Chapter 9 (1/2)

But right now the trio didn't enter my eyes.

My hand curled into a fist without my knowing.

The Great Star, Colossus. I had seen it for myself and burned its image into my eyes.

But I couldn't reach it. I might have reached it somehow, but time ran out and I came back to my own body. A body I could move naturally.

'I think it said I awakened.'

There were a few ways to awaken, but the easiest was to make contact with a 'gate'. However, I didn't awaken through contact with a 'gate' but through possessing a 'Demon Lord'.

Every now and then, there would be cases of people with crazy potentials awakening on their own, but chances of this happening was literally one in a million. There were no precedents of my case.

What was more surprising was that I had skills.

'Skills appeared even though I didn't obtain a cla.s.s.'

Although I obtained them through the synchronization, they weren't just any skills.

Mind's Eye and Dominator!

These were Lv9 skills which was on an equal level to the innate magic of dragons. Even though they weren't offensive types, they would doubtlessly prove helpful just by having them.

I spread out my hand and drew the mark of a cross.

[Updating user information.]

Name: Hansung Oh

Occupation: N/A

t.i.tles: N/A

Status Ability:

Strength 11

Agility 11

Const.i.tution 10

Intelligence 9

Magic Power 10

Potential(51/456)

Special note: Potential has greatly increased due to the influence of an unknown power.

Skill: Mind's Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???)

It was short, but impactful.

I couldn't not be surprised nor suppress the shock.

My status was slightly above the average adult male's. However, the amount of my potential differed from the past.

'My limit used to be 450.'

Potential indicated the maximum strength that a person could attain. Filling 450 potential was the most I could do even when I had become the last hero. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't go over that number. Yet it increased. An increase of '6' wasn't such a simple matter.

'I had become stronger by consuming every kind of treasure in the world at the time. My current potential…I can't even…'

A human with a potential greater than 450?

Statistically speaking, it was one in 10 million, so that meant there were only 600~700 of such people throughout the world. I myself wasn't able to reach 450 in the beginning.

Precious medicines blessed by G.o.d, commonly known as miracle drugs.

My former potential was the result of madly consuming such medicines. Before that, I was stuck at 400. It was thanks to the magic swordsman's fast rate of development that I caught the attention of the world's government, and to groom me into a hero, they invested an unbelievable amount of resources in me.

That's how it was…and yet.

'456!'

I closed my eyes and opened them again, but I hadn't seen wrong. The number was definitely 456.

The number that was definitely different from the past caused me to make an expression like my soul had escaped.

'To think I'd get such numbers right after awakening.'

If I could sweep up treasures like I did in the past and increase my potential, it may just be the emergence of the first human ever to reach 500.

No, going even above that may be possible.

I had memories. I had information. I had plenty of time as well.

I broke out into cold sweats. Was I s.h.i.+vering? I might have been so tense that my body didn't even shake. As if in compensation for this, the inside of my mouth was dry, and my eyes restlessly trembled.

'I'll reach them. I can reach them.'

Those monsters; Demon Lords!

Following that, I examined the added skills.

'Transfer…'

It was because of this Transfer skill that I could enter Uriel Diablo's body. I tried using it again just in case it would work.

[2,880 minutes cooldown time remaining for 'Transfer(???)'.]

I couldn't use it.

My eyes immediately went to the cooldown time.

'It's the same as the amount of time I moved.'

I spent 2,880 minutes in Uriel Diablo's body, and the cooldown time was the same as that. A ratio of 1:1 perhaps?

I breathed in deeply.

My quivering heart didn't know how to calm down. It was beating madly, making it difficult to breathe.

”Um…”

One of the trio timidly spoke out.

'Ahh. These guys were here.'

I was so absorbed in the more important matters that I forgot the trio in front of me.

I barely calmed down my excitement and reorganized my mind. Right after getting attacked by the golden red squirrel, I transferred, used up all my time, and came back. But when I opened my eyes, these men were here.

'Something must have happened.'

There was no way they would be like this if nothing had happened.

'Now that I think about it.'

I retraced my memories.

Right before transferring, the red squirrel charged towards me. At the same time, the 'protection magic' I got from Mins.h.i.+k had activated. A cyan protective s.h.i.+eld materialized and blocked the red squirrel's attack thereby safeguarding me.

Was that why I was being treated as a 'mountain G.o.d'?

”Are you really a mountain G.o.d?”

Scarily enough, he took the question right out of my mind.

”I'm not a mountain G.o.d, but…”

”But?”

I was about to speak before I stopped to ponder.

It would be a good thing for me if they misunderstood. There would be no way of explaining the protective s.h.i.+eld if they thought of me as an ordinary person. Unnecessary suspicions would give rise to other rumours. It may be better off showing myself as a celestial being.

I sat up, taking proper poise, and spoke,

”Something similar.”

”You scoundrels. Whether this person is a mountain G.o.d or not, it's clear that he's an exalted being. Where's your manners!”

The man largest among them scolded the other two. He must be the eldest hyung.

”So was it you three who looked after me?”

”Yes, it was. We moved the unconscious mountain G.o.d-nim here.”

Truthfully, the t.i.tle didn't matter that much.

The man was quite respectful. At the very least he didn't seem to be without manners.

Rubbing my chin, I spoke,

”How much time has pa.s.sed since I fell unconscious?”

”A day, exactly a day has pa.s.sed.”

Indeed. The time spent in the abyss differed from the time spent here. Roughly 2:1. So a day in here roughly equaled two in the abyss.

I couldn't help but ask,

”What happened to the golden red squirrel?”

”It ran away. It must have been frightened by mountain G.o.d-nim's power.”

Seeing as he mentioned my power, he must have seen the cyan protective s.h.i.+eld after all.

Still, it was a relief that they couldn't catch it. When the mutated animal is caught and the 'gate' appears, after a day it would latch on to another animal. Then I would have to start from the beginning again.

I stared at the trio for a moment.

It must have been purely their faith in shamanism that spurred them to look after me, but they did save me even though they could have simply run away when the red squirrel was onto me. Following that they did their all and gathered gra.s.s to make a place for me to rest.

'How admirable.'