Past Life Returner - Chapter 54

There was an Awakened who always received what he hoped for, so he rushed to open dungeon boxes without hesitation. His luck had been unimaginably good, and his courage came from it. However, his fame had become his misfortune—the luck he had been over-reliant on had dealt him a fatal blow in the end.

Anyway we had suspected that he had a hidden ability of luck and always felt he was on another level from us. The time I felt the biggest gap between him and I was when he broke through by a slim chance and consecutively got higher rewards than was usually possible for the box’s class.

***

[You have received the Speed Insignia.]

It was a seal that temporarily raised my Agility to a higher class. However if I used the trait ‘The Man Who Overcomes Adversity’ along with it I could raise the stat up by two classes. I could dodge and evade quicker and strike more ferociously and that was enough for me. However the insignia class and the number of uses were beyond my expectations.

[Speed (Insignia)

Effect: Increase your Agility class by one.

Class: E

Duration: 30 minutes

Number of uses: 3 times]

The insignia was graded an E-class which theoretically could only come out from silver boxes and I could even use it three times! This reminded me of the poor fellow who made a fuss about his fortune. Perhaps his luck had come to me since I received an opportunity to come back in time.

As a result of that I had been taking all the first-time titles that the First Evil and First Virtue had previously occupied and I got an Escape Insignia in the dungeon. Now I received even a higher reward!

“I also got the box” Woo Yeon-Hee interrupted me from my thoughts and she had her head raised with a smile.

“It told me it was a skill called ‘Physical Healing.’”

If I had lost my mind I would’ve hugged her because I had thought the goddess of luck was actually on my side! It was hard to calm down my excitement. I didn’t want to expose myself to her so I kept my mouth shut and flared my nostrils. When I checked myself in the washroom afterwards my face was as flushed as Woo Yeon-Hee’s had been.

“She must have sensed my feelings” I murmured to myself.

This was why we hunters kept our distance away from hunters with mental skills like her. They made us feel naked and if they had malicious intentions…

I returned to the office and Woo Yeon-Hee was staring at nothing. However her focus was clear and she must have been checking the effectiveness of the skill.

“You are now closer to becoming a healer” I said.

She couldn’t hide her joy and asked “Ain’t I a hunter only with mental skills?”

“It doesn’t mean your skills will be limited to that. You’ll receive skills specialized in healing but mostly mental skills based on your original trait. If you’re lucky you can get attack skills too” I replied.

It was lucky for both of us as her getting an attack skill would have been toxic for now. Then I terminated the now useless experiment.

[You have canceled the party.]

I unwrapped the bandage on my shoulder and Woo Yeon-Hee was smart enough to notice why I was showing her my wound. Soon after she tried to use her new skill. Her face filled with surprise and a message appeared on my status too.

[Your injury will be slightly recovered.]

Of course F-class skills didn’t bring amazing effects or regeneration skills immediately but she was doing everything by herself for the first time. She actually applied the sixth sense that she had vaguely felt and succeeded in using the new skill.

I praised her “Well done Woo Yeon-Hee. That’s how you do it.”

As I remembered the time when I trained the traumatized newly Awakened with hope the intercom rang. 

< Guard: Hello Sir you have a visitor. Should I send him up? >

< Seon-Hu: Who is it? >

< Guard: I’m sorry but I’m not good at speaking in English. May I put him on? He’s a tall white man and he seems to be in a rush. >

< Seon-Hu: …Please send him up. >

***

“Should I go home?”

Woo Yeon-Hee had already finished packing to leave.

“No stay there” I answered.

After a while Jonathan knocked on the door loudly. When I opened the door his flushed face was the first thing I saw. He was a foreigner with a baseball cap who appeared to have been traveling around Seoul.

“You were here. Why didn’t you pick up my phone…!”

Jonathan’s high-pitched voice suddenly ceased and he began to look at my shoulder and face in disbelief and shock.

He started yelling again “You said nothing was going on. How much did you get hurt? Oh my gosh look at you!” 

“Why didn’t you give me a heads up that you were coming? Don’t you know how famous you are now?” I said.

“Is that the problem now? What happened?” he questioned.

“There was a small accident. You weren’t tailed right?” I asked.

“Whatever” he responded.

“What?!” I shouted.

“Don’t worry I was careful. You should’ve told me if you were hurt like this. But…who is this?” He questioned.

“Wow you just saw her?” I said.

Jonathan had finally noticed that Woo Yeon-Hee was in the office. She stood stiffly as if she had been left alone in the dungeon. She must have been surprised by Jonathan rather than my English skills as she knew who he was. When the IMF crisis broke out she tried to explain it to the students. Jonathan took off his sunglasses to check my wounds.

“Say hello to my middle school homeroom teacher…Well not anymore.”

I introduced her and Woo Yeon-Hee began looking at Jonathan like he was a Hollywood star. She was more shook compared to when I told her about our world as she sensed my calmness.

“I don’t need to introduce him because you already know who he is right?” I asked.

Jonathan reached out his hand to Woo Yeon-Hee’s face as she was about to blow. 

“I didn’t know Sun’s homeroom teacher was such a cutie” Jonathan said in English.

Woo Yeon-Hee didn’t seem to understand the whole sentence since she wasn’t an English teacher and her English skills likely rusted over time. She was only able to use familiar words and interpret them in her own way. She looked flabbergasted as she shook her hands with Jonathan. I brought a pen and a piece of paper.

“Write the beneficiary’s name resident registration number and address here in English. But if you can’t do it in Korean” I said.

“Right now?” Woo Yeon-Hee’s eyes widened.

“Do as you are told” I responded.

Woo Yeon-Hee filled out the paper in her seat then I handed it to Jonathan after she finished.

“Who’s this?” Jonathan asked.

“Her father” I replied.

“But why?” he questioned.

I flatly said “If I suddenly disappear one day send three billion won to that guy.”

I first sent Jonathan to a room full of computers to give me some time with her alone.

“Didn’t you say it was just the two of us?” Woo Yeon-Hee asked looking at the door Jonathan had gone in.

“Yes he is a civilian” I answered.

However that didn’t explain much so she continued staring at the door.

“You surprise me sometimes” I said.Find the original at bit.ly/442AmPS.

“Why?” she questioned. 

I replied “You recognized Jonathan.”

“You seem to have forgotten but I used to be a teacher.”

Did she mean that she had tried to teach her students about important things in the world? However teaching about the IMF to middle school kids was wasting her breath.

“Until a while ago we were just…and now the IMF and Jonathan? This has gone too far this time so can you help me understand this situation?” She was confused.

I replied casually “Dungeons won’t feed us so I had to make a living. Where do you think the money I gave you came from?” 

“But you…” 

Woo Yeon-Hee stopped talking and her shaking eyes became steady. She widened her eyes as she must have realized something.

“You must have had no interest in school life” she nodded.

“Jonathan will execute our contract and he is the best in the world to do that. You know who he is right?” I said.

“Yes and I know that you’ve lived a wonderful life” she responded.

“So from this moment on do as I tell you. For you and for my sake” I replied.

After receiving an answer that she would do so I sent her back. We arranged to meet again at the office tomorrow morning.

I opened the door of the room where the uninvited guest was. He was staring at the note Woo Yeon-Hee had written. His head turned to me.

“Why should we give this stranger three billion won? Why did you make an assumption that you’ll go missing? Writing that will was not sudden. What’s going on around you?” Jonathan asked. 

“Everything about me is a mystery right?” I smiled. 

“Sun!” he yelled at me.

“But don’t dig in too much since everyone has their own reasons. I’ll tell you everything later” I said.

“Again?” Jonathan’s face was filled with disappointment.

I said jokingly “Hey aren’t you pushing the patient too hard?”

“You’re in serious danger. If this is about your government don’t hide. Why don’t you come with me to New York? I didn’t like Korea from the beginning” he said.

Was it time to tell Jonathan that I’m Awakened? However I remembered that we still had twenty years to go and I sat in front of him and spoke sincerely.

“Please don’t ask. However if you have to listen I’ll tell you. Just keep in mind that I never wanted to” I said.

Jonathan messed up his hair then said impatiently “That’s unfair.”

Jonathan hugged the bag he had brought. I thought he’d run out of the office with anger but that wasn’t the case. Instead he took out a thick book.

「Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained」

A picture of Jonathan’s made over face was embedded in the cover and the title could be translated as “No adventure no profit.”

“Do you like the title?” Jonathan asked.