#16 Beltsmets (Weltschmerz) (2)
When the masked man appeared at the auction house, Seol Rokjin, watching from the highest VIP seats, clenched his fist without realizing it.
It was that bastard.
The one who'd made a fool of him just recently.
The mask material had changed, but that ridiculous smiling emblem confirmed it.
"Ha."
Seol Rokjin laughed.
The smoke had obscured even his view, but from the highest seats, he could see the man's movements clearly. The masked figure glanced his way as if staring right at him from the stands, then turned back to the stage ahead.
The stage. Yes, this was his stage.
A stage different from Seol Rokjin's chessboard. The man had become its star, toying perfectly with the crowd.
One of my kind...?
Could someone like that really be called his kind?
The man's stage was crude. But that's what made it fun. It was the first time he'd seen someone clash so raw and unrefined. And yet, everyone was dancing to that crude performance.
And on top of that, the info coming in through Lee Hyewon's eyes was amusing.
"Sub-guild master Jin Yeonhwa. You served up a feast for the dogs."
Seol Rokjin couldn't hold back his laughter.
Up until the bombs went off, followed by the smoke grenades, Jin Yeonhwa had been smirking. She figured deploying her shadows would make everything hers. But then this unexpected intruder crashed the party.
Before she knew it, the Crimson Flame Mana Core had been snatched, and all her carefully laid plans had become props for his show.
Jin Yeonhwa panicked in a way that was utterly uncharacteristic.
She was so flustered she couldn't even send out her own people.
She'd been played.
Yes, she'd lost the battle of wits.
Jin Yeonhwa let out a breath.
"Should we grab him?"
Lee Hyewon's suggestion to send people now and catch the arrogant prick. Jin Yeonhwa shook her head.
"Exposing our full strength right now gains us nothing. If we still had the Crimson Flame Mana Core, maybe, but it's already gone, right?"
Better to pin the whole mess on him. Revealing her forces when there was nothing to gain would just be a loss.
Jin Yeonhwa quickly sorted her thoughts.
"How'd he know, though?"
It was a trap planted just two hours before the auction started. How had he sniffed it out? How had he turned it against her?
"We got a rat in the house?"
At Jin Yeonhwa's words, Lee Hyewon bowed her head immediately.
"I'll look into it."
"Yeah, do that. This one's got me reeeally pissed off."
With that, Jin Yeonhwa tapped her chair.
"I don't know who that fucker is yeeet. But I gotta pay back this humiliation, right? Find him, Hyewon. Use every resource Sirius has."
And just like that, Kang Ishin unknowingly became a fugitive from Korea's top guild too.
"Achoo!"
I rubbed under my nose.
"Not even cold season yet, but I'm getting chills for some reason."
But every time I looked at what I'd gained, I couldn't stop grinning. In my hand was none other than the Crimson Flame Mana Core.
It was mesmerizing just to look at.
"Heh heh heh heh."
And that wasn't all. Han Seohyun had swiped the Vampire King's Ring on his way out. I'd kept their eyes on me long enough for him to grab both. As praise, I ruffled his hair.
"Good job, good job!"
"Don't touch my hair!"
"Jeez, so sensitive."
But ever since that beauty salon fiasco, Han Seohyun dodged my hand like the plague.
"Sigh, honey. Looks like our kid's hit puberty already. Dodging my touch and all."
I tossed that at Kim Jaeho, but he didn't catch my joke at all. Whatever, who am I even talking to?
Lonely. So lonely.
No one bit on my jokes, but with enough loot to stuff us for months without eating, I was satisfied.
Plus, there was another perk.
Beltsmets. The name I'd thrown out had blown up big time.
"So what's Beltsmets anyway? If you're naming the team, couldn't we pick together?"
"Couldn't consult with the guy who named his summon Ratty."
No deep meaning. Just picked a chuunibyou word. Well, if I had to explain, it wasn't totally meaningless.
"Look at this messed-up world. Total shitshow, right?"
People might think it's livable enough, but nah. The top brass only care about themselves—no one gives a damn about the country.
"I'm telling them: the world you're living in is fucked. Keep going like this, and it all crumbles."
No joke—it's real. The world will end like this. How could I stay positive?
"And secret: once the world gets livable, I plan to disband Beltsmets."
"...Because it won't be so pessimistic anymore?"
"Yeah. No need."
It's a temporary outfit.
Han Seohyun nodded at my words.
"Don't worry—we'll last a looong time, I bet."
After this mess, the Beltsmets name spread like wildfire.
Trashing an auction full of hunters? Obvious it'd blow up.
Strictly speaking, we didn't beat all those hunters in a fight, but the world packaged us as major villains anyway. I aimed for that hype, and it overdelivered.
"Pretty damn successful debut."
For villains, image is everything.
History's most infamous pirate, Blackbeard, lit his hair and beard on fire to build his rep. Image-building is half the villain game.
But even killer debuts flop without bait.
I fiddled with my phone.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Gonna post on the dark web."
Dark web?
Ray perked up too.
'Portal site for villains. Real villains are ranked by whether they have a dark web ID and what grade it is.'
I explained the dark web to Ray and Han Seohyun.
Among awakeners, those who commit crimes are called "villains." They're nasty enough that most get taken out on sight, so survivors band together.
The dark web's one of those hubs.
I planned to keep Beltsmets mysterious, but not too silent.
Gotta grease the wheels to build fame.
Self-PR's key these days. Not under my name, though.
'Did tons of it back in the day. Seol Rokjin made me do viral marketing like crazy.'
Viral marketing? What's that?
'Fancy term for shitposting.'
Don't laugh—Seol Rokjin ordered it. Humiliating memory, but it made me a pro.
I wrote a post.
Newbie debut, but trashing a hunter-packed auction? Pretty solid, right? With some career buildup, they could hit the Top.
Drop bait like this, and they'll fight it out below. Awakeners can't resist VS debates.
Like kid arguments: lion vs. tiger, zero progress.
What's Top?
"Everyone loves rankings. Top comes from 'top tier'—for guys so elite, further tiers are pointless."
Climbing the Top, they call it. In Korea, successful climbers number ten fingers. Once it hit ten, they tried calling them the Ten Evils, but the vibe was off, so it fizzled. Now Top means the top 10 villains.
Push one up, pull another down.
How fun is that?
Posted minutes ago, and the bait was already blazing.
Idiots.
Linking debut to Top hype is huge already.
Bait dropped—time to finish the base.
Han Seohyun sighed wearily.
"You pull off that badass auction heist, and now you're building a house?"
"Just laid the foundation. Winter hits like this, we're frozen stiff! And why'd I snag the Crimson Flame Mana Core?"
"N-No way..."
"Yup. To build the house."
I planned to embed this billions-worth core right in the house's heart.
"I don't know building, but that sounds insane."
"We're villains. Everyone'll hunt us to kill. Not just a house—our last shield, our home to crash anytime."
And if doom comes...
Nah, too far off.
Anyway, perfect sanctuary. I'd studied up.
Dissected bought gear for mana circuits, reanalyzed my own. Got a rough feel for engraving them.
Blueprints first, before building.
I entered the cave with its foundation dug.
100m wide, 300m+ long where I'd smoothed it.
Grabbed a stick, dashed around drawing lines. Sketching big on the floor was fun.
"Gotta make private rooms first."
I yelled for Han Seohyun.
"Seohyun! Which side you want?"
"Picking rooms now?"
"Yup."
He'd been meh about house-building, but room-picking got him scanning seriously.
While he pondered, I set communal areas. Center: living room and kitchen. See faces daily that way.
Plus personal spots.
"You'll need a lab later. Corner for you?"
His eyes sparkled.
"Building a lab too?"
"Necromancers need 'em, right? Stockpile materials separate."
"Having my own room's dream enough."
"Deck it with our faves."
Felt like kids again. Pumped, I called Kim Jaeho.
"Pick your spot too."
He tilted his head at the bare dirt.
"Here? Just ground."
"Now, yeah. But we'll build. Where you like?"
"Anywhere quiet."
Hm.
Better next to mine for watch—soundproofed heavy.
Plus three spares for newbies.
Rough layout done, time for bricks. Simple: mana stone powder + dirt, bake at insane heat. I handled heat.
Boost firepower with mana stones, flash-bake: super tough bricks.
One down.
Now thousands, tens of thousands.
Han Seohyun, locking eyes, shivered at her future.