Chapter 116
They say that when you suddenly hit it big, relatives and acquaintances who somehow catch wind of it start flooding you with calls.
That was me.
Well, I hadn't exactly been a nobody before...
But the Demon Realm was on a whole different level.
—I would very much like to visit as well.
“Please do. Mr. Frost, you get permanent free entry.”
—W-wasn't the fee originally ten million dollars?
“Of course I'd waive it for you, Mr. Frost.”
Frost.
Britain's strongest Hunter.
The man who'd given me an unbelievably precious item: King Arthur's Ring.
For him, what was ten million dollars?
I could waive even a hundred-million-dollar entry fee.
—Are you sure that's all right...
“What's the big deal? It's mine.”
—Haha, I see. It really is Hunter Kim's.
“The system doesn't lie.”
—Indeed. Then I'll visit sometime soon. I've wanted to see North Korea, too.
See North Korea, huh.
Come to think of it, I hadn't yet.
I'd heard it was rather barren and unremarkable, with many bald mountains because so many trees had been cut down during the Arduous March.
Still, I'd like to see the famous Geumgangsan and Gaema Plateau.
I also heard North Korea had quite a few decent Gates.
It's all because I don't have time.
You need time to go.
As soon as I exchanged a few more pleasantries with Frost and hung up...
My phone started vibrating.
I answered unconsciously without even checking the caller.
—Yo! Brother!
Wait, that voice...
“...Ahmad.”
—What, Brother? Why so lukewarm? Aren't you happy to hear from me?
“I am. I am.”
I was happy, but...
I was a little nervous because I had a feeling I knew why he was calling.
“What brings you to call all of a sudden?”
—Ah, you're asking even though you know?
“It's because of the Demon Realm.”
—Man, this is awkward. You're making it sound like I only called for that.
“Wasn't that it?”
Was it really not?
—That's hurtful. I called to check on my brother, too, and take care of that while I was at it.
“Ah, yes, yes.”
He probably cared about me a speck.
“You must be busy with all your official and personal affairs.”
—I'm sick to death of all this business. Should I just quit it all and move to Korea?
“...Pardon?”
Was he announcing he was becoming a citizen?
That's the kind of thing that would make the French government have a fit.
—Honestly, I want to live in Korea. There's even an undead repair shop, so I can get my undead fixed cheaply, and now there's the Demon Realm, too? The Demon Realm... Man, just hearing the name, isn't it the perfect place for a necromancer to shine?
He had a point.
An open field as vast as the Demon Realm was the perfect place for a necromancer to run wild.
Even the necromancers trained by the Korean government were convinced the Demon Realm was a necromancer's homeland.
He'd definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the Demon Realm.
Hmm, though sorting things out among everyone might be a little difficult.
I didn't know the full extent of Ahmad's strength, but he was definitely quite powerful even by the Demon Realm's standards.
“Are you really coming?”
—I can't, because of the government.
I figured as much.
—If I went, I'd feel like it'd be a waste not to stay and clear it for a few months, but if I did...
Uh, no, that wouldn't work.
The supply of Elixir would be disrupted right away.
Even now, the only Gate in the entire world that produced Elixir was in France, and Ahmad was the only person in France capable of clearing it.
—Ah, I wish someone could mine Elixir for me.
Elixir was now an essential global commodity.
If the supply of Elixir stopped, the supply of elixirs would soon stop, cutting off the world's powerful figures from any path to ‘longevity.’
Well, it didn't matter to me since I was immortal now.
But it did matter to everyone else.
“Isn't there anyone you can entrust it to?”
—No. Because of the dungeon mechanics, it's practically impossible to hunt efficiently unless you're a necromancer. Even Kaiser can't use his strength in that dungeon.
After saying that, Ahmad...
paused for a moment, then muttered as if he'd thought of something.
—...They don't necessarily have to be a necromancer.
“...Sounds like you've thought of someone.”
—Yeah, Brother.
“Yes.”
—No, I mean you're the right person for the job.
...What kind of nonsense was this now?
I wondered if he was joking, but...
—Brother, just trade places with me for a while. In return, you can keep all the Elixir income generated during that time. You'll have to pay taxes, of course.
“...Are you serious?”
Elixir had been Ahmad's exclusive preserve, something no one else had ever been able to mine.
And he was just handing it over to me like this?
—The Demon Realm is that important to me. I need to get stronger to break through the Under Seventy era. The Demon Realm is the best place to train my strength.
“You haven't even been there...”
Did he have honey smeared all over the Demon Realm?
How could he be so certain?
...Wait.
Maybe his class quest was something he had to do in the Demon Realm...
...Let's test him.
“The way you talk, you'd think you already knew about the Demon Realm.”
—...You're sharp, Brother.
Ahmad didn't bother denying it.
This put me in a dilemma.
Of course, I was overwhelmingly stronger than Ahmad now.
That didn't mean I could just let someone who was constantly eyeing my items grow stronger without a care.
He was friendly toward me now.
But I wondered if he'd stay friendly even after realizing that one of my rings was ‘that ring.’
—So, what do you think of my offer?
“I still have a lot to take care of in the Demon Realm. I'll think about it once that's done.”
That was genuinely true, too.
I hadn't finished my business in the Demon Realm, so I was still going back and forth.
—Haha! Got it! I can wait as long as it takes.
And with that, the call ended.
Phew, I'd put him off for now, but...
What should I do from here on?
He'd keep pestering me to let him come.
Whatever. Let's head to the Demon Realm for now.
Ah, before that...
“I should put my reward to use.”
I used to treasure every reward and use them right away, but lately they kept piling up.
[You use ‘Material Item Selection Ticket (Large).’]
A material item selection ticket, the reward for reaching level 50.
The small one gave me 1 kg, so...
The large one should be...
[You receive 100 kg of one material item of your choice.]
Oh, I expected around 10 kg, but as expected, the level 50 reward was the best one.
A whopping 100 kg of material.
Naturally, there were only two materials I could choose.
Blood Gold or Star Relics.
“They said a ton would fill it to 100%, so 100 kg should fill it by 10% at once.”
On the other hand, if I chose Star Relics...
I might be able to fill it by around 50%.
Then, since one function unlocked for every 20%, two of the scepter's functions—the 40% and 60% ones—would be unlocked.
It was a tough choice.
Blood Gold or Star Relics.
“All right, I've decided.”
Blood Gold, after all.
Even with less than 1% filled, Athena's feats were incredible.
But what if it were filled to 10%?
It'd be like having a top-ranked warrior-class Hunter—or no, someone even stronger—as a familiar.
The scepter was definitely important, too, but...
No. Don't get attached.
Another opportunity would come along later.
“I'll choose Blood Gold...”
—Mr. Segyun.
“...Mr. Gyuseon?”
A familiar voice came through the Ansible Earring.
There were only two people connected to me through the Ansible Earring.
One was Zephyros, my teacher.
The other was Mr. Im Gyuseon.
“Is something wrong?”
—You should come over for a moment.
“...I'll be right there.”
She'd never called for me this urgently before.
Well, it couldn't be helped.
When my benefactor called, all I could do was shut up and follow like a good servant.
Should I put off making my choice for now?
**
“...Whew, that was exhausting.”
“Thanks for coming.”
Cheonan was pretty far from Gangnam.
I could call a helicopter, but that felt too privileged, so unless it was really urgent, I drove.
Come to think of it, I'd built the lab here because I was broke back then, but now I had enough money to build one in the middle of Gangnam.
Of course, that would be a waste.
Still, I could probably move it somewhere in central Seoul.
“Would you like to move the lab to Seoul?”
“No? I like it here.”
No, I was the one who was tired.
Still, I had no choice but to respect her preferences...
I was the one with less leverage. I was.
“...Okay.”
“Yes, Seoul is noisy.”
Yes, I do appreciate how consistent your tastes are.
“By the way, why did you call me?”
“Oh. My level went up a lot.”
“Your level?”
“It suddenly went up.”
It suddenly went up?
Ah, could I have...
[Experience Sharing] [ON]
Description: Most great achievements are not accomplished alone. Share your experience and help one another reach greater heights.
Details: You share 50% of the experience you gain with the target connected to you (Im Gyuseon). You can use the skill at any time to decide whether to share experience.
“Good heavens.”
I'd jumped straight into the latter half of level 60...
“Don't tell me your level is...”
“66.”
That's insane...
For a noncombat class, which was incredibly difficult to level up, level 66...
Wasn't that the highest level among noncombat classes?
“D-did you call me because of that?”
“Oh, that, and... Didn't you ask me about Blood Gold before?”
Why was she bringing up Blood Gold all of a sudden?
“I did, didn't I?”
“I can make it now.”
“...What?”
“Of course, the success rate is still low, and it takes a lot of materials. Roughly speaking, to make 1 kg of Blood Gold, I need 10 kg of pure gold and other alchemy materials.”
The materials alone would cost more than ten times as much as the gold.
But...
Being able to make it versus not being able to make it was a world of difference.
Of course, sometimes I got lucky and acquired a large amount of materials, but there was a clear limit to how much I could obtain through luck like that.
The fact that the Blood Gold and Star Relics I'd gotten since debuting as a Hunter were so scarce they might as well have been stars plucked from the sky proved it.
I was mining a very small amount of Star Relics inside the dungeon through Greed, though.
Besides...
I needed somewhere to spend all my excess money.
“U-use as much gold as you need. Just... spend as much money as you want. As long as you can make Blood Gold, Blood Gold...”
“Yes, I will. That's all I called you for. I thought about just telling you by message, but... I wanted to see you in person since it's been a while. Was I bothering you?”
“Not at all. I wanted to see you, too.”
“Hehe, I know you're lying, but it still makes me happy. Since I'm in a good mood...”
She handed me a wobbling red liquid about the size of a fist.
“Here.”
“This is...”
“Blood Gold.”
“It looks a little different from the Blood Gold I know.”
“That's because it's saturated in a solution. If you evaporate the solution, it'll become pure Blood Gold.”
Athena, is that right?
—Correct. I can absorb it even in this state.
This was huge.
In that case, I definitely had to choose Star Relics.
Good thing I hadn't chosen too hastily.
I'd gotten lucky.
**
So, in the end, I chose Star Relics.
[You have selected the transcendent-grade material item, ‘Star Relics.’]
[100 kg of Star Relics have been generated in your inventory.]
I immediately took out Avicenna's Scepter...
and began absorption.
[Constellation Avicenna's Scepter]
[Quality]: Constellation's Legacy
[Description]: The staff that Constellation Avicenna always used when he was human. It symbolizes his authority. Some of its constituent material has been replenished, allowing it to exert a little power. Replenish more of its constituent material to unlock its sealed functions.
[Details]:
─The proficiency of all skills you possess increases by one level.
─You can use the skill, ‘Sacrificial Offering.’
─Can transform into a ring.
─You can use the skill, ‘Phase Shift.’ (Can be activated when you possess over 40 trillion entities, ‘Pride,’ and the entity can use ‘Biologicalization.’)
─This function is sealed.
<Current remaining constituent material: 73.21%>
[Phase Shift (Usable Item Skill)]
Description: If it matches in every way, down to the cellular level, can it truly be called different? The only thing that matters is my consciousness.
Details: Through the ‘Biologicalization’ of the entity ‘Pride,’ create a body identical in form to the caster and switch places with the caster's current location.
The description was simple, yet somehow complicated...
I'd leave the Phase Shift skill for later.
The third ability I'd unlocked was...
[Would you like to transform the form of Constellation Avicenna's Scepter into a ring?]
Yes! Yes! Yes!
It was such a pain to take out and hold the scepter every time because of that Sacrificial Offering!
What a stroke of luck!