Here's an Opportunity-Chapter 248: Time Rabbits Carrying Pouch (2)

The Hell King, the most terrifying monster ever to threaten Earth, loomed ever closer.

[The Time Rabbit has paid causality to Earth. The message delivery method has changed.]

"Hm?"

Kim Ki-Rok tilted his head and addressed the Time Rabbit. "Should I use my skill again and make a save?"

[Time Rabbit: No. Our kind moves between present, future, and past, observing and recording the beginnings and endings of dimensions.]

Kim Ki-Rok let out a low whistle at the message window that reminded him of a chat app. "A species that observes and records?" he murmured.

[Time Rabbit: Yeah.]

"You don't have any other powers?"

[Time Rabbit: None.]

"Got it. Ah, and—"

The Hell King slowly turned its head toward him.

Kim Ki-Rok slipped a hand into his subspace pocket, drawing a longsword and dagger. "Can we keep talking? I might lose my mind," he said.

[Time Rabbit: What about the cameras?]

"We can talk inside my head. Or is that not possible?"

[Time Rabbit: No, it's possible.]

A grin flickered across Kim Ki-Rok's face as he stepped back. This wasn't his first meeting with the Hell King. He dodged the first attack with practiced ease, still smiling. He didn't have perfect information, but he knew enough to survive a little longer.

As he lunged, his sword sliced through the air and dug into the Hell King with a wet sound. For a brief moment, the monster's eyes flashed with surprise. Then, with a glittering gaze, the Hell King partially unleashed its power. In the blink of an eye, it tore Kim Ki-Rok's heart from his chest.

***

2nd Attempt.

Kim Ki-Rok retreated, barely evading the Hell King's fast, sweeping fist, crossing both swords to shield his heart.

Clang!

[Time Rabbit: Idiot. Why block head-on when you're so outmatched?]

Just testing how strong the Hell King is when it's at full power, not weakened, Kim Ki-Rok thought. Now that he'd confirmed, he would only try again once the monster was weakened.

3rd Attempt.

Oof. Is there anyone who can beat it at full strength? he wondered.

[Time Rabbit: It’s called Hell's Gate and Hell King for a reason, you know.]

4th Attempt.

Wait, does that mean Earth isn't the only dimension Hell has invaded?

[Time Rabbit: Countless dimensions have fallen to Hell's invasion.]

10th Attempt.

[Time Rabbit: How's your mind holding up?]

Still good. Ten times is nothing.

23rd Attempt.

Hmm... The order's wrong. Where did I mess up?

[Time Rabbit: On the nineteenth attack, last time you parried upward with Guardian. This time you deflected downward.]

32nd Attempt.

How long did I last?

[Time Rabbit: 30 seconds.]

Jeez! So to last an hour, I'd need to repeat this six hundred times?

[Time Rabbit: Not just that. Your expressions, your movements, the order of blocks, dodges, and attacks all need to match across regressions. But since you've used the Luggage before the Carrying Pouch, you might hit one hour before six hundred tries.]

67th Attempt.

Hmm, maybe I should change things up?

[Time Rabbit: Change what? Where?]

From the beginning.

[Time Rabbit: You really think you can hold out?]

I have to.

***

Kim Ki-Rok barely slipped past another attack. Trusting his instant teleportation skill, he released his full power from the start, mana spilling in all directions. Its glow reflected off the now-empty mana stones that lay scattered everywhere.

"Is that its weakened state?"

"He dodged again! And again!"

The clear team couldn't see the Hell King's approach or its strikes, yet Kim Ki-Rok never stopped evading them.

"Hey," one Hunter called to his colleague in the command center.

"What?"

"You think you could do that?"

"If I had foresight?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe. I think I could."

This Hunter was stronger than Kim Ki-Rok, with better physical abilities, sharper senses, and a larger mana reserve. He answered without hesitation.

"But not for long," he added. "Ten minutes tops. No, five."

Kim Ki-Rok wasn't just facing a weakened foe. Here, a single mistake meant certain death. With fear numbing the body and senses, even someone who could see the future or dodge attacks couldn't last long.

Kim Ki-Rok evaded the Hell King's attacks for ten seconds. Though every counter failed, perhaps his one-second foresight kept him alive.

"Does he not feel fear?" one Hunter muttered in awe.

"Doesn't look like it," another replied.

Kim Ki-Rok had once fought demons far beyond him in the Yuashiel Dimension. In the Patera Dimension, he had held off hundreds of mechanical monsters alone, buying time for top Hunters to defeat the Gate boss. Things hadn't changed. Kim Ki-Rok fought monsters beyond his means, compensating for lack of power with artifacts or buffs and challenging beasts no one else dared to face. It was as if the fear of death simply didn't register.

"Let's gather intel," said the first Hunter. His words snapped his friend and the others out of their daze as they watched Kim Ki-Rok dodge and the Hell King attack on the monitor.

Kim Ki-Rok hadn't joined the Four Dukes subjugation team, choosing to stay at headquarters and level up for this fight. However, not only had the number of monsters diminished, but his growth also seemed to have slowed down.

If the Gate team had allowed time for monsters to breed and grow, Kim Ki-Rok's leveling pace might have continued, but that hadn't happened.

That's why everyone knew... one of the Hunters thought as he watched the fight on the screen.

Everyone knew Kim Ki-Rok wouldn't be able to fight in the Hell King subjugation. At first, they'd expected him to join, even if he was underleveled. But the subjugation of the Grand Duke, Hydra, reality set in.

The Hydra had been powerful. Without prepared mana stones, teleportation support, Kim Ki-Rok's Discernment Skill, and sharp observation, the team would have been wiped out. The Grand Duke had been that strong.

Gate bosses were always at least twice, sometimes four times, as powerful as mid-bosses. At Kim Ki-Rok's level and with his physical limitations, it was obvious he couldn't dodge the Hell King's attacks. He shouldn't have survived this long.

His performance now was only possible due to his one-second foresight, along with the buff that came with brutal side effects like headaches, nerve pain, and muscle aches. It didn't end there. As a side effect of the increase in physical ability and senses, he wouldn't be able to taste anything or feel anything on his skin for a year.

"He loses a sense every ten minutes, right?" asked a Hunter.

"Yeah, each sense goes numb for a year," answered another.

"And he's lost his sense of smell now?"

"Yup."

Kim Ki-Rok could still manage because his hearing, sight, and mana detection—his sixth sense—were intact.

He hadn't suffered fatal wounds yet, but flesh had been torn away and bone exposed. The blood from those wounds painted the floor red, while blood from his split forehead blinded his left eye, forcing him to rely on the other to track his foe.

"You think he'll make it?" a Hunter whispered.

"As long as Kim Ki-Rok doesn't feel fear, and the Hell King keeps smiling, he'll keep going."

People glanced at the speaker, who watched the screen intently.

"That foresight skill? Doesn't need his five senses. Not even the sixth."

"Ah!"

Even if Kim Ki-Rok lost all his senses and his ability to manipulate mana, he would endure. As long as he had his skill and neither fear nor the Hell King's boredom got in the way, he would survive.

***

138th Attempt.

"Wha...?"

Kim Ki-Rok lost an arm from a mistimed move, but didn't scream. Instead, he frowned, glancing down at his torn shoulder.

297th Attempt.

"Oh! We got here faster than I thought."

Kim Ki-Rok had estimated each extra second against the Hell King would cost him another regression, but thanks to his experience regressing with the Time Rabbit's Luggage before using the Carrying Pouch, he managed twelve minutes on this current Attempt.

[Time Rabbit: Hey, blockhead. Focus!]

Kim Ki-Rok's severed head managed a smile at the Time Rabbit's message before he was sent back.

682nd Attempt.

Talk to me, he thought.

[Time Rabbit: What?]

You know, the problem isn't that dying hurts... What's driving me crazy is having to feel it over and over, again and again, in such a short span.

[Time Rabbit: So what do you want to talk about?]

Tell me about other worlds Hell invaded. Stories you saw and recorded.

[Time Rabbit: Why?]

Because I think it'll help me keep going.

[Time Rabbit: Let's see. The first dimension I saw Hell destroy was a place where only goblin-like creatures remained. They were similar to the ones in the Yuashiel Dimension.]

753rd Attempt.

[Time Rabbit: Maybe because it was a goblin-ruled world, maybe not, but it was underdeveloped, and there were hardly any mana users. The goblins' dimension was wiped out. A few with the power to leap through spacetime escaped Hell's invasion.]

1376th Attempt.

[Time Rabbit: Hey. Are you all righ— Hey, Crazy Bast...]

[Time Rabbit: Are you... calling this... a trance...?]

[Time Rabbit: Hey... hey...]

[Time Rabbit: ...re—!]

[Time Rabbit: ...treat!]

[Time Rabbit: Retreat! Now! You idiot!]

***

He dodged. Again. And again.

"H-how long's it been?"

"Three hours."

His focus had reached its peak. He still radiated a tremendous amount of mana, but its color had changed. His body glowed a deep azure, while the mana swirling around him was a pale blue.

Time dragged on, and eventually, four hours had passed.

The wings of the Hell King fully unfurled as it soared high, glaring down at Kim Ki-Rok. The monster no longer smiled. Jaw clenched, it plunged toward the ground.

"Order retreat!"

When Kang Man-Ki shouted, the operator managing Kim Ki-Rok relayed the command at full volume. But perhaps Kim Ki-Rok was too focused on surviving, because he kept evading instead of retreating.

A massive explosion, like dozens of missiles striking at once, rocked the earth in a split second. Hunters stared, swallowing hard, while support staff with low physical stats like Kang Man-Ki snapped to attention. A flash of light, and the man on the screen reappeared before their eyes.

"Whoa... Holy shit..." As soon as he materialized, Kim Ki-Rok dropped to the floor, cursing, heedless of everyone watching. "That was way too close..."