Episode 192 Settler (3)
"…Come to think of it, I did mention that before. Hehe, you all seemed to think it was a joke back then."
Chehai, who had momentarily frozen, chuckled heartily and shook his head.
He quickly regained his composure, as if he had never been flustered, and a faint smile, reminiscing about the past, even appeared on his face.
"…I'm sorry for talking about you behind your back. But I swear it wasn't out of disrespect. It's just that this is a very important matter. It might even be a great help in facing the Immortal King."
"Hmm? The Immortal King…"
"Everyone here is involved in this. Please, Chehai. Please answer honestly."
Chehai's gaze turned back to the people in the reception room at Geos's sincere words.
He was currently living a quiet life, taking care of the children, but he had also built a reputation on the blood-soaked battlefield.
Naturally, it wasn't difficult for him to sense the aura of strong individuals subtly emanating from them.
'The expedition… formed to confront the Immortal King, right.'
Starting with the Saint of the Main God Church, who was currently enjoying immense fame, a rough-looking barbarian who didn't seem like a good influence on the children, a young girl who looked to be about the same age as the older kids in the orphanage, and…
His gaze lingered on Hesperon.
He wondered if he was mistaken about something.
'…A third-rate mage? No, that can't be. Then is he an assassin concealing his energy? As expected, that's more convincing. He's incredibly skilled.'
But as he was convincing himself,
Hesperon, who felt his gaze, grinned and stepped forward.
"It seems like it's a bit difficult for you to answer, so let me introduce myself again. I'm Ha Seung-hoon, an awakened one from Korea on Earth!"
And he started to casually introduce himself again.
"I'm planning to use the name Hesperon in Auterica. Or you can just call me Heron! It's been a little over two months since I came here. Hahaha!"
Chehai blinked in confusion at his sudden actions and then looked around the reception room again.
The hero party members were still looking at him with serious expressions.
"Sigh—"
It seemed like there was no way out anymore.
He sighed lightly and slowly opened his mouth.
"Korea? Korea… Yes, I think I've heard of it. They said Korean cars are pretty good, right?"
He was practically admitting his origin.
Geos's eyes gleamed, and he nodded heavily, then subtly leaned towards him.
"As expected, you're also from the same dimension as Heron, Chehai."
"Yes. I don't know if this guy knows, but I'm from Ethiopia."
"Ah! I know. It's a country in Africa, right? Next to Somalia."
"Oh? You're well-informed. It's nice to hear those names after a long time… It's a strange feeling."
Ethiopia, located in the eastern part of the African continent.
It was a country far, far away from Korea, but it wasn't completely unfamiliar.
It was even known as the origin of coffee.
"…How long has it been since I came here? Well, I don't remember exactly…"
He paused, stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then nodded and continued.
"It's definitely been over thirty years. But not forty yet."
"…Is that so? It's quite a long time."
Geos just nodded in admiration, but…
It wasn't something the other otherworlders present could casually ignore.
'Oh, over thirty years?'
Actually, it was obvious that it was more advantageous to stay in the transferred world for a longer time, as long as they could adapt.
Even in Chehai's case, even if he stayed for thirty years, only a little over three years would have passed on Earth, and if he decided to settle down, his lifespan would be ten times longer because of Earth's time flow!
And with the growth bonus only available in another world, it would even be possible to just train for decades, become a monster, and then return.
And if something dangerous happened, they could just escape before that.
'But there's no one on Earth who stayed in another world for over twenty years.'
It wasn't just that it wasn't known, there was literally no one.
And the reason was probably…
"Um, Mr. Chehai? There's something I want to ask…"
Hesperon cautiously spoke to the black man who seemed to be in his twilight years, with his white beard and wrinkles.
"Can you still use the system?"
"Ahem, so you knew. …It's been a while since I lost access."
This was the reason why those who stayed in another world for a long time were called 'settlers'.
They couldn't use the Karma Shop because they couldn't access the system, so they couldn't return to Earth and had to live in another world for the rest of their lives.
"Hmm, so it was true. There are some rumors on Earth, but they're all secondhand, so it's difficult to verify and the reliability isn't high."
So now that they were facing him directly, this was a good opportunity to obtain accurate information.
Their official reason for visiting him was to see if they could find a useful means to fight the Immortal King, but…
Their true goal was to obtain more diverse information about the system and awakened ones from a settler.
'Information is the best weapon, no matter what you do. The more information I have, the better to use what I have efficiently.'
And he was an irregular existence in the system in many ways.
So it was only natural for him to be more careful than others.
"Mr. Chehai, could you please explain in more detail? We might be able to find important clues even from trivial stories. It would be a great help to Heron, as well as to us."
Heinrich, the Saint, who had the highest authority here, personally asked for his help to facilitate information gathering.
And with Geos and the others chiming in…
"Haha, well, it's all in the past, so it doesn't matter. I don't know how helpful it would be."
Chehai couldn't help but raise both hands and tell his story.
He thought for a moment about where to begin and then started to briefly explain his past, clearing his throat.
"Ahem, I don't know if this Heron guy knows, but my hometown wasn't a very good place to live."
Even Korea, which once boasted one of the best public order in the world, was in a mess.
There was no need to even mention the situation in Ethiopia, which was located in Africa.
The government was struggling to even protect the capital, Addis Ababa, and naturally, their control over the provinces was weak.
All sorts of criminal organizations started to sprout and grow in the process…
And Chehai lost his family in the process and became an orphan.
Of course, it wasn't anything special there, it was just an ordinary misfortune that could be seen anywhere.
"But there were limited means for a child to survive in that chaos."
The method he chose was to become an errand boy for a criminal organization, practically his enemies, and beg for their mercy.
And so, he became a member of the organization, living for over ten years, solely focused on survival.
But a sudden change came to his daily life…
It started when he awakened after being chosen by the system in his early twenties.
"Hehehe, and the ability I gained wouldn't let me stay still."
Chehai chuckled.
The unique skill he awakened was "Phase Distortion".
It was a useful ability that allowed him to manipulate space by twisting it locally.
And he, who had nothing to lose, used the 24 hours given to him very wisely.
By cleanly eliminating the executives of the criminal organization he belonged to.
The organization, which was practically a local warlord, had a lot of guns and even bombs, and Chehai's ability was perfect for stealing them and using them for terrorism.
Simply put, it was what the world called 'pre-transfer awakening terrorism'.
"Well, I was only able to eliminate a few of the guys above me back then because my proficiency was low and I didn't have enough time. And then I moved to a quiet place in the chaos and was able to escape to Auterica."
Actually, he had already given up on returning to Earth at that point.
Even if he returned, he would only be retaliated against by the remaining members of the organization.
He lived a fairly eventful life after becoming a mercenary in this world.
Since he didn't have any intention of returning, he invested all the Karma he accumulated in strengthening himself, and so he was able to survive for well over ten years without any injuries.
"And then I happened to visit this village and fell in love with my wife. I had enough money saved up, so there was no problem getting married."
"Huh? You're married, Mr. Chehai?"
"You think I would have lived alone until this age?"
He retorted curtly to Hesperon, who asked in surprise.
And Geos, who had been quietly watching them, subtly smiled and muttered softly.
"…We also met in this village. I thought you were about my age back then."
"Hahaha, you looked older than me for a few years after that, Geos. Hmm, come to think of it, I should tell you about that."
Chehai stroked his beard and laughed softly, then turned his gaze to Hesperon and spoke in a serious voice, much more serious than before.
"It was probably about twenty years after I came to Auterica. One day, I could instinctively feel it. That if I didn't return to Earth immediately, I wouldn't be able to go back."
But he forcibly ignored that instinct because he didn't even have any intention of returning, let alone the Karma needed for it.
And…
"Not long after that… I lost access to the system."
And the change didn't end there.
Rapid aging followed the disappearance of the system.
It was as if all the years he had been granted were catching up to him at once.
He, who had still maintained a youthful appearance in his forties, had become a middle-aged man who looked even older than his actual age in just about a year.
"Of course, even in that situation, I still had my other abilities and stats. I started to delve into my unique skill, possessed. I didn't even realize it, but the sense of loss from the system forcibly disappearing was greater than I thought."
But…
Another ten years passed.
When it had been over thirty years since he was transferred to another world—.
He lost all his abilities as an awakened one.
Not only his unique skill "Phase Distortion", but also the other minor skills he had accumulated and the stats he had enhanced by investing Karma.
"······."
"······."
Chehai closed his eyes tightly after saying that far.
The reception room was filled with the faint sound of their breathing as an awkward silence fell.
'Not only the system and the shop, but also the restrictions on aging are gone, and later, even skills and stats?'
It meant that he had also lost the 'growth bonus' in another world, even though he didn't explicitly say so.
All the benefits of being an awakened one were gone, and he had literally become a native of this world, completely settled down.
'Don't tell me, did the system forcibly retrieve the Karma?'
They normally returned the system and the shop when they returned to Earth through 'Return' in the Karma Shop.
But he had never heard of skills and stats being initialized…
'I see, this is the difference between a returnee and a settler. I've gained valuable information.'
This was information he had never heard of on Earth.
And as Hesperon was nodding, satisfied with the valuable information,
"But it's not like I gained nothing."
Chehai, who had opened his eyes, looked at them and smiled.
And he slowly raised a hand,
And swung it towards the air.
Slap—
"Huh?"
At the same time, Hesperon jumped in place, clutching his back.
It was a technique he had already seen several times from Geos.
It was definitely "Phase Distortion", the unique skill he had mentioned.
"…But you said your ability disappeared…?"
"Of course, my unique skill is gone. This is my secret technique, combining what I researched from it with aura manipulation."
Of course, it was much weaker than when he had "Phase Distortion", but its usefulness was a refined technique that Geos had already proven several times.
It allowed a pure aura user who hadn't even reached transcendence to launch an attack that transcended space.
'To think he created it by analyzing his own unique skill…'
"You said you haven't had your unique skill for long, right?"
"Y-yes…"
"I've learned something from using my ability for over thirty years and then desperately researching it for over ten years after the system disappeared."
His every word felt even heavier than before, perhaps because they had just witnessed his greatness.
Hesperon sat up straight, clasped his hands together, and listened attentively.
And Isea, who was sitting on a chair on one side of the reception room, did the same.
She was subtly listening intently, pretending not to care, as if she didn't want to miss a single word.
"A unique skill isn't just a randomly given ability. It's deeply connected to the user. The problem is that no one… not even the user themselves, knows exactly how."
He finished his sentence and then smiled.
"I don't know how much it'll help since your abilities are different, but I'll teach you the basics step by step. It shouldn't be too bad. Hehehe."
Chehai laughed confidently.
It was as if a halo, on a level he had never seen even from Heinrich, was shining behind him.
____________________
And just a day after receiving his teachings,
《The unique skill grows and unlocks its potential. The number of avatars you can possess increases.》
It was a time when a unique skill had grown without using the Karma Shop.