The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (2)

He had set up auto-buy orders to acquire shares of the Hermopolis dimension. What the status window displayed, therefore, was the coin balance he could actually spend — roughly 3.25 million coins.

His experience had climbed considerably after dealing with the Hell Gate. It was a shame to burn through the coins, but wasting time just to hoard a little more was out of the question.

A jump of this size was something he could adapt to with nothing more than a single deep breath. Having a power restriction in place also meant adaptation came easier — up to a point, the process felt a lot like reclaiming strength he had already known.

From here on, though, it got real.

Huuuup!

Mana surged into every corner of his body while his muscles clamped down like a vice, flushing his entire frame a deep, angry red. Unbearable pain burst every capillary in Sunghyun's eyes. He looked exactly like Chang-sik mid-injection — teeth locked so hard that blood seeped from the gums crushed beneath them.

"Grrraaagh—!"

Even through that, he had to keep the mana under control. The one mercy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that half the volume that should have flooded in had vanished somewhere else.

Under normal circumstances, that message would have pissed him off. Right now, he was almost glad to see it. With the reduced mana flow, control became far more manageable. There was nowhere to vent the excess, so every movement of mana rested entirely on Sunghyun's own mastery — and that was the situation he loved most.

He guided the mana settling into his body with the same careful precision he always used. It raced through meridians stretched wider than they had ever been, almost as if asking, Here?

No matter how broad those channels had grown, they still had limits. Years of tempering were the only reason the meridians held instead of rupturing under the pressure. Every instant that overwhelming torrent of mana shifted was a crisis for Sunghyun.

At last, under his guidance, the mana arrived at the Taiji nested in his dantian. The Taiji opened its maw toward the incoming power and swallowed.

Gulp.

The Taiji was the source itself — so the new mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fused with it seamlessly.

"Hoooooo—."

Absorbing mana was always an ordeal. The body was no different. Because everything ran on sensation, raising his Body level still left him subject to the limits of his own perception.

After some time, the mana finally stabilized.

"What time is it…"

He glanced at the clock. Somehow it was already past noon.

"God, I'm wrecked. Sleep first."

Thinking could wait. Sunghyun collapsed onto the bed and was out cold in seconds. The higher his Body rank climbed, the less sleep he needed — two or three hours was plenty.

When he woke again, Lee Hanshin was standing in front of him.

"You've awakened, sir."

"Yeah."

At this point the man was less a secretary and more a butler. Sunghyun washed up, straightened himself out, and changed into the uniform the agents wore.

"Looks kind of like military fatigues."

"Well, the work is essentially the same."

"Shall we head out?"

"Is there anything you need prepared beforehand?"

"Nothing. Right now I just want to throw some punches."

Even compared to before he had crossed dimensions, he was unmistakably stronger. Fifty percent of his absolute power locked away, and he still had this much force. Past level 150, the magnitude and density of that power existed on an entirely different plane.

"Understood. This way."

The two of them stepped into the elevator side by side.

"The characters here are a script. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are on the eleventh floor."

"Not the fifth?"

Lee Hanshin's eyes went wide at Sunghyun's words.

"How did you know that yesterday's destination was designated the fifth floor?"

Sunghyun pointed at his own eyes.

"I've got good eyesight."

Lee Hanshin found himself wondering whether "good eyesight" was really enough to cover what he had just witnessed.

"Yesterday's site is called the fifth floor, but that number doesn't indicate depth. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and the Hellhound, all sit at the same elevation."

"So then?"

"Think of it as an identification number."

The elevator to BMS-05 went to the fifth floor. The elevator to BMS-11 went to the eleventh.

"What about the Hell Gate?"

"That was a special case. They deliberately built the access path right beside the Hellhound's chamber, so it never received a designated floor."

"Is that so?"

This place really was endlessly entertaining.

"Mind if I try pressing the buttons myself?"

"Seeing and doing are two different things… If you press the wrong combination, the elevator drops straight into the basement. The security is designed that way."

"Oh, come on, you're worrying over nothing. If that happens, I'll go catch the Jangsanbeom for you today. Just leave it to me."

Even if the elevator did free-fall, Sunghyun was fairly certain he wouldn't die. Lee Hanshin watched Sunghyun's fingers with a flicker of hopeful anticipation.

There's no way he can't do it. The answer key is right there next to him.

In one corner of Sunghyun's vision sat a fully translated reading of every character inscribed on the elevator panel.

"Let's see… something like this should work."

Lee Hanshin stared in pure shock as Sunghyun pressed the buttons without the slightest hesitation.

"How is that even possible?"

This was not a script you could reproduce after a single glance. Even Lee Hanshin — widely regarded as one of Korea's greatest geniuses — had spent half a year mastering it.

He gave up trying to make sense of it.

Don't try to measure this man by ordinary standards.

That was the correct answer.

The moment Sunghyun pressed the final red button, the elevator began to move. He turned to Lee Hanshin with a grin.

"Well? Not bad, right?"

"Hahaha — you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Up, down, sideways — the elevator shifted endlessly before finally coming to a stop.

"Just how many BMS are there in this place?"

"Four hundred seventy-two in total."

Grade 5 entities: 3.

Grade 4 entities: 64.

Grade 3 entities: 82.

Grade 2 entities: 182.

Grade 1 entities: 141.

"That's a lot. You've got them all separated?"

"Grade 1 and Grade 2 are often housed together."

Which meant every Grade 3 and Grade 4 was fully isolated.

"When BMS entities combine, extremely dangerous phenomena can occur — so it's an unavoidable precaution. Headquarters is even worse."

"How many over there?"

"Three thousand seven hundred seventy-two."

These people were insane. Sunghyun let out a long sigh.

"That's a deranged number."

"The land is vast and the incidents are endless. Please, this way."

Lee Hanshin led him to a room enclosed entirely in glass.

"Can you see them? Those are the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

Damn…

"Why the hell would anyone name something like that after the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"

"Who knows. Headquarters named them, so we follow."

Even putting it charitably, they were walking piles of corpse rags. The clothes they wore were ornate, but the things inside them were grotesque. There were no maggots — and the absence of maggots was no comfort at all, because the pair was already so thoroughly rotted that maggots would have been redundant.

"They look like mummies with the bandages stripped off."

"I actually call them the Mummy Couple myself."

The Mummy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Couple. A fitting name if there ever was one.

"How tough are they?"

"If you're asking about skin durability… think of it as able to withstand a hydraulic cutter at maximum pressure."

Harder than diamond, in other words.

"For reference, the Hellhound could also withstand a hydraulic cutter — but ten seconds of continuous cutting was enough to get through it."

Looking at the other BMS entities, the Hellhound started to seem almost trivial. Just a regenerative puppy that breathed fire and ice.

"So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what I need to keep in mind is their durability, the abilities they channel through those clothes, and the fact that anything their hands touch turns into thread?"

Simple enough. The information displayed by the Book of Thoth lined up almost exactly.

"These two really are interesting… Open the door."

"Yes, sir. I'll be observing from here."

"You might get hurt, so stay a little farther back. This won't take long."

"Don't let your gu— haha, never mind. Good hunting."

Lee Hanshin had been about to say Don't let your guard down. Then he remembered the carnage Sunghyun had left behind yesterday, and the words died in his throat. His job was simply to support Sunghyun so the man could move freely. That was his role. Lee Hanshin knew his place.

Hssssss—.

BMS-treated gas flooded into the glass enclosure. At the same time, the mummies stirred.

Clunk.

Lee Hanshin opened the path leading to the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

I wonder what kind of show he's going to put on.

Watching Sunghyun always brought back the hero stories of his childhood — not the kind where the hero outwitted a BMS and fled, but the kind that smashed them apart with raw power alone. Memories so old they barely felt real.

"They come back to me whenever I look at you, Sunghyun-nim."

Hero in Korean. HERO in English. The Sunghyun that Lee Hanshin saw fit that word more perfectly than anyone he had ever known.

Lee Hanshin spoke into the microphone.

"The gas just deployed is a specialized BMS-treated compound. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will regain consciousness in approximately one minute. Make any necessary preparations now."

Sunghyun heard the voice and almost laughed.

Preparations? He didn't need a damn thing to deal with these two.

The instant Sunghyun reshaped his Vajra, Lee Hanshin's entire field of vision flooded with brilliant light.