The Strength One Seeks
Yee Eun-chae was having a strange experience. She could clearly feel her own body and the magic power flowing within it, yet she couldn't move a single finger according to her will. Standing before her was a man wielding a vicious greatsword. Though he looked exactly like a real person, she didn't find his appearance particularly remarkable. After all, NPCs that looked identical to actual humans were common in virtual reality.
'Oh, so we're fighting?'
Yee Eun-chae felt her body move on its own. Not only that—she could sense magic power rapidly enveloping the sword in her hand.
'This is...?'
She realized that the magic power of the body's owner she was currently experiencing felt remarkably similar to her own. It was the type used for physical enhancement, wrapping around the entire body and coating the blade as well. An overwhelming aura of sharpness radiated from the sword, so intense that even though she couldn't control the body, merely sensing it through her own magic power sent a chill down her spine. It felt as though the blade contained the power to cut through anything.
Even her father probably couldn't display this level of skill. 'Incredible. It really feels like this is my own body.'
Yee Eun-chae focused intently on every sensation she was experiencing. She was trying to etch into her soul the way a far stronger warrior wielded magic power. She felt the man before her raise his sword, and the duel between the two began.
Boom— Boom—
The opponent's greatsword, cloaked in an equally menacing aura, clashed against the blade wrapped in terrifying sharpness that seemed capable of cutting through everything. Yee Eun-chae realized that this man was an overwhelmingly powerful warrior whom even her father couldn't hope to defeat. She also sensed that the owner of this body she was inhabiting was, like her, a woman.
'Mmm, every time I swing the sword, I can feel my chest shaking heavily.'
It was a familiar sensation to Yee Eun-chae. Whenever she swung her sword, her full, elastic breasts would bounce violently up and down—that was something she always felt. She didn't know it, but if anyone had heard her thoughts, they might have felt a pang of frustration while looking at their own chest. Yet Yee Eun-chae, unable to even imagine such a reaction, concentrated on every sensation in her body and tried to commit it all to memory.
'This kind of control... I think I can do it.'
Thanks to her body becoming more attuned to magic power and her handling of it growing more delicate, Yee Eun-chae found it easier to understand and master the methods of wielding magic power at a much higher level than her own. She also paid close attention to the sword movements, knowing that remembering this body's owner's swordsmanship—clearly a high-level technique—would be of great help to her.
'He's truly strong.'
Even though it was recreated using Yucheon Group's technology, no matter how advanced the tech was, it would be impossible to reproduce the movements and subtlety of such a powerful warrior through technology alone. It seemed the structure allowed a true expert to provide their own experience and skills, which were then experienced through Yucheon Group's capabilities.
'I'm truly grateful to Moon-jin for letting me have this experience.'
Yee Eun-chae felt nothing but sincere gratitude toward Seo Moon-jin for allowing her to go through all of this.
'I will definitely become stronger.'
And she would no longer lose to Seo Moon-hyun. She would personally punish Seo Moon-hyun's misdeeds—how he spoke ill of her precious friend Seo Moon-jin while shamelessly claiming them as his own friends and trying to drive a wedge between them.
"Hmm, looks like I've suddenly got nothing to do."
With all four of them immersed in sleep and experiencing things in their dreams, I was left alone in reality with nothing to occupy myself. Seo Moon-min-hye was currently experiencing techniques for handling water and wind attributes along with swordsmanship in her dream. Arian Liberin was experiencing light and lightning attributes and rapier techniques. Yee Eun-chae was experiencing physical enhancement-type power focused on swordsmanship and techniques that maximized cutting power. Yoo Eun-chae was also experiencing techniques for handling darkness and ice attributes along with swordsmanship suited to her.
For the next two hours, they would directly feel and experience these things, rapidly accelerating their growth. During that time, I decided to handle other matters and pass the time.
"Lucifer, Satan. How's Kang Mi-hyun behaving?"
I contacted Lucifer and Satan to ask about Kang Mi-hyun's status. Lucifer was assisting Satan with monitoring Kang Mi-hyun as requested, since there was no need to watch over Seo Moon-min-hye at the moment. In truth, for surveillance missions like this, the more meticulous Lucifer was far more helpful than the hot-headed Satan.
- Yes, my lord... I mean, Master. To prevent Kang Mi-hyun from massacring civilians while trying to steal the diamonds, we deliberately leaked information that the diamonds would be transported by truck and arranged for the escort forces and drivers to be wiped out so she could seize the diamonds. Since the diamonds were stolen in a seemingly natural large-scale operation, Kang Mi-hyun is planning to withdraw just like this.
It seemed they had deliberately moved the diamonds by truck because leaving them stored would have allowed Kang Mi-hyun to raid the site and massacre all the civilians in the area. The people transporting the truck were all members of criminal organizations that mined diamonds through dirty methods, so there was no issue. The rebels who monopolized diamond mining in Sierra Leone committed atrocities beyond anything imaginable in other countries—massacring civilians indiscriminately, raping women without restraint, cutting off wrists to prevent voting, and kidnapping young boys to turn them into child soldiers through drugs and other means, making them into killing machines.
Unlike the world of my previous life where things had been gradually improving, here the existence of mana awakeners had emboldened the rebels, allowing them to maintain their power through alliances with villain organizations and continue their atrocities. Kang Mi-hyun's calm willingness to massacre even civilians was probably because she could disguise it as the work of those who held grudges against the rebels occupying the region after stealing the diamonds.
'Every time that woman appeared in the original story, her words and actions were truly something else.'
I recalled how shameless and self-righteous she had been. She would claim her crimes were due to the environment she grew up in, portraying herself as a pitiful victim while defending her actions. And Seo Moon-hyun would go along with it, spouting all sorts of ridiculous justifications. It was all still fresh in my memory.
'She'd show disgust toward villains with lesser crimes than hers, talking about punishing them, while keeping far more vicious villains by her side and calling them precious people.'
The same way he treated devoted heroines like Lee Se-na as afterthoughts. I knew exactly what that bastard was thinking. If he was planning something, it was obvious.
'Just thinking about it pisses me off.'
Remembering those forced whitewashing attempts brought a wave of irritation, but I suppressed the feeling and asked Lucifer and Satan.
"Kang Mi-hyun won't do anything crazy on her way back, right?"
- No. Since all her subordinates who were transporting the diamonds are already dead, her priority will be to leave the area quickly. The bandit group led by Kang Mi-hyun is also heading straight for their hideout first. Kang Mi-hyun's bandit group had secret hideouts prepared all over the world. There was even one in Busan, right here in Korea, the center of magic power. For now, Kang Mi-hyun and her group would store the stolen diamonds and later dispose of them on the black market without drawing attention.
'Kang Mi-hyun's story still has some time left.'
The arc where Kang Mi-hyun became a central figure would begin when she and her bandit group came to Korea. That was when she would encounter Seo Moon-hyun and try to recruit him, leading to their entanglement.
'Both of them... no, the entire bandit group will be completely destroyed.'
While thinking that I would give them a fitting end someday, I began considering Yee Eun-chae's upcoming story.
'This weekend will mark the beginning.'
The incident this weekend would be the stage that signaled the start of Yee Eun-chae's story. At that time, she would gain real combat experience, and I sincerely hoped she would obtain as much of the strength she was pursuing as possible.
'The results are certain, but... to gain more from the training I've provided, her own effort is necessary.'
How much she gained depended on Yee Eun-chae's effort. Seo Moon-min-hye, Arian Liberin, and Yoo Eun-chae would also reap results according to their own efforts. But since they were all hardworking geniuses, it was clear they would achieve excellent results worthy of their effort and talent.
- My lord, my one and only master. I have an important report to make.
A sudden report came from Baalzebul, who was effectively running Yucheon Group.
"What is it?"
- The Yee family has requested whether they might have a meeting with you, Master.