozens of eyes sprouted up all over its body and opened up.

There were no words to express how gross it looked.

‘It’s playing tricks again.’

Although I escaped the illusion by activating the Akashic Records, the moment it opened its eyes, I drifted away from reality again.

Since the monster possessed ‘the most powerful and intricate Illusion ability in the world’, according to past experts from the Association, Analysts that worked for me, and even myself, it was no wonder. It felt like my mind was getting sucked underwater.

‘It has the best ability to deal with human beings.’

Monsters had no regrets or trauma. The Dream Predator was an inferior creature that lagged in the competition for survival among monsters, but it was extremely powerful when dealing with humans.

Humans were the only living creatures in the world that clung to the past and regretted every moment. Various scenes unfolded in front of me.

This time, I did not activate the Akashic Records. If I used the Eye of Truth, I could drive away the illusion immediately, but that would only delay things.

The way to completely kill the Dream Predator was to dismantle its illusions and destroy the monster’s mental system in return.

‘That’s why I chose to come here.’

I clenched my teeth and endured the approaching sticky sensation. I was probably better suited at dealing with this kind of monster than the Five Heroes. I was confident in my ability to hold out. Even before I earned the Akashic Records, I was sure of my willpower, among all other things.

-You have a lot of lingering feelings about the past. With so many memories, you must have so many regrets.

A peculiar voice came to my mind. The monster was looking into my memories, daring to judge me.

Yeah, I have a lot of memories.

Much more than you could expect.

This young body was full of unimaginable experiences.

-You have a lot of painful memories. It must be agonizing to fall asleep every night.

Numerous moments of death passed by before my eyes.

My family, close friends I met afterward, teammates I could trust my life with.

They died horribly, and I silently looked at their deaths.

My mom, my dad, Lee Jin-woo.

Yoo Ji-yeon, Han Yeon-soo, Zhang Wei, Kim Seung-hyun.

They all became cold dead bodies. And I, a weak and ordinary person, survived and held their funerals alone.

I was the only one who survived in the chaos.

-What interesting memories. Are you delusional or something? Your memories are all over the place. Those who died are alive and breathing right now. It must be very difficult. Or, have you come back in time? Did you actually experience all this? Don’t you get confused?

That was once my concern. Was everyone dead, and was I the only one alive, hallucinating? Had the world already ended, leaving me alone again? And, was I just remembering and experiencing the past in a flashback? Maybe I was just imagining that I had come back in time because I had so many regrets in my life.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

However, I had long since dispelled those worries. I didn’t care if all of this was a hallucination. I wanted to save the world, even in my head. And if it was real, all the better.

In the first place, I just wanted to kill monsters for my satisfaction. I wanted to be a hero for myself. I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about complicated things.

“I have no reason to be distressed. And I have no reason to have difficulty falling asleep at night.”

Before they died, my parents smiled when they saw me alive and breathing. They would have wanted me to live happily. For their sake, I had to live life to the fullest every day. I couldn’t waste my time living in despair.

And I knew I did my best.

“Those aren’t traumatic memories. They’re grateful moments.”

The Five Heroes also left everything to me. They trusted me with their lives, even though I didn’t have any exceptional abilities. They sacrificed their valuable lives.

Maybe it was thanks to them that I earned the Akashic Records. The most talented people throughout humankind had sacrificed their lives to save me. They had chosen me as humanity’s last hope.

Their brightly shining talent and the bright future they would have had may have caused me to come back in time.

-…What an unusual human being.

The image of me in despair slowly faded away. The Analyst Jeong Si-woo, smoking a cigarette in remembrance of those who died, vanished.

The puzzle pieces of the past slowly broke down. The traumatic memories that the monster brought up to leave me in despair only strengthened my determination.

I was able to grow stronger because of the pain, and I was able to reach this place because of the pain.

I was able to survive because of the sacrifice of others, and I was able to avenge them because I survived.

The deaths of those I loved, trusted, and respected were not in vain.

They were stepping stones, and they eventually raised me to this level from down below.

[The Akashic Records is evolving.]

[Stories converge.]

[‘Soul Level’ rises.]

.

.

.

[The converging stories transform into stories of the user ‘Jeong Si-woo’.]

There was no need to use the Eye of Truth. I reached out and grabbed something. And that moment, the Dream Predator was revealed again.

The monster’s tentacles drooped down. It had tried to break me down but lost its strength in return once it ran into the wall I had built up.

I suddenly remembered what a colleague had asked me in the past.

– How are you always so calm, Analyst Jeong Si-woo?

My teammates had died. The colleague had asked me the question after seeing how I continued to staunchly conduct my Analysis, receive data, and direct raids.

And at that time, I replied lightly, but with a heavy heart.

-I am not calm. However, if I just mourn and do nothing, their deaths will become meaningless. So, I force myself to work.

Those words accompanied me my entire life.

If you did nothing, everything else would become meaningless.

They would become futile, and I hated that. So, I forced myself to get up and worked like a machine.

[Determining the ‘title’ of the user Jeong Si-woo’s story.]

I stared at the Dream Predator I was holding in my hand. It was trembling. The memories that it triggered had actually made me stronger. The memories that could have faded had become clearer ahead of an important moment.

The glorious moments of my past life were now as vivid as if they had just happened.

The first hero, the ‘Witch’ Yoo Ji-yeon.

The second hero, the ‘Martial God’ Kim Seung-hyun.

The third hero, the ‘Queen’ Han Yeon-soo.

The fourth hero, the ‘Divine Healer’ Zhang Wei.

The memories I accumulated since meeting them and spending time with them assembled into a single story.

In the library that still existed in my head, a book dropped down. It was a story that used to exist page by page, torn apart and wandering around.

But thanks to the Dream Predator, the stories came together as one and came to exist within me.

“Thanks. You made me stronger.”

“…….”

“And if you’re going to use illusions, use them properly. Do you think you can make humans who came this far fall into despair with that?”

Crunch.

The Ki gathered at my fingertips flowed through the tentacles. Every single cell inside the monster began to disintegrate.

The intangible energy ripped apart the internal organs and the life-sustaining organs instead of tearing off the monster’s skin.

It was a gift for the Great Overlord, who would be sharing the monster’s senses. I gave him the most desperate and painful death as a present, instead of a simple death.

-This is my first time seeing a human… But I can’t help but wonder…….

“……?”

-You don’t seem any different from us.….

The dying Dream Predator spoke to me weakly. Not any different?

-You are frighteningly steadfast…, and unhindered by anything if you can achieve your goal. You are so different from the humans I know of… For humans are so weak and have endless regrets…

“…….”

-I think… you’re rather… more like a monster…

After listening to its voice, I forcibly pulled on a limp tentacle. Burnt black mucus splattered out. Looking down at the wretched monster, I spoke indifferently.

“I’m more like a monster? You’re right.”

-…….

“You have to be a monster to catch one. I don’t give a damn about maintaining my humanity. Since you creatures are ‘monsters’ to us, shouldn’t I also be a ‘monster’ to you? Goddamn bastards.”

Crack!

I lifted my knee and then stomped on the Dream Predator that was crawling the ground. And that was the end of it.

The mucus spattered up, and I wiped the sticky gunk off my face with my sleeve.

The Dream Predator died an insignificant death, unlike its notoriety from my past life. It was because it had met me, its natural enemy.

Even before I came back in time, my willpower that could overcome illusions was known to be stronger than most hunters.

“Ahhhhh!”

I could hear someone screaming from afar. It was the voice of the Great Overlord. The boy experienced the feeling of a horrible death.

I didn’t hesitate anymore and stepped towards the voice. My teammates would soon kill the third guardian. And, at that moment, when the Great Overlord was vulnerable, I was going to kill him. No more weighing the odds. I was going to destroy the Disaster that once drove the world to its end.

[The integration of the stories accumulated in the past has been completed.]

[The title of the user Jeong Si-woo’s story has been determined.]

[‘Spirit Level’ has risen sharply.]

[‘Transcendence’ is forthcoming.]

[You have reached the final form that ‘mortals’ can achieve.]

And several notification windows popped up.

[The story is the first that the user has built up.]

[All of the power embedded in the story belongs to the user entirely.]

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[Name: Fifth Hero, the ‘Analyst’ Jeong Si-woo.]

[Level: Undecided]

And written there was the most honorable title that signified me in my past life.

“…Good.”

Looking at it, I kicked the ground and ran forward.

Finally, I was going to end everything.