Chapter 456
Chapter 456
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 456
Chapter Title: Level Up System
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“Sugella!”
“Sugella! Sugella! Sugella! Sugella! Sugella!”
...
I kept casting hypnosis until my mana was completely drained, and Park Hae-jun, now under hypnosis, collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
There was only one reason I'd gone this far hypnotizing Park Hae-jun, whom I was going to kill anyway. To extract information about Elpis.
I'd love to kidnap Im Yu-na and break her in, but she was holed up deep in some police agency right now, working nonstop without even going home.
“Ugh... It hurts... Oppa. Should I just kill him now?”
Yu Jae-kyung picked up the pistol and said, her eyes sharp. She clearly wasn't happy about getting hit with telekinesis.
“Hold on. Killing him like this would be a waste. We need to squeeze out some info first. I told you that earlier.”
“...Oppa. Is your arm okay?”
“This? It's fine.”
It hurt a little, but not enough to be unbearable. Still, since it did hurt, I immediately used Complete Recovery to fix it right up.
Unfortunately, mana didn't recover even with Complete Recovery. Probably because mana falls under the hypnosis system.
“Fuck!”
I kicked Park Hae-jun in the chest while he was hypnotized.
“Gah!”
Thud! Park Hae-jun tumbled backward, slamming his head into the floor.
“Get up, you bastard! You think I'd just let you twist my arm and walk away?”
I gave Park Hae-jun a thorough beating. Yu Jae-kyung joined in midway through.
“S-Sorry.”
Park Hae-jun bowed his head to me, his face covered in blood.
“Park Hae-jun. From now on, answer my questions immediately. What is Elpis plotting?”
“Elpis...”
I asked him questions one by one, methodically.
First, Elpis. The ones moving were just the Elpis Korean branch and the Korean government.
According to Park Hae-jun, in four days, they planned to launch an operation with the police special forces to capture or kill me, the apostle of the Crimson Sea Church. Once captured, it'd be life imprisonment without parole in a special prison for the rest of my days.
And they'd figured out I was Crimson Light. The reason? X-ray vision.
'So they spotted my dick and realized I'm Crimson Light. Heh.'
My identity being exposed didn't matter at this point, so I shrugged it off.
But mistaking my hypnosis ability for Frost Light's power was something I couldn't ignore.
'That's actually pretty useful. They'll have less guard up against me. Makes it easier to hypnotize them.'
Im Yu-na was a final-boss type character in the original story. Even there, she'd sniffed out the protagonist's hypnosis ability and made contact. She didn't kill him because she liked his pushover personality. But in the end, right at the climax, the protagonist fucked her without using hypnosis.
'He made her fall for him the normal way and then railed her.'
I got more info out of Park Hae-jun too.
The president and all the top brass at the Ministry of National Defense already knew about system users and Elpis. They were especially wary of my hypnosis ability and always had dozens of armed bodyguards with them.
'As expected. Can't recklessly target those guys.'
Next, I asked about Im Yu-na.
I was hoping for some weakness, but for all that Park Hae-jun liked her, all he knew were the basics.
“Useless bastard.”
I punched him in the head and turned to Yu Jae-kyung.
“Jae-kyung. Can you kill him?”
“I can.”
Yu Jae-kyung pointed the gun at Park Hae-jun's forehead, acting all casual. But the barrel trembled slightly.
“Should I do it now?”
“Kill him whenever you're ready.”
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, and Park Hae-jun's body slumped over.
A familiar golden flame rose from his corpse, trying to fly off somewhere. If I let it get away, who knows where it'd pop up next. China, Japan... maybe even Argentina on the other side of the world.
“Jae-kyung!”
“Yes!”
Yu Jae-kyung threw herself at the golden flame. It sank into her left shoulder, and her body fell onto Park Hae-jun's corpse.
“Got it!”
Yu Jae-kyung jumped back up.
She stared not at me, but into empty space. I knew without her saying. She was looking at the system.
“Congrats, Jae-kyung! You're a superhuman now too!”
“Thank you, oppa. It's all thanks to you. But how do I use superpowers?”
“Just think about using it in your head. Like levitating the pistol you're holding into the air.”
“...Like this?”
The pistol floated up into the air. Yu Jae-kyung stared at it in wonder. It flew around her before dropping with a clunk.
“Ah... I tried using telekinesis again, but it won't work.”
“You ran out of mana, and your telekinesis level is low. No quests pop up?”
“One did!”
“What quest?”
“Use telekinesis 10 times. Reward: +1 to all stats.”
“Easy one if you have the time. Let's head back.”
“Okay!”
Yu Jae-kyung skipped over to me excitedly and linked arms. We spent a hot night on the bed.
'Jae-kyung needs to level up her telekinesis quick so we can do aerial sex.'
???
“...”
Im Yu-na bit her lip hard.
In front of her was an open body bag. Park Hae-jun's corpse, killed by a bullet to the head.
The reason he'd been shot dead yesterday.
She could guess easily.
Because those people were fighting them right now.
“Killed with a gun that's hard to get in Korea. CCTV from the park caught Crimson Light and Frost Light too. It's their doing. They must've lured Hae-jun out somehow. The reason they killed him...”
“Probably because Sung Yu-jin is Crimson Light.”
Kang Tae-seong nodded heavily. His eyes gleamed murderously, but Im Yu-na's burned even fiercer.
“Orders have gone out to Crimson Sea Churches nationwide. Believers are gathering in Seoul. At least 100,000 of them.”
“Ha... This is insane. Gathering that many believers for a protest?”
“Crimson Light is crazy. No way they'd call in fanatics for something as pointless as a protest. They know it wouldn't mean much.”
Kang Tae-seong's face twisted as something occurred to him at Im Yu-na's words.
“...A coup? In this day and age?”
“Yes.”
“Branch chief, even coming from you, that's hard to believe. A coup? You think the public would just sit by? Even with a solid justification, it's impossible nowadays.”
“On the surface, it'll look like a protest, not a coup. Because Frost Light... no, Crimson Light has hypnosis powers.”
“...They use the protest to draw out the president?”
“Yes. Then hypnotize him. The moment the president falls under hypnosis, this country... becomes theirs.”
Of course, hypnotizing just the president wouldn't let them control Korea. He'd be the start. From the president onward, they'd hypnotize and subjugate all the key figures in Korea.
“We have to kill Crimson Light and Frost Light. Especially Frost Light... no matter what!”
“We know who Crimson Light is, but not Frost Light.”
“...That's the biggest problem.”
Im Yu-na sighed. Unlike Crimson Light, there were no leads on Frost Light.
Frost Light's traits: a beauty with an amazing body. And always with Crimson Light.
She investigated women around Sung Yu-jin, thinking Frost Light might turn up.
'Sung Yu-jin, that lunatic. Horny as hell, banging this girl, that girl! Even celebrities and idol trainees... Over the last few months, more than 100,000 women!'
A man with power and money naturally eyes women. But Sung Yu-jin had gone overboard.
Orgy parties with female believers were routine, and he didn't hesitate to throw money at women.
Even sifting through the women he met often left thousands. Pinpointing Frost Light by body alone was impossible.
“...If worst comes to worst.”
“If worst comes to worst?”
“Never mind. Just had a ridiculous idea. We'll be swamped from here on out. And... be careful, Uncle.”
“Yeah. I won't end up like Hae-jun. But you're not requesting backup from Elpis?”
“They trust the Korean government more than us.”
“...Makes sense. Even superhumans can't take on a government alone.”
???
Hundreds of thousands gathered in front of Gwanghwamun.
The Crimson Sea Church believers wore pristine white robes, united as one. 120,000 strong. Broadcast cameras filmed the protest, while countless police stood by with shields, tensely watching the believers.
A cult you couldn't predict.
Their intent to suppress by force if needed was clear.
Senior believers waved flags emblazoned with the Crimson Sea Church emblem. The faithful shouted in unison.
“The day the moon falls!!!”
“The sea turns red!!!”
“The apostle leads us to paradise!!!”
The fanatics' cries echoed thunderously through Gwanghwamun.
Onlookers who came to gawk started jeering and cursing, but many gradually got swayed and joined the protesters.
My hypnosis-like system ability levels up the more it's used, proficiency rising accordingly. Higher levels mean stronger effects, naturally.
And right now.
Church leader Shim Jong-pil's brainwashing level was far higher than my hypnosis. A whopping 27.
Brainwashing, by its nature, raises proficiency bit by bit as the number of brainwashed people grows, even without direct use.
'Not quite hypnosis level, but still a good ability.'
I slowly walked to the platform at the front of the protesters.
The believers fell silent, eyes fixed on me. Then I felt the police, cameras, and Seoul citizens focusing on me too.
I bore a cross on my shoulder and hands. Not just any cross. Church leader Shim Jong-pil, limbless, hung from it.
In short, a brainwashing totem. On my orders, he repeatedly used brainwashing every set interval. His brainwashing spread like waves, affecting everyone at Gwanghwamun.
Up on the platform, I set the cross behind me and looked around.
Hundreds of thousands watched me.
Through broadcasts, that'd be millions. No, tens of millions worldwide, given the massive cult protest.
“Believers!”
My voice boomed through the massive speakers.
“Korea is in crisis! Earthquakes! Volcanic eruptions! Pandemics! Tsunamis! War! Coming soon to Korea!”
Normal people would shake their heads in disbelief.
But the brainwashed fanatics believed every word. If I said the sky was red, it was red.
“It's all because of the president! Everything's the president's fault! Why? The current president is possessed by a demon! I can see it! President! Come before us now and receive our ritual to exorcise the demon!”
The fanatics' eyes sparkled with faith.
“President! Demon-puppet president! Receive our ritual before it's too late!”
The moment the president entered my sight, I'd hypnotize him into a puppet. He'd know that too.
“I'll give you exactly one hour!”
At my words, the believers shouted on the bishops' cues.
“Demon-possessed president, come to Gwanghwamun!”
“Our ritual will exorcise the demon!”
Bzzz!
My smartphone vibrated. A call.
“Hold on a sec.”
The crowd went dead silent at my words. Fanatics who'd been yelling veins bulging in their necks froze like puppets. People would be shocked at how perfectly I controlled these fanatics.
I held the phone to my ear.
“Hello.”
The caller was Im Yu-na.