Past Life Returner

Lee Tae-Han was in the midst of explaining that, besides the hologram, additional security technologies that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye had been incorporated.

「Name: Na Seon-Hu

Class: Regular Member

Level: 281

Affiliation: Safety Bureau

- World Awakened Association -」

There was a hologram of the association’s logo, which was a fist clutching the air, on the front of the ID card. In addition, there was a small engraving of the logo of SOB (Sun of Bank), which was one of the subsidiaries of the Jonathan Investment Finance Group on the back. An IC chip embedded in the card was not just for decoration as it also served as a debit card linked to an SOB account.

During the time of waiting for resurrection, a directive was implemented that all members of the association, including the Awakened, could only use SOB accounts. On top of implanting microchips under their skin, tags were attached even to the cash the Awakened used for easy tracking.

“Awakened Na Seon-Hu is a member of the ‘Deportation Team’ in the Safety Bureau.”

“Deportation Team?”

“He will work to arrest the rebels of the association, alongside special forces from various countries, and send them to the battlefield.”

There was no need to talk about the unregistered Awakened. The problem was those who were members of the association and had removed the microchip from their arms themselves. Most of them regarded the outer space’s warzone as equivalent to the Stage of Advent, and remained on the mainland despite the proclamation in my name. It was fortunate that their numbers didn’t grow enough to cause a riot.

“Were the soldiers given the awakening drug?”

That was why Lee Tae-Han’s explanation was getting unnecessarily long.

“It was the club’s resolution.”

There was a clear distinction between mercenaries who voluntarily took the drug and soldiers who were dedicated to the country being given the drug.

Jonathan was on the verge of crossing the line. The words he said in the previous call seemed to not be empty words. If something happened to me, then he would actually mobilize all of humanity to see the end.

I wanted to ask Lee Tae-Han about the current stock of drugs and the amount targeted, but it was something that had to be condoned. Jonathan had made an inevitable choice in the situation he was in, and the preparation afterward assumed the world of the apocalypse.

At that moment, Lee Tae-Han seemed to be uncomfortable with my silence.

“It is Project [Shut Down]. According to the club’s resolution, the association has secured an amount of drugs that can be administered to all humans…”

He was quick-witted.

“Stop.” I changed the subject, “I need people to make my disguise more solid. They must not know who I am.”

“How about the Japanese Awakened? A group of them have just returned. They made a remarkable contribution to finding the bone ring a week ago. They returned at that time and have been waiting in Tokyo.”

Lee Tae-Han continued, “But Odin. Isn’t it difficult to deceive the eyes of the transcendent beings, no matter what disguise you use?”

That was why I had to completely become the Awakened Na Seon-Hu.

Look. There were things I learned through my two deaths. During the period I was sealed, I had pondered on these things and these thoughts finally reached completion as the powers of Doom Kaos that bound me slipped away. One of them was how Entegasto had turned a part of its physical body into an item. It had no choice but to do so because it lacked the ability to create existence from nonexistence.

However, imbuing existing artifacts with potent power was definitely difficult, as no artifact could withstand our power. Thus, there was nothing better than my own flesh as a material to concentrate this body’s power.

I gave a few orders to Lee Tae-Han and moved to the secret altar room of the association. My golden armor was enshrined there.

“The gate experiments are being prepared in the room directly under the chairman’s office. There will be a huge shock inside and outside the building soon. All employees and related personnel, please evacuate according to the instructions. This is a real situation. I repeat. This is a real situation. The gate experiment is in progress…”

As I moved, an announcement from the outside streamed in here. The sound was blocked after passing through a few security doors. Soon after, I recovered my main item, the breastplate.

[Odin’s Absolute Warzone has been opened.]

The upcoming shock was not too different from when I created the insignia of Time Reversal. The barrier would be damaged, and if there was a slight delay, I couldn’t guarantee that the outside would be safe from my power.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why I was forcibly carrying out this task inside the association. This was the most secretive place, and my ability to handle Mana was now fully mature. So now, there was only one thing to consider: which part of my body to use as material.

***

In the area responsible for Power…

[Privilege ‘Second Round’ has been removed.]

Extracting the area that was in charge of Privilege was the first step.

[You have lost XP.]

[You have extracted Mana from the shell.]

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[Your level has decreased.]

[Level change: 641 → 600]

Next, the sources of my power grew toward my fingertips and were coming out into the world.

Rumble.

The barrier began to shake.

[Level change: 600 → 520]

…

[Level change: 300 → 281]

I condensed the powers extracted from the Overlord to the platinum section into one place. Then, I extracted powers equivalent to those that had lingered in various traits and skills. Once the cracks in the barrier were visibly confirmed, the system inside me naturally accepted the plan.

According to the mainland’s definition, it was a phase that could be called ‘synchronization.’

[What will you convert into an item?]

I had already extracted all the Power, but if I was in a situation where I could still use that power, then there would be no issue using my ribs as material like Entegasto had done. Or, like the Great Red, there were ways to use the heart without affecting life, which was rather recommended.

However, the area in my body responsible for Power was in a sealed state even though Doom Kaos had taken all its power. To be precise, it was the same as before due to some phenomena that hardened like a scar.

Therefore, I couldn’t use organs like the heart or bones as material for items. If I used them, then the result would have been obvious. However, one little finger was ridiculously small for a material, so I had to either use an entire arm or sacrifice a leg. If not that, then…

[1. Right arm 2. Left arm 3. Right leg 4. Left leg 5. Left eye 6. Right eye]

It was not difficult to make a decision.

[You have chosen the Left Eye.]

I clenched my teeth. As expected, pain struck me right there. The pain of having my eyeball plucked out was something I couldn’t handle. My body was trembling, and since my Health had dropped to the platinum section, it would take quite a long time to heal.

Aaaargh.

The world looked red, as if fire had engulfed it.

After a while, the reddened world barely returned to its original state, and the blood that had pooled at my feet was revealed. A message overlaid on top.

[Unknown item. (Night Eye: LV.3) (Explorer: LV.3)]

[ * This item does not exist in the Old One’s System.]

[Please designate a name for this item.]

[The item ‘Odin’s Left Eye’ is being created.]

Thunk!

Since I was already looking down, the speed at which my eyeball fell from my face was quite fast. I couldn’t catch it with my considerably diminished Agility. In fact, I could only properly see it after it had fallen into the pool of blood on the ground. There were no bundles of nerves attached. It was clean as if cut by a skilled surgeon, and the pupil faced me.

[You have failed to identify the item. (Night Eye: LV.3)]

[Odin’s Left Eye (Item)

It contains the compressed powers that constituted Odin’s main force. Odin’s powers are imbued in it, as well as the strong will that was present when the eyeball was plucked out.

Item Class: ?

Item Level: ?

Effect: Power Resistance + ?% Spiritual Resistance + ?% Other Resistance + ?? Privilege? Privilege? Every stat +?

Physical Defense: ?

Magic Defense:?]

However, it didn’t take long for the question marks to disappear. It was an item I had created using my own body and power, so I knew how it was composed.

[Item Class: ???]

[Item Level: ??? ]

[Item Class: SSS]

[Item Level: 700]

***

The site where my eyeball was plucked out urged me to hurry up and get treatment, but the real important thing started from here. The power contained in the item was so strong that it was inevitably exposed to the outside due to the energy it emitted. If it stayed like this, then there was no meaning in extracting my main powers to create an item.

I was lonely while waiting for resurrection. The time of Orca flowed much slower than that of us humans. Thanks to this, I had time to think about brainwashing. I was able to contemplate ways to become stronger and study the blueprints that the Old One had scattered.

The blueprint that allowed something to keep their identity unknown until they were unsealed was in the ‘Xi Wangmu's Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider.’ It was just an egg with no abilities until it was used. The random box also had a similar system.

In this way, the Old One left a lot of his capabilities in the original System, and it probably couldn’t dare to predict that I would be able to reach a level where I could absorb them.

Anyway, I still couldn’t pick up my eyeball that was floating in the pool of blood. Just by looking at it, a numbing power was overwhelming me. Though it was made with my power, I couldn’t bear its strength.

Also, it was not as fully completed as I had originally planned, and it was still in progress. The eyeball slowly changed. The lens became hard and turned into stone, and the pupil remained only in the form of a pattern.

[Odin’s Left Eye]

[Mysterious Stone]

[Mysterious Stone (Item)

It is a stone whose identity cannot be known until used.

Item Class: ?

Item Level:?]

When I picked it up, Lee Tae-Han was waiting for me. Even by then, blood was still flowing from my left eye socket.

“You will need an eye patch, Odin.”

Come to think of it, wasn’t Odin in Norse mythology also one-eyed?