I made it back to the Empire after another six hours of flying at high speeds atop the Virulent Abomination.
On the way here, I had learned the 5 rank A skill books I gained from [Babadook's Layer]. The five of them were [Earth Armor], [Recorder], [Permafrost], [Combusting Spears], and [Language Comprehension].
Out of all of these, the one I found most interesting was [Recorder], which allowed me to replay anything I saw with my eyes while activated. I could of course keep it active at all times, which meant I could rewatch everything like a film if I chose to do so. I was still finding ways that I could use this skill effectively
I also combined more skills that had high compatability, putting togather the rank B skills [Cold Fire] and [Greater Cold Penetration] to bring out [B+ Boreal Penetration]. The fire element rank B skills [Greater Flame Penetration] and [Burning Soul] also combined to bring out [B+ Blazing Penetration].
A few of my rank A skills were nearing 100 proficiency, so I couldn't try fusing any of them yet. I already had a few ideas in mind for when they met the requirements.
My thoughts came to a stop as I flew towards Star City's military sector, where I was met with rows of soldiers and hunters giving me praise. Communications had long since spread from the United Federation, with the allied countries there praising the Empire for the aid and sending forth their top hunter to help
Relations between the two forces were turning for the better after they realized just how deadly their common enemy can be, as well as the strength I showed. There would be more cooperation between the two nations moving forward, and less of the political attacks and spread of propaganda that many of us had been accustomed to
Peace in the world was in no way achieved, but steps were being taken to try and build it. Humans always found new ways to be selfish and stupid, so who knows where we'll be a few months from now
I tried to disburse the regiment of hunters who definitely had better things to be doing as I was led into an old office that gave me nostalgia. It wasn't the rugged man with an impassive expression in it, but a woman with a military uniform going through stacks of papers
The person in front of me was naturally Elizabeth, who was trying to honor the memory of her friend and manage the logistics of Star City while still acting as an active hunter. Much of her time was now stretched between office work and dungeon diving, giving no time for anything else
She wore large round glasses that she pushed up when I walked in and a huge smile bloomed from her face.
The next few minutes were spent talking about the events in the United Federation and all intricacies that went with it. She also let me know how my presence was requested at the Empire's capital so that I could be properly rewarded
When we got to this point, I thought about the stage I currently stood at and realized there wasn't really anything that I wanted or needed that the hunters here could provide. My only goal currently was to let them know that I would be disappearing, with only a few selected higher ups knowing that I was heading into the enemy's den
I had already told this to Kazuhiko before leaving, and I left the decision of who he would tell in the United Federation in his hands. My secrets were too grand to share with everyone else, so I used the same excuse I told Kazuhiko to Elizabeth- I had found a way to use the [Plane Crystal] that comes out from destroyed dungeons to go where they came from
That I had grown powerful enough to try and disrupt the enemy's plans on their own turf. When I first told Kazuhiko this, he had stared at me silently for more than five minutes before he nodded with an unreadable expression
The hunters of this world were no doubt about to become explosively more powerful, but they weren't at the level of withstanding the enemies I would be facing. The System wanted to conduct a covert take over, where I would rise to power in that world as a native, and not as an invader
A similar difficult to read expression appeared on Elizabeth's face after I finished talking, and she looked at me hesitantly, as if she wanted to bring herself to say something but couldn't
I looked at this woman that I hadn't spent too much time with to really get to know her and thought about things that could have been if events were playing out differently. Maybe there was a possibility of something to grow and be nurtured under different circumstances...but not now
I quickly changed the subject before that hesitation of hers turned into something else, and we wistfully moved on to other matters
Over the next few days, many things occurred as I travelled around the Empire and lent a hand where it was needed. If dungeons needed to be destroyed, I would be there to do it much quicker than the groups of hunters that were required to do it.
Something of interest to note was me finally getting a rank A skill that was a bit stronger in its usefulness when compared to [Dark Assassin]. It was a rank A skill called [Obscure] that covered my body with a dark smoke which quickly turned me transparent.
I actively looked for more covert skills of rank A and even B so that I would be able to produce compatible skills to quickly bring out a powerful rank S hiding skill.
When the time was ripe, I visited the capital of the Empire where I was received by a hunter that I had only seen on TV a couple of times. Steel Mikhail was standing like a sharp spear in the large hall I was brought into
"You are really going to jump into the enemy's den?"
These were the first words I heard from the man that seemed to give off a strong sense of strength and righteousness.
He was among the few higher ups that would know that I would be disappearing soon. He was one of the defenders of the world that the System chose. With his vast amount of time active as a rank A hunter, I wouldn't be surprised if he already held multiple rank A skills that had reached 100 proficiency and had high compatibility that were already fused, boosting his power by a large amount
When I nodded to his question, he spent a few seconds looking at me before he spoke again.
"We will be placing our hopes on you for the future then. I want to thank you in advance."
The future, huh. I thought about the things to come as I spent some time talking with Mikhail. The guy was very straightforward, asking me what information I had on the enemies we were facing.The extent of my strength was known, with my power supressing beasts that hunters at this stage had trouble dealing with, so he didn't question my confidence when I discussed my goal of disrupting the enemy's power in the world they were in
I gave out the basic information without delving too deep to even get near my secrets, spending a significant time talking to him before he was content. I didn't want to frolic around with too many people in the Empire as there were much bigger things I had to think about, so I disregarded most of the other requests of officials who wanted to meet me and prepared to move out to the location specified by the System. The time was quickly approaching.