Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Preparation (2)
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Shaina was confident. As if she could show it right away, she clenched and unclenched her fist.
"Seeing that you're ready to demonstrate your ability, I take it my proposal was to your liking."
"That's why I showed you, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
Shaina and Suhyun faced each other and smiled. Suhyun didn't dislike people with clear desires. Clear desires meant they were that much easier to read. If anything, the confusing ones were those without clear desires.
"If it's alright with you, I'll join up."
Her instincts told her this was the moment. This was her chance. Just like when she left her clan, just like when she made contact with humans and started her second life. This was undoubtedly the same kind of opportunity.
"Alright. Then let's head outside."
* * *
Suhyun gathered the Uncle Jo Company operatives. When Suhyun, who had left to rescue Jindo 1 Team, returned, the operatives rushed over with joyful expressions—only to look baffled at the new Dark Elf who had appeared.
"Welcome back... Who might this be?"
"A new operative joining us."
As he spoke, Suhyun closely observed the operatives' reactions. He had spoken confidently to Jo Seung-hyun, but he didn't ignore teamwork. If a team like Uncle Jo Company crumbled from within, there'd be no fixing it.
Rather than forcing them to accept her outright, it was better to identify anyone wary of the Dark Elf and persuade them. That's why Suhyun paid close attention to their reactions. Would any of them be averse to a Dark Elf?
"Oh, I see."
"?"
The operatives nodded without much reaction. Even Park Su-yong, who was usually the most likely to nitpick in situations like this, accepted it readily.
'What the hell? Why is everyone so nonchalant?'
There were two facts Suhyun had overlooked. First, while the Uncle Jo Company operatives were mercenaries now, most were originally soldiers who had served on Earth. None of them had any direct grudges against Dark Elves here.
Second, the trust the operatives had in Suhyun was far greater than he realized.
Everything Suhyun had decided regarding Cameron Planet had been spot-on so far. He had led them with near-omniscient precision. So, naturally, they believed he had brought this person with him because he was certain of her value.
'The team leader's doing it, so he'll handle it just fine.'
'Dark Elf? Weren't they supposed to be chatty or something? Well, if the team leader brought her, she must be fine.'
"??"
Something felt off, but since there were no hostile reactions, Suhyun let it slide.
"Gorgan. What do you think?"
"A Dark Elf? No particular thoughts on it."
Where Gorgan came from had little contact with Dark Elves. If anything, he was even more indifferent than the operatives—there was no reason for him to care.
"What the—everyone here's just a bunch of good guys?"
"...Let's see her ability first."
It left a deflating feeling. Suhyun composed himself and said as much. Shaina raised her hand with an even brighter expression.
"You can tell me now, right? What kind of superpower is it?"
Most superpowers were fine to demonstrate outdoors, but with so many varieties, there were exceptions.
"You'll know it when you see it."
With that, Shaina pointed to her feet. Her shadow was visible in the sunlight. Suddenly, the shadow writhed and rose upward.
"Shadow manipulation... Not handling it directly, but summoning it in a form?"
"Huh? You've seen it before?"
"No, but superpowers follow certain patterns even without seeing them. Can you only manipulate your own shadow?"
"Yeah."
Shaina's shadow had vanished, replaced by a black four-legged beast prowling around her. A superpower that used shadows to create illusory beasts. It was better than expected.
It might lack raw firepower, but it was a superpower suited for prolonged, sustained combat with good versatility. For someone like Shaina who operated solo, it had great synergy.
"What do you think?"
"It's a solid ability. Good thing."
At Suhyun's response, Shaina let out a sigh of relief. It would have been the most ridiculous thing if she'd made her decision only to be kicked out because her superpower didn't meet approval. Suhyun took Shaina's hand and shook it.
"Welcome to Uncle Jo Company."
* * *
"You sure you'll be fine going alone?"
"If the president himself shows up to pick up an artifact, it looks weak—even if there's a size difference, no need to show that side. It's not like we'll fail to get an artifact just because you don't go. And I'm not going alone anyway. I'll bring one person."
"Who?"
"I was going to ask Lee So-hee originally, but I plan to take Kim Chang-sik instead."
"Chang-sik?"
"Lee So-hee has family ties, after all. Plus, Kim Chang-sik is a superpower user."
"Ah...."
"Since we're going to select an artifact, it's better to bring a superpower user. I'll head out then."
Taking Shaina along was an option, but dragging a Dark Elf into the mercenary company building while already under scrutiny for picking up an artifact wasn't wise.
* * *
"You're not gonna get shot inside or anything, right...?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
When Kim Chang-sik, who was driving, muttered under his breath, Suhyun scolded him dismissively. Tension filled Kim Chang-sik's face.
"But we're going to get an artifact."
"I've called in a government official just in case, so no need to worry about that. You think this is some uncharted wilderness?"
Suhyun scolded him, but his concern was valid. No company would be happy about handing over an artifact. Especially when the reason was such an absurd mistake.
He wasn't afraid of making enemies, but that didn't mean creating them recklessly was smart.
Thanks to that, Suhyun had one idea brewing. A way to secure the benefits while also taking the high road.
'Give up one artifact... and bring in Kang In-gyu?'
The curse shaman Kang In-gyu.
Looking at his team, artifacts were plentiful but tricky to use effectively. Artifacts drained stamina quickly for normal people. They needed superpower users more than artifacts right now.
In that sense, trading one artifact for a superpower user would net benefits while giving Jindo 1 Team the image of a concession.
The issue was whether Kang In-gyu could awaken as a superpower user. Personal awakenings were completely irregular—nothing Suhyun could control. If he brought him and no awakening happened, it'd be a mess.
'If I knew how Kang In-gyu awakened, this would be easier.'
If he knew the conditions, he could recreate them to trigger it. But Suhyun didn't know how Kang In-gyu had awakened.
Suhyun closed his eyes and pondered. He started tracing Kang In-gyu's past actions. Then, he realized one key fact.
'Hold on.'
Thinking back, the battle in the Redwood Forest nagged at him. Suhyun had handled it casually, but what if things had gone as originally planned?
'Even without Uncle Jo Company, judging by Jindo's moves, they'd have pushed into the Redwood Forest eventually—and clashed with that Chinese special forces unit alone?'
Without Suhyun, even if Jindo 1 Team had been there, they'd have been wiped out or suffered devastating losses. Kang In-gyu would have been there too.
'Is this it?!'
The deaths of comrades. Superpower awakenings were random, but cases triggered by intense mental shock or crises were common. And considering Kang In-gyu's later personality and alias, this event carried even more weight as a trigger.
'Uncle Jo Company would have failed, delaying the Redwood Forest discovery slightly, and he'd awaken there... Timeline fits perfectly.'
"We've arrived."
"Hm? Yeah, let's get out."
Suhyun stopped thinking and stepped out of the car. Ahead loomed Jindo's towering skyscraper, piercing the sky.
He had a plausible hypothesis for Kang In-gyu's awakening, but betting on it was another matter entirely.
'And if it's awakening from the shock of watching comrades die, how do I even recreate that?'
His mind was a tangle. Suhyun shook his head to clear it. First things first: the artifact. He could decide on Kang In-gyu after seeing the list.
* * *
"How are they?"
"Pretty good, right? This is more than...."
Choi Hyun-min, the on-site handler, whispered softly. He was here as a witness for the artifact transfer. Hearing Suhyun's assessment, he sighed in relief. No issues—truly fortunate.
Unlike his pre-arrival worries, the artifact list Jindo disclosed was far from shabby. Escorted to the top floor, Suhyun and Kim Chang-sik viewed the artifacts, secured under heavy protection, one by one.
'Of course, they'd skim the truly valuables, but this is unexpected. Are they signaling no trouble? Well....'
Pushing here would only backfire if Uncle Jo Company escalated publicly—Jindo would always be at a disadvantage.
"Been a while, hasn't it?"
"Ah, yes...."
"How've you been?"
"Ah, yes...."
Jindo 2 Team's team leader, Choi Jae-ho, faced Suhyun with the most awkward expression imaginable. 1 Team leader Lee Jung-woo had refused to guide them, still reeling from his defeat at Suhyun's hands. With the 1 Team leader citing fatigue and rest as excuses, 2 Team's leader stepping up was inevitable.
But they weren't strangers. Not that long ago either. During the Calcutta Gorilla hunt briefing, Choi Jae-ho had approached Suhyun as a naive rookie.
'This can't be real...!'
Knowing he had healing powers, he'd tried scouting him but backed off after talking. Back at the company, he'd badmouthed Suhyun as talented but narrow-minded and delusional.
Yet Suhyun had risen terrifyingly fast. Now, while some questioned Uncle Jo Company's capabilities, none denied them outright.
And his own company had been thoroughly duped by Suhyun. No wonder Choi Jae-ho looked so awkward.
"This was originally part of a spear, right? Cut down?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Won't be using it as a spear anyway...."
Most artifacts took the form of objects. But only the core held the superpower—the rest was ornamental. Cutting part of a spear posed no issue.
'Rock Spear. Solid ability.'
A superpower that created and launched rock spears. One was decided. A reliably versatile superpower was a good one.
"?"
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, no.... Just didn't expect interest in that one."
Suhyun had eyed a ring. One with confusion powers—disrupting the target's mind. It was good, but he hadn't anticipated Uncle Jo Company wanting something like that.
Choi Jae-ho had been outmaneuvered by Suhyun repeatedly, but he had insight. For a superpower-short team like Uncle Jo, needs were obvious.
Firepower artifacts.
Confusion was useful but lacked punch.
"Ah, so you went for something with firepower. Fine choice. We're steadily recruiting superpower users ourselves."
"Is that so?"
'Does he think superpower users grow on trees?'
"Even Operative Kim Chang-sik here awakened as a superpower user just recently."
"？！"
Both men were stunned. Choi Jae-ho at the fact of Kim Chang-sik's awakening...
'Why flaunt that laughable superpower of yours?!'
Kim Chang-sik knew showing his power in front of a real user like Choi Jae-ho would be humiliating. He shot Suhyun a desperate, teary-eyed glance.