256 – Returner
I looked at a machine similar to a smartphone in my hand.
‘A mana meter.’
It’s a design that seems to be an integration of modern mechanical engineering technology, but its purpose is to measure the surreal energy called mana.
People even took it for granted.
‘Earth, I am unfamiliar with you.’
Anyway.
While I was thinking that, the mana meter began measuring while making a sound.
‘There’s no way around this.’
I looked at the mana meter with a laugh.
‘Measure it on a hundred days, see if it works.’
I obediently accepted the measurement, but I had no intention of exposing my bottom line.
He didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention, and for that purpose, he killed the black dog and created an unidentified person to spread the word.
I was in a position where I had to hide my strength in order not to be awkward with each other.
And I was a specialist in that field.
The unique characteristics were helping me with my deception.
‘If your name is a returner but you have no mana, that’s just as suspicious, right?’
Therefore, I decided to bring the specifications from my time as an academy cadet.
If we were to substitute it by the standards of this world, they were clearly weaker than the two people here, and were at a similar level to the hunters who had gathered in front of the gate just now.
Did you say it was class B?
So, I have a relaxed attitude and the meter reads ‘Beep’ and ‘Beep’. I waited for something like that to come out.
The two people also quietly looked at the measuring instrument with expressionless faces, as if they didn’t have much expectations from me.
“… “
“… “
But.
Suddenly, the mood between the two began to become more serious by the minute.
‘What is it?’
Is there some problem?
Beep.
At that time, the measuring instrument made a unique mechanical sound as if the measurement had finally been completed.
‘Let’s see.’
I checked the measured value on the measuring instrument.
[Grade: Not measurable]
Oh my.
Were those hunters just rated as ‘unmeasurable’?
‘That can’t be possible.’
The measuring instrument malfunctioned.
And the reason why the measuring instrument malfunctioned.
I could tell from the circumstances that that was the reason why the atmosphere between the two people became serious.
‘For some reason, it feels like deja vu… !’
Now that I think about it.
I remember something similar happening when I entered the academy and had my mana measured by a golem.
‘The effect of the trait doesn’t work well on machines…? !?’
I was embarrassed on the inside, but I didn’t show it to the outside and just played it off for now.
“Huh? Did I do something wrong? Or is there something wrong with the machine?”
I held the measuring instrument in front of my eyes and stared at it.
Like a caveman looking at a smartphone left behind by a time traveler.
Who would be able to tell from this foolish appearance that he is a conniving man hiding his powers?
“… “
“… “
But, damn it.
The two people didn’t care at all about their stupid appearance.
Is the meaning of the phrase [Grade: Unmeasurable] More serious than I thought?
It was then.
Unlike a guy with slit eyes like me, he is a handsome man whose genuine smile makes others feel warm.
Kim Gyu-hwan looked at me and smiled softly.
“Yes, I guess the machine is broken.”
“Ah! “Maybe I did something wrong!?”
I responded with a dumbfounded look.
Then Lee Hwa-rin continued her words.
“No, it looks like the machine simply malfunctioned.”
“Oh, is that so? “Then what should I do?”
“Unfortunately, I think we will have to postpone mana measurement.”
“Oh my. I was also curious about the measurement results, but it’s a shame. Oh, if it’s not a problem, would you mind if I try one more time?”
“Oh, yes. Please.”
Kim Gyu-hwan reached out his hand to take the measuring instrument from me and gestured.
For some reason, that hand gesture felt very polite.
As if you were treating a superior.
Just like when I first measured it, the two people’s attention was focused on me.
However, there is something different from before.
The eyes of the two people were directed at me, not at the measuring instrument.
Beep.
In a moment.
The measuring instrument has completed another measurement.
[Class: Not measurable]
Kim Gyu-hwan extended his hand to me.
When I placed the measuring instrument on it, Gyu-hwan Kim smiled kindly as he retrieved the measuring instrument.
“Anyway. It seems that the machine has malfunctioned due to the influence of the very large gate that occurred at this location. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Ahahahaha, is there a reason to be sorry? “For me, I just wish the best for that expensive-looking machine.”
“hahahaha, that’s fun. “When the machine comes to its senses, it will convey the message properly.”
Suddenly.
The conversation suddenly cuts off, as if it were a lie that the conversation continued in a good mood.
And static.
“Oh, now that I think about it-“
Just right.
At that time, Kim Gyu-hwan snapped his fingers as if he remembered an important business he had forgotten.
“Look at my mind. Ms. Lee Hwa-rin. “I have something to talk about closely. Can you give me a moment?”
“Yes? Ah yes. Sure. That, teacher? “Could you please wait here for a moment?”
“Of course. As a returnee with no place to return to and nothing to own, all I have is wasted time. Ha ha ha!”
“Ha, hahahaha. Hey, thank you for your understanding. “Then please excuse me for a moment.”
Kim Gyu-hwan and Lee Hwa-rin headed somewhere side by side.
I thought to myself as I was placed on the street in front of the place where the gate occurred.
‘f*cked!’
This.
I think I got caught.
***
“… “
“… “
Kim Gyu-hwan and Lee Hwa-rin moved away from the location of Ceylon.
Too far away.
It was clearly unnatural.
But right now, the two of them had no time to worry about that.
Soon, the two looked around carefully and placed a thick mana barrier around them.
The mana barrier is too thick to simply block sound.
“… “
I still can’t calm down.
It had been a long time since the two people who had been paying attention to their surroundings looked at each other properly.
The two then looked at the mana meter in Kim Gyu-hwan’s hand.
And some time passed.
It was a short time, incomparable to the time it took for the mana meter in Ceylon’s hand to complete the measurement.
Beep.
The measuring instrument that finished measuring Kim Gyu-hwan’s mana made a sound.
[Grade: s-]
It was indeed a masterpiece proudly presented by the returnee, the world’s greatest mana engineering authority, and a measuring instrument brought by Kim Gyu-hwan to measure the mana inherent in the unprecedentedly large gate.
The measuring device quickly completed the measurement and presented the value, as if the vast mana possessed by Kim Gyu-hwan, an S-class ability, was nothing.
If it had been a commercial measuring instrument with a measurement limit within the general range, it would have taken a year.
Even though it took a year, they probably couldn’t come up with the right price.
[Class: Not measurable]
Just like we did just now.
“… “
[Grade: s-]
How long has it been since Kim Gyu-hwan looked fascinated at the value displayed on the measuring instrument?
Measurement values have been initialized.
Measurement resumes.
Beep.
[Grade: s-]
Beep.
[Grade: s-]
Beep.
[Grade: s-]
In that way, Kim Gyu-hwan repeated the measurement again and again without saying a word for a while.
If a third party who did not know the context had seen it, their mental state would have been questioned.
But it was the opposite.
Kim Gyu-hwan’s actions just now were actions that could have left him completely sane.
The situation that just happened.
And one possibility it implies.
If you can accept that literally without any doubt-
That was truly a strange mental state.
“… “
Kim Gyu-hwan’s face, which always had a kind smile on his face, suddenly became covered with evil.
Leave.
Get some sleep!
It was as if he was saying that.
After Gyu-Hwan Kim assumed all the situations in which the measuring instrument could malfunction, he was trying them out one by one.
How long has it been since then?
Kim Gyu-hwan finally lifted his head, which had been stuck in the measuring instrument.
[Grade: s-]
That’s what it said on the measuring instrument.
“… “
Lee Hwa-rin, who was looking at the series of processes with a serious face, extended her hand to Kim Gyu-hwan.
Kim Gyu-hwan put the measuring instrument down in her hand without strength.
Beep.
The measuring instrument in Lee Hwa-rin’s hand completed the measurement and released the value faster than Kim Gyu-hwan’s.
[Grade: a]
“… “
“… “
The two finally took their eyes off the measuring device and looked at each other.
“Hwarin Lee.”
“… Yes.”
“What happened to Hwarin Lee. “Can you say it again?”
Lee Hwa-rin frowned and recalled her memories.
Unlike before, she excluded her own subjectivity as much as possible.
Try to summarize the situation from as objective a perspective as possible.
The gate, whose size was clearly a spatial gate, disappeared immediately after being opened.
As if an emissive gate emits its contents and disappears.
Then, near the site where the gate occurred, the A-level villain Black Dog was found being subdued by an unidentified person.
There was ‘that person’ at the scene.
‘That person’ is a returnee who has just returned from another world.
“… “
“… “
Ceylon.
When we proceeded with the story without the intense atmosphere of goofiness that seemed to force his thinking, the conclusion was clearly different from before.
He’s too ordinary for a returnee?
“Huh… “
Two people, one of the most high-ranking hunters and strong men in Korea, opened their mouths indiscriminately.
“… Mr. Lee Hwa-rin.”
“… Yes.”
“… Now, what I’m thinking about… Is that right… ?”
“… “
The conclusion has already been reached.
Yet they did not dare to say that conclusion out loud.
The moment when you take something you have kept in your head out into the world.
Their world will collapse.
“Maybe we were mistaken… ?”
Therefore, they took pains to deny it.
Kim Gyu-hwan nodded at Lee Hwa-rin’s words and smiled wildly.
“I think so too.”
Like that.
It was a time when it seemed like the incident that had disturbed the two people would end well.
“… !”
“… !”
Two people looked in one direction at the same time.
The place where Ceylon is located.
And this is the place where the suppressed black dog is located, and where an unprecedentedly large gate was created.
An unsettling wave of mana was detected there.
Lee Hwa-rin and Kim Gyu-hwan thought at the same time.
The Black Dogs are a group of villains led by the returnee ‘Cheonma’, one of the five awakened people, and the largest outer guild.
He belonged to ‘Wrong Choice’.
Wrongly chosen villains usually act as individuals.
They were difficult and dangerous beings, even to each other as villains.
But.
There will certainly be exceptions.
For example.
This is the case where a super-large gate of unprecedented scale occurs like now.
Is there a black dog at this site?
There was a high possibility that there would be other villains who made the wrong choice.
“Oh my… !”
Most hunters withdrew.
Only a small number of researchers remained at the site to investigate traces of the gate.
With a black dog who has lost his mind.
They were dangerous.
Lee Hwa-rin and Kim Gyu-hwan immediately returned to the scene.
From Noble mtl dot com
“… !”
“… !”
The moment I arrived at the scene.
Lee Hwa-rin and Kim Gyu-hwan were speechless at the sight that unfolded before their eyes.
“Unnamed… Skullhead… red hand… No face… “
The researchers the two people were worried about were muttering in fascination.
Each one of them was the name of a major villain who was infamous in the international community.
The owners of that name were lying down, surrounding a man.
It’s as unsightly as a fly that flies away with a single wave of your hand.
“Hmm? Ah.”
Ceylon.
He found the two people and thought for a moment.
Soon, as he looked at the two people, his eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth split into a grin.
“Hey~ That masked monster appeared again and helped me?”
The previous dazed impression was gone.
The sight of him calmly spouting lies that no one would believe and making a sinister smile is like-
Yes.
It looked like a narrow-eyed character that often appears in creative works.
It was the moment when the possibility that Lee Hwa-rin and Kim Gyu-hwan tried so hard to deny became a reality.
Ceylon.
He was the owner of a very large gate.
***
The day after a super-large gate of unprecedented scale occurred.
The world was abuzz with one common theme.
[Title: No, no, I’ve been talking about a returnee since morning]
Content: Has the returnee appeared again?