#13 Gear Grind (1)
A dark night where even the moon hid behind clouds. A handsome man with a cold, intellectual air tilted his glass.
His name was Seol Rokjin.
According to Kang Ishin, the seed of evil that would one day drag this world into destruction.
His mind was quite complicated.
Ever since he'd become aware of his ability, Seol Rokjin's life had gone impossibly well. After all, it wasn't anything ordinary—it was the power to brainwash people. Everything bent to his will.
Until that day, when he'd suffered humiliation on the island clinging to Yeongjongdo.
What the hell was that guy?
Was there something special about that mask? No, it didn't matter if it blocked him with a mask. Whether it did or not, the fact remained: the bastard had prepared defenses against Seol Rokjin.
He'd pretended it was coincidence, but Seol Rokjin had picked up on it from the guy's voice.
This whole thing had been his plan.
Otherwise, there's no way he'd have tried to block me alone.
He'd pulled his allies out beforehand to keep them from being brainwashed.
Until now, no one had ever noticed Seol Rokjin's ability. Anyone who'd seen his pupils turn yellow had fallen under his brainwashing and become his puppets.
Seol Rokjin had climbed to this position with his power. And he planned to acquire even more, reaching ever higher.
There was a drawback—once the brainwashing wore off, the target became an idiot or a lunatic—but Seol Rokjin didn't care.
They were just pawns, after all. Tools to use and discard.
In Seol Rokjin's eyes, everyone was a chess piece, each with its own value inscribed. This one's precious, can't waste it on something like this. That one's worthless—might as well use it up and toss it.
This world was his chessboard, everything moving as he desired.
But for the first time, a piece had appeared that refused to obey.
And that piece had completely wrecked Seol Rokjin's plans. Unlike the gate incident, where things going wrong hadn't mattered.
Failing to secure Baek Dosan would make everything a hassle.
Unlike other gangster groups that had been swallowed by so-called "villains" after awakeners appeared, the Black Leopard Gang—founded by Baek Dosan's grandfather, Baek Beomjin—had reorganized into the current "Black Shadow" and survived. No, it was more than survival.
With unknown cunning, "Black Shadow" had infiltrated the shadows like its name, completely dominating Korea's underworld.
Devouring Baek Dosan meant swallowing that organization too.
No matter how great Seol Rokjin was, he couldn't control the underworld alone.
His brainwashing could turn only one person into a perfect limb. The rest slipped free if they strayed from his sight.
So even Seol Rokjin had agonized over whom to make his marionette. The skill had a six-month cooldown, after all.
Baek Dosan was the perfect queen for him.
And he'd lost her.
Seol Rokjin stared across his desk. The ridiculous masked figure loomed in his mind like a phantom.
"Fine. You win this round."
The bastard knew his entire identity, while he knew nothing about the enemy beyond a name.
A total defeat for Seol Rokjin.
He etched that irritating mask vividly into his memory.
But fortunately...
"The next game's going to be different."
There were plenty more pawns in this world who could become his.
"So, I might need to be away for a few days."
Having heard the situation, Han Seohyun looked a bit uneasy.
"You'll come back, right?"
"Yeah, of course."
Maybe because it hadn't been long since he lost his brother, Han Seohyun seemed genuinely anxious. As I finished packing to leave, he pulled something from his pocket and handed it over.
"Take this with you."
It was the rat doll that Kim Jaeho was always toting around.
Telling me outright to bring a surveillance tool. I nodded and took the rat doll. Even dead, it was kinda cute, whatever.
"Just don't watch me too closely."
"Yeah. If things get dangerous, contact me through him. I'll set it so calling my name sends a signal."
"Got it."
Having someone worry about me felt pretty nice.
Geum Doctor's place was lavish. A three-story mansion, no less. And you had to pass through triple security just to reach it.
The security was so tight that even with him opening it remotely from inside, it still took a full ten minutes to get through.
Impressive, sure—but doing this crap every damn day for commuting? Brutal.
Finally stepping inside, Geum Doctor's mansion was jaw-droppingly amazing.
Everything in sight was made from monster byproducts. No different from a house built of gold.
I'd never visited in my previous life, so this was my first time realizing just how loaded he was.
The guilt from mooching off him all this time lightened up a bit.
You're less conscientious than I thought.
'If bourgeois pigs sucking capitalist honey had just given back to the working class without, the world would've been way better.'
Suddenly, hot red blood surged through my veins.
Isn't blood always red?
'It's not hemoglobin turning my blood red right now. It's the fiery proletarian spirit.'
Spouting nonsense again.
Instead of wasting breath explaining my noble ideals to Ray, who wouldn't get it, I focused on sightseeing Geum Doctor's mansion.
Geum Doctor emerged from an open door, reaching out in welcome.
"Oh, you made it!"
"Yep."
I flashed a bright smile at his warm reception.
I'd never hated the guy anyway, and staying chummy with rich folks was smart.
"Perfect timing. The mask's done. Got some help from a friend."
I examined the mask he handed me.
"Holy shit, is this a hologram?"
"Yep. Pretty realistic, right?"
It wasn't just any mask. Using holograms and nanoparticles, it could recreate someone else's face. Up close in bright light, you'd spot the hologram, but in the dark? Indistinguishable from the real thing.
"Couldn't nail the texture, but still pretty good, yeah?"
"Good? This is insane."
Of course, being a mask meant hoods or dim spots for best use. Still, unreal.
Even I, from the future, hadn't dreamed of this.
"Pre-loaded some samples, so cycle through 'em as needed. Oh, they're all dead folks—no ID theft worries."
Geum Doctor waved dismissively, looking annoyingly refreshed.
Hanging with Baek Dosan clearly marked him as no ordinary guy.
"Can add more data later."
"How do I add data?"
I asked thinking of Seol Rokjin's face, but the process sounded tricky. Had to scan live expressions in simulators and such.
Hmm, better not ask how he got these samples.
Geum Doctor was giving this to me for free.
"Just like that?"
Mantles copying surroundings cost tens of millions in this world.
This intricate hologram must've used crazy expensive materials. Free?
"Eh, it was fun making it."
Typical tycoon. Sorry for calling you a capitalist pig bourgeois in my head. True noblesse oblige incarnate.
"Not as payment, but tell me what you're making today? Been dying to know."
"Can I spill after? Honestly, not even sure it'll work."
It will!
Ray was confident, but I was skeptical. Hype it up and fail? Embarrassing.
So I put off answering.
"Alright, to my workshop."
"Cool."
Touring Geum Doctor's workshop blew my mind.
He called it a hobby, but this setup rivaled top artisans'.
Money, effort, time poured in everywhere.
Shelves crammed with abrasives and reagents, walls lined with tools.
Especially the furnace embedded with huge mana stones, blasting intense heat.
"This could melt anything, huh?"
"Yep. Cost a fortune."
"Should charge rental at least."
He was lending it free, but using such premium facilities scot-free felt awkward.
"Haha! Just show me the results later."
That ramped up the pressure.
Gotta make something epic.
Epic, I tell you!
"Use any materials here freely!"
Geum Doctor left after that.
Alright, time to craft something awesome!
"Fingers crossed."
First, molds. Good with clay?
"First time."
I made two identical clay molds as Ray directed. Matching sizes perfectly took three hours alone.
Your handiwork's abysmal.
"I'm not an artisan! What'd you expect?"
Next, I ground mana stones to powder in the mortar and grabbed iron bars by the furnace.
Melt iron with fine mana stone powder for a highly mana-conductive metal. It had a faint misty sheen—people called it mithril.
This mithril wasn't top-tier. Best artifacts used premium monster corpses.
But mithril was easy to process. Pour molten into molds for instant shapes.
I poured the melted mithril into the molds.
Scorching heat singed my cheeks, but I routed mana to flame resistance and endured.
Once cooled, I split the molds. Two 9-10cm wide cylindrical metal lumps sat before me.
"Kinda looks like medieval shackles for prisoners, no?"
Blame your skills?
Design didn't matter. Function did. Planned to wear one per arm for dual mana input.
I roughly smoothed the protrusions and called to Ray.
"Casting's done-ish. Your turn."
Engraving circuits on this junk. Like shoeing a dog.
Ray tsked in dissatisfaction, but no choice.
Lend me some mana.
Like in the labyrinth, Ray siphoned my mana freely.
Mana circuits began etching delicately onto the bracelets.
Watch this first stroke closely. It links mana stones and artifacts.
Maybe prepping for my future crafting, Ray explained kindly.
I memorized every circuit he described without missing a beat.