# Chapter 154.
When gauging the level of his ability, Lee Hwan usually designated a small space around his body. Then, by gradually increasing its width while closely monitoring the power and stamina consumed, he could roughly estimate the maximum size he could apply restrictions to during combat.
How much weaker had he become compared to before the regression? The evaporated muscles and control gained through trial and error were unavoidable losses, but since he had a feel for handling it, he could only hope it would be a bit better than his first Awakening.
“…Huh?”
However, as Lee Hwan unleashed his ability, he quickly noticed that the feeling was different from before. It felt like power was surging from within his body.
The space expanded endlessly, and his ability spread out in all directions like water. Even as the area exceeded his initial estimates, he barely felt any strain.
‘I can expand it further… more… a little more…’
Finally, when it started to feel somewhat burdensome, Lee Hwan realized that the space he had designated had far exceeded the examination room. It was an unexpected result.
‘…This much?’
When he first awakened his ability, he had barely designated his single room and ended up with a nosebleed. No matter how much experience he had gained, such a difference was surprising.
‘Amplification…’
It was probably the influence of that skill. He hadn’t properly heard about A-grade skills, so he roughly assumed they would be good, but he didn’t expect them to be this effective.
As Lee Hwan slightly adjusted the corner of the space, the edges rippled, revealing their position. People who had been observing the entire process were entering something into their machines.
“Phew… I could expand the designated area more, but it might be a bit difficult to control then.”
“Would you show us the control process?”
That’s not difficult. As Lee Hwan was about to skillfully use his ability, he suddenly recalled another skill.
‘Gravity.’ For some reason, what had been exported overseas before the regression was now fully present in his skill window.
He could apply pressure by increasing gravity with Spatial Control, but it wasn’t a particularly easy operation, so he had avoided it. Rather than getting penalties just for adding weight, he preferred to invest his stamina in more efficient combat methods.
But now he had the Gravity skill. Lee Hwan suddenly became curious. What would happen if he integrated it with Spatial Control?
‘Let’s try it.’
As if it had been waiting, a large ball-shaped measuring device was thrown nearby, and with that signal, Lee Hwan’s eyes flickered once strongly.
And simultaneously.
Bang-! Pa-ba-ba-bak!
The object flattened under pressure, then sprang out and bounced in all directions after hitting the corner of the designated space. Amid all this, Lee Hwan instinctively surrounded himself with a shield, avoiding even the slightest contact with it.
‘This…’
Lee Hwan, who had used the skill, opened his eyes wide. This wasn’t simple gravity. It seemed like it had oddly combined with his original Spatial Control ability to create something like a trap.
‘A skill I’ve never used before…’
Somehow, he used it as if it were second nature. Amazed, Lee Hwan examined his two hands alternately.
There was a commotion among those watching beyond the safety barrier. After a brief conversation among themselves, the questions came back to Lee Hwan.
“Can you also apply a force of 0.4 tons… or more to the entire space?”
“Yes, though it might strain my body a bit.”
“Then let’s test that part separately later. Are there any other applications?”
“I think I can freely adjust the shape of the space or apply restrictions to the designated area.”
“…Please demonstrate as much as possible.”
The expectant gaze was quite burdensome. How was he supposed to demonstrate this? As Lee Hwan was contemplating, Taesung, who had been quietly observing, arbitrarily left his seat.
‘Good timing. Yeah, throw something.’
After exchanging glances with him a few times, Lee Hwan reduced the designated space slightly and applied restrictions.
‘From now on… objects charging at speeds over 30 kilometers per hour will slow down infinitely within the space.’
Swoosh!
With a sound of cutting through the air, something flew in at high speed, as if reading Lee Hwan’s thoughts. The fist-sized object passed through the space in an instant, gradually losing speed and falling diagonally to the floor.
Crash!
What fell to the floor with a shattering sound was a mobile phone with corners cracked from the impact. Judging by the pinkish screen that was trembling, it seemed unfit for continued use.
‘A phone?’
When he turned his head with a look that asked what this was about, behind Taesung’s smiling face appeared a familiar face.
It was Jade, the sunglasses-wearing man from the previous day who had drunk coffee at Lee Hwan’s house, his jaw tightened from clenching his teeth slightly, apparently upset about something.
He was clenching and unclenching his left hand a couple of times before holding his forehead.
‘Don’t tell me that bastard threw someone else’s phone…?’
While Lee Hwan, having deactivated his ability, picked up the phone and waved it as if asking whose it was, the observing researchers were busily inputting something.
“Is Spatial Control like a defensive barrier?”
In response to the question thrown again, Lee Hwan tossed the phone he had been waving behind him. Something palm-sized landed softly on the rigid space he had designated in the air.
“Anything is possible. The designated space is under my control.”
Although he couldn’t use it as a stepping stone, he could fix light objects like this in mid-air, making it perfect for showing off.
“Theoretically, it seems you could use it like telekinesis.”
“That’s possible.”
“It seems to be a higher-level concept.”
He didn’t bother to mention that, if he were willing to endure near-death aftereffects, he could even indiscriminately block or kill groups of living creatures with just spatial restrictions.
Who wouldn’t be wary of an intangible ability that could send someone to their grave without a trace?
Afterward, Lee Hwan could only leave after undergoing several more tests and physical examinations. Now, the officials were in the process of meticulously matching the ability Lee Hwan had reported with the test results.
So what remained was waiting for the notification that would arrive with his Hunter rank. Lee Hwan leaned deeply against the passenger seat backrest and let out a languid sigh.
Typically, Hunter ranks followed the Awakened person’s ability grade. There were occasional exceptions, but those were usually cases where the ability was of little help in combat, production, or research, making it ambiguous to assign a high rank.
Defense, recovery, and strength were enhanced according to ability grade, though the degree varied from person to person, so Lee Hwan was only regretful about his own limitations and had no particular complaints about his Hunter rank.
But this time, he felt a little hopeful. With his newly awakened ability, he had shown power comparable to a fairly veteran supporter. With 1-2 years of ample training, he could reach a level unapproachable even with his previous ability.
The Administration Bureau, which had seen enough Awakened people, would know this better.
“Has the bleeding stopped?”
Taesung, who was waiting for the signal, asked with a concerned expression. Lee Hwan replied with a “Maybe” without even removing the cotton stuffed in his nose.
Before leaving the examination site, his nose had finally started bleeding. A tangy taste also rose from the back of his throat. While Lee Hwan tried to act fine by suppressing his dizziness, smiling with a face painted in blood wasn’t a good choice.
Seemingly panicked, Taesung suddenly tried to block his face with his own sleeve, which Lee Hwan quickly pushed away. Blood stains don’t wash out easily, so what was he doing wearing expensive clothes?
Jade immediately brought a towel to cover his nose. Through the half-covered view by the towel, Lee Hwan could see Taesung’s bitter face. He tried to explain that he was worried about dirtying his clothes, but feeling drained, he just gave up. The sky seemed to be spinning belatedly.
He had plugged his nose late with a first aid kit brought by officials. After cleaning his face, Lee Hwan had returned to the car first to rest.
Through the car window, he could see Taesung and Jade talking about something. It was obvious they were talking about him, but neither of them even looked back at the car, which was quite cold of them.
And suddenly, another car door opened, and Jade got into the back seat.
“You should warn me before throwing. Do you think the data stored in there is just decoration?”
“There are hardly any saved phone numbers anyway. And I’ve memorized all of them.”
So on the way back, Jade was added to the back seat. Their argument was quite noisy. When Lee Hwan gestured as if asking why this person was coming along, Taesung glanced at the back seat and explained.
“This person is like a string-puller, monitoring my every move and reporting to someone.”
“You’re not speaking properly.”
“But if you’re caught by me without any means of communication, you don’t have to report about me.”
“…”
Lee Hwan furrowed his brow even more at the confusing scene unfolding beside him. It was surprising both that someone who seemed close to Taesung was a string-puller and that Taesung calmly mentioned this fact.
Moreover, the person who had been calling him “Young Master” in front of Lee Hwan had somehow started speaking informally.
What was this situation? When Lee Hwan raised an eyebrow, Taesung glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror and spoke to Lee Hwan again.
“Sorry. I should have introduced him first. I called him a string-puller, but he’s been with me since right after my Awakening as both protection and surveillance. He’s a trustworthy person.”
As Lee Hwan had initially felt, he didn’t seem to be someone who would harm Taesung. However, judging from Jade’s expression, which seemed to feel a sense of dissonance whenever Taesung spoke, he apparently didn’t know about what had happened seven years later.
‘He hasn’t told him yet?’
Well, it hadn’t been that many days since the regression. And he didn’t look leisurely enough to explain everything in detail.
To bring up their story, he couldn’t avoid mentioning the monster wave, which was the previous stage and the reason for the regression. Being someone who couldn’t even sleep at night, he might not have been able to talk about it.
Suddenly curious about how much Jade should know, Lee Hwan gazed steadily at Taesung, who was driving.
‘Should I indirectly ask about the destruction?’
Then Taesung would catch on and tell him as much as was appropriate. Since he didn’t know Jade well, it was better to leave such judgments to Taesung.
However, just before opening his mouth, there was a fragment of memory that flashed through his mind like a lightning bolt. Lee Hwan hesitated, feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu.
“…Causality.”
A disturbingly familiar word that he couldn’t even understand the meaning of suddenly blocked his mouth. As Lee Hwan frowned at the memory that seemed about to surface and looked at Taesung, for a moment, something like resignation flashed across his face and disappeared.
