The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

It was possible for someone you didn’t know to know about you. Especially if you yourself were famous.

Lukas was aware that he was quite famous. The legendary achievements that he’d made during his days as a human in the distant past were now recorded as tales of a hero that would be talked about for hundreds or thousands of years.

Even after becoming an Absolute.

Instead of fame, it was notoriety. Because he didn’t follow any Ruler, bad rumors about him were spread among the Absolutes. Although most of them knew him as ‘Madman’ instead of ‘Lukas Trowman’…

…However, this time was different.

This was because he hadn’t expected to hear his full name from someone from this world.

“Heh.”

Beside him, Pale had a strange look on her face. Then an amused smile appeared on her lips.

Lukas couldn’t help but feel unsure whenever he looked at her.

Whether Pale was really a fool, pretending to be a fool, or wanted to become a fool. Even after observing her for a long time, he didn’t have a clear answer to this question.

“Lukas Trowman, that’s-”

Hyup. Pale’s mouth closed. Of course, this wasn’t done of her own volition. Lukas was the one that closed her mouth.

Pale’s eyes turned to Lukas, and he could feel her pointed teeth on his hand. He could feel her asking ‘what are you doing?’ with her eyes. If he answered incorrectly, there was a chance that she would bite his hand. Since this was Pale, it was probably not a joke.

Lukas just shook his head. He wasn’t sure if this alone would be enough, but that was what he chose to do first.

“…”

Pale looked at Lukas with calm eyes.

Then, Lukas hurriedly pulled his hand away as he suddenly felt something touch it.

“You, what are you doing…”

Pale poked out her tongue slightly and licked her lips. It was the same tongue that had just licked Lukas’ palm.

“Delicious. As I expected.”

“…”

Lukas looked away from Pale. No matter what, he always had a headache when dealing with her.

He forcibly returned his attention to the person in front of them.

“Do you know him?”

Jiudad asked. Pale and Lukas’ attitudes made it seem like they were hiding something. Only a fool wouldn’t be able to notice.

‘I’m Lukas Trowman.’

…Wouldn’t be that hard to say.

But Lukas had a feeling that he should hide this fact until he understood the situation.

‘This man knows [Lukas Trowman].’

However, ironically, he didn’t believe that the Lukas before him was actually ‘Lukas’.

That was the attitude he was currently displaying.

He didn’t think he was him but instead wondered if he knew him.

Lukas shook his head.

“We don’t.”

“You don’t?”

“Right. We don’t know him.”

“…hmm.”

He blatantly denied the subject that he had just stopped Pale from mentioning.

Depending on how one looked at it, it could be taken as them taking him for a fool, but Jiudad didn’t press any further.

After all, this man had an idea of Lukas or Pale’s strength.

How? Was his insight that amazing? Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. While Jiudad’s power could be considered admirable when compared to other humans, it was far from enough to get any kind of understanding of their power.

“Do I look like Lukas?”

“…not exactly. If I look closely, I can see the differences. But something about you is similar.”

Lukas couldn’t help but have a strange feeling at that remark.

Because, from Jiudad’s tone, it seemed that he’d met Lukas before.

“I’m curious about that Lukas person.”

This time, it was Jiudad’s expression that became strange.

‘…were you stuck on some kind of mountain and are only now entering society?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because if you have even the slightest bit of interest in what’s going on around the world, then there is no way for you to not know about him. It’s a face you could see just by turning on the TV at any time.”

Lukas’ expression became several times more strange than Jiudad’s.

You could see him by turning on the TV at any time?

What was going on?

He had a strange feeling.

“Anyways, that’s not important right now.”

Jiudad’s voice awoke him from his thoughts.

“I will be honest. I saw you destroy half of the demon army.”

Lukas’ attention returned to him once again. He wasn’t that surprised by Jiudad’s words. Because he had expected that to be the case.

“So? I don’t think you called us here to reward us.”

“…”

“Luanoble.”

Lukas mentioned the name of the country.

“Although it was given the grand title of Country of Knights, the group I met after coming here would better be described as ruffians.”

Jiudad’s expression changed.

“They used violence against a civilian. And from the casual way it was done, it was clearly not the first or second time. They seemed to have mistaken themselves for Knights, and this is an illusion that was instilled by this country.”

Lukas’ voice became cold.

“I do not have a good impression of you or this country.”

A heavy silence fell. Pale looked around the hall with a disinterested expression.

She was probably looking for something to eat. Although she was moving around the throne room as she pleased, neither Lukas nor Jiudad did anything to stop her.

After a while, Jiudad spoke in a heavy tone.

“Are you from our universe?”

“…”

“I’m asking because you seem to be very familiar with the situation of Luanoble. It’s fine if you don’t want to answer. And to answer your question, yes. We were once corrupted.”

“Once, you say?”

“That’s right. Although we’ve become corrupt again, perhaps even more than before… the winds of change definitely had blown across our country. After a massive and unprecedented purge, we were able to regain our pride in the title Country of Knights. It was an incredibly valuable victory that was earned through the sweat and blood of the entire nation.”

“…”

“However, right after the Great Fusion, everything changed for the worse. Do you remember the man who was beside me?”

Of course he remembered. The middle aged man’s aura was noticeably different compared to the others.

“Advisor Song.”

“That’s right. He is my… watchman.”

A look of indescribable humiliation was obvious on Jiudad’s face.

“And the being behind that man…”

He didn’t speak further, but Lukas could see the fear he held. This confused him.

He wondered what kind of being could make such a talented man feel fear just by thinking about him.

“…I know how powerful you all are. Since you were capable of annihilating half of the demon army, you must possess tremendous power. But for the being who controls Luanoble, it wouldn’t be difficult to wipe out the entire army.”

“…”

“You two might have been incredibly powerful in your world, but he is on a different level.” (TL: Yes, far lower)

“Who is [he]?”

“Although he has many titles…”

Jiudad suddenly looked up at the ceiling and let out a chuckle.

“He seems to prefer being called the Heavenly Demon.” (TL: What is a KR action/fantasy without ‘cheonma’.)

* * *

Most of the beings in the World of Void missed the outside universe, and the Three Thousand Worlds. This was because they recognised the fact that they had been abandoned. It was a sorrow that they felt on an existential level.

However, it would be wrong to call it missing.

After all, they hadn’t actually belonged to the outside world in the first place.

It was only after a being was born in the Three Thousand World that they could begin to exist in the World of Void.

They simply received an infusion of memory, knowledge and personality.

They were born fake, and that’s why they yearned for the outside.

If the opportunity arose, and if they had the ability to, they would leave the World of Void without hesitation.

But not Yang In-hyun.

Even though he was an outsider from the Three Thousand worlds, he didn’t have any nostalgia or lingering feelings for it. In fact, simply thinking about it was enough to make him grind his teeth.

Yang In-hyun was one of the few beings that had gone to the World of Void of their own volition.

‘…’

He hadn’t wanted to return.

Even the feeling of the air against his skin was unpleasant, as if disgusting insects were crawling all over him.

This feeling became more and more intense the deeper he got into the city.

At some point, Yang In-hyun found himself in front of a tall building. He immediately realised.

The fact that this was the tallest building in Luanoble.

“You, what are you doing?”

“Get out of here.”

Then he realised the existence of people in front of it.

Yang In-hyun turned his attention to the men standing in front of the door.

They were dressed in suits.

Although they had concealed their weapons and aura, it was clear to him that they were actually martial artists.

“Are you deaf? I said, get out of here.”

“You should leave while we’re still talking nicely.”

As Yang In-hyun continued to stand there without moving, the atmosphere became more and more harsh. After he didn’t budge despite their threats, a particularly large man stepped forward with a sigh.

“Seriously. There’s always people like you who can’t understand things when they are said nicely.”

“Don’t kill him. It’s still the middle of the day. If you cause too much of a commotion… you know, right?”

“Hmph. I know.”

The giant man trudged forward. Even up to then, Yang In-hyun didn’t move. Then, he slowly lifted his head to look at the man.

“Are you a monk?”

“What?”

“No, you didn’t shave your hair, that is natural hair loss. Sorry I was mistaken.”

“…”

The giant’s face turned red and his expression became twisted like a demon before it soon became calm once more.

“…those who talk too much don’t live long. That’s why you will die today.”

Then he stretched out his hand. His thick palm was filled with strong internal energy and dense killing intent. Although it seemed to be moving slowly, his opponent would find it hard to move because of the pressure from his internal energy.

But his hand dropped before it could even reach Yang In-hyun.

“…!”

The look in the man’s eyes changed. In an instant, the relaxed attitude that he’d shown so far disappeared and his movements and expression became filled with sharpness.

“Magnificent. You should be First Class.”

There was no answer.

Instead, he lowered his right wrist which had been broken without a sound before stretching out his left hand.

“Heaven Shaking Iron Palm震天鐵掌…”

Muttering softly, Yang In-hyun raised his own palm.

And took a stance similar to the giant.

‘This guy…’

There was a flash of surprise in the man’s eyes.

Yang In-hyun stretched out his hand.

Boom!

As soon as the outstretched palms collided, there was an explosive sound. Then, the giant was sent flying, splattering blood.

The martial artists, who had noticed the unusual atmosphere and gotten into formation, were unable to resist the shock and were smashed against the wall.

The giant died instantly while the rest simply fell unconscious.

Calmly, Yang In-hyun stepped into the building.

It was dark. Although it was still the middle of the day outside, no light could be seen in the building.

“Did you come here because you wanted to die?”

At that moment, he heard a voice.

Stopping, Yang In-hyun spoke into the darkness.

“Where is this?”

“…did you make a fuss without even knowing that?”

The voice spoke in disbelief.

“It doesn’t matter where this is. None of this matters.”

Yang In-hyun mumbled to himself before asking.

“Do you want to know what really matters?”

“Wha-, kuk.”

Splatter-

From the darkness came a sound similar to pieces of meat falling to the ground. Yang In-hyun had already assessed the situation. About ten people had been slaughtered in the same instant, but there wasn’t even a drop of blood on his sword.

Yang In-hyun continued to walk as if nothing happened before turning to glance behind him.

[…kiiiing.]

Metel shook like a leaf as she looked at this scene.

Ignoring the frightened spirit, Yang In-hyun continued to move deeper into the building.