Chapter 151
Chapter 151
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Dimensional Awl Heart
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Three days later.
I was still at the hospital. My injuries had already fully healed, but I had surgery remaining that needed to be done.
"But... if this constitution is due to [Her], is it even fixable?"
Of course, since this constitution wasn't a curse [She] had placed on me with malice but rather a kind of side effect, it seemed possible.
Even so, what if it wasn't?
"No. If that were really the case, the game master would have mentioned it couldn't be done."
But what if she just brushed it off because it wasn't her problem...?
"Hoo."
I shook off the nagging stray thoughts and patted Cheda's belly.
Even though I hadn't stepped out of the hospital room for the past three days, I was incredibly busy.
[Wow! M-4 has sponsored 8 million Dragon Stones!]
I'd been serializing the Book of Light to collect sponsorships. Compared to my anxiety about it being a mishmash of Christianity, Catholicism, and Islam, it was quite the success.
[M-4: Been a while. Not bad.]
As always, I did some calculations upon seeing the insincere sponsorship message relative to the amount.
"25 billion from Taeseok, plus all the sponsorships... roughly 35 billion."
An enormous sum. Something my old self couldn't have earned no matter how hard I worked until death.
However.
"Ah... it's a bit short. Should I just settle for Legendary instead of Mythic?"
After becoming an Apostle, I hadn't logged in once.
The moment time passed in Ardenia, humanity's empire would accumulate that much damage, and I knew it.
"Mythic castle price is no issue. Even adding it all up, it's 1.4 billion."
The problem was the auxiliary buildings.
"If I give up all production buildings and only install defense towers and siege objects, it's 340 million."
To turn the seven castles into Mythic castles with minimal defense capabilities, it was 540 million times seven—concluding at 3.8 billion needed.
In short, I was short on money.
"Ah... should I just go for well-stocked Legendary castles?"
But that would complicate things later. Upgrading castles while imperial citizens lived inside would mess up all the cargo and placements I'd set up.
Of course, one might think, "Just don't upgrade then?"
'With Legendary castles, there will eventually come a moment I can't hold them back. Above all, it'd be a shame to give up Gigas production.'
I pondered deeply in my seat.
"A way to get more money..."
"Patient Han Jaeyeon. Time to move to the operating room~"
"Ah, yes."
I patted Cheda's belly to empty my character's inventory and set it to auto-hunt.
"Wait here."
"Yaong!"
Leaving the nodding Cheda behind, I exited the hospital room. A nurse was waiting at the door.
"Then let's move."
"Yes."
I followed the nurse with slight tension. The strikingly beautiful nurse glanced at me slyly and asked,
"It's lucky I get to meet the famous Apostle in person. The news said you caught two Transcendents."
"Just lucky."
Not humility—it really was luck. Especially for the Dark Messiah; it wouldn't have happened without stacked luck.
'From the Dark Messiah's perspective, it must have been absurd misfortune.'
Well, considering the Five Dragons' true identities were Chromatic Dragons, the fight's outcome was decided from the start.
It was an intense battle, but since they wanted to hide their identities from the beginning, it counted as a valid fight.
"Um, Patient Han Jaeyeon? You need to remove your watch..."
"Ah."
At the operating room entrance, I looked at the sleekly designed watch on my left wrist. The analog one with hour and minute hands, emitting a subtle black sheen, looked luxurious but wasn't easy to recognize for what it truly was.
'This is a transcendent weapon... a treasure worth a massive fleet...'
I glanced at the watch.
[Zero-Sum]
Gains and losses add up to zero.
[Drop Adjustment Stage 1] When acquiring an item Mythic or above, nullify it as if it never happened and store that probability instead.
Stored probability can be activated at desired timing.
1,000 points needed to upgrade to Stage 2.
[Event Adjustment Stage 1]
[1 million points needed to unlock.]
'Gains and losses adding to zero? No, this is unilaterally good...'
If I could store drop probabilities, I could calculate drop tables and farm only needed items. Or, like with this card incident, prevent drops I couldn't use.
'The issue is growing it... If Daeha's words are right, feeding it drop items should work.'
I unequipped Zero-Sum and put it in my inventory.
Fortunately, it went in without issue. Meaning I could use it in Ardenia too.
"Then, hope for good results! Fighting!"
"Ah, yes."
Receiving the nurse's cheer, I entered the operating room.
It was called an operating room, but it looked like a vintage study with a sophisticated atmosphere.
"Oh, you're here."
A green-haired woman reading by the fireplace looked up. A familiar face.
"Flower?"
Flower, F·D's main vocalist and Green Dragon.
Not exactly acquaintances, but we'd crossed paths during the monster incident.
"I came to assist with Jaeyeon-nim's surgery. I happened to be on break."
"Ah... thank you."
The perfect ace. Because she wasn't an ordinary dragon, but a Chromatic Dragon!
Even as one of five heads, her capabilities far surpassed typical Transcendents.
Click!
Then the door opened, revealing another person.
"Hey? Isn't that Flower? Spending time here when you're busy."
"Hello, Shining-nim."
Surprisingly, it was Shining, CEO of Sky Soft. He frowned upon seeing me.
"Ugh... this is exactly why I need to grind money hard!"
Seemed like fallout from losing the stock war. Makes sense—he'd pulled every penny he had, so the damage must be massive.
"Hello, everyone..."
The door opened again, and a dull golden-haired elf beauty entered.
"Ah, the Mage Tower Lord of Fate Mage Tower."
Yes, she was Lucky Strike, owner of Fate Mage Tower, who racked up massive debt from stock losses.
Her story of treating the stock market like a playground on her precognition ability, losing 300 trillion, was so famous no one didn't know it.
Sure enough, Shining grinned and waved.
"Oh, debtor! Knew you'd come. Paying off that debt?"
"Almost."
"Yeah, always 'almost.'"
Then the door opened again. This time, a gray-haired man in his mid-to-late 30s entered. He wore a cloak rippling in black—not material, but made of souls.
"...This is really the lineup? Aptitude change surgery is tough, but this is overkill. Mobilizing four Archmages?"
He was Heindel, Mage Tower Lord of Necromancy Mage Tower and Grand Necromancer.
'What is this.'
I was dumbfounded by the beyond-imagination members.
Four Transcendents, all Archmages at that.
Considering aptitude change surgery prioritized material costs over labor, this lineup showed how abnormal the situation was.
"Han Jaeyeon-ssi. Come here and lie down?"
"Ah, yes."
At Flower's gentle words, I lay on the carpet etched with hundreds of magic circles. The unidentified soft fur tickled my neck.
"Um..."
"Time Stop."
Just as I tried to ask something, time froze.
'Lately, I've been experiencing this a lot.'
Having gone through it once, I immediately switched to [Perspective].
I could speak in this state, but no need to show that ability to these Archmages I'd likely never see again, so I stayed silent.
"Alright! Let's first assess the condition!"
"Government's covering all material costs, so let's go all out. I've been so stressed lately."
"Even so, he's the game master's Apostle—show some minimum effort."
"Don't embarrass the game master."
In stopped time, the four Archmages wielded mana.
Wooong!
Space warped, mana swirled.
'Something mysterious.'
I said they wielded mana, but I couldn't feel it. Was my mana aptitude trash for nothing?
However... in the [Perspective] world, I [knew] exactly what they were doing.
Like reading a book.
Even if it was a professional book I couldn't comprehend, if written in Korean, I could at least read it.
In fact, I could now precisely perceive even the texture of Heindel's cloak, which I hadn't seen clearly before!
Thanks to that, despite knowing jack about magic, I [knew] the four Archmages were assessing my condition in their respective ways.
Woo-
Wung!
After a short time, shock appeared on their bored, unmotivated faces.
"No... what is this?"
"The body is completely fine. No, this level is like shedding bones and emerging anew. But..."
"Meridians are normal, clear traces of mana flow inside. How is it like this?"
"Mana is... detached from this world. Holds internal energy, but... that internal energy isn't external. Mana drawn from one's [inside], not a living dimensional gate—this is..."
As the four Archmages focused seriously, hundreds of magic circles appeared and vanished repeatedly.
"It's the soul. A soul issue—feeding spirit pills won't solve it."
"No way it's an avatar? But avatars should connect more tightly to this world, yet it's so clearly separated..."
"Funny thing—the body is in reality, not immune to magic. Mental or curse types won't stick even if you drop dead. Unless the output can reach another dimension..."
They exchanged opinions while casting spells nonstop.
"Mana amplifier injection."
"Concentration?"
"0.55."
"Activating spell storage."
They stuck syringes in me or etched strange tattoos. No pain, fortunately. In [Perspective]'s world, everything was just information.
Like reading a novel scene of torture—you don't actually hurt.
"Failure! Frustrating. How about killing and reviving once, or extracting the spirit body? Might grasp it cleaner."
"Want the game master to chew you out? Go ahead."
"Even without that, with one sample, what reckless talk..."
I observed the surgery in [Perspective].
One hour, two, three.
One day, two, three, four... time flowed like water.
'Wow.'
I involuntarily exclaimed at the Archmages continuing without a waver.
'No wonder they stopped time.'
Even as they used equipment, spirit herbs, mana stones like water, the work time was unimaginable.
Considering any of them could auction the right to a meal together, the value of this surgery was clear.
'With material costs... astronomical. Could buy several Gigases.'
And that astronomical investment finally bore fruit.
One week after surgery began.
Shining, breathing heavily, said,
"Complete."
Thump. Thump.
The heart floating in midair beat furiously. Surrounded by dozens of ultimate spells, it was naturally mine.
"Can I name it?"
At Flower's words, the three Archmages exchanged glances.
But soon nodded in agreement.
"Sure. No matter how I think, your stake is highest."
"But didn't you say God Saint Dragon? Mana seems too much."
"Magic comprehension too high... even worm-grade dragons couldn't match."
"It's a God Saint Dragon. 1,002 years old."
The Archmages grumbled at Flower's narrowed eyes.
"No, that's a bit... like the Golden Dragon God's late-blooming daughter?"
"That's why Green Dragon, huh."
"No way all F·D are this level?"
"Ah! Enough nonsense! This composite spell's name is Dimensional Awl Heart!"
With that declaration.
Boom!
The heart outside entered my body.
And.
Flash!
The operating room with the four Archmages instantly changed to a vast plain visible to the horizon.
"...Huh?"
I'd been tense with anticipation for the finally ended surgery, but I gasped in shock at the sudden background change.
"Ugh! Where is this?"
"...So suddenly?"
I knew the place. It was my inner world I always visited.
The problem was other people being there.
"What? Where is this?"
"Ah, not physical translocation. A mental world, huh. But pulling me in so suddenly. Another of [Her] schemes?"
Two intruders. A mid-to-late teens boy and an early-to-mid twenties man.
'In total, three.'
A hunch struck, so I raised my hand first.
I calmly explained to the two staring at me.
"Hm. Seems like this happened due to my circumstances. Let's assess first. I'm Killians. Playing Revenge."
"Ah...! No way...!?"
"..."
The boy startled, the man nodding as if he got it.
The boy spoke first.
"I-I'm Crushed Sack. P-playing Blade & Magic."
'...As expected.'
Confirming my guess, I turned to the man.
He too seemed to grasp it, replying with an intrigued expression.
"Playing Dark Star. Name... yeah."
The red-robed man grinned.
"Call me Merlin."