Chapter 1: Return?
“You possess a transcendent talent that no human has ever had.”
“Talent? That can’t be true…”
“No. You may not realize it yourself, but I can feel it. The terrifying potential dwelling within your mind.”
‘Hmm… That’s what most scammers usually say.’
The black-haired man, Jin-young, looked visibly skeptical.
“Hah… You don’t believe me.”
The elderly man with light blond hair sitting across from him suddenly pointed at a book.
“Without touching it, try levitating that book into the air.”
“…Huh? I don’t know how to use psychokinesis or anything like that.”
“Think deeply that you can make the book float. Then convert that thought directly into ‘psionic energy.’”
The old man’s words carried a hint of madness, but Jin-young decided to try anyway.
This stranger in another world—who called himself Renard—had saved his life when he was on the verge of death after being transported here. Besides, he had nothing left to lose.
Jin-young glared at the book with wide eyes.
In his mind, he repeated over and over:
‘Float. Float. Float…’
But the book didn’t so much as twitch, let alone levitate.
“It’s not working.”
Even so, Jin-young wasn’t disappointed or regretful.
He had every reason not to be.
Back in his original world—Earth—he had been a talentless hunter.
‘Yeah, figures.’
A dullard who hadn’t grown beyond the lowest rank in the five years since awakening.
That was the true nature of 9th-grade hunter Chae Jin-young.
He had briefly entertained a flicker of hope at the mention of terrifying potential, but his self-esteem—already shattered beyond repair—couldn’t easily resurface.
“Hah. To have such an enormous mental world and yet not know how to use it… You’re utterly rotten. This won’t do. You need special measures.”
“Special… measures?”
Could it be something to awaken his potential?
A spark of hope rose again in Jin-young’s mind.
But the old man’s next words made his pupils tremble.
“For now, let’s start by beating you up a little.”
***
Fifteen years later.
There were times he wished he were dead, but in the end, Jin-young survived.
And now, he possessed a power no one else had.
BOOOOM!
The fully grown dragon with silver scales was slammed head-first deep into the ground.
Only its tail protruded above the surface, trembling violently.
He had buried the entire dragon in the earth without laying a single finger on it.
“I told you I just came to talk—why do you keep attacking me?”
Jin-young tilted his head as if he genuinely didn’t understand.
A furious voice echoed through the air in response.
“You bastard… Do you even know where you are, committing such outrage?”
“Here? Isn’t this a dragon’s lair?”
Jin-young glanced around the vast, empty cavern as he spoke.
Originally, an enormous dragon had stood before him.
Its entire body was covered in mystical silver scales, and its height alone must have been at least fifty meters.
According to his master, it was an adult dragon named Radonis.
To gain the cooperation of this silver dragon—renowned for its mastery of space-time magic—he first needed to have a conversation with it.
‘It really is sturdy, huh.’
The creature had lunged at him without warning, so he had instinctively slammed it into the ground.
But judging by the voice reverberating through the cave, it was still very much alive and kicking.
“So you’re the arrogant human who’s been turning the continent into chaos lately. Do you think you’re the strongest just because you forced a few human kingdoms to submit?”
“No, that’s not it. I just want to talk—”
“You’re not someone I can reason with.”
KRRRRBOOOM!
The dragon’s head burst out of the ground along with massive chunks of rock.
Jin-young watched calmly, tilting his head all the way back and waving casually at the dragon’s head.
“Have you calmed down now? Shall we have a constructive conversation?”
“Human, you will regret breaking the ancient pact and entering this forbidden domain.”
“This is driving me insane.”
SWOOSH—
In response, a pair of enormous wings unfurled.
“Whoa, whoa—don’t fly. I’ll rip those wings apart, you know?”
When a dragon takes flight, it usually means it’s preparing powerful magic.
Known as the origin of all magic, they could wield mysterious and troublesome spells.
Most ordinary magic could be manipulated with psychokinesis, but a dragon’s innate magic might not be so easily countered.
The only option was to nip the danger in the bud.
Jin-young extended both hands forward and gripped the air.
FLAP—
The instant the dragon began to beat its wings,
Jin-young twisted both hands sharply.
CRACK!
The sound of bones snapping echoed loudly throughout the lair.
Even then, the dragon hadn’t yet realized what had happened to it.
In an instant, both wing bones shattered, and the wings drooped limply toward the floor like wilted flowers.
Only belatedly did the dragon’s pupils widen as it registered the fact.
“I told you to listen. If you ignore me again, next time it’ll be your neck. Or was it the heart that’s your weak point?”
At Jin-young’s words, the dragon felt fear—an emotion it had never experienced in its life.
***
Fifteen years had passed since Jin-young finally became too strong to be beaten by the old man.
In total, he had spent thirty years in the world of Renard, and much had changed.
Every king of the human-ruled nations had knelt before him.
He aided benefactors and killed betrayers.
With nothing but psychokinesis, he had succeeded in conquering the entire continent.
Yet there remained one unfinished task for Jin-young.
“You want to return to the world you originally came from?”
The old man lying on his sickbed asked.
His master—who had saved his life and taught him for twenty years.
Even one who had lived over two hundred years had finally reached the limits of a human body.
“Yes. There is something in my original world that I absolutely must resolve.”
Seeing the resolute light in Jin-young’s eyes, the master asked no further questions.
“I see. But that will not be easy. Dimensional travel magic is not something just anyone can wield.”
“I even beat up a dragon about it, and it said it was impossible. Still, I haven’t given up. I’ll keep searching until the day I die.”
“You’ve finally started acting like a proper person.”
The master nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Of course.”
Jin-young gave a faint smile in return.
But no answer came back.
His master had passed away with that contented smile still on his face.
Jin-young bowed his head in silent mourning, eyes closed.
Following the will his master had left behind, he held a simple funeral.
After placing the body in the coffin he had prepared and burying it in the earth,
“Who said you could come here?”
Jin-young murmured softly in front of the grave.
“I didn’t mean to commit any disrespect. Please forgive me.”
The owner of the voice that came from behind was a woman.
And a very familiar one at that.
“Have you come to take revenge on me? You’d only be throwing away your precious life.”
“I hold no grudge for you assassinating my father or bringing down the imperial palace. If anything, I’m sorry for deceiving you.”
“…”
At the woman’s words, Jin-young turned to face her.
Long crimson hair, blue eyes, snow-white skin, and strikingly beautiful features.
Rienne Fren Soltreia, princess—no, now empress—of the Syndra Empire.
The woman he had loved for a full five years.
Yet even facing her now, he felt nothing in particular.
It had already been over a year since he had ended things with her.
And only bitter feelings remained.
“What brings you to me this time? Here to deceive me again, claiming you can use dimensional magic so you can use me?”
“No. I swear on everything I possess as empress that I would never do such a thing. If I’m lying, you may kill me. I only… hope you will help me one last time.”
“…Do you think I would help you?”
Jin-young gazed at her silently.
In truth, the one who had deceived him with dimensional magic wasn’t Rienne.
It had been her father—the emperor.
Princess Rienne had merely been used as a pawn in the emperor’s long game.
At first, Jin-young hadn’t suspected a thing.
The imperial family truly possessed knowledge of dimensional magic and had even demonstrated it.
Filled with hope that he might finally return to Earth, Jin-young had complied with every demand the emperor made.
But their dimensional magic had stagnated at the level of mere hundreds of kilometers—it could go no further.
Moreover, the emperor and his sycophants had begun preparing to assassinate Jin-young, viewing him as a future threat.
Upon discovering this, Jin-young slaughtered everyone involved.
That was probably when it started.
His refusal to show mercy to betrayers.
Rienne herself bore no guilt, but Jin-young decided he could no longer maintain a good relationship with her.
And so the two had parted ways.
“You must have heard the news—two kingdoms fell to the Demon King’s army in just three days. Soon it will be Syndra’s turn.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Jin-young wasn’t just saying that.
It was truly the first time he had heard of anything called a “Demon King’s army.”
Living deep in the forests on the empire’s frontier, news naturally reached him slowly.
THUD.
Suddenly, Rienne dropped to both knees on the ground.
For the first time, a faint look of surprise crossed Jin-young’s otherwise cold expression.
As a princess—and now as empress—she had never once knelt to anyone.
“I wish you would fight alongside us. You are the only one who can stop the Demon King’s army.”
As far as Jin-young knew, the dimensional gates connecting to other realms, including the demon world, had been sealed for hundreds of years.
He couldn’t help but feel a little curious about where these invaders had suddenly come from.
“…Enough. Just go.”
As Jin-young waved her away, Rienne looked up at him with pleading eyes.
“But—”
“I can handle that kind of thing on my own. Don’t get in my way—just keep researching dimensional magic. I still expect that ridiculous contract with the imperial family to be honored.”
“This debt—”
“The dimensional magic that will send me back to Earth. That’s all I need.”
***
Soldiers clad in black full-plate mail appeared, riding pitch-black horses.
Standing atop a hill, Jin-young gazed down at the tens of thousands of advancing Demon King troops.
No matter how numerous they were, he had wondered how they could topple kingdoms so quickly.
But watching their advance, it all made sense.
Their speed was unbelievable for mounted forces—almost as if they were flying in airplanes.
The demonic energy they exuded corrupted all nearby flora and fauna, corroding buildings as well.
Each individual soldier wielded power comparable to a master of the highest-tier black magic.
He couldn’t help but wonder where such monstrous beings—tens of thousands of them—had sprung from.
‘If they really came from another dimension, I need to extract some information.’
While Jin-young pondered this, the Demon King’s army drew near.
The demonic energy they radiated reached him as well, but—
Ssszzzt—szzzzzzt—
The psionic energy enveloping his entire body effortlessly repelled it.
Surprisingly, they didn’t attack him immediately. Instead, they halted at a distance.
Then the general leading the vanguard approached Jin-young alone.
Like the soldiers, his face was hidden beneath a helmet that covered his entire head.
The only difference was his size—he was at least 1.5 times larger than a regular soldier.
Compared to Jin-young, he was three or four times bigger.
The voice that emanated from him was alien, as though it echoed from all directions.
「Are you Chae Jin-young?」
“And who the hell are you?”
Jin-young replied curtly to the general who somehow knew his name.
「A lowly species dares to be insolent. Just die.」
The moment the general finished speaking, the soldiers in the front line charged on horseback.
As they prepared to hurl massive lances formed of dark demonic energy—
SQUELCH!
As if crushed by an invisible weight, both the soldiers and their mounts were flattened like stepped-on aluminum cans.
It happened so instantaneously that neither the general nor the remaining troops could react.
Having effortlessly compressed dozens of soldiers with the pinnacle of psychokinesis, Jin-young spoke.
“Where did you lot come from? You don’t seem to be from this world.”
「As the rumors said, you wield an interesting power. But it cannot be limitless.」
“You’re wrong. I’ll ask again—how did you get here?”
「All forces, charge.」
“Sigh…”
Seeing that conversation was utterly impossible, Jin-young pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—
The tens of thousands of troops behind the general began charging toward Jin-young in unison.
At that moment, the aura around Jin-young shifted ominously.
Sssssssss—
The immense power inherent in his mind.
The source of psychokinesis.
Psionic energy surged from his body, forming bands of red and blue light.
The red and blue bands intertwined, wrapping wildly around him.
It had been a very long time since he had unleashed psionic energy to this extent.
In the last ten years—ever since worthy opponents had vanished from Renard—he hadn’t needed to.
Even against the dragon, this level of power hadn’t been necessary.
As Jin-young spread both arms wide and raised them—
CRAAAAACK—BOOOOOOM!
In an instant, the earth split in two, and the entire ground beneath them rose upward.
He had moved the very land that tens of thousands of soldiers stood upon.
Naturally, the charging Demon King’s army stumbled, tangled, and descended into chaos.
And then—
CLAP!
The moment Jin-young brought his outstretched hands together in a clap.
KABOOOOOOOM!
The two halves of the uplifted earth slammed into each other—just like the palms of his hands.
The tens of thousands of Demon King troops trapped inside were instantly compressed.
“What in the world…?”
The sole surviving general of the Demon King’s army muttered in disbelief.
Of course, the general had tried to attack Jin-young as well.
He simply couldn’t move, bound as he was by psychokinesis.
There was only one reason Jin-young had let him live.
“Answer me. How did you cross over into this world?”
CRUNCH—SNAP—
Jin-young used psychokinesis to shatter both of the general’s arms, then both legs in turn.
Yet the creature showed no sign of pain, nor did it answer.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—
He systematically broke every joint from the fingertips upward, dislocating bones one by one.
Still, the creature made no sound.
As Jin-young pondered how to inflict real pain on it,
BOOM!
Suddenly, the general’s body swelled like a balloon and burst in an instant.
Yet not a single drop of blood emerged—an eerie, grotesque sight.
And it didn’t end there.
Abruptly, the sun vanished, and pitch-black night descended.
No—this wasn’t night.
Without Jin-young even noticing, a colossal black veil had covered the entire sky.
Then—
FLASH!
Two enormous crimson eyes, larger than the sun, appeared in the blackened heavens.
“……!”
The moment he met those crimson eyes, Jin-young felt an overwhelming urge to tear out his own.
It was as if someone had struck his brain directly with a hammer.
『■■■···』
It was merely a voice, yet it carried the destructive force of thunder roaring right in front of him.
Even with psionic energy wrapped around him to minimize the damage, blood trickled from Jin-young’s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
“What… are you?”
As a human who had reached the absolute pinnacle, he knew better than anyone.
This colossal entity was incomparably stronger than any foe he had ever faced.
He even wondered if this was what a true “god” would be like.
『■■■■■···』
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-SHATTER!
The transparent energy barrier surrounding Jin-young finally gave way and disintegrated.
A barrier that no one on the entire continent of Renard had ever breached.
It couldn’t even withstand a mere voice.
It was a situation that could make anyone feel utterly powerless, yet Jin-young simply spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and spoke.
“So you’re the mastermind.”
『■■■···』
“I don’t understand a word you’ve been saying, but come at me anyway.”
Just hearing the voice of this being—presumed to be the Demon King—or even facing its presence was nearly unbearable for Jin-young.
That was why he prepared the single greatest strike of his life.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Red and blue bands spun faster than light around his body, forming a massive vortex.
As psionic energy erupted at maximum output, the surrounding earth could not withstand it and began to crumble away.
『■■■···』
Soon, a gigantic black hand extended from the dark veil.
Just as that mountain-sized hand was about to crush Jin-young—
CRZZZZZT—
The very space where Jin-young stood began to warp and distort under tremendous energy.
The area of effect spanned an astonishing five-kilometer
radius.
It was powerful enough to swallow even the Demon King’s enormous hand.
KABOOOOOM—
This was psychokinesis manifested at its extreme, twisting space-time itself.
It took the form of a colossal black hole.
Even the Demon King’s massive hand began to shrink as it was caught in the warped space-time.
And then—
WHOOOOSH—
The gigantic black hole absorbed everything in the vicinity.
Then—
ZAP!
In an instant, it collapsed into a single point and vanished.
Along with the Demon King’s hand—and Jin-young himself.