—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Yeon Mi-rae and Lee Ha-eun, who had come to the amusement park, were truly like fish in water.
The two were much more active than usual, and they moved busily as if they were going to play as much as they could today.
In the first place, since both of them were active people, they really went around the amusement park without resting and enjoyed the rides.
‘…To ride this many rides in one day….’
Perhaps thanks to the fact that society was unstable due to the recent criminal organization issue, there were few customers at the amusement park, so there was no need to wait in line. But even considering that, we enjoyed quite a lot of rides.
Ah, of course, there were also quite a few rides we couldn’t enjoy.
For example, the roller coaster.
“Hmph… I really wanted to ride the roller coaster….”
“Be satisfied with the small roller coaster.”
Lee Ha-eun couldn’t ride it because she was caught by the height restriction for the roller coaster.
For a similar reason, she couldn’t ride many of the rides with height restrictions.
‘Lee Ha-eun is on the small side among children her age… so it can’t be helped.’
The future Lee Ha-eun, that is, Serenity, had been of average height.
I wonder if her growth spurt was going to come late.
In any case, although Lee Ha-eun was disappointed, it couldn’t be helped.
Because the height restrictions on rides were there for safety.
‘Actually, as long as Yeon Mi-rae and I are next to her, safety is guaranteed.’
But I had no intention of making the amusement park staff uncomfortable by using that fact to forcibly put Lee Ha-eun on a ride, so let’s move on.
In any case, for that reason, although we couldn’t enjoy all the rides, we, who had enjoyed most of them, decided to have lunch and dinner at the restaurants in the amusement park and then go home.
It seemed that there was also a parade at night, but….
“Uuungh….”
“Sleepy?”
“Yeah….”
Perhaps because she had played so energetically during the day, Lee Ha-eun looked very tired already.
At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the parade properly.
“Let’s go back. You carry Lee Ha-eun.”
“Yes.”
At my words, Yeon Mi-rae picked up the half-asleep Lee Ha-eun.
And she wrapped Lee Ha-eun with a blanket-like cloth and drew out her internal energy to secure Lee Ha-eun to her back so she wouldn’t fall.
“Your handling of qi seems to have become more skillful than yesterday.”
“Yes. I had a bit of an enlightenment. It’s not enough to create a sword force, but I can now at least transform my sword energy.”
Hearing that, I told her not to be hasty.
“In the first place, when you reach the point of being able to create a sword force, it’s a time when enlightenment becomes more important than the growth of your body and internal energy, but both must also reach a sufficient realm to be able to handle that enlightenment.”
And for Yeon Mi-rae, perhaps because she was a genius, the growth of her body and internal energy couldn’t keep up with her enlightenment.
“So for now, focus on building your foundation to handle your enlightenment. If you just do that, it won’t be difficult for you to reach a realm where you can create a sword force.”
“Yes.”
Yeon Mi-rae and I left the amusement park while talking like that and headed to a nearby bus stop.
Perhaps because it was an odd time, there was only one person at the bus stop.
“?”
And seeing the person who was bundled up tightly at the bus stop, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘…I’ve definitely felt this energy from somewhere before…?’
The energy of this person who was bundled up tightly was definitely an energy I had felt somewhere before.
Though not in this life…
In this life, I had met few people because I was busy training, and among those people, there was no one with such an energy.
In other words, I thought that the pre-regression me must have met this person before.
‘…Excuse me for a moment.’
I lightly infused a bit of my internal energy into this person.
And through that probing, I extracted information about this person.
‘The gender is male… and the age… mid to late 30s? And an Awakener. Seeing as his brain is activated, he’s either a psionicist or a spiritmancer….’
And seeing as the strength of his body, especially the strength of his skin and bones, was abnormally strong…
‘An Iron Man?’
He had a completely different type of psionic power, not a perception-type like ESP or a telekinesis-type like PK (PsychoKinesis).
It was a psionic power that was directly applied to one’s own body.
Iron Man was the psionic power with the most users among them, a simple yet powerful ability where the skin became hard and bone density increased.
‘…And since it’s a psionic power with many users, it’s hard to specify exactly who he is.’
He must be a psionicist who had contact with the future me… But right now, the number of Iron Man ability users in their mid to late 30s — from my pre-regression self’s perspective, at least in their 40s to 50s or older — that came to my mind was numerous.
There were those who were my allies, those who were my enemies… and those who were neither.
‘…I don’t know…’
Well, seeing as I couldn’t remember him, it didn’t seem like he had a deep connection with pre-regression me, and right now, we were just passing acquaintances waiting for the bus at the same bus stop, so shall I just let it go?
I thought that and turned my gaze away from him.
And just then, the bus heading to our house had arrived.
Chiiik….
With the sound of the bus’ brakes activating and air being released, the bus door opened.
Of course, we boarded that bus, and….
“……”
The man who was bundled up at the bus stop, as if he had been waiting for the same bus, quietly got on too.
And….
“……”
After looking around the inside of the bus, he sat in the remaining seat.
I glanced at the man and then turned my gaze to the TV installed in the bus.
Because it would take quite a while for the bus to arrive home, so I thought I’d just watch TV.
However….
Chiiik….
“?”
The bus hadn’t gone far before coming to a stop again.
And at a location where the next stop wasn’t even in sight yet.
Wondering what was going on, I looked ahead, and someone came in as the bus door opened and asked the bus driver for his understanding.
And he turned his head and said to the passengers, including us.
“Excuse me. We are currently conducting a checkpoint as a report has come in that a serial killer has appeared in this vicinity.”
I had wondered who they were, and it seemed like they were an Association employee and a police officer.
Anyway, a serial killer….
“I’m sorry, but could everyone please take out their ID cards? After a simple confirmation process….”
The Association employee was speaking as gently as possible so as not to frighten the people on the bus, but he suddenly stopped talking.
And he looked this way.
To be precise….
“……”
At the man who was bundled up tightly.
KWANG!
The man, the moment he realized he had been found out, charged straight towards the back door of the bus.
And he broke through the door and disappeared.
“Damn it…!”
“Situation at checkpoint 17! Requesting support!”
The Association employee and the police officer who saw that requested support on their radios and at the same time began to pursue him.
And the people on the bus, as the three people disappeared, began to open their mouths.
“Wait a minute… Does that mean that a serial killer was on the same bus as us just now?”
“Ugh… It gives me the creeps….”
“If those people hadn’t conducted a checkpoint just now….”
They seemed to be shocked that a serial killer was closer to them than they had thought.
On the other hand….
“……”
“……”
Yeon Mi-rae and I couldn’t hide our uneasy feelings.
And for good reason… That man who had just broken the bus door and fled….
‘He was strong, wasn’t he?’
‘Yes, he was strong.’
He was no match for me or Yeon Mi-rae, but he was still strong.
At least, he seemed to be at a level where he could kill the Association employee and the police officer who were conducting the checkpoint and escape with ease.
An expert of that level would have been able to easily grasp the level of the Association employee and the police officer who had boarded the bus.
And yet, the fact that he still fled from them was strange.
‘Did he hesitate to kill?’
To say that would be a contradiction.
A serial killer hesitating to kill?
That was unnatural.
…For now, shall I let this go?
‘An Iron Man ability user that strong… and someone the pre-regression me had met before….’
…And a person who was suspected of being a serial killer.
With that much information, there was one person who came to mind.
A person I had met when I was in my 30s before my regression.
At that time, he was a little over 50, and he was a person close to a hitman for a criminal organization.
And he was a person who had been caught during a criminal organization cleanup operation conducted by an alliance of several guilds.
“……”
After comparing the energy I remembered of him with the energy of the man I had just seen, they were very similar.
‘Still, it would be a bit much for me to look at him with a biased view based on his pre-regression actions.’
Though I remembered the pre-regression him as a serial killer…
Come to think of it, for the crime of being a serial killer and the ability he possessed, his position within the criminal organization was on the low side.
I wonder if there was a reason.
“……”
I quietly stretched my hand out in the direction of the shattered back door of the bus.
On my outstretched hand was the subspace artifact, the bracelet, and….
Seuk….
My doll came out from there, hid its body, and began to move.
Yeon Mi-rae, who saw me take out the doll, asked.
“Are you perhaps thinking of catching that serial killer?”
“We’ll see.”
The pre-regression him was a clear criminal, as he had been a hitman for a criminal organization.
But now?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t even know if he was really a serial killer.
As such….
“If he is, I’ll catch him, and if not… I’m thinking of digging a little deeper.”
Perhaps he was someone who had stepped into a life of crime before my regression.
But this time, couldn’t I guide him to the right path?
I thought that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“…This is tough….”
The man who had fled from the bus muttered that while catching his breath.
But it couldn’t be helped.
Because there had been an order to deliberately show himself at the amusement park, get on a bus, go to where a checkpoint was, and then flee.
And….
[Even if it’s tough, you have to think of the hostage, right?]
“……”
That voice said in his ear.
The voice that was giving him orders.
He couldn’t disobey that order.
As long as there was a hostage.
[So keep moving. You have to maintain a distance so that the Association and police guys don’t give up the chase.]
“…I know.”
It was the moment when he had answered the voice that was giving him orders…
“There he is!”
“Target spotted! Fleeing through the back alley!”
“……”
He shut his mouth and ran.
He didn’t run at full speed.
If he did, the Association employee and the police officer would lose him.
His role was to lure the Association employees and the police to buy time.
To help the other criminals escape the area, avoiding their checkpoint.
“……”
It wasn’t a job he wanted to do, but it was a job he couldn’t refuse.
It was when he was drawing the attention of the Association employees and the police as diligently as possible…
[Turn right at the next alley…@$%! What&%! @…!]
“?”
The voice that was giving him orders became noisy.
The person giving the orders beyond the noise also seemed to be flustered by this situation.
He, who was luring the pursuers, was also flustered, but for now, he tried to be faithful to what he was doing.
Because he didn’t know what kind of pretext they would use to threaten him with next.
[Aha, so these criminal bastards… were playing tricks like this?]
“What…? Who are you?”
…Until the voice that had been giving him orders until now changed to a voice he didn’t know.
[Hello, mister. Shall I help you out a bit?]
“What…?”
[Mister, to be honest, I don’t know about you. Why you’re receiving orders from these criminals and luring the pursuers, and why these criminals are giving you orders, I don’t know any of that at all.]
[But I’ll tell you this one thing.]
[I have the power to help you, and I am willing to help you.]
[So if you need help, will you tell me?]
[The reason why I should help you, mister.]
“……”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
T/N – I wonder who this guy is? I also kinda find it funny that there’s a branch of psionics that makes one an “Iron Man”. It reminds me of those “I cast fist!” and muscle wizard memes.
Anyway, there we go! 30 initial chapters for you to enjoy. By the way, how are you liking the novel so far? For me, it felt a bit slow in some parts, but overall, it was alright. His martial art, though, has a lot of potential, being able to use all types of powers like that. I wanna see how the author will develop it in the future. I thought that it would be a typical martial arts novel, but it turned out to be quite intriguing.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Honestly one of my favourite novels at the moment.