The Park Trip and Unexpected Violence
The lights were off, and the only illumination came from the machinery humming in the corner. In the room filled with the trash of cheap instant ramen sold only at convenience stores, a pair of hands moved busily.
“This way… and this goes straight into the core—.”
“Hey, Imir.”
“The circuit motif is based on the elves…”
Cheon Seong had come to this place to forge a fake identity, but the guy clinging to him back in his previous life was Imir—talented, no doubt about that.
In Imir’s hands rested the Gargoyle Core Cheon Seong had thrown him before. The eccentric genius inventor was already busy crafting a new robot with it. Cheon Seong sighed as he watched the man’s back. He had once been just as oblivious, even when Cheon Seong stood right behind him. Without a sound, the regressor cast a spell.
“Light.”
Just a basic light spell that could be done in an instant. For someone like this, it was the fastest way.
Flash!
“Kyaaah! My precious—!!”
A blinding flash erupted right in front of him. Imir screamed, eyes squeezed shut, and rolled across the floor.
“Ugh… Who the hell are you?!”
“It’s me, you idiot.”
“Eek… Who… who are you… Hic! Y-you… Why—.”
Thud!
“Cough—!!”
Imir rubbed his eyes. The world slowly came back into focus. When he noticed Cheon Seong standing there, he panicked and tumbled backward, smashing his head on a sharp edge of machinery lying scattered across the floor.
“You’re smart, no doubt, but why do you always look so stupid?”
“Ouch… Shut up. You startled me, idiot.”
Imir clutched the spot where the corner had stabbed him and shot a glare at the man who had come for him.
“So what now? What are you here for this time?”
“Fake identity. One.”
“What? I already made one for you. If you’re worried about getting caught, don’t worry. I hacked the central admin computer that stores birth records. Nothing can get through it.”
“What’s there to brag about hacking a national mainframe? Whatever. This time I’m using it myself. Going hunting.”
“Damn! You said you’d do the hunting last time! Hah… Just forget I said anything. So what do you need it for this time?”
Imir asked where he would use it, and Cheon Seong hesitated. But the man was insane, sure, yet he was no blabbermouth. Cheon Seong told him anyway.
“Hmph… It doesn’t matter to you. Just a few owls.”
“A~ So you’re hunting owls…”
Imir froze.
“Wait. Owls? You know what that word means, right?”
Imir stared at him with genuine disbelief.
“Those aren’t the harmless birds you’re thinking of.”
“What the hell? This is crazy. Stay away from that kind of stuff, or even the help I’ve given you will turn into a pain in the ass.”
Imir’s intelligence might be lacking, but he wasn’t stupid. He was one of the sharpest brains in the world. Of course the identities he forged were perfect—hacked birth records and everything. But the guy clearly understood that helping someone kill “owls” would eventually annoy him. Cheon Seong had come prepared for that.
“This is the retainer.”
Whiz!
“No, I mean don’t— No, of course I’ll do it! Just give me a second!”
The change in Imir’s tone was instant. Cheon Seong had handed him Mithril—the rare metal that even the best-equipped labs couldn’t buy, no matter how rich they were.
The man hadn’t even noticed the room was turning into a junkyard while making the new robot.
Now, after scouring every underground auction house in the world and finding nothing, the only thing that could be obtained was Mithril. To a genius inventor like Imir who craved the finest robots, that retainer was too damn valuable to turn down.
Even the world’s top genius could not escape being a slave to capital.
……
……
……
“Hah… Hah! Hic! I-I’m back.”
Imir returned two minutes later—faster than last time. Two minutes to crack a main server of a world-class nation like Korea. Cheon Seong had seen it before, so he barely reacted.
“Thanks anyway. I’ll come again if I need anything next time.”
“Of course! Please come again soon—uh, I mean, good deal!”
“Yeah. I’m out.”
Cheon Seong had clearly heard him call him “black cow,” but he let it slide. Before teleporting away, he hugged the smiling Imir and whispered the truth.
“And about the robot upstairs… sorry.”
“What? What the heck—?”
Cheon Seong vanished in a flash of light without waiting for an answer.
Imir stood there, stunned, then bolted upstairs to check the CCTV. The moment he saw the burning research lab and robots smashed to pieces, he screamed.
“You bastard! You crazy son of a bitch!!”
Chit, chik! Chiziziz.
The security footage showed dozens of robots sent in as intruders—now wrecked and blazing—filling the frame.
Even a casual glance showed damages that would swallow hundreds of billions of won in repair costs without blinking.
Cheon Seong had not been joking about paying in Mithril.
***
Whiz!
Back in the marked room, Yuna was waiting exactly as he had instructed. The moment he appeared, she threw herself into his arms.
“Did you finish everything, Cheon Seong?”
“Yeah. Sorry I made you wait. By the way, you look really beautiful. The outfit suits you perfectly.”
“Daddy, what about Hana?”
“She’s adorable.”
At the cute question, Hana burst into a bright smile and hugged him tightly.
[Everyone, change into your clothes first. No one else should see us like this.]
Beatrice’s voice came from behind them. The First Heavenly Demon had already prepared the outfits and vanished to avoid prying eyes.
Cheon Seong answered quietly, then quickly changed into the clothes Yuna had picked out because she looked concerned.
Beatrice preferred to stay hidden. Yuna and Hana hated her usual formal attire. Yet Cheon Seong had chosen exactly that outfit for today.
“Mommy! Mom! Hana is going to ride all the rides here today!”
“Of course, sweetie. But only what you can handle today. We can ride the rest tomorrow.”
The noisy family, the couples, and especially the children enjoying themselves—Nuri Island, home to Korea’s largest amusement park, was perfect for a family trip.
Today they had come because Hana had begged to visit the very park where she had watched the entrance exam on TV.
Nuri Island, like the artificial island where the academy stood—Seabit Island—was home to Korea’s biggest amusement park.
The entrance fee alone exceeded two million won per person, and everything inside cost several times more than other parks. But money was never an issue. Hana had asked to come, so there was no reason not to.
Cheon Seong had wanted to bring her to the absolute best place for her first-ever visit, which was why they had traveled all the way to Nuri Island.
He also wanted to give her a perfect memory, so he had dressed up too.
He wasn’t handsome, and he didn’t mind sloppy clothes. But he couldn’t just wander with Hana looking like that.
“Still, do I really have to do this? Just ignore it and walk away?”
[Absolutely not.]
“No way. When you step out, you must do it. If you ignore it, we won’t leave you alone.”
Cheon Seong had been thinking about just hiding his bangs. Yuna and Beatrice stopped him instantly.
“Even at home the two of you tell me to do it. But when we step outside, you always make me keep my bangs down.”
He didn’t mind his own hair. The bangs didn’t block his vision. Yet today, when they had come to the park just for Hana, he had still asked.
“But if that’s what you two want… let’s go to the hotel first.”
They had planned this trip, but Nuri Island was different from other places—no app booking for hotel rooms. They had to check in at a physical hotel.
“Ugh… I just want to ride the rides quickly…”
“Sorry, Hana. But… Eek!”
Cheon Seong wanted to go alone, check in, and let Hana and Yuna play while he kept an eye out. But he was worried about the pervy guys who would latch onto Yuna’s appearance. So instead he lifted the unhappy Hana onto his shoulders and let her ride the carousel.
“Waaah! Daddy! Hana’s really high!”
“This is as good as it gets until I find a room. Just bear with it for now.”
“Yay!”
He had worried she might dislike or fear it, but seeing her happy made him relax.
Hana happily scanned the vast landscape that was normally too tall for her. When they reached the hotel, she was reluctant to get down.
Cheon Seong saw the obvious disappointment on her face and told her he would ride it again later. He turned to the front-desk clerk.
“We’re staying for one day. Is there a three-person room?”
The clerk looked annoyed. He scanned Cheon Seong from head to toe and answered as if the man were invisible.
“Sir, even the cheapest single room here costs three million won a night. Are you sure it’s okay?”
Yuna frowned at the clerk’s dismissive tone.
“Excuse me. Is that how you’re treating our guest?”
“Yuna, it’s fine. Anyway—.”
“I asked because you two still look young. It’s just a reasonable question… Even though you look young, you have such a big daughter. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
The clerk glanced at Hana and spoke as if Yuna had given birth to her at a ridiculously young age. Cheon Seong’s face twisted with murderous intent.
“Hic… Hic! R-room! These people are trying to harm me! Catch them!”
The clerk, terrified by the murderous glare, pressed himself against the wall and called for security.
“You can’t cause a scene here.”
“Listen, I’m trying to be nice. Don’t cause trouble.”
Two middle-lower-ranked men in suits stepped up, grabbed Cheon Seong’s shoulders, and tried to block him.
Cheon Seong didn’t mind being insulted, but touching Yuna was a line he wouldn’t cross. He grabbed the hands on his shoulders, twisted, and flung them away.
“Ugh—!!”
“Ack!”
Those idiots who couldn’t even handle a simple fall and brain jolt were nothing. Cheon Seong reached into his pocket and hurled something at the terrified clerk.
Whiz! Thud!
Even without mana reinforcement, his pure strength sent the object flying. It smashed straight into the clerk’s forehead, leaving it stained with makeup.
“Kyaaah! It hurts… Hic… Hic! Blood… Blood!”
The clerk’s forehead cracked slightly and blood trickled down. He screamed, waving his hands at Cheon Seong.
“Y-you! I’ll sue you for assault and battery!”
“I only showed you money because you looked poor. What’s so noisy about that? An adult crying because he got hit by something a young-looking person threw? Doesn’t that embarrass you?”
“Wh-what!? Even a kid like that has money… I mean… Eh?”
Cheon Seong had called them young, so the old man was pretending to be young. The clerk tried to shout back, but when he checked what had been thrown, his face turned white with disbelief. He kept staring at Cheon Seong and the item.
B-rank Mana Stone.
The identity of what Cheon Seong had thrown.
A B-rank Mana Stone was worth over ten million won—something major corporations or national research labs would pay a fortune for.
That meant Cheon Seong was either strong enough to hunt B-rank monsters or rich enough to carry around items worth over ten million won.
The clerk had been the first to insult them, so he should be the one apologizing and offering compensation. Instead, his words reeked of filthy greed.
“You! If you don’t want to get sued, pay me three billion won right now! Someone like you having money like that? There must be at least three billion!”
Did this guy even have a brain? The choice was so brainless and stupid it made Cheon Seong wonder if he even needed one.
“Shouldn’t the hotel that ignored us, suddenly labeled us as dangerous, and called security to resolve it with violence, pay us compensation instead?”
“E-evidence!? There’s no evidence I said any of that!”
“Evidence? You think I’d do this without evidence?”
Tap!
[Excuse me. Is that how you’re treating our guest?]
[Yuna, it’s fine. Anyway—.]
[I asked because you two still look young. It’s just a reasonable question… Even though you look young, you have such a big daughter. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry.]
A finger snap. The recording spell had already filled the entire hotel lobby with the earlier conversation.
“Th-this is fabricated!”
The woman had not expected real evidence. She screamed that it was fake and tried to rile up other staff and guests into believing it was a lie. Cheon Seong was about to show more proof when a loud voice suddenly shouted from the direction of the stairs.
“What is going on here?!”
Every head turned that way. The clerk who had looked first turned deathly pale and started shaking uncontrollably.