Chapter 284. Clouds of War (1)Yoo Yeonha and I arrived in North Pyeongan Province. Back when I was still in Cube, North Pyeongan Province was still an abandoned land due to the number of monsters in the area and its arid land. Another reason was that it was close to Manchuria, which was filled with barbaric Djinns.
“…A lot has changed, huh.”
But now, North Pyeongan Province was completely different from before. It was as if I was on a completely different part of Earth. Although buildings weren"t built tall due to potential monster attacks, magic engineering techniques had turned the place into a high-tech city.
AI machines ran around the streets, and I could see soldiers carrying "magic lasers" rather than guns.
“You told me to invest in abandoned land, so that"s what I did. Immigrants will flock here soon.”
Yoo Yeonha spoke curtly.
“Oh, yeah… I did say that, huh.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. I did text her about a few business ideas, but I never expected the proud Yoo Yeonha to go through with it. Maybe this was thanks to my luck too.
“I guess there are a lot of foreigners.”
Most of the people walking about were foreigners. People from all over the world had gathered here, perhaps because their home country was too dangerous or because they simply admired Korea.
“100% of the land here belongs to me. It"s not just North Pyeongan Province. North Hamgyeong Province, Chagang Province, and Yanggang Province, which were all abandoned during Outcall, were reclaimed by Essence of the Strait.”
“Oh? Good job.”
“North Hamgyeong Province and North Pyeongan Province went through the biggest change. In addition to residential buildings, they now even have schools, academies, Hunter"s a.s.sociations, among others. They still can"t be compared to Seoul, but about 2 million immigrants live there now. As you can see, we"re doing our best to contribute to society.”
“…Yeah, that"s great.”
I walked as I listened to Yoo Yeonha"s self-praise. Walking past immigrants who were speaking Korean, we arrived in front of a hospital surrounded by a magic barrier.
A nurse was waiting for us led us inside. We followed her past an empty hallway into an elevator.
Yoo Yeonha pressed bas.e.m.e.nt 6F.
With a ding, the elevator door opened.
“…Are we in the 70s?”
The 6th bas.e.m.e.nt floor of the hospital was built like a residential area. It almost looked like we traveled back in time through the elevator, as houses were built in traditional style with old TVs and even rotary phones.
Seeing that I was confused, Yoo Yeonha explained.
“They built it like this on purpose so that Nine Stars Oh Jaejin-nim doesn"t go berserk. He was living in hiding in an old village on Jeju Island. This floor is a replica of the village.”
“…I see.”
I imagined the damage a 10-star magician could cause. It was undoubtedly best to eliminate anything that could provoke him.
“Follow me.”
We entered a large house. Yoo Yeonha took off her shoes and stood in front of the sliding door of the house"s main room. I followed after her.
Tok, tok—
Yoo Yeonha knocked, and a reply immediately sounded.
—Come in.
The aged voice was that of a woman"s.
“Excuse us.”
I walked into the room with Yoo Yeonha.
The warm, rural look of the room reminded me of my grandparents" house. Inside, a husband and wife pair were looking at us.
“…h.e.l.lo, I"m Yoo Yeonha. This person is Kim Hajin.”
“h.e.l.lo.”
We both bowed. The old couple greeted us with smiles.
“Nice to meet you both. My name is Yi Yoon-Ok. Dear, you should say hi too.”
“…I"m Oh Jaejin.”
Oh Jaejin replied briefly.
He seemed cold and sharp and was exactly what I imagined a magician would look like with his long beard and long hair.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Since I don"t have much time, let"s cut to the chase. I hear you have a way of curing my side-effect?”
Oh Jaejin went straight to the point.
“Yes, it"s possible.”
Hearing my confident reply, Yi Yoon-Ok"s face brightened. But Oh Jaejin didn"t say anything. He stared at me and blinked a few times. Then, he turned to his wife.
He spoke, “…Mom, I"m hungry~”
“Ah… there he goes again. Don"t worry, just tell me and I"ll relay the information to him later.”
“I"m hungry~ I"m hungry~ I"m hungry~!”
The old Gandalf began to throw a tantrum.
“I"m hungreeeeeey~!”
I was a bit caught off guard, but I didn"t panic and took out the ingredients I brought along with a mortar.
“Shamrock plant, Otoren, pure light plant, essence of emerald, and Minotaur"s horn. They"re all medicinal ingredients from the Tower of Wish.”
“I"ll eat them!”
Oh Jaejin quickly tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the ingredients away, but I put them in a mortar before he could get his hands on them.
With my astonishing dexterity and Stigma"s magic power, I crushed the ingredients and forged them into a pill. Yi Yoon-Ok, Yoo Yeonha, and Oh Jaejin all observed my G.o.dly pill-making skills in a daze.
Soon, a total of five pills came out.
[Miracle Pill]
The pills came with various effects, but I erased most of them with "Setting Intervention" and added "Dementia Side-effect Reversal" as their only effect.
Each pill took 70SP to make, and the ingredients cost 100,000TP altogether.
350SP and 100,000TP were not cheap, but it wasn"t expensive if I could win over Oh Jaejin.
“These pills with cure Nine Stars Oh Jaejin-nim"s side-effect.”
Yi Yoon-Ok looked at the pills in my hand with a shocked look.
“But I would like you to promise me something.”
One pill every two weeks.
“Once he is cured, he has to help humanity.”
When I handed the pills to Yi Yoon-Ok, she nodded firmly.
“Of course, even if I stop him, he will want to do so more than anyone else. My husband is the most heroic Hero I know.”
Unsurprisingly, Yi Yoon-Ok had great trust in her husband.
**
Yoo Yeonha spoke as soon as we left the hospital.
“…That went better than I expected.”
“Yeah.”
We didn"t need to convince them much.
In a way, it was to be expected. The Nine Stars were Heroes chosen by the people based on their strength and character.
The only thing stopping them from helping humanity was the side-effect of their abilities. As long as that problem was settled, most of the Nine Stars should be happy to help.
“…By the way, do you know about this?”
It seemed Yoo Yeonha still had more to say.
“This is top-secret info, but I hear Black Lotus helped the Hero a.s.sociation with their Orden Mission.”
Black Lotus. The words made me flinch every time I heard it, but I nodded leisurely.
“That"s interesting.”
“Right, so… are you not going to partic.i.p.ate?”
“Me? I care about my life. What if Black Lotus kills me?”
“Pft… Right, you did kill Black Lotus in the Tower. I guess you brought it upon yourself then.”
Oblivious to the truth, Yoo Yeonha giggled.
“Now that I think about it, you really are amazing.”
“…Thanks. And by the way…”
Thinking that the conversation would become harder to navigate, I quickly changed the topic.
“What are you up to these days?”
“Busy as always. Even busier, actually.”
“Why?”
“You know, with the demon towns and demon merchants that suddenly appeared… I have to think of ways to get DP.”
“What are you going to do with DP?”
This was an important question. I wasn"t sure how to use the 1.8 million DP I got through the lottery. I was sure Yoo Yeonha would give me a good idea.
“A lot. Buying artifacts from other dimensions are one, but what"s even more important is DP being an instant currency. If you want a building, you can buy it. If you want gold, you can buy it. If you want a weapon, you can buy it. You can build an entire city in 3 seconds if you have enough DP.”
“Mm, I see.”
“DP can become anything, making it revolutionary. We will no longer have to wait for a project to finish or for research to be over.”
“Aha….”
I nodded and took out the [Anything Checkbook].
===
[Anything Checkbook] [8-star] ＊Effective Good＊
—A checkbook that can pay out anything. The receiver of this check must also carry out what he was paid for.
===
I wrote down 1 million DP and gave the check to Yoo Yeonha who was staring at me weirdly.
“…What"s this?”
“1 million DP.”
“…Come again?”
Yoo Yeonha took the check with a bewildered look.
“You"ll have a million won when everyone else has a thousand. You should be able to control the market with this, right?”
“Um, what is this again?”
“It"s a check for DP. Just tear it, and you"ll get 1 million DP.”
“What are you talking about….”
Yoo Yeonha grumbled as she tore the check in half. My DP fell into her hands immediately as I was left with only 800,000 DP.
“…?!”
Yoo Yeonha"s eyes popped out about 2 meters into the air. She looked even more surprised than when she found out that I was alive.
“W-What"s this?”
I grinned seeing the fl.u.s.tered Yoo Yeonha.
“1 million DP. I"m investing it, not giving it away for free, so use it to drive the market. You can do whatever you want with it, but half of what you achieve is going to be mine, okay?”
“Well, that"s obvious, but how did you make a million DP? Hunting demonic beasts shouldn"t be enough to….”
"No, wait, am I dreaming?" Yoo Yeonha shook her head and slapped her cheeks. She snapped out only after her cheeks turned red.
“Wow… hehe, hehehe.”
Yoo Yeonha smiled brightly after realizing she wasn"t dreaming.
It was an ambitionist"s smile stemming from pure bliss of being able to get ahead of her compet.i.tors.
**
…On the other hand, a meeting was underway within the Hero a.s.sociation. In truth, it was more of a debate than a meeting. Only three people were present as well.
“I hear Heynckes has returned.”
The current chairman of the Hero a.s.sociation, Yi Yookho, spoke. His bald head shined brightly under the room"s light.
“What do you think? Chae Joochul and Heynckes should be able to kill Orden if they work together.”
The man who responded was the former president of Korea, Kim Sukho.
“It"s not impossible, but I don"t think Chae Joochul would be willing to take any loss….”
“With Black Lotus and Kim Suho, it should be easier.”
Black Lotus.
Kim Sukho flinched when he heard Yi Yookho mention this name.
He had even hired Mountain Sage to a.s.sa.s.sinate him, but Black Lotus survived, while he lost contact with them. It was clear what that entailed.
As such, Kim Sukho wasn"t fond of Black Lotus.
At that moment, the third member of the meeting spoke up.
“But Black Lotus is too expensive. Accepting the price they put out would put the a.s.sociation in a deep hole.” The third member brought up a financial concern. “They"re skilled, yes, but they"re also too expensive. Those dogs don"t know what they"re worth.”
Yi Yookho retorted, “It"s better than losing to Orden. Didn"t you see the decree that arrogant fool sent? Plus, feeding your hunting dog isn"t a waste. The tougher it is, the more you have to feed.”
This week, Orden had threatened the Hero a.s.sociation and various countries with an official decree. He said he would declare war if his decree was not released to the public.
The third member nodded in response to Yi Yookho, “…Then I guess we have no choice.”
Kim Sukho stared at the third member with a look of expectation.
If each of them had 33% of authority over the a.s.sociation, the final 1% likely belonged to the third member as not only did he possess authority but also "strength".
“We"ll just have to put down the dog after the hunt is over.”
Kim Sukho liked what he was hearing.
**
Next day.
I returned to Pandemonium and put on my Black Lotus Uniform. It was confirmed that the Chameleon Troupe would partic.i.p.ate in the Orden a.s.sa.s.sination Mission.
“Are you ready?” Boss asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“Oh~ Black really does look good on you.” Cheok Jungyeong commented from the side.
I shrugged and asked, “What happened to the a.s.sa.s.sins? Did you find out who was behind them?”
“No, they wouldn"t spit it out no matter what we did.”
“Mm… well, that"s to be expected from Mountain Sage. What about Jin Sahyuk?”
“She"s still imprisoned. She"s a tough one too. We sent Droon to her expecting her to get a bit scared, but she got even feistier.”
Droon"s Mimyo had multiple abilities. One of them was an illusion spell called "Illusory Death", which was specialized for torture. But it probably didn"t work on Jin Sahyuk.
“She even withstood the Banshee"s Curse, so it"ll be hard to crack her.”
If anything, her endurance was top-notch. Anything less than the Banshee"s Curse probably wouldn"t leave a dent in her mental strength.
“Mm, I see… Oi, you guys, get over here!” Cheok Jungyeong suddenly shouted.
Then, the slow-moving members of the Chameleon Troupe quickly arrived.
“Geez, stop being so loud. It"s unsightly.” Setryn muttered. “You don"t need to roar for us to hear you either.”
Following her, Khalifa, Jin Yohan, Droon, Jain, and Kaita (who managed to not die) arrived. Eight of us, including me and Boss, would partic.i.p.ate in today"s mission.
“Quiet. Now that everyone"s here, open the portal, Khalifa.”
Khalifa opened the portal at Boss" command.
An oval portal appeared in the air, and burning heat blew out from inside.
The moment we all stepped into the portal, an emergency sound rang out from my smart.w.a.tch.
—Emergency news. The Monster King, Orden, sent a video to news agencies all over the world along with a decree. He has threatened to declare war if the decree is not released to the public. As such, after careful consideration, the government has decided to release the decree…
**
Same time, immediately after members of the Chameleon Troupe left for Africa.
“…Huu, huu.”
Click—!
Jin Sahyuk barely managed to remove the magic power suppressors on her wrists. Her body was drenched in sweat as she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ehew….”
It was thanks to the two stats, Non.o.bservance and Distortion, she gained after the recent incident.
[Non.o.bservance] allowed her to ignore some of the magic power suppressors power, and [Distortion] strengthened the power of her Reality Manipulation.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, just you wait….”
Jin Sahyuk staggered up. Although she was trapped in the Chameleon Troupe"s jail cell for a long time, she had still heard about the changes that happened outside.
Demon Realm Transformation and demon merchants.
Things had progressed as Bell foretold, so the next situation would be the descent of Baal.
In other words, it wouldn"t be long until she could return to Akatrina.
“Huu, huu…”
After collecting her breath and recharging her magic power, Jin Sahyuk closed her eyes and transmitted her will.
—Bell, you son of a b.i.t.c.h, where are you?
Although she wasn"t too familiar with using Mental Transmission, her sheer talent gave her more than enough edge.
—Oh? You got released, Sahyuk~?
—Shut it. Where are you?
—I"m with Rumi in an underground fortress.
—Underground fortress?
Jin Sahyuk frowned. "What the h.e.l.l happened while I was imprisoned here?"
—It"s an advance base built in subterranean Africa. It"s to kill Orden. Kim Suho"s here too.
“What?”
"I missed out on so much fun!" Jin Sahyuk frowned.
—I"m heading over too.
—Mm? No, you can"t. Kim Suho will find out if you do. Plus, something urgent just happened.
—What.
—Orden wants to talk to the public.
"Talk to the public? The h.e.l.l does that mean?" Jin Sahyuk wanted to ask, but she wasn"t familiar with the Mental Transmission technique and got a headache. As such, she made a portal. Her first goal was to escape from this d.a.m.ned prison.
“…No.”
But thinking about it a second time, leaving this place seemed like a bad idea. Her relationship with the Chameleon Troupe would end if she left. Perhaps it was better to stay here for Kim Hajin…
At that moment, a lightbulb lit up in her head.
“Oh right.”
Jin Sahyuk materialized the "inventory" she made with Reality Manipulation and took out a card from it.
===
[Body Double] [6-star] ＊Effective Good＊
—Creates a puppet that looks and acts like you. (Ignition Keyword – "Actualize")
—The puppet will last for 150 days, and you can switch places with the puppet at any time.
===
“Actualize.”
The moment she muttered the ignition keyword, a puppet identical to Jin Sahyuk popped out. Jin Sahyuk put the magic power suppressors on the puppet and gave it a command.
“Act like me as much as possible. Go crazy.”
The puppet stared at Jin Sahyuk blankly before nodding.
“…Okay.”
“Good.”
With a satisfied smile, Jin Sahyuk went through the portal.