Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 257

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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257
Ji-seok gazed down at the ground where the race had begun, feeling the fervent energy of the gathered masses.
“Huh? I can actually feel it?”
Sensing that heat wasn’t mere expression or delusion. I could genuinely detect the thermal energy rising from the ground and perceive the flow of people’s willpower.
I paused to contemplate the reason. There was no threat to life, so why had I suddenly gained the ability to sense willpower?
“Ah. That’s it. My other body went to the outer dimensions and came back, sharing information with me, and it seems that broke through my ability’s limitations.”
It was an exchange of pure information—neither life force, nor mana, nor spirit body—yet it resonated with the exchange of willpower itself.
“Once you do something once, you master it completely. In some ways, you’ve already surpassed me.”
As I listened to Gaia’s words, I looked down at the ground. The willpower of Earth’s inhabitants was being drawn into the magic circle, and that energy was accumulating at the research facility.
* * *
Benjamin and Jang Mi had introduced all several hundred participants. The later competitors were introduced by name only, yet the sheer number consumed considerable time.
“Well, we’ve now completed the introductions of many competitors!”
Benjamin, who had spoken without pause, wiped his sweat and took a drink of water.
“There are quite a lot of participants. It feels like watching a marathon.”
“Since combat isn’t the main focus and there are no restrictions on entry, we’ve attracted a large number of competitors.”
“But this race requires reaching the Moon and then Mars, doesn’t it? Will those competitors be capable of that?”
Traveling beyond Earth to the Moon and further to Mars was an arduous journey. Even S-rank Hunters would require enormous amounts of time, and ordinary participants couldn’t escape Earth’s gravity on their own.
“An excellent question! As I mentioned earlier, Director Park Jae-in’s device—the cheering booster—allows even me to fly to Mars. All that’s needed is your support. Your cheers become direct power transmitted to each competitor!”
It was the magical power of Jae-in and Bae Na-young.
Most of the gathered willpower would be used to create a spiritual defense barrier protecting Earth, but a portion would be converted and transmitted to the competitors.
“Now! Look at the screen!”
On the screen Benjamin displayed, the cheers were quantified and appeared as graphs floating above each competitor’s name.
“As you can see, your support becomes real power for the competitors. With the cheers of all humanity, they could reach not just Mars, but the Sun itself.”
“Truly remarkable. If we could use this power at the Gates as well….”
“Considering the technological progress over recent years, wouldn’t it become possible soon? Now, let the competition begin. We ask all viewers worldwide to count down together.”
“Ten! Nine!”
From English-speaking nations.
“Eight! Seven!”
From China.
“Six! Five!”
From Japan, dreaming of revival.
“Four!”
And from Korea, everyone shouted loudly together.
“Director! The willpower gauge is rising rapidly!”
“I can see it too!”
As all humanity united in a single countdown, tremendous willpower converged, and Jae-in and the researchers could barely contain their excitement.
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One!”
“Start!”
Simultaneously, hundreds of Hunters rushed forward.
“Run!”
“Go! Go!”
The Korean spectators had a direct view of the competitors departing from the World Tree, and their fervor burned the hottest.
Every Korean’s thoughts unified into cheers for Yang Sang-heon.
“Faster!”
“Run!”
The unified will was absorbed by the drone magic circles prepared in the sky. A mere fraction of that power—less than one percent—was converted and transmitted to Yang Sang-heon.
“Uaaahhh!!!”
Yang Sang-heon suddenly felt power surging through his body. The unexpected influx was like a forceful shove from behind, nearly sending him sprawling, but his exceptional reflexes allowed him to regain his balance.
“This is only one percent?! What a crazy bastard! He’s made something incredible again!”
Yang Sang-heon was one of the few who understood the true nature of this competition.
Thud!
“Whoa whoa whoa!!”
But suddenly, the power drained away.
Yang Sang-heon felt an ominous presence and turned to look behind him.
“Ah… Alex?!”
[And here comes Korea’s secret weapon! The Ice Dragon Alex enters the race!]
Benjamin introduced Alex.
[Can you see how all the cheers that were going to Yang Sang-heon at the start have now shifted entirely to Dragon Alex?!]
Just as Benjamin said, the top spot in the cheering counter had switched from Yang Sang-heon to Alex.
Boosted by the crowd’s support, Alex surged forward with power that belied his massive frame.
Though he started late, Alex broke the sound barrier in an instant and overtook the other competitors. The Hunters caught in Alex’s sonic boom tumbled across the ground.
“Korea wasn’t just me?!”
Yang Sang-heon regained his footing after being caught in the sonic boom and gave chase, but he couldn’t keep up with Alex, who was powered by the crowd’s roaring support, and the gap widened steadily.
Between second-place Yang Sang-heon and tenth place, the competitors jostled for position.
Boom!
“Come at me all of you!”
With a thunderous crash, Marbas detonated his demonic energy from the rear, sending dozens of competitors flying.
“Marbas! Interference is allowed, but he’s completely set up camp and is focused on hunting competitors!”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight~”
Amy seemed content to take her time with the race, completely ignoring the advancing Alex ahead. Instead, she threw herself into the chaos Marbas had created.
“Bring it on!”
The battle-crazed Marbas lit up with excitement as he faced Amy, and she transformed her body into electricity and charged at him.
One of Earth’s strongest and the Demon King clashed, their demonic energy and electricity creating a maelstrom that forced the other racers to keep their distance.
[The competitors need to strategize well!]
[That’s right. There’s no reason to fight the Demon King or Amy directly.]
“Get out of there! This is a race!”
“You can’t beat them! Turn back! Run!”
The competitors skirted around Marbas and Amy, racing toward the next Checkpoint.
[We’ve left Korea and are now racing through the heart of China! The Chinese Hunters are accelerating rapidly!]
[Come on! Come on!]
Rather than multiple slogans to rally their spirits, the Chinese people repeated only the simplest chant: “Come on!”
Hundreds of millions of Chinese voices cried out in unison, and the sound seemed to reach the heavens themselves.
[Now that we’re in their own territory, the cheers are growing even stronger. Alex has been caught up!]
[Ah! China, with the most competitors, splits into two teams! One team focuses on containing Yang Sang-heon and Alex, while the other team appears to be executing an offensive strategy!]
[Slowpoke! Turtle!]
Some were busy hurling insults at Sang-heon and Alex. Since the children couldn’t repeat anything too vulgar, the taunts that spread were somewhat endearing.
“Ugh…! What is this?!”
Both Alex and Sang-heon felt their entire bodies grow heavy, as if weighted down.
[Oh! Is this effect already taking hold?! Let me explain further! The power of cheers grants a boost to the competitors, but the power of jeers becomes a debuff that hinders them!]
On the broadcast screen’s graph, blue boosts and red debuffs were displayed separately above each competitor’s name.
[Beyond this, many other mechanisms are incorporated into this race! Please keep watching, and we ask for your continued support!]
“…Director, is this really okay?”
A researcher in the World Tree Research Institute’s Control Center asked upon seeing the debuff being applied to Alex and Sang-heon.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of will is gathered, as long as it’s unified. The type is irrelevant. Besides, this is how we maintain balance. Otherwise, one of Sang-heon, Alex, Marbas, or Amy would just win outright, wouldn’t they? The race only lasts if there’s no overwhelming first place.”
“I see….”
“Look. The numbers keep climbing.”
Jae-in gazed at the will gauge with satisfaction.
“Leave the detailed race management to the Producing Team! We just need to handle the magic control properly.”
This race was divided between the World Tree Research Institute’s Control Center, which gathered will from behind the scenes, and the Producing Team, which produced and broadcast the event.
The Producing Team was unaware of the true nature of this situation and simply chose which footage to air and which to cut for the sake of viewership ratings.
Sang-heon swung his sword while surrounded by Chinese Hunters, but those empowered by the will boost were formidable opponents.
“Damn it! Why is everyone coming at me?!”
“Roooaaarrr!!!”
Alex unleashed an ice breath at the Chinese Hunters swarming him. However, his aim wasn’t precise enough, and Sang-heon in the middle was caught in the blast’s range.
“Hey! Are you serious?!”
“That’s nothing to worry about, is it?”
Alex, now able to speak, shot back at Sang-heon’s complaint.
Alex was massive in size, but expecting teamwork from a Blue Dragon with the mental age of a two-year-old was unrealistic.
“Why are you two fighting?!”
“Alex! What are you doing?!”
In that moment, the hearts of the Korean people unified. It wasn’t cheers or jeers, but frustration—yet even that was drawn into the magic circle.
While Chinese Hunters bound Sang-heon and Alex’s feet, and Marbas and Amy were too preoccupied fighting each other, Mei-ling and the other elite Chinese Hunters surged forward, with Baldri from Luna City hot on their heels.
“If we lose again, we’ll have no face left!”
As she raced across the sky, transformed into a flame horse, every resident of Luna City rallied behind her with unified hearts and voices.
“Run! Run!”
“Baldri! Baldri!”
As the crowd cheered with one voice like people holding betting tickets at a racetrack, her speed accelerated further.
[She’s fast! So fast! Could it be the speed boost from each nation’s cheers?]
“That’s right. The cheering is getting more intense. The athletes have accelerated to several times their normal speed, so now the real test is whether they can adapt to this increased velocity and maintain it.”
Just as Jang Mi said, the accelerated athletes found their limbs unfamiliar in their own bodies, but they gradually adapted and pushed their speed even higher.
Many athletes had already passed through the Eastern Region checkpoint, but only Amy and Marbas remained near World Tree City.
“What are you doing over there?!”
“Are you joking?!”
The Americans’ fury rose, and their negative will transformed into a debuff that bore down upon Marbas.
“Kahahaha! You think this pittance can suppress me?! Mortals! Curse me! Curse the Demon King!”
Marbas reveled in the debuff crushing down upon him, transforming into electricity as he swung his lion-like claws at Amy circling around him.
“Amy! If you delay any further, headquarters won’t sit idle!”
The American Hunter assigned as both observer and aide shouted at Amy from a distance.
“Tch… how tedious.”
Amy dodged Marbas’s claws and leaped backward with a wide berth.
“Mar, we’ve got company~ Let’s continue this another time~”
Amy blew a kiss and bolted toward the next checkpoint like lightning. True to her title as the Empress of Thunder, she moved dozens of times faster than the other athletes.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Demonic wings erupted from Marbas’s back, towering high.
Marbas lowered his stance and extended his wings forward. Then, pushing the air aside and pulling his wings back with tremendous force, he launched himself forward like a missile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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