Chapter 418: Special (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 418: Special (9)
A circle was drawn with me at its center.
Its diameter was roughly 50 to 60 meters.
This circle divided the world, once whole, into two.
Outside the circle was the world of everyone else, unchanged from before.
Inside the circle was a world meant only for me.
I barely suppressed the indescribable sensation surging up from the tips of my toes and opened my status window.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Do-jin
Sex: Male
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 185CM / 84.6KG
[Strength: 89] [Stamina: 93] [Agility: 91] [Mana: 100]
Trait: Apostle of Gluttony
Sub-trait: Gluttony (貪食)
Sub-trait: Stigma of Greed
Sub-trait: Domain of the Ruler
[Mutual Non-aggression (2022.06.09.~2025.12.31)]
[Disclosure Prohibited (2022.06.09.~2025.12.31.)]
The most noteworthy part here was Mana.
My Mana, which had been pulling ahead by stealing the stats of others, had finally reached 100.
The significance of this was extraordinary.
“I’ve hit it. S-rank…”
The number 9 in any stat is a wall.
The moment you surpass it—when a stat ending in 9 rolls over to 0—you experience a completely different kind of growth, far greater than going from 7 to 8, or 8 to 9.
That's why, from 90 onward, you have to break through a wall every single moment just to raise a stat by 1.
After struggling up one step at a time, you eventually reach the end.
99.
The limit a human can reach.
Those who surpass this, reach 100, and become S-rank Hunters all say the same thing.
That they've arrived not at the end, but at a new starting line.
And they're not wrong.
Because a stat of 100 is the minimum qualification to stand at the starting line of a new world, one you face after breaking through the limits of humanity.
“Hmm, it's been a while since I've felt this.”
You feel it the moment any stat reaches 100.
Another world, hidden behind the thick wall of limitation.
It's like the feeling of someone who's never left their hometown setting foot on foreign soil for the first time.
The premonition that just by breathing the air there, something has changed, or is about to change, in a big way.
Feeling a thrill full of déjà vu, I turned my attention to another symbol that proved I was S-rank.
[Domain of the Ruler]
-Activates a domain exclusive to the user.
-Exercises absolute influence within that domain.
A simple description, but one that invited deep thought.
The sub-traits gained by breaking through human limits were usually like this.
It wasn't that the explanation was unhelpful.
It was just that they held such limitless potential that they had to be described in such broad terms.
And how to use that potential was entirely up to the Hunter who obtained the trait.
“Domain of the Ruler…”
The names of the common traits you get for reaching a stat of 100 were all well-known.
But nowhere among them was a trait called Domain of the Ruler.
There was a chance someone else had obtained it and was hiding it, but… for some reason, I had a strong feeling I was the first.
In any case, what was more important right now was…
“…what I can do with this.”
The moment the domain activated, the mana in my body began to drain.
Thanks to the massive increase in my total mana pool from breaking 100, the drain wasn't too taxing.
It wasn't something I could completely ignore, but it was manageable with a bit of care.
At the same time, my senses were greatly amplified.
It was as if the domain would not tolerate anything being hidden or deceiving me within its bounds.
Bzzzzzzzzzz-!
The buzzing of a fly cutting through the tense domain sounded as loud as an industrial fan blowing right in my face.
So it was a little painful.
My eyes, ears, nose, even my mouth.
All my major sensory organs were suffering from senses that had been amplified several times over in an instant.
“Ugh… it's going to take some time to get used to this.”
This was the second time in my life my senses had become this sharp.
The first was when I was dealing with the disaster that appeared in the middle of Gangnam.
I think it felt like this when I used so much power that my mana circuits nearly broke.
Thinking about it now, it was a little absurd.
“Someone else had to be prepared to die to achieve this state, but for this body, everything is so damn easy.”
Was this the difference in talent?
I forcibly shut down some of my senses to lessen the pain, then calmly observed what I could feel within the domain.
My team members, moving according to the retreat signal and quickly getting farther away.
“Hey, hurry up!”
“What are you doing just standing there!”
“Puppy-!”
“Do-jin…!”
Ugh.
Even with my senses dampened, their shouts rang in my ears like they were right next to me.
I dug a finger into my ringing ear and shifted my gaze in a certain direction.
“Gulp…!”
What came into view was a martial artist from the God-Serving Society, backing away with a tense expression, repeatedly swallowing dryly.
His expression, his ragged breathing, the bobbing of his Adam's apple, his trembling steps.
The will formed by the combination of all these things seeped deep into my chest.
“Aha… trying to run away?”
Our eyes met for an instant.
Startled, the guy let out an exclamation in Chinese and turned around.
Looks like his plan was to run first, come what may.
“Good. Shall we run an experiment?”
The "absolute influence" mentioned in the trait's description.
To test it, I fixed my gaze on the frantically fleeing man and murmured softly.
“Freeze.”
At that moment, the mana within the domain began to churn.
The mana, which had been flowing majestically like a river, surged out all at once to bind the fleeing man's body.
“Keuk…?!”
Suddenly bound by something invisible, the man struggled with all his might to break free, but…
“Eek, eek… Kraaaaaah!”
He let out a desperate scream, the pressure not loosening no matter how much strength he used.
“Ha…”
A dry laugh escaped me as I watched him.
The guy's rank, strengthened by Rage-13, was at least B-rank by my estimation.
I had bound a being with above-average skill in the Hunter world with just a single word.
“Word Spirit (言靈)…”
The will contained in a single word resonated with the surrounding mana and made its meaning reality.
A power truly worthy of being called Word Spirit.
But even this was only a fraction of it.
It wasn't just the will contained in words.
A small gesture of the hand, a movement of the foot, a glance of the eyes.
A world where anything could be manifested, as long as it contained a clear will.
That was my interpretation of the Domain of the Ruler.
As I realized this, an irrepressible laugh burst through my clenched lips.
“Heh, heh… Mwahahaha! Bwahehe, ehihih…!”
A laugh born of pure joy, with no other intention behind it.
As I let out a laugh that would make others call me a madman, I remained wary of this sensation.
“Aah… no, this won't do.”
Emotions I'd never felt before came rushing in like a tide.
A sense of omnipotence, that I could do anything I wanted.
A sense of fulfillment, that I'd become a special being on a different level from other humans.
To put it a bit dramatically, it felt like I'd become a 'god'.
The kind of being who could make all people bow their heads with a single gesture.
“Who knows.”
I might not be such a being, but I could be infinitely close to one.
But all of this was ultimately just an illusion.
Uncontrollable emotions would eat away at my life.
Haven't I seen countless fools get cocky just because they got stronger, only to lose their heads?
That's why, at times like this, I must become even more level-headed.
At first glance, the Domain of the Ruler seemed like an ability that could do anything, save for the domain of creation—making something from nothing.
But I had to remember.
No matter how limitless the power of this ability, the one using it was nothing more than a mere human.
“There must be a limit. Figuring that out is the first priority.”
Even if I'd surpassed human limits, I'd only taken the first step.
And this trait was only given to those who had surpassed that limit.
In short, it meant I was still far too lacking to wield this ability to its full potential.
So, the most efficient way to use it was to clearly understand its given limits and enact my will within them…
“They're here.”
Just in time, I saw them.
The one who would help me clearly grasp where my limits lie.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-!
They were charging toward me, crossing the Black Market and shaking the very earth beneath them.
Hee-hee-hee-hee-heeeigh-!
With a thunderous cry that would make even tigers and lions bow their heads.
A massive horse reared up menacingly on its hind legs before coming to a stop.
Its skin was crimson, its mane creating the illusion of flickering flames as it fluttered in the wind.
The horse's name was Red Hare (赤兎馬).
The legendary steed said to have been ridden by Lu Bu, a horse among horses that could run a thousand li in a day and still have energy to spare.
Among men, Lu Bu; among horses, Red Hare.
The subjects of the phrase meaning, "Among men, Lu Bu is the best; among horses, Red Hare is the finest."
“Ah, but this one isn't it, of course.”
Of course, that was all just the story of the Red Hare of the past.
The horse before me was Red Hare in name only; it had no connection whatsoever to the real one.
Its real name was Red Horn.
It wasn't a divine beast like a unicorn, but it could easily be considered a spirit beast.
It was a horse-shaped monster with blood-red skin, a fiery mane, and a red horn sprouting from its forehead, possessing a cruel nature that led it to trample to death anyone unworthy who tried to ride it.
There was only one person in the world who had succeeded in taming that arrogant beast.
“…You.”
Lu Bu.
The tip of the spear and the gaze of the man mounted on the massive horse were both aimed at me.
“State your name.”
It was a very special question, one he posed only to the very few individuals whose worth he acknowledged.