Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Dragonia Underground (1)
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Charles's face was full of smiles. He usually felt good whenever he met Suhyun, but this time it was especially so.
“You personally coming to see me. And with no particular reason. Looks like the sun’s rising in the east.”
“That joke only works on Cameron Planet, and it’s not even funny.”
“Really? Everyone else seems to like it.”
“That’s because they work under you... Never mind. Anyway, of course there’s a reason for coming here. Do I look like someone with that much free time?”
“Playing Cupid for me?”
“Pardon?”
“I thought you brought that young punk along to set him up on a date or something.”
Charles gestured toward the base of the window with his chin. Kim Chang-sik was visible down there, being pestered by Maria. Charles wore a pleased expression, but his eyes were cold.
He was far from a kindly old man. He liked and treated Suhyun well because it was Suhyun—if anyone else acted like him, Charles would bury them on the spot.
“Maria’s a good girl. Her looks aside, more than anything...”
“Her background is incredible, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why there are so many guys gunning for her. What do you think of the kid?”
“Trust your own judgment, sir.”
“I don’t trust my eyes. But I do trust the abilities I’ve seen in you with my own eyes. So I want to hear your evaluation. You’ve seen him longer than I have, after all.”
“Kim Chang-sik... he’s decent. Of course, by your standards, he’s got plenty of shortcomings. But who in this world wouldn’t fall short by your standards?”
Instead of replying, Charles pointed a finger straight at Suhyun. Suhyun chuckled and responded.
“I have no intention of getting together with that young lady.”
“I didn’t think you did. Maria’s not the type to just follow orders like that anyway.”
The way he said it made it sound like he would have paired them up right away if she were the obedient type.
Charles glanced down at Kim Chang-sik again, then pursed his lips thinly.
“More than that, your evaluation seems surprisingly low.”
“Huh? This is pretty generous already.”
“...Don’t say it’s because my standards are high. Sure, that young man is a total greenhorn compared to you in every way, but for a superhuman, isn’t the superpower the top priority? Even setting aside judgment or boldness.”
“That’s why I can’t rate his superpower all that highly either.”
“Enough. Just stop. I can’t even speak. Why are you doing this when you know better? Judge by general superhuman standards, not a mage like you. Jack himself said he’s equal in fire-based powers.”
“Oh.”
The moment Suhyun heard that, he realized what was going on. Considering what Jack had said and what he possessed, there was no way he wasn’t connected to Charles.
‘I wonder where this intel even started.’
“Being humble is fine, but aren’t you too harsh on your team members?”
“...You’re right.”
“Praise when it’s due. That’s the basics of handling people.”
Unaware of Suhyun’s thoughts, Charles walked to the corner of the room. New items had appeared in the room in the meantime. He tossed food into the fish tank and asked.
“But you’re not asking about it?”
“About what?”
“Jack from Eclipse. Isn’t that why you came?”
“You’re probably one of his sponsors, right?”
“You’re no fun in that regard. Yeah, you nailed it.”
For Charles, who wanted Cameron’s secrets more than profit, a team like Eclipse was perfect to sponsor. Jack’s personality meant he couldn’t be an exclusive subordinate, but he couldn’t refuse sponsorship either.
“Did you send him?”
“No way. I actually tried to stop him. If it weren’t for me, you two would’ve met much sooner.”
“You stopped him?”
“I told you last time, plenty of people want to approach you through me, right?”
“I remember. But it’s surprising you’d hold them back.”
“If there’s no gain in it, of course I would. What good would come from you two meeting? I’d just hear complaints from you.”
Charles dusted off his hands and sank into a plush chair.
“So, how was Jack?”
“A decent superhuman.”
“You’re the only one who’d call Jack a ‘decent superhuman.’ He’s wanted to meet you for a while now. I blocked it because I figured you wouldn’t be thrilled.”
Suhyun nodded. He could clearly see what Jack wanted.
“Untapped territory exploration, right.”
“You’d have to add ‘extremely, insanely dangerous’ in front. Eclipse is a strong team, but the superhumans in it are half-crazed with fear. Jack, their leader, is the worst. I thought his plans wouldn’t mesh with yours at all. Was I wrong?”
“No, you were pretty much spot on. We actually bickered about it when we met.”
“Bickered?”
Charles grinned.
“I heard Jack got thoroughly thrashed.”
“He just got the drop on me.”
“In a superhuman fight, getting outmaneuvered first is as good as losing. No need to make excuses. Anyway, that’s why I didn’t call you in. Jack showing up on his own was unexpected. He must’ve been desperate.”
“Seemed like it.”
“I warned him not to do it again. Not just me—the U.S. government was furious too. Think about it. If he went rogue to Pyongyang and got ambushed with casualties...”
Charles shuddered.
“Good thing it worked out.”
“He had an ace up his sleeve.”
“You mean the jamming counter. That piqued your interest?”
“Do you have one too, sir?”
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. I don’t have everything, you know.”
Charles looked like he was over the moon with the current situation, not knowing what to do with himself. Suhyun coming to him with a want—it felt like an untamable beast bowing its head and walking in.
“Sir, don’t underestimate me. You made a prototype using a Twin-Headed Ogre’s heart.”
“?!?!?!?!!?!”
Charles dropped the glass he was holding. Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind.
‘Did that bastard Jack blab? No, he wouldn’t ditch me for Suhyun unless he’s insane...’
While Charles debated playing dumb, Suhyun continued.
“Don’t blame Jack. Anyone there would’ve spilled it.”
“...I’ll have to be more careful from now on. Yeah, that’s right—we made it with that!”
Charles smacked his lips and admitted it.
“But you and I are just business partners. No reason I have to give it to you, right?”
“I know.”
“If you really want it, I’d consider it once or twice.”
“Sir, honestly, I don’t need the jamming counter that badly. Jamming devices don’t work on me anyway.”
“That figures.”
Charles said regretfully.
“It would’ve been nice if they did.”
“What kind of creepy talk is that? It’s all for my team members. The jamming counter seems useful in all sorts of ways.”
If you activated a nullifier nearby and fought with the jamming counter, enemy superhumans couldn’t use their powers, but allies could—an insanely advantageous setup.
“Alright, I’ll be straight with you.”
“Go ahead.”
“In this matter, my goal and Jack’s align. But they only align in goal—we’re still short on power. If you lend us your strength, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?”
“The jamming counter, blueprints, Maria...”
“Not Maria, sir.”
“Anything! Whatever you want!”
Suhyun didn’t reply to that. As he fell silent, Charles grew anxious.
“Why no answer?”
“If it’s serious enough to rattle you this much, I can only imagine how dangerous it is.”
“It’s not that dangerous.”
“If Eclipse came back without clearing it, it’s dangerous.”
“It’s not danger—it’s lack of firepower...”
“?”
“No matter what, they couldn’t take down the monster blocking the path. They gave up and retreated.”
“Tell me more details.”
At Suhyun’s words, Charles activated a hologram map. It was an excellent map linked to all the data they’d gathered so far. Suhyun’s face hardened as he looked at the spot Charles pointed to.
Dragonia Basin.
“...I’ll be going now.”
“Hear me out! I’m not sending people into the Dragonia Basin either. Even Jack’s a fearless lunatic, but you think he’d go into the Basin?”
“Then what?”
“The destination is underground.”
“Underground?”
“Yeah. Underground. Dragons are flying creatures. No way it’s burrowing tens of meters through solid ground, right?”
“It could if it wanted to, but probably not. More than that—Dragonia Basin underground?”
“There’s a far more vast and complex terrain down there than you think.”
Charles tapped the map with his hand and continued.
“What Jack wants is honor. The fulfillment of conquering uncharted lands and the fame that comes with it. He denies it, but he’s addicted to honor. Dragons are very threatening, but strip away the irrational fear, and they’re just territorial beasts, aren’t they? If we designate the Dragonia Basin as off-limits and surround it, there’s no reason to fear it.”
“In theory, yes.”
Suhyun didn’t bother mentioning that theories always had variables.
“We leave the Dragonia Basin as the beast’s territory and pioneer an underground path to create a new route. Jack would love that honor.”
“What do you want out of it, sir?”
“Me?”
Charles grinned.
“My company has a separate document interpretation team. Good enough to claim world’s best, honestly. Their job is to decipher the flood of ancient texts and find anything useful—they dug up something interesting. There’s an artifact related to immortality in a ruin underground in the Dragonia Basin.”
“Immortality?”
Eternal life. For Charles, a living witness to history, it was an irresistible item. Suhyun understood immediately.
“Yeah. Immortality.”
Ecstasy flickered in Charles’s eyes for a moment.
“Can you imagine?”
“I’ve never wanted to live forever...”
“Good thing we won’t have to fight over that artifact.”
“Sir, I haven’t said I’d do it.”
“True. If you won’t, I’ll just keep trying methods until one works. Luckily, failure on this raid isn’t a huge burden. Gather all the available superhumans and keep sending them until it works—eventually, we’ll find a way.”
Charles was pragmatic. He had high hopes for Suhyun, but he’d already accepted he couldn’t control him easily. If Suhyun refused, he’d have no choice but to find alternatives.
“Can you give me the related data?”
“You’ll do it?”
“If I don’t get that, I won’t even consider it. But if I do, I’ll think about it.”
Charles chuckled and nodded.
* * *
Eclipse’s data was excellent. Impressively so, to the point Suhyun was admiring it. As one of the top teams in America, their reports were textbook-perfect and intuitive.
‘Didn’t seem like it, but they’re surprisingly thorough.’
Suhyun flipped through the data, chiding himself for the rude thought.
The natural passage into the Dragonia Basin underground was long, winding, and uncomfortable. True to form as a man of wealth, Charles had simply drilled a new vertical shaft. It was an investment anticipating the path’s completion.
In under a minute, they descended deep underground, after which they had to carve through cave-like terrain.
“Dwarves made this?”
Like a human-engineered tunnel, the underground passages were excessively wide and well-made. Suhyun muttered in surprise. Dwarven engineering was superb, but it had limits.
‘Definitely made by superhumans.’
Wide, comfortable passages. Caverns appearing here and there. From the data alone, it resembled an underground city more than ruins—completion level was that high. Charles hadn’t brought it up lightly.
‘No, more like a shelter than a city. Why the hell did they build something like this?’
-Time 19:20. Golem spotted. No attack. Preparing first attempt.
And then the obstacle appeared. Suhyun realized the problem they’d run into upon seeing it.
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