Understanding the Ability
***
It took a long time for the dazed and bewildered feeling to subside.
But it didn't subside completely, which was only natural given the situation unfolding before his eyes.
'I died… but I'm not dead?'
That was the only way it felt.
Also, visible below the silver letters floating in front of him were the various gold trinkets he had greedily gathered at the jewelry store.
They were close enough to reach, so Han Yu-jin unconsciously tried to grab them.
But his hand flinched to a stop on its own just before it touched them.
It was because he instinctively realized that this 'selection of rewards' was not free.
It seemed to be a system where one obtained something by paying a price, and the nature of that price was very peculiar.
A person who had awakened a special ability could naturally understand a part of its nature and how it worked.
To use an analogy, it was like how a person instinctively knows how to move their arms and legs.
If one couldn't comprehend or control their awakened special ability at all, it would have been a disaster.
In any case, thanks to this, Han Yu-jin could now understand the price for selecting a reward just by thinking about it carefully.
'Karma.'
It seemed it could also be expressed as 'deeds'. It was a highly abstract concept, but to put it simply, it could be described as the total sum of the changes a being has caused in the universe, a kind of energy that allows one to forge their own destiny.
Therefore, selecting a reward here was an act of using that energy in a very clear way.
After hesitating for several minutes, Han Yu-jin eventually lowered the hand he had extended.
He felt that exchanging such an important energy for mere gold trinkets like these would be a loss.
'I can use it more wisely.'
He should get the fishing rod that catches the fish, rather than just a single fish. That way, he wouldn't just be full for a day, but could live his whole life full.
To do that, he needed to begin exploring the nature of his awakened special ability in earnest.
How could he make a proper plan without knowing anything?
And so, the moment he thought it would be good to leave this place.
He opened his eyes and woke from his sleep.
"..."
After lying still for a moment, he fumbled for the smartphone next to his pillow, turned on the screen, and checked the time.
It seemed he had slept for about six hours.
The time ratio with his recent experience didn't match at all, but strangely, it felt very normal.
It was probably because he had instinctively understood a little about his awakened special ability.
As the reality that he had truly awakened sank in more and more, his spirits soared and his heart beat rapidly.
But instead of getting wildly excited and happy, he began to figure out his ability while still lying down.
He remained motionless for several hours in that state of extreme immersion.
<> <> <>
Han Yu-jin only got up when he felt his strength draining away as his blood sugar dropped from hunger.
The time was roughly past dawn, when the outside of his window was dimly lit.
After hastily eating ramen for a meal, he sat down in a computer chair on one side of the room and reviewed the results of his efforts so far.
His awakened special ability, which he had diligently explored and figured out, was truly special and amazing.
He could explore other worlds just like interdimensional travel in a novel, death itself was not a risk as he had personally experienced, and he could bring the results of his exploration into reality by consuming Karma.
Furthermore, it seemed that the other worlds were not chosen randomly, but according to his own wishes.
'The reason I ended up on that Earth After the Apocalypse… was probably because I wanted to make money easily and quickly.'
Until right before he fell asleep, he had been envying his middle school classmate who seemed to be living a prosperous life as a Hunter.
Not because he had a special ability, but because he could earn an enormous amount of money with that ability. The social prestige was a bonus.
That apocalyptic world was certainly a place where one could make money easily and quickly.
All he had to do was pick up ownerless goods like the gold trinkets scattered everywhere.
However, fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin, and opportunity always comes with crisis.
If you want to make money easily and quickly, there is always a corresponding price to pay. In this case, that price was the danger of dying in an instant.
'Even if there hadn't been such a danger, I still would have had to pay the price of Karma when selecting the rewards.'
In short, there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Even if something seemed free, a closer look would reveal that it wasn't necessarily so.
Anyway,
The next thing he found out was about time.
No matter how much time he spent in another world he traveled to via his ability, only the time it takes to have a nap would pass here.
Furthermore, his lifespan would be reduced by the amount of time he spent in that other world.
'They say time is gold; there's no way it would be free.'
This was enough of an understanding for his needs.
Now it was time to think about how to make his life rich and rewarding with this ability.
'Reporting my special ability awakening right away is a bit…'
Since it was such a peculiar ability, it seemed like it would be difficult to explain.
And he didn't want to explain it in such tedious detail either. It was because it felt like he would be exposing far too much of himself.
If he could obtain another ability based on this awakened one, he could report that and become a Hunter.
That seemed much better.
Han Yu-jin sat in his chair for a long time and pondered. He also turned on his computer and used tools like a notepad.
The more he organized his thoughts, the clearer they became, and options began to appear.
'It would be broadly divided into material and non-material things.'
For example,
Powerful sci-fi weapons, tools imbued with fantasy-style magic, or potions that grant superpowers upon drinking were material things.
Blueprints to create sci-fi weapons yourself, cultivation methods to learn magic, or potion-making recipes that capture the power of special ingredients were non-material things.
He would have to check if he could actually obtain such things, but…
'It probably won't be completely impossible.'
All sorts of special items and knowledge came from 'clearing rifts', the main mission of Hunters.
Most of the ideas Han Yu-jin was thinking of now were based on them.
In fact, a projectile weapon with a sci-fi feel was discovered once and became a hot topic, items imbued with power that deserved to be called magic appeared very commonly, and knowledge on how to handle or create them was also discovered from time to time.
Regardless of whether they were useful or not, the important fact was that they existed.
'With my ability…'
The more he thought about it, the more Han Yu-jin's mind leaned in one direction.
'I can bring back items by selecting rewards, but I have to use Karma.'
Knowledge, on the other hand, was different.
What he experienced would become knowledge, so all that was needed was a portion of his lifespan equivalent to the time spent.
It was a complete unknown.
He might even learn the knowledge to awaken and cultivate a special ability on his own, not through a chance awakening.
'Even if it's an item, it's fine if it's efficient enough.'
What if there was a potion that gave him the power to shatter mountains and part seas just by consuming it?
Of course, he would have to bring it into reality, even if it meant using all his Karma. He could just accumulate Karma again.
It was a type of investment. If he gained great power, he could bring about more changes in the world, which meant that an equivalent amount of Karma would return to him.
Thinking about it that way, just hoarding Karma also felt foolish.
'It might be like just leaving money to rot in a bank account.'
He would have to think about this more carefully.
But now was the time for action. Deliberation should also be based on experience; if he just stayed cooped up in his room, most of it would end up as mere fantasy.
He wasn't tired at all since it hadn't been long since he woke up, but he lay down on his bed. Then, closing his eyes, he tried to activate his ability.
It was a little difficult, but at the same time, it didn't feel difficult.
At a certain moment.
He fell asleep in an instant, as if a button had been pressed.
<> <> <>
He was in that space again.
It was pitch-black all around, and in front of him was the door that changed into all sorts of forms. But fortunately, he wasn't in a daze like when he first visited.
"Ah, ah, ah-."
He tried making a sound as a test and felt a sense of wonder as the sound disappeared as if it were being swallowed.
He felt this way even more because it wasn't bothersome at all and felt very comfortable.
After exploring this mysterious place to his satisfaction, Han Yu-jin went and stood before the ever-changing door.
Then, as he had planned before, he focused on his wish and reached out his hand.
A cold sensation was felt, and the familiar resonant hum echoed out.
The form of the fixed door had a rather fantasy-like feel to it.
It was arched overall, its frame was finished with metal, and the inside was filled with crystals of brilliant colors.
The jet-black, lustrous metal embedded in the center seemed to be in the shape of a tree growing upside down.
"..."
Despite its splendid design, for some reason, the more he looked at it, the more eerie it felt.
As he was thinking that, silver letters floated up above it.
[The Demon Followers' Ikapa Pangea.]
Understanding the meaning naturally brought surprise.
It was because there was no way this 'demon' was as romantic and cool as it was portrayed in various media.
On the contrary, there was a very high probability that it would show why a demon is a demon, how cruel and evil the existence of a demon is, and how unhesitatingly its followers commit sins.
'Did I wish to become strong too easily again this time…?'
It certainly seemed so.
But to not enter because of that felt like a bit of a waste.
He had an ability that nullified even death, as he had experienced before; if he didn't enter just because it felt ominous, he would helplessly waste five or six hours of real time.
He couldn't be scared by something of this level.
Having made up his mind, Han Yu-jin pushed the door open with force.
Before he could even admire the scenery visible inside, he was pushed by an unseen force and naturally took a few steps forward.
As he let out a sound of surprise and turned around, he saw the door closing on its own and disappearing like an illusion.
'Once it's opened, can it not be reversed?'
It probably seemed so. In any case, there was no point to this ability's existence if he didn't explore, so it probably wasn't a big deal.
Thinking this, he looked around.
He was in a somewhat silent and desolate forest under a dim sky, and he was standing on a bluish-gray stone tile road that cut through the forest.
Judging by the state of the road, it seemed to be periodically maintained. Or perhaps it was imbued with some unknown power that prevented its condition from deteriorating over time.
'What are these clothes?'
The last thing he checked, his own appearance, was quite unusual. He didn't know if his face had changed since there was no mirror, but at least the clothes he was wearing were in the style of an adventurer from some medieval fantasy game.
And so, he was identifying the location and type of pockets on the unfamiliar clothes and testing the texture of the leather boots on his feet.
"What's this guy doing now?"
Startled by the unfamiliar voice that suddenly came, he raised his head to see a middle-aged man, who had appeared from who knows where, looking at him.
Even though it was a completely unfamiliar language, he understood it perfectly, as if he were listening to Korean.
"How did you get in here?"
The middle-aged man with a harsh impression asked such a question with an interested light in his reddish-brown eyes.
The black robe he wore was embroidered with gold thread in various places and looked quite luxurious.
And he didn't seem to particularly want an answer.
"If you don't want to talk, then don't. To be honest, I'm not that curious about that kind of thing."
A vision of bright red insects squirming flickered for a moment in the middle-aged man's reddish-brown eyes.
"Do you desire power?"
It was a question that felt truly dangerous, yet tempting.
After hesitating for a moment, Han Yu-jin recalled his purpose for coming here and nodded his head.
He believed that no matter what kind of power he obtained or in what way, it would be fine with his ability that nullified even death.
The middle-aged man grinned as if satisfied.
"You know the price, I assume?"
"I don't know it well."
"You don't know? And yet you came here?"
After laughing for a moment with a look of disbelief, he kindly explained.
"It's no big deal, so don't worry. You just have to offer a small piece of your soul and be asleep as a blood provider for about twenty to thirty years. Once you pass the initiation, both your body and soul will become much stronger, so it won't be too uncomfortable."
"…Excuse me?"
Cut a piece of my soul?
Sleep for twenty to thirty years?
His faith in his safety was shaken.
The worry about damage to his soul was a concern, but if he slept for twenty to thirty years, his lifespan would be cut down by that much.
Han Yu-jin's complexion turned pale.
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