….
Jin-Ho dismissed the screen with a thought, not even bothering to check the details.
Rewards could wait, but right now, he needed to figure out how much time had passed here, get home, check on his family, and maybe, get some actual rest in his own bed.
From his [System] inventory, Jin-Ho pulled out the phone he'd tucked away before the dimension jump.
"Heh… maybe I should have flashed this at Tony, just to mess with him."
He smirked to himself. "He would probably explode like a damn reactor."
"But not like it would work in another world anywa—"
The thought froze mid-sentence.
The screen flickered to life, and Jin-Ho's breath caught. His pulse spiked.
One month.
He had been gone for an entire month.
"...Shit."
He shoved the phone into his pocket and broke into a run.
The note he had left behind for his family suddenly felt incredibly inadequate:
—
"Don't worry, I will be back soon!"
—
Yeah, really helpful when 'soon' turned into four weeks of radio silence.
His family was probably losing their minds.
Jin-Ho turned onto the main street, heading toward the residential district to catch a transport.
However, just then a patrol cop's car rolled past him.
Then stopped.
Jin-Ho kept walking, already second guessing his situation.
Aligning to his thoughts, the car reversed, pulling up beside him with that distinctive whoop of a short siren burst.
Two officers stepped out.
One older, gray at the temples, the other younger who held a tablet, eyes flicking between the screen and Jin-Ho's face.
"Hello there, officers. Anything wrong?"
The older officer stepped forward, hand resting casually on his belt - not threatening, but ready. "Kid, can you tell us your name?"
"Uh... Yoo Jin-Ho?"
The younger officer's eyes widened. He spoke urgently into his walkie-talkie, words tumbling out fast.
"Control, this is Unit Seven. We found the kid. Repeat, we found the kid with similar characteristics to the one reported missing a month ago. Yoo Jin-Ho, matches the description."
The radio crackled back. ["Copy that, Unit Seven. Confirm identity and bring him in. His Family will been contacted."]
Jin-Ho just stood there, processing.
Yep. He had fucked up.
Badly.
….
After that, things happened fast.
He was taken to the police station, sat in an interrogation room - while a detective asked questions:
Where has he been? What happened? Why no contact?
Jin-Ho told them a made up story.
Something about being forcibly pulled into an unregistered gate that had appeared out of nowhere. He claimed it had been an E-Rank gate - one he had managed to clear.
And as for the time lost, he wasn't certain.
Days? Weeks? He guessed days, though he wasn't entirely sure.
Undoubtedly, his explanation was vague.
Still, the Hunter Association took his word, and when inspected they did find unusual mana wavelengths at the location Jin-Ho had pointed to, the kind that matches when a gate was closed - all these learnings only raised far more questions than it answered.
In the end, though, they couldn't hold him indefinitely.
Moreover, Jin-Ho was a foreigner, a member of the Yoo family, and technically a Hunter who had returned unharmed from an unknown phenomena - pressing too hard would create more problems than it solved.
"Don't disappear again." the detective said finally, closing his notepad.
"Understood."
"Your sister's outside."
Jin-Ho's stomach dropped.
….
As Jin-Ho stepped out of the interrogation room, he immediately spotted the said person.
Yoo Jin-Hee stood waiting for him, her expression absolutely murderous - which promised a very long, very painful lecture.
Expectedly, the moment their eyes met, she moved.
Fast.
She didn't say a word and just turned and walked toward the doors.
He followed.
….
They made it to the parking lot, where her car was in complete silence.
Alas, it didn't last long, and the moment they settled inside, and the door was closed–
"Do you have any idea—" Her voice was low, controlled, but shaking with barely suppressed rage. "—what you have put this family through?"
"Noona, I—"
"One month, Jin-Ho. One month without a word. No calls, no texts, no contact whatsoever." Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "Mom has been calling me every day crying. Dad pulled strings with half the Hunter Association trying to find you–
"And that note? That stupid, vague note you left saying you'd 'be back soon'?"
She took a breath, and Jin-Ho realized with a sinking feeling that she was fighting back tears.
"We thought you were dead." She pulled out of the parking lot, driving faster than necessary. "We thought you had been kidnapped, or worse killed, or—"
"I am sorry." Jin-Ho said quietly. "I didn't mean—"
"Dont apologise to me." She cut him off, voice tight. "First, I am calling Mom. You are going to tell her you are safe. Now."
She pulled out her phone with one hand, never slowing down, and hit the speed dial.
The phone rang twice before their mother picked up.
["Jin-Hee? Did they find him? Is he—"]
"He is here, Mom. He is safe." Jin-Hee's voice softened slightly, just for their mother. "I am putting him on."
She shoved the phone at Jin-Ho.
"Mom—"
["Jin-Ho!"] His mother's voice was thick with tears of relief. ["Where have you been? Do you know what—we thought—"]
….
And that was about it.
From then on, the proceedings were a blur.
He talked to his mom, tried to explain, fumbled through apologies that felt inadequate.
Even had a word with his dad.
The line went dead.
Jin-Ho handed the phone back to Myung-Hee, who was still driving with that controlled fury that somehow felt worse than outright yelling.
….
The momentum continued till dinner.
And his sister was clear with her bidding warning–
"I am going to my room. You—" she pointed at Jin-Ho. "—better be here when I wake up tomorrow. Understood?"
"Yeah..."
Apparently, since it was pretty late she is gonna stay tonight at his flat.
….
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Jin-Ho's room looked exactly the same.
He collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Honestly, he felt more exhausted now than when he had gone through hell in a different world.
Jin-Ho had thought he wouldn't care much about this world, the people in it. He had assumed he would just brush it off - their worry, their fear, their pain at his absence.
But just now, when he heard the cry of the woman on the phone–
It made him dizzy.
But again not like he has any choice but to do it again.
"Offfuu, whatever." He just brushed the feeling aside, forcing it down. "Guess I am back now... to my home."
Just before he drifted into his sleep he collected his reward.
◤-----------------------◥
Ⓘ [Ding–! New Skill - "[Ox]" Talisman Acquired!]
-> Talisman Powers: Super Human Strength
•---------•
Ⓘ [Ding! New Artifact "[Rairakku's Mask]" Acquired!]
-> Artifact Function: To summon the Ninja Khan Shadowkhan army. It also grants the wearer superhuman strength, speed, and agility.
◣-----------------------◢
"Another Talsiman Skill." Jin-Ho could possibly guess what that might be, but–
"Rairakku's Mask?"
He wasn't sure.
"It is labelled as an 'artifact' by the system, so it must be something like Panku Locket, right?"
But unlike Panku Locket which can open a portal, according to its description, this can summon Shadow Khan, which he remembers from the Jackie Chan verse.
Before that–
He clicked on [OX] Talisman.
◤-----------------------◥
[Ding–!
[Do You wish to equip [Ox Talisman]?]
[Equip Now / Later]
Ⓘ Note: Once 'Equipped' it cannont be undone!
◣-----------------------◢
"Equip Now."
Immediately, Jin-Ho felt the same power course through him, similar to when he equipped [Roster] Talisman for the first time.
Also there is another [OX] tattoo formed on his shoulder.
He is lucky, he could make the tattoo's disappear.
With that, he moved on to check out this current skill's status.
◤-----------------------◥
「Skills:」
-> [Talisman Arts] Level 1(Proficiency 0.9%)
-> [Telekinesis] Level 2(Proficiency 55%)
-> [Jackie Chan Martial Arts:] Level 4(Proficiency 80%)
-> [Super Human Strength] (New) Level 0(Proficiency 0%)
◣-----------------------◢
After equipping the new [Ox] Talisman Jin-Ho overall Power rose again.
◤-----------------------◥
「Power Level:」
-> [Tier 9: [9-A: SuperHuman(:Small Building Level)] ↑ (Leveled UP) ► [8-C: Urban(:Building level)] ↑ (Leveled UP)
◣-----------------------◢
….
◤---•JACKIE⬢CHAN ADVENTURES SYSTEM•---◥
「BIO:」
-> [Name: Yoo Jin-Ho Race: Human| Status: Awakened Age: 16]
「Titles:」
-> [Reincarnator (Epic Rank)
-> [Youngest of the Yoo Family (Unrank)
-> [The ☒☒ Keeper] (Unclassified)
-> [Protagonist Magnet] (Epic Rank)
「Power Level:」
-> [8-C: Urban(:Building level)] ↑ (Leveled UP)
「Skills:」
-> [Talisman Arts]
-> [Telekinesis(:Rooster Talisman)
-> [Jackie Chan Martial Arts]
•••
「INVENTRY:」
[-> Pan'ku Locket] (NEW)
[-> Rairakku's Mask] (NEW)
◣-----------------------------------------◢
….
[Next Day - Highschool]
"How many weeks has it been since he showed up?"
"Dunno, thought he dropped out."
"I heard he beat up the third-years, and got suspended."
Just as Jin-Ho came back, rumors spread, and a lot of them.
None true.
Third-years, huh? He assumed they were kids from the same year in another class.
Also, all he did was return the money he owed that chubby kid and leave.
Hm, maybe I should have beaten them up. It felt like a huge waste as people already thought he did.
That aside, coming back to school was already feeling like a mistake for him now. However, skipping again meant another grilling from the head of the Yoo family - and he would rather take on a troll with his bare hands than sit through that lecture.
"Jin-Ho."
He blinked, and turned.
"Ah, class rep."
"I told you - call me Evelyn."
"Alright, CR." Jin-Ho didn't budge. "What do you need?"
Her eyebrow twitched. "I came to ask the same thing. You look like someone who needs something."
"I am good."
"Nothing?"
"Should I be?"
Her sigh could have powered a wind turbine. "Forget being a Hunter for a second, you can't just ditch school for a month. Midterms are next week."
"Thanks for the concern." He said dryly. "But I will manage."
"You won't. What were you even doing this past month?"
"The usual."
"And that is?"
"Riding gates."
"Every day?"
"Every. Day."
She studied him like she was trying to decode sarcasm.
Then sighed again. "Fine. If you don't want to talk."
"If you don't have anything else can I leave?"
"Ugh, whatever. I don't care." She muttered, clearly caring way too much. "I thought you would at least ask for the notes from the classes you missed."
She turned on her heel and started walking off.
Jin-Ho watched her go, then called lazily after her. "Thanks, CR. I will make sure to vote for you in the next election."
Without turning back, she shot over her shoulder. "Try passing midterms first, smartass."
From the back rows—
"Why are they staring at each other like that?"
"Are they gonna kiss?"
"Not in class, come on."
"Honestly, I kinda hope they do."
"Wow, pervert."
"If they kiss, I am dropping dead right here."
Every word hit Jin-Ho's Hunter-trained ears like mosquito buzzes.
A transfer student and the class rep - of course it looked like the opening to a romance manga.
The perfect cliché.
….
.
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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