Chapter 80

Adam (1)

The next day, I took care of a few guild related issues in the car heading to the airport. In addition to the summary I received from Secretary Kim, I had a mountain of reports to read. Also, Danton’s data was delivered directly to me without passing through Secretary Kim, so I had to check them one by one.

After I finished reading the lengthy research report on the development of mass-produced artifacts, I wrote some feedback and sent it to the US partner. The following email that I checked was about how they planned to move the remaining payment from the sale of [Vital Flame]. When they sold less than 1 percent of the stocks, the profit was already billions of dollars. When all the flames that were mined last were disposed of, the settlement was enormous, and it was impossible to dispose of such a large amount of money in the shadows at once.

‘In the first place, the reason why I set up a joint venture also included a tunnel for the money to exist.’

Instead of transferring all of the funds in Korea, some were reinvested locally as development costs, and some were used as funds to recruit hunters through agencies. It was also used, in part, to purchase items that were not worth producing myself.

‘But there’s still a lot left.’

As I was writing a few emails like that, suddenly, the terminal’s hologram changed, and the phone connection sound rang.

“Nate?” Nate’s face filled the screen as I brought my hand to the hologram. He looked like he was about to cry.

“Jin-Wook!” he said in a hurried voice.

I could guess at the purpose of the phone call, so I said in a bold voice, “I’m a little busy right now.”

“So, I heard! You said you’re going aboard a plane! You said you were going abroad!” He babbled as if he would be in trouble if he missed this opportunity, “Take this off me before you go!” Nate pointed his finger at a small tattoo on the back of his neck.

I sighed lightly, “It’s impossible. I told you it’s a completely fused item.”

After stopping the Gwacheon break, I requested the ministry spirit for three out of ten items to be related to the keyword Sebrarian Empire. According to my request, the Spirit selected three items that I didn’t know existed.

“It’s an item you need.”

The crystalline item among the three was a kind of armor. After a brief thought, I gave it to Nate. It was indeed a useful item for both Nate and Hibiki, who had the summon and manipulative type skills, but Hibiki could wrap herself with her defensive spell and protect herself.

However, as soon as I brought the crystal near Nate’s neck, it flowed like water and left a tattoo-like pattern on his skin, according to the item’s instructions.

“Well, that’s that…why didn’t you explain it from the beginning! That ‘something like this’ is going to come out!” And, it wasn’t just the tattoo that appeared.

Nate is complaining, “He’s been following me all day! When I eat, when I sleep, when I train….” His face was all distorted, “No, at least it should go away when I poo!”

I sighed again with a small sigh, ‘From the result of the experiment, the performance is excellent. No, I should say it’s too good?’

As he saw my face, he spoke in a sulky manner, “You can be so easy-going because you can’t see it, Jin-wook!”

Actually, I could. The first time I tried to attach it and the tattoo was activated, Nate and I were surprised. The artifact, which settled on the skin, sucked up Nate’s Mana and rose above his head and shoulders like smoke. It materialized in the air and changed to a blue light shape similar to a human.

‘I thought I was looking at the genie of the magic lamp.’

Its lower half of the body became thinner as it went down, land the tail connected to Nate’s neck was like the Spirit of the lamp as I saw in a TV cartoon. The difference was that the whole body was made up of blue Mana. The appearance resembled a familiar, feminine body.

‘She looks exactly like the Ministry Spirit.’

But I didn’t think she had free will like the one I had met. Instead, it was more like the familiar automatic message to the hunters…a controlled cognition. The Spirit of the Artifact, which revealed itself like that, spoke telepathically and in a stiff tone that displayed no emotion:

– Confirmation of the completion of the attribution procedure. Initiating a close defense around the protected person.

The name of the item was:

[The 3rd Class Imperial Guard Program (Rank: SS.)]

– Item Description: A defense system developed for the safety of the third-class imperial family of the Sebrarian Empire. Fully imputed immediately upon initiation and automatically performs an ‘active defense procedure’ if a threat is detected to the protected body.

※ In order to ensure the safety of the subject of protection, the protective actions of the item may precede the risk recognition of the subject.

The Spirit, which appeared like that, did not disappear but continued to follow Nate, mainly because it was connected to him. Instead of blood and flesh, she was made up of his Mana, so of course, it was visible.

‘I can see it as well.’

The description of the item that the system message informed was too inessential, and it tended to explain its performance and use vaguely. If he had known in advance that it would be work that way, Nate would have refused.

“I read you the description of the item last time, didn’t I? It seems that the people of the royal family didn’t feel uncomfortable and found no issue even when ghosts like that followed them. So, wouldn’t it be okay if you got used to it?”

“I just can’t get used to it!”

I said while half-listening, “And, be careful. Don’t make a mess like last time. And train the Spirit well. If you don’t want to blow up another accommodation during training, that is.”

Even though the Spirit that manipulates the artifacts does not have free will, it could learn, like artificial intelligence. Thanks to this, the Spirit now has enough knowledge to distinguish between training situations and real threats.

It was fortunate for Nate.

“Well, that doesn’t happen as I wish!”

I changed the topic, “Oh, you have one thing to do while I’m out,” I asked Nate to mine more [Vital Flame], “I’ve spoken to Gate Keepers’ side. If you go alone, you’ll have trouble with traveling, so go with Hibiki.”

“That… That, I got it. But then, is there really no way to take this off?”

I spoke calmly to try and alleviate his sulk, “There is only one way to change the owner of a fully attributed item.”

Nate’s eyes flashed sparks of hope, “What is that?!”

I answered calmly, “The death of a former user.” I hung up on him, leaving him hanging presumably. I knew he felt defeated at the fact that he had to be with the blue lighted ghost until the moment of death. I checked some more mail through the hologram by changing the screen, and I could see the mail Hibiki had sent as well.

‘I didn’t ask her to report every day, but she’s hardworking.’

In the process of stopping the dungeon break, Hibiki seemed to have felt that her skills were far behind Nate and me. Since then, she has been concentrating even more on training.

‘Even though I explained that it is natural in the first place since Awakening’s timing was very far, and there was a gap in classes.’

I think she was in a hurry.

Since then, Hibiki had been accelerating the training on using her unique skill, [Multiple Cognition], the combination of magic skills, and the training for Mana activation. Also, she summarized the training contents and even reported to me without skipping a day via email.

But I hardly sent a reply. In the beginning, the feedback was needed because she was misdirected, but the flaws gradually disappeared, so she didn’t need any more guidance.

‘Oh, shall I talk to Hibiki as well?’

Uniquely for today, I replied to her mail with the order to roam around dungeons, so that [Vital Flame] could be found with Nate since I already had informed him. There would be no problem bringing out the flame without the knowledge of Gate Keepers hunters since there was Nate’s [Shadow Grave].

As I sent out the short reply…Ring! I got a reply in less than 10 seconds. The content was short.

‘Yes, understood.’

It was training time, but her response was fast. Maybe she had been training her [Multiple Cognition]. Like a computer multitasking, she divided her cognition into parts in her head, and she used some to train by moving the Mana in her body, and she used some to learn foreign languages such as Korean and English. Some were used to manipulate the terminal. In the process, the sensory organs and hands that were lacking were replaced by magic and psychokinesis.

“Guild Master, we have arrived.” At the words of the driver, I shook off my thoughts and headed out of the car. I was at the airport.

*

TIFER-2.

The overland route to the UNs Far East Trust Zone 2 was blocked, forcing people to use planes even if it was close.

“In a moment, our plane will land at the Fortress City Airport.”

Fortress City was the capital city located in the center of TIFER-2. A city built solely for military purposes. Unmanned bombers were seen mooring on the airport’s runway, which was used for military purposes as well. It was not surprising that North Korea was quickly ranked among the countries that completely collapsed after the Cataclysm. The North Korean government, which failed to respond to the collapsing dungeons and pouring monsters, eventually collapsed. Countries worldwide could not neglect North Korea, which would turn into a complete monster den if left alone. If the gates continued to collapse in a land without a government in control, the monster’s density would someday rise above the limit, and it would be evident that they would move across the border.

For neighboring countries, this would be a nightmare.

Thus, UN forces were stationed in a city once called Pyongyang, creating a vast military town and protecting survivors around the base border. The birth of trusteeship on the Korean Peninsula was only discussed a few decades ago but failed.

“Welcome! Where can I take you?” The taxi driver waiting in front of the airport was a man of Middle Eastern descent. I told him the hotel’s address as he spoke to me in English as if it was natural, “Okay! We’ll be heading there now.”

Fortress City’s interior was clean and tidy, and the city’s structure was not much different from what would be expected. But if one was to look a little deeper, the difference was noticeable. First, all the signs and posts were in English. More than half of the population wear military uniforms, and more military vehicles were seen than ordinary vehicles. Counting for more than half of the population, those walking on the side of the road were non-Oriental. It was a unique sight considering that it was only 200 kilometers away from Seoul.

“We’ve arrived!” He glanced at my face as I paid the bill, and the driver tilted his head, “Huh? By the way, passenger, I think I’ve seen you somewhere before. Are you a movie star?”

I ignored the question and headed to the hotel entrance, where the front staff had thoroughly prepared to welcome me.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this. Guild Master!”

For a while, the lobby became rowdy, as all of them, including the hotel manager, came out to greet me. I had become quite famous because of my performance in Gwacheon Break and the inauguration process of the Guild Master, which happened as quickly as lightning. So, for some time, when my name was mentioned, a lot in the media and the government took advantage of that momentum to promote me worldwide. I could have mentioned in advance that I didn’t want the fuss so that this annoying thing would not happen, but I silently checked in and moved to the room.

The next day, I spent almost all of my time in the hotel except for a short tea with the government’s United Nations Commanding General. Instead of staying in the room, I deliberately came down to the restaurant to solve my three meals of the day, which only drew people’s attention.

After such a productive day, I turned on the TV, and as I turned to the Korean channel, the long-awaited breaking news was coming out.

– Breaking news. S-Rank Hunter, Kim Ji-Hoon of the Grand Croix Guild is missing!

He was the one who had his legs cut off while he was trying to attempt some funny business on my hunter promotion review. After that, Grand Croix managed to get their hands on an Elixir and regenerated his legs, and today was Kim Ji-Hoon’s first return to the dungeon exploration after his injury. His whereabouts were identified until that morning, but the report explained that he suddenly evaporated while moving to the dungeon.

On the road’s shoulder, the car that had lost its owner was parked neatly, and the surrounding CCTV was blacked out.

‘That’s been cleaned up.’

The only person that could touch an S-Rank Hunter was one of the same class or higher. But as I was now in the trusteeship region, I had made numerous witnesses and alibis. Considering that there was an incident during the promotion review and Kim Ji-Hoon openly discussed revenge on me, I couldn’t avoid the suspicious eyes on me, but they would not find any evidence.

‘Well, shall I get out of here?’

After the deep darkness has set in, I hid with [Stealth] skill, spread out my [Stardust Wing], sneaked out of the hotel, and flew into the sky. The location of Adam Abrams, which the system had informed me, was a mountainous area equivalent to Yanggang-do in the old administrative district of North Korea.

As I was flying for a long time, I saw a trace of a figure down on the ground without being seen.

‘Adam Abrams!’

I took out the item before approaching further. Another among the ten artifacts obtained by making deals with the ministry spirit.

[Hermit’s Gray Cape (Rank: SS.)]

– Item description: A cloak that amplifies the effect of stealth and concealment skills. The functions subject to amplification include light distortion, blocking all physical waves such as sound and cognitive impairment, and amplified effect as one or two steps higher than the current skill grade.

I even mobilized the item with the [Stealth] of SS-rank, which was the highest level that skill that I could use. I put on the cape and injected Mana. I went down to the ground and chased Abrams, who was moving in the dark. Then I observed Mana wriggling in his heart. I measured the size of Mana in the opponent’s core. That alone would be proof that it’s not a human being – at least 200,000!

‘What the hell is he doing in a place like this?’

I walked quietly behind him as he stepped lightly in the wilderness as if he had come out for a walk at night.