Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 127
As the spirit core was destroyed, the creature's massive body began turning into sea foam.
Chwareuru—
Leviathan's flesh, bound by Pontos's seal, disappeared as sea foam.
As the giant body he had been standing on vanished, Seo-jin slowly descended and stepped onto the sandy beach.
Ting—
Along with that, a notification window appeared before his eyes.
[You have achieved the first subjugation of the Ocean Beast, Leviathan.]
[Achievement, Amphibious has been completed.]
[Achievement, Mediator has been completed.]
[Achievement, Honorary Merman has been completed.]
[You have acquired the right to ascend to the 21st floor.]
[The Sky Beast ■■ is watching you.]
[Sea God Pontos expresses gratitude to you.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
.
.
.
As he was happily checking his achievements, cheers could be heard from beyond the notification window.
"We won! We won!"
"We defeated them!"
The merfolk embraced each other in joy.
They had repelled the ocean beasts that threatened the city and even defeated the legendary beast Leviathan that had once quarreled with Pontos.
A precious victory achieved by overcoming great sacrifice.
At least for this moment, they gathered together regardless of racial distinctions and savored their victory.
Seo-jin chuckled as he watched the scene, then checked the items that had fallen beneath the vanished foam.
A blue jewel shining on the sandy beach.
"This is..."
As he picked it up, a description window appeared before his eyes.
[Dream of the Deep Sea]
- Grade: ?
- Classification: Quest Item
- An object containing the wishes of Lunaria, the emerging chieftain of the Sea Dragon Tribe and queen of the rebels. It is a fragment of an unfulfilled dream.
"..."
Seo-jin silently stared at the item with the same name as the drug that had been widely distributed in Atlantis's lower levels.
'Perhaps this sweet, drug-like dream was the driving force that led her.'
A fragment containing the dreams and wishes of the Sea Dragon Tribe that once roamed the deep sea with Leviathan long ago.
But that dream was one that could never be fulfilled—a vain dream that, like a drug, would only leave wounds and misfortune.
This item would symbolize Lunaria's wish, who couldn't give up that dream until the very end.
Seo-jin tucked it into his chest and checked the remaining spoils.
[Leviathan's Fang]
- Grade: S+
- Classification: Material Item
- A fang containing the essence of Leviathan, the arrogant king of those who symbolize the primordial ocean. Although summoned to a lower floor and thus reduced in status, it still contains power and authority comparable to the original.
He was able to collect the core item, Leviathan's Fang, along with scales, magic stones, and various other byproducts.
If he used these materials well, he felt he could craft the finest artifacts befitting a black mage.
While Seo-jin was checking Leviathan's spoils:
"Call the priests!"
"We need to move him inside the walls! Bring a stretcher!"
The merfolk also began evacuating the wounded and organizing the spoils left by the ocean beasts.
After the situation was roughly settled, Leila stepped forward leading the chieftains and priests.
Then she opened her mouth toward the merfolk who were still basking in the afterglow of victory.
"I have something to tell you all."
As Leila's clear voice spread out, the merfolk's gazes gathered in one place.
She bit her lips tightly as she received all their attention.
'The war has come to an end for now, but perhaps the real fight starts now...'
To resolve the problem that had been the source of all conflict, Leila took a small first step.
***
Several days later.
The Temple of Sea God Pontos.
"Ahhh."
Having spent several days without sleep handling the aftermath, Leila was in a haggard state unlike before.
The other chieftains also showed signs of extreme fatigue, having shared her suffering.
Seo-jin sat at the table across from them, carefully examining the reports.
'The aftermath has... somehow been wrapped up.'
Haizen, identified as the ringleader of this incident, was executed by the merfolk's hands.
He was a demon of the ages who had distributed drugs to the lower-class merfolk, sold them as slaves to work them to death, and even transformed merfolk who had become too broken to be useful into dragon-human soldiers, preventing their souls from finding peace.
Since he bore all the blame for every evil deed committed by Lunaria, there was no way to avoid execution.
Well... even if he took the blame, it wouldn't be particularly unfair.
While Lunaria had given the orders, most of the planning had been devised and promoted by him.
Unlike Haizen, who bore even crimes he hadn't committed, the Sea Dragon Queen Lunaria was elevated as a tragic hero who had sacrificed herself to protect Atlantis from foreigners.
All the evil deeds she had committed were transferred to Haizen and the foreign companies, and she was known to have summoned Leviathan to resist the foreigners and died in the process.
In fact, the Leviathan she summoned had wiped out Darkrock's forces that had been extending their claws toward Atlantis, so that achievement was certainly real.
However, there was also the problem of the massacre committed by the revived Leviathan, and since she was one of the main figures who had incited rebellion while being manipulated by foreigners, she was somewhat lacking to be elevated as a hero.
But under the great flow of racial integration, she was ultimately buried in Atlantis's national cemetery and awarded the title of hero.
A truly manufactured hero.
But unlike Lunaria, who was elevated due to such complicated circumstances, those who had collaborated under her didn't meet such a good end.
All those who had colluded with companies for profit or embezzled money in the process were executed.
Even those who hadn't pursued personal gain but had been deeply involved with companies and committed evil deeds were either executed or exiled according to the severity of their crimes.
That series of work proceeded quickly and accurately thanks to the materials Francesca had extracted from Darkrock's flagship, so no complaints arose.
On the surface, post-war problems were well organized, but a fundamental problem still remained.
Namely:
'The ill feelings harbored by merfolk on both sides.'
First was the position of Atlantis's citizens.
'Regardless of foreign instigation, it's a fact that rebels rose up to occupy Atlantis under the banner of eliminating discrimination.'
It was natural for Atlantis's citizens to harbor ill feelings toward the five tribes that had joined that rebellion.
Setting aside justification, it was a clear fact that they had started a war by taking up arms with the intent to kill them.
Moreover, this was also about the problem of inter-racial ill feelings that had been the catalyst for all conflicts.
This part was what really gave him a headache.
But if there was one fortunate point:
'The fact that Lunaria kept alive Kshtra and high-ranking opposition figures who had refused to join the rebellion.'
Of course, she had kept them alive not out of goodwill but to use them as sacrifices when reviving Leviathan, but it had been of great help in the end.
Thanks to that, the five tribes who had lost their focal point gained new leaders, and logic emerged to persuade Atlantis citizens who harbored ill feelings toward the five tribes that had joined the rebellion.
'Not all of the five tribes had been deceived by the companies to start the rebellion, and there were clearly forces that opposed the rebellion, and now they would lead the five tribes.'
Their existence played a tremendous role in healing the inter-racial ill feelings.
Next was the position of the five tribes who had been discriminated against, not the citizens of Atlantis.
Although the situation had been somehow patched up, the fundamental problems of discrimination and wealth disparity remained.
Seo-jin spoke to the chieftains and Leila, who were lying collapsed on the table like corpses.
"Still, don't worry too much. Time will solve it in the end."
Since they had lanced the festering wound and treated it, conflict wouldn't flare up immediately.
It was right after both sides had learned through bloodshed that such conflict only brought war.
If they didn't want to take up arms again, they would be careful for a while.
Moreover, they were currently in the midst of city reconstruction, so they had no strength to fight each other, and the atmosphere wasn't bad since they had just joined forces to defeat their common enemies—the foreign companies and ocean beasts.
While this situation was maintained:
"Most problems are solved by money."
Once the development of the Neptune Mine began in earnest, astronomical wealth would pour into Atlantis.
Since most problems stemmed from wealth disparity between races anyway.
'If Darkrock had proceeded with the Neptune Mine development, all that money would have gone into the company's coffers... but since Haomun will manage it under the Association's mediation, the merfolk's lives will become much more prosperous.'
Like oil-producing countries, if they all became wealthy together, the structural discrimination of merfolk enslaving merfolk would disappear.
If the problem of livelihood was somewhat resolved and the leadership, including Leila, devoted their full efforts to inter-racial integration:
The merfolk of the five tribes who had risen up in discontent over past discrimination would also be able to integrate into the city.
So the future wouldn't be so dark.
At Seo-jin's explanation, Leila nodded slightly, then clapped her hands as if remembering something.
"Oh, speaking of which... Nova, Pontos said he has something to tell you directly."
"Pontos does?"
A god has something to tell me directly—let me hear it.
***
Darkrock, the world's largest asset management company and ultra-massive corporation that manipulates the entire world.
In the top floor of Darkrock's ultra-massive building erected in the heart of New York, a secret conversation was taking place.
Numerous chairs arranged left and right around a long table at the center.
A man sitting arrogantly with his legs crossed in one of those chairs opened his mouth.
"Well now, Darkrock's reputation has hit rock bottom. To be manipulated by a mere tower climber and lose a department head-level executive."
Kwon Seok-woo, the half-brother of Hanseong Chairman Kwon Do-il and vice chairman of Hanseong.
At his words, Darkrock's Strategic Investment Department Director Carl Anderson gritted his teeth.
"..."
He couldn't outright deny it, as it had indeed been an enormous loss.
An entire team from the Market Development Department that developed each floor of the tower had been wiped out, and the important Neptune Mine had fallen into the hands of the Chinese-affiliated Haomun.
Of course, this was only entrusted management—the actual owners of the mine were presumed to be Nova, the Climber Association, and the royal family of the merfolk.
There was no room to dig in.
With the announcement that they would accept no equity sales or any kind of investment.
It was literally a case of having their nose cut off while their eyes were open.
There was a limit to throwing ash on cooked rice.
After suffering such humiliation, they couldn't just leave that Nova bastard alone.
"I heard Hanseong also took a big loss on the 10th floor?"
"Compared to you guys, it's a minor loss. But it's certainly irritating."
Setting aside the severity of the loss, it was no less annoying than having a fly land on your food and making it inedible.
The elimination of that bastard was naturally a confirmed matter.
There would be interference from the Association, but they had many spies planted there too, so there was no need to worry.
"What high-ranking climbers can you mobilize?"
If it was Darkrock's strongest card, it would be the American-affiliated ranker, Paladin Robert.
His beloved daughter was suffering from a rare disease, and Darkrock was bearing all the costs for the various support needed for her treatment.
Given that, if they just gave the order, he would move to eliminate Nova.
Since he was a paladin, the compatibility would be favorable too.
However, Robert's upright personality made him unsuitable for such dirty work.
In times like this, it would be better to...
Anderson, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked:
"The highest opened floor is currently the 33rd, isn't it?"
"Yes, they're challenging the 34th floor."
"The climbing speed has gotten a bit faster. Has his power increased in the meantime?"
The climbing speed that had been stagnant around the 30th floor had greatly increased over the past few months. There shouldn't have been any major changes in power.
Vice Chairman Kwon Seok-woo said:
"Rather than increased power... Sword Star might have been stimulated by Nova's appearance."
Sword Star was skilled at hiding his strength. Even now, he would be concealing 30% of his power.
Not only that, but while Hanseong and Sword Star were cooperating, his true intentions weren't certain.
Sometimes he seemed uninterested in wealth and fame, giving off a somewhat nihilistic feeling.
Kwon Seok-woo thought that he might have been controlling his climbing speed and testing the waters until recently, then increased his climbing speed.
"Anyway, at this rate, he and the frontline strategy team might meet around the 37th or 38th floor."
"We need to eliminate him before that. Letting him get that far would be disgraceful."
Anderson gritted his teeth in anger.
They couldn't watch that bastard run wild until then. Even setting aside corporate interests.
"The fortunate thing is that he often moves alone."
If he had formed a party and traveled with others, assassination would have been difficult.
But he traveled with at most two or three people.
"Before he can form a proper force, we eliminate him."