The Special Furnace

Three months had passed.

In that time, I had thrown myself into the work of the A-Plan Legion. Settling friction with legions from other zones, clearing newly discovered dungeons, grinding my stats through training — the stretch had been so packed that three months felt more like one.

Once the A-Plan Legion's schedule finally wound down, everyone found a little room for personal time.

Kang Myeong-jin, master of the A-Plan Legion, slipped off somewhere without a word. Nothing unusual about that. He took personal excursions now and then.

Probably off raising his stats with original-story knowledge. Or hunting weapons and items.

Kang Myeong-jin was diligent to a fault. I had never once seen the man take a real break.

I don't think the original ever had a line about him resting, either…

What mattered was that free time had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finally opened up.

It was time to handle the business I had been putting off.

I can't keep stalling Hephaestus's mission forever.

Not that I had been completely idle. Between A-Plan Legion duties, I had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠researching special furnaces whenever I could spare a moment.

The results had been less than encouraging.

Across the vast expanse of the Atlantis continent, only two special furnaces were currently known to exist.

The Magic Furnace belonged to a massive legion called Olphis. The entire organization managed it with obsessive care, which made any personal use of it all but impossible.

Borrow it for a day? That would take an absurd amount of money. More importantly, Olphis had no reason to cooperate with me. From what I had heard, even activating the Magic Furnace required meeting special conditions.

The other one is the Hell Furnace. Nobody owns that one, but…

The Hell Furnace sat somewhere in the Hell Zone. Meaning anyone who wanted to use it had to go there.

I clawed my way out of the Hell Zone once already, and now I'm supposed to go back? Fuck that.

Worse still, no one even knew its exact location. Finding it would mean wandering the Hell Zone blind — which was basically suicide.

Getting into the Hell Zone is a problem all by itself. The Hell Furnace is off the table.

After all that circling, I was right back where I started.

I can't solve this on my own.

Elena was the first person who came to mind. With her help, I might wrap this up cleanly.

I already forced her into idol work. I can't go asking for another favor on top of that.

Next was Kang Myeong-jin. A capable workaholic. He might know something I didn't.

Too late to ask him now. I don't even know where he is. And if I lean on him for this… he might start getting suspicious. Smart bastard. Better stay careful.

I needed a different approach.

Someone with the power to help me.

…I almost forgot who I belong to.

I was Seong Yujin of the A-Plan Legion — and Cheonma, an executive of Helten.

I'll use Helten.

As Cheonma, I left the A-Plan Legion and went to meet Samuel, the boss of Helten. He happened to be nearby, so arranging the meeting was easy enough.

Samuel was in a neighboring village, investigating ancient ruins under his cover identity as an archaeologist — one of several public faces he wore.

"It's been a while, Cheonma. I've been hearing the Heavenly Demon Cult is flourishing by the day. Congratulations."

"The Heavenly Demon Cult? Ah."

For a second I had no idea what he was talking about — then I remembered I had founded a faction. I hadn't set foot in the western zone in so long that the Heavenly Demon Cult had slipped my mind entirely.

"You forgot? Well now… the legion master of the Heavenly Demon Cult is remarkably indifferent."

"I plan to visit soon."

Samuel knowing about the Heavenly Demon Cult didn't surprise me. That was just the kind of man he was. In the original story he played something close to a mastermind, which meant he knew nearly everything worth knowing about Atlantis.

"The Heavenly Demon Cult. Not a bad faction. Raise it well. It'll be useful later."

"I'll handle it myself."

"You leave it alone and still say you'll handle it… Well, it's none of my business to interfere. You came because you had something to ask me, right? What do you want to know?"

"I came to ask about special furnaces… Who's the woman behind you?"

I looked past Samuel. A woman was leaning against the wooden wall. She wore a black robe, her face hidden behind a blank white mask. Her body was completely covered. All I could see were the two eye holes cut into the mask. Calling her a woman was pure instinct.

"A new recruit. Her name is White. I can't tell you who she really is. But you're a regressor, so you already know White's identity, don't you?"

"……"

I didn't.

Samuel only shows up in the late stages of the original. Even if he has a woman traveling with him this early, it wouldn't be strange.

I didn't know every detail of Samuel's past.

…My interference might have already changed the original plot. Still, if I had to guess who she is…

I didn't jump to conclusions about White's identity. Better to be careful with this kind of thing. Even if I was certain who she was, there was nothing I could do about it right now.

"You said you were looking for a special furnace? Have you heard of the Magic Furnace and the Hell Furnace?"

"I did the basic research. The Magic Furnace belongs to the Olphis Legion, and the Hell Furnace is somewhere in the Hell Zone."

"I can tell you which sector the Hell Furnace is in. I've got two places in mind."

"I have no intention of going back to the Hell Zone."

"That so? The Hell Furnace would be pretty useful if you got it… Hmm. The Ancient Furnace is at the bottom of the deep sea, so hauling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it up anytime soon is impossible… Looks like you'll have to build one yourself."

"…Build a special furnace? If it were that easy, every major legion would already own one as standard equipment."

"Major legions don't build special furnaces because they don't have the blueprints. With the blueprints, money, and people, you can make as many special furnaces as you want."

"…Do you happen to have the blueprints for a special furnace?"

"No. But I know who does. Go find Sparkle. You know who Sparkle is, right?"

Sparkle.

An executive of Helten.

His real name was Harmo — a merchant known as the Merchant of the West. A tycoon who held the economy of Atlantis's western regions in his grip. The joke went that he owned a well that pumped gold. That was how rich he was.

"You want me to deal with the Merchant of the West? Shit. I'm not exactly rolling in money."

"A regressor with no money… Hard to believe. If I were a regressor, the first thing I'd do is rake in cash. And you don't need to worry about money that much. Sparkle probably won't ask you for any."

"Do you know what he'll ask for instead?"

"Who knows."

He smiled with deliberate ambiguity.

I frowned, then smoothed my expression and turned to leave. Either way, I had gotten the information I needed on special furnaces.

As I headed for the door, Samuel called after me.

"Cheonma."

"Speak."

"I'm placing my expectations on you. You'll be a critical key to our purpose. Just a hunch, of course."

"……"

Zone 8,111. The underground pyramid.

It had been a long time since I last set foot in Zone 8,111. This was where my women lived, so I should have been visiting often… but lately there had always been something else demanding my attention. The A-Plan Legion had plenty of my women too, so I hadn't felt much need to come.

…In short, I'd just forgotten about the place.

I stepped inside the pyramid.

"…Hm?"

The interior had changed.

The pyramid I remembered started with bare, bleak walls and corridors from the entrance. Now white wallpaper covered the walls, marble lined the floors, and LED fluorescent lights glowed from the ceiling. Artwork hung along the walls.

Actually feels lived-in.

I walked deeper without making much of it.

The internal layout had shifted too. Walls had been knocked down, rooms built, doors hung. I opened a few — most were empty.

Click. Expecting another empty room, I opened the next door.

A woman lying on the bed stirred at the sound of someone entering. She was a beauty with long navy-blue hair and blue eyes. Her legs were long, her chest full. Still rubbing her closed eyes, she spoke in a sleepy voice.

"I'm up. I'm up already…. Don't start nagging, Ok…jeong…?"

Yonggil Gongju's eyes flew wide open.

"Long time no see, Yonggil Gongju. Sprawled out in the middle of the day, I see."

"Y-You! Why did you just show up all of a sudden?!"

"Is it strange for me to come to my own zone? It's been a while… want to?"

"Get lost!"

Yonggil Gongju hurled a pillow at me. That insolent attitude put me in a good mood.

Figured she'd come out swinging. Now I've got grounds to punish her… and true to her nickname, Bidet Princess, maybe I'll make her lick my ass clean.

I threw the pillow right back at her.

"Ack!"

The pillow — packed with mana — smacked her in the face and sent her tumbling across the bed.

"I'm going to take a look around the pyramid. Stay right here and wait."

"You…!"

Bang!

I slammed the door shut before she could finish and headed up through the pyramid.

I arrived at what looked like a dining hall. Next to it was a kitchen, and someone was in the middle of cooking.

A woman with white hair and red eyes. She was short — only about 150 centimeters — but her chest and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hips were remarkably full. Okjeong, who had taken it upon herself to serve as Yonggil Gongju's attendant. The moment she saw me, she startled so hard she dropped the ladle in her hand.

"C-Cheonma-nim?!"

"Long time no see. Already prepping dinner?"

"Today's dishes take a lot of work…. Th-That's not important. Did you just get back?"

"I already saw the Bidet Princess. Where's Kasha?"

"Kasha should be back a little later."

"That so? Then I've got nothing to do… want to have sex?"

"Aren't you going to see Lady Bathory and Ersia first?"

"Bathory? I can see her later. Who's Ersia, though?"

"Ah, you don't know. Ersia is…"

She never finished the sentence. Footsteps pounded from outside, racing toward the dining hall.

"Okjeong unnie! Can I have a glass of mil… k…?"

A little girl with pale skin and black hair saw me and went round-eyed, her red irises wide.

"Dad?"