War's Fuse — Part B
The sun had set, and the late afternoon light was fading.
Kang Seojun sat on a park bench, staring at his smartwatch.
The smartwatch displayed Seojun's movement route and location in real time.
It was the GPS sharing system built into Seojun's car.
—Seojun-ssi. It will take about five minutes to reach the abandoned factory you mentioned.
"Yes. Understood. Go inside the factory. I'll prepare and contact you again in five minutes."
—Yes. I'll wait.
—Click.
Kang Seojun pressed the call-end button, stretched his stiff body, and muttered.
"...Just sitting for a moment and fatigue is already creeping up on me."
It made sense.
He had already gone two nights without sleep with this broken body, and today he had endured grueling training on top of that.
No matter how transcendent his willpower, he was still human.
His stamina had long passed its limit, and his mental strength was starting to show cracks.
—Shiver.
Kang Seojun shook his head vigorously.
*No way. Get a grip. There are still things I need to do.*
—Slap! Slap! Slap!
He slapped both cheeks three times and summoned the Dimensional Shop window in mid-air.
If stamina and willpower were at their limit, it was time to rely on the power of chemistry.
Kang Seojun first purchased two **Chemical Awakening Pills**.
—*Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*
He jammed both into his arms simultaneously.
—*Shuuuuuuuuu!*
The noisy mind cleared in an instant.
The power of chemistry was truly magnificent.
—*Ziiirrr!*
"Uwaaah...!"
His kidneys screamed for mercy at the overwhelming drug use.
A kidney nicknamed the *Silent Organ* was in this much pain?
This was beyond bad. Way beyond bad.
"Ha!"
Kang Seojun endured every last bit of pain with a single shout, clutching his stinging side, and quickly bought **Chemical Painkiller** with trembling fingers.
—*Chit-chit-chit! Glug! Glug! Glug!*
He chugged the painkiller like it was a candy bar in one go.
—*Krruk! Krruk!*
—*Thwack! Boooom!*
Dark, ominous sounds and vibrations erupted near Kang Seojun's kidneys and liver.
But there was no pain.
*Chemical Painkiller* once again.
"That should cover the doping for now."
He had to hold back on overclocking for a while.
"Now the last one..."
Kang Seojun moved his fingers busily once more.
There were still many things to purchase.
──────《ITEM》──────
▶ **Dimensional Shop Teleport Scroll**
◆ **Grade**
[High-grade]
◆ **Description**
- A one-time scroll infused with teleportation magic. Consumption scales with distance.
- Write the coordinates and tear it to activate.
- Purchasable only from the Dimensional Shop.
- Usable once per day; resets at midnight.
─────────────────
The next item he bought was the transport method that would instantly send him right next to Seojun.
For long distances the cost skyrocketed, but for short ones it offered excellent value.
Kang Seojun scribbled on the scroll.
Bright letters appeared: the coordinates of the abandoned factory.
Normally he would need expensive artifacts or complex mana circles, but for Kang Seojun those steps were unnecessary.
Most dimensional coordinates were already memorized in his head.
"Great. Just one more left."
With the transport ready, he moved on to the final item.
This was the most critical piece of the entire plan.
──────《ITEM》──────
▶ **Dimensional Shop Imitation Scroll**
◆ **Grade**
[High-grade]
◆ **Description**
- A one-time scroll infused with imitation magic. Consumption scales with transformation time.
- Requires a sacrificial token related to the target when setting the imitation.
- Tear to activate after setting the target.
- Purchasable only from the Dimensional Shop.
─────────────────
A scroll that could perfectly mimic the appearance of any chosen target, like a doppelganger.
Kang Seojun summoned his trait window beside the shop window to select the target.
───────《SKILL》───────
▶ **Parasitic Growth**
◆ **Grade**
[Epic]
◆ **Description**
- Absorbs 20% of the host's earned experience points to fuel the parasite's growth.
- Current host: Park Sinhu
※ Special Effect 1: Every time stats increase by 1 point through Parasitic Growth, the user may swap one desired trait with the host.
[Remaining trait swap points: 3]
──────────────────
This skill let him set the imitation target.
The required sacrifice would be inside the swap points.
When Kang Seojun touched one trait-swap point, a small light appeared at his fingertip.
He brought the light straight to the Imitation Scroll.
[The trait-swap point for Parasitic Growth has been sacrificed.]
[Imitation Scroll target set to host Park Sinhu.]
"Perfect. Preparation is complete."
With everything ready, it was time to move.
Kang Seojun tucked the scroll into his pocket and scanned the surroundings.
In the particularly dark corner of the park that barely saw sunlight, there was no one else around.
"Let's just do it then."
Without hesitation he tore the Teleport Scroll.
—*Whoosh!*
—*Whoosh!*
A trail of light accompanied Kang Seojun as he vanished.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Stellaport, the artificial island city in the East Sea.
At its outskirts, in the docks long abandoned by human hands, stood the derelict factory.
The atmosphere here felt eerily like Chernobyl.
Seojun's sedan slid into the massive abandoned factory.
—*Creak. Creak.*
Weeds, thick and tall, brushed against the car body with a dry rustle.
"..."
It was probably too bumpy for the car to go any further.
—*Rumble...*
Seojun turned off the engine and glanced at his smartwatch.
—*Ding! Ding!*
Exactly at the ghost-of-a-timing, a call came through from Kang Seojun.
"Yes. I've received the call. This is Seojun."
—Yes, Seojun-ssi. I've confirmed your arrival.
Seojun blinked twice.
"Were you watching? Where are you now?"
—You need to go further inside the factory.
"Yes. I'm heading there right now."
—*Vroom!* *Clunk!*
Seojun immediately stepped out of the car and walked toward the factory interior.
—As you enter, you'll see a particularly striking red container. Go to that one. I'll be waiting.
—*Click...*
Was there something more they needed to talk about?
"......? A striking red container?"
Seojun searched every corner of the factory and pressed deeper inward.
"There it is."
Indeed, among the stacked, abandoned containers, only one had a bright red color.
Seojun walked straight to the red container.
"..."
It was securely locked with a heavy chain.
"I clearly told you to go inside."
—*Clank!* *Clank!*
Using his full strength, Seojun smashed the lock and forced the door open.
—*Squeeeak.*
"Huh!"
Seojun, who had casually opened the container door, froze mid-step and took half a pace back.
The moment he opened it, Kang Seojun's face was right in front of him.
"Fortunately you arrived safely."
"Wha—h-how did you get in here?"
The container had been locked, and there were no other entrances visible...
"I'll explain that later. For now, come inside. Time is short."
Kang Seojun waddled inside the container and gestured.
"Ah. Right. Understood."
There were still agents trailing Seojun from outside.
The priority now was to handle the immediate situation rather than anything else.
Seojun entered the container, closed the door firmly behind him.
—*Thud!*
The instant the door shut, the inside of the container plunged into perfect darkness.
Kang Seojun activated the smartwatch's light.
"No time, so I'll explain right now."
"Yes. I'm ready."
Seojun nodded with solemn determination.
"First, what Seojun-ssi needs me to do is a kind of situation play."
Seojun's eyes flashed rapidly.
"...Could you explain it in more detail?"
"The reason the agents are approaching you right now is to find out who Seojun got the information about Director Kim Hak-yong from."
"Exactly."
"In other words, what they want is to identify the whistleblower who provided you with that information. I'll become the whistleblower they are looking for."
"..."
Seojun's eyes and mouth opened wide.
"B-but... you can't possibly mean you're going to shoulder the agents that are following me in my place, right?!"
"Lower your voice. If they hear outside..."
"Ah..."
Seojun awkwardly wiped his mouth and lowered his voice.
"That's the opposite of what I said. I know Seojun-ssi is stronger than me, but even so, this is too dangerous."
"You don't need to worry about that."
Kang Seojun gave a faint smile and rummaged through his pocket.
"Since I'm going to use this..."
"......What is it?"
From his pocket came the **Dimensional Shop Imitation Scroll**.
"The transformation scroll."
A scroll that would temporarily turn Kang Seojun's appearance into Park Sinhu's.
Kang Seojun intended to use this scroll to dump the agents onto Park Sinhu.
"Ah."
Seojun nodded, understanding the plan.
"Creating a virtual person to confuse the agents..."
"Hm. Yes, that's correct about confusing them, but I'm not creating a virtual person."
"Then what...?"
"Seeing it is better than hearing me explain."
—*Whoosh!*
Kang Seojun tore the **Dimensional Shop Imitation Scroll** lengthwise.
—*Fwoooosh!*
Blue flames burst from the scroll as it vanished, and Kang Seojun's skin began to bubble and rise.
"Ha—hic!"
Seojun covered his mouth with both hands in horror.
—*Squish! Squish! Squish!*
If you threw a human body into a steel crusher, it would be like this?
Kang Seojun's body twisted, contorted, and occasionally burst with grotesque sounds.
Seojun's pupils trembled violently with fear.
"S-Seojun-ssi!? Ah, the eyes—!"
"Don't worry, I-I-I-I can—"
However, Kang Seojun's voice was completely calm.
He raised a hand, signaling that he was fine as if nothing had happened.
—*Squish! Squish! Squish! Thud! Boooom!*
Even amid the chaos, his entire body twisted and burst with eerie noises.
"I'm fine. Originally, I, I-I-I... can do things like this."
What Kang Seojun had just done was simply tear the scroll.
But the core of it was that he had lit the fuse for the war between Taesan Group and the Red Inverted Cross.
Of course the flames burned brightly.