At first, I didn’t bother looking to see who entered the pub. It was still early in the evening, so whoever entered the pub couldn’t possibly be a renowned Hunter. But then the other drunkards began to chatter among themselves.
“Hey, did you see him over there…?”
“What? It really looks like him.”
“Why would he come to this pub…?”
Everyone tried not to make noise, leaving the pub oddly quiet. At this point, I had to turn and see who it was.
An old man in a fine black suit was standing there.
“Hmm.”
A plain red necktie neatly circled his neck, making him look ready to go step into an office right away. He surprisingly looked like an average office worker, so looking at him made me feel like I was back in the outside world.
Whoa. What kind of fashion is that?
However, he was wearing red sneakers, not leather shoes. It was a very odd combination, but it wasn’t the only strange part of him.
“One cup of milk,” the old man curtly said.
“What?”
“Give me one cup of milk mixed with a little bit of vodka and sugar. It would be better if you could use honey instead of sugar.”
The pub owner looked perplexed by the absurdly specific order. “Umm… Sir, I’m not a bartender…”
“I’ll pay the right price. Don’t worry.”
The pub owner nodded reluctantly and started working on the man’s order. On the other hand, the pub’s other occupants kept stealing glances at the old man in a suit. They kept whispering about him. It seemed that the old man was really famous.
Who is it? I narrowed my eyes. Strange. I can recognize most famous Hunters.
I wasn’t particularly proud of it, but not many people envied those famous Hunters more than I did. I could state every Hunter on the ranking from the second to the hundredth place because I was jealous of all of them. Yet…strangely, I couldn’t recall this man in a suit.
It feels like I’ve seen him from somewhere though. Where was it? Where?
It took me some time to remember.
Ah!
One of the newspaper clippings that used to cover my studio walls had the man’s photo.
“It has been twenty-two days since the Sword Star went missing. Could this be the start of the greatest chaos the Hunter industry has ever seen?”
It’s the Sword Star!
Yes. The Sword Star used to be the most famous Hunter before Yoo Soo-Ha had made a name for himself as the Fire Emperor. The Sword Star had been active too long ago, so I had forgotten about it. Even I couldn’t recognize a Hunter who hadn’t been active for more than ten years. Besides, he was going to go missing soon, although I didn’t know what happened.
Ah, yeah. That will happen eleven years later, actually.
I realized again that I had returned to the past.
That old man is the strongest man in this generation, not the Fire Emperor...
I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at the Sword Star. How should I put it? I felt like I was meeting a historic figure who’d died long ago. It was amazing and weird at the same time.
He probably has Class S Skills too. I sipped on my beer with a grin. And not something weird like mine. It’s a proper attack skill…
“Huh?” I put down my beer.
The Class S Skill I had crossed my mind all of a sudden.
I Want To Be Like You
Class: S+
Effect: It will automatically activate after an enemy kills you. You will be able to copy and turn one of their Skills into yours. The Skill you copy will be chosen at random, but you can’t copy your enemies’ Skills more than once.
※ However, you will die!
Hold on.
Another light bulb moment struck me, much like when I had thought of a way to kill the Fire Emperor.
I Want To Be Like You was a remarkable Skill. I could get killed by any Hunter if I wanted their Skill. The fact I had to die was the biggest flaw.
But I…don’t die anymore.
Because I had another SKill.
Returner’s Clockwork
Class: EX
Effect: It is activated automatically upon your death. You will return to twenty four hours before your death. Your memory and ability will be preserved even after your return.
※ You will receive a penalty after the Skill activation.
※ The higher your Class is, the stronger the penalty is.
※ The Skill has been copied from Hunter Yoo Soo-Ha.
Goosebumps slowly spread all over my body.
Can I really copy any Skill?
The obvious truth hadn’t crossed my head because of the pressure and anxiety driving me to kill the Fire Emperor as soon as possible.
...Will I also be able to copy the current generation’s Rank 1 Hunter?
I gulped down the beer in my mouth.
The Fire Emperor, the Rank 1 Hunter after the Sword Star’s disappearance, had the cheating ability to return to the past. In that case, what kind of Skills would the Sword Star have? They must be as great as the Fire Emperor’s.
If only I can get that… I looked at the old man’s back. … Jackpot.
It looked like my hunt wasn’t over yet.
✦ ✦ ✦
Translator's Thoughts