Summoning his first avatar, Kwon Moon watched as another version of him materialized before him.
Immediately, the two of them looked at each other, and it felt strange for both. It was like they both had their own consciousness and mind, but they were also connected by this hivemind, and if they wanted to see through the perspective of the other person, all they had to do was focus.
Well, although they were both "looking" at each other, it was more like Kwon Moon was looking, and Fletcher was using his mana to create an image in his mind that wasn't very clear. There was no color up there — just plain lines that made up objects and shapes.
This sounded cool in concept, but there was no benefit to having it and not having actual sight. It would be beneficial if he had both, but nope, Fletcher only had one.
"So you're the main body, and I'm just an avatar," Fletcher said as he nodded his head, already acknowledging that there was a pecking order and the real Kwon Moon was on top.
This wasn't the product of the ability. It was Kwon Moon's mindset itself. He was willing to become a servant to his own self if it meant that their plans could come to fruition.
If another person with ego had the ability, it might've been a mess, and the avatars would feel too embarrassed to listen to another person, regardless of whether it was technically themself.
It was a miracle that the two owners of the ability, Ryuk Yongsun and now Kwon Moon, were perfect for it.
"This feels—"
"—strange."
Both of them could tell what the other person was thinking in their mind. They didn't even have to speak to communicate with one another.
However, they decided to test it and realized that there was a limit to how far they could be before they lost the ability to read each other's minds. However, there didn't seem to be a limit on sharing vision.
In Kwon Moon's case, the vision he was seeing was nothing more than complete darkness.
"This could be useful if we fight together in the future. I'll be able to see more than just the mere image in my mind."
"Agreed. We'll test this out more later," Kwon Moon said.
Fletcher nodded in agreement.
"Now, bestow [Flame] to me before I head off. The tower is about to appear any time now."
Planting his hand on Fletcher's chest, all it took was Kwon Moon having the intention of bestowing the ability for the ability to be added to the blonde avatar.
"Good. Guess I'll see you later once I conquer this tower, main body," Fletcher said.
"See you then."
Kwon Moon watched as Fletcher began making his way down the cliff, catching branches, digging his hands into the cliff face, and eventually making contact with the ground below.
"Now, shall I head home before mother gets angry?" he chuckled.
As if he had never been out there in the middle of nowhere, Kwon Moon returned to his house and ate a wonderful dinner. He would never know because he didn't bring the memories back, but technically, as a regressor, until the day he returned, he hadn't had his mom's cooking in almost fifty years.
Tutoring his little sister, he went to bed shortly after his father returned home from work.
He lived in a house of four. A family of four. They weren't the perfect family, but they had more good moments and memories than bad.
Even though he didn't know their fate, he knew the fate of Earth, and Kwon Moon was determined to change it to protect his loved ones.
'It sounds like I'm a cringy middle-schooler obsessed with anime whenever I state that I need to become a villain for the greater good of the world. Hahaha.'
Although he may be a regressor, with all the missing memories, his maturity level was practically the same as his physical body.
He was just a 16-year-old boy who happened to have a ton of pressure on his shoulders.
"I hope my avatar is doing okay. I can't see anything, so… I can only hope for the best."
But he had faith. It was him after all. Those were his last words before his eyes closed and he drifted off into the world of dreams.
The next day.
School was chaotic. Everyone was talking about the new tower that had appeared a couple of cities away.
"Which hunter do you think will clear it first?" one of Kwon Moon's classmates asked their friend.
"Who cares. It'll just be another S-rank hunter who clears it like always. Why do we always act so surprised whenever a tower is defeated, and it turns out to be an S-rank?"
"Aren't you being pessimistic. Just a month ago, a tower that had been up for half a year was cleared by a B-rank. Now that same B-rank has been promoted to S."
"Those are few and far between."
"Man, if I could just awaken as a hunter. I'd enter a dungeon and come out rich as fuck."
"Sure, you would. You'd be lucky not to die on your first job. You'd probably awaken some stupid ability like the ability to make soap or something."
"Fuck you," he said as he kicked his friend in his stomach, sending his chair flying backwards.
He hadn't meant to kick that hard.
Before his friend could crash and bump the back of his head into the seat behind him, the chair's momentum was stopped by Kwon Moon, who had caught it with his foot. He pushed it forward slightly, and the chair returned to its original position.
"Oh shoot. Thanks for catching me."
"No problem."
Kwon Moon returned to his seat as he ignored the two idiot friends. The one who had kicked was now kneeling on the chair, raising his arms into the air, pretending to be begging for forgiveness from his friend, who was now roleplaying as an emperor.
They weren't the only ones he was ignoring. He was also ignoring all the glances from the girls in the classroom.
Before he had returned to the past, he had been a fat piggy who wasn't bullied in class, but he basically had no friends.
But since his regression, he had been training his stamina, his strength, and as a result of pushing his body to the extremes that only a hunter could do, his looks, although not out of the world, were enough to draw attention because of the drastic difference from before.
As soon as the teacher for the first period walked in, silence enveloped the room, and all the students who were messing around returned to their seats.
This teacher was extremely strict and was no-nonsense.
He walked up to his lectern with his folders and smacked them on the surface a few times to straighten them all out. Then he placed the folders down.
"Before we take roll call and get started with class, Kwon Moon…" he called his name.
Everyone's eyes darted over to the student who was called out. Was he in trouble? What did he do? What spicy piece of gossip was the teacher about to reveal? A second hadn't even passed, and they were already getting impatient.
"Congratulations on awakening. I hear that you'll be hunting at your first dungeon today. Good luck and stay safe."
Just as the teacher was about to call the first name for roll call, the classroom erupted.
"You awakened?!"
"We have a hunter in our classroom?!"
"Oh my god. I'm so jealous. Lord, please grant me an ability. I also want to be a hunter so I can pick up bitches easier."
"What's your ability?"
"What the fuck!"
"Marry me!"
"Have my kids!"
The last two were said by two dudes. Specifically, the two idiots from before.
"Shut it!" the teacher yelled as he banged his ruler on the blackboard. That was all it took to get them to be quiet. Even after he warned them to pay attention to class and not to make another peep as he did roll call, everyone's attention was only a percent on him, while the other 99 percent was on Kwon Moon.
'Why did you announce to the whole class that I'm a hunter if you don't want them to be focused on the fact?' Kwon Moon wondered.
He didn't care that the teacher had done that. It wasn't like he was going to keep it a secret that he had awakened. He was genuinely confused.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for the news to be spread around through group chats and text messages. By the end of the first period, every single person at the school knew that there was a new hunter attending their school.
Kwon Moon marked the fifth student who was a hunter.
The next few classes he had were still rather chaotic, but the teachers were able to calm down their students for the most part.
But as soon as it was lunchtime, all hell broke loose in the dining hall.
He was swarmed by a crowd, everyone trying to fight for a seat next to him. All of them wanted to be his friend, wanted his number, and wanted to attach themself to him before he became too big to do so.
It was only when the top dog of the school ordered everyone to step aside that everyone obeyed.
They had no choice.
Everyone was scared of him, and if they didn't listen, his group of followers would beat them up, even if he didn't order the command.
His name was Bo Jung. Ironically, his given name meant "righteous man".
He was a senior, and unlike the other seniors at the school who were busy studying and preparing for academic life beyond high school, Bo Jung had no worries about academics because his future was already set for him.
As a C-rank hunter who was already a member of a guild, he had greener pastures ahead of him after graduation than college life.
If it weren't for the law that all underage hunters had to complete high school or at least be eighteen years of age before dropping out, he wouldn't even waste his time attending school.
Bo Jung looked like the typical delinquent with dirty blonde hair, earrings, and tattoos on his neck. He wore his uniform loosely with the buttons barely buttoned.
"I hear that you're a newly awakened. Congratulations," he said.
Before Kwon Moon could respond, the man had already pulled out the chair beside him and dropped into it, the wood scraping loudly against the floor. Without so much as a glance in his direction, the man reached across the table, grabbed one of the sausages from Kwon Moon's plate with his bare fingers, and took a bite — chewing slowly, deliberately, as if daring him to comment.
He was even making a smacking sound with his mouth that echoed throughout the dining hall, where everyone was observing the two of them nervously.
Kwon Moon paused mid-motion, his chopsticks hovering above his rice.
He turned his head and met the man's gaze.
"I don't recall giving you permission to touch my food," he said.
His voice was calm. Flat. Not a hint of irritation leaked through, and his eyes didn't waver even as they locked onto the man's.
For a brief moment, the dining hall noise seemed to dip. Nearby conversations softened as it felt like danger was creeping its head out of the corner. Those who were near the two of them took a few steps back.
They were just regular people.
They didn't dare get in between two hunters if they were to begin clashing.
Bo Jung blinked once, then snorted.
"...Sorry. Didn't know you were a stingy person."
He leaned back in his chair, casual to the point of arrogance, then suddenly swung his arm over Kwon Moon's shoulders. His hand clamped down hard, fingers digging in, pressing with just enough force to hurt without being obvious.
It was a test.
A challenge disguised as familiarity, even though the two of them were complete strangers.
He waited for a reaction. Expected a flinch. A sharp breath. A hiss of pain.
Nothing came from Kwon Moon, who was feeling the pain but didn't show it whatsoever. Not even a twitch on his face.
Instead, he had resumed eating, unbothered, as if there wasn't a stranger crushing his shoulder.
The smile that slowly curved his lips was small — almost polite.
"I recommend you let go of me," Kwon Moon murmured as he swallowed the rice in his mouth, his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear it, "before I burn your face off."
The grip tightened for half a second.
Then—
Bo Jung burst out laughing.
"Oh?" he said, eyes gleaming as he leaned closer. "I'd love to see you try."
Their gazes collided, sparks practically snapping in the air between them. Neither looked away. Neither backed down. The silence stretched, sharp and electric, like the breath before a storm breaks.
A few seconds passed.
Then Bo Jung released his grip and leaned back, hands raised slightly as if in surrender.
"Just kidding," he said lightly. "I just came to wish you good luck."
He stood, pushing his chair in with his foot.
"Don't die in your first dungeon. It would be a shame to lose a junior like you so early on when you haven't even made your first big buck yet."
Kwon Moon didn't respond.
He simply watched Bo Jung walk away, the faint smile never leaving his face.