Chapter 23: Japan-bound (1)

The Patriotic Association.

Its official name was the Korean National Patriotic Association.

It was an organization that had continued its lineage from the Korean Empire era to the present, and was also a place full of people imbued with somewhat radical ideas like "protecting South Korea by any means necessary". Perhaps due to the nature of the organization, it was a massive group that included people with somewhat hardline tendencies such as retired soldiers, former National Intelligence Service agents, and hawkish politicians, as well as simply patriotic people.

Along with the Hongik (service to mankind) Patriotic Group, commonly called the Patriotic Group, to which Lee Yanghoon belonged, it was one of the two pillars supporting South Korea and was also the organization to which Park Jinseong's parents had belonged.

Truly a place with many passionate individuals.

There were many radicals in the Patriotic Association.

From the beginning, it was an organization created with the purpose of "restoring sovereignty through armed activities", and this organization, which originally had many radicals, had experienced a lot of national sorrow like the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. They couldn't help but be filled with bitterness to the point of poison.

Because of this, they not only disliked Japan but hated it to the point of loathing, and they were burning with desire to take revenge by any means if given the chance. In fact, before Jinseong's regression, they had succeeded in taking revenge quite spectacularly.

Before Jinseong's regression, when World War III broke out, there was an incident where they dispatched four ability users to Japan for revenge. One was Lee Serin who belonged to the Patriotic Group, one belonged to the government, and the other two belonged to the Patriotic Association.

Lee Serin single-handedly devastated Kyoto, and the government-affiliated ability user paralyzed the command system by assassinating key figures while moving around Tokyo as if it were their own home.

What did the Patriotic Association-affiliated ability users do?

One went to Hokkaido and one to Okinawa, creating and supporting anti-government organizations to cause civil war in Japan. Thanks to these two organizations that appeared calling for Ainu independence and the revival of the Ryukyu Kingdom respectively, Japan fell into shock and terror. And in the meantime, the United Korea continued to eat away at Japan's war potential by mobilizing troops.

Because of this, Japan continued to express hatred towards the Patriotic Association even after the war ended. They called the Patriotic Association the biggest obstacle to friendly Japan-Korea relations and often engaged in media play attacking and disparaging the Patriotic Association.

Since they took the bait, contact should be easy.

And this Patriotic Association was also the organization that could hinder Jinseong's activities the most. One might ask why an organization that works for and benefits the country would hinder Jinseong, but their radicalism could be poisonous for him.

A representative example was the loss of sorcery.

Before his regression, Jinseong didn't have a proper chance to examine Japanese sorcery.

This was because Japan-Korea relations were at their worst.

They were on such bad terms that not only was there no exchange with Japanese sorcerers, but even trade wasn't properly conducted, and after the war ended, everything was in chaos.

Kyoto and Tokyo, where most of the sorcery was stored, were devastated, the Japanese imperial palace disappeared without a trace due to the effects of grand sorcery, the royal family was completely annihilated, and Japanese right-wing extremists all died without being able to say anything about where they had hidden the Korean sorcery stolen during the Japanese colonial period.

The anti-government organizations calling for Ainu independence and the revival of the Ryukyu Kingdom?

The sorcerers who also acted as leaders all died miserably due to the brutal retaliation of the Japanese government.

What was left?

Nothing.

Even if one tried to find sorcery in Japan, everything had turned to ashes.

Naturally, Jinseong went around looking for ways to cross over to Japan to retrieve sorcery before Japan exploded. But illegal entry was impossible due to airtight blockades, and official entry was obviously out of the question. As an alternative, he tried to participate as a mercenary, but for some reason, he was rejected by both Korea and Japan.

That was why Jinseong wanted to contact the Patriotic Association.

He needed an opportunity to steal the sorcery before Japan exploded!

That was why after killing all the loan sharks, he deliberately wrote a lot of words that the Patriotic Association would like, and perhaps due to the heinous crime and peculiar letter content, the story naturally reached the Patriotic Association. If they hadn't reacted, he had been willing to hunt a few more times, so in a way, it was fortunate.

It's good to obtain gold, but having too much is worse than having too little.

Thanks to the guidance of the cursed object, he was able to make enormous profits, so money was not lacking.

Rather, it was more than enough to use until mercenary registration.

For the current Jinseong, what was more important than money was time.

Time that would let him bring as much sorcery as possible before Japan exploded.

I have a good feeling, the changed future could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Jinseong stared intently at Lee Arin.

"Since the placement was canceled, that period must be empty."

At that question, Lee Arin excitedly answered his words.

"They say it's being replaced with international exchange! We're going to get foreign experience. How about that, jealous? Jealous?"

"Foreign experience, huh."

This was it.

Jinseong realized that this was what his premonition had been talking about.

Lee Arin went on to explain.

That with the cancellation of placement, that entire period had become empty.

That because of this, they decided on having international exchanges with supernatural ability specialized high schools from other countries. Instead, there was a set T.O (Table of Organization) for each country, and selection was done by writing down 1st to 3rd choices and drawing lots.

Top students were exempt from this lottery and had the privilege of going wherever they wanted, and while Lee Serin was a top student and could go where she wanted, she unfortunately had to draw lots.

An explanation that was more shot out rather than spoken.

"Where do you want to get foreign experience?"

"Ah, China, obviously!"

"China, China, huh."

The current China wasn't such an attractive country for Jinseong.

Countries attractive to Jinseong were those with unique or developed sorceries, but China didn't fall into either of these categories.

Because they had rejected sorcery, calling it heterodox and heretical, it hadn't developed properly, and it was destroyed again during the Cultural Revolution as a remnant of the old era. There was some sorcery that somehow remained, but it was barely surviving, and even if records remained, detailed information wasn't recorded so it had to be restored through all sorts of trial and error.

Because of this, China committed all sorts of atrocities to fill the void of sorcery. With the thought that if they couldn't have their own, they might as well have others', they started stealing sorcery from other countries.

They dispatched spies to sorcery research facilities and sent grave robbers to ruins. And the sorcery obtained in this way went through a modification process to be packaged as their own.

It was a method that required massive casualties and astronomical amounts of money.

But this terribly inefficient method of grinding people and money seemed to have some effect, as they were able to achieve results in a short time.

China raised tensions by showing off the war sorcery they had created to their neighbors, and after World War III broke out, they led with powerful sorcery created for military use and occupied neighboring countries with unstoppable momentum.

This military sorcery of China was sufficiently interesting to Jinseong with its uniqueness, convenience, and power combined from the sorcery of various countries. However, the current China would not have developed military sorcery yet.

Since I started clashing with Chinese people in ruins after 3 years of mercenary life, they probably only have an outline, let alone developed sorcery.

But for Lee Arin, it would be quite an attractive country.

Unlike sorcery which had almost been buried, martial arts had developed properly. Martial arts were also targeted during the Cultural Revolution, but powerful martial artists protected it with their lives, allowing these brilliant heritages to avoid the future of becoming kindling.

Because of this, China was currently in the undisputed top position when it came to martial arts.

"China is my first choice! Russia is second! Japan is third!"

All were countries strong in martial arts.

Third choice, Japan?

Lee Arin's face was slightly flushed as if she was happy just from imagining it.

Jinseong turned his head to look at Lee Serin.

"What about you?"

"Ah, me? Me... Um..."

Lee Serin opened her mouth, glancing at him.

"I don't... care where..."

Anywhere is fine.

At those words, Jinseong smiled.

"Really? Then how about Japan?"

"Japan?"

"Yes, Japan."

He whispered to Serin.

"I have good information. You won't regret it if you go."

"G-good information..."

And hearing those words, Lee Arin put her face close to them and said.

"If you know something like that, you should tell me too, it's mean to keep it between just the two of you. Oppa, aren't you being too partial towards the younger sister?"

"It will be good information for you too, of course. Even if it's not as good as for Serin, you'll be able to gain something you'll be sufficiently satisfied with."

At those words, Lee Arin's eyes flashed for a moment.

It was a light created by intuition derived from the realm of instinct, and a radiance created by mixing a bit of ominousness and anxiety.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the intuition derived from martial arts which imitated and gained the power of beasts was that of an animal’s.

"Then I'll write Japan as my first choice. I'm going with Serin."

That intuition was whispering to Lee Arin that she must follow along to Japan.