Colossus Hunter Chapter 3
This was an unexpected development. In the past, I would discover the Magic Swordsman cla.s.s 2 years from now, and the people who knew this location could be counted on one hand.
'He said he wanted to be a greater hero than I was…'
However, this cla.s.s definitely had a limiting factor. I knew this fact very well as I was the Magic Swordsman. I couldn't shake the thought that he chose me as his role model.
'I can understand where he's coming from.'
The path that I once walked was a treacherous one. Would Minshik be able to walk the same path as me? If he could, I gladly welcomed the change as I would be able to act freely behind the scenes. After organizing my thoughts, I calmly turned my eyes on Minshik.
Minshik backed away and spoke.
"You… are you…?"
"What are you muttering on about? Come in if you want to come in. Stop standing there like a buffoon! Do you know what time it is?"
Yawn!
I let out a yawn, and I turned my back against him in a seemingly defenseless gesture. However, I was observing Minshik's every action through the mirror in front of me. If he decided to attack me, I would be able to respond instantaneously.
'Even a stone bridge has to be checked for cracks before crossing.'
I wanted to believe him. But I had to be one hundred percent sure. Since he had already a.s.sociated himself with evil before, I had to be sure if Minshik truly wanted to atone for his sins.
'It hasn't been long since his awakening.'
No more than one or two days should've pa.s.sed since his awakening. He would be slightly stronger than the average person. If it came down to a fist fight, I held the advantage due to my extensive combat experience. Minshik tilted his head in confusion towards my exposed backside and hesitantly stepped inside my house.
A slight wariness. He was cautious but couldn't be absolutely certain of the situation. I nonchalantly walked to my refrigerator while holding the mirror and poured some juice into a cup of gla.s.s.
"Woah, what happened to you?"
"I went hiking in the mountains for some exercise."
I smirked.
"You went to the mountain for what? You hate exercising."
I handed him the gla.s.s of juice, but Minshik did not take a sip. It seemed as though he was more nervous than me.
"Hansung, forget about me. What happened to you? Why are you…?"
"Mr. Yang came over."
"You didn't tell him you would follow him?"
Minshik stood up abruptly with startled expression. His actions were sincere; no members of Aletheia would show this type of behavior.
'That's a relief.'
His actions were instantaneous without any conscious deception. It was a piece of evidence of him not harboring any malicious intentions for now.
"Why would I follow him? You told me he was after my parent's insurance money."
"You changed your mind with just my advice…?"
"I closely observed Mr. Yang, and I think you were right. He was not his usual self when he visited my house."
Minshik closed his mouth. Was he thinking he changed the course of the future with his warning back then? I continued.
"If I don't get a hold of myself, more people like Mr. Yang will be coming after me. I have no intention of giving away my parent's property. So, thank you. And I'm sorry for hitting you back then, you know I wasn't in the right mind."
This was an apology for when I violently a.s.saulted Minshik for coming to my parent's funeral. I extended an apology to him. Minshik was wearing a slightly stunned expression after hearing me speak.
This was the first time he experienced the so-called b.u.t.terfly effect. It was easy to understand his bewilderment. After seeing his blank face, I slowly raised my hand. Subsequently, I started scratching my head.
"Ugh, I'm getting the gooseb.u.mps. Hurry up and wash yourself. It looks like you were kicked out of your house. You can stay here for the night if you have nowhere else to sleep. There's no need to hide anything between us."
"That's not it…"
Minshik was pondering. What conclusion would he come to after seeing a drastic transformation of me from my past self. There was a chance he would become suspicious after thinking for a long time.
"Yeah? Anyways, what's that piece of paper you have there? It looks really old,"
Slap!
It was the symbol of the magic swordsman. As I extended my hand towards the worn parchment, Minshik abruptly slapped my hand away. I wrinkled my eyebrows and opened my mouth.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Minshik hid the parchment in his pocket with haste.
"Y, you can't have this."
"Who said I was stealing it? Why did you hit me?"
"Do not touch this."
Minshik's face turned aggressive. I raised both of my arms up to show that I meant no harm.
"Alright, alright. You're one funny b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
After eyeing me for a while, Minshik harrumphed and sat down.
He finally drank the gla.s.s of juice I brought him and subsequently took out an item from his back pocket. Him drinking my juice meant one more barrier between us was gone. Minshik handed my a talisman with a smile.
"You should keep this with you."
"What's this? A talisman?"
Various runes were engraved onto the paper. The talisman contained shield magic. It would automatically activate when the user's life was threatened.
A priceless treasure for a beginner.
'Self-activating magic, he's giving me quite a good item.'
Regular shield magic was valuable, but an automatically activating one at that! This was not an item that a beginner could obtain easily. It was like carrying a second life.
Minshik was wearing a serious expression.
"Don't lose it, and carry it around with you at all times. It will save your life."
"... Did you visit a shaman in the mountains or something?"
"No, it's nothing like that. Anyways, don't lose it."
Minshik stood up as if he had accomplished what he wanted.
"You're going? You should wash up first."
"I'm good. More importantly… Hansung, I will change. I won't live like my past self. I will set every wrong to a right."
His eyes shined brightly as if he was making a pledge. I thought of the words that he spoke right before the time shift.
'If my faith was a little stronger, I would've been able to stop the accident.'
Minshik saying he would 'stop the accident'...
Perhaps he was talking about the car crash that killed my parents. Maybe he was trying to prevent my life from going south following the death of my parents.
However, he wasn't able to. This might've been the reason why he wanted to ask for my permission pledging how he would change.
'I'll consider Minshik's newly-acquired Magic Swordsman cla.s.s my gift to him.'
He showed what sincerity he could, and I was able to return to the past thanks to him. Minshik possessing the Magic Swordsman cla.s.s was a trivial matter compared to the bigger picture. As long as he doesn't join Aletheia again that is…
"Yeah, give it your best."
I will give him one chance. But make no mistake, earning my trust was expensive. If he ever showed any indication of walking down the wrong path… If he betrayed my trust, I will end his life without any hesitation.
I will behead him and feed his remains to the dogs.
Creak
Minshik paused before walking out the door.
"... Thank you."
After standing still for three more seconds, he opened the door again and headed outside. His shoulders were trembling as he was walking outside like he wanted to hear me say that all along.
Minshik was crying. It was clear that he was trying his best to hold it in. I confirmed that Minshik left and nodded my head.
'I can't fall behind.'
Minshik had a change of heart. At least, the Minshik that I saw earlier was as sincere as one could be. He truly wanted to become a hero.
I was able to confirm this.
Now it was time for me to move.
A thought popped into my head. It was something that I pondered over for the past few days. I reached this conclusion after countless hours of deep thought.
After a.n.a.lyzing the potentials of tens of thousands of cla.s.ses, I was finally able to settle for one.
'The power to choose the keys hidden in this world.'
The rift openings were akin to Pandora's Box. They brought misery upon misery, but they also gave birth to hope. Amongst them was a highly appealing ability.
'Ancient One.'
An ownerless archaic power! In the past, the individual who possessed this power self-destructed himself due to misuse.
An explosion ensued taking a megacity out with the wielder. The truth was revealed later.
'Ancient One' was a gargantuan mountain of power that granted the wielder the ability to create cla.s.s.
However, this cla.s.s had to align with the nature of the ancient one for the wielder to safely integrate the power. The wielder in the past sought to become an 'Emperor' with the power of the Ancient One.
Emperor. It was nowhere enough to utilize the power of the Ancient One. At that time, I described the power of the Ancient One like this: 'Although one cannot turn into a G.o.d, it is a weapon that can kill a G.o.d.'
The problem was the image. One's visualization had to be impeccable and without any flaws to activate the power of the Ancient One. A faulty visualization would lead to failure.
G.o.d? I've never seen its existence not to mention its physical shape. How could I choose something I've never had experience with?
On the other hand, the most powerful monster that I knew was the Demon Lord. I slashed its skin and buried my sword in its heart. Constructing a similar cla.s.s would be possible for me.
For example, 'Demon Slayer'. Or something beyond that. Anything would be better than 'Emperor'.
I nodded my head. I had chosen my path. It was time for me to walk onwards.
'I will carve out my own power.'