TLLN 12

Chapter 12

“……So you lost your powers and ended up like this.”

After somehow calming Helena down, I heard the entire story from her and told her my own side of things.

It was a little annoying, but she hadn’t seemed to have any intention of harming me. And as you could see, she was currently in such a mentally fragile state that I didn’t particularly feel hostile toward her.

No matter how much of an S-rank Hunter she was, it would be rather ridiculous for an older adult to fight to the death against someone who was only twenty-two years old.

I’m not a child anymore. I should show the virtues of a respectable member of society.

I nodded in satisfaction.

In truth, it was just a form of self-consolation.

Even if I didn’t forgive her, there was nothing I could do about it anyway.

As I had said several times before, my current existence was no different from a fallen leaf by the roadside.

If I carelessly acted tough, I could end up getting crushed.

“That’s amazing…….”

At this point, we had exchanged quite a bit of information with each other.

After hearing my story, Helena kept glancing at me, subtly watching my reaction.

Apparently, the shock from earlier hadn’t completely worn off.

“Regaining your power through Awakening…… I suppose that really could be possible.”

She was right.

Considering everything she’d told me, it was clear that my power hadn’t disappeared.

It was merely dormant.

Now I could be certain.

Becoming an Awakened was the key to regaining my power.

And something had already changed within me because of what had just happened.

[Baek Eun-ha]

▶ Title

▶ Level

The status window, said to be the symbol of an Awakened, continued floating before my eyes after I regained consciousness.

The only problem was that no matter how much I looked at it, it seemed like some half-finished, awkward version of a status window.

……There has definitely been a change, at least.

I could tell simply by observing Helena, who was standing right in front of me.

Srrrk.

I could now clearly sense the death energy that had been completely invisible to me until now.

But that was as far as it went.

I still couldn’t sense the power sleeping inside me, much less control it.

I’m not even sure whether I’ve actually become an Awakened or not…….

There was no Title indicating the direction of my power, nor a Level indicating my growth.

And for some reason, I didn’t even have a Stat section that represented my objective level of strength.

But there was no need to worry about those things right now.

What mattered was that a path forward had finally opened.

For the first time since returning to Earth, I could feel my heart pounding with excitement.

“Um, excuse me.”

While I was immersed in that joy, Helena, who had been fidgeting awkwardly for some time, spoke to me.

“I, um…… I have a favor to ask.”

“…….”

She had been in a state of panic just moments ago, and now that she’d calmed down a little, she was already asking me for a favor.

I was about to give her an annoyed look, but then I remembered my own situation and pulled myself together.

……The virtues of an elder. The virtues of a respectable member of society.

While I desperately tried to control my thoughts, Helena spoke, looking somewhat intimidated.

“Could you…… accept me as your disciple?”

I remained silent at the unexpected request, and Helena hurriedly began adding more.

“If you’re planning to regain your powers, I’ll definitely be able to help you in many ways. And I’ll do anything else you want, too…….”

It was immediately obvious why Helena was asking so desperately.

I’d walked that same path myself.

She had clearly hit a wall and reached a plateau where she could no longer advance to a higher realm.

A disciple…….

There were hardly any necromancers on the other side who had reached a level comparable to hers.

If I could obtain her cooperation, she would certainly be a great help.

Besides, I’d already accepted Song Ha-yeon as a disciple.

There wasn’t really any reason to refuse Helena now.

Having made up my mind, I felt myself reaching my limit and, with my consciousness becoming increasingly hazy, pleaded with Helena.

“Ugh. F-Fine, I get it. But first, could you just…… go outside…….”

I’d been facing her and talking for so long that I was genuinely starting to feel like I was going to throw up.

After that, peaceful days passed without any particular incidents.

I spent my time indulging in all kinds of luxuries in my hotel room, and before long, the event came to an end.

“Oppa, didn’t you gain a little weight from staying in the hotel the whole time?”

“…….”

During that period, I had another secret meeting with Helena—or something that wasn’t quite a secret meeting.

After being frustrated for several days, I took the aggressive approach and asked Helena to stimulate my soul once more.

However, Helena’s beautiful face turned ashen, and she flatly refused.

According to her, she’d already pushed things to the limit last time, but I couldn’t tell whether that was actually true.

I’m stuck again…….

I knew it now.

Life wasn’t all that different from a battlefield in a game.

Therefore, whenever you caught the momentum like this, you had to keep riding the upward trend somehow.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

At least I’d acquired something resembling a status window.

Since it appeared whenever I called its name, it was definitely a status window.

But right now, it was defective.

I felt as though I could awaken properly if I only added something more to it, but figuring out exactly what that something was proving difficult.

Should I try hunting monsters?

If I thought about it without overcomplicating things, it wasn’t a bad idea.

Since dungeons were the thing most closely connected to Awakened, they might provide an opportunity to find some kind of clue.

But…….

The problem was that I had no way to enter a dungeon.

What happened last time wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.

It had been more like a natural disaster.

“Ugh.”

Thump, thump, thump!

Two days after returning home, I furiously pounded my blanket on the bed, overwhelmed by my frustration.

It felt like I’d finally reached my destination, only to find an invisible wall blocking my way.

As I continued pondering, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

…….

Come to think of it, perhaps I could enter a dungeon now.

It was certain that I wasn’t an Awakened yet.

But from this point onward, I could infuse mana stones with death energy using my own power.

Of course, the cost-effectiveness would be absolutely terrible…….

Regardless, this meant that I was now in a state where even someone like me could register as an Awakened.

Thump.

This is it!

I sprang out of bed and quickly rushed into the living room.

“Oppa? What is it?”

Seo-ha, who had finally gotten a rare day off, was leisurely watching a drama in the living room.

I dropped a bombshell on her.

“I’ve awakened.”

Of course, it was a lie.

But that was enough.

Crash!

The glass cup Seo-ha dropped shattered loudly against the floor.

Awakening could happen to anyone, at any time.

In a world filled with danger, being an Awakened was undoubtedly a position of privilege and a great stroke of luck.

But Baek Seo-ha had desperately hoped that her older brother would be the one person it wouldn’t happen to.

If this is simply another delusion in his mind like before, then it should be fine…….

But if he really had awakened, it could have fatal consequences for the mentally unstable Baek Eun-ha.

It will definitely be dangerous.

Baek Eun-ha currently believed that he had once been a powerful necromancer in another world.

Perhaps it was because he had actually met someone like that while he was there.

Or perhaps such a being was somehow connected to the memories Baek Eun-ha desperately wanted to erase.

That was where the problem arose.

The doctor who had been responsible for Baek Eun-ha had said that his fabricated memories were like a castle made of glass.

It might appear stable for the time being, but the moment even the slightest crack appeared somewhere, the whole thing would collapse in an instant.

So let us suppose this.

What if Baek Eun-ha awakened and realized his own power, only to discover that it wasn’t the power of a necromancer?

That discrepancy would undoubtedly bring forth the genuine memories sleeping deep within Baek Eun-ha.

And if that happened, Baek Seo-ha had no idea whether her brother’s mind would be able to withstand it.

Therefore, he absolutely could not awaken.

That was what she had believed.

“I’ve awakened.”

Crash!

“Awakened……?”

Baek Seo-ha was shaken.

The thing she had believed would never happen had happened.

For an instant, numerous extreme thoughts flashed through Baek Seo-ha’s mind.

I have to stop this. Maybe I should call a Hunter who specializes in hypnosis…….

But this was precisely when she couldn’t afford to panic.

Baek Seo-ha calmed her turbulent emotions and began asking questions to assess the situation.

“W-When?”

“When I came back from the hotel. I didn’t really know what it was at the time, so I couldn’t tell you.”

There had been a theory like that.

The more someone was exposed to a greater power, the higher the possibility of Awakening became.

It was an unproven claim, but if it was true, Baek Eun-ha could certainly have become a candidate.

He had been caught up in a dungeon incident and had followed her to a place where high-ranking Hunters from various countries had gathered.

Baek Seo-ha blamed herself deeply.

I shouldn’t have taken him with me…….

However, judging by what he was saying, Baek Eun-ha seemed to have a fairly objective understanding of his current condition.

And from the outside, there were no obvious signs of danger yet.

“By any chance…… what type of ability is it?”

“Hm? Necromancy, of course.”

The moment she heard those words, Baek Seo-ha sincerely thanked the heavens.

At least the most dangerous hurdle had been cleared.

Still, it’s too early to relax.

Unless someone possessed enough potential to eventually become a high-ranking Hunter, the power of a newly awakened Hunter was generally nothing extraordinary.

Naturally, there were countless things that could cause confusion with Baek Eun-ha’s memories.

No, but…….

Come to think of it, could things really have worked out this conveniently?

Once Baek Seo-ha had calmed down somewhat, she began considering another possibility.

Perhaps this Awakening itself was another fabricated memory created by Baek Eun-ha, and nothing had actually happened at all.

She needed to verify it properly first.

“Then, by any chance…… what can you do right now?”

Baek Eun-ha heard the question and proudly asked her to wait for a moment.

Then he picked up his smartphone and, completely out of nowhere, ordered some chicken.

Why chicken……?

After finishing the sudden dinner, Baek Eun-ha stood before the remains of the chicken and began concentrating, attempting to do something.

“Okay, watch this carefully.”