Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

‘Great.’

Notifications came one after the other.

Kang Yu couldn’t hold back his smile.

Not only did he gain a special ability at the 6th rank, but he also felt the force that sealed his Man Ma Jung become even weaker.

A powerful force instantly poured into the man’s body.

‘With this much power, I think I can even beat Young-ju.’

If someone could hear his thoughts, they would consider him impudent for someone who was only a Rank 6 Player at Level 54.

Young-ju, despite the fact that she had stopped at Level 59, was able to reach as much as the 9th rank.

(Editor’s Note: I don’t think it means she’s at rank 9, but she can battle opponents with rank 9. Not completely sure.)

And taking into account all the bonus stats she has accumulated, it’s safe to say that the average Player with 6th rank would not be able to beat her.

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‘However…’

Kang Yu turned his eyes to Young-ju.

Despite the fact that they had never fought against each other, seeing her battles with Kim Jae Hyun and Orias, he could roughly estimate her potential.

And he understood that he was now on roughly the same level with her.

‘I haven’t reached the limit yet.’

After Kang Yu’s return to Earth, he developed at a phenomenal rate as a Player.

‘Soon there will be problems.’ Glancing again at his level on his status window, he frowned.

The first hurdle faced by Players is the so-called ‘Effort’s End’ or simply, ‘Level 59.’

From this point on, experience points will continue to accumulate for killing ordinary monsters, but their level will not increase.

‘I’ve heard that every Player has their own way of overcoming this problem.’

Some suddenly try to learn martial arts, some try to go against stronger monsters, some try to get rid of the barrier by facing the edge of life and death.

There were also those who simply went to bed in the evening, and woke up without any problems.

(Editor’s Note: The last sentence likely implies that this type of people give up and don’t bother to try anything special to keep levelling up. )

‘They say gifted players will deal with this problem once or twice.’

The higher the special ability levels of Players, or the better their skills, the faster it is to overcome this hurdle.

Level 59 is not nicknamed ‘Effort’s End’ for no reason.

‘Until I encounter this problem myself, I won’t know how bad it is.’

Although his chances of overcoming the problem painlessly were great based on his high level abilities, there was no guarantee.

The most obvious example is Young-ju, who’s stuck at Level 59, despite the fact that she’d unlocked a Class S special ability at Rank 1.

‘I’ll think about it later.’ Kang Yu averted his eyes.

Although he wanted to test his new special ability immediately, it wasn’t his priority at the moment.

‘Power of the Devourer.’ The guy held out one hand.

Being surrounded by so many people, he tried not to show the hand with which he was using the Power of the Devourer.

A dark haze enveloped Orias’ body.

— Huh?

— This… This is…

Ku Hyun Mo and the squad exclaimed in surprise.

Kang Yu used another Force so that no one could hear the sound with which his Power devoured the flesh of the demon.

That’s why, all the others could see was a demon disappearing in black smoke.

(Editor’s Note: Force and Power will be used interchangeably, if you haven’t already noticed from early chapters.)

— Do demons disappear on their own after death? — Hyun Mo, watching what was happening, tilted his head to one side.

Since there were almost no records of demons, no one knew for sure.

[Magi increased by 3 units]

‘Three units?’ Kang Yu frowned.

Against all expectations, he was given too little Magi.

‘I wonder if it’s because of my high Magi level?’

At this moment, he possessed 83 units.

It was so much that he was on par with the Level 80 Players with 9th rank.

Despite the fact that with each increase in level, it becomes more difficult to gain stats, three units of Magi were not too bad of a result.

‘Although it’s difficult to raise my stats, the efficiency is also increasing.’

Comparing the power in 20 units of Magi that he obtained from the Andras Guild to the power he received in the 3 units just now, he could sense a much greater burst of energy with the latter.

‘I guess it’s not that bad.’

The number was not much of an important indicator.

Although his Magi had increased by only 3 units, now he could feel a clear influx of powerful energy.

Kang Yu smiled contentedly and nodded his head.

He turned his eyes to Dae Shik, who was entangled in Young-ju’s metal chains.

— Hwa Yeon, this guy’s the red-masked nutcase, isn’t he?

Hyun Mo hit the floundering guy across the cheek with force. — No, this one’s merely his servant. —

— Yes, he will not reveal himself so easily. And I’m sure he will want to kill you all… — Dae Shik chuckled lowly.

Hyun Mo slapped him hard on the cheek again.

Though he looked like a gangster from the outside with how harshly he treated Dae Shik, he was really a Commander of one of the Hwaran units.

He was well aware of how just dangerous Devil’s Teachers were.

— Let’s take him to headquarters first and interrogate him. There are far fewer people in our department than in Seoul, so no one will interfere during the interrogation. — Hyun Mo smiled contentedly and turned to Dae Shik, snapping his fingers.

— Look here, you moron. You’re going to talk to me and…

Dae Shik suddenly started making strange sounds.

— Huh? What’s this? I haven’t done anything yet.

The man suddenly began to vomit black blood.

Kang Yu quickly ran up to them.

Powerful Magi began emitting from Dae Shik, who continued to throw up blood.

‘Aha…’ Kang Yu narrowed his eyes.

He had seen this several times already.

The moment Magi takes over one’s mind and body.

This means…

— A-aah!

— What’s going on?

— Commander, step back!

Hyun Mo and Hwa Yeon jumped out of the way.

Dae Shik’s body was growing bigger and bigger. Horns stuck out from his forehead and wings sprouted on his back.

His skin stretched out, and his face, which was left with no trace of the tattoo, hardened.

His arms suddenly cracked and split into two. Healthy fangs popped out of his mouth.

Despite all this, he did not look like the previous ‘demons.’

He was rubbish that couldn’t even become a proper demon.

‘Damn.’ Kang Yu furrowed his eyebrows. Now there was absolutely no way to bring him back to a human form.

‘We won’t be able to find out the whereabouts of the masked man this time, too.’ He clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Considering the personality of the red masked man, the probability that Dae Shik knows much about him was extremely small.

Even so, they couldn’t miss a single opportunity to learn something about him. But the opportunity they had seized today has disappeared.

— W-aah!

Dae Shik, now a monster, rushed at them.

But for these Players who had just defeated a demon of the Seventh Thousandth Circle of Hell, the man who became a monster did not pose much danger.

— Damn it! We can’t interrogate him like this!

— Aaah!

Young-ju waved her hand and sent red metal chains flying at the man-monster.

Tightly squeezing him with the chains, she screamed angrily and shoved him up against the wall.

Hwa Yeon spoke up:

— Young-ju, calm down. He won’t be able to tell us anything useful anyway.

The girl took a deep breath.

As if trying to relieve her tension, she lifted Dae Shik’s body and slammed him into the ground several times.

The girl exhaled and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

— Now we need to find out which of the three remaining major guilds is working with the Devil’s Teachers.

— I think we need to make some preparations first. When they learn about what happened today, I doubt they will give themselves away so easily, — Hwa Yeon replied.

— That’s true.

Young-ju looked down at the monster’s mutilated body.

The girl was well aware that they were no closer to exterminating the Teachers, even with what they had accomplished today.

Hwa Yeon turned to Kang Yu:

— By the way Kang Yu, you’ll be receiving some compensation from the government.

— Hm? — His eyes gleamed with surprise upon hearing this.

Hwa Yeon continued with a chuckle:

— You helped to expose the Mir Guild’s deeds and interrogate Kim Jae Hyun. And we got to Pohang so quickly, too, thanks to you. If you don’t receive anything in return despite everything you’ve done for us, my reputation will certainly suffer.

Kang Yu has had an active part in this case.

In fact, if it wasn’t for him, things could have ended much worse.

Kang Yu was glad to hear her words.

— It’s not going to turn out to be something like a certificate of honor, is it?

Such a reward can be expected from the government. It certainly would hold no value to him.

— Haha, I’m not stupid. I’ll tell you more later, by phone. Give me your number so I can contact you.

— By the way… it would be nice if I wasn’t mentioned anywhere.

— Do you not enjoy being famous?

— I don’t want to attract unnecessary attention.

— Hmm, I see. We can arrange everything without an official announcement, but rumors will get out, one way or another.

In other words, she was implying that if someone asked her about it, she will tell them about Kang Yu.

There was a chance that he would start to gain attention beyond just being a rookie receiving support from Red Rose.

— We can figure that out after you tell me what the reward is.

There’s no need to rush for answers.

If the reward is so great that it’s worth publicizing, they could discuss it again later.

‘I can’t give up something of value just to avoid attention.’

In any case, if they continue to work together in hunting down the Devil’s Teachers, his name will inevitably be brought to light anyway.

He was too active for a person who did not want to be caught up in rumors.

— Haha. You’re going to love it, — the girl said.

Hearing the vivacity and confidence in her tone, Kang Yu’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Baek Hwa Yeon is not the kind of person to exaggerate or say something without acting on it. If she says so, then the reward will really be worth it.

— Young-ju, your guild will also be rewarded, of course. Thanks for all your help and support.

— Well… I have my reasons for it, — the red-haired girl replied in a low tone. — But anyway, let’s finish here for today. I really want to go home and relax.

So much has happened, from meeting Kim Jae Hyun to fighting a demon. It’d be strange if they weren’t tired after that.

Kang Yu looked at Young-ju with a pitying gaze.

‘She doesn’t seem to be just tired.’ Kang Yu recalled that someone from her guild had suffered at the hands of the Teachers. ‘She must be blaming herself.’

They hadn’t been able to learn anything new about the red mask man today.

Surely sadness and anger was clouding her mind now.

As he walked towards the exit of the cave, he quietly said:

— You’re doing great.

— What…?

— I’m talking about revenge. Of course, what we did today is not enough, but you shouldn’t blame yourself. And don’t rush. I’m sure we’ll have a better opportunity for revenge soon. And that’s when you can do your best.

The girl fell silent.

Seeing this, he continued softly:

— Don’t worry, I’ll help.

— How presumptuous of you… You think you’ll be able to help me?

Young-ju turned her back to Kang Yu.

Though she had spoken like she was displeased with his response, his words actually seemed to alleviate her burdens a little. She even smiled a little.

‘If you rush too much, you can easily make a mistake that will only complicate things.’

Kang Yu thought it would be a mistake for him to lose her.

And the problem wasn’t just about not getting support from Red Rose.

‘To some extent, I feel something for her…’ Thinking this, Kang Yu left the cave.

(Editor’s Note: Could be sympathy, could be love… what do you think?)

‘Well, it’s time to test the new special ability.’

This was the moment he was looking forward to.

He seemed to experience exactly the same emotion as all the other Players when receiving a new special ability.

He opened the status window, his heart pounding, breath held, eyes sparkling… much like a child tearing open a gift wrapping.

Kang Yu couldn’t help but anticipate what ability he would get and how much stronger it would make him.

‘What is this…?’ Upon opening the status window, Kang Yu’s face twisted in confusion.

[ Rank 6 Ability: ??? (Class: ???) ]

[ This ability will become fully available upon reaching the highest degree of demonic form ]

‘What are these question marks?’

He’d already delayed testing his ability to ‘devour’ Orias, but now this happened.

‘What’s the big deal? How am I supposed to achieve the highest degree without knowing at least the conditions for achieving it?’

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To meet the conditions, it was necessary to have at least some information.

Kang Yu even wondered if it was someone’s cruel joke. No, he wanted to believe that someone was just messing around with him.

‘Because if they are, I’ll definitely break their neck into the form of a question mark.’

Kang Yu looked again at the status window full of question marks and grimaced.

***